Good Omens (TV series)


Good Omens is a miniseries based on the 1990 novel of the same name by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. A co-production between Amazon Studios and BBC Studios, the six-episode series was created and written by Gaiman, who also served as showrunner. Douglas Mackinnon directed the series. Good Omens stars an ensemble cast led by David Tennant, Michael Sheen, Adria Arjona, Miranda Richardson, Michael McKean, Jack Whitehall, Jon Hamm, and Frances McDormand as the voice of God.
All episodes were released on Amazon Prime Video on May 31, 2019, and aired weekly on BBC Two in the UK between January 15 and February 19, 2020.

Premise

Set in 2018, the series follows the demon Crowley and the angel Aziraphale, longtime friends who, having grown accustomed to life on Earth as representatives of Heaven and Hell, seek to prevent the coming of the Antichrist and with it Armageddon, the final battle between Heaven and Hell.

Cast and characters

Main

The below actors are credited in the opening titles of single episodes in which they play a significant role.
Jonathan Aris appears as the Quartermaster Angel: an angel who gears up the angels for Armageddon. Adam Bond portrays Jesus Christ, whose crucifixion is witnessed by Crowley and Aziraphale. Sanjeev Bhaskar portrays Giles Baddicombe, a lawyer. Steve Oram plays Horace, a motorist on the M25 hypnotised and burned alive by Crowley's sigil. Paul Kaye and Ben Crowe make vocal cameos: Kaye as a spokesman for an electricity board and Crowe as Freddie Mercury. Jayde Adams and Jenny Galloway play participants at Madame Tracy's seance. Alistair Findley and Jim Meskimen cameo as George H. W. Bush, Findley portrayed Bush while Meskimen voiced him. Kirsty Wark, Paul Gambaccini and Konnie Huq cameo as TV presenters. James Naughtie cameos as a radio presenter. Neil Gaiman cameos as all the individuals in the cinema scene in episode 4, besides David Tennant. Terry Pratchett's iconic hat and scarf appear in Aziraphale's bookshop.

Episodes

Production

Development

Pratchett and Gaiman had planned to adapt Good Omens as a movie for years, with various directors and writers attached to the project along the way. In 2011, a television series, written by Terry Jones and Gavin Scott, was first reported to be in the works but no further plans were announced. After Pratchett's death, Gaiman refused to ever consider working on the adaptation alone but changed his mind when he received a letter from Pratchett, written to be sent after his death, urging him to finish the project.
On January 19, 2017, it was announced that Amazon Prime Video had given a green-light to a television series adaptation of the novel to be co-produced with the BBC in the United Kingdom. Executive producers were set to include Gaiman, Caroline Skinner, Chris Sussman, Rob Wilkins, and Rod Brown. Gaiman was also set to adapt the novel for the screen and serve as showrunner for the series. Production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of BBC Studios, Narrativia, and The Blank Corporation. Distribution of the series was to be handled by BBC Worldwide.

Casting

On August 14, 2017, it was announced that Michael Sheen and David Tennant had been cast in the lead roles of Aziraphale and Crowley, respectively. On September 14, 2017, Gaiman revealed on Twitter that Nina Sosanya, Ned Dennehy, and Ariyon Bakare had joined the main cast. A day later, Jack Whitehall, Michael McKean, Miranda Richardson, and Adria Arjona were announced as series regulars. A week after that, Sam Taylor Buck, Amma Ris, Ilan Galkoff, Alfie Taylor, Daniel Mays, and Sian Brooke were also cast. In October 2017, it was reported that Jon Hamm, Anna Maxwell Martin, Mireille Enos, Lourdes Faberes, and Yusuf Gatewood had joined the main cast. In November 2017, it was reported that Reece Shearsmith and Nicholas Parsons had also been cast. On 15 December 2017 it was reported that Derek Jacobi would voice the Metatron.
On 9 February 2018 it was announced that Steve Pemberton and Mark Gatiss had joined the series. On 6 March 2018, it was announced that Nick Offerman had been cast in a series regular role. On 20 July 2018, it was announced during Amazon's San Diego Comic-Con panel that Frances McDormand had been cast as the voice of God as well as the series' narrator. On 13 February 2019, Neil Gaiman announced that Benedict Cumberbatch will voice Satan with the character itself being a CGI creation.

Filming

109 days of principal photography for the series took place over a six-month period beginning September 18, 2017 and ending in early March 2018. Shooting began throughout the UK with subsequent filming taking place in and around Cape Town, South Africa. In October 2017, the production was spotted filming in Surrey. The series also filmed in St James's Park and Tavistock Square in London and Hambleden. The Soho area of London representing the street and Aziraphale's bookshop was created and shot in Hertfordshire at Bovingdon Airbase. A vacant building in Weybridge, Surrey served as Heaven's Corporate headquarters and Hogback Wood, the location for Adam and his friends was also filmed in Surrey. Bulstrode Park, just outside Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire, with its mansion and grounds, was used for the satanic convent/hospital and later the corporate training center. The American Army base was located and filmed in Upper Heyford, in Oxfordshire. The Weald and Downland Living Museum in West Sussex was used to film Agnes Nutter's burning at the stake. It was shot over a two-day period in October 2017.
The car in the novel is a 1926 Bentley, but neither Gaiman nor Pratchett really knew what a 1926 model looked like when they wrote Good Omens. For the television series, a 1933 model which had more of the look Gaiman had in mind was used. The Bentley used in filming is valued at £250,000.

Title sequence

Good Omens opening title sequence was created by the Peter Anderson Studio, based in London and features music by David Arnold. When Douglas Mackinnon approached Anderson about the title sequence, Mackinnon stated that he wanted something "over the top". MacKinnon's idea was to communicate the coming of Armageddon, while also showing the humor and "fantastical tone", Crowley and Aziraphale's friendship, and the idea that good and evil is in everyone. The project was a new style of design by Anderson and his studio, as well as a unique design for a television series. Anderson described the final result as "a totally bonkers mishmash of all animation styles in a way where they feel as if they belong together".
The actual production used physical props, animation, illustration, 3D and some live-action motion, to depict the approaching apocalypse and clash between Heaven and Hell. The goal was to include the same spirit from the show into the title sequence. Characters in the title represent "real" live-action persons from the series accomplished by dressing studio employees in the costumes from the show, filmed on green screen, and then later cutting them out and creating animations. Each of the animated characters has either Crowley's or Aziraphale's face.
The title sequence incorporates all the characters from the series as they move towards the Apocalypse. Included are Crowley's Bentley in front of Aziraphale's bookshop, the Chattering Order of St. Beryl's nuns, Shadwell and Madame Tracy, the hellhound, flying saucers, the appearance of Death, and members of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Crowley's work on London's M25 is featured in the parade along with various towns and areas of the world. In the end characters fall from earth, landing either in Heaven or Hell, leading into the Good Omens title artwork. The entire title sequence runs a little over one minute.

Costumes

Claire Anderson was costume designer for Good Omens. She found working on the project a unique experience unlike anything else she had done. Anderson received a 2019 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes for Episode 3, Hard Times.  Early design centered on main characters Aziraphale and Crowley. Anderson worked closely with actors Michael Sheen and David Tennant to design their modern-day looks. Once created, they served as an important influence on everything else they wore in flashbacks throughout history.
Crowley's look reflected his transformation into human form from a serpent. The costume was modern, black, almost "goth like" in style, including a "snake head" belt buckle.  He often wore dark glasses to conceal his serpent eyes. Crowley's outfits always had a hint of red, including red soles on his shoes, or red lining on his gloves representing his demon snake's red belly. Jackets contained red on the underside of his collar. Aziraphale's outfits were the opposite of Crowley's, reflecting an ethereal nature. His angel-inspired costumes included cuff-links, a signet ring, and a pocket watch, all containing angel wings. Aziraphale's off-white color palette and style maintained a Victorian Era look through modern times with oversized lapels and shoulders representing his Angel wings.
Other costume inspirations came from the pages of the Pratchett/ Gaiman 1990 book, itself. Details described throughout were incorporated into costumes. The modern-day character, Anathema Device, distantly related to prophetess Agnes Nutter, wears a Victorian "witchy look."  Actor Jack Whitehall, playing would be witch-hunter, Newt Pulsifer was dressed with coat badges and epaulets and the accent color mustard, merging modern geeky Newt with his 17th-century ancestor. Whitehall also wanted the "odd socks" from the book incorporated into his costume. Claire Anderson's idea for Jon Hamm, as Angel Gabriel was to look perfect. The designer found the material on Bond Street. It was "light, ethereal" and ephemeral." The suits were cashmere and made by Italian label, Zegna. Hamm wore lilac contact lenses to emphasize the lilac in his "pearl gray" suit. The Satanic Nuns of the Chattering Order's costumes were created to look like regular nuns except with a satanic undertone. Anderson looked at nuns through the years and chose to use "peaky hats" which had a more witch-like feeling rather than an evil one. The costumes included an upside-down satanic symbol on their clothing as well their watches. The demons from Hell, Lord Beelzebub, Duke Hastur, and Ligur, wore carefully blackened clothing with shredded hems to appear as if scorched in Hell. Mr and Mrs. Young, the Antichrist Adam's parents, were dressed in a nostalgic, "timeless and comforting" 1950s look to represent their dependability. Anderson used her own parents' friends as inspiration. Sergeant Shadwell is "grubby", wearing drab colors that reflect this. His defining look is a jacket with elements of a uniform to represent his witchfinder army role. Madame Tracy, wore costumes to reflect her dual jobs as psychic reader and "sex worker". "Flowing gowns" and colours reflecting "kookiness" were used for her mystic persona while an ostentatious kimono represented her "lady of the night" role. Many costumes had visual effects which required putting small tape markers in the shape of green crosses on people's bodies.
The cold opening, featuring a flashback through history in Episode 3, required costumes to represent the various historical periods, ranging from the Garden of Eden in 4004 BC up to Soho, London in 1967. Anderson took Inspiration from pre-Raphaelite paintings as well as hippie clothes from the movie Serpico.  Throughout the epochs each costume reflected the period as well as the Angel/Demon aspect of their characters.  The scene with Crowley and Aziraphale in armor has black throughout Crowley's armor while Aziraphale's is silvery and light. A "snake-like" skin texture is part of Crowley's costume when wearing a robe or gown in ancient times.

Special effects

London-based Milk VFX was chosen to create all the visual effects for Good Omens. Jean-Claude Deguara, co-founder, began work in the pre-production, pre-script stage of the series. During pre-production the six scripts were broken down to work out how the VFX could interact effectively with the story in each episode. Neil Gaiman was a constant source of help as he could quote from the book to help with creative decisions. The goal was to use an "in-camera" shot whenever possible. The Noah's Ark scene in Episode 3 used "live-action" elements whenever possible, including the smaller animals. Larger animals were added in post-production. Special effects were to be used as part of the scene and "grounded in reality" for the world and characters created, not stand out on their own. Sixty visual effects specialists, the most Milk had used on a single project, worked over a two-year period to create a wide range of effects. 650 CG shots were created for the six episodes of Good Omens. Post Production turnaround time was five months.
Deguara and his crew created a wide range of effects including creatures, environments and fire. Among the environments created was a penthouse for Heaven with "ever-changing" views of the famous landmarks of the world. The escalator to Hell was filmed in a modern office building in London, using "real time cinematography" as well as a green screen for special effects depicting Crowley's descent from the lobby to Hell. The Soho site for Aziraphale's bookshop, built at Bovington Airfield, used a green screen to extend the streets in post-production. The site was built because Aziraphale's bookshop had to burn down with real fire, not just visual effects, something not possible to do in Soho. The opening scene of Episode 1 at the Garden of Eden, filmed in South Africa, included "many green screen and interactive VFX" to create a big visual effects scene. Episode 4 featured a visual effect of Crowley flying through the Internet, chased by Hastur, the Duke of Hell. Tennant was in a rig that allowed him to "twist and roll at speed" while Dennehy used a wire. To make Tennant's part look realistic and hide the rig, digitally created "glitch-type movements" were created.
Crowley's Bentley is almost a "character" itself in the series and is often seen racing through London at speeds above 100 mph. The Bentley had to look authentic, but no real Bentley would have been able to drive at 100 mph. The filming of the car through the streets of London was one of the first effects Milk VFX learned about. After locating a real Bentley, CG assets were created for the scenes on the street as well as inside the Bentley. The car used is actually a combination of five different CG, real, and built versions. The Bentley that blew up in Episode 6 is real. The interior was removed and the exterior blown up. Rather than using digital effects to create the scenery as Crowley is driving, the Bentley, Gavin Finney, Director of Photography, used an older technique called "back projection" which first films passing scenery from all the sides of a moving vehicle. On the set, the filmed scenes are projected onto a screen. Finney explains: "It means you see the footage as well as reflections on the glass or the driver’s face, say as the vehicle goes under trees, while it also works as a lighting source."
The Hellhound was created by using, as a model for the Hellhound, a Great Dane dog with similar coloring to the small dog that was used later. Using a blue screen, the Great Dane was filmed, then partially enlarged in CG to create the head and neck of a Hellhound. The Hellhound visual effect was used for a couple of scenes, but the transformation to a small dog used a real dog. The final episode featured a confrontation between Adam Young, the child Antichrist, and Satan, his "father who is no longer in Heaven". The original concept of Satan was a much more "hellish" version. However, Neil Gaiman wanted a more human form of the 500-foot-tall creature, rather than including "hellfire" and over-the-top demonic action. Certain effects were scaled back in the rise of Satan from Hell, so that the focus became the more "human" interaction between a "father" and rebellious son who rejects him as his father. Sound effects such as body sounds, rocks and moving earth were used to emphasize Satan's size and power. Other visual effects included a short demon named Usher, sacrificed to test holy water, a kraken rising in the sea, wings for Crowley and Aziraphale, as well as maggots overwhelming a call center when Hastur escapes after being trapped in Crowley's voicemail. Crowley's snake eyes were created using contact lenses for the most part, but were digitally enhanced when a greater effect was needed.

Music

Good Omens features music written by Emmy winning composer, David Arnold, along with quite a few Queen songs throughout the series. Arnold received two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Main Title theme and for the episode In the Beginning. Arnold's work on Good Omens was unlike any project he had done before. The composer said, "...it might be the hardest I've worked on anything." Arnold describes the series as "universe-sized show in need of a universe-sized score." According to the composer, the opening theme is a "kind of wicked, slightly, devilish, Mephistophelean waltz-- it has a feeling of twirling, out-of-control-ness" He re-wrote the main theme for each episode to reflect what happened in the episode.
Arnold used instrumentation in creating a particular theme for an episode/scene. Among instruments used are lutes, and lyres, bass brass and drums, harps and more depending on the "imagery" or "emotion" of the scene. In composing the music, Arnold wanted to combine "heavenly" and "satanic" elements so that when something sounded good, there would also be an element of bad as well. He says, "Whenever there was a sweet violin, there would be its nasty brother lurking alongside it. The composer was a fan of Queen's music as a teenager, studying their records and how they played sounds. "There is a grandiosity to that music, which kind of informed what I was doing." The choirs and a chorale sound in certain parts of the series reflected this influence at times.

Release

The six episodes of the series were released on Amazon Prime Video on May 31, 2019, and aired weekly on BBC Two between January 15 and February 19, 2020.
David Tennant and Michael Sheen reprised their respective roles in voice-only form for a 3-minute short titled "Good Omens: Lockdown" which was released on YouTube on May 1, 2020. The short imagines how their characters might be doing in isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Marketing

On October 6, 2018, the series held a panel at the annual New York Comic Con in New York City. The panel was moderated by Whoopi Goldberg and featured creator Neil Gaiman, director Douglas Mackinnon, and cast members Michael Sheen, David Tennant, Jon Hamm, and Miranda Richardson. During the panel, the first trailer for the series was premiered and subsequently released online.
During SXSW 2019, Amazon Prime hosted a Good Omens "Garden of Eden" Party in Austin, Texas during the entire week of the festival. The party was hosted by performers dressed as angels and demons, respectively, with free food, hair & nail services, and a full complimentary bar. David Tennant, Michael Sheen, Jon Hamm, Douglas Mackinnon, and Neil Gaiman made a guest appearance at the Garden of Eden briefly before showing an episode of the series for an early screening at Zach Theatre. A party hosted at the Garden by Entertainment Weekly featured a fire-breather and a Queen cover band. Good Omens-branded umbrellas and tote bags were handed out at the pop-up experience, and the Garden featured a petting zoo full of local puppies called "Hell Hounds".

Reception

Good Omens has received generally positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 83% based on 93 reviews with an average score of 7.25 out of 10. The site's critical consensus is, "A smörgåsbord of heavenly imagery and irreverent hilarity, Good Omens works thanks to Michael Sheen and David Tennant's very-nearly-holy chemistry – though, at only six episodes long, it's a rare adaptation that may have benefited from being a little less faithful to the good book." On Metacritic it has a score of 66% based on reviews from 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Good Omens has also been declared by Tumblr as The Top of 2019 along with its pairing Aziraphale & Crowley as The Top Ship.

Petition for cancellation

An online petition that erroneously requested Netflix cancel Good Omens has reportedly received more than 20,000 signatures from people objecting to the show's content, unaware that the show was actually on Amazon and had already been released in full. The petition, posted as part of a "Return to Order" campaign by a US Christian organization, criticizes the show's irreverent treatment of topics relating to satanism and the devil, and the use of a female voice for God. The petition has subsequently been removed from the site, corrected and reposted.

Accolades