Terry Pratchett interview - Thud! & Where's My Cow?

This Fast Forward: Contemporary Science Fiction interview is from episode #183, and was recorded in September of 2005. In the interview, Terry talks about his novel Thud!, and how its setting mirrored the "real world" of the time. He also discusses the "partner" picture book Where's My Cow? (illustrated by Melvyn Grant) and the phenomenon of Discworld postage stamps.
Episode #183 of Fast Forward was first shown in October of 2005.

Пікірлер: 125

  • @luwkseam
    @luwkseam4 жыл бұрын

    On a different note, how pleasant and refreshing it is to enjoy a friendly and most of all intelligent and interested interviewer, who actually read the book they are talking about. It is, alas, such a rare occurrence.

  • @UIOb

    @UIOb

    4 жыл бұрын

    SO MUCH, YES

  • @alisonsheep

    @alisonsheep

    3 жыл бұрын

    Sorry for commenting a year later, but you're absolutely right about that!! He busts out all these quotes from the book without a glance to his notebook/primer because he knows it so well. What a fantastic interview

  • @richardreardon9948
    @richardreardon99482 жыл бұрын

    The best scene in Thud is when Death has a "near Vimes experience".

  • @beardwierd2783
    @beardwierd27834 жыл бұрын

    I was like Vimes once then I met my Sybil and I have a little boy and that's why he is called Sam , miss you Terry.

  • @ashn9172

    @ashn9172

    2 жыл бұрын

    Wonderful!

  • @stillrabit73
    @stillrabit733 жыл бұрын

    The scene in the novel, where Sam Vines has been taken by the summoning dark, and has lost his mind, and the only thread he has left to his sanity is reading "where's my cow" to his son broke my heart, the strength of that man inspires me daily, we miss you Terry

  • @olewyrdd

    @olewyrdd

    2 жыл бұрын

    The Guarding Darkness....Vimes overcame an eternal entity with his own(In Thud!). because he is an Ultimate Bastard.

  • @Zoecornellwolter
    @Zoecornellwolter2 жыл бұрын

    Ah Terry, still adding magic and wonder to my life even after he's left to avoid the rush. What an incredible human

  • @rudolftrost3534

    @rudolftrost3534

    2 жыл бұрын

    I recently acquired Terry Pratchett Imaginarium, a book celebrating the artwark of the Discworld. The last piece of art shows Sir Terry playing chess with Death... It brought tears to my eyes.

  • @davethekiwibloke
    @davethekiwibloke Жыл бұрын

    I met Terry only once and only briefly at a book signing in NZ, but the two Discworld maps that bear his message and signature are amongst my most prized possessions, and of course I have his collected works which are read and re-read endlessly. It is extremely rare that I get emotionally invested in anything, but Terry has somehow pushed a button inside me and my engagement with the world and characters that have developed over time has brought me quite literally to tears, of both sadness and joy, on many occasions. RIP you wonderful, imaginative bringer of joy to the world. I mourn not only you, but also the stories untold.

  • @vonDumpy
    @vonDumpy2 жыл бұрын

    I am not an emotional man, but I get goosebumps when Vimes starts screaming lines from "Where's My Cow" to the deep downers

  • @olewyrdd

    @olewyrdd

    2 жыл бұрын

    well, when you've been beating by underwaters and in complete darkness and start screaming "where's my cow?" at VERY RANDOM FOLK.....hel, I'd be scared....no wait, TERRIFIED, And in an unrelated issue....My grand-daughter owns "Where's My Cow"...complete with the Fowl Ole Ron version. I've been there...that is why I sympathize with Vimes...as well as knowing the Darkness....Knowing Vimes can handle it (A COMPLETELY FICTIONAL CHARACTER) I can handle it...and it makes me strive more...and that is what fiction does.

  • @plaid13

    @plaid13

    2 жыл бұрын

    Easily the best battle cry ever.

  • @MsOriginalCliche

    @MsOriginalCliche

    Жыл бұрын

    Have to give my 👍 in the comments bc ur at 42

  • @suitov

    @suitov

    Жыл бұрын

    Vimes isn't an emotional man either, and in a way that's what I find great about the scene... that screaming *THAT IS A CHICKEN! IT IS NOT MY COW!* was a logical thing, _and the right thing,_ to do in the circumstances. (That and that the expressions on their faces must've been an absolute picnic.)

  • @StephenRandall

    @StephenRandall

    Жыл бұрын

    Upon my oath I am not an emotional man...

  • @grahamtimms5127
    @grahamtimms51272 жыл бұрын

    Although I have never met the man, Sir Terry Pratchett was like a brother to me. Reading a Discworld novel is like being in a safe place; you can switch the light off at night and laugh yourself to sleep. RIP, Terry.

  • @MWhaleK
    @MWhaleK5 жыл бұрын

    One hopes that at the end Terry meet a rather tall, rather thin and boney gentleman who spoke in all caps.

  • @DogOfKrondor

    @DogOfKrondor

    5 жыл бұрын

    Death was one very lucky anthropomorphic personification.

  • @joeturner1597

    @joeturner1597

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@DogOfKrondor It is listed.

  • @rudolftrost3534

    @rudolftrost3534

    5 жыл бұрын

    Sir Terry met Death in the Company of Granny, so The Not-So-Grim reaper will have had a field day. BTW: I LOVE "The Shepherd's Crown," it is a very suitable ending for a 41 volumes counting masterpiece.

  • @weegiewarbler

    @weegiewarbler

    5 жыл бұрын

    And went for a Klatchian curry.

  • @mikgus

    @mikgus

    5 жыл бұрын

    AT LAST, SIR TERRY, WE MUST WALK TOGETHER. Terry took Death’s arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night.

  • @neuro_4385
    @neuro_4385 Жыл бұрын

    My dad read me "Where's My Cow" when i was younger, and that initial intro to the Discworld has lived and grown with me to this day

  • @AdoraBelle207
    @AdoraBelle2073 жыл бұрын

    Sadly came to his books late but nevertheless they are my favourite literature. They simultaneously have me laughing and crying. Such a brilliant slightly slanted look at life, showing us what we are going through in the eyes of the characters in Discworld . RIP a true genius

  • @AndyB1493
    @AndyB14932 жыл бұрын

    What a wonderful thing seeing an interviewer just being completely obsolved with the person he is interviewing and enjoying every minute of it. RIP Mr Pratchett and thank you for everything you did

  • @weegiewarbler
    @weegiewarbler5 жыл бұрын

    Loved the man's books. They've got me through rough times.

  • @iainstewart9844

    @iainstewart9844

    4 жыл бұрын

    Totally agree..

  • @leah-sagerodgers1715

    @leah-sagerodgers1715

    Ай бұрын

    The best praise an author can get. It helped me the same way.

  • @JonathanChaseHypnotist
    @JonathanChaseHypnotist5 жыл бұрын

    One of the greatest observers of human nature.

  • @JNeepshow
    @JNeepshow4 жыл бұрын

    im so happy i found these. i miss terry so much, it hurts. im so glad he put his heart and soul into his books, i feel like i am speaking with an old friend when i re read them

  • @MisterAppleEsq

    @MisterAppleEsq

    4 жыл бұрын

    Nice Earthbound picture. Great game.

  • @ThalassTKynn

    @ThalassTKynn

    4 жыл бұрын

    Pretty much the only time I've ever cried after hearing of the death of a celebrity was when PTerry died.

  • @JNeepshow

    @JNeepshow

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@ThalassTKynn that and Robin Williams for me

  • @ThalassTKynn

    @ThalassTKynn

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@JNeepshow yes he was a great loss, too. 😢

  • @JNeepshow

    @JNeepshow

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@Zarmdthecoolest he will always exist inside his works. Its sad to think that there will be no more.

  • @andrewbesso4257
    @andrewbesso42572 жыл бұрын

    Thud! was the first Pratchett novel I ever read. I found the cover very appealing, so I checked it out when i saw it in the library. The mental picture of Commander Vimes wandering around in the dark screaming, "Where's my cow?" addicted me to his writing.

  • @mistressmars3200
    @mistressmars32003 жыл бұрын

    RIP Terry Pratchett.....clearly one of the most talented writers of the last century.

  • @luwkseam
    @luwkseam4 жыл бұрын

    As a late adopter of Pratchett's Discworld admiration, I was incredibly lucky to start with Thud! (or was it Snuff?) it being so much more complex and adult then the early books. Once I got hooked I can see no fault in even the most naive ones. "I came off feeling so much better about the world in general." Thank you so much, Sir Terry. Rest in Peace.

  • @hankrearden20

    @hankrearden20

    4 жыл бұрын

    I felt that way after "Small Gods", and "The Unseen Academials".

  • @Intermernet
    @Intermernet2 жыл бұрын

    I miss Terry. I hope someone can fill the Terry shaped hole in so many of our lives. The world needs people like Terry as much as they need people like Einstein.

  • @patriciastoj126
    @patriciastoj1265 жыл бұрын

    My favorite character - Sam Vimes.

  • @rebeccaryan5030
    @rebeccaryan50302 жыл бұрын

    I love sir Terry Pratchett, he gave so much to the world and his books keep on giving.

  • @emanluca3753
    @emanluca37532 жыл бұрын

    “The important thing is not to shout at this point, Vimes told himself. Do not…what do they call it…go postal? Treat this as a learning exercise. Find out why the world is not as you thought it was. Assemble the facts, digest the information, consider the implications. THEN go postal. But with precision.”

  • @lesliefulton9219
    @lesliefulton92195 жыл бұрын

    thankyou for your books Terry, I still enjoy them.

  • @thehypest6118
    @thehypest61185 жыл бұрын

    What an incredible man

  • @BytebroUK
    @BytebroUK2 жыл бұрын

    I'm intrigued that Mr P thought that Vimes was treated as a person of limited intelligence by Vetinari. My take has always been that they understood each other exactly as much as they needed to!

  • @Amaritudine
    @Amaritudine3 жыл бұрын

    Thud! was my first Discworld novel, and it's still my firm favourite. Endlessly relatable and relevant.

  • @richardlloyd2589
    @richardlloyd25894 жыл бұрын

    “4th book in the 3 book trilogy.” You exceeded both our expectations and your own. Thank you. ❤️

  • @KmaC2464
    @KmaC24645 ай бұрын

    Amazing interviewer genuinely interested in an amazing man. Wow. And every one that ive found that he did with you guys is just as good. Im so happy these are still here

  • @davidroberts1689
    @davidroberts16893 жыл бұрын

    I tear up every time I read this book. The relationship between the people in this situation that Terry Pratchett illustrates is emotional. I love all his books. The books have made me a better person.

  • @rudolftrost3534

    @rudolftrost3534

    2 жыл бұрын

    I recently acquired Terry Pratchett Imaginarium, a book celebrating the artwork of the Discworld. The last piece of art shows Sir Terry playing chess with Death... It brought tears to my eyes.

  • @signaltome
    @signaltome5 жыл бұрын

    "That is not my cow!" The guards series is my favorite in the discworld and of course Sam Vimes & Co are my favorite characters. I was thinking that everyone deals with their favorite characters a bit differently because everyone has different experiences through the years, but still I feel like the interviewer here has more or less the same view of Sam that I do from what is brought up. I mean, I know they really can't talk in depth about the book - well, I am sure they could NOW but back then it was fairly new - but I like the dynamic this guy has with his guests and how easygoing they are. :-D

  • @olewyrdd

    @olewyrdd

    2 жыл бұрын

    I actually love this interview because the presenter READ the books and understood the characters enough to actually ask the author about them....fascinating personally. At this moment...It is Sir Terry talking to me beyond the grave.

  • @fionnagrant6636
    @fionnagrant66363 жыл бұрын

    Had Where's My Cow for my boy when he was tiny. He's now 15, taller than me and still reading Discworld books. Thank you, and GNU Sir Terry

  • @rudolftrost3534

    @rudolftrost3534

    2 жыл бұрын

    I recently acquired Terry Pratchett Imaginarium, a book celebrating the artwark of the Discworld. The last piece of art shows Sir Terry playing chess with Death... It brought tears to my eyes.

  • @alpinenewtplaysgames4509
    @alpinenewtplaysgames45095 жыл бұрын

    Really great that the interviewer is very familiar with the work!

  • @petemk73
    @petemk732 жыл бұрын

    I was introduced to Terry's books just before Fifth Elephant was released, and purchased ever book since. They're just so re-readable. In fact I just finished Thud! for the 4th time today

  • @Fallkhar
    @Fallkhar4 жыл бұрын

    This man has done so much for me...

  • @ivanaj.28

    @ivanaj.28

    4 жыл бұрын

    same!

  • @huwjones4291
    @huwjones42915 жыл бұрын

    Gods bless you TP, RIP

  • @paulmc4414
    @paulmc44144 жыл бұрын

    little sam saying,,, buggerit,,,, was awesome :).

  • @kimbob367
    @kimbob3672 жыл бұрын

    Me and my partner have read where's my cow to my 2 older children and they loved it. Got to do it for the littlest one now and hope he loves it as much.

  • @joxidearmageddonator882
    @joxidearmageddonator8826 жыл бұрын

    RIP Sir Terry

  • @tomaszdabrowski9187
    @tomaszdabrowski9187 Жыл бұрын

    sir Terry, you will be missed...I love your books and can't belive there won't be more. RIP greatest writer in the world.

  • @Hiznogood
    @Hiznogood4 жыл бұрын

    It’s funny how the kids love the power of habits. When our kids was small, I used to tell them bedtimes stories almost every night due to my girlfriend (their mother) worked late. Funny thing was there where two short stories they always wanted to hear, and after awhile I could tell them without thinking. It went so far that I sometimes shortly dozed off and had to listen to me sell telling the story to know where in the story we was, so I could take up the tread and carry on. Very often I did fall asleep during these bedtime stories, and if my son still was awake, he would swiftly with no mercy give me an elbow in my ribs (they had a bunk bed and my sons bed was the closest to the floor and I used to lie next to him) and shouting “Don’t sleep!”. My girlfriend tells me that I sometimes fell asleep in the middle of a sentence and begun snoring!

  • @simonmorris4226

    @simonmorris4226

    3 жыл бұрын

    I used to do that reading the Harry Potter books to mine!

  • @Waltham1892
    @Waltham18925 жыл бұрын

    Ook!

  • @arlwiss5110

    @arlwiss5110

    4 жыл бұрын

    you said it brother

  • @bnipmnaa

    @bnipmnaa

    4 жыл бұрын

    A bit harsh, perhaps, but I generally agree with the underlying sentiment.

  • @Waltham1892

    @Waltham1892

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@bnipmnaa HOW UNCOMMONLY DECENT OF YOU...

  • @simonmorris4226

    @simonmorris4226

    3 жыл бұрын

    🍌🦧

  • @Bastion83
    @Bastion8311 ай бұрын

    It pains me that this amazing man is no longer with us. I was told for years to read or listen to his work via audiobooks, and it just sounded too outlandish, but omg am I glad I finally started The Color of Magic and went from there. Pardon the cliche but Pratchett broke the mold utterly in many many respects. I will be a fan forever. Sir Pratchett, you are missed. :)

  • @tomg5187
    @tomg51875 жыл бұрын

    Thank you sir

  • @jasonbull6560
    @jasonbull65603 жыл бұрын

    At great loss sir Terrys toothpaste ran out. Miss him so much, still got his books x.

  • @sharonverdelotti-jackson3495
    @sharonverdelotti-jackson34953 жыл бұрын

    I wish Sir Terry would have written Sam Vimes' idea, "Where's my Daddy?" "Where's my Daddy, is that my Daddy? It goes "bugger it", it is "Foul Old Ron", it is not my daddy..."

  • @placeholdernotetoselfchang1631

    @placeholdernotetoselfchang1631

    2 жыл бұрын

    ive heard that the vimes version is in the standalone book but i dont own it myself

  • @janetmackinnon3411
    @janetmackinnon34112 жыл бұрын

    What- a good interview!

  • @unseenlibrary2845
    @unseenlibrary28453 жыл бұрын

    Fantastic interview 👏

  • @robholloway6829
    @robholloway68295 жыл бұрын

    What’s utterly fascinating and utterly heartbreaking about this interview is that you can see the beginnings of his Alzheimer’s in it. The brief stumble over his words and break between question and answer. A true genius of modern literature begins his journey to meet his greatest character: Death.

  • @olewyrdd

    @olewyrdd

    2 жыл бұрын

    And Sir Terry and DEATH finally met and danced merrily into Eternity...skipping like school girls. And if tell me otherwise, you are a prick.

  • @jpgduff

    @jpgduff

    2 жыл бұрын

    Hogwash. I'm sat here wondering if you've ever had a conversation. He's is sharp and enjoying the interveiew (more than some I've sèen).

  • @paulmc4414
    @paulmc44144 жыл бұрын

    made me cry every time I read it,,,,,,, when sam is in the caves and it is 6 oclock.

  • @simonmorris4226

    @simonmorris4226

    3 жыл бұрын

    And then as Nobby Nobbs would say he went SPARE!

  • @madiantin
    @madiantin4 жыл бұрын

    I raised my youngest reading "Where's My Cow?". Happy memories. =)

  • @1ginner1
    @1ginner1 Жыл бұрын

    Sam Vimes is without doubt my favourite character in the whole Discworld saga, he starts off as a drunken copper turning a blind eye to the misdemeanours, to a shining beacon of what is permissible in the world. He comes around to seeing that all species on the Discworld have a part to play, and when Tears of a mushroom plays the harp, is so moved he has to .........., anyway no spoilers .A.E Pessimel was a great introduction as well gone is the paper pusher to a full fledged warrior. I loved his writing and I miss him so much. RIP Terry, Mind how you go.

  • @bjw4859
    @bjw48595 жыл бұрын

    This must have been quite near the end, were they talking about The Shepherd's Crown at the end?. GNU Sir Terry, you are a great man, you will be missed.

  • @hebusvontroy

    @hebusvontroy

    5 жыл бұрын

    No, they are talking about "Wintersmith". This interview is from 2005 - so he had quite a few years to write a few more beautiful Discworld-Books.

  • @donarnold8268
    @donarnold82684 жыл бұрын

    Thank You!

  • @ispbrotherwolf
    @ispbrotherwolf Жыл бұрын

    Drumknott, how much do you wager between Commander Vimes and an entity of pure anger? Well, that would be a toss ( Just love it).

  • @bnipmnaa
    @bnipmnaa4 жыл бұрын

    9:04 Sir Terry's words ring very true in mid-2020...

  • @UIOb
    @UIOb4 жыл бұрын

    tHANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE WONDERFUL STORIES, NEOFAIRY TALES AND INSPIRING THE LIKES OF NEIL GAIMAN. YOU WERE A LEGEND.

  • @betty5064
    @betty50644 жыл бұрын

    And you should have seen how fast I took my copy of "Where's my cow?" off my 3 year old kid. . . . One, it's precious, and two, toddlers only need to hear those words once and they have them ready for a lifetime

  • @antonfowler6582
    @antonfowler65822 жыл бұрын

    How fitting that granny weatherwax's last book was also sir terry's

  • @danielctreidene2532
    @danielctreidene25325 жыл бұрын

    the cow? the cow bits landed on what is now sweden/norway....I belive the smell towards the end was kind of OMINOUS!

  • @CrypticCharm
    @CrypticCharm3 жыл бұрын

    i came to this after seeing the trailer for The Watch and felt so tainted. I needed just to hear Terry talking about Sam Vimes, and who he really is.

  • @danielctreidene2532
    @danielctreidene25325 жыл бұрын

    any survivors of Prattchetts; should look into a german/swiss book of the fairy tale kind of type, its a big red book labeled "hanz & moritz"...its essensialy one of my childhood nightmare books...especialy the bits at the end....

  • @BRIDINC1972
    @BRIDINC19723 жыл бұрын

    Sam Comes and Granny Weatherwax. Also love Tiffany Achen

  • @jenb6412
    @jenb64125 жыл бұрын

    the ongoing discworld toothpaste lol

  • @suitov
    @suitov Жыл бұрын

    GNU Terry Pratchett. May flights of jelly babies wing thee to thy kip.

  • @danielctreidene2532
    @danielctreidene25325 жыл бұрын

    did I meet angua a few weeks ago? or a sister? actor of that is...

  • @Friedrich-Wilhelm-1980
    @Friedrich-Wilhelm-19802 жыл бұрын

    Sir Terry Pratchett a sage lost to time

  • @Mirekluk
    @Mirekluk3 жыл бұрын

    GNU sir Terry.

  • @emilyfarfadet9131
    @emilyfarfadet91314 жыл бұрын

    GNU Terry Pratchett

  • @bobofwinnipeg9455
    @bobofwinnipeg94553 жыл бұрын

    Terry and Neil sound almost the same.

  • @christianali5431
    @christianali54313 жыл бұрын

    Only a farmer has earned the right to have a cow in public.

  • @djdomain
    @djdomain4 жыл бұрын

    GNU Terry Pratchett