The trailer for the six-episode TV mini-series Good Omens has been released.
The series is based on the book of the same name by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, which is based on the Apocalypse, the Rapture, and the Book of Revelation. It is a funny book, written in a style that is a cross between Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and the British schoolboy fiction William series by Richmal Crompton that I very much enjoyed as a boy.
The premise of the book is that careful plans for the Apocalypse go agley when there is a mistake in the nursery of the obstetrics ward of a hospital when a careless nun absentmindedly switches two babies and the wrong newborn is identified as the Antichrist who is later supposed to bring about the end of the world. Nothing goes according to plan after that.
It has a first-rate cast. The main roles are played by Michael Sheen as the good angel Aziraphale and David Tennant as the demon Crowley who, while they have been given opposing assignments, have over time developed a rapport and friendship. A lot of other well-known actors play cameos, such as Frances McDormand as Aziraphale’s boss God and Benedict Cumberbatch as Crowley’s boss Satan.
There were plans over a decade ago to make a feature film directed by Monty Python’s Terry Gilliam and possibly starring Johnny Depp and Robin Williams, but the project apparently got cancelled due to lack of funding. That is probably a good thing. I think the complexity of the story requires more time to tell well and a mini-series would work better.
The series begins on May 31 and I am looking forward to seeing it. Unfortunately it is being shown in the US on Amazon Prime which I do not subscribe to. I will have to wait for the DVD to come out. The series was produced by the BBC which means that people in the UK may be able to see it on that channel.
gang agley.
Mano,
One of my librarians told me a couple of weeks ago that Amazon is extremely slow about allowing its content to go to DVDs for library use.
I’ve been waiting to see the Bosch—now in its sixth season—for a very long time. Apparently, individuals can buy the DVDs, but Amazon won’t allow libraries to do so.
Yet another reason to tell Jeff Bezo’s to take a hike.
Cheers,
Jeff Hess
“Based on the book…”
…
“Amazon original”
So being the first to put someone else’s work to film is enough to qualify as being original and creative. That explains a lot.
komarov @3:
Yes. Yes it absolutely is. A screenplay is not a book, and a movie is not a screenplay. If you like, you can follow Neil Gaiman on Twitter and get an idea of how much work is going into the series. Transferring a story from one medium to another is very difficult to do well, even when one of the original authors is the showrunner.
Fair enough, I see your point. While the story may not be, ahem, entirely original they at least picked a good one.