The Watch, based on the City-Watch of Ankh-Morpok subseries from the Discworld books by the late, great Terry Pratchett, is about the titular watch (or basically police men) who must deal with an oncoming powerful threat to their fantasy city.
This show has ticked off a lot of fans of the original Discworld novels, and I can see their point of view. A lot of changes were made. (The showrunners have even taken the effort to cover their bases by stating that this takes place in an alternate universe.) A few of the supporting characters feel watered down, in particular Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler who's changed from an amusing silver-tongued entrepreneur/con man to a more formulaic sassy crime boss. Probably due to budget restraints, the city of Ankh-Morpok has more of a modernized look than expected.
The show admittedly suffers from trying too hard to create tragic backstories. Don't get me wrong, it's not like Pratchett never tackled serious plot points or tragic backstories, but he knew how to let things breathe and just tell a good story.
All that said, when you look at the show as a product by itself, it's actually one of the more fun shows out there right now. It manages to capture two elements that made Pratchett work: humor and characterization. The whole thing is pretty funny. The main cast is likable and well fleshed out and acted. The most props should probably be given to lead Richard Domer as scruffy and scrappy Captain Sam Vimes. And overall, the show does feel creative. (Though I admit, they threw a little too many plot points into the final episode. I mean everything is concluded properly, it's just a bit much.)
Overall, I really recommend this. It's fun, plus a quick watch at only eight episodes. If you're a a Discworld fan, I do urge you to judge it on it's own merits and not in comparison to the original.
