Flame On!

Our favourite screen dragons – dissected.

- Lav Nandlall

Every good story has a dragon (or three) in it these days. As JRR Tolkien, author of The Hobbit said, “It simply isn’t an adventure worth telling if there aren’t any dragons.” The fire-spewing flying beasts come in all shapes, sizes and temperaments. If you have Showmax, you’ll know the many types of dragons: cute, kidfriendly versions on Mike The Knight (2011-2013), evil serpent Smaug in The Hobbit: Desolation Of Smaug (2013), or the (only slightly) more tractable beasts of Game Of Thrones (2011-current). Here’s our list of favourite TV dragons:

THE SNARKY WYRM

Far over the misty mountains cold, Smaug protects a pile of shiny stolen gold in The Hobbit. He stole it from the Erebor dwarves, and they want their loot back – as well as their mountain castle. So they have to defeat the huge, snarky, fearsome wyrm (aka a snakelike dragon). The dwarves rally allies and devise a plan to kill the wyrm, but Smaug’s been preparing for the return of the dwarf king…

MOTHER’S BABIES