A Review of Good Omens, on Amazon Prime
Not very subtle of the Almighty. Fruit tree in the middle of a garden with a “don’t touch” sign.
I must preface this review by saying I have not read the book (yet). I’m sometimes extremely late to the party, but I do eventually get around to reading the books.
Good Omens envisions both heaven and hell as gigantic corporations with angels and demons being the workers. Azirophale (Michael Sheen) and Crowley (David Tennant) meet up right after Adam and Eve are cast out of the Garden of Eden. They almost immediately strike up a friendship. At about the time of Shakespeare, they realize their “jobs” would cancel each other out in the long run. So why don’t they just sit back and enjoy what humans have to offer and write up fake notes in their paperwork to the home office. Azirophale and Crowley are essentially dead-beat employees, but loveable ones.
Their arrangement stands for thousands of years. They strike up quite the friendship enjoying human restaurants and rescuing each other from harm. Then Hell decides to kick off events leading to the Apocalypse. Both home offices are chomping at the bit for a war, but Azirophale and Crowley have grown to like it here on Earth. They don’t want to see everything just end. The Odd Couple of the celestial world decide to get together and work to stop the end of the world. The hilariously dimwitted way Armageddon starts is all part of the charm I expect.
Good Omens very much reminds me of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy with its irreverent humor. A small bit of the humor might not translate to Americans, but I believe there is a large enough fan base for Monty Python in the New World that it won’t matter that much. There was some nice commentary about fundamentalism I think throughout the show. Both angel and demon a like are a bit put off by the hard and fast rules of heaven and hell.
I’m sure some religious groups will have some problems with the commentary put out there about the Almighty in this show, as well as the bending of the rules of what is good and evil. The group that petitioned Netflix to cancel the show was particularly hilarious. I am a believer who happens to think my God is quite strong enough to endure the occasional ribbing, which is all that Good Omens does. It also does some good-natured ribbing on itself. Azirophale had a funny reaction to the beginning events of Armageddon closely resembling the plot to the 1970’s horror movie Damien. I liked the show very much and look forward to a good read in the near future.
