Peter C

This series works, whether you have a broad knowledge of the historical period, or know absolutely nothing. One of the smartest decisions from the outset, was to not let the romp be constrained by the tedium of historical accuracy, and yet there is enough nuance in the general behavior of the characters to make the series fit neatly within the period. I also very much enjoyed the loose and humorous approach to sexuality. To describe it as vulgar, is to seriously misunderstand how prudish western society has become. The two leads seem to be perfectly cast for their roles. Very much hoping there are further seasons to come!

A well-crafted series, that represents quite a chilling indictment of modern American society. The hypocrisy of a society that claims to support freedom of expression, yet consistently fails to defend this principle is never more stark. What was on display, was not just the decline in standards and expectations within American tertiary institutions, but the extent to which US society is now driven by populism and mob justice. The notion that a careless action can be taken out of context and used to inflame a mob completely devoid of human compassion and empathy was all too real. Even more real, was the craven, selfish and cowardly response from the Institutional leaders. Where were the values that Americans have boasted about? Where was the mature educated society? More frighteningly, where were the voices of reasonable people prepared to stand up in defence the victim against the mob? If 'The Chair' is a true reflection of the current state of American society and it's ability to manage complex human behavior with nuance and integrity, then the world is better off for this countries quite obvious decline. We don't need to be lead by a country that can't lead itself.

Most disappointing mis-casting of Pratchett characters since Sean Astin was cast as the naive myopic Asian character, TwoFlower. I only gave this one star, because it wouldn't allow me to give zero. Pratchett was incredibly even handed and open-minded when it came to race and gender, yet the fantastic beauty of his Discworld was the way in which cultural and social tropes translated. That subtle brilliance has been all but lost here. This series is the opposite of 'white-washing', but in some ways infinitely worse. The woke casting has obviously gone out of it's way to show 'diversity' and put women in the power positions, but in doing so, it's lost all of the character, charm, and poignancy of Pratchett's Watch. This seems to be a disease that has afflicted all of the attempts to bring Pratchett to the small screen, and that's a tragedy, given the strength of the source material. If only a director would accept that the characters were already perfect and the plots already brilliant, and simply represent them as they were written! I'd watch this series if I was an uber-woke person who had never read a Terry Pratchett novel. Even then, I might marvel at the ineptitude and clumsiness of the cast, where gender and race seem much more important than doing justice to the role and as a consequence, none of the characters feel like they really make sense.