Prepare thyself for a hilariously witty, irreverent apocalypse in ‘Good Omens’

Posted on June 7, 2019

By MARK VIOLA

I don’t often review television, but when Amazon Prime delivers a superb adaptation of one of my favorite books, I have to make an exception.

“Good Omens,” published in 1990 by Neil Gaiman (“Coraline,” “Stardust”) and the late Terry Pratchett (“Disworld”), tells the hilarious and irreverent tale of an angel and a demon attempting to put a stop to Armageddon because they’ve grown attached to the world and would prefer to not see it end.

The Amazon series, which made its debut last Friday, totals six episodes and is one of the most accurate adaptations I’ve ever seen, both with the story itself as well as its tone, which I can best describe as Douglas Adams’ “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” but with angels, demons and witches instead of aliens (although they too have a very brief appearance).

The accuracy can be attributed to Gaiman, who not only penned all six episodes but also served as showrunner, fulfilling Pratcher’s dying wish to have the book adapted into the visual medium.

Michael Sheen (“Masters of Sex”) and David Tennant (“Doctor Who”) are absolutely perfect as the angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley, respectively, who have known each other from the literal beginning. They are both assigned to keep an eye on the Anti-Christ, but through a mix-up, nobody can seem to find the young boy. If Aziraphale and Crowley want to stop Armageddon, they only have a week to do it.

The show may be a bit too quirky for some, and a bit too irreverent for others, but there is a lot to like, although this may be one of the very rare instances when I can say that fans of the original book might like the adaptation more than newcomers.

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