"Thanksgiving is coming" ... 'Game of Thrones' fans have been getting into the Thanksgiving spirit on Twitter this week by creating a world of puns known as 'Game of Turkeys.'

Sadly, 'Game of Thrones' creator George R.R. Martin hasn't joined the fun as he is rather Twitter-averse, but his original words have given rise to some truly hilarious, clever and, at times, just plain weird word play.

From Ned Stark's "If you would take a turkey's life, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words," through Tyrion Lanister's "A Butterball ALWAYS pays his debts," to Jon Snow's "You baste them with the pointy end," homage is paid to all the classic 'Game of Thrones' lines. Enjoy!

The excitement surrounding 'Game of Thrones' Season 2 has been building recently with the news that HBO has set a premiere date.

Now it's been reported that another key piece of casting has been finalized. According to 'Entertainment Weekly,' the role of Wildling girl Ygritte has gone to 'Downton Abbey' actress Rose Leslie.

She played Lady Sybil's protégé, housemaid Gwen, in Season 1, at the end of which Gwen left Downton to work as a secretary.

And that's not all. Jon Snow's sword, the mighty Longclaw, will be making a cameo appearance on 'The Big Bang Theory,' and an NBC comedy will reference the HBO drama this week. Find out more after the jump!

All the pieces are falling into place for 'Game of Thrones' Season 2 ... More exciting news for fans as author George R.R. Martin makes two big announcements.

The fan favorite role of Brienne, Maid of Tarth has been cast. And, he's delivered the first draft of his 'Blackwater' episode to producers.

British actress Gwendoline Christie snagged the coveted role of Brienne after nailing her audition.

Martin had earlier given fans a teaser as to the identity of the actress, writing in his online journal that: "The she-wolf of France has stormed the barbican. The Aussie turned her into a bunny."

Martin said "This was another one of those cases where there was hardly any debate. The day the first batch of auditions went up for the role, we looked at a dozen actresses who were reading for Brienne and one actress who WAS Brienne."

On Sunday, television viewers will finally get to see what's inside George R.R. Martin's head. Some of the contents, anyway.

This weekend, HBO will finally debut the fantasy epic 'Game of Thrones.' It's based on a book Martin began working on two decades ago, the first in a projected seven-novel series that spins a complex tale of love, betrayal and danger in a world not unlike Medieval Europe.

Last January, I spoke to Martin during the Television Critics Association press tour, and the transcript of that chat is below. Of course, Martin has given lots of interviews since then, and in a conference call with reporters on Monday, he addressed, if only indirectly, the brouhaha over what he said about the ending of 'Lost.' A few tidbits from that conference call are below as well.

So what would happen if the Others waged war on Lord Eddard Stark? If you recognize those references, you probably already know about the beef between Damon Lindelof, one of the creators of 'Lost,' and George R.R. Martin, the man behind 'Game of Thrones.'

In the run-up to the April 17 debut of HBO's 'Game of Thrones,' a drama based on Martin's fantasy book series, Martin was profiled in The New Yorker, where he took some swipes at the ending of 'Lost,' saying he felt "cheated" by the finale, and in a Time interview, he likened it to a "turd on my doorstep."

'Lost' creator Damon Lindelof fired back on Twitter, saying, "I don't take issue with his opinion, I take issue with the fact that he coined 'Pulling a "Lost"' as empirically '[Screwing] up the ending." In an Entertainment Weekly interview, Lindelof called himself a fan of 'GoT,' which he's reading now, but added, "Look, 'Lost' is my baby, and you don't put baby in a corner."

It's a fascinating conflict, given the many similarities between 'Lost' and 'Game of Thrones.' But, all things considered, Martin's reaction to the finale of the ABC drama is not surprising.

HBO continues to prepare for a post Sopranos world. There has been a lot of talk about their upcoming shows lately, including adapting George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire, David Milch's John From Cincinnati, and the untitled Kanye West project. We can now add two more to that list.

The network has picked up a one-hour comedy from producer Linda Bloodworth-Thomason (Designing Women) called 12 Miles Of Bad Road. The show will star Lily Tomlin as the matriarch of a rich Texas family. Add in the family real estate business and a collection of relatives and hilarity will ensue, hopefully. The idea almost sounds like a Dallas spoof. With Tomlin on board, it will certainly be worth a look. Look for Gary Cole, Mary Kay Place, and Leslie Jordan to also appear.

Well, I didn't get my "Snowcrash" mini-series for Festivus, but there are now a trio of projects that make for a damn fine substitute. Kevin mentioned the other day that George Clooney and Sci Fi are adapting Neil Stephenson's "The Diamond Age" for the small screen. Now comes word from Variety that George R. R. Martin's epic "Song of Ice and Fire" series has found a home at HBO.

Martin is currently at work on book five of the seven book series with the network planning to adapt each book into one season of the show. The stories take place in the seven kingdoms of Westeros and chronicle the violent history of the politics of the land. It's often very dark and, if given the same kind of scope as HBO's Rome, has the potential to be an amazing series. The project will be executive produced by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. The plan is for Benioff and Weiss to write all the episodes each season, except one, which will be written by George R. R. Martin himself.