Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather: It Should Be On Your Christmas List
In keeping with the season, instead of regular horror fare, I decided to write about Hogfather.
Photo credit: Sky1/The Mob
Discworld
Many fans know the late Sir Terry Pratchett from his collaboration with Neil Gaiman-Good Omens.
But before that, there was the Discworld
Discworld. Photo credit: Sky1/The Mob
The Discworld has a crap ton(Sorry, Sir Terry) of incredible, hilarious, fleshed out characters that you will fall hard for. Hogfather takes place there, and you will meet some of its more famous denizens(one of which hangs out here, too[gulp]).
We know this guy here, too.
Photo credit: Sky1/The Mob
Hogfather is based on the book by the same name, and takes place at what we would call Christmastime.
The Story
The Hogfather(their Santa Claus) is gone.
Someone or something(s) has put out a hit on the Hogfather(Shend) with the Assassin’s Guild.
Twisted assassin Mr. Teatime(pronounced “teh-ah-tim-eh”) is just the man for the job, too.
Mr. Jonathan Teatime
Just how twisted is the one-eyed Mr. Teatime(Marc Warren)?
From the Discworld Wiki:
Rumours among his associates (somewhat confirmed in the GURPS Discworld RPG sourcebook co-written by Pratchett) imply that the glass eye is in fact a scrying crystal, which might go some way towards explaining his abilities, but also means that he implanted notoriously erratic Discworld magic into his own eye-socket.
Photo credit: Sky1/The Mob
And indeed his abilities defy logic and physics. He can seemingly teleport, and stabs with such skill that he can cut only through cloth and not skin(or eyelid and not eye). He often does so without provocation or warning.
All of this comes wrapped in a deceptive package. Mr. Teatime is slim, young, and speaks with a childlike voice, and can display childlike wonder. He is infinitely charming, even to those he is assigned to kill. His hair is a mass of blond curls. The only clue to his madness are those eyes. One is blue with a small, sharp pupil, The other is an infernal solid black.
Death Takes(Over) A Holiday
Photo credit: Sky1/The Mob
Death(Ian Richardson) takes it upon himself(bringing his shifty trusty servant, Albert) to take over, delivering gifts, making store appearances, and the like.
Of course, he is Death, so that puts a bit of a damper on things. Luckily, Albert(David Jason) is there to keep him sort of on course.
Photo credit: Sky1/The Mob
Death tells his exasperated granddaughter, Susan Sto-Helit(it’s delightfully complicated. READ THE BOOKS) his plans to deliver gifts, and explicitly tells the no nonsense and constantly truthseeking badass granddaughter not to investigate matters.
Susan. Photo credit: Sky1/The Mob
Explicitly.
So Susan(Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery) investigates.
Her quest leads her to Death’s domain, to Wizards, to the Tooth Fairy’s castle, and on the wrong side of Mr. Teatime and his henchmen, Banjo(Stephen Marcus) and Medium Dave(Peter Guinness, next to be seen in Zack Snyder’s Justice League as DeSaad).
Photo credit: Sky1/The Mob
The Wizards
The Unseen University helps Susan on her quest for the truth(mostly), and accidentally invent a new god(Rhodri Meilir) along the way. Oh, and a verruca gnome and hair loss fairy(both played by Danny Da Costa)
Faith and Faithfulness to the Book
While not having the same meaning behind it as our Christmas(some may disagree, but that’s their jam, not mine), the themes of believing and why we must believe are major in this story.
This is one of the most faithful adaptations from book to screen there is. I cannot recommend both movie and book enough.
Photo credit: Sky1/The Mob
You Don’t Have to Have Read The Books to Enjoy This Movie
The movie is so well done that you don’t have to know the world it inhabits. Everything is explained when necessary. And it is so similar to Christmas, you can’t get lost. It was a miniseries, so expect it to be long. Not a complaint; this gives the story time to develop.
If you are a fan of Terry Pratchett’s work, however, it is even more delightful to see his world brought to life with such care. There are Easter eggs(is that a sort of pune?) galore to look out for.
I seem to have something in my eye every time this scene comes on.
Photo credit: Sky1/The Mob
Hogfather is available on DVD and some streaming services.
If you give it a try, let me know on Twitter @FANdemoniumNet
Oh, and for the Pratchett fans out there, I have two things to say:
Ook!
and
Si non confectus, non reficiat!
