Forget the Boltons, Freys, Tyrells, Martells, and the Iron Born, Game of Thrones was originally intended to be a historical series based heavily on the War of the Roses and rumours suggest Martin had to be convinced to drop dragons and a host of other fantasy elements into the original plot. The show was intended to be a straight shoot-out between the Starks and Lannisters, while young Joffrey 'Baratheon' held the throne. This isn't a case of a storyline being dropped (more like a hundred more plots being added) but to flesh out a trilogy of Stark vs. Lannister, there'd have to be some crazy moments that will never make it to the books or screen now.