Review of Terry Pratchett`s Discworld

Introduction

Terry Pratchett, author of Discworld, has recently been in the press with an enormous dose of sour grapes about the success of Joanne Rowling and the Harry Potter Heptalogy (there, bet you didn`t know there was a word for it, did you?). He`s rightly miffed that the hacks of the daily press are describing Ms Rowling as the saviour of fantasy fiction - something he`s been doing unsung for decades.

You could compare Terry Pratchett with the late, great Douglas Adams (although he`d probably get shirty about that as well). Both writers have a gleeful disrespect for the po-facedness of traditional science fiction writing and a delight in the absurd. The key difference between the two is that Adams` work was squarely rooted in the shiny galaxies of space opera fantasy while Pratchett happily subverts Lord of the Rings territory. Another difference is that Terry Pratchett is a prolific author of his tales while Douglas Adams found writing his least favourite pastime and would do anything to avoid it.

The cornerstone of Pratchett`s work is his Discworld saga, set on a world balanced on the backs of four vast elephants balanced on the back of a vast, intergalactic turtle. Discworld is a Pythonesque, flat-Earth world of dwarves, elves, druids and other assorted Tolkienesque bods, all getting on each others` nerves.

In 1996, Channel Four (in association with ITEL and Ventureworld Films Ltd.) commissioned Dangermouse animators Cosgrove Hall to adapt Pratchett`s Discworld novels Soul Music and Wyrd Sisters for television. The full series is included on the discs of the set. Soul Music comprises seven twenty-six minute episodes, running a total of over three hours.

Think He-Man made by the Dangermouse gang and you`re halfway there. Voice characters include Christopher Lee (as Death - who else), Graham Crowden, Neil Morrissey, Bryan Pringle and (on Wyrd Sisters) Jane Horrocks, June Whitfield and Eleanor Bron.

Death (as in the Grim Reaper) is one of the central characters of the Discworld saga. A sensitive sort with an incredible memory, who rides a horse called Binky, in Soul Music he is drinking to forget having to "process" his adopted daughter. As a result, his granddaughter Susan has to take on the family responsibilities. Meanwhile, Rock Music is coming to Discworld.

The animation is strictly second-banana in this adaptation. You really have to listen to the dialogue, as that`s where the genius of Pratchett`s writing (and Martin Jameson`s adaptation) lies. Wry, wittily absurdist, it`s a very British style and the series carries it off in spite of losing the prose that matches the dialogue.

Video

The series is presented in its original 4:3. The transfer is sharp and free of digital or film artefacts. Colours are vivid, and while the animation is frequently technically underwhelming, the whole enterprise is great fun and an excellent introduction to the warped world of Terry Pratchett.

Audio

The sound is very plain vanilla Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo

Features

There`s a 30 minute interview with Terry Pratchett from 1997 that goes into the background of the stories. There`s the Discworld Pilot, lasting 7½ minutes which gives you all the information you need to know about Discworld before you start. Storyboards, a Terry Pratchett textual biography, text comments (listed as biographies) of the main characters in the story and a set of text filmographies of the main voice talents. Rounding off is a list of the Discworld books in order of publication.

Conclusion

Terry Pratchett`s writing can be an acquired taste. If you get him, he`s absolutely hysterical, if you don`t, well, you probably won`t like this set. As a primer to the world of Ankh-Morpork, you can`t get better than this.

Animators Cosgrove-Hall have pulled out the stops making a version of Pratchett`s work that the author himself approves of (quite a feat), and this adaptation carries all the typical Pratchett touches of whimsy, subversion and gleeful irreverence for its genre.