Director Vadim Jean's adaptation of Terry Pratchett's 20th Discworld novel, Hogfather, is faithful, funny, entertaining, and ideally suited for the small screen. Originally broadcast on British TV in the week before Christmas 2006, the first live version of any Discworld novel runs around three hours. Nearly one year later it appeared on US television under the cable auspices of ION, a channel probably not very well known despite a huge market penetration. The DVD appeared in the US at around the same time, but only in Borders bookstores; online searches at Borders might not even have turned up any mention of the DVD, as Borders sells through Amazon.com, but the Hogfather DVD was not available through that outlet.

Thus, many of Pratchett's American fans might have missed this event entirely, or stumbled upon it by chance as I did when I saw the TV listing while the show was halfway through. Some subsequent research led me to the limited way of buying the DVD, and I wondered throughout my search of the low-profile release of this version of his book in America. In the UK, Pratchett is a national treasure, and even here his books sell well, but I would have imagined a somewhat better campaign around the show, such as a tie-in re-issue of the novel, and a more, um, well-known TV channel. But then, producers at bigger stations might have requested major changes. For how can Santa Claus be imitated by a tusked man driving a sleigh led by four massive hogs capable of going “wee” in the middle of a store? What would the children think?

Themes dealing with individual liberty often run deeply through Pratchett's books, especially Feet of Clay and Night Watch (the latter won the Prometheus Award for Best Novel in 2003). Hogfather, however, is generally not focused on the politics of the Discworld, but rather, through that strange personification of the search for human morality and behavior, Death, the question and role of belief itself. Throughout the Discworld books, Pratchett deliberately uses parallels, parodies, and inspiration of events and ideas from ‘our’ world as driving forces or themes in the Discworld. With its obvious allusions to Christmas and Santa Claus, the mid-winter festival of Hogswatch (taking place on the 32nd of December), and the Hogfather who hands out presents on Hogswatch Eve (along with other familiar and not so familiar beings like the Tooth Fairy and the Soul Cake Duck) are ideal targets for Pratchett to examine the role they play in society and humanity.

With a few minor exceptions, the TV version of Hogfather is extremely faithful to the novel. A certain group who sees themselves as the auditors of reality view human belief and creativity as out of place in the universe. They decide to fix this by contracting through the Assassin's Guild the elimination of the Hogfather. There may be countless gods in the Discworld, and few people who can agree on which is supreme, but most of the Discworld inhabitants tend to hang up their stockings every year and wish for something special from the Hogfather. Handed this most difficult task is the young assassin apprentice, Jonathan Teatime, pronounced (at least according to himself) “Teh-ah-tim-eh.” Teatime is a peculiar character, a pure sociopath who kills quickly and suddenly, with no moral qualms. And, he seems to possess certain supernatural powers, moving faster than thought itself. He assembles a band of thieves, a down-on-his-luck student of wizardry, and a master locksmith, and they manage to find a way into the magical house of the Tooth Fairy, where Teatime plans to control the minds of all children through very old magic.

Against the auditors stands Death himself. Pratchett's version of the grim reaper has been present since the beginning of the Discworld books, but after an odd viciousness in the first two books, Death has settled down into a sort of melancholy Pinocchio, as someone not human yet who yearns to be more human (in the very least tries his hardest to understand every facet of humanity). Thus, he seems more human than most humans. He becomes a mirror against which Pratchett examines the best and the worst of us; Death's role is after all a thankless one, having to collect the souls of all the dying. And yet, as his servant Albert and granddaughter Susan observe, he tries so hard to emulate human behavior and occasionally morals. Death cannot directly oppose the auditors, but as the Hogfather goes into hiding to evade their assassination plans on Hogswatch Eve, Death decides to assume the role of the Hogfather. He straps on a pillow, dons a fake beard and jolly robe, and makes the rounds on the sleigh drawn by the Hogfather's four pigs. Tradition must be followed, Death argues, to keep alive the hope and belief in the lies that make life bearable. Onward Gouger, Rooter, Tusker and Snouter!

Death does have other cards to play, including his granddaughter, Susan Sto Helit, last seen in the novel Soul Music. Susan is a steady, almost unemotional young woman, very much aware of her connection to the collector of souls, yet seeking instead a “normal” life which to her means working as a governess for two young children. Death drops some hints of what's going, and Susan feels driven to investigate the disappearance of the Hogfather. She traces the footsteps of Teatime, setting up a riveting confrontation. Other familiar characters make their appearance as well. The Death of Rats plays a much smaller role here than in the book, and while the Librarian is not present at all, the rest of the wizards at the Unseen University act like pure comic relief, and even Hex the thinking machine writes a letter to the Hogfather to get into the spirit and keep alive the vital force of belief.

Fans of Terry Pratchett's work have well over 30 volumes to read and re-read, but here in the first live adaptation of his work to the screen, the reach of Pratchett's world and humor can extend even to non-fans. The heart-warming story at the center of Hogfather creates a fantastical Christmas-time allegory. Rather than attempting to restate a purely religious aspect of Christmas, Hogfather combines its spirit of giving and kindness, with the deeper idea of believing in something else out there, such as hope. Pratchett, who recently publicized he had been diagnosed with a rare form of Alzheimer’s, will keep writing for years to come. But, this three-hour adventure shows that live-action Discworld works wonderfully.

Vadim Jean now is filming the first two books in the same manner. Although Pratchett didn’t really hit his stride in the Discworld mythology until the third or fourth book, seeing The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic realized in the same faithful manner as Hogfather should warm every Pratchett fan’s heart. His books may lack the instant American fan appeal of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings turned into majestic film, or even the slow progress of C. S. Lewis’s seven volumes of Narnia groaning under heavy Hollywood purse-strings. But the Discworld is as fanciful if not more so than these two sagas.