..Game of Thrones triumphed not because it contrasted with mainstream fare but because it complemented it. So far, TV is unable to unseat cinema for sheer spectacle — although "Blackwater" and even some establishing shots in this Sunday's premiere have come close. But what makes it a viable medium is its ability to tell long-form stories, to build worlds, not merely threaten them with destruction. David Benioff's initial pitch was for "The Sopranos in Middle Earth," and that's exactly what he's delivered, a widescreen epic as unafraid of nuance and depth as it is of nudity and gore. Interestingly, it's due to a lack of interest in the former that The Walking Dead — Thrones's closest comparison in terms of attempted TV fan service and sprawling source material — fails. It turns out a zombie apocalypse actually works better on film, where a savvy storyteller can focus on the immediate horror, not the slow, stumbling denouement...