For what it’s worth, I finally caught up tonight with Game of Thrones (the second episode apparently), and it might be the most intriguingly acted and smartly written drama of this type that I’ve ever seen. I loathe the idea of any medieval fantasy TV series based on a series of fantasy novels blah blah, but Thrones operates on a somewhat more refined and cultivated level. David Benioff and D. B. Weiss have created a literate and semi-upscale (as far as it goes) HBO series about grimy, cynical, ruthless people walking around in tunics and carrying swords. This level of accomplishment is unusual, it seems, for a property that has a related merchandise line (action figures, etc.), two video games and a ready-to-wear Helmut Lang collection about to hit the market. Seriously — medieval CG fantasy bullshit isn’t my cup and this wasn’t too bad. And the gratuitous nudity was okay.