# Terry Pratchett OKs Night Watch TV Series **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [March 19, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-oks-night-watch-tv-series/575280 "2011-03-19T20:40:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-oks-night-watch-tv-series/575280/121 "2019-09-13T14:38:56Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Will there be a Nobbs and Colon, or are those parts being written out? I already predicted Nobby to be played by Justin Beiber. I’m now predicting that Fred will be played by the late Stephen Hawkins’s wheelchair. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-oks-night-watch-tv-series/575280/122 "2019-09-13T21:18:19Z")
> [@typoink](#): > > I think it’s fair to say this show is going to be a huge disappointment if you go in wanting a clean, faithful, direct adaptation of Pratchett’s works. They’re taking aggressive liberties. Sybil is obviously going to be completely different character, the status of the Watch is a bit different, and I think the overall flavor of the city is going to be shifted. And, brace yourselves now, but I’ll damn near guarantee that Cheery isn’t going to actually be portrayed as a female with a bushy beard. > > I’m absolutely fine with that. I don’t think Pratchett’s writing survives direct adaptation. The prior adaptations are all varying levels of okay to hokey. I don’t need a “live action” version of the stories I’ve already read and reread. If the showrunners make a decent show that draws good inspiration from Pratchett and finds a good balance of humor, adventure, and satire, I’ll be completely on-board. I’ll give them something of a break on casting Cheery, because finding somebody unusually short, female, heavily bearded, capable of acting the part, and willing to do so may not be possible (though someone more up on current actors than I am might be able to suggest somebody, especially since the beard could certainly be added. Skipping the beard is a problem, though, unless they’re going to also have beardless male dwarves, since if Discworld dwarf women don’t have beards the whole nobody’s-supposed-to-be-able-to-tell thing falls apart.) And I’d give them a break on Sybil’s age, as long as she’s at least mid-twenties, since a woman in most societies will have noticed by then if she’s not considered marriage material by most in the society. But I’m not going to give them a break on fat/conventionally unattractive. Because Pratchett, as always, is making a point, which he’s trying very hard to drive into the back of readers’ heads while they’re busy laughing. And the point being made in Guards! Guards! is that, all those people who get written off as useless? Don’t do that; because a lot of them aren’t useless at all, and it’s quite possible they’re going to be the only ones who can save your ass. What the casters are proving if they make Sybil conventionally pretty is exactly that either they didn’t get the point – and so shouldn’t be trying to adapt, translate, or whatever, Pratchett, because they’re bound to screw it up – or that they got the point, don’t like it, and are deliberately counteracting it; which if true is nasty. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-oks-night-watch-tv-series/575280/123 "2019-09-13T21:40:30Z")
From the description of the adaptation: _Dixi’s Sam Adewunmi will take on the role of Carcer Dun, who is described as “wounded” and “wronged.” Out to takeover destiny itself, Dun works to capture control of Ankh-Morpork. In doing so, Dun aims to exact a “terrible revenge” on a reality that is not just._ Carcer. Wronged. **BULLSHIT!!!** This is going to be a fooking disaster. These asshats will go down as doing the worst adaptation of a book since Paul Verhoeven raped _Starship Troopers_. May they rot in whatever Hell has low enough standards to take them. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-oks-night-watch-tv-series/575280/124 "2019-09-13T22:32:29Z")
But the Carcer of the book did \*claim \*to have been wronged, and see himself as a hero. That part isn’t necessarily going to be bad. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-oks-night-watch-tv-series/575280/125 "2019-09-13T22:49:05Z")
Everybody says they are innocent and wronged. Carcer was never anything than a bloody efficient psychopathic killer. They are going to have to invent a new scale to measure how much this is going to suck. ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-oks-night-watch-tv-series/575280/126 "2019-09-14T01:14:56Z")
I think if I got to cast, I’d have picked Olivia Colman for Sybill. Not that she’s unattractive, but she’s not Hollywood Knock-out. And the age is in the right ballpark. Plus she has the ability to pull of the attitude. I’m not crazy about the casting, but I am not taking it as a literal adaptation. More like the spirit of the DW. So if things are changed and it works, I can live with it. Like if it’s more about themes and humor and works on both those ends while not resembling the novels in any way but characters’ names? Yeah, that’s fine. But only if it works. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-oks-night-watch-tv-series/575280/127 "2019-09-14T18:29:02Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Skipping the beard is a problem, though, unless they’re going to also have beardless male dwarves Casanunda is beardless. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-oks-night-watch-tv-series/575280/128 "2019-09-14T19:40:22Z")
Casanunda is also very far from being a normal dwarf. The more relevant example, which I’ve wondered about for a while, is Carrot. Why isn’t it scandalous that he’s clean-shaven? He can’t even say that it’s to comply with Watch regulations, because other dwarves in the Watch are allowed to keep their beards. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-oks-night-watch-tv-series/575280/129 "2019-09-14T20:35:38Z")
Carrot isn’t exactly a normal Dwarf, either. Maybe he gets a pass since it’s pretty well known he’s adopted. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-oks-night-watch-tv-series/575280/130 "2019-09-14T21:32:46Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > But the Carcer of the book did \*claim \*to have been wronged, and see himself as a hero. That part isn’t necessarily going to be bad. It was my distinct impression that those claims were being made entirely cynically – not that Carcer believed them, but that he was mocking such claims/theories, and/or trying to make Vimes hesitate for long enough to give Carcer a chance to kill Vimes or to escape. > [@Fair\_Rarity](#): > > I’m not crazy about the casting, but I am not taking it as a literal adaptation. More like the spirit of the DW. So if things are changed and it works, I can live with it. Like if it’s more about themes and humor and works on both those ends What I’m saying is that the casting, of Sybil at least, does not work with the theme, and is not in the spirit of the original. > [@MrDibble](#): > > Casanunda is beardless. Ah. I’d either missed or forgotten that. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-oks-night-watch-tv-series/575280/131 "2019-09-14T23:24:44Z")
By human standards, Carrot isn’t a normal dwarf, but by dwarvish standards, he is. To the dwarves, dwarfishness isn’t about stature or ancestry; it’s about upholding a complicated set of traditions and rituals. One of which is wearing a beard. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2019, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-oks-night-watch-tv-series/575280/132 "2019-09-15T08:44:29Z")
Maybe Carrot can’t grow a beard? And yeah, the other Dwarfs know there’s _something_ a bit off about him, they just can’t quite put their fingers on it. You’re right, it’s an inconsistency. So is Cassanunder’s lack of beard. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2019, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-oks-night-watch-tv-series/575280/133 "2019-09-15T09:21:10Z")
Consistency and continuity are things that Pratchett picked up along the way; they weren’t baked into his books from the start. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2019, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-oks-night-watch-tv-series/575280/134 "2019-09-15T12:53:25Z")
Darned History Monks. ---
**Author:** ![TwoCarrotSnowman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twocarrotsnowman/32/15879_2.png) [@TwoCarrotSnowman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoCarrotSnowman)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2019, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-oks-night-watch-tv-series/575280/135 "2019-09-15T14:31:19Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Darned History Monks. Yep, this is Pratchett’s actual canonical explanation for such inconsistencies, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2019, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-oks-night-watch-tv-series/575280/136 "2019-09-15T14:34:48Z")
The auditors and the glass clock caused the inconsistencies, the history monks fought against it, and repaired the damage as best they could. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2019, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-oks-night-watch-tv-series/575280/137 "2019-09-15T15:33:32Z")
I feel that Minnie Driver could deliver a passable Sybil Ramkin. As could Catherine Tate. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2019, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-oks-night-watch-tv-series/575280/138 "2019-09-15T16:37:01Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I feel that Minnie Driver could deliver a passable Sybil Ramkin. > > As could Catherine Tate. I like the idea of Tate or Coleman, both have a presence and good comedic chops. ---
**Author:** ![TwoCarrotSnowman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twocarrotsnowman/32/15879_2.png) [@TwoCarrotSnowman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoCarrotSnowman)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2019, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-oks-night-watch-tv-series/575280/139 "2019-09-15T16:44:20Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I like the idea of Tate or Coleman, both have a presence and good comedic chops. Yeah, Olivia Colman has the upper-class, jolly hockey sticks, big-hearted-but-with-a-core-of-steel thing down cold. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2019, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-oks-night-watch-tv-series/575280/140 "2019-09-16T05:15:12Z")
> [@TwoCarrotSnowman](#): > > Yeah, Olivia Colman has the upper-class, jolly hockey sticks, big-hearted-but-with-a-core-of-steel thing down cold. Have you **seen** _Hot Fuzz_? > [@Doris Thatcher](#): > > I could have given you the tour! > I’ve been around the station a few times! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-oks-night-watch-tv-series/575280.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-oks-night-watch-tv-series/575280.md?page=8)