Insider the imaginative mind of author Terry Pratchett must be a strange and wonderful place in its prime. It is unfortunate that he is afflicted by Alzheimer's disease affecting one of the most brilliant fantasy writers of all time. In the universe created by Sir Terry the world is not the spinning blue ball floating against the velvet darkness of space. For Pratchett the world is a flat circular slab called Discworld. It is balanced on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle, named Great A'Tuin. The inhabitants of the Discword include but are not limited to human being. This is a place of wizards, werewolves and vampires. Here Assassins' Guild is a politically powerful organization and Death is a humanoid figure. Fans have enjoyed the elaboration of the Discworld over the course of over three dozen novels. Each one adds more threads of the rich tapestry crafting a wonderfully insane place that creates a mélange of mythology, fantasy and history from through our time and space. The Discworld permits Jewish folklore to move side by side with Hindu mythology casting pieces of J.R.R. Tolkien in its wake in magical splendor. So far British television has produced three miniseries faithfully base on Pratchett’s works. First, in 2007 there was ‘The Colour of Magic’ followed a year later by ‘The Hogfather’. Then in 2010 the third miniseries under consideration here was released, ‘Going Postal’. This particular installment benefited from the recent incentive with British television to move to high definition. This is reflected here with an amazingly robust Blu-ray release. It helps to know the underlying mythology, terminology and premise underscoring the Discworld universe but the original stories are so well constructed and the resulting miniseries so faithful to them in spirit and content that even a newbie to the fanciful Pratchett universe will be readily pulled in. someone not a Pratchett fan is basically a person who has not experience his imagination. ‘Going Postal’ contains many recurring Pratchett tropes but it is fully able to stand on its own.

Moist von Lipwig (Richard Coyle) is a confidence trickster, a con man of considerable reputation. After a long and moderately successful career he is tracked down by Sergeant Angua (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal) who has excellent tracking skills thanks to her nature as a werewolf. Lipwig is duly sentenced to be hanged by the neck until dead but just before the edict could be carried out he is covertly spared by highly placed authority, the Patrician Havelock Vetinari. The deal he is offered is simple; either accepting the position as Postmaster General or be flung to flung down a pit to his death. Being who he is Lipwig attempts to escape only to be appended by a golem, Mr. Pump (Marnix Van Den Broeke) who serves as his incorruptible and relentless parole officer. The reason the office of Postmaster is such a lowly placed one is most information is disseminated through Clacks. This is a large network of towers spread in line of sight to each other transmitting messages through a type of semaphore signals employing the opening and closing of wooden shutters. Thos system has proven so effective that no one uses the post office any more. It apparently it takes a con man to successfully turn around a dying civil service appointment as Lipwig soon manages to take business away from the Clack. In typical Pratchett fashion this is a satire twisting the real world where the Internet is threatening the need for the U.S, Postal service. Soon Lipwig finds himself needing cash to sustain the growth and so the stamp is created. His two assistants, Junior Postman Tolliver Groat (Andrew Sachs) and his assistant, Stanley Howler (Ian Bonar) find themselves busier than ever before. Staley’s obsession with collecting pins comes in handy both for the introduction of perforated stamps and the hobby of stamp collection. Both of these factors impact the revived interest in the Post Office. When a larger labor force is required Lipwig turns to the Golem trade union for help. It is run by the stern but beautiful Adora Belle Dearheart (Claire Foy). Typically clad in black and with an ever present long cigarette hold she initially rebuffs all of Lipwig’s romantic overtures. That soon wanes when they discover a common foe, Reacher Gilt (David Suchet) who destroyed her father by stealing the idea of the Clack from him. Along the way Gilt and Lipwig engage in contests of one upsmanship to prove their superiority. In one very funny twist Lipwig aligns himself with an anti-clack subversive group called ‘The Smoking Gnu’ who devise a complicated message than once transmitted freezes the shutters rendering the Clack station inoperative. This then proliferates down the line. The technology of the Discworld may be that of the start of the industrial revolution but Pratchett ingeniously found a way to spoof computer viruses. In the End Lipwig stands triumphant in his golden jacket and winged shoes and hat, the symbols of hid office.

It might take several viewings to catch everything going on here and it is certain you enjoyment will increase each time you watch. Pratchett has created such a wildly textured and intricate that he pulls off satire on every level from groan worthy puns to exceptionally intelligent parodies of all facets of our modern world. Keep in mind that this miniseries represents only as sliver of his genius. You truly have to get into the written work to fully appreciate how completely formed this strange place is. This is a pure joy to experience and is sure to become a favorite for family viewing. The Blu-ray edition brings out the nuances of this production transporting you right into this little hamlet. It also shoes that the original broadcast was produced for high definition.