Surprise — not everyone cares about ‘Thrones’
The much beloved, discussed and obsessed-about genre fantasy ‘Game of Thrones’ (9 p.m. Sunday, HBO, TV-MA) enters its seventh season. If you can call it a season. Seven episodes will unfold between now and Aug. 27.To be fair, each episode of “Game of Thrones” is lavishly produced, more like a mini-movie than a mere television drama. So I can see why viewers are grateful for what they receive.
At the same time, I have to admit that I remain an agnostic in the high church of George R.R. Martin. While Peter Dinklage’s character frequently has some amusing and witty things to say, I simply can’t get worked up about the usual medieval malarkey, swordplay, wenches, castration, throat slashing and ultraviolence. Or diminutive women tottering under blond wigs while leading dragons. Frequent efforts to figure out all the excitement have always ended with a renewed indifference. I’m not sure which reaction came first, “I just can’t follow this” or “I just don’t care.” But I suspect the latter.
And I suspect I am not alone.
For every diehard “GOT” fan, there are probably 10 or 20 people who have never seen it. That could be said of most entertainment — from the latest “Star Trek” or “Spider-Man” movie, to even (gasp) the next “Star Wars” installment. We live in an age defined by media fragmentation and genre franchises followed with passionate intensity.
The phenomenon of “GOT” reflects pop culture and perhaps society, where one group’s obsession is all but incomprehensible or even invisible to outsiders. From comic-book allegiances to political factions and religious sects, we all seem to be speaking separate languages, as the mass
culture that television helped create and define gives way to hundreds of subcultures.
INTO THE VAULT
How often do we go to the bank? Between ATMs and online banking, most of us can manage our accounts remotely. But how about bank robbers? “20/20: In an Instant” (8 p.m. today, ABC) recalls the case of a masked gunman out to rob a bank by holding a banker and his Ohio family hostage and forcing the frightened bank manager to drive to the vault and bring back $100,000.
To add insult to harrowing injury, the banker was later treated as a possible suspect by the police and FBI before the real robber was captured, convicted and imprisoned.
LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION
Why do some good girls go bad? Blame college! An excellent student finds an unorthodox way to pay off her college tuition in the 2017 shocker “From Straight A’s to XXX” (8 p.m. today, Lifetime).
ICE ICE BABY
Andy Warhol declared that we’d all get our 15 minutes of fame. But some get second helpings — and then some. How else do we explain a seventh season for “The Vanilla Ice Project” (10 p.m. today, DIY)? Over 13 episodes, the minor pop star, whose entire career would barely make a footnote in the new CNN history of “The Nineties,” will renovate distressed properties.
And this isn’t his only means of remaining in the public eye. In 2016, he appeared on “Dancing With the Stars.” Ice also starred in the 2015 Adam Sandler straight-to-Netflix Western “The Ridiculous Six,” a film so dreadful it received a rare 0 percent approval rating on the Rotten Tomatoes website.
TONIGHT’S HIGHLIGHTS
› Omar Figueroa Jr. and Robert Guerrero meet in a Premier Boxing Champions match (8 p.m., Fox), live from Long Island.
› A plot to kidnap Benedict Arnold takes shape on “Turn: Washington’s Spies” (9 p.m., AMC, TV-14).
› Benvolio needs help on “Still Star Crossed” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
› Cosima makes a strange bargain on “Orphan Black” (10 p.m., BBC America, TV-MA).
SUNDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
› Repeat reports scheduled on “60 Minutes” (7 p.m., CBS): hostages, terrorists and negotiation strategies; curing blindness in Myanmar; Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei.
› Tillie tries to protect Rose from her impulses on “My Mother and Other Strangers” on “Masterpiece” (8 p.m., PBS, TV-PG).
› Death in a factory on “Grantchester” on “Masterpiece” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-14).
› “The Nineties” (9 p.m., CNN) recalls candidate and president Bill Clinton.
› Angela rejoins the prosecution on “Power” (9 p.m., Starz, TV-MA).
› Critters turn on people in the new series “Human Prey” (10 p.m., Animal Planet, TV-PG).
› “The History of Comedy” (10 p.m., CNN) recalls the evolution of ethnic and racial humor.
› Eph finds new allies in Philadelphia as “The Strain” (10 p.m., FX, TV-MA) enters its fourth and final season.
Contact Kevin McDonough at kevin.tvguy@gmail.com.