'Good Omens' sails on the shoulders of Michael Sheen and David Tennant's charming angel-demon duo
When Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman wrote their book 'Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch' back in 1990, they wanted to adapt the book for the screen.
For the longest time, the icons of literary fiction approached several television writers they admired hoping to explore the potential of putting their fantasy adventure book on the screen.
After several rejections, however, Gaiman was ready to let it go. But a letter from Terry changed it all. It asked Gaiman to make the adaptation happen so Pratchett could see it once before he dies. But then he died, and Gaiman decided to honor his death by making his last wish come true.
And so we have the co-production of 'Good Omens' between Amazon Prime and BBC Two, which Gaiman wrote and executive produced.
The series begins with God, voiced by Frances McDormand, giving us a history lesson. The end is inevitable, she tells us.
However, Aziraphale, an angel played by Michael Sheen, and Crowley, a demon played by David Tennant, don't quite appreciate this.
Having lived on earth for roughly 6,000 years, both Aziraphale and Crowley — who were put on the planet to ensure that Armageddon happens — do not want the world to end and join hands to sabotage the divine plan.
It is Crowley who tempted Eve to eat the apple from the Tree of Knowledge. It is Crowley who has to rightly deliver the Antichrist to the Chattering Order of St. Beryl, where a classic administrative goof-up causes the Antichrist to go missing. But our ethereal friends are unaware and spend the next decade sabotaging Armageddon from the wrong end of the spectrum.
On the other hand, the real Antichrist, who is named Adam Young and is played by Sam Taylor Buck, is raised in a quaint English town of Tadfield with an extremely normal upbringing.
Gaiman had made it very clear on not one but several occasions that the adaptation for 'Good Omens' was made for Pratchett. He stuck to the book through the series considering how a lot of dialogues — including Pratchett's wit and humour — were intact.
As a result of this, however, the series is slow in parts.
In fact, so much of the narrator's (Frances McDormand) part is from the books that it becomes drab in parts. For instance, in the first episode, McDormand is explaining the mix-up feels like a drag.
On the performance front, 'Good Omens' is an absolute delight. Michael Sheen is brilliant as a fussy angel and David Tennant does an entertaining portrayal of the demon Crowley.
However, it really is their chemistry that carries the show. The series sails on the shoulders of this partnership and, when they are offscreen, 'Good Omens' no longer feels charming. All six episodes of 'Good Omens' will be available to stream on Amazon Prime Video on May 31, 2019.
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