The end is nigh

October 8, 2018 10:03 AM

Good Omens - Official Teaser Trailer. Based on the best-selling novel by renowned authors Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, this series follows the story of Aziraphale, an angel, and Crowley, a demon, who have formed an unlikely friendship spanning 6,000 years and have grown fond of life on earth. However, the end of time grows near with the approaching Armageddon and they must now join forces to find a way to save the world.
posted by Pendragon (37 comments total)

I have to say, I am loving the look of David Tennant as Crowley. I've always pictured him and Aziraphale (as I'm sure I was intended to) as Gaiman and Pratchett in this photo on the book jacket, but I really think they drew out the snakelike aspects of Crowley really well in Tennant's presentation.
posted by dlugoczaj at 10:06 AM on October 8, 2018 [16 favorites]

*heavy breathing*
posted by lumpenprole at 10:06 AM on October 8, 2018 [6 favorites]

Sheen and Tennant sharing top billing on ANY project is must-see, but that it's a Gaiman joint? BRILLIANT!
posted by DrAstroZoom at 10:13 AM on October 8, 2018

I don't want to get too emotionally invested in this just from the trailer, but it's hard not to - it looks so good, like they've captured so much of what I love about the book, that wacky yet menacing feel, Aziraphale so flustered yet prim and proper, Crowley just being so... Crowley. That just means that if it does end up sucking, it's going to hurt so much more.
posted by Ziggy500 at 10:14 AM on October 8, 2018 [12 favorites]

I am trying so hard to keep my expectations low, you know? But god, Crowley's little round shades, Aziraphale's pinched-in face, it just looks so exactly right, down to the music track on the trailer. It's like everyone actually read the book and didn't immediately go "and now how can we change it?"

On preview, what Ziggy500 said. Please don't suck, possible favorite show. Please don't suck.
posted by Mizu at 10:18 AM on October 8, 2018 [8 favorites]

Curious to check this out - it looks to have the same feel as Dirk Maggs' 2014 BBC radio adaptation, which I'm a fan of.
posted by ryanshepard at 10:19 AM on October 8, 2018 [2 favorites]

I bounced super hard off this book but on the other hand David Tennant so, yeah, I'm there.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:30 AM on October 8, 2018 [1 favorite]

Giggity!
posted by jillithd at 10:31 AM on October 8, 2018 [1 favorite]

It sounds like Gaiman was pretty closely involved. Which has me a little more hopeful than otherwise.
posted by protocoach at 10:33 AM on October 8, 2018 [2 favorites]

Am I the only one who thought that Aziraphale's name was pronounced "AZ-uh-RAH-PHA-lee"? That's literally how it's been in my head this whole time and I don't know why.
posted by Strange Interlude at 10:44 AM on October 8, 2018 [1 favorite]

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

*deep breath*

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
posted by wenestvedt at 10:57 AM on October 8, 2018 [13 favorites]

Do want.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 11:02 AM on October 8, 2018

Oh so excited.
posted by me3dia at 11:09 AM on October 8, 2018

While I'm pretty sure I struggled through the whole book (Gaiman isn't my thing, Pratchett is), I honestly can't remember much more than the broad outlines from the trailer.

So I mean I guess that means it'll be all exciting and new for me on the television then, so that's a plus.
posted by Kyol at 11:10 AM on October 8, 2018 [3 favorites]

I like the book and I admire most of the talent involved, but some things about the trailer seemed off to me. Since that's always the case with trailers, I'm not too worried yet.
posted by fregoli at 11:13 AM on October 8, 2018 [1 favorite]

Frances McDormand as God. Because yes.
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 11:19 AM on October 8, 2018 [9 favorites]

I have long hoped this would get made as some kind of visual media, but also knew that Hollywood would want to fuck with the stuff that actually makes it good (and the BBC would be too faithful to the things that could use fixing or fleshing, and would also spend like no money on it), and the only way to make it good would be for Gaiman and/or Pratchett to be involved with serious control. So if we had to wait for Gaiman to have an actual career, for several decades, until finally reaching the blessed "development deal" stage, so that he's running the show and writing (I believe) every episode AND the world moved on enough that the show didn't end up being almost entirely white and male (I mean still, but attempts were clearly made), that seems like it's all worked out better than it might have at any previous point, though obviously it'd be even better if Pratchett were here.

I think the trailers and pre-release promotion are having to do some mighty heavy lifting describing the show to A Wider Audience. This one in particular strikes me as having been extremely formatted for American viewers, in a way that may actually loop back around to funny to non-American viewers specifically because it is so very for American viewers.
posted by Lyn Never at 11:27 AM on October 8, 2018 [2 favorites]

Crossing my fingers for some good motorway jokes, unsullied by the hand of Hollywood.
posted by wenestvedt at 11:41 AM on October 8, 2018 [7 favorites]

Never read this but I love both writers so I should catch up with it and it looks fun from the trailer.
posted by octothorpe at 11:43 AM on October 8, 2018 [1 favorite]

My thing is: this trailer is all about Aziraphale and Crowley, who are the “leads,” I guess, but the story lives with THEM and the horsemen and Anathema and Newton and we see nothing about them and so i’m Still worried.
posted by Navelgazer at 12:07 PM on October 8, 2018 [13 favorites]

Gaiman chronicled some of the filming on Instagram and Twitter, including this, er, evocative tweet.
posted by trillian at 12:50 PM on October 8, 2018 [1 favorite]

... but the story lives with THEM and the horsemen and Anathema and Newton and we see nothing about them and so i’m Still worried.

I think this might be because the kids are a big reveal. I can't remember another media depiction of the Antichrist where he was what Adam is, and it's sweet and wonderful. For people who haven't read the book, it could be a genuine surprise.
posted by Countess Elena at 1:04 PM on October 8, 2018 [11 favorites]

I like the book and I admire most of the talent involved, but some things about the trailer seemed off to me.

Yeah, I'm extremely excited about this, but the trailer had some clumsy sound mixing and other deficits that make it seem a bit amateurish.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 1:08 PM on October 8, 2018 [1 favorite]

As beloved as it is, Good Omens is still underrated.
If this adaptation is even half good it will be great.
posted by KBGB at 1:11 PM on October 8, 2018 [2 favorites]

Mizu: Since this was announced, every time a mention of the adaptation comes to my attention I dedicate like, an hour, to just chanting "pleasedontsuckpleasedontsuck" while ritually caressing my own copy of the book, so with any luck that's helped.

Given the state of the American Gods adaptation, I'm not confident that Gaiman's involvement alone will prevent the suck, but since Pratchett has sloughed off his mortal form and Ascended to power, hopefully He can intervene with whatever gods are responsible for TV adaptations on our behalf. I'll go burn a paper fedora; maybe that'll work too.
posted by Jilder at 3:30 PM on October 8, 2018 [4 favorites]

I'm not convinced that Gaiman is a competent showrunner, it's a pretty different skillset to writing. I'm willing to see how this goes, though, and I think hooking the trailer around your big stars and 'angel and demon realise they like Earth too much and want to prevent Armageddon' is probably the angle the trailer would have to take. There's a lot more to Good Omens, but I think that's the most obvious entry point.

I assume they were going to use REM's End of the World (As We Know It) as the music but left the trailer in a car for too long
posted by Merus at 4:37 PM on October 8, 2018 [15 favorites]

In the book, the fact that any tape left in a car will inevitably turn into "The Best of Queen" was always depicted as a bad thing.

I never understood that bit. And thus, perfect choice on the music.
posted by jb at 7:59 PM on October 8, 2018 [3 favorites]

Are there any women in this?
posted by Brocktoon at 8:49 PM on October 8, 2018 [1 favorite]

There a sub-second shot of Aziraphale in his bookstore in which you can see the corner of a PCW 8256 … so yeah, it's gonna be fine.
posted by scruss at 8:50 PM on October 8, 2018 [2 favorites]

Gaiman put together Neverwhere a good long while ago and he’s written scripts for television before so I’m cautiously optimistic that he can pull this off.
posted by Proofs and Refutations at 8:51 PM on October 8, 2018

Brockton: There are quite a few very important characters who are female, but as was pointed out further up have been kept out of the trailer for Reasons. At least two of them are spoiler level content, and the other one is tied into that spoilery stuff, so I'm not surprised they've been kept out of the trailer.
posted by Jilder at 8:55 PM on October 8, 2018 [1 favorite]

Well, the trailer opens with what looks to be a black actress as Eve, and there are quite a few shots of Satanic Nuns (as well as what seems to be David Tennant in a skirt-suit). Combined with casting of the Horsepersons and God, I'm rather hopeful.

(I was sold on "You do...")
posted by I claim sanctuary at 10:42 PM on October 8, 2018 [1 favorite]

Good Omens is a nice little book that I have a lot of affection for, and I hope it's turned into an entertaining television series.

I've always thought the thing about the Queen tape was that it sold so many copies in the 80s that pretty much every car had at least one, and if you reached around for a random tape and stuck it in, there was a very good chance that that tape would turn out to be Queen's Greatest Hits Volume I.

You shouldn't take it to be a sign of any particular animus towards Queen, whatever the words in the book say. British culture, at least of the 80s, is one where affection and mockery are intertwined.

It could have been Brothers in Arms by Dire Straights, but I think Queen works better.
posted by Grangousier at 2:14 AM on October 9, 2018 [5 favorites]

For some reason, David Tennant is the only past Doctor who I can manage to watch — and indeed, enjoy watching! — in other television shows. Very much looking forward to this. The recent BBC radio play adaptation was alright, but something was missing; this trailer at least has a lot more energy!
posted by fire, water, earth, air at 3:28 AM on October 9, 2018

Finally, the thing for which I shall capitulate and get Prime. (And nthing please don't suck.)
posted by evilmomlady at 5:38 AM on October 9, 2018

DOG
posted by Fleebnork at 5:52 AM on October 9, 2018 [8 favorites]

For those who are freaking out (in a bad way), remember that this is a TEASER trailer. It's only purpose is to highlight the most basic summary of the story (Angel and Demon team up to prevent apocalypse and hilarity ensues) and to whet the viewer's appetite for more. Still plenty to come.

I seem to have mislaid my copy of the book (a la Agnes's prophecies), so I'm currently listening to the wonderful audiobook read by Martin Jarvis. It has much more of a Hitchhiker's vibe than I had remembered.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 8:59 AM on October 9, 2018 [1 favorite]