So what did people think? It has been 10 years since I read the first 3 books, so I am not 100% sure if the first episode followed the books real closely. I think it did. I thought it was pretty good. Martins books take time to draw you in. They don't have a really exciting opening sequence that draws you right in. So hopefully HBO will get fans to stick with it long enough to get sucked in.
The girl they chose for the older Stark daughter does NOT look 13 at all. She is like 17-18 and looks it. It would probably be difficult to find a girl that young to play that kind of role (I can't remember if it is Sansa or Arya its been so long since I read the books I have them mixed up).
I thought the dothraki fight sequences at the wedding were typical TV dance fighting and was not impressed. It was obvious they were fake fighting.
In general I liked it. However, I do not know if I would be enamored with it if I was not a fantasy/sci-fi fan.