Confessions of a Liberal Puritan

First, some general impressions of the March 22nd airing of "The Colour of Magic" on RHI/ION TV . . . from someone who has yet to actually read any Terry Pratchett other than Good Omens (co-authored with Neil Gaiman) many years ago:

Apart from Tim Curry -- who did his best to make Tymon a FUN evil slime-ball with a fetish for dead men's pointy shoes -- and for David Jason as a surprisingly 'mature'-looking Rincewind (looking way too close to Cohen the Barbarian's age group, perhaps), I thought all of the wizards at the Unseen University seemed largely interchangeable and indistinguishable from one another in this miniseries (not so much so in the "Hogfather" production from a couple of years ago, which I greatly enjoyed and still re-watch occasionally. Okay, maybe the head librarian wasn't all that generic, either, but then he fairly quickly became an ape, so THAT was memorable in and of itself.

I think Sean Astin was wonderful in the role of Twoflower, the first tourist to ever visit Ankh-Morpork (or at least, the first to do so and survive long enough to make his purpose known), I must say. Almost anyone else in the part, and Twoflower would have been annoying (veering dangerously close to the "Dr. Smith" end of the spectrum, even), rather than so strangely sweet and endearing.

I enjoyed some of the minor supporting cast, including Jeremy Irons making 'interesting' threats as the Patrician. But I really got a kick out of Cohen the Barbarian and Bethan (tired old jokes about "I'll just have to hope she's strong enough to survive" notwithstanding).

All in all, I don't think I'll be tempted to buy this on DVD or re-watch it too many more times. The themes dealt with in the "Hogfather" production just spoke to me more, and of course I adored Susan as the hero and the much greater air-time for the delightful character of Death. But I thoroughly enjoyed the three hours I spent watching "The Colour of Magic" last weekend, while I was making a VHS tape version (minus the adverts) to send to a Pratchett-loving minister friend in northern Minnesota whose satellite TV reception was interrupted by storms during part of the broadcast.

Now for a much more heartfelt recommendation: if you get the chance, DO go to see "Monsters Vs. Aliens" on the big screen!

I was able to catch a matinee showing right after church last Sunday, and I had a blast! I lost count of the number of 1950's sci-fi/horror movie conventions that were turned upside down and inside out (for instance, the young couple 'parking' in a convertible when the alien spacecraft lands: it's the girl who wants to go investigate, and when her male companion trips and hurts his ankle while reluctantly following her, she ends up having to carry him in her arms to go investigate the crash crater).

I didn't see it in 3-D, because that doesn't work for me (I only use one eye at a time, mostly, and 3-D broadcasts just look slightly, annoyingly out of focus), but still found the characters, animation, plot, and yes, even the music quite engrossing. There's an extra scene after some of the end credits have started to roll, so don't be in too big a hurry to leave the theater, if you do go.