Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a Carrot

[Quatermass]

I don't really know any of the actors, TBH.

Hmm, Vetinari...well, he's already been played by the likes of Jeremy Irons and Charles Dance (the latter being arguably the best thing about the Going Postal adaptation). Personally, I'd go for Mark Gatiss. He does great villains and morally ambiguous types...

 

[simmonds91]

Sybil the vigilante is one thing but they are also mentioning that Cheery is non-binary, looking for an identity and ostracised by the dwarves, carcer was wronged and is on a mission of revenge against an unjust reality and Angua is the one training Carrot now.

None of this sits right with me.

 

[Dotsie]

Oh good lord. This is going to bring on a case of the vapours!

 

[RathDarkblade]

Sybil the vigilante is one thing but they are also mentioning that Cheery is non-binary, looking for an identity and ostracised by the dwarves, carcer was wronged and is on a mission of revenge against an unjust reality and Angua is the one training Carrot now.

None of this sits right with me.

I agree. Angua is training Carrot? Carcer is on a mission of vengeance? Cheery is ostracised by the dwarves? Unless they mean the grags, I'm confused.

And where are Nobby and Colon in all this? And where is the Dragon (the big one, not King of Arms)?

Oh, wait ... now it makes sense:

“The Watch will be a very BBC America show... we don’t go straight at an adaptation – we blur genres, undercut with humor, and hire the most genius writers and actors to create stories and characters that are both entertaining and very contemporary, that say something new...

The script ... is like nothing I have ever read before. It’s anarchic, it’s noisy and raspy ...

In other words, complete tosh.

Why why WHY do people feel they have to mess about with the books? If you're going to do G!G!, do G!G!. The character of the dragon is one of the best things in Terry's early writing (and IMO, one of the best things he wrote, period). It's not just a run-of-the-mill dragon; it has perception, depth. It argues morality with Lupine Wonse - and wins.

And where are the Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night? I'm confused.

On the other hand, since they have a Carcer, obviously they're going for a Night Watch. In that case, Cheery, Angua, Carrot and the rest have a very marginal role - so why announce them with so much fanfare?

Much better, I feel, to stick to the script and start with G!G!. Then, at least, you know you have a dedicated core of Discworld fans who will watch it, no matter what you do - and then you build your fanbase up from there. Instead of which, it looks like we're getting a mishmash of characters who do ... what, exactly? It doesn't seem to make much sense to me.

Please feel free to elucidate if you know any more about this plot ... I'm confused!

 

[Tonyblack]

Rath, this isn't an adaptation of Guards! Guards! - these are brand new stories based on Terry's characters and set on Discworld. Terry was very much involved in this project while he was still alive, so I have a little faith that the essence of the books will remain.

 

[simmonds91]

The amount of buzzwords in the article is really raising some red flags for me and now that Terry isn't around to tell them how to do this and that i think they'll happilly take adavantage of this world that was created and reshape it to their own desires, corrupting it for their greed. It's removing Death from Mort all over again. Though i suppose that's just my own cynical view of american producers talking, perhaps you're right tony, we only have these small little descriptions of some of the portrayals to go on after all, i'll try to reserve my judgement until we know more.

 

[=Tamar]

Rhianna Pratchett has made it clear that she has nothing to do with this. Somebody signed a contract without demanding creative control or paying attention to the fine print.
This is not building on the past as had previously been announced, it's screwing up a well-established past. Oh well, I knew the BBC would do their usual thing, I just didn't realize they had been infested by Hollywood as well. Saves me money and time.

 

[=Tamar]

P.S. I have since read a statement by Rhianna Pratchett that the original deal was made with a different subgroup of the BBC.
I am resigned to the idea that it won't be Pratchett, but it might be amusing anyway, despite the occasional random moment of similarity.

 

[RathDarkblade]

It's very sad that this won't be Pratchett. Any idea who made the original deal, or why? Where were the lawyers of Pterry's estate when the deal was made?

I'm also worried that people who know nothing (or very little) about the Discworld will be suckered in by this. It sounds like this is going to be one of those "COMING SOON ... BASED ON THE BEST-SELLING...." and so forth. GRR. Isn't there any way that we - or, at least, someone with the authority - can protect Terry's estate, or change this deal? Ugh.

(Sorry to appear so militant - I just don't like duplicity like calling it "The Watch" when it has nothing to do with the A-M Watch. GRR.)

P.S. Maybe we can have a Sergeant-Angua-As-Werewolf angry emoticon? "Angua bares her teeth", something like that.

 

[=Tamar]

A literary executor may mean well yet still be too trusting when dealing with one branch of a large corporation, especially when they have had a good previous experience. People who have dealt with hotels know that the person who makes the deal is usually not the one who is told to follow through, and they may be as close as Day Manager versus Night Manager. Contracts are tricky, too; the fine print they said is "just standard boilerplate" often gives them the right to do anything they want. (Never sign anything without having your own lawyer read it first.) The BBC had been trustworthy before, which is why this is a shock.

It's vanishingly rare for an author to have any input at all to a production. For decades, the advice was to take the money, close your eyes, grit your teeth and deny all connection. The late Harlan Ellison used to have it put in contracts that if he didn't like what they'd done when it was complete, the credits had to list him not as "Harlan Ellison" but as "Cordwainer Bird." It was a warning to his fans when that name appeared.
Given the history, we cannot heap enough praise on Neil Gaiman for having guided Good Omens. It took up all his time for several years. Rhianna has her own career to create.

They had permission to create new characters--that was the point of having the show start where the books left off. I just wish they'd changed the names when they changed everything else about the old characters. The best I'm hoping for at this point is a kind of alternate-universe fanfic. I'm keeping in mind that you can't really trust early reports, either.

 

[Dotsie]

The best I'm hoping for at this point is a kind of alternate-universe fanfic.

I should have read this post before posting in the other thread. I'm not copying, honest!

 

[=Tamar]

There's a lot of alternate-universe fanfic. It's an obvious concept to refer to, especially when discussing most TV-movie adaptations, when fanfic is the best you can hope for.

Sometimes it seems as though the producers are deliberately trying to destroy the original. I once read that the real reason most adaptations are so bad is that the producers are trying to prevent random nuisance lawsuits by being able to claim they got their "inspired-by" inspiration from a specific source, so they can deny having used anyone else's ideas. So they buy the rights to something remotely similar to what they want to do (on the level of "it has a castle in it"), and then use the title and throw everything else out.

 

[Dotsie]

I wonder what the response will be when George finally finishes writing GoT. "It's nothing like the TV series! "

 

[=Tamar]

Fans of GoT have had to deal with things being different for quite a while now, from what I hear. It shouldn't be too far off from the book, given that George gave the TV producers the word about how he intended it to end. From what I hear, they've "only" changed the meaningfulness of clothing colors, the political alignments, and most of the personality traits. Not into GoT myself. Too many other things to do.

 

[RathDarkblade]

I'll start watching Game of Thrones when I have the time. I've had too much on my plate for most of my adult life. Working (or trying to find work), finding time to write, rehearsing (and performing), uncling two nieces and a nephew, family stuff ... and creating videos (with meaningful content) when I have the time (ha).

Back to the Watch ...

Given the history, we cannot heap enough praise on Neil Gaiman for having guided Good Omens. It took up all his time for several years. Rhianna has her own career to create.

Absolutely. Kudos, kudos, and hear hear for Neil!

Speaking of crazy credits, I just loved Terry's credit - "Messed about with by Terry Pratchett". I can't remember if this was a film or a computer game, though - and which one. Darn it.

The best I'm hoping for at this point is a kind of alternate-universe fanfic.

You mean, like the later two of Peter Jackson's Hobbit films (i.e. "The Hobbit II: Smaug Strikes Back" and "The Hobbit III: Thorin Goes Bonkers")?

The first Hobbit movie was passable - well, pretty good. The other two ... ehh.

On the plus-side, at least he had a go at trying to make "The Hobbit" into a film that adults could enjoy, too. It's just too bad that he had to stick in so much garbage (and I'm not talking about the bird poo on Radagast's wig). =P

I'm keeping in mind that you can't really trust early reports, either.

I really, really hope you're right. *crosses fingers*