Untitled

[federerale48]

Too many books

I m sure this will be behind a paywall, but the gist of the story is that a guy is losing his NYC studio apartment because hehas 10,00 books. Not much of a physical resemblance but clearly he is realted to Aziraphale in some deeper way.

Too Many Books?

Mendel Uminer faced a crisis when his landlord objected to the 10,000 volumes in his New York studio apartment.

[federerale48]

"Out There."

when is the Edinburgh festival? Because apparently that is where Michael's sci-fi film is having its first screening. I hope it gets decent distribution.

[federerale48]

Does anyone understand why Tinhatter knickers are in a twist over some pics that GT and AL posted? Are they now accusing them of using AI? I can see the pics except the couple that are posted here, so it is all even looper than usual.

[federerale48]

Does anyone know how much longer MS will be held in communicado by Celebrity Traitors? Or has he already been sprung?

[federerale48]

The Final Finale

Ouch. it was tough. Also somehow right and wrong at the same time.  Heaven and hell.  

God, the actor and presence was magnificent.  No idea what the Adversary was doing there, but it always nice to see Toby Jones, even if it was just to have a little ‘chin wag’ with God. ( I wonder if he ever asked about that Job bet?)

At times, with all the no heaven/no hell talk it reminded me a little too strongly of John Lennon’s “Imagine.”  But that’s ok; there are worse things to be reminded of.

There is a whole cadre of people who think Crowley was deeply wronged by Aziraphale in the last 15 of season 2.  I am not among them.  I believed they were both the victims of miscommunication and the worst sense of timing ever.  But, if you are one who does think that way, I think it is fair to read this scene as score settling. When Aziraphale pours out his broken heart to God, declaring for  all to hear the depth of his love for Crowley, Crowley stands in the background looking like an annoyed cafe customer waiting  impatiently for his six shots.

And if the charge against Aziraphale is that he did not love Crowley, as a demon, enough to go off with him, then Crowley actions now tell Aziraphale, ‘sure, I love you, but not as much as the some theoretical humans getting to live a freer life.’  

I don’t see it that way, just saying it is a not necessarily fanciful reading of the scene.  

What I do see, is a bumpy and somewhat discombobulated depiction of what genuine sacrifice entails; the pain is brings and the hope it extends.  A sacrifice they were both willing to make and ABLE to make because of their love for each other.

And of course there is no praise high enough for the way both Michael and David handled these scenes.  Full stop.  

And a very small thing?  When Crowley asks for a pen, Aziraphale responds with what looks like a MountBlanc display in a lovely wooden case.  There is no need for it, which is why it is a PERFECT GO mini moment.

As fo Asa and the Prof.? (The latter should have been Anthony ‘just J’ though. And lovely moments with Derek Jacobi.)  It was all  gift to them and to us.  Cocoa, (maybe with a drop of Talisker), a warm blanket, the stars and each other.  

[federerale48]

And then there was God.

Also, Jesus. And boy did I love that Jesus. Would have definitely taken a piece of pizza and possibly re-considered my take on religion. Alas, I think the truncated version just allowed no space for him/them. And, despite how wonderful the actor and the concept were, I think TPTB should have dropped them from the version we got.

God, otoh, well, there is the Good Omen's through line, (maybe even a ley line.). From the moment that sardonic, almost sarcastic God introduces Herself in the very first moments of season 1 as 'the dealer who you have to play an ineffable game with in the dark and won't tell you the rules and smiles a lot...' She is, when present, constantly the entity that keeps moving the goal posts and won't tell you where they are.

She doesn't seem to punish Aziraphale for giving away his sword, but that seems to be her one 'kindness'. She destroys the world by flood because she is feeling 'tetchy', decimates poor Job by telling him he doesn't even get to ask questions because he can't make a whale and leaves her 'only begotten son' hanging - twice. Once literally.

And when she tells an utterly vulnerable and heartsick Aziraphale that his love for Crowley was predictable and made her 'smile,' the cruelty is just breathtaking. 'Cause that's the thing that virtually all humans are impaled on sooner or later. To love someone and to have that loved someone taken away. Partner/spouse, parent, child, sibling, friend. We have all been there. And for many people, neither God and/or any religious theory ever provides a coherent or compassionate answer to our most heart rending question, "WHY?" The balm for our wounds is only what we can create from the compassion of others.

I am hardly a student of his work, but I think this is part of what Terry Pratchett was getting at; keep smiling but always be compassionate.

[federerale48]

More Good Stuff

GO3 spoilers ahead. (Are we still doing that?)

One of the things I like the most about this final, was that is managed, despite the truncated format to keep SO much humour and flat out silliness. Because, if you take away the angst and drama laden last 15 of season 2, GOs is fundamentally a comedy series. It really is. From Hastur's "Ciao....it means food." To wildly bad magic acts, "lick some serious butt," - on to ( re Job,) "he really is a poppet." to the "awning of a new age" and a demon on laudanum, an angel possessing a fake/not so fake psychic, a hell hound who gets his comeuppance from a house cat, "fatty splifters" and on and on through so many truly funny, laugh out loud moments, this is a comedy occasionally interrupted by dramatic moments. Heck even Amazon lists it as a comedy series. OK, what do they know but still.

And the finale had as many of those moments as I think it really could given the circumstances. Crowley walking into a door, wonderful animation through out, grumpy angels. Aziraphale declaring "I am a RETIRED book seller" with the confident panache of hero to the rescue. And then turning poor Brian's gun into a shark themed water pistol. And a Bentley ice cream truck.

And of course the angel and their sidekick in hell. I mean that scene alone is worth the price of admission. Crowley's reaction to the first flash of teeth. The make up, the utter goofiness of it all and the way somehow, MS managed to bring the (almost) always slightly flustered angel to the surface in little flashes DESPITE the mad make up. And it is a scene that didn't even have to be there for plot purposes, but, oh, how grateful I am that they left it in.

All in all, still got it, still funny when it could be.

[federerale48]

Now the good stuff...

GO3 Spoliers ahead. And for me there was LOTS of good stuff.

Starting with... I am so glad that Aziraphale was shown to have a plan in heaven. A plan to turn the Second Coming from an angry apocalyptic judgement day, to a 'peace and love' sit in at the UN. Would it have worked? Almost certainly not but it was HIS plan and he got to do what he said he wanted to; "make a difference" and make things...and heaven... better. He even had the, however grudging, cooperation of other angels. (Not Michael but he couldn't know that.). And presumably the Metatron and even God, because, as he explained to Crowley, "She didn't tell me to stop."

And he could have had at least a chance to implement the plan had Michael not gone rogue. In the multi-episode version of this, Jesus' disappearance and Michael's duplicity were probably parallel tracks, but in this truncated GO3 it was really hard to pull off.

Eveybody...well...Crowley....though he was going to fail. And of course ultimately he did, but not because of any failure on his part.

And so, the image that stays with me is how HAPPY Aziraphale looked as he gave out instructions and praise to carry out his plan. Anxious too, of course, because that is his default mode, but happy at what he had been able to accomplish. Well done Aziraphale!!

(And, also, WOW were his eyes blue in those early scenes in heaven. Dunno if MS opted for contacts this time around or if that was his heterochromia kicking in big time, but, just stunning.)

[federerale48]

Mrs. Sandwich, Can we talk?

And yes, major GO3 spoilers ahead. I love the character of Mr S and the actor who portrays her, but my second least favorite scene , (after who IS this Aziraphale?? in the first scene.), in GO3...and again...overall I like it...was the scene between Mrs Sandwich and Aziraphale. What the actual F WAS that? It made NO sense and though this is in a show that has a pretty flexible attitude toward what makes sense, there still there have to be limits. She accuses him of always being a 'taker' - what pray tell did Aziraphale ever take? Is she talking about Crowley's devotion? Maybe, but she had no way of knowing about that and even if she did that was freely given and mutual. She says he never cared about Whickber Street, which on it's face, is as the always quotable Crowley said in a different context, "idiocy." How the writers thought it was in ANY reality to hang typically horrible ,messed up urban 'planning' around Azirapahle's neck...well WHAT were they smoking they came up with that?

Those are really my only two negatives. Happier moments ahead.

[federerale48]

Round 2

I have started re-watching the final. Taking it in half hour bites. I have thoughts. Most of them positive, (Overall I am in the thumbs up camp for the final), but some, not so much. So, starting with the negative:

My LEAST favorite scene in the entire final is the very first one. (This was both good and bad- bad, in that I thought...oh, what have they done?!? and good in that it was out of the way.)

Simply put, there is no way that sweet, helpful and already anxious angel who helped Crowley crank up the stars would or could morph into that hard core fighter/brilliant military strategist. This is the angel who referred to his sword as a "big sharp, cutty thing." Who willingly gave it away to help the humans and who, later flatly refused to fight "in any war." Yes, he did blow up his halo to put down Shax and the demons and he referenced being in the 'great war' earlier. But he was mostly protecting Maggie and Nina and I just didn't buy it for one second. And not because of Michael...or David...just because it, right out of the gate, it undermined what we all knew about Aziraphale. And, for no particular reason. If it was just to show us the center of the Universe so that we could relate when Michael went there, there were SO many other ways to do that other than discorporating our Aziraphale.

Also, long hair if you must, but c'mon, hair and make up, there HAVE to be curls.

Sorry for the opinion blast, but it won't be the last.

[federerale48]

I loved it. I loved it enough to get past the parts I didn't love. I am so grateful to the Terry Pratchett estate, to Rob Wilkins, to everyone who fought to get this made. And to David and Michael for bringing the full weight of their talent and ongoing passion for this story TO this story. I am deliberately not reading much in the way of reviews or opinions just yet. I want to sit with GO3 for a while. And probably...definitely... re-watch it more than once. Because whatever anyone feels about it, this was a gift. One that I treasure.

[federerale48]

Here be (spoiler) dragons. Tread very carefully if you want to wait until Wed. to see it unfold untarnished. (Other on line places too. Yikes!)

[federerale48]

question about the whole AI GO3 promo thing. Which hasn't made much of a ripple here but is apparently causing a hullabaloo elsewhere on line. Personally I think AI should probably be beaten with a stick into oblivion, (keeping the small and important things it actually does well...under strict human super vision). But, IF you didn't know that mini promo was AI generated, would you think it was a good mini promo? Effective? Intriguing?

[federerale48]

A few days ago I read an interview with Rachel Talalay about GO3. Naturally I can't find it. But in it she said that because of the time constraints, GO3 would be more Aziraphale/Crowley centered with less detours into comedic moments...or words to that effect. So, good news; yeah to more Azi/Crow. But the fewer comedic moments is really too bad. Before the last 15 of season 2 overwhelmed the show and fans in angst, for me, one of the very best things about Good Omens was how wickedly, wonderfully, flat out FUNNY it is. Wonderful horrible puns, sight gags galore, non sequiturs all over the place, dancing angel and demon...it was all just genuinely laugh out loud. It is a shame to lose that aspect of the show...if in fact that is how it turns out. And I guess the director would know. Still, I'll be just so excited to see our Ineffables in action again, it will be wonderful even if a bit laugh bereft.

[federerale48]

Like many here I have watched the GO3 trailer a LOT. I think it is wonderfully done. And among all the intriguing, enticing, and fascinating moments I think my favorite is Aziraphale's wonderful, silly and perfectly Aziraphale-ean little wave in the elevator door. Tech incompetent here but I wish someone would make a gif out of it. It would find a permanent place somewhere on the tech I can manage.

[federerale48]

I know this is very off topic, but apparently Stephan Fry was on The Assembly and he, like Michael, was pretty amazing. Got the age gap question too. But so much more. Can't see it in the states and have only been able to find one review, so if anyone in the UK saw it and could chime in, that would be great. Thanks in advance.

[federerale48]

It is too bad that replies to 'bummedoutwithouthaven..' (hope I got that right) because I could have pointed out that the GO3 'shots' we have gotten recently ARE from GO3, not previous seasons. Not sure why release on Mother's Day should be a big deal unless of course one's celebration of MD is a 24 hr event. And anyway, different countries that even celebrate MDs do it on different days. UK has already had theirs. But I do totally agree that it is about time for a trailer.