Good Omens - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

Discuss Good Omens Here!

Please put book talk under spoiler tags, thanks.

[scarynikki12]

All I want is Dog. I can live with changes to the story and characters as long as they give me Dog. 

[jeansheridan]

Wait!  Is this a real thing?  Where can I watch it?

[jeansheridan]

 Oh.  There isn't even a cast yet.  I got all excited for nothing.  Oh well.

[Meredith Quill]

It's been ordered to series but not filmed yet.

[theatremouse]

Has anyone seen anything concrete about how this will be available? I've seen lots saying Amazon Prime and BBC, but no info on if it might end up on BBC America too. I guess I have several months before it matters. This might be the thing that makes me sign up for a service because of one show.

[scarynikki12]

I haven't really seen anything.  All I want is for it to be available at the same time everywhere.

[Meredith Quill]

Quote

The show, which has been co-produced with BBC Studios, will premiere in 2018 on Amazon’s streaming service Prime Video, and will be broadcast on the BBC in the UK soon afterwards.

Quote from this article.

Here's a similar article.

[jeansheridan]

Awesome.  I kind of want the Sherlock team on it.  The David Tennant era.  I think they would get the tone.  But not sure they can direct kids.  

Who would be a dream director?  Who did the last few Harry Potter movies?

[jeansheridan]

Woohoo.  Shall we start casting?  Maise Williams would make a decent Door.  Tom Holland for the lead who is so bland I cannot recall his name.  Mark? 

[feverfew]

12 hours ago, jeansheridan said:

Woohoo.  Shall we start casting?  Maise Williams would make a decent Door.  Tom Holland for the lead who is so bland I cannot recall his name.  Mark? 

I think you're mixing Good Omens up with Neverwhere ;) This one is with the angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley (Full character chart here)

But yay! I love fan casting! Tobias Menzies or Peter Serafinowicz (I liked him a lot in the BBC Four radio play, and he's sardonic-looking enough to play the part) as Crowley, Paul Bettany or Colin Salmon as Az, Hannah John-Kamen as War, James Frain as Famine, George McKay as Pollution and Alan Tudyk as Death.

And either Tuppence Middleton or Alice Englert as Anathema Device, and either Tom Brooke or Joe Dempsie as Newton Pulsifer. What about you guys? :)

Edited May 14, 2017 by feverfew

[jeansheridan]

Oh my goodness how embarrassing!   Yes, so the wrong book.  I know about half the actors you mentioned.  Paul Bettany totally deserves a good role.  

Matthew McFaddyn (Ripper Street) has a lovely dry delivery too as a possible Crowley.  Or he would make a great dad for the anti-Christ.  Olivia Coleman would make the best mum too.  

I always pictured a pulled together red head for War.  A Jessica Chastain.  Who can play British but isn't War just so American?  

[jhlipton]

Neil Gaiman ("What's misogynoir?") is in charge?  Count me out.

Edited May 16, 2017 by jhlipton
Mr Nancy

[johntfs]

Neil Gaiman, who co-wrote the book is in charge?  Count me very much in.

[johntfs]

13 hours ago, jeansheridan said:

Who can play British but isn't War just so American?

Look up the history of the British Empire sometime.  We kind of got that from you.

[jeansheridan]

10 hours ago, johntfs said:

We kind of got that from you.

I'm American but point taken.  I still think War reads American in the book.  

Can we find a spot for Ben Whitshaw?   He is so pretty.  And weird.  The guy who played Merlin in the TV series might be a good Newton.  

[John Potts]

I keep thinking Maisie Williams would be a good Pepper (obviously, she'd need a wig/dyed hair) but then I remember I'm thinking of Maisie as in S1 of Game of Thrones. I can see that the Them are going to be the hardest to cast as (even aged up a bit) they are critical to the story (Adam most of all, obviously) yet definitely only children.

I can easily imagine Zooey Deschanel as Anathema, though they probably wouldn't get her. Jude Law might make an interesting choice for Aziraphale. I could even see him pulling off Crowley (errm... poor choice of words there!).

[Joe]

Michael Sheen and David Tennant as Aziraphale and Crowley! I'm not familiar with Sheen, but Tennant is perfect. I can see him in full tenth Doctor who loves the little things mode. "I love a little shop." And so on.

[scarynikki12]

3 hours ago, Joe said:

Michael Sheen and David Tennant as Aziraphale and Crowley! I'm not familiar with Sheen, but Tennant is perfect. I can see him in full tenth Doctor who loves the little things mode. "I love a little shop." And so on.

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THIS IS SO PERFECT I CANNOT STOP TYPING IN CAPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

::calms self down::

Michael Sheen is awesome.  For a good indication of his range as as actor I recommend The Queen and the first Underworld movie.  I'm told he was great in Masters of Sex but I never saw it.

::back to caps::

BUT TENNANT IS PLAYING CROWLEY AND MY LIFE IS NOW COMPLETE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(I may be a tad excited)

[Morrigan2575]

Tennant as Crowley is just freaking perfect.

[mammaM]

I'm old enough that I remember when the book first came out Gaiman mentioned Frye and Laurie as asiraphale and crowley so I always see them in my head, but Sheen and Tennant are...........really really good. And mentioning Tennant makes me think Alex Kingston would be a good War

And I just heard Michael McKean is Shadwell, which is good except I always pictured him much shorter. 

[GaT]

I can't believe this is going to be a series, I HATED the book. I kept hearing raves about it so I picked up a copy & it was a chore to finish. I had never read any Neil Gaiman or Terry Pratchett books before, & after reading Good Omens, I never will.

[Which Tyler]

 

I haven't seen any of the other casting news, so there's:

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/09/good-omens-cast-michael-sheen-david-tennant-jack-whitehall-michael-mckean

Witchfinder Sergeant Shadwell = Michael McKean

Newton Pulsifer = Jack Whitehall

Anathema Device = Adria Arjona

Mary Loquacious = Nina Sosanya

Hastur = Ned Dennehy

Ligur = Ariyon Bakare

 

 

I'm still hoping for Karen Gillan as War

Edited September 18, 2017 by Which Tyler

[Which Tyler]

On 14/05/2017 at 5:25 AM, jeansheridan said:

Awesome.  I kind of want the Sherlock team on it.  The David Tennant era.  I think they would get the tone.  But not sure they can direct kids.  

Who would be a dream director?  Who did the last few Harry Potter movies?

Tennant era Sherlock???

Are you confusing Sherlock with Dr Who by any chance?

[Karlophe]

First look at David Tennant and Michael Sheen as Crowley and Aziraphale:

http://www.geeksofdoom.com/2017/09/18/first-look-tennant-sheen-good-omens

So it looks like it's now expected to launch globally on Prime Video in 2019, and will air on BBC Two at an unspecified later date.

 

Edited September 20, 2017 by Karlophe

[Caia]

I really REALLY hope they have a narrator for this show.  The best and funniest bits of the book (IMO) were the asides and descriptions and the foot notes.  Dear god the foot notes!  'The Bugger Alle This' Bible is still one of the funniest things I have ever read.  The BBC radio show didn't really do it for me because they left all that out.

[crashdown]

On 9/18/2017 at 2:08 AM, GaT said:

I can't believe this is going to be a series, I HATED the book. I kept hearing raves about it so I picked up a copy & it was a chore to finish. I had never read any Neil Gaiman or Terry Pratchett books before, & after reading Good Omens, I never will.

Wow, different strokes--it's one of my favorite books ever.  I think it's hilarious.

[GaT]

2 hours ago, crashdown said:

Wow, different strokes--it's one of my favorite books ever.  I think it's hilarious.

Different strokes indeed LOL

[BetterButter]

[BetterButter]

‘Parks and Recreation’ Star Nick Offerman Joins Amazon’s ‘Good Omens’

[scarynikki12]

23 minutes ago, BetterButter said:

‘Parks and Recreation’ Star Nick Offerman Joins Amazon’s ‘Good Omens’

Eeeeeeeeeee!!!

[M. Darcy]

Behind the scenes  clip shown at Comic Con.

[BetterButter]

[Morrigan2575]

2019 is too far away!

[Anela]

On 9/24/2017 at 10:58 AM, crashdown said:

Wow, different strokes--it's one of my favorite books ever.  I think it's hilarious.

It's one of my favourites, too. I read it, and then gave it to my mum to read, back in 2006. She loved it, too.

I also loved A Dirty Job, but that was Christopher Moore, not Neil Gaiman. And one of Pratchett's books about a witch named Tiffany.

[Morrigan2575]

I read a few Prachett books before this (my friend is a huge Prachett fan) and they were OK but, I loved Good Omens and was turned onto Gaiman's books because of it.  I have to say i think Gaiman is the better writer (of the two).  

Of course Prachett didn't lead me to Good Omens, I read the book because back in S5 of Supernatural all people could talk about how the show was doing an homage to Good Omens (Demon Crowley, Angel Castiel, The Horsemen, etc).

[BetterButter]

Benedict Cumberbatch to Play Satan in Amazon’s ‘Good Omens’

[Aulty]

May 31st - yay!

[SilverShadow]

Trailer's out! 

[festivus]

Oooh, I'm excited. Did I catch sight of that hottie Vincent from The Originals? 

Edit: Yes I did. Only for one episode though.

[Danny Franks]

That trailer makes me very happy. Finally, a glimpse at the rest of the characters. 

Adam looks older than I always pictured, but that's fine. I hope the Just William-ness of him and his friends comes across, and they're not too contemporary a bunch of kids.

The woman playing Anathema looks good. The actress is supermodel beautiful, but it looks like they've at least attempted to make her a little more dowdy and 'Hollywood plain'. Jack Whitehall is always very much Jack Whitehall, so I don't know how well I'll be able to take him as Newt, but hopefully it will work out.

Michael Sheen and David Tennant still seem absolutely perfect as Aziraphale and Crowley, and I really can't wait to watch this.

[tennisgurl]

Oh yeah, I am so ready for this! The characters all pretty much look like I imagined, and they seem to be getting the tone just right. I cannot wait!

[scarynikki12]

I saw Dog!  They used Queen!  And David Tennant remains one sexy bastard even with demon eyes.

[Arynm]

I am here to admit that I have a bit of a soft spot for Jack Whitehall so I am very pleased to see that he is in this. The entire cast looks fantastic and I can't wait to watch it in one day and then be mad about it for a year. Maybe we can get a season 2?

[AuntieMame]

The trailer is amazing and has inspired me to do a reread. I adored this book the first time I read it. 

[Jenniferbug]

I know it's not out yet so there's no definitive answer, but if you experts had to guess- how crucial is it to read the book before watching the series? Is there a lot of internal stuff that may not translate to screen well?

[Llywela]

11 hours ago, Jenniferbug said:

I know it's not out yet so there's no definitive answer, but if you experts had to guess- how crucial is it to read the book before watching the series? Is there a lot of internal stuff that may not translate to screen well?

When asked (and he has been asked repeatedly on social media), Neil Gaiman says that the show will be able to stand completely alone - you shouldn't need to have to read the book in order to understand the show. In fact, he reckons the show actually expands upon one or two points the book merely hints at. I don't think you'll have any trouble understanding what's going on. Although I would always recommend reading the book, because it is a damn good read!

[Jenniferbug]

Thanks @Llywela! I've read and enjoyed Gaiman, but have never read Pratchett before. If I have time, I'll read the book first but it's nice to know that if I don't I can still enjoy the show. 

[GeorgieNY]

Just wanted to pop in and say I was lucky enough to go see Neil Gaiman speak this week with Nick Offerman as the interviewer and special guest Michael Sheen.

it was a delightful evening where we were treated to a couple of clips from the show. No spoilers, but this looks like it’s going to be really good!!

[Danny Franks]

So they reserved a seat for Sir Terry Pratchett at the world premiere of the show.

Quote

But, he added: "Throughout it all, I kept wishing that Terry Pratchett was there. Whenever I got stuck, I wanted to call Terry and say, 'What do I do now?' And whenever I did something clever, I wanted to call him and say, 'I did it, I figured it out!'"

The mixed reviews concern me, because it's clear how much pressure Neil feels to make this adaptation good. I guess if fans of the book like it, that's all that really matters.