There is a dangerous trend in some recent "adaptations" that seem to take the original more as a marketing ploy than a real source of inspiration. "Ratched" (Netflix, 2020) was a typical Ryan Murphy "American Horror Story" (FX, 2011) with hardly any connection to the character on which it was supposedly based; "Clarice" (CBS, 2021) is a typical CBS procedural show that little or nothing maintains the creepy atmosphere and psychological depth of "The Silence of the Lambs" (Jonathan Demme, 1991). And "The watch" (BBC America, 2021) supposes the construction of a Discworld with characters that little resemble those of the novels in which they are inspired. The reference works as an element of attraction, but the development follows different paths, which is ok, but in many cases insulting the original source.
In "The watch" there are characters that work well if you do not know the one on which they are based. For example, Richard Dormer is a good Jack Sparrow, but he has little to do with Sam Vimes. And the show in general works the same way. There are interesting and funny moments, as long as you don't take Terry Pratchett's novels as a reference. And it almost looks more like "The magicians" (SyFy, 2015-2020) cyberpunk than the original.
Review by Miguel A. ReinaBlockedParent2021-02-23T09:26:14Z
There is a dangerous trend in some recent "adaptations" that seem to take the original more as a marketing ploy than a real source of inspiration. "Ratched" (Netflix, 2020) was a typical Ryan Murphy "American Horror Story" (FX, 2011) with hardly any connection to the character on which it was supposedly based; "Clarice" (CBS, 2021) is a typical CBS procedural show that little or nothing maintains the creepy atmosphere and psychological depth of "The Silence of the Lambs" (Jonathan Demme, 1991). And "The watch" (BBC America, 2021) supposes the construction of a Discworld with characters that little resemble those of the novels in which they are inspired. The reference works as an element of attraction, but the development follows different paths, which is ok, but in many cases insulting the original source.
In "The watch" there are characters that work well if you do not know the one on which they are based. For example, Richard Dormer is a good Jack Sparrow, but he has little to do with Sam Vimes. And the show in general works the same way. There are interesting and funny moments, as long as you don't take Terry Pratchett's novels as a reference. And it almost looks more like "The magicians" (SyFy, 2015-2020) cyberpunk than the original.