Sunday, Sunday

Tonight, the penultimate Game Of Thrones, "The Watchers Of The Wall."  I'm sure the producers are pleased to discover they are now, officially, the biggest hit ever on HBO, surpassing even The Sopranos--once you include all viewers who get HBO in every way. (Is it a better show?  I'd say probably not, but it's hard to compare--while I have no trouble saying GOT is better than Rome and The Sopranos is better than Boardwalk Empire.) In fact, the number of people who watch the show over the week is larger than watch most network shows.

Are the actors as happy?  I'd guess so.  But can they leverage it?  The negotiations for James Gandolfini to come back to The Sopranos were monumental, and he got plenty.  But can anyone try to pull that on GOT?

They're pretty much off the books and into their own plot by now, so anyone can buy it.  This is a gigantic ensemble.  Even the biggest characters aren't sure to turn up on any given episode.  And while some characters--Tyrion, Arya, Daenerys, etc.--are fan favorites, they're still all cogs, and there's no keystone. (There may have been a keystone in the first season, but they killed him.)

So life will go on in Game Of Thrones. Or maybe it won't.

PS Tonight is the Tonys.  One play with five nominations is James Lapine's adaptation of Moss Hart's theatrical memoir Act One, which features Tony Shalhoub, Santino Fontana and Andrea Martin.

The play has been taped and will be shown on Live At Lincoln Center, though no date has been set. I'll definitely be watching.  Not because it's supposed to be so wonderful--the reviews were mixed--but because the book is so delightful (as the millions who have read it know). But it's also a story that goes all over the place, and I'm eager to see how Lapine manages to hold it all together.