(9) FANTASY: HOUSE OF THE DRAGON

(2022 – PRESENT: SEASONS 1-2)

For six seasons, Game of Thrones reigned supreme in my Top 10 Fantasy & SF TV Series, albeit the first four seasons set the gold standard while the fifth and sixth season started to show signs of silver or bronze wearing through.

Then came the seventh season in which it slipped from its supreme reign – but even worse, its eighth and final season, in which it definitely did not stick its Kings Landing, or perhaps, stuck it somewhere winter never comes and painfully at that. I don’t think it’s overstating just how bad this season was to state that it undid all the previous seasons – perhaps not to the point of erasing it from my memory but at least to shuffling it off into my special mentions instead for fond reminiscence of its golden seasons.

And there I thought Westeros and the world of Game of Thrones would remain, to be politely passed over for new fantasy fare.

So imagine my surprise that just when I thought I was out, the prequel series, House of the Dragon – or Hot D for short – pulled me back in. The first season seemed a return to the quality of the early seasons of Game of Thrones – or at least seasons 5-6.

In fairness, quality fantasy fare is hard to come by on screen – which is why my top tens for cinematic or television fantasy & SF is predominated by SF. For some reason – or indeed a number of reasons – directors and producers just seem to adapt SF better than fantasy to the screen, albeit usually with fantastic elements rather cold hard SF.

Also in fairness – once bitten, twice shy. I still have that taste in my mouth from Season 8 of Game of Thrones, particularly as I know that’s how it all ends up, even this prequel series set nearly 200 years earlier – and season 2 showed some signs of sagging or treading water.

But so far so good with that classic Westeros territory – wars of succession and civil wars. Also dragons – only more of them and bigger. And casting an Australian girl as the young Rhaenyra Targaryen, even if they then time jump to another actress for her as one of the two rival claimants for the throne (for the Blacks against the Greens, named for their house colors).

I’m at least in it for the next season.

FANTASY OR SF?

The most fantasy of my Top 10 Fantasy & SF TV Series. No SF to be seen!

HORROR

Perhaps some elements but not as many as the original Game of Thrones series, with its wights and White Walkers…

RATING: 4 STARS****

B-TIER (HIGH TIER)