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The Hogfather
There were parts I loved - "Out of Cheese Error" FANTASTIC! And a couple more that escape me right now. I really liked a lot of the characters, Susan in particular. But there were times I found it a bit dull. Maybe it was the pacing? Although some of the jokes fell flat with me.
I get the very distinct feeling that it's a bit like HHGG: it's great in book form, but loses something when it goes to the screen. I'm guessing on this - I've never read the book.
I didn't hate it by any means, but I wandered off so many times. Also, it seemed like Marc Warren basically copied Johnny Depp's version of Willy Wonka, which distracted me every single time he was on the screen.
I have a feeling that with the writer's strike still going, I'm going to be watching a lot of British TV in the near future. One of these days I *will* check out Life on Mars. Not right now, though. I want to watch it when I can actually pay attention instead of being distracted by DW.
I get the very distinct feeling that it's a bit like HHGG: it's great in book form, but loses something when it goes to the screen. I'm guessing on this - I've never read the book.
I didn't hate it by any means, but I wandered off so many times. Also, it seemed like Marc Warren basically copied Johnny Depp's version of Willy Wonka, which distracted me every single time he was on the screen.
I have a feeling that with the writer's strike still going, I'm going to be watching a lot of British TV in the near future. One of these days I *will* check out Life on Mars. Not right now, though. I want to watch it when I can actually pay attention instead of being distracted by DW.
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So I'm guessing you've scheduled the fall of 2011 for Life on Mars? :-)
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They've honestly tried to be as faithful as they could possibly be and Terry Pratchett himself futzed with the script to make sure they didn't screw anything up but still it's missing *something*.
Marc Warren's Teatime was the one thing that really got on my nerves though.
Not at all how I imagined him from the book but that might be because I've read it at least 5 times through, know it backwards and love it to pieces and thus a tv version was always going to drive me batty.
Possibly the biggest problem is that Discworld is a universe that makes more sense and means more the more of the books you've read.
Hogfather is quite late on as a starting point.
...I think I've rambled enough now. ::cough::
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Oh, whoops! *changes*
They've honestly tried to be as faithful as they could possibly be and Terry Pratchett himself futzed with the script to make sure they didn't screw anything up but still it's missing *something*.
I think I want to blame the pacing of it.
Marc Warren's Teatime was the one thing that really got on my nerves though.
Not at all how I imagined him from the book but that might be because I've read it at least 5 times through, know it backwards and love it to pieces and thus a tv version was always going to drive me batty.
Yeah, that's always a problem as well - not really matching up to what the readers had expected when they read it.
Possibly the biggest problem is that Discworld is a universe that makes more sense and means more the more of the books you've read.
Hogfather is quite late on as a starting point.
*nods* I've heard of the series, and kinda had a feeling this might have been the case.
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Sounds about right. Hogfather is quite a long book to condense down like that and previous (animated) attempts at adapating Discworld novels were at least 6 episodes long when they attempted to follow the book absolutely.
Hogfather is book 20 of a to date 31 book series.
It's better if you know Death and Susan's backstory for starters. There's another 3 books prior to this about one or both of them (and 1 more since) and Hogfather is very definately *their* story.
I think they chose it purely because it's the 'Christmas' themed one.
I could go on all night. ::looks sheepish:: Discworld is my biggest geek love.
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Although Reaper Man I find is fairly optional and not at all one of my favorites.
You *can* pick up and dip into Discworld like that it just as a whole starts to make more sense as you read more of the books.
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HA! Thank god I was not the only who thought this.
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The (movie? miniseries?) wasn't the best book to screen adaptation ever, but it certainly wasn't the worst, either.
I HATED the guy who did Teatime. He completely copied Johnny Depp's Willy Wonka. I felt like muting him whenever he spoke.
I also didn't like that they highlighted David Jason so much. His part was actually for a relatively minor character, but as he's such a huge star in the UK he got expanded scenes and is front and centre in all the artwork. Nothing against him and his performance, but his screen time could have been put to better use in the adaptation.
Discworld is definatly a series that you need to delve into full blast. You get so much more out of it when you know the full background stories of all the background characters who cameo. And Death and Susan's backgrounds are very important, too. It's also a series where the books get funnier each time you read them, because Pterry references real life in his books and the more you learn about our world, the more jokes you understand! Understanding of British culture does help in getting every last joke, mind you!
I am also someone who should not be allowed to geek out over Pterry.If you do every decide to read the books, I recommend Mort (the first of the Death character books) as a starting point. Read them chronologically from that point and read the first few books when you are fully addicted to the series (they take a little getting into). If you don't have time to read all of them, I recommend the Death Books, the Lancre Witches Books and (my favourites) the City Watch Books. Wikipedia has a list of which books fit into which character series.
Also, if Discworld really is too much to get into, you have to read Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. It is pure gleeful perfection in printed form.
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Woe to you and your crappy library!
(That's where I get all my Pratchett Audiobooks. Admittedly, my local only has six that are downloadable, but Thief of Time is in there. LOVE THAT BOOK SO HARD.)
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I thought the Sky version was quite convincing - it certainly had the right tone.
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At first I was intrigued by the character - when he suddenly appeared in the office at the beginning. But it quickly turned into Willy Wonka time.
Discworld is definatly a series that you need to delve into full blast. You get so much more out of it when you know the full background stories of all the background characters who cameo. And Death and Susan's backgrounds are very important, too. It's also a series where the books get funnier each time you read them, because Pterry references real life in his books and the more you learn about our world, the more jokes you understand! Understanding of British culture does help in getting every last joke, mind you!
Yeah, from what I know about it, it's an extremely rich universe, and so for someone like me, any kind of insider reference is completely lost.
If you do every decide to read the books, I recommend Mort (the first of the Death character books) as a starting point. Read them chronologically from that point and read the first few books when you are fully addicted to the series (they take a little getting into). If you don't have time to read all of them, I recommend the Death Books, the Lancre Witches Books and (my favourites) the City Watch Books. Wikipedia has a list of which books fit into which character series.
Death was a very interesting character to me in this - in general. There were a couple of times he came across as slow, when it was probably meant to be more him not really understanding humans.
Also, if Discworld really is too much to get into, you have to read Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. It is pure gleeful perfection in printed form.
I got that for my birthday! I started reading it before Christmas, but I got distracted with other stuff. What I've read so far was really good.
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(Also, JOJO! HI!)
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It is best to start at the beginning of a character arc, however. Like, Mort for the DEATH arc, Going Postal for Moist Von Lipwig, Equal Rites for the witches, etc.
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But, I do know what Life on Mars is, and I just came here to say one thing:
JOOOOHHHHHNNNNNNNNNNNNNN SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMMMMMMMMMMM!!!
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