In the Beginning
Present Day
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In the Beginning
Season 1. Episode 1
Originally aired May 31,2019 BBC
Written by Neil Gaiman. Directed by Douglas Mackinnon.
Based on a book by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
Starring: Michael Sheen as Aziraphale, David Tennant as Crowley
With: Daniel Mays as Arthur Young, Frances McDormand as Narrator / God (voice), Sian Brooke as Deirdre Young, Nick Offerman as Thaddeus Dowling, Ben Crowe as Freddie Mercury (voice), Doon Mackichan as Archangel Michael, Anna Maxwell Martin as Beelzebub, Nina Sosanya as Sister Mary Loquacious, Sam Taylor Buck as Adam Young, Schelaine Bennett as Eve, Jon Hamm as Gabriel, Anthony Kaye as Adam, Alistair Findlay as George Bush, Susan Brown as Mother Superior, Jasmine Hyde as Sister Grace Voluble, and Ollie as Dog.
Good Omens follows Aziraphale, an angel, and Crowley, a demon, who were there at the beginning of the universe, 4004 BC, on October 21st at 9:15 am. They watched Adam and Eve eat the apple and be cast out into the desert.
Crowley is supposed to turn people evil and lead their soul's to hell. Aziraphale is supposed to do the opposite and lead souls to heaven.
They are not very committed to their jobs and are best friends.
Everything is fine until Beelzebub orders Crowley to plant the baby Antichrist with a family to be raised on Earth. On his eleventh birthday, the boy's powers will emerge. He will become the Destroyer of Worlds, starting the final battle between good and evil.
Except neither Crowley nor Aziraphale want that to happen.
Things get complicated when Crowley arrives at the convent to switch the babies. It was supposed to be simple. But there are two newborns, two new moms, and, thanks to Crowley's delivery, three babies with no obvious way to tell which baby belongs where.
Good Omens is an irreverent look at common beliefs of heaven, hell, the beginning of the universe, and the end of the world. There are demons, angels, and satanic nuns. Both Beelzebub and God are played by women.
Michael Sheen's Aziraphale is a reserved and bookish angle, not given to grand gestures. David Tennant's Crowley is pretty much to opposite. He is sometimes overly animated, both physically and his facial expressions.
While Aziraphale is quite normal looking, maybe a little pale, Crowley has red hair and yellow eyes with vertical slit pupils. He wears sunglasses a lot, presumably to hide his eyes. His contacts don't always stay positioned correctly. I think the sunglasses probably made filming easier since they hid his eyes.
Although Good Omens isn't often belly laugh funny, it is extremely enjoyable and quite fun to watch.
Reviewed by Romana Drew March 5, 2023.
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