A Conversation for Ask h2g2

Hamish Macbeth

Post 1

asbenjamin

Does anyone else think that the book, "Hamish Macbeth: Death of a Scriptwriter" was really about M.C. Beaton herself and her experiences with making the television version of "Hamish Macbeth"?


Hamish Macbeth

Post 2

kea ~ Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small, unregarded but very well read blue and white website

i haven't heard of it. did she not have a good time making the tv series?


Hamish Macbeth

Post 3

asbenjamin

I'm not sure, but the series had very little to do with the books.
"Death of a Scriptwriter" was about an author who writes a mystery series and is approached by BBC Scotland. When the scripts are written,they change everything. I think that this may really have been about M.C Beaton and her books because the series and the book have very litttle to do with each other.


Hamish Macbeth

Post 4

kea ~ Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small, unregarded but very well read blue and white website

so what are the original books like? i've only seen the tv series.


Hamish Macbeth

Post 5

Madent

I think this is a remarkably common thing.

Chocolat is another example. I watched and enjoyed the film, then I read the book. Apart from the location, the basic premise of a sweet shop and a few character names, the two were completely different.

I suspect that there is an element of getting the story to match the format.

Films require scenes, locations, actors, dialogue, visual and audio appeal. Books work on a different level entirely.


Hamish Macbeth

Post 6

asbenjamin

To answer your question Kea, each book always has at least one murder, often two. Usualy everyone would think that it was an accident except for Hamish. There is always plenty of background story to give clues and to mislead you.
The characters in the book and the series are completly different, although there are some similarities. In the book, there is no T.V John, the closest thing to him is a soothsayer who is not well liked by Hamish. Wee Jock is replaced by a Mongrel named Towser.
I prefer the books over the series since they seem to have more of a story, but with characters that are just as likeable.


Hamish Macbeth

Post 7

kea ~ Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small, unregarded but very well read blue and white website

thanks Andrew, i'm always on the look out for some new fiction to read. will check it out.


Hamish Macbeth

Post 8

kea ~ Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small, unregarded but very well read blue and white website

thanks Andrew, i'm always on the look out for some new fiction to read. will check it out.


Hamish Macbeth

Post 9

Wulfric

The original Inspector Morse books are different from the TV series. Morse originally drove a Lancia (I believe) and Lewis was a 50-odd year old Welshman! Colin Dexter changed the books after the TV series started.


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