A Song of LEGO (Ice) and K'NEX (Fire)

The HBO series "Game of Thrones" features an exquisite opening title sequence, showing cities and settlements growing like clockwork toys from the landscape, using a slightly bizarre tilt-shift computer animation style. That title sequence is helpful in establishing a map of the roughly nine zillion core locations crucial to the story; unlike the "Song of Ice and Fire" books, we don't have a map to flip to whenever we need it.

In the second season of the HBO show, the opening sequence has been expanded slightly to focus on some new locations. In this two-minute video, Internet heroes "MatthewP" and Monica Garcia construct a LEGO/K'NEX stop-motion animation version of that opening sequence, focusing primarily on Harrenhall and Pyke, two new locations central to the second season of the show (though good old King's Landing gets a look in the beginning). Using stop-motion and a ton of LEGO bricks (plus some K'NEX), they do a credible job of emulating those credits -- and actually give Harrenhall a better treatment than HBO does. Let's hear it for nerds with time on their hands: