Going Postal
I watched the television adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s Going Postal the other day and in the tradition of these adaptations (previously The Colour of Magic and The Hogfather) it was excellent entertainment.
For those not familiar with Pratchett, he is mostly known for his Discworld books set in a flat world that rides on the back of four elephants that stand on the back of a giant space turtle. Over the last few years, a few of his books have been made into TV movies (all two parters so far)
The following may contain some minor spoilers.
Going Postal is the story of Moist von Lipwig and his charge to revive the ailing Ankh-Morpork Postal Service. Standing against him is the evil Reacher Gilt who runs The Clacks – a kind of steam-punk telegraph service using signalling lights to send messages across country. Various other characters come to aid or hinder Moist in his quest, notably the huffy and strict Adora Belle Dearheart whom Moist predictably falls for instantly. It might sound a bit boring but throw in a golem (a living clay man), some nutty postal workers, an assassin banshee, some steampunk hackers, sentient piles of mail, neat magical special effects and some tense negotiations over a crossbow bolt or two and there’s enough to keep you entertained.
The portrayal of Ankh-Morpork (and other Discworld locations in previous adaptations) is very close to how I imagine them when reading the books – perhaps because Pratchett draws on well understood shared images. While the Discworld novels are set literally on a different world, there is a familiarity to the underlying whimsical relationship between things that is very earthbound and makes the characters sympathetic and believable even while they fire crossbow bolts during quarrels and befriend golems.
The comedy in Going Postal wouldn’t make most people fall off their chairs but it does provide a steady flow of smirks and smiles. Apart from the obvious slapstick, there is a subtle form of humour which is about recognising things in strange places.
[start spoilery paragraph]
For example, I had to laugh when the evil Clacks service was brought to its knees by subverting its protocols to cause it to lock up. The perpetrators of this crime were immediately recognisable as hackers in their smug self appreciation and mastery of the arcane.
[end spoilery paragraph]
The visual effects were well done in my opinion and while I realise they were done on a budget, I felt they made the magical bits suitably magical and where the sets were a bit obviously staged, I can forgive the producers for not being able to have the whole city stretching out behind every shot.
As far as the acting goes, it was probably just a touch theatrical in approach which I suppose is needed for comedy but the levels weren’t too annoyingly high and there were still moments of genuine drama where I felt a strong affinity with the characters.
Pratchett is often compared to Douglas Adams as a writer and I agree that their style of comedy is similar. If you liked Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy TV Series, you’ll probably like this. Definitely worth a look if you come across it and enjoy a bit of comedy in your fantasy
