Pratchett on BBC

Disclaimer: Although not a groupie, I am a Discworld fan.

As a part of my continued Netflick addiction and early summer break, I have been watching Hogfather (2006) and The Color of Magic (2008). The Color of Magic has some wonderful casting--Jeremy Irons as The Patrician, Tim Curry as Trymon, Christopher Lee as the voice of Death. And for a television production, the fx suprisingly capture Pratchett's wackiness.

The two flounder, though. The actors and the director (Vadim Jean) are too aware of the humor; they know that they are being funny. The knights and peasants of Monty Python's The Holy Grail never realize the absurdity of their behavior; it is everyday, commonplace.

In the Discworld movies, though, everyone is aware of the joke; as a result, the absurdity becomes overstated--if that is possible--heavy handed, tiresome, and even worse--just silly.

Because I am a fan, I will probably finish up, but I am glad that I did not float a dollar at the Redbox or five at Blockbuster.

Bayard