Record numbers of viewers watched the final episode, despite the spectacular epic not airing in China. Fans around the globe may have already seen key plot points, not due to Chinese hackers as one might imagine, but as the diligent “leaking” of a Spanish gastro surgeon, part-time screenwriter – Dr. José Señarís Romay.
Castle mailbox at home of George RR Martin
Frikidoctor – Spanish slang for Dr. Geek – regularly posted YouTube videos describing storylines and plot twists. Even HBO attorneys tried, without success, to prevent the good doctor from spoiling the episodes. In the end, HBO must have decided the free YouTube advertising was good as they stopped haranguing him.
With the fanfare of the grand finale of this special effects filled epic, we hunted down the house of Santa Fe author, George R.R. Martin, whose book, A Song of Ice and Fire, formed the basis of the show and its characters. We expected to find a sprawling house, rivaling the homes of other famous people, such as the late Georgia O’Keefe’s Sol y Sombra (later the home of Microsoft co-founder, the late Paul Allen), or Val Kilmer’s pueblo-style home in the hills overlooking Santa Fe.
Instead, we were surprised to find a castle in a very modest neighborhood. Not the kind of castle to live in. No, the castle was the size of a small dollhouse covering the author’s curbside mailbox, where the postman must pull down the drawbridge to insert the mail. Beyond the mailbox stood Mr. Martin’s home – what appears to be a typical New Mexican stuccoed structure, but is presumably quite elaborate with several floors once inside. He also owns the house across the street which houses his office and book collection.
