Some people are worried that new season of Game of Thrones

will add too much stuff that's not in the books.

I'm worried that the new season won't slice away

enough stuff that is in the books.

I explain way brutal trims are needed

on this week's episode of Angry Nerd.

First you, whoops.

First your comments.

Son of Hephaestus writes, What do you think about

the Ghost Buster cinematic universe that's been announced?

Ugh, the phrase Ghost Buster cinematic universe

fills me with dread.

Not even a certified genius like Egon Spengler, PhD,

could spin out enough compelling content to make me wanna

lose myself in a richly-detailed Ghostbusterverse.

RIP Ramis.

Speaking of fictional universes, Game of Thrones is back.

The fifth season of the HBO series is supposedly

gonna venture further and further afield from the sprawling

series of fantasy novels that it's based on.

I think that could be a good thing,

especially if the show takes an axe to the extraneous

material that's bogged down the last couple of books.

See, a good fantasy book series creates an entire

imaginary universe that can be hard to get your bearings in.

It's no surprise that most fantasy novels

have an actual map that you can consult to orient yourself.

The earlier seasons of HBO's Game of Thrones

did a good job of bringing G.R.R. Martin's world to life

and like in the novels, it even has a map

to help you orient yourself.

You see it during the open credits.

It focuses on the specific locationss

that you'll see in that particular episode.

♫ Look, Stannis Baratheon's in the north

♫ In the north, in the north, in the north

♫ Daenerys Targaryen's in Meereen, freeing slaves

Tolkien established all of this.

His Middle Earth was a virtual world so complex

that it needed maps, glossaries, genealogy charts,

the stuff in the appendices of Lord of the Rings

was so compelling that it was used

to pad out The Hobbit into three movies.

Now, the problem with Game of Thrones author

G.R.R. Martin, I mean other than the fact that he writes

slower than a mother (bleep) stonecutter is that

he doesn't know what material belongs in the appendices

and what should be part of the books proper.

Some of that material slowed the books unforgivably.

The fourth and fifth installments in the series

were meant to be a single book, but they would have been

almost 2000 pages so they were split in two.

A complete list of all the candidates vying to rule

the also-ran kingdom of the Iron Islands,

that should have gone into an appendix.

Long disquisition on heraldic symbols

of every noble family in the realm,

that should have gone into an appendix.

Complete list of all 77 courses served

to attendees at the Purple Wedding,

that should have gone into an appendix

and then that appendix should have been removed

and added to the official tie-in book,

A Feast of Ice and Fire.

Far more of that material should have been offloaded

into the cookbook and the other companion volumes.

The Land of Ice and Fire maps collection

and the World of Ice and Fire:

An Untold History supplemental materials.

Yes I own them all, don't judge me!

George R. R. Martin has clearly got

his book editors under his complete control,

like Ramsay Snow and Theon Greyjoy.

It's up to the HBO show runners to take

a pair of scissors to this excess material.

Who do you think is going to die

on this season of Game of Thrones?

Hey, book readers, no spoilers.

I'm talking about characters who are still alive

in the books but are killed off in the shows.

Make your picks in the comments,

subscribe to the Wired channel, and watch my other videos.

(gentle music)

Arm's getting tired.

Waiting on you to say, Cut.

[Director] Cut.

I can't stop!

Get over here.