George R.R. Martin’s ‘Doorways’ failed so that ‘Game of Thrones’ could fly

Not a lot of writers, especially in the fantasy genre, achieve the level of fame that coveted author George R. R. Martin has in his lifetime. However, as they say, life is not a bed of roses, and it certainly wasn’t one for Martin. Before the success of Game of Thrones, he had to face several defeats, and the very last of them made him take a break from writing for TV, and come up with the magnum opus of his life.

George R. R. Martin’s ‘Doorways’ drama

Martin has been in the TV industry for decades, and he has seen all the ups and downs of it. Back in 1991, ABC had picked up Martin’s “The Lonely Songs of Laren Dorr”, a short story about a girl who could travel between worlds, to turn it into a TV show called ‘Doorways’. However, due to a change in ABC’s executive lineup, it was scrapped even after filming a 90-minute pilot. Martin disclosed on his blog, Not A Blog:

“The new guys passed on DOORWAYS. We tried to sell it to the other networks, of course, but there were only four back then, and it was a rare thing when any of them bought a show developed by a competitor. They all preferred home cooking.”

The failure with ‘Doorways’ gave rise to ‘Game of Thrones’

Martin went on to admit if Doorways hadn’t been canceled, he wouldn’t have started on Game of Thrones:

“If DOORWAYS had been ordered to series… well, maybe it would have been cancelled after nine episodes, or maybe it would have run for nine seasons… television is a crapshoot at the best of times. The only thing that’s certain is that my life, and career, would have been very different. So maybe it all worked out for the best. A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE and the world of Westeros is what I will be remembered for, if indeed I am remembered at all.”

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