Fantasy drama The Watch is ‘quite a trip’!

One critic has called it “Game of Thrones meets Guardians of the Galaxy”, while others have slammed it for its “punk-rock” look and straying too far from its source material – Terry Pratchett’s beloved Discworld series of novels.

Fantasy drama The Watch has been available on the BBC iPlayer for over a month now, but if you haven’t yet streamed it, the series begins on BBC Two this evening.

The eight-part series from lead writer and executive producer Simon Allen follows Ankh-Morpork’s City Watch, who are forced to find the guts to save the world, surprising even themselves in the process. The comedic yet thrilling series pits trolls, werewolves, wizards and other improbable heroes against an evil plot to resurrect a great dragon which would lead to the destruction of life as they know it.

It is inspired by some of Pratchett’s best-loved characters, including Captain Sam Vimes (played by Fortitude’s Richard Dormer), Lady Sybil Ramkin (Lara Rossi), Constable Carrot Ironfoundersson (Adam Hugill), Corporal Angua von Uberwald (Marama Corlett), Corporal Cheery (Jo Eaton-Kent) and Death (voiced by Wendell Pierce). And if you’ve never read a Discworld book, you’re in for quite a trip.

Allen says: “We had so much fun making this weird, wild ride of show with such an exceptional cast and dedicated crew.

“We can’t wait for UK audiences to join our adorable gang on their adventures!”

In tonight’s opening episode, the City Watch’s cranky Captain Sam Vimes comes before Death himself.

In a series of flashbacks, we see how Vimes was first recruited to join the City Watch by Captain Keel (Hakeem Kae-Kazim), despite his street brother Carcer Dun (Samuel Adewunmi) urging him not to do it. Then, when Sam declared that he was arresting Carcer, the gang leader shot at him with a crossbow, but hit Keel instead, killing him.

Sam chased after Carcer to arrest him, but the criminal fell from Unseen University’s roof into flashes of lightning and, presumably, to his death.

Twenty years later, having consumed copious amounts of alcohol and lost numerous brain cells, Sam is reduced to chasing after stray dogs.

Meanwhile, the newest member of the City Watch, Constable Carrot Ironfoundersson, chases after a thief who is revealed to be the head of the Thieves’ Guild.

As the man is released and leaves, he warns Corporal Angua that Lord Vetinari (Anna Chancellor) will hear about it.

Later, Captain Vimes and Sergeant Detritus (voiced by Ralph Ineson) meet with Vetinari, who gives the pair a mission – they are to retrieve a stolen library book, identifiable by its red scalehide.

Meanwhile, Carrot takes a walk with Angua, who gives him the rundown on how the ancient guilds operate in the city of Ankh-Morpork.

Then, while trying to find Vimes, Carrot discovers a letter from his father and learns that he’s a human who was adopted by dwarves, while Angua is a werewolf.

Meanwhile, Vimes believes that he has spotted a familiar face within Ankh-Morpork and his investigations end him up in the dungeon of Lady Sybil Ramkin (Lara Rossi), a self-proclaimed ‘terrorist’.

Together, the pair eventually meet with perpetually failing salesman Throat Dibbler (Ruth Madeley) and investigate the death of an alchemist, learning about the narcotic known as ‘Slab’.

The second episode follows at 9.45pm.

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