Best of 2011: Television
Show: Game of Thrones
Season: One
Starring: Sean Bean, Mark Addy, Lena Headey, Peter Dinklage

Game of Thrones is one of the best dramas HBO has ever aired. When you have a résumé that includes The Wire, The Sopranos, Six Feet Under and Oz, that is a god damn compliment. It could’ve easily been a fantasy-a-thon, with cool action, and cool kills and just general coolness. But no, HBO doesn’t settle. Ben Wyatt, from Parks and Recreation said it as good as anyone could when he said, “it’s not just for fantasy enthusiasts. They’re telling human stories in a fantasy world.” And that’s the key behind GoT’s success. The gore and sword-fighting certainly helps though. At the end of almost every episode, my jaw would hit the floor in shock. Acting was of the highest calibre, with most of the praise going towards the likes of Sean Bean, Michelle Fairley, Nikolaj Costau-Walder and Emmy award winner/God amongst men Peter Dinklage. If you ever dismissed Game of Thrones as “just a Lord of the Rings kind of thing”, you’ve done yourself a huge disservice by not watching it. HBO hasn’t been this good since the Wire ended.