July 20 through September 28: ROME
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This HBO-produced was the perfect predecessor to Game of Thrones: epic scope with a sprawling cast of characters, and gobs of intrigue. Also look for Ciaran Hinds (Mance Rayder) as Julius Caesar. (Spoiler alert: he dies.)
To make it through the whole series (22 episodes), you'll have to watch two episodes per Sunday.
October 5: LAST ACTION HERO
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By now you'll probably want a light-hearted change of pace, so watch this unfairly derided 1993 action-comedy. It's hard to imagine an action movie with a better resume – starring Schwarzenegger in his prime, directed by John McTiernan (Die Hard), written by Shane Black (Lethal Weapon) – but you'll appreciate it because the villain is none other than Charles "Tywin" Dance.
October 12: TWILIGHT ZONE
As we get into Halloween, a few scares might be appropriate. Series author George R.R. Martin cut his teeth as a young writer working on the 80s Twilight Zone, so watch a couple of his episodes: "The Once and Future King" and "The Last Defender of Camelot" (see below) seem the most appropriate.
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October 19: BLACK DEATH
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This 2010 film features future Thrones stars Sean Bean and Carice "Red Lady" van Houten in a dark medieval tale about the bubonic plague. One of them dies at the end and the other is a crazy cult leader. (I won't spoil which is which.)
October 26: MAMA
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What better way to celebrate Halloween than with this chilling, endearing ghost story? And it stars Nikolaj Coster-Waldau nonetheless. He plays his own twin – but don’t worry, there’s no twincest between the two. (I think he doesn’t want to be typecast.)
November 2 and 9: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
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If you wanted to just find another sci-fi/fantasy series to binge, Battlestar is perfect: epic scale, huge cast of morally ambiguous characters, and more betrayals than you can shake a Cylon detector at. Lee Adama is a perfect Robb Stark surrogate, and Gaius Baltar would make a great Maester (though he might have some problems with some of his vows).
If you haven’t seen it already, just watch the mini-series/pilot. If you have, pick a highlight from the series four-season run, such as the two-parter “Kobol’s Last Gleaming.”
November 16: TROY
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This dramatic retelling of Trojan War was a bit underwhelming to US audiences (who in 2004 were disappointed by the lack of hobbits in the film), but its tone is perfect for this post-Game of Thrones world: heavy on action and intrigue, but light on fantasy.
The movie also features Thrones actors Sean Bean, Julian “Pycelle” Glover, and James “Old Bear” Cosmo, and the screenplay was written by series co-creator David Benioff.
November 23: CHARLIE BROWN THANKSGIVING
November 30: ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE
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So remember that scene where Queen of Thorns describes herself as “very good” in her youth? Well this movie, where actress Diana Rigg wins over James Bond – to the point that he marries her! – is the best example of that we have on film.
It’s not the most beloved of the Bond franchise, but the film, celebrating its 45 anniversary this winter, is still worth a watch.
December 7: GOLDENEYE
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If you’re still the mood for Bond (and they usually come out November/December, so now’s the perfect time), continue to GoldenEye, which co-stars Sean Bean. Has there ever been an event more similar to the War of Five Kings than the post-Cold War 90s? Well, yes, the War of the Roses … but that’s boring compared to this.
December 14: ELF
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A modern classic, Elf features an extended cameo by Peter Dinklage. After watching this, you’ll want every scene with Tyrion to feature the phrase, “He’s an angry elf!”
December 21: THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE
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CS Lewis is a pretty fitting way to celebrate Christmas. And this film is perfect with James “The Old Bear” Cosmo as Father Christmas, showering our heroes with presents that bring an end to winter. Though the next time you watch the show, you’ll wish he could just use his Father Christmas powers on White Walkers.
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If you’d prefer something a little less saccharin, watch The Dark Knight Rises, which features the guy who killed The Old Bear. (Note: he does not say “foooking” as much.)
December 28: MAN FOR ALL SEASONS
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Now there may be some parents in town at this point, so if you want to watch something a bit older, this is the week to do it. This film is about one man of irrefutable integrity refusing to compromise his principles even when cold, hard logic demands it. Afterwards though you’ll wish John Hurt was playing Littlefinger.
January 11 through March 1: JOHN ADAMS
If you like stories about diminutive, cunning statesmen who don't get the credit they deserve, spend the next seven Sundays with HBO's John Adams series. Among the most celebrated mini-series in history, Adams shows the first 50 years of American history from the perspective of its least-liked Founding Father.
It also features Stannis Baratheon as Thomas Jefferson.
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FEBRUARY 15: That 30 Rock with Peter Dinklage
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… but take a week off for Valentine’s Day to watch that 30 Rock where Peter Dinklage dates Liz Lemon. (If they’d cast Tina Fey as Shae I wouldn’t have found the character anywhere near so difficult to watch.) Not that this is only a half-hour, so supplement it with that Futurama with Khaleesi and the Always Sunny in Philadelphia written by D&D.
March 8: IRON MAN
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OK this one is a bit of a cheat, but at this point, a lot of people (cough me cough) are going to be way more excited about Avengers 2 than GoT Season 5. What better way to prepare for that than with the film that started the Marvel Cinematic Universe – a film which was, incidentally, scored by Game of Thrones composer Ramin Djawad.
March 15: 300
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While we’re still in comic book territory, spend this Sunday evening with 300. It’s way more grandiose than, say, the Night’s Watch’s battle for The Wall at the end of season 4 -- so the film doesn’t remotely have the tone of an episode of GoT, but Lena “Cersei” Headey stars as the heroine (!).
March 22: DREDD
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Also based on a comic, this one about a post-apocalyptic metropolitan nightmare may be more what Thrones fans are accustomed to seeing. (And Headey is the bad guy this time – she’s like Cersei, Ramsay Bolton, and those Wildling cannibals all rolled into one.)
March 29: EMERGENCY AWESOME
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OK at this point Season 5 will be about to start, so just spend an hour or so watching clips about Game of Thrones on YouTube channel Emergency Awesome. Its host Charlie is casual and unassuming, the future of nerds on the Internet. His theories about Westeros are well-thought out and informative, and he’s very good about spoiler warnings.
April 5: Season 5!
OK we don't have an exact date yet, but it's reasonable to assume this is it. Sit back and enjoy!
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