Renowned fantasy author Terry Pratchett, creator of the Discworld series, passed away at his home on Thursday 12th March, surrounded by his family and with his cat sleeping on his bed. He had been diagnosed with PCA (Posterior cortical atrophy, an atypical variant of Alzheimer’s disease) in 2007, and fought the disease which he referred to as an “embuggerance” with determination and wit, completing his last novel in the summer of 2014.
He leaves behind a body of work which has inspired many; from the Discworld series for which he is most renowned to science fiction and children’s novels such as the Nomes trilogy. Over the years, a number of adaptations of his work have been made for the screen, including a stop motion animation series of Truckers made for Thames Television in 1992, a TV serial of Johnny and the Dead made for ITV in 1995, and of course, adaptations of the Discworld series.
Hogfather
For Christmas 2006, Sky One adapted the 20th Discworld novel for the screen, starring David Jason as Albert, Ian Richardson as the voice of Death and Michelle Dockery as Death’s granddaughter Susan. The Hogfather – the Discworld equivalent of Santa Claus – has gone missing, and while Death fills in for the missing gift-giver, Susan tries to find out what’s happened.
The Colour of Magic
In 2008, Sky One again turned to the Discworld – but this time, they went right back to the beginning, adapting the first two novels (The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic) for their Easter feature, starring David Jason again, this time as the wizard Rincewind, alongside Sean Astin as the tourist Twoflower.
Going Postal
The third Sky adaptation was May 2010’s Going Postal, starring Richard Coyle as Moist von Lipwig and Charles Dance as Patrician Vetinari.
Sir Terry himself made a habit of making cameo appearances in these adaptations – as seen in the clip above. It wasn’t just the TV appearances that got this treatment, either; for the Christmas 2014 BBC radio adaptation of Good Omens, co-written by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, both authors took on cameo roles.
In an interview with Radio Times, Gaiman said that the timing of that adaptation was due, in part, to his friend and co-author’s condition, saying that he wanted “Terry to be able to enjoy this while he’s still able to enjoy it.”
It’s understood that a television series, The Watch, based on the adventures of the Ankh-Morpork Guard is currently in development, with shooting said to commence this year. Here at Cheap TVs, we’re looking forward to watching it with a nice big banana daiquiri in hand.
We’ll leave you with the most fitting tribute possible; the last few tweets from Sir Pterry’s account, written by his daughter Rhianna shortly after his death.
AT LAST, SIR TERRY, WE MUST WALK TOGETHER.
— Terry Pratchett (@terryandrob) March 12, 2015
Terry took Death’s arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night.
— Terry Pratchett (@terryandrob) March 12, 2015
The End.
— Terry Pratchett (@terryandrob) March 12, 2015
