Prachett describing the experiences of that department when using the computer was pretty funny. It encapsulated the fear of using new technology and not understanding how it works really well.
Computers aren't real, they're just a series of tubes filed with ants
Water actually.
Actually, it's smoke.
When you see smoke coming out of a computer, it stops working. When you add water to a computer it stops working (and sometimes gets smoke coming out).
How do the movie/TV adaptations hold up? I just found out there is one with Moist and he is my favorite.
medium-to-ok-ish, mostly.
I don't think the Moist casting was very good, he's supposed to be a slick conman and Richard Coyle is ... not that. But ymmv!
Depends how obsessive you are about the details. DW is one franchise I'm way too devoted to to forgive entirely understandable changes.
Cut vital explanations from the Harry Potter movies? That's fine, you obviously had to cut some stuff.
Change the battles in Lord of the Rings? It's more cinematic that way, and this way we get to see the elves fighting.
Have Angua be fine with showing off that she's a werewolf to random people? WHAT THE HELL HOW DID ANYONE SIGN OFF ON THIS DID THEY EVEN READ THE BOOKS.
Moist's casting is at least understandable (a casting call for a skilled actor with a totally unmemorable face isn't an easy job to fill).
Nobody remembers the singer. The song remains.
+4
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Golden YakBurnished BovineThe sunny beaches of CanadaRegistered Userregular
I'm glad they exist and would like more of them, and more faithful adapation. Good Omens was practically perfect as a book adaptation to a series, do that but with Discworld.
I also do like the animated ones, though they have their quirks and oddbits. Like with the Amazing Maurice as well. I don't like the bits they change, I want more faithful adaptations, I am glad there are people making the effort at all.
Hmm getting some mixed signals here! I will look at the price and see what kind of numbers I am looking at. Probably won't engage if they are in the 20 dollar range but I might if I can stream them for less.
Yeah, the Moist one also changed his character quite a bit. In the books he seems to mostly be about chasing the thrill of the con and rationalizes away that he only targets rich/crooks. He comes around to that he is still fucking over average people and actually feels bad about that. In the BBC adaptation he just starts out as somebody who doesn't give a fuck he's hurting people while being fully aware he is. Pretty quickly killed it for me.
Yeah, the Moist one also changed his character quite a bit. In the books he seems to mostly be about chasing the thrill of the con and rationalizes away that he only targets rich/crooks. He comes around to that he is still fucking over average people and actually feels bad about that. In the BBC adaptation he just starts out as somebody who doesn't give a fuck he's hurting people while being fully aware he is. Pretty quickly killed it for me.
Hmm that is pretty disappointing. I think that his innate goodness made the change from con man to, more or less, upstanding citizen believable.
That's going to make any adaptation of Night Watch difficult, when Vimes clings to his sanity through his special black tar bag.
There's the other thing. I don't think any of them have been consistent with each other. Trying to put them all together as part of a Discworld Cinematic Universe (which they should totally do to steal DC's most obvious acronym out from under them) is an insta-fail.
Like, my dream Discworld adaptations would be to get HBO or somewhere to commit to a series, but each season is a different book. That way they could take time on making them and still release them pretty quick because they'd be doing the MCU thing of switching between casts while they work on the next one with the occasional cameo from Colon or Dibbler or whoever.
All we need is a Discworld Kevin Feige to co-ordinate it. Oh, and billions of dollars.
The only Discworld adaptation I've ever had any time for is Discworld Noir (their take on, say, Vimes can be explained by the game being from the perspective of someone he fired). The Sky adaptations are, at best, rough, and the less said about The Watch, the better.
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RingoHe/Hima distinct lack of substanceRegistered Userregular
All inconsistencies are due to time breaking that onenone two times
Noir Vimes can be explained by Narrative Causality; the story needed the Commander of the Watch to be an unreasonable man who'd heap suspicion on someone he has a grudge against in the face of all the evidence to the contrary, and the setting didn't allow it to be set at any time when Vimes wasn't the Commander and the Watch was in any state to operate.
Nah, Truth Vimes was stuck with something he knew didn't make sense, and forced to work within the law.
Noir Vimes was someone who'd take the assumption that this man who was knocked unconscious at a murder is the lead suspect, and work backwards to justify it. Maybe the victim's dying scrawl was an attempt to name him in a completely unknown language, which is why it doesn't make sense.
If there was any way to justify him somehow being there in the reformed Watch, the role would have been tailor-made for Mayonnaise "Someone of a disliked species was within a mile of the murder, case closed" Quirke.
Vimes is pretty un-Vimesy in Noir, but if I’ve got my memory right then Newton’s backstory is that he’s a corrupt ex-cop - if Vimes could be allowed to have a bias against *anyone*, it’d be him
Kicking him out for taking a bribe is totally on brand. Actually failing to investigate a murder because he's found someone he can fit up for it is kinda not.
Nah, Truth Vimes was stuck with something he knew didn't make sense, and forced to work within the law.
Noir Vimes was someone who'd take the assumption that this man who was knocked unconscious at a murder is the lead suspect, and work backwards to justify it. Maybe the victim's dying scrawl was an attempt to name him in a completely unknown language, which is why it doesn't make sense.
If there was any way to justify him somehow being there in the reformed Watch, the role would have been tailor-made for Mayonnaise "Someone of a disliked species was within a mile of the murder, case closed" Quirke.
Hmmm...
I really have to replay Noir again. Last time I tried it crashed about two hours in and I don't clearly remember that bit.
Kicking him out for taking a bribe is totally on brand. Actually failing to investigate a murder because he's found someone he can fit up for it is kinda not.
Alternative interpretation that might not be backed up by a video game I played 24 years ago (holy shit, 1999?): Vimes was pulling a Vetinari-esque mind game by getting Lewton to investigate the murder in a way that the Watch couldn't, using the threat of prison as an incentive
Like how Vetinari got Vimes to investigate the murder in Men at Arms by expressly telling him not to (which was also the way that Vimes learned that the crime was a murder)
Which fails in the opposite direction, because now it's asking us to accept that Sam Vimes would delegate solving a murder to someone he fired for taking bribes.
Like I said, it's totally the kind of character they needed in command of the Watch in order to make it Lewton's problem to deal with, they were just stymied by the fact that there was no narrative way to justify any other character being in the role.
Which fails in the opposite direction, because now it's asking us to accept that Sam Vimes would delegate solving a murder to someone he fired for taking bribes.
Like I said, it's totally the kind of character they needed in command of the Watch in order to make it Lewton's problem to deal with, they were just stymied by the fact that there was no narrative way to justify any other character being in the role.
Could have done it while Vimes is out of town and whoever is left in charge plays his role? (I haven't played Noir.)
So, Carrot or Angua? Same problem (along with some new ones as well).
The Watch is just too competent to fill the role needed. The only one incompetent enough to maybe take that spot is Colon, and he's proven to be too bad at it, so the Watch shuts down entirely.
The only way to get the kind of characters in it you need is to set it so early it's in the days when the Watch was completely irrelevant. Which makes them irrelevant, and won't fit in with the rest of the game.
So, Carrot or Angua? Same problem (along with some new ones as well).
The Watch is just too competent to fill the role needed. The only one incompetent enough to maybe take that spot is Colon, and he's proven to be too bad at it, so the Watch shuts down entirely.
The only way to get the kind of characters in it you need is to set it so early it's in the days when the Watch was completely irrelevant. Which makes them irrelevant, and won't fit in with the rest of the game.
Could use a wholly new character, perhaps one imposed by the Guilds/Vetinari while the main cast is out of town. Someone that isn't Colon (already proven terrible) while Vimes, Carrot and Angua are off gallivanting.
So, Carrot or Angua? Same problem (along with some new ones as well).
The Watch is just too competent to fill the role needed. The only one incompetent enough to maybe take that spot is Colon, and he's proven to be too bad at it, so the Watch shuts down entirely.
The only way to get the kind of characters in it you need is to set it so early it's in the days when the Watch was completely irrelevant. Which makes them irrelevant, and won't fit in with the rest of the game.
Could use a wholly new character, perhaps one imposed by the Guilds/Vetinari while the main cast is out of town. Someone that isn't Colon (already proven terrible) while Vimes, Carrot and Angua are off gallivanting.
Which just shifts the problem. Yes, character-wise you could put someone like Rust in there. But then you lose the explanation of a prior history, plus you then how to explain how anyone involved would accept it. Forget just getting Vimes out of the way, they'd also have to overthrow Vetinari before he'd let it happen. The sheer amount of work you'd need to do would shift the story to be about that, and suddenly you're investigating the coup against the Patrician.
All told, changing Vimes is the least messy way to do it. It's just noticeable.
Noir largely sticks to its own original characters to its own benefit, there are just a couple of people they couldn't come up with any logical way to replace with their own.
Nobody remembers the singer. The song remains.
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Golden YakBurnished BovineThe sunny beaches of CanadaRegistered Userregular
It's a circle world! Alternate reality! Lords and Ladies reference! Yeah, that's the ticket.
I’m thinking it’s become time to nervously offer my 12yo daughter a Discworld book to see if she bites. But which one?
I’m thinking maybe Mort? Some good trad fantasy elements, a nice bit of YA romance, the gonzo of the earliest books has gone but the weight of continuity has yet to arrive.
What would you pick?
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daveNYCWhy universe hate Waspinator?Registered Userregular
I’m thinking it’s become time to nervously offer my 12yo daughter a Discworld book to see if she bites. But which one?
I’m thinking maybe Mort? Some good trad fantasy elements, a nice bit of YA romance, the gonzo of the earliest books has gone but the weight of continuity has yet to arrive.
What would you pick?
Equal Rites maybe? She's done the Tiffany Aching books already?
Shut up, Mr. Burton! You were not brought upon this world to get it!
She had read a random Tiffany book from the school library I believe. Equal Rites felt a little bit the wrong side of the ‘Not quite proper Discworld yet’ line maybe.
I’d go for a Witches book but they do rely quite a bit on continuity and she’s not done Macbeth yet to properly appreciate Wyrd Sisters.
You could start with a non-Discworld Pratchett book to ease them into it. I tore through the Nome and Johnny Maxwell books before I ever touched the Discworld ones.
What about Moving Pictures? It's basically a stand-alone novel, and it has a talking dog!
I fear that's one where a lot of the cultural references will be very lost on a modern youth! Some elements of DW are timeless but there are definitely bits that will have become rather dated to a modern audience.
Posts
Redo from start
Water actually.
Actually, it's smoke.
When you see smoke coming out of a computer, it stops working. When you add water to a computer it stops working (and sometimes gets smoke coming out).
Science!
PSN:Furlion
medium-to-ok-ish, mostly.
I don't think the Moist casting was very good, he's supposed to be a slick conman and Richard Coyle is ... not that. But ymmv!
And they fucked the ending of the clacks race
It sucked, basically
Watch the Soul Music cartoon instead
Cut vital explanations from the Harry Potter movies? That's fine, you obviously had to cut some stuff.
Change the battles in Lord of the Rings? It's more cinematic that way, and this way we get to see the elves fighting.
Have Angua be fine with showing off that she's a werewolf to random people? WHAT THE HELL HOW DID ANYONE SIGN OFF ON THIS DID THEY EVEN READ THE BOOKS.
Moist's casting is at least understandable (a casting call for a skilled actor with a totally unmemorable face isn't an easy job to fill).
I also do like the animated ones, though they have their quirks and oddbits. Like with the Amazing Maurice as well. I don't like the bits they change, I want more faithful adaptations, I am glad there are people making the effort at all.
PSN:Furlion
Hmm that is pretty disappointing. I think that his innate goodness made the change from con man to, more or less, upstanding citizen believable.
PSN:Furlion
That's going to make any adaptation of Night Watch difficult, when Vimes clings to his sanity through his special black tar bag.
PSN: Wstfgl | GamerTag: An Evil Plan | Battle.net: FallenIdle#1970
Hit me up on BoardGameArena! User: Loaded D1
There's the other thing. I don't think any of them have been consistent with each other. Trying to put them all together as part of a Discworld Cinematic Universe (which they should totally do to steal DC's most obvious acronym out from under them) is an insta-fail.
Like, my dream Discworld adaptations would be to get HBO or somewhere to commit to a series, but each season is a different book. That way they could take time on making them and still release them pretty quick because they'd be doing the MCU thing of switching between casts while they work on the next one with the occasional cameo from Colon or Dibbler or whoever.
All we need is a Discworld Kevin Feige to co-ordinate it. Oh, and billions of dollars.
Noir Vimes was someone who'd take the assumption that this man who was knocked unconscious at a murder is the lead suspect, and work backwards to justify it. Maybe the victim's dying scrawl was an attempt to name him in a completely unknown language, which is why it doesn't make sense.
If there was any way to justify him somehow being there in the reformed Watch, the role would have been tailor-made for Mayonnaise "Someone of a disliked species was within a mile of the murder, case closed" Quirke.
Hmmm...
I really have to replay Noir again. Last time I tried it crashed about two hours in and I don't clearly remember that bit.
Alternative interpretation that might not be backed up by a video game I played 24 years ago (holy shit, 1999?): Vimes was pulling a Vetinari-esque mind game by getting Lewton to investigate the murder in a way that the Watch couldn't, using the threat of prison as an incentive
Like how Vetinari got Vimes to investigate the murder in Men at Arms by expressly telling him not to (which was also the way that Vimes learned that the crime was a murder)
Like I said, it's totally the kind of character they needed in command of the Watch in order to make it Lewton's problem to deal with, they were just stymied by the fact that there was no narrative way to justify any other character being in the role.
Could have done it while Vimes is out of town and whoever is left in charge plays his role? (I haven't played Noir.)
The Watch is just too competent to fill the role needed. The only one incompetent enough to maybe take that spot is Colon, and he's proven to be too bad at it, so the Watch shuts down entirely.
The only way to get the kind of characters in it you need is to set it so early it's in the days when the Watch was completely irrelevant. Which makes them irrelevant, and won't fit in with the rest of the game.
Could use a wholly new character, perhaps one imposed by the Guilds/Vetinari while the main cast is out of town. Someone that isn't Colon (already proven terrible) while Vimes, Carrot and Angua are off gallivanting.
Which just shifts the problem. Yes, character-wise you could put someone like Rust in there. But then you lose the explanation of a prior history, plus you then how to explain how anyone involved would accept it. Forget just getting Vimes out of the way, they'd also have to overthrow Vetinari before he'd let it happen. The sheer amount of work you'd need to do would shift the story to be about that, and suddenly you're investigating the coup against the Patrician.
All told, changing Vimes is the least messy way to do it. It's just noticeable.
Noir largely sticks to its own original characters to its own benefit, there are just a couple of people they couldn't come up with any logical way to replace with their own.
I’m thinking maybe Mort? Some good trad fantasy elements, a nice bit of YA romance, the gonzo of the earliest books has gone but the weight of continuity has yet to arrive.
What would you pick?
Equal Rites maybe? She's done the Tiffany Aching books already?
I’d go for a Witches book but they do rely quite a bit on continuity and she’s not done Macbeth yet to properly appreciate Wyrd Sisters.
I fear that's one where a lot of the cultural references will be very lost on a modern youth! Some elements of DW are timeless but there are definitely bits that will have become rather dated to a modern audience.