Good Omens

Yep, the newest Amazon show based on a book by two great writers Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.

I greatly enjoy their work and I had to read the book to fully be able to compare notes and judge if you can watch the series by itself and not lose any enjoyment, and thankfully you really don't. You get a lot more out of it if you read the book and it is a very good book, but you can spend an afternoon watching the show and get invested. Hell I only had two major flaws with the series, it was too short totaling in 6 episodes each an hour long, which is funny cause it took me about six hours to read the book but gah I wish it was longer! But is that really a bad thing if you want more? Not really. And the other flaw is a stigma because of it's short length, don't get me wrong this is a great adaptation nearly putting everything in, but it does lose some stuff. Not major story breaking stuff, it follows the major points of the book from beginning to end with some added content which I love, but more detail stuff that help immerse you in the world better. But what is this world exactly? Well a very long time ago, in the beginning some might say, in a lush garden an angel by the name of Aziraphale and a demon by the name of Crowley meet and after millenia they slowly become good friends and when the big day approaches of the end of the world, they have some differing opinions and formulate a plan to avert the apocalypse so they can keep enjoying Earth. It's an interesting story and the performances is what grabs you and makes you stick around! Michael Sheen is amazing, I think he was perfectly cast as a very prim and proper angel, and is a complete joy to watch. David Tennant gets to play a ginger demon who still has that style and charisma that made him beloved in Doctor Who, and if I'm being embarassingly honest I fully ship them. They are perfection, it was subtext in the book but it might as well be text in the show and I for one love it. And it ends just right, it put me in such a good mood! I loved it! In fact if you look at the cast for the series, and if you watch a lot of british television, you will recognize many of these names and they really don't skip out on the star power. I'll give you a buck if you can guess who voices Satan without looking it up. All the major players get plenty of screen time for the most part, the kids get sort of sidelined but it's not too bad. I'll also say the woman who plays our friendly witch Anathema who has certain knowledge of the end of days, is absurdly gorgeous yet her romance life feels a bit rushed but that's what it was like in the book too and it's no big deal when you get down to it. But the show knows where it's major priorities are and want to make a good adaptation, and the new stuff they throw in is great. I would fully endorse a Aziraphale and Crowley spin-off show detailing their various misadventures through centuries of friendship, because they do it so well in one of the episodes you want to see more! I also don't mind some superficial changes, I like how the Four Horsemen are split with two men (sort of) and two women, and I love the idea of the personification of war to be a woman. Usually people just rain down hate if something diversifies people from it's source material, but trust me it could be worse. J.K. Rowling could be pissing on Terry Pratchett's grave but it's done well. And yes, I would say though Good Omens is the brain child of both Neil and Terry, it's Terry's writing style that forms the book. If you've ever read one of his Discworld books, his sense of humor and writing prose becomes abundantly clear and the series tries to do justice to it but some of it falls flat if you haven't read the book, and to further prove my point I only know one person who speaks LIKE THIS in his writings. But what's missing out on a joke if the story and characters are still clearly defined and engaging? This is a really good series, criminally short, but entertaining and fun. Great production, excellent casting, a faithful script, and a witty and enjoyable however brief series. A definite recommendation from me, and perfect for people wanting more imaginative and original storytelling. And someone please write a series called Aziraphael And Crowley, while in the meantime I'm gonna listen to some Queen and have a nice meal.