TV Review: Good Omens

May 20th 2019, 11:00am

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Synopsis: Good Omens is based on the beloved book by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman which follows an unlikely duo, a fussy Angel and a loose-living Demon who’ve become overly fond of life on Earth are forced to form an unlikely alliance to stop Armageddon. But they have lost the Antichrist, an 11-year-old boy unaware he’s meant to bring upon the end of days, forcing them to embark on an adventure to find him and save the world before it’s too late.

Review: Based on the fan favorite novel by Neil Gaiman and the late Terry Pratchett, Good Omens is an interesting series compared to the similarly themed American Gods. While both are based on works by Gaiman, their tone and style are vastly different but tread along similar narratives. Where the Starz series is more serious, violent, and explicit, this six-part limited series from Amazon Prime is more appropriate for wide audiences with it's tongue firmly in cheek. With a huge cast of familiar faces from across the globe, Good Omens is a faithful adaptation of the source material that is sure to please longtime fans and newcomers to the apocalyptic tale.

Led by David Tennant as the demon Crowley and Michael Sheen as the angel Aziraphale, Good Omens is a sprawling tale about the Antichrist but one told with a Monty Python-esque sense of humor that fans of Pratchett and Gaiman already know well. With voice-over narration by God (perfectly played by Frances McDormand), the tale unfolds between the realms of Heaven and Hell as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are unleashed and the countdown to Armageddon begins. Like the recent TBS series Miracle Workers and Gaiman's own American Gods, there is a level of satire of political and corporate organizations at the core of stories. But this series feels very British and the production quality very similar to a high end episode of Doctor Who.

Set across six episodes, Good Omens has a concrete beginning and end based on the source material which prevents it from ever feeling too long or too short. Occassionally, the momentum wanes as there are just so many characters to keep track of. While supporting players like the great Miranda Richardson and Michael McKean are fun in their supporting roles, relative newcomers Jack Whitehall and Adria Arjona sometimes feel shoe-horned into the expansive plot. But, smaller turns by familiar actors ranging from Jon Hamm as the Archangel Gabriel, Mireille Enos as War, Brian Cox as Death, and Nick Offerman as the U.S. Ambassador all make ample use of their limited screen time. There are even some nice cameos from David Morrissey and Benedict Cumberbatch that I will not spoil here.

But even with all of those big names gracing this story, the series belongs entirely to Tennant and Sheen. Both play somewhat against type here with Tennant as the bad boy demon and Sheen as the "Southern pansy" bookworm angel. The chemistry between the two actors is visible as they riff off of each other like lifelong friends. It also makes some of the slower moments in the series feel less cumbersome. It is hard to pick which of the two actors does the better job as each gets several meaty scenes to either play for laughs or deeper emotion. In every way, the pair make this a journey a fun one.

Where Good Omens runs into trouble is the pacing of each episode. By the third hour, the story takes halts and gives us a thirty minute flashback sequence (with the opening credits not even rolling until halfway through the hour). It is a vital detour to understand how this angel and demon became such close friends, but it doesn't fit with the narrative structure of the rest of the season. There are many monents like this through the series, many of which fall by the wayside when the final act of the story takes place. There is also the BBC level specal effects which can sometimes take you out of the story since they are often unrealistic and cheapen the production values of the entire series. The strength of the acting often balances out any budget issues, but they cannot be completely ignored.

Good Omens is a fun series that makes very strong use out of it's limited run of episodes. While Gaiman and Pratchett never realized a planned sequel in novel form, if this season resonates with audiences it is perfectly set up to give us a follow-up. The cast all look to be having a lot of fun in this fantastic world that feels like the best live action realization of a Gaiman novel we have seen to date. While the production values leave something to be desired in some places, you can easily accept them within the context of the story. If you are not a fan of British television, this may not resonate quite as much as it would for Anglophiles, but there is more than enough here to entertain all audiences. Good Omens is good old fashioned sacreligious fun that you don't have to be burned at the stake for enjoying.

Good Omens premieres May 31st on Amazon Prime.