Les contes du disque-monde

I've grown up on Discworld. Where do I start with this absolutely perfect adaptation? The spot-on casting - Susan, Death, Albert, Nobby Nobbs, Ponder Stibbons, all brought to life wonderfully. The faithfulness to the story - keeping it at nearly 4 hours to ensure the minimum amount of cutting. The perfect locations - Death's Domain, Unseen University, the Tooth Fairy's castle, all brilliant! I'm so glad Pratchett let them do this, and I can only hope and pray that they continue - let's see The Last Continent, Jingo, Maskerade, Reaper Man, Small Gods!

If I have one tiny, insignificant complaint, it's that we didn't see Ankh-Morpork in all its bustling, grimy glory - no shots of the River Ankh, marketplaces awash with grubby punters and, of course, Cut Me Own Throat Dibbler! But I will say this - Sky One, Vladim Jean and the rest involved did a wonderful job on such a small budget, and gave us a far better and more faithful adaptation than Hollywood could ever have mustered.

Full marks, it really gave me a buzz in the Christmas season. 10/10 for making a Pterry geek very happy indeed! :-)

It's that time of the year again... Hogswatch. It bears a lot of similarities to your Christmas. However, The Hogfather(Santa) is being attacked. Death takes up his job, and we also follow a school of wizards... and these take up a lot of time and leave to relatively little pay-off. Then again, it is fun to see the odd gang of criminals(led by Mr. Teatime... pronounced Te-ah-tim-eh) undertake a creative plan to take care of the symbol of the end-of-the-year Christian celebration. You have probably figured out by now that this is set on Discworld(a disc-shaped planet carried by four elephants atop a turtle floating through outer space), Terry Pratchett's famous universe. I have not read much by him, but it was enough to know that imitating his writing style is impossible. It's far too literary. What they have done here is a good solution to this issue, and the humor(with sharp wit), quirk and commentary is largely intact. I have already touched upon the biggest problem with this... the pace is drab, and unless you *love* the comedy(with cleverness, silly stuff, verbal material and in general a "realistic" interpretation of a world with magic, complete with bureaucracy), you will not watch all three hours of this(even if the first of the two episodes do end with a cliffhanger). There are annoying characters, many jokes do not work and the FX range(the Grim Reaper's face is just a mask(the mouth doesn't even move!) and CGI is OK). The sets are nice. There is a dark tone, and bizarre and creepy instances in some of this. This has memorable bits as well, such as a computer run by ants and hamsters running in wheels. What I enjoyed the most about this was the exploration of faith and hope. This is a running theme, and the moral of this is smart and well-delivered. I personally found it worth the investment of time, but if you aren't interested in philosophy and religion, you may not. There is disturbing content and a little moderate language in this. I recommend this to fans of the author of the books. 7/10

A very silly festive fairytale for children of all ages, with a no-nonsense (in the primmest, properest sense of the word), kick-ass heroine, set in a world that looks remarkably like ours, in a thaumaturgical, Victorian Gothic kind of way, considering it's actually a disc balanced on some elephants, which are balanced on a turtle.

'Tis the night before Hogswatch - a solar festival not dissimilar from our Christmas. But where is the Hogfather to deliver the presents? What on earth is Death doing? Just how DO you subdue the monsters in the basement with a poker? Not to mention those in the Tooth Fairy's castle. Who has been naughty and who has been nice? And can Susan save the Hogfather before it's too late? Like all the best 'children's' stories, there are a slew of adult jokes - from Ian Richardson's asides about House of Cards, to the 'Ant hill Inside' ('Intel Inside') visual jokes on the, er, 'computer' - modernity is folded subtly into this wonderfully alternate world of yore.

Good performances from the famous faces, but it is Michelle Dockery as Susan who is the highly pragmatic, utterly bewitching star of the show.

There are some nice unpatronising ruminations on the nature of belief, myth, right and wrong for those who like a moral but not entirely Christian worldview.

So - who's up for a bit of magic and believing?

As a dedicated follower of the Discworld, I awaited The Hogfather with trepidation. It's not easy pleasing those of us who have already made the movies 100s of time over in our minds (take the hitchhikers Guide for instance, I joined the phenomenon with the TV version, Marvin is clumpy, Peter Jones IS the Guide, Zaphod's second head wobbles and Ford was surely Caucasian... I'm sure the radio initiates would disagree). Hell, let's not nitpick, the casting is marvellous (if only Steptoe had been there for Death's Butler... Mr Jason could have worn a pointy hat).

I wanted to love this though and was not disappointed. My "personal Albert" is thinner and scrawnier (more like a gentle human Greebo) as is my "personal Constable Visit" but I recognised every location. The sets still require some work from the watcher but the detail is fabulous, clearly made to demand a slow-mo second viewing scrutiny, and the props (ok, not the teeth) are exquisite.

I can imagine that prior knowledge is of great benefit as some scenes defy explanation by the uninitiated; Bloody Stupid Johnson's shower is surely included to stop people like me from complaining that it wasn't but Banjo's affiliation to Teatime is vague are the examples that spring to mind. Oh what a gorgeous name Tee-a-tim-ay is when pronounced thus! Why not 10/10? Adverts... the DVD should be marvellous and well worth a Spinal Tap 11 but to be introduced to Death, immediately followed by an underarm commercial rather killed the atmosphere the makers try so hard to create. I can't believe that Sky didn't make more of it, the way I trust the Beeb (bbc) would have... and that includes a semi-nonfunctional website with low definition wallpaper. So far the smell of self-promotion after part one on Sky's behalf almost overwhelmed the scent of the hogs and curry.

But production crew, hats off! Brilliant, you deserved a better platform for your masterpiece (and perhaps a few dollars more).

Fan of Pterry? You'll love it. First time with Mr Pratchett? You'll be hooked! Fan of Harry Potter? Terry came first! Buy the DVD! At last, a good family Christmas production like we remember from years gone by, guaranteeing a very HAPPY HOGSWATCH!

Good fun The story of the Hogfather revolves around a fictional world named 'Discworld' and a group of beings trying to stop Hogswatch (the Discworld equivalent of Christmas). Opposing them are a bumbling group of wizards, a babysitter who is more than she appears, and the personification of death itself.

The story leads itself in a fantastical ride with something for both adults and children (although there is some violence in parts, so maybe not suitable for the very young or fragile).

Don't be fooled into thinking this is another Harry Potter clone though. This film (and the book) is far deeper. At its core, it raises questions about the nature of belief and the human condition itself (All in a fun way though).

As a fan of Pratchett's books, when I noticed the UK subscriber channel 'Sky One' had commissioned this live action mini-drama, I was both hopeful and fearful. Hopeful that Pratchett's unique meld of fantasy and parody would come across well, but fearful that the medium change or the 'suits' would rob all of it's worth.

Thankfully, the end result came a lot closer to my hopes than my fears.

One of my major fears was that the whole humor would be changed from the subtleness within the books to a crude slapstick. I am pleased to announce that although some slapstick has been added (on the part of the wizards) the subtle jokes and references are still there. As for the story; I felt it came across well, although there were a few moments where people who have not read the book may be left struggling.

The sets, effects and costumes are all of a decent quality considering it was 'made for TV'. The notable exception is the costume of Death and the other non-humans. Unfortunately, these were obviously not budgeted enough and appeared inanimate and 'plasticy'.

The cast did a decent job, as you would expect from this group of veteran TV actors. Above the rest, a special mention should be given to Marc Warren for his truly creepy representation of Teatime.

Overall, there is something here for everyone here. Whether Child or Adult, Fan or Neophyte there is fun to be had.

Lets hope they make some more.