Hogan Reviews

I was really looking forward to this adaptation of the Gaiman / Pratchett novel I’d heard good things about, then after hearing the cast I was REALLY looking forward to it. Thankfully that excitement was met with a genuinely funny six-part story, with great acting and effects, and generally a good time in front of the screen. Let’s take a deeper look!

Synopsis:

The demon Crowley and the angel Aziraphale, who, being accustomed to life on Earth, seek to prevent the coming of the Antichrist and with it the final battle between Heaven and Hell.

*spoilers appear from here on out!*

Cast of Characters:

Our charismatic double act… it’s a shame David Tennant doesn’t keep the long hair…

Aziraphale (Michael Sheen) – Aziraphale is an angel who has been placed on Earth since man first left the Garden of Eden. He has grown to love them and their culture, and is mortified at hearing of the Great Plan that will soon result in Armageddon…

Crowley (David Tennant) – Crowley, much like Aziraphale, has been on Earth since the beginning, and has grown to enjoy the life on Earth, and despite being a demon, wants to save the people on the planet from destruction.

Archangel Gabriel (Jon Hamm) – Gabriel is looking forward to finally fighting and defeating the hordes of Hellish demons in the Apocalypse, people of Earth be damned… literally.

Hastur (Ned Dennehy) – Hastur is a Demon Lord who has a strong distaste for Crowley, thinking he’s gone too soft… which he isn’t wrong about, to be fair…

Adam Young (Sam Tyler Buck) – Adam is the antichrist, accidentally left with the wrong family, resulting in his upbringing being rather plain and ordinary. His powers will still awaken soon though, whether he’s aware of that or not…

Anathema Device (Adria Arjona) – Anathema is a witch who is the descendant of the famous Agnes Nutter, a witch from hundreds of years ago who correctly predicted countless outcomes that have helped her family become rich… rich and prepare for the coming of the devil’s son…

Newton Pulsifer (Jack Whitehall) – A descendant of the witchfinder who killed Agnes Nutter, Pulsifer is a loner who has terrible luck with computers, and even worse luck with women…

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Various) – The Four Horsemen: Death, War, Famine and Pollution (who took over from Pestilence) are waiting for the chance to finally cut loose and cause the apocalypse, and that day may have finally arrived…

Plus many more!

The Good:

Getting ready for the final battle, which means the picture quality goes all flushed out… it’s due to the… erm… power involved. Yep.

Right off the bat, when I heard the casting of Michael Sheen and David Tennant, I thought “Man, that sounds like a great combination!” and sure enough, they played off of each other perfectly. Aziraphale the angel who has become accepting of humanity, including its faults, and come to enjoy the company of Crowley, a demon who has softened a bit due to his time with both humanity and Aziraphale, is such a great idea for a duo, their conversations are often both witty and hilarious. Scenes during Adam and Eve’s exile from Eden (which Crowley described as a “bit harsh”) and Noah’s ark / the great flood (which Crowley described as something “his lot” would do, to which Aziraphale could only counter with that God’s plan was “Ineffable” and therefore, by definition, they can’t know why it’s happening, an idea that comes into play at the finale!) were both great, gently poking fun at religion without being too nasty with it.

The two team up to find the antichrist (that Crowley had left in the hands of an unintelligent member of a Satanic cult, leading to it getting sent home with the wrong family) and along the way we meet several demons, several angels, and several humans. The first two group show themselves to be no better than each other, both looking forward to the apocalypse so they can finally settle the score in a grand battle, and so both angels like Gabriel and demons like Beelzebub are annoyed at Aziraphale and Crowley’s attempts to save humanity. I really liked Hastur as well, a demon who has a particular dislike of Crowley and a general disdain towards technology. He has some great interactions and moments with his rival.

The human characters the duo interact with all have their roles to play and are often (though not all the time) funny. Michael McKean’s Witchfinder Sergeant Shadwell was a good laugh in his pathetic-ness, and the trashy woman he lives next door to, Madame Tracy, is also a good laugh, they make a good couple in the end. The Four Horsemen being summoned by a delivery man who somehow arrives in different places across the world but just sees it as another job he has to do, was funny as well. Especially since he gets himself killed so he can deliver a message to Death. That’s commitment! Even Adam the antichrist and his three friends were fine, another streaming show (after Stranger Things) proving that good child actors aren’t as hard to come by as some series that have settled for poor performers have made it seem…

Plenty of scenes stand out over the course of the show, Crowley’s love for his car and driving through an inferno, as well as his escape via a phone line, were great, and I legitimately laughed out loud when Aziraphale accidentally stepped into a circle that would destroy his Earthly body, and just screamed “Oh… FUCK.”, rather uncharacteristically. In the end everyone gathers together and prevents the apocalypse thanks to Adam being a nice boy, and he even stops Satan by proclaiming he isn’t his son, the human who raised him is his real father, using his antichrist powers to make it so. Likewise Aziraphale and Crowley avoid their own punishments, making sure things go back to their ideal status quo.

The Bad:

Look at that smile on Gabriel… what a cock.

I have to say that Anathema the modern witch was played a bit flat, I don’t know if the very British sense of humour didn’t translate well to an American accent, but either way she always felt out of place. Jack Whitehall did alright at the pathetic loner type, but I’ve had a strong dislike of Mr. Whitehall for a while now, so it was hard to separate the actor from the role, for me personally…

Overall Thoughts:

End with a shot of the beginning, that’s what I always say!

Good Omens was a good laugh, properly entertaining for just under six hours, and nicely tied up in the end too. There probably isn’t going to be another series, after all there was only the one book, but even if that turns out to be the case, I’m happy. One or two not-as-good performances didn’t hurt what was overall a great time, it was often hard to wipe the smile from my face.