The long-anticipated BBC America series The Watch set in Sir Terry Pratchett’s Discworld universe has finally hit the airwaves and it is not exactly what you might have expected.
For those not familiar with the Discworld series of books, they chronicle the life and times of those living on the titular Discworld, which is a flat, but also round disc world that rests on the back of four giant elephants that all stand on the top of an enormous spacefaring turtle named the Great A’Tuin. If you are still following and somehow that makes sense to you, you have a good sense of the weird humor awaiting you.
The Watch is the story of the motley police force in the great city of Ankh-Morpork. They don’t have much to do simply because the city was so overrun with crime at one time, the patrician, Lord Havelock Vetinari, organized the crime into guilds. If you murder someone and you stay within quota, leave a receipt, you are good to go.
We spend the first episode getting to know The Watch, led by Captain Samuel Vimes, a drunken and stubborn man who has dedicated his life to cleaning up the crime that barely exists in the city of Ankh-Morpork, chasing leads to find a stolen (not borrowed) library book. Other members of this ragtag watch are Detritus, a troll made of stone, Cheery, a female dwarf who has opted to shave her beard much to the consternation of the world, Corporal Angua von Uberwald who has an uncanny ability to sniff out trouble, and the newest recruit, Constable Carrot, a very tall (adopted) and idealistic Dwarf.
“A Near Vimes Experience” really gives us a chance to get to know a bit of this incredibly unique city and its steampunk (emphasis on the punk) atmosphere. The city is well-worn and feels alive, not pristine, nor post-apocalyptic. We have dragons that keep the city flame ablaze and we have crossbows instead of pistols, yet there are flickering fluorescent lights adorning many walls, and bars with blacklight-enhanced stages. There are plenty of buckles, buttons, and leather to go around.
Here is where we stop and go back to revisit the concept that this was based on a series of 41 humorous fantasy novels. Even before the first episode aired, there were a lot of upset fans of the beloved series, as the early production promo shots showed a completely unfamiliar Ankh. The books are firmly in a low-tech (for the most part) fantasy setting that one would think of when they think “fantasy novel.” This is not that setting. The Watch is more of a new take on the concept than a direct adaptation of any of Sir Terry’s works.
We have a few gender-flipped roles and significant personality departures from the books, but the crazy part is that it works.
Keep in mind that though I am a big fan of the books, I don’t consider them to be anything more than a jumping off point for our imaginations. Some die-hard fans may consider this sacrilege, and while I have always felt that Paul Kidby’s artistic interpretations of the characters and setting to be my personal canon, someone else might envision the books’ descriptions quite differently.
Personally, I am not as big of a fan of straight-up high fantasy as I was 25+ years ago as a D&D playing child, and I welcome this more radical interpretation of the universe. It feels fresh and a bit exciting, not afraid to take chances with the source material. Will the stylistic changes and steampunk setting wear thin after a few episodes? We will find out as the weeks progress.
For now, I think the alterations are fun and allow new fans to get into the universe without having to know anything about it. Maybe they will even pick up the books and dive deeper into the Disc.
Back to the first episode – In the end, we get a CSI-style steampunk misfit comedy in a city where crime is so normalized that anyone trying to stop it is looked down upon as if they were a loon. We also get to meet Death. Death is a very important character on the Disc, and his distracted musings will undoubtedly come into play over this season. We are starting to see how The Watch functions as a whole, and I have a feeling people are quickly going to be picking their favorites, similar to other police procedurals like NCIS. Right now, Angua and Cheery are vying for my vote, but everyone stands out on their own right off the bat and that is certainly a good thing.
I have to say, I really enjoyed the first episode. The humor isn’t too broad as the characters take the concept seriously and the humor is mostly in the dialogue and weird situations in which The Watch and citizens of Ankh-Morpork find themselves. I look forward to seeing things play out and getting to know our charismatic crew, as well as more of the city. Watching the city come to life is a visual treat and there are certainly little Easter eggs for fans of the book series if you know where to look.
Let’s be honest, though, many people had their minds made up when the first publicity images hit the World Wide Web. I figured I would give it a shot and I hope you do too.
