I could get past the looks, as that's sort of a personal vision sort of thing and they did make some effort (bright blue eyes, etc). What really disappointed me was their big reveal. The thing that made the others so scary in the books was the mystery surrounding them. Who were they, WHAT were they, where did they come from, what did they want, etc. They were one of the few true magical elements in Martin's world; they were the wildcard that balanced the petty squabbling of the kings.

...and now the show has gone and trivialized all of that. Was anyone who watched the episode remotely afraid of the Others? They've been made out to be nothing more than a horde of B-movie zombies. We've seen large numbers of them in broad daylight marching on the wall. They may still end up doing cool stuff, but they've been reduced to just another army. Maybe this army has Magic Stuffs, but they're no longer the mysterious otherworldly force that they were in the books. They're just a known quantity with different weapons.