Terry Pratchett's Going Postal
Encyclopedia
Terry Pratchett's Going Postal is a two-part television
adaptation of the book of the same name
by Terry Pratchett
, adapted by Richard Kurti and Bev Doyle
and produced by The Mob
, which was first broadcast on Sky1, and in high definition
on Sky1 HD, at the end of May 2010.
It is the third in a series of adaptations, following Terry Pratchett's Hogfather and Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic. It was announced as part of an investment of at least £10 million into adaptations of novels, including Chris Ryan's Strike Back and Skellig
by David Almond
. Filming began in May 2009 in Budapest.
As is now traditional with The Mob's Discworld adaptations, several fans were invited to appear as extras, during shooting in Budapest
.
s on others finds himself caught by the guards, the sergeant being a werewolf, and is sentenced to death under the alias of Albert Spangler. After a brief spell in prison he is hanged by the neck, but not killed. He is brought before Patrician Havelock Vetinari
who insists that he either becomes the new Postmaster or be executed by falling down a deep pit.
Moist attempts to escape but is caught by his parole officer Mr. Pump, a golem
, and brought to the rundown post office where he meets his two staff; Junior Postman Tolliver Groat and his assistant, the pin
-obsessed Stanley Howler. Moist learns that the post office has been superseded by semaphore towers known as "Clacks" which are run by the unscrupulous Reacher Gilt.
Initially Moist attempts to escape his duty, but realises that he cannot get away without overcoming Mr. Pump, so he goes to the Golem Trust to help understand how golems are created and controlled. There he meets Adora Belle Dearheart whom he begins to have feelings for. His skills prove to be useful in making the post office popular again, both when he invents the postage stamp
in an attempt to raise money which proves to be highly successful, and when he starts an express post service to neighbouring cities.
While staying in the post office Moist begins to experience visions which show him that some of his confidence tricks led to tragedies for those he conned, which result in him starting to have feelings of remorse for the first time, these feelings are heightened when he discovers that Adora Belle's father, Richard Dearheart was indirectly a victim of one of his cons, and as a result lost ownership of his invention, the Clacks. Moist confesses his past misdeeds to Adora Belle just as the post office is set alight, so Moist sets his own safety aside and runs into the burning building to rescue Stanley Howler. Before finding Stanley, he encounters Mr. Gryle, a banshee assassin, who confesses that he killed the previous four Postmasters. Just as Mr. Gryle is about to strike, Moist calls on the haunted letters in the post office to stop Mr. Gryle, which they do.
The burning of the post office means that the people of Ankh-Morpork
are turning to the "Clacks" for sending their messages, so Moist comes up with a plan to draw people back to the post office by pretending that he has experienced a vision telling him where the gods have buried money to help repair the post office (in reality the money was a hidden stash from his past cons). This helps draws people back to the post office, so Moist announces a new long distance delivery service.
Meanwhile Adora Belle Dearheart is working on a way to jam up the Clacks with the help of a group of hackers (clacks-crackers) called "The Smoking Gnu" which they succeed in doing temporarily. The Clacks' chief engineer, Mr Pony, finds a way of preventing the jamming process, but Mr. Pony begins to see that working for Gilt is wrong and presents Adora with evidence to prove that Gilt had the past four postmasters, as well as Adora's brother, killed.
When an attempt to jam the Clacks fails Moist challenges Gilt to a race – Clacks versus post office – the message to be sent is a biography of Havelock Vetinari, to Uberwald. Moist and Adora employ a disused Clack tower to intercept and successfully change the message from the biography to a confession of Gilt's guilt, which is witnessed in Ankh-Morpork, so Gilt is arrested and Adora is made manager of the Clacks. At the end of the story a postman (played by Terry Pratchett) arrives at Vetinari's palace to deliver a letter to Gilt, using one of his aliases. Vetinari implies that Gilt killed himself by falling down the deep pit.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
adaptation of the book of the same name
Going Postal
Going Postal is Terry Pratchett's 33rd Discworld novel, released in the United Kingdom on September 25, 2004. Unlike most of Pratchett's Discworld novels, Going Postal is divided into chapters, a feature previously seen only in Pratchett's children's books and the Science of Discworld series...
by Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
, adapted by Richard Kurti and Bev Doyle
Kurti & Doyle
Kurti & Doyle are a British scriptwriting team comprising Richard Kurti and Bev Doyle. Their work in independent British cinema led to a two year writing contract with US studio Miramax....
and produced by The Mob
The Mob (film company)
The Mob Film Company produces high-quality drama, commercials, documentaries and feature films for the global market, specialising in international co-production. The Mob is part of Red Arrow Entertainment Group , headquartered in London with offices in Manchester and Los Angeles...
, which was first broadcast on Sky1, and in high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
on Sky1 HD, at the end of May 2010.
It is the third in a series of adaptations, following Terry Pratchett's Hogfather and Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic. It was announced as part of an investment of at least £10 million into adaptations of novels, including Chris Ryan's Strike Back and Skellig
Skellig
Skellig is a novel by David Almond, for which Almond was awarded the Carnegie Medal in 1998 and also the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year Award. The book won the 2000 Michael L. Printz Honor from YALSA in the United States...
by David Almond
David Almond
David Almond is a British children's writer who has written several novels, each one to critical acclaim.-Early life:Almond was born and raised in Felling and Newcastle in post-industrial North East England and educated at the University of East Anglia, he was born in 1951...
. Filming began in May 2009 in Budapest.
As is now traditional with The Mob's Discworld adaptations, several fans were invited to appear as extras, during shooting in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
.
Cast
- Richard CoyleRichard CoyleRichard Coyle is an English actor.-Early life:Coyle was born in Sheffield, England to Irish parents. He began his acting career after a stint working on a ferry entertaining passengers, where he was told by a theatre director that he had a talent and should pursue it further...
– Moist von LipwigMoist von LipwigMoist von Lipwig is a fictional character from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. He is the protagonist of the novels Going Postal and Making Money.-Background and execution:Little is known about Moist von Lipwig's past... - David SuchetDavid SuchetDavid Suchet, CBE, is an English actor, known for his work on British television. He is recognised for his RTS- and BPG award-winning performance as Augustus Melmotte in the 2001 British TV mini-drama The Way We Live Now, alongside Matthew Macfadyen and Paloma Baeza, and a 1991 British Academy...
– Reacher Gilt - Charles DanceCharles DanceWalter Charles Dance, OBE is an English actor, screenwriter and director. Dance typically plays assertive bureaucrats or villains. His most famous roles are Guy Perron in The Jewel in the Crown , Dr Clemens, the doctor of penitentiary Fury 161, who becomes Ellen Ripley's confidante in Alien 3 ,...
– Patrician Havelock VetinariHavelock VetinariHavelock Vetinari, Lord Vetinari, Patrician of Ankh-Morpork, is the fictional ruler of the city state of Ankh-Morpork in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, a series of over thirty books describing a parallel universe whose main world has reflections of - even more or less subtle jokes about - our... - Claire FoyClaire FoyClaire Foy is an English actress, best known for playing the title role in the BBC One production of Little Dorrit and Anna in the 2011 film, Season of the Witch.-Personal life:...
– Adora Belle Dearheart - Marnix Van Den BroekeMarnix Van Den BroekeMarnix Van Den Broeke is a Dutch actor and stuntman. He is notable for a recurring appearance as the physical Death in Hogfather , The Colour of Magic He also appeared inTerry Pratchett's Going Postal as Mr. Pump who was voiced by Nicholas Farrell...
– Mr. Pump - Jimmy YuillJimmy YuillJimmy Yuill is an actor, born in 1959, in Golspie, Scotland.He is a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and later joined the Renaissance Theatre Company. He has appeared in many of Kenneth Branagh's films, most recently as Corin in the 2006 As You Like It...
– Mr. Spools - Steve PembertonSteve PembertonSteve James Pemberton is an English actor, comedian, writer and performer, most famous as a member of The League of Gentlemen along with fellow performers Reece Shearsmith, Mark Gatiss and co-writer Jeremy Dyson.-Early life:...
– Drumknott - Andrew SachsAndrew SachsAndrew Sachs is a German-born British actor. He made his name on British television and is best known for his portrayals of Manuel in Fawlty Towers, a role for which he was BAFTA-nominated, and Ramsay Clegg in Coronation Street.-Early life:Sachs was born in Berlin, Germany, the son of Katharina , a...
– Tolliver Groat - Tamsin GreigTamsin GreigTamsin Greig is an English actress principally known for two Channel 4 television comedy parts: Fran Katzenjammer in Black Books and Dr. Caroline Todd in Green Wing...
– Miss Cripslock - Ingrid Bolsø BerdalIngrid Bolsø BerdalIngrid Bolsø Berdal is a Norwegian actress.-Biography:Berdal started studying music and singing in high school and after graduating she continued her music education at the University of Trondheim , studying jazz singing and improvisation for two years...
– Sgt Angua - Adrian SchillerAdrian SchillerAdrian Schiller is a British theatre, TV and film actor, notable for appearances in The Hour We Knew Nothing Of Each Other, Terry Pratchett's Going Postal, Being Human, A Touch of Frost and Doctor Who ....
– Mr. Gryle - Ian BonarIan BonarIan Bonar is a British actor, most famous for playing the role of Dave Wiltshire in the BBC television series Hotel Babylon. He trained at The Bristol Old Vic and has also appeared in New Tricks...
– Stanley Howler - Madhav SharmaMadhav SharmaMadhav Sharma is an Indian born British actor and theatre director. He was educated at the St. Joseph's College, Bangalore, the Scottish Church College, Calcutta, and Fergusson College, Poona, before winning a merit scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London.-Early life:He was born...
– Horsefry - Timothy WestTimothy WestTimothy Lancaster West, CBE is an English film, stage and television actor.-Career:West's craggy looks ensured a career as a character actor rather than a leading man. He began his career as an Assistant Stage Manager at the Wimbledon Theatre in 1956, and followed this with several seasons of...
– Mustrum Ridcully - Terry PratchettTerry PratchettSir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
– Postman
Plot
The story follows Moist von Lipwig, who after years of undertaking confidence trickConfidence trick
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
s on others finds himself caught by the guards, the sergeant being a werewolf, and is sentenced to death under the alias of Albert Spangler. After a brief spell in prison he is hanged by the neck, but not killed. He is brought before Patrician Havelock Vetinari
Havelock Vetinari
Havelock Vetinari, Lord Vetinari, Patrician of Ankh-Morpork, is the fictional ruler of the city state of Ankh-Morpork in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, a series of over thirty books describing a parallel universe whose main world has reflections of - even more or less subtle jokes about - our...
who insists that he either becomes the new Postmaster or be executed by falling down a deep pit.
Moist attempts to escape but is caught by his parole officer Mr. Pump, a golem
Golem
In Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated anthropomorphic being, created entirely from inanimate matter. The word was used to mean an amorphous, unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing....
, and brought to the rundown post office where he meets his two staff; Junior Postman Tolliver Groat and his assistant, the pin
Pin
A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together.Pin may also refer to:* Award pin, a small piece of metal or plastic with a pin attached given as an award for some achievement...
-obsessed Stanley Howler. Moist learns that the post office has been superseded by semaphore towers known as "Clacks" which are run by the unscrupulous Reacher Gilt.
Initially Moist attempts to escape his duty, but realises that he cannot get away without overcoming Mr. Pump, so he goes to the Golem Trust to help understand how golems are created and controlled. There he meets Adora Belle Dearheart whom he begins to have feelings for. His skills prove to be useful in making the post office popular again, both when he invents the postage stamp
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
in an attempt to raise money which proves to be highly successful, and when he starts an express post service to neighbouring cities.
While staying in the post office Moist begins to experience visions which show him that some of his confidence tricks led to tragedies for those he conned, which result in him starting to have feelings of remorse for the first time, these feelings are heightened when he discovers that Adora Belle's father, Richard Dearheart was indirectly a victim of one of his cons, and as a result lost ownership of his invention, the Clacks. Moist confesses his past misdeeds to Adora Belle just as the post office is set alight, so Moist sets his own safety aside and runs into the burning building to rescue Stanley Howler. Before finding Stanley, he encounters Mr. Gryle, a banshee assassin, who confesses that he killed the previous four Postmasters. Just as Mr. Gryle is about to strike, Moist calls on the haunted letters in the post office to stop Mr. Gryle, which they do.
The burning of the post office means that the people of Ankh-Morpork
Ankh-Morpork
Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which prominently features in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of fantasy novels. As cities go, it is on the far side of corrupt and polluted, and is subject to outbreaks of comedic violence and brouhaha on a fairly regular basis...
are turning to the "Clacks" for sending their messages, so Moist comes up with a plan to draw people back to the post office by pretending that he has experienced a vision telling him where the gods have buried money to help repair the post office (in reality the money was a hidden stash from his past cons). This helps draws people back to the post office, so Moist announces a new long distance delivery service.
Meanwhile Adora Belle Dearheart is working on a way to jam up the Clacks with the help of a group of hackers (clacks-crackers) called "The Smoking Gnu" which they succeed in doing temporarily. The Clacks' chief engineer, Mr Pony, finds a way of preventing the jamming process, but Mr. Pony begins to see that working for Gilt is wrong and presents Adora with evidence to prove that Gilt had the past four postmasters, as well as Adora's brother, killed.
When an attempt to jam the Clacks fails Moist challenges Gilt to a race – Clacks versus post office – the message to be sent is a biography of Havelock Vetinari, to Uberwald. Moist and Adora employ a disused Clack tower to intercept and successfully change the message from the biography to a confession of Gilt's guilt, which is witnessed in Ankh-Morpork, so Gilt is arrested and Adora is made manager of the Clacks. At the end of the story a postman (played by Terry Pratchett) arrives at Vetinari's palace to deliver a letter to Gilt, using one of his aliases. Vetinari implies that Gilt killed himself by falling down the deep pit.
Differences from the book
- John Dearheart's death is different from the book.
- Adora Belle Dearheart attempts to get the post office golems to go on strike in the movie.
- Moist knows that Angua is a werewolf in the movie, while in the book he discovers this halfway through the book.
- The characters of Anghammarad, Tiddles, Miss Maccalariat, Death, and Gladys are removed.
- The whole "Pi" subplot is removed, including Bloody Stupid Johnson's trans-dimensional letter sorting machine which caused the original collapse of the post office
- Reacher Gilt is present when the Clacks message sent by Moist is read out. Mr Wilkinson reads instead of Collabone, and the reading takes place in the square instead of the Great Hall.
- Moist makes a speech as he is about to be hanged at the reading. This did not happen in the book.
- The explanation of the golden suit and the initiation test are both removed.
- The previous four postmen are killed by Mr Gryle instead of the time warp.
- Moist's character is changed, with him seeing visions, and repenting of his former crimes.
- In the film the race between the clacks and the post office is to Uberwald, not Genua as it is in the book.
- The timeline is different. Adora Belle says that her brother died three years ago in the movie, not one month ago. The backlog of the mail is several decades' worth in the book and only four years' worth in the movie.