Discworld – Page 2

Episode 4 – Enter Three Wytches

08/02/2018 by Pratchat Imps 3 Comments

In episode four, vaudevillian Elly Squires – aka Clara Cupcakes – joins us to discuss one of her first Discworld books, and the start of the witches series proper: Wyrd Sisters! The sixth Discworld novel, published in 1988, it’s the second book to feature Granny Weatherwax – but the first to introduce her fellow witches, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick.

Seasoned witches Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg are adjusting to life in a coven with recently graduated apprentice Magrat Garlick when the king of their tiny country of Lancre is murdered, and his baby son escapes into their arms. The murderer, Duke Felmet, is crowned the new, much crueller king, but with the rightful heir off being raised by a troupe of travelling actors, Granny, Nanny and Magrat must contend with rumour, theatre and their own clashing personalities if they are to change their kingdom’s story…

The witches are one of Pratchett’s most beloved groups of characters, and pre-date both the City Watch and the modern faculty of Unseen University – so it’s surprising to see them spring so fully-formed from their first novel! We loved meeting them all over again. We’d love to hear what you think of Wyrd Sisters – if you’re joining this episode’s discussion on social media, please use the hashtag #Pratchat4 so we can all find each other’s thoughts! (Big thanks to listener Jodie for this brilliant idea.)

Our next book, discussed in our March 8th episode, will be 1989’s standalone Discworld novel, Pyramids – and joining us to talk about assassins, gods and a very different tiny kingdom will be comedian Richard McKenzie! We’ll be recording on February 19th, so get your questions in before then if you’d like us to answer them on the podcast! You can use the hashtag #Pratchat5 to ask them via social media.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:40:47 — 46.2MB)

Show Notes and Errata:

Elly can be found on Twitter as her alter-ego @claracupcakes. She’s touring her hit 2017 Melbourne International Comedy Festival show, The Worst, to various festivals around Australia and the world, including Fringe World in Perth and the Edinburgh Fringe in Scotland. Keep an eye out for her tour dates on Facebook or (if you’re not afraid of Russian hackers) at claracupcakes.com.
Footrot Flats is as much remembered for the 1986 animated movie Footrot Flats: The Dog’s ~~Tail~~ Tale, which was a box office smash in New Zealand and Australia and gave the world Dave Dobbyn’s number one hit single “Slice of Heaven”.
Alice in The Vicar of Dibley was portrayed by Emma Chambers, also known for her role as Honey in Notting Hill. Sadly, Emma died at the age of 53 only a couple of weeks after this episode was released, on February 21st 2018.
Maggie Smith famously played Hogwarts professor Minerva McGonagall in all eight Harry Potter films, while Tilda Swinton was the villainous White Witch in three films based on C S Lewis’ Narnia books. Anjelica Huston played the Grand High Witch in 1990’s film version of Roald Dahl’s The Witches. Miriam Margoyles is also a Hogwarts alumnus, playing Professor Pomona Sprout in two of the Potter films.
Willow meets the disappointingly non-magical “Daughters of Gaea” in the season four Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode “Hush” – previously mentioned in our second episode!
While we couldn’t confirm the existence of a town named Fuck, there are places in the UK named Marsh Gibbon, Lickfold, Great Snoring, Crapstone and Shitterton. There’s a town named Fucking in Lower Austria; their street signs were stolen so often by English-speaking tourists they had to start bolting them down.
“The Hedgehog Can Never Be Buggered At All”, usually referred to as “The Hedgehog Song”, is the infamous folk song sung by Nanny Ogg whenever she’s had a few. Wyrd Sisters is the first time it is mentioned.
For those playing at home, the name of the demon summoned in Nanny Ogg’s wash basin is WxrtHltl-jwlpklz. The Superman character Ben mentions is Mister Mxyzptlk, an “imp from the fifth dimension”. Ben did not pronounce his name correctly either.
The woman who gives Poirot his pin in the television series is Mme. Vergine Mesnard, who appears in only one Poirot case, set at a very early point in his career, when he was still a policeman in Belgium. She does not give him a pin in the original short story.
If you’re interested in the story behind Dutton’s remarks about African gangs, here’s a good article from The Big Smoke Australia. (“The Big Smoke” is Australian slang for city.)
Our musings about the Librarian disagree with fan consensus, which is that his status as a member of the Unseen University faculty means he must be a wizard (and, quite possibly, the Wizard Formerly Known As Horace Worblehat). We’re sticking with our assessment for now, but we may revisit this in future episodes.
You can hear examples of the “real Shakespearean accent”, known as the Original Pronunciation (OP), in this video from the Open University featuring father and son duo David and Ben Crystal.
History records that Rasputin survived being poisoned and shot, but was then shot again before his body was dumped in the river. He didn’t get out. (Anastasia trumps history, of course.)

Episode 3 – You’re a Wizzard, Rincewind

08/01/2018 by Pratchat Imps 1 Comment

In episode three, comedian Cal Wilson is back to discuss the book that started her passion for Terry Pratchett – Sourcery! The fifth Discworld novel, published in 1989, it features the return of the inept wizard Rincewind.

Rincewind is very happy to have left his adventuring days behind him, working as assistant librarian at Unseen University in Ankh-Morpork, the Disc’s premiere college for wizards. But just as a new archchancellor is about to be named, the young boy Coin arrives. He is the eighth son of an eighth son of an eighth son – a Sourcerer, a source of raw magic, something not seen on the Disc since the ancient time of the Mage Wars. As he takes over the university and wizards across the world awaken power they’ve never known, the end of the world draws nigh…and Rincewind just can’t seem to avoid getting involved.

Rincewind was Pratchett’s first protagonist, and this novel exemplifies all the things that make us love him: genre-awareness, unrepentant cowardice, reluctant heroism, lack of any skill at wizardry and fierce self-identification as a wizard. It also sees the return of the Luggage, a living chest which follows Rincewind wherever he goes. It was a delight for us all to see these characters again, and we have grand plans to go back to their beginnings in the very first Discworld novels… In the meantime, when you’ve finished listening to this episode, get ready for the next one by reading Wyrd Sisters! We’ll be recording on January 14th, so get your questions in ASAP if you’d like us to answer them on the podcast.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:32:03 — 91.8MB)

Show Notes and Errata:

Cal is still on Twitter at @calbo. Her new live stand-up show, Hindsight, will be playing in multiple cities at festivals throughout 2018: this page at comedy.com.au lists a bunch of them. (You can also see the poster she mentions; it really is good!)
Freddie Mercury was a first son of a son of undetermined order, so his magical powers clearly came from somewhere else.
Ben talks a lot about Dungeons & Dragons this episode; if you’ve no idea what it’s all about, his article “What Even Is Dungeons & Dragons?” will get you up to speed.
The Age interview with Terry featuring his thoughts on J K Rowling is still online here: “Mystery lord of the Discworld“, Peter Fray, November 6, 2004.
A person who doesn’t realise they’re no good at what they do might have a form of cognitive bias known as the Dunning-Kruger effect, named for a 1999 psychological study.
Hook turns might not be widely used by cars outside of Melbourne, but they’re a common way for bicycles to turn across traffic at cross intersections in many parts of the world.
The Annotated Pratchett File (APF for short) is a brilliant source of information on the various references in the novels. We also recommend the Discworld & Terry Pratchett Wiki, also hosted by the L-Space Web.

Episode 2 – Murdering a Curry

08/12/2017 by Pratchat Imps 2 Comments

In our second episode, writer and deputy culture editor for Guardian Australia Stephanie Convery joins us as we discuss the runner-up in our poll for which book to read first – Mort! Published 30 years ago, it’s the fourth Discworld novel, and the first to put Death in a starring role.

Mort (short for Mortimer), a daydreaming farmer’s son, is offered an apprenticeship by Death himself. Travelling outside of space and time to Death’s home, he finds things aren’t what he expects: Death has an elderly manservant, an adopted daughter, and an unusual interest in fly fishing. Mort, left to do the job alone, tries to defy fate in a very human (and teenage) moment – but can he possibly succeed? And why does an immortal anthropomorphic personification need an apprentice, anyway?

Mort is often cited (including by us) as the first book in the series that feels like the Discworld we know and love, so if you’re joining us for the first time this episode, this is a great place to start. (And don’t worry: we will go back and read the first three books at some point!)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:33:48 — 86.6MB)

Show Notes and Errata:

You can follow Stephanie on Twitter at @gingerandhoney, and find her work at Guardian Australia here.
Sir Terry’s thoughts on where to start reading the Discworld are most clearly outlined in the essay “Straight from the Heart, Via the Groin”, which is most easily found in the collection A Slip of the Keyboard.
“Mort” does mean death, but it’s not Latin – it’s French (or in Discworld terms, Quirmian).
A “squib” in the world of Harry Potter is the rare child of a magical person who is not magical themselves.
The lead Gentleman in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode Hush was played by Doug Jones, now famous for playing Abe Sapien in the Hellboy films, the Faun and the Pale Man in Pan’s Labyrinth, and Saru in Star Trek Discovery. He plays Count Orlok, the titular vampire, in the upcoming remake of Nosferatu. And he’d make a great Death.
Christopher Lee was the voice of Death in both Cosgrove Hall animated adaptations (Wyrd Sisters and Soul Music), and The Mob’s live-action adaptation of The Colour of Magic, following Ian Richardson’s death. And his Death. (Richardson played Death in The Mob’s first Discworld adaptation, Hogfather.) The body of Death was played by Marnix Van Den Broeke, who also played the golem Mr Pump in Going Postal.
The horse that plays Bucephalus in Gilliam’s The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is, unfairly, not named in the credits of the film.

Episode 1 – Boots Theory

08/11/2017 by Pratchat Imps 5 Comments

In our first (more than) full-length episode, Elizabeth and Ben are joined by comedian Cal Wilson to discuss the winner of our poll – Men at Arms (1993)! The fifteenth Discworld novel, Men at Arms is the second to focus on the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, following Guards! Guards! (1989).

Captain of the Night Watch Samuel Vimes is only a week away from retirement – so of course “ethnic tensions” between dwarves and trolls are at boiling point, something explodes in the Assassin’s Guild, and there’s a murderer on the loose. Luckily the Watch has expanded, with three unorthodox new recruits…

It’s a real smorgasbord of Discworld stuff and a great introduction to the world, especially the quintessential Discworld city of Ankh-Morpork.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:27:12 — 85.5MB)

Show Notes and Errata:

You can follow Cal on Twitter at @calbo, and we promise to let you know the title of her book when she knows what it is! (Watch out for it in July.
Clowns in our world can and do copyright their face makeup, and the egg gallery is based on the “Clown and Character Registry”, where many clowns actually did register to have their makeup painted on a goose egg and displayed, though we were unable to discover whether the UK or US registries still exist. We’re sorry again, clowns. (Ben uses commedia dell’arte more-or-less correctly.)
99% Invisible is a podcast all about design, hosted by Roman Mars. The episode Ben mentions while discussing the Alchemist’s Guild is The Post-Billiards Age from May 2015.
There are indeed ghosts on the Discworld, appearing in several of the novels. We’ll be meeting some of them fairly soon…
The final Discworld book is actually The Shepherd’s Crown; I Shall Wear Midnight is the fourth-last, and the second-last to feature young witch Tiffany Aching. (We’ll keep our spreadsheet handy for future episodes.)
“Shoot” is used for arrows, as the term predates guns by many centuries.
CMOT Dibbler is pervasive once he arrives, but is not in The Colour of Magic. In fact he first shows up when the Watch does, in Guards! Guards!
Not only are Lord Vetinari’s plans for the future unknown, but it has also never been revealed how he ascended to the position of Patrician in the first place.
We are aware that despite being asked “which Guild would you join”, we decided we would be wizards, witches or members of the Watch, none of which have an official guild (at least at the time of Men at Arms).

Let’s Start From The Very Beginning (but not actually)

20/10/2017 by Elizabeth Flux Leave a Comment

The polls are in and though it was neck and neck throughout, Men At Arms won over Mort by a whisker. Sorry Mort – gonne but not forgotten.

We’re now deep into prep for next month’s episode. Ben’s dug up his lovingly-contacted copy*, we’ve been in chats with our ~special guest~, and now it’s time to address a question that came up during the voting process: why aren’t we starting at the beginning?

It’s a good point – one that we debated at length about, but in the end as much as we love The Colour of Magic (though some of us, admittedly, love it more than others) we didn’t feel that it represented Discworld as a whole as well as either Mort of Men At Arms would. The tone and voice isn’t quite the same as the slightly later books, and so we wanted to start with something that would give a better idea of what the series was like over all.

We will come back to it though, and we’ll discuss this and all the emotional luggage that comes along with it at greater length.

Thank you to everyone who voted and who has already listened to episode 0. We’ll see you again in November!

*and we’ve really been enjoying all the pictures you’ve been tweeting us of your copies.

Episode 0 – And the Winner is…

08/10/2017 by Pratchat Imps 5 Comments

Welcome to Pratchat! In this special 10-minute introductory episode, Liz and Ben talk about their first Pratchett experiences, introduce the Discworld, and put forward their cases for which book they should read first, Mort, or Men at Arms, before announcing the winner of the closely contested public poll. If you want to go in not knowing which one it will be, then don’t look below!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 9:59 — 19.3MB)

Okay, I think all the spoiler-concerned have looked away now…

It was Men at Arms! So get yourself a copy and get reading, as we’ll be discussing it on the very first proper episode, which will be released on November 8th. We’ll probably even have art and a theme tune and everything by then! In the meantime, you can watch this site for more info about the book itself, and our plans – including some thoughts about our long-term reading order. But if you have thoughts on anything we mention in the intro, please leave a comment and let us know!

Mort vs. Men At Arms: Help Us Choose!

02/10/2017 by Elizabeth Flux 9 Comments

We’re almost set to release our episode 0 — but we need your help. Deciding what book to begin with is a hell of a thing, and Ben and I have been arguing, debating, grumbling and then debating some more and we finally have it down to two options. So, in the interests of fairness, we are turning it over to you to help us decide which book will be kicking off our podcast!

“The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.”