Once in a while a television show comes along with a character that just connects. These days they’re rarely found on network television programs.
The networks realize they can’t compete with the pay-cable channels anymore so most of the time it doesn’t feel as if they’re trying. In recent months, think of all the memorable characters to grace TV such as Marty Kaan (Don Cheadle) in House of Lies or Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi) in Boardwalk Empire and Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) in Game of Thrones, which arrives on disc and for download Tuesday. They share a number of things including charm, charisma along with moral ambiguity and complexity.
It’s Dinklage’s presence that first caught my eye when flicking through my 500-channel TV universe one night. A dwarf in stature, but not in talent, Dinklage’s performance was enough to draw my interest to HBO’s adaptation of the George R.R. Martin’s novel, Game of Thrones (Rated TV-MA, HBO Home Entertainment, $29.99 on DVD or $34.99 on blu-ray, 4-of-5 stars) and it was also good enough to win him and Emmy and Golden Globe.
He’s the abused and occasionally downtrodden member of the Lannister clan, one of the central families in Thrones that battles for supremacy in Martin’s fully drawn fantasy world of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. He is a womanizer, who is hurt by his father’s lack of faith and approval, and an underdog that you cannot help but cheer for although it’s easily to despise his siblings Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and sister Casei (Lena Hedley), who are power hungry, ruthless and just happen to be locked in an incestuous affair that has produced one of the most unlikeable adolescents to ever grace any screen.(I agree sfm HAHA)
Tyrion proves so easy to like because he realizes his status which in turn enables him to empathize with others who share his status in life. When he empathizes with the illegitimate son of an adversary in one of the early episodes of Thrones’ first season, the moment possesses sincerity. When he pours out his heart to a concubine, he shows his vulnerability.
But he can be just as ruthless and manipulative if the moment suits his needs. Therein lies the difference in the character, however. We’ve seen those other sides making the audience willing to chalk them up to being a product of his environment and not a defect in his character.
Dinklage’s portrayal of Tyrion is just one reason that makes Thrones a must have for fans of good television.
Martin’s world is complicated, filled with characters that command attention and the stories of power hungry families, political manipulation and heaping doses of sex and violence make this one of few must-see TV shows on television.
The writing is crisp, the stories unfold in realistic ways and there isn’t a single bad performance in the entire series – less-than-thrilling ones? Sure. But you can’t have everything. Although, Game of Thrones makes a hell of an effort at providing perfect entertainment and comes damn close in the process.
Extras: The DVD producers have loaded the five-disc with a host of extras. The first one I went to was the character profile of Tyrion (OBVIOUSLY!), but the producers took an interesting path with them overall. It’s a complete introduction the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros for the uninitiated. The 30-minute making-of documentary provides the perfect primer for that as do the rest of the character profiles
I agree with this... given that i watched the show before reading the book Tyrion is one of the characters that really draws you in... So.. Tyrion haters
Note to mods: Put the gif inside the cut as it was asked <3