10 Things We’re Hoping To Get From BBC America’s The Watch

4. Machiavellian Machinations

BBC The Watch
BBC America

One highlight of the trailer was the performance of Anna Chancellor as the tyrannical Lord Vetinari, the Patrician (or perhaps now Matrician) of Ankh-Morpork.

Through what little we saw, it seems clear that she carries the careful intelligence and unspoken threat inherent in any attempt to portray Vetinari.

A parodic spin on the classic 'Perfect Tyrant' of Machiavellian fame, Vetinari is the person responsible for turning the mess of humanity called Ankh-Morpork into a functional city.

A political mastermind with an impressive understanding of human nature, they're credited with such masterful actions as press-ganging condemned criminals into bankers, legalising robbery through a Thieves' Guild, and making tax inspectors the most feared individuals in a city full of thugs and killers.

To the Watch, Vetinari is equal parts benefactor and antagonist.

Any series with Vetinari prominently featured should expect convoluted plots galore. With the prominence of her former employer the Assassin's Guild and its subsequent legality, such plots will be even harder to unpick without a body count.

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My passion for all things Sci Fi goes back to my earliest days, when old VHS copies of Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet gripped my tiny mind with their big, noisy vehicles and terrifying puppets. I'd like to say my taste got more refined over the years, but between the Warhammer, Space Dandy and niche Star Wars EU books, perhaps it just got broader. I've enjoyed games of all calibre since I figured out that dice weren't just for eating, and have written prose ever since I was left unsupervised with some crayons next to a white wall. I got away with it by calling it "schoolwork" for as long as I could, and university helped me keep the charade going a while longer. Since my work began to get published, it's made all those long hours repainting the walls seem worth it.