blog This day had to come. Ladies and gentlemen, the science fiction and fantasy worlds so beloved by IT geeks the world around have now gone mainstream. The Guardian’s Australian edition reports this morning that Prime Minister Julia Gillard is a huge fan of Game of Thrones, the popular TV adaptation of George R. R. Martin’s excellent A Song of Ice and Fire epic series. And what’s even more interesting is that the Prime Minister appears to be watching Game of Thrones legally. The Guardian reports (we recommend you click here for the full article):
“I was given the DVDs over the summer period when I did get a little bit of time to watch so I watched them one after the other,” [Gillard] said. “I don’t get many lazy afternoons but I managed to have a few and now I am a bit of an addict. I anxiously await the new episode each Monday night. I like it because I think the intrigue between the contending families is enough to sustain the storyline.”
We’re sure Jeffrey Bleich will take great comfort in the news that Gillard watches Game of Thrones legally (it appears to be through Foxtel which airs the show on Monday nights; the show doesn’t usually arrive on iTunes until early Tuesday morning), given how stridently the US Ambassador to Australia recently expressed his opinion that Australians are pirating the show far too much. And how lucky for Gillard she’s watching the series through Foxtel and not iTunes; or else the Labor leader might have been forced to change her habits next Season when the pay TV giant cuts off weekly access to Game of Thrones through the Apple platform. I guess what this little example goes to demonstrate is that for that wealthy portion of the population in Australia that can afford premium TV offerings such as Foxtel, getting access to US content such as Game of Thrones is generally not a problem. The rest of the nation — which constantly suffers problems getting affordable access to the shows we want — might as well be located on the wrong side of The Wall.
Image credit: HBO
I see nothing in the original article that specifies whether or not Gillard watches a “legal” version. Perhaps she’s siding with the majority of Aussies who vote with their torrents?
The Monday night thing implies Foxtel.
nope it doesn’t.
Torrents are there long before Foxtel goes on air.
Actually, it usually goes up on the torrent sites on a Monday, not that I’ve bothered with this season, to many other things to do (GW2 and a bunch of betas). There is probably a bit of “cut of your nose to spite your face” to it too, but these companies need to realise there are other things competing for our time (and dollars, though theres a lot of very good F2Pers out these days).
The real “kiss of death” for publishers/producers like HBO is when the mainstream figures that out…
If the IP blocks were removed, is there somewhere (probably in the US) you can purchase GoT without the DRM, etc. that iTunes has and people complain about?
Like all good Australians she doesn’t pay to watch it either ;)
http://if.com.au/2012/09/12/article/Parliamentary-perks-revealed-politicians-links-with-screen-industry/GTCZFROYFI.html
If someone wants to give me free Foxtel I will be happy to watch it legally as well!
“Like many viewers, Gillard was surprised when another central character, Ned Stark”
Didn’t anyone read the books? I think the series is great, but the books were even better.
Sorry not the full quote, supposed to add – “came to a sudden gruesome end in the first series.”
The books are far better. The series is probably as good as could be expected, but I note that recently they have just started making shit up that isn’t in the books.
I’ve read the first two books so far, and have thoroughly enjoyed them. Do the TV seasons correspond to the books? (I.e. does season 1 correspond to book 1?) Been thinking of getting the DVDs, but don’t want any spoilers before I read the books.
The first season corresponded very closely to the actual book Game of Thrones, but after that the show has started to divulge wildly, beyond filler, to the point where it’s now making shit up. It’s believable shit, but it’s not ASOIAF.
You know George RR is working on the show both on the production side and with script-writing So arguably he can make up anything he wants.
+1
Martin has told the producers where the story is headed beyond the currently released books. He has previous experience with TV screenwriting and has talked about how different formats require different approaches. His flexibility with how the story is told is one of the great assets of the series in my opinion.
I’m quite enjoying how the series is starting to inform the future books. For example, the recent episode in which Arya and Melisandre met never occured, but the scene hinted towards parts of the story that the readers don’t know yet. My wife and I looked at each during that scene thinking, “Hang on… We don’t know that, do we? Does that mean…? Woah…”
A number of times I’ve been disappointed with how something has been changed for the TV series, but for the most part I’ve understood why they’ve done it, and decided it was for the best. Frankly, it’s incredible that they’re managing to cover so much content, and so many characters in 10 episodes a season, while still pulling everything together and largely staying true to the story.
You are right, which makes this a screen adaptation of a book.
At least it is the writer of the books who is leading the rewriting which will keep the integrity of the writers vision and the worlds development.
I think they have done a really good job of the “shit” they have made up though. The books did get too long towards the end, even GRRM agrees there.
I think its quite clever how they have managed to condense it into a tv series without missing any key plot points (and even adding some new ones).
The first series was almost line for line with the first book which i thought was good, but simply not achievable for the longer books.
For those who have read the books we know there are some pretty important episodes coming up soon :D
I can’t believe we are going to get rid of a PM who likes Game of Thrones for one that likes Downton Abbey.
….the leader of Australia has time to watch Game of Thrones while the economy goes down the gurgler, the manufactiring sector dies another detah every day and millions of Australians are doing it tough. ..says it all really
@Adam
Wow. Really?? That’s what you took away from this article? The country is ‘going down the burgled’ because Gillard has some time to watch GoT….
In other news, NASA is a waste of money because they allow astronauts to load Simpsons episodes on their tablets….
It’s called real life. Get over it.
Nice troll!
Stop reading noise ltd, our economy is leading the world right now, that isn’t dropping the ball!
…Ford closes, jobs being off-shored, manufacturing sector on its knees, china demand slowing, export commodity prices already collapsing, $19bn deficit in budget, waiting lists for salvation army going through the roof, unemployment rising, multiculturalism not working, crime spiraling…take your pick. The economy is not leading the world, its deeply deeply in debt and in trouble… just ask anyone over 50 trying to get a job, especially in IT
As opposed to the complete inaction the LNP wanted in response to the GFC? Most economists agree spending money to prop up the economy is the right thing to do and the poms and Europeans are proving to the world that austerity only makes things worse!
Not to mention the crocodile tears from the Libs of the Ford plant closing in 3 years, sure 1200 jobs will be lost but where are the tears over the 12,000 workers Cambell Newman has actually sacked?
After the stop making cars in the Ford factory, they should start making trains.
And railway lines.
And build us a high speed train network.
And a better metro network for Victoria.
Best summary of the Ford situation I’ve seen was a simple picture of some Ford workers with the caption “You bought a Jeep”…
FYI, there’s the Liberals in a nutshell. Let the market drive itself. Dont think for one second that ANY Liberal government, state or federal, would have done a single thing to stop Ford shutting down.
Ok I ask this question of you. How much of those “closures” etc is a result of our government’s direct influence?
Or is it more likely that it is the high Australian dollar, that is causing us to be unable to compete in manufacturing areas, which is where all the job losses are currently happening. Hmmmm.
In very simplistic terms, for us to compete our product needs to be lower price. This can happen by our dollar dropping (which incidentally is one of the reasons “Howard’s” economy did so well), or by reducing our base level costs ie Wages, etc.
Ford closes: It’s more economical to use their other factories, in other countries. No amount of money from the government could change their mind.
jobs being off-shored: Corporate greed. Not much the government can do here.
manufacturing sector on its knees: Manufacturing is down across the entire globe. You think this is just a local problem?
china demand slowing: And you think an Australian Government can magically wave a wand, and make them buy more from us? What flying ship did you just get off of?
export commodity prices already collapsing: From the natural result of the $AU going up. Why was it up? Because all those investors out there saw us as a better investment than the $US with their record low near 0% interest rate. You want to blame someone, blame the US banks. Want to sue someone. Sue the US banks.
$19bn deficit in budget: Labor builds. Liberal sells it off. Look at history.
unemployment rising: Stats I was looking at doesn’t show much change.
multiculturalism not working: What’s new? It’s a core problem in society, and nothing that the government can solve without restricting our liberties or freedoms, or choice of religion. Want to become a Chinese citizen instead?
crime spiralling: What BS are you reading? Tabloids? Go read the actual crime statistics.
just ask anyone over 50 trying to get a job, especially in IT: Getting a job over 50 has always been hard. Why on earth would you think it gets easier for IT? It’s very natural for IT companies to spend as little as possible, which is why they hire graduates. They are keen to learn, so teaching them tasks very little time, and don’t ask for as much money as someone who has been in the industry for as little as 5 years.
1. Ford closures: ALP squandered billions in industry “innovation’ handouts – net result, jobs lost and export dollars down – read this report from your beloved Fairfax…(http://www.smh.com.au/business/labels-crumbled-despite-getting-big-taxpayer-handouts-20130526-2n5cr.html) ….and no new industries created.
2. Jobs being off-shored due to corporate greed…? WTF…It’s not “corporate” greed, its consumer greed and yet what has Gillard done to address this? Raised business taxes, that’s what! Yes Tax has risen by 8% under Gilalrd – Don’t believe me – here is the official ABS data – (http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/5506.0Main%20Features62011-12?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=5506.0&issue=2011-12&num=&view=)
3. Manufacturing down across the globe – err instead of making baseless assertions try reading the Deloitte global competitiveness ranking and see what has happened under Gillard: (http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_GX/global/industries/manufacturing/3e4898b27c50b310VgnVCM3000003456f70aRCRD.htm#.UaQI4kAwfNs)
4. China Demand slowing – and instead of creating value adding productive industries, the government simply taxes resources. Excellent!
5. Export commodity prices collapsing…economics 101: not because of the high dollar it’s because other countries produce stuff cheaper. Why? Because there has been nil productivity focus in this economy since 2007….just taxes and waste.
6. $19bn deficit – “the ALP builds” lol…no ALP does not build – they waste, they spend and waste, they raise new taxes and they bankrupt relationships and industries. Million dollar school shed anyone? Pink Batt deaths anyone? How about the great job at building our live export trade..
7. Unemployment. 0.2% “not much change” – try telling that to the 36,000 people who lost their job…good call.
I’d go on but is there any point. not really….
Pretty one-eyed view there Adam.
As the Deloitte report points out:
“The digital revolution and pace of technological change also profoundly impact the way that
business and production are organized. Digital technologies have made many facets of the global
economy nearly borderless”.
These are areas that Labor has been working on, with things like the NBN, Education and all the Clean Energy stuff. It makes a lot more sense for use to transition from cars that Australians don’t want (even though were buying cars in record numbers), to technologies they do.
The future for Aussie manufacturing is cleantech http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2013/5/28/cleantech/looking-beyond-ford-cleantech-future
Ignore what the party leaders/MSM tell you and keep those points in mind while you read each parties policies, you may actually be surprised at who is really thinking of Australians future….
1. Ford closures: ALP squandered billions in industry “innovation’ handouts – net result, jobs lost and export dollars down – read this report from your beloved Fairfax…(http://www.smh.com.au/business/labels-crumbled-despite-getting-big-taxpayer-handouts-20130526-2n5cr.html) ….and no new industries created.
That’s right, make a point about Ford, and distract with pointing at other Industries.
Ford’s problem is Ford’s problem. Not the Fashion Industry. Not other car makers like Holden. Ford’s, and Ford’s alone.
2. Jobs being off-shored due to corporate greed…? WTF…It’s not “corporate” greed, its consumer greed and yet what has Gillard done to address this? Raised business taxes, that’s what! Yes Tax has risen by 8% under Gilalrd.
Don’t have to look at the data. It makes sense, considering… back to the origin… Corporate greed. Companies are doing everything they can do reduce costs, and increase profits. It makes total sense to increase taxes on them.
3. Manufacturing down across the globe – err instead of making baseless assertions try reading the Deloitte global competitiveness ranking and see what has happened under Gillard: (http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_GX/global/industries/manufacturing/3e4898b27c50b310VgnVCM3000003456f70aRCRD.htm#.UaQI4kAwfNs)
Broken link.
4. China Demand slowing – and instead of creating value adding productive industries, the government simply taxes resources. Excellent!
So, your suggestion is for the Government to spend more by “adding productive industries”. “Excellent!”
5. Export commodity prices collapsing…economics 101: not because of the high dollar it’s because other countries produce stuff cheaper. Why? Because there has been nil productivity focus in this economy since 2007….just taxes and waste.
yeah, very pointless continuing this as you seem to have blinkers on and can’t even consider a bigger picture outside of your box.
Sigh, Sorry Renai. So off-topic.
Oh, lets watch some more Game of Thrones!
I wonder what else the PM watches.
Plenty of people I know work 16 hour days and like to unwind in front of the TV too, but they are not the PM with the fate of millions in her clumsy, inept hands.
1. False logic, re-read what you have written. ALP handouts to business have not worked, they have squandered millions, billions. Its not just Ford
2. Raise taxes to match profits …omg…try some Gittens…
3. Google it
4. No, not my suggestion at all.
5. good come back…not :).
I have all day, I’m on holiday this week. I’ve just watched episode 8 !
Right so the Liberal party have never wasted money on the car industry, Telstra and other companies?
get a clue!
I’ve stepped off this merry-go-round.
I’m just here to say that I’ve read your points, and I’m not responding to them because this isn’t the place for it.
Down the gurgler you say?
http://www.indexmundi.com/australia/economy_profile.html
Oh and one more thang Adam, confidence in the Australian economy by Australians (rest of the world think we are doing great) would be a lot higher if Tony Abbott hadn’t been trying to wreck his way into power for the last 4 years by talking down the economy very time he opens his deceitful mouth!!!
Lol… I never mentioned Tony Abbott. If Tony Abbott was saying how he loved to watch Game of Thrones each Monday night I’d be equally appalled, and so should you instead of leaping to Gilalrd’s defense and frothing about Abbott Abbott Abbott. Bring on September 14!! And bring on episode 9 of season 3 :)
My comments were directly relevant to your “the economy has gone to hell” style assertions!
Methinks you have last-word syndrome :p
Do not! :D
It seems you would know ;o)
Oh please. The guy wears speedos in public. Maybe he should be a better opposition leader, rather than prancing around in glorified undies?
What kind of retarded argument suggests that a PM watching a popular TV show somehow means they aren’t governing competently. And the economy? That’s priceless — we have one of the strongest economies going.
Debt is fine as long as you can service it. And our economy and GDP are far far greater than what is needed.
But hey, lets all take a crack at the PM for watching TV, probably for all of 3-4 hours a week, in amongst an otherwise ridiculously hectic schedule.
The Prime Minister watches more television than I do! For shame, Miss Gillard!
http://www.ceda.com.au/research-and-policy/research/2013/05/wcy2013
OMG, we’ve fallen 1 postion since 1997, how horrible!!
no…try reading it …we have gone from 26th to 51st place in the last three years
You’ve picked on one tiny metric from the overall big picture, the productivity growth metric! It doesn’t say we’ve stopped productivity growth at all, it’s just that other countries are growing productivity faster. The truth is we’ve had unbroken productivity growth for 21 years.
This is just typical of right wingers, latch on the one tiny metric that is largely irrelevant and blow it up to be a big issue when it really isn’t!
That is mostly because multi-factor productivity is down (http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/1370.0.55.001~2012~Main%20Features~Productivity~20) thanks mostly to how our corporations are run (Multi-factor is derived from capital allocation by company boards, so mistakes like the failed takeover of Rio Tinto by BHP drag it down….there’s been a lot of mistakes like that from a lot of our companies in the last few years).
Multi-factor would look even worse if labour productivity wasn’t factored in (labour productivity is actually up since John Howard http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/MSB/35).
Basically, our large miners and companies need to stop squandering their capital and use it more effectively…
Gillard does 18-20 hour days a lot of the time by some reports, you are seriously suggesting that taking 45 mins of downtime is going to break the economy?
Game of thrones is junk! I was so sick of hearing the people claiming NBN was for downloading “game of thrones” so I hired the Blu-ray 1st series. If this piece of junk didn’t have so much nudity and doggy sex there would be nothing left to watch.
I wont be renting the next series and won’t be wasting my time downloading it.
/shakefist
“You kids get off my lawn!!”
:)
You forget to…
Stop wasting your time commenting on forums and news columns about it.
I’ve stepped off this merry-go-round.
I’m just here to say that I’ve read your points, and I’m not responding to them because this isn’t the place for it.
Stupid browser. Didn’t give me the right reply-to.
Delete these comments if you feel like it Mister Moderator. :)
Lol !
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