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A new deal has been inked to adapt the Discworld series of novels, potentially all of them. Unlike the crappy-bootleg-lookin' "inspired by" knockoff version of The Watch that's coming from BBC America, those involved with this new attempt are adamant they will be remaining "absolutely faithful" to the original works. Of particular interest I thought was Rhianna Pratchett's comment, which could be read as(but isn't necessarily) a bit of a swipe at the aforementioned Watch show & its makers:

“Discworld teems with unique characters, witty narrative and incredible literary tropes, and we feel these should be realised on screen in a form that my father would be proud of. It’s wonderful to embark on this journey with Motive and Endeavor Content, who both perfectly share our vision to make this a reality.”

I can't say I'm optimistic, per se, The Watch was enough of a disappointment that I'll be firmly in wait & see mode for this one, but the initial rhetoric is at least promising.

With both Rhianna Pratchett and Rob Wilkins are listed as being involved this time. There is more hope with this one than The Watch.

"Why...that's Death! Ohhhh we just threw him in the river!"

Always up for a discworld show, even though I've not read any of the books. I personally have a soft spot for the Cosgrove Hall animations but would welcome more "refined" live actions versions of Soul Music and Wyrd Sisters, all the same.

So long as its on BBC iPlayer, and its an enjoyable show in its own right, I'm happy to give The Watch a butchers.

I’m hopeful.

Whilst I’m open to The Watch actually being a good show, it’s just not going to be Discworld. It’s rare I’m any kind of gate keepery purist, but man. The set reveals pushed my buttons in all the wrong ways.

 Yodhrin wrote:

I can't say I'm optimistic, per se, The Watch was enough of a disappointment that I'll be firmly in wait & see mode for this one, but the initial rhetoric is at least promising.

Interesting tense, there.

I'll give any Discworld movie or show a punt, and am happy for them to be inspired by rather than faithful appropriations of characters - I didn't really enjoy any of the ones made whilst Pterry was alive. I don't think they're books that really lend themselves to being filmed. The world really does, though...

I also haven't been bowled over by Discworld shows you date. It really does seem the written word is the best medium for it. Having said that I'm more than willing to give 'The Watch' a go. Early photos are not really a fair measure.

The best adaptations are the really old cartoons which are very faithful to the original material. They show that it does work in the visual format, you just need a director and team willing to actually follow the original material itself. OF course those productions suffered from exceptionally "flat" and dull voice acting, so they are not outstanding productions. But they are faithful!

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
I’m hopeful.

Whilst I’m open to The Watch actually being a good show, it’s just not going to be Discworld. It’s rare I’m any kind of gate keepery purist, but man. The set reveals pushed my buttons in all the wrong ways.

Agreed fully. It might be good but its not in any way proper Discworld. It's one of those "I wanted to make X so I got Y IP to get the budget so I could make X"



Though personally I don't think any adaptation that isn't animated cartoon is going to fail in my eyes - the hustle and bustle of mad discworld is just so ripe for cartoon over real live acting. Or at least it requires so much CGI that you've likely got 1 person standing there for every 20 or more CGI characters and elements. Many of the live action adaptations we've seen thus far (including Hog Father which I did enjoy and does actually work with a smaller visual cast since much of it happens at night as opposed to the busy day); tend to feel rather weak in the visual department. Then again they have that "Made on the BBC Dr Who budget" feel to them so are likely limited in what they can practically achieve. So they work better with some stories over others.



I hope this one works, Discworld is such a rich and fantastic setting.

I really enjoyed Hogfather and others on Sky - so interested to see where this goes.

nfe wrote:

 Yodhrin wrote:

I can't say I'm optimistic, per se, The Watch was enough of a disappointment that I'll be firmly in wait & see mode for this one, but the initial rhetoric is at least promising.

Interesting tense, there.

Not really, it's already revealed everything necessary to determine it won't be something I'm interested in, in the same way I don't actually need to eat a dog turd to know I wouldn't enjoy the experience.

I'll give any Discworld movie or show a punt, and am happy for them to be inspired by rather than faithful appropriations of characters - I didn't really enjoy any of the ones made whilst Pterry was alive. I don't think they're books that really lend themselves to being filmed. The world really does, though...

Strongly disagree. As Overread says, we know it's filmable because it already has been filmed, just not in Peak TV quality as presumably these will be. And for me, the world and the books are functionally the same - it's Pterry's stories, his dialogue, his prose, his characterizations that make Discworld something other than dime-a-dozen fantasy, and frankly I've not seen much evidence of late that any TV writers rooms have even a fraction of the necessary talent and wit required to write something new that would equal them.

With the right showrunner and the correct attitude, they might be able manage translating already-good stories & characters into a new medium though, so hopefully they stick to that.

Overread wrote:They show that it does work in the visual format, you just need a director and team willing to actually follow the original material itself.

Yodhrin wrote:With the right showrunner and the correct attitude, they might be able manage translating already-good stories & characters into a new medium though, so hopefully they stick to that.

But but but you have to muck about with character personalities and essential themes and pivotal moments and say things like 'necessary changes' and 'purist fanboy' and 'Tom Bombadil' whenever someone says "hey waitaminnit"! It's the law!

If they can apply the same level of care that they did to Good Omens, then I'm hopeful of a decent showing.

I'm also fairly sure that the "inspired by" Watch series will suffer the same fate as the American version of Red Dwarf. If you mess about with the original formula too much, you end up with something entirely different, and just wrong.

 Overread wrote:
The best adaptations are the really old cartoons which are very faithful to the original material. They show that it does work in the visual format, you just need a director and team willing to actually follow the original material itself. OF course those productions suffered from exceptionally "flat" and dull voice acting, so they are not outstanding productions. But they are faithful!

Can't agree. I thought both Soul Music and Wyrd Sisters were unwatchable. I even went back to them recently when I was thinking of stuff I might like to watch with my son and I thought I'd kinda see them like the old Disney Robin Hoon, where it's really flat and half-hearted but at least has bags of nostalgic charm. But no, nothing.

 r_squared wrote:
If they can apply the same level of care that they did to Good Omens, then I'm hopeful of a decent showing.

I'm also fairly sure that the "inspired by" Watch series will suffer the same fate as the American version of Red Dwarf. If you mess about with the original formula too much, you end up with something entirely different, and just wrong.

This.

And as Yodhrin said, it’s Terry’s prose that sells the books.

Each is a solid Fantasy novel - but also serves as a modern parable, without getting outright preachy. I’m not aware of any other writer in the same ballpark.

So there’s a definite risk to putting them up on screen - and I feel that modern TV budgets are the way to go. With a two or three hour film? You got to make plot cuts. Of course you do. With TV? Not so much at all. Be it a miniseries, or a 10 episode show, with seasons akin to AHS? Far, far better.

And seriously.....DO NOT MESS AROUND WITH OR ‘REIMAGINE’ ANY OF THE CHARACTERS. DO NOT ALTER OR REJIG THE TIMELINE. Yes, I’m looking at you, The Watch. You may very well turn out to be a solid show. But Discworld you are not.

nfe wrote:

 Overread wrote:
The best adaptations are the really old cartoons which are very faithful to the original material. They show that it does work in the visual format, you just need a director and team willing to actually follow the original material itself. OF course those productions suffered from exceptionally "flat" and dull voice acting, so they are not outstanding productions. But they are faithful!

Can't agree. I thought both Soul Music and Wyrd Sisters were unwatchable. I even went back to them recently when I was thinking of stuff I might like to watch with my son and I thought I'd kinda see them like the old Disney Robin Hoon, where it's really flat and half-hearted but at least has bags of nostalgic charm. But no, nothing.

They aren't unwatchable, but I agree that the production of them in voice acting is very very flat. Animation isn't bad for its day and for a smaller studio; but the voice acting is where it lets itself down. The actual character designs and sets are pretty Discworld - albeit they need more bustle and more characters in many of the more public scenes, but again that's a limit of the budget animation. To me they show that a visual and faithful representation works in practice; it just needs a few minor tweaks (not major) and voice actors of good skill to carry it forward.

Personally I'd like an animated adaptation of the Bromeliad Trilogy. Those books are so good, up there as some of my favourite of Terry's work. As an example, his description of the Abbot of the Stationeri, a very old nome is: "His face wasn't just wrinkled, it was one big wrinkle". Such a short description but creates such a vivid picture in my mind.

And each book I'd say is the perfect length for a feature film adaptation.

Truckers: Getting onto lorry -> Flashback to the decline of the nomes -> arrive at the store, meet Angelo, establish the store society -> Wander around under the floor for a bit, The Thing awakens, meet Dorcas -> Learn about the imminent destruction of The Store from The Thing, see Dorcas' "inventions" -> Go to see the Stationeri, meet Gurder -> Journey up to Consumer Accounts -> showdown with Prices Slashed, find the written proof of destruction of The Store -> Abbot's funeral, big meeting set the plan to leave in motion -> Angelo leaves on the Lorry, doesn't come back, his father joins the cause -> Angelo returns, the underfloor begins to be destroyed -> plan to escape is put into action, "Woooomph" -> Truck escape sequence -> Arrive at the Quarry, montage of setting up new home, fade to black with Masklin watching the planes fly overhead and Dorcas' line "Shouldn't be too hard to drive, they only have three wheels" -> Credits roll -> after credits sequence of Dorcas finding something in a shed in the quarry

 A Town Called Malus wrote:
Personally I'd like an animated adaptation of the Bromeliad Trilogy. Those books are so good, up there as some of my favourite of Terry's work.

While Branson is still around, anyway

You do know they did this, though?
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105646/

 Skinnereal wrote:

 A Town Called Malus wrote:
Personally I'd like an animated adaptation of the Bromeliad Trilogy. Those books are so good, up there as some of my favourite of Terry's work.

While Branson is still around, anyway

He'd have to be "Grandson Richard, 69" now though

Well, he would in a live action, I suppose if we're just using his voice it would be fine