TV Review: Good Omens

There’s a special kind of pleasure you get from watching actors really relish their roles and radiate chemistry. It’s magnetic and draws you in. That’s exactly what happens with Amazon’s new mini-series, Good Omens, and it’s two lead actors.

Based on Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s book of the same name, Good Omens boasts an all-star cast: Michael Sheen, David Tennant, Jon Hamm, Miranda Richardson, Michael McKean, Frances McDormand, and, briefly, Nick Offerman. If those names aren’t enough to draw viewers in, the quirky and inventive storytelling should.

Armageddon is coming, and the Antichrist…is an 11-year-old boy named Adam (Sam Taylor Buck). Rewind, though, to the very beginning. We learn of the angel Aziraphale (Michael Sheen) and the demon Crowley (David Tennant) and what roles they play in bringing about (or trying to prevent) Armageddon. Through the angel and demon, we visit, of course, Heaven and Hell. The warmth and vibrancy of Earth are highlighted against the stark, clean (rather unfriendly) white halls of Heaven (Archangel Gabriel is played quite well by Jon Hamm) and the dank, dingy caverns of Hell (also not friendly). Both environments are mirrored in both populations. Angels wear clean, white suits and are haughty and out-of-touch. Demons apparently are not super dark and scary—they wear raggedy clothes and have decaying skin. They were almost comical.

Interspersed throughout this main storyline are a few secondary ones. Anathema Device (Adria Arjona), a descendant of the only true seer of the future, is searching for the Antichrist to stop Armageddon; she’s landed in Adam’s town, but can’t quite read the signs properly enough to discover his true Antichrist identity. Witchfinder Sergeant Shadwell (Michael McKean) sends his new recruit Newton Pulsifer (Jack Whitehall) to that same town where, naturally, romance blossoms. In fact, a small romance also blossoms back in London between Shadwell and his “harlot” landlady (Miranda Richardson). Then, there’s the story of the Four Horsemen (War, Famine, Pollution, and Death) in addition to brief forays into Adam’s 11-year-old friends. If it sounds like a lot, it sometimes is.

The overall story starts out strong but slowly gets slightly bogged down by these multiple storylines. They’re not as well-developed and the characters in them are not as engaging as they could have been. Really, the reason to watch Good Omens—and what is at the heart of the story—is Aziraphale and Crowley’s bromance. From the outset, Aziraphale and Crowley are polar opposites. One is angelic light and the other demonic dark. They each have roles to play on Earth (salvation and temptation) and (good and bad) miracles to perform. But their friendship, over thousands of years, develops in a way that makes them depend on one another…and for each of them to ever-so-slightly fall into that wonderful gray area of life that we all live in; humans are both bad and good and do both bad and good. Aziraphale and Crowley also love Earth and all the delights it holds (Aziraphale is a foodie as a matter of fact).

And, Michael Sheen and David Tennant are just so incredibly delightful to watch. They play off each other so well and seamlessly ARE their characters. Sheen nails Aziraphale’s timidness; Tennant’s rockstar swagger encapsulates Crowley’s ego. They bring out the humor and caring that beat at the heart of both their characters. Frankly, everyone else pales in comparison to these two. Thanks to these two, Good Omens is a wonderful romp through religion, relationships, and free will. And, if the series continues, we can’t wait to have a front row seat to more antics from Sheen and Tennant!

 

Watch Good Omens on Amazon Prime! Discover the book behind the series by clicking here. 

 

Photo Credit: Amazon Prime