ION vs. The Colour of Magic

Sky One's The Colour of Magic — four shriekingly tedious hours vivisected by incessant commercial interruption — was butchered by ION (Channel 6 in these parts) last Sunday. The actual movie runs, I believe, a mere 2 hours 17 minutes or an even merer 3 hours 11 minutes, depending whether you see the US or UK version (c.f. IMDB.com). At least when Hogfather arrived on these shores, you knew the production was over-long and over-reverent. Perhaps more than a little long because it includes material from Pratchett's second novel, in places obsequiously unedited, Colour of Magic was so shredded by ION's money rakes there was no particularly evident continuity to speak of. I thought I was back in the Fifties watching "Million Dollar Movie"...!