Devilishly funny, Good Omens on Amazon Prime on Friday was the ultimate goodie vs baddie end of the world thrill ride.
Based on the 1990 novel co-written by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, this is fantasy at its best. But it’s leading men David Tennant and Michael Sheen who steal the show – they are the comedy double act we never knew we needed.
A match made in, er, heaven, Sheen plays angel Aziraphale while Tennant is demon Crowley.
The pair have struck up an odd love-hate friendship over the course of 6,000 years serving on Earth, but the world is about to end so they need to stick together.
The story starts at the beginning. The very, very beginning. The creation of the universe. We’re in the Garden of Eden and Crowley is the snake that tempts Eve to eat the cursed apple, despite the not-so-subtle “Don’t touch” sign.
“Well that went down like a lead balloon,” sighs Crowley. Aziraphale admits he gave Adam a flaming sword to help him out, then panics that he’s done the wrong thing.
As they banter, swinging their legs over the edge of a precipice, Crowley with wonderfully creepy yellow eyes and Aziraphale with his wings and beautiful white-blonde curly locks, they are a sparky on-screen duo I could watch all day.
Suddenly the time line jumps forward to 11 years ago. All camp evil swagger and dark shades, Crowley has a meeting with two demons in a graveyard – where else?
He must deliver the antichrist, a human baby, to an over-excited bunch of satanic nuns. They want to swap the tot for that of a US ambassador, played by Nick Offerman, so that he’ll raise it as his own.
But in a delightful sequence that plays like a bad magic trick, there’s a mix-up.
The “dark lord to be”, named Adam, heads home with a none-the-wiser British couple (Daniel Mays and Sian Brooke).
The Americans end up with the Brits’ baby, inexplicably naming him Warlock. Lord knows what happens to the surplus baby.
Over a drink later, unaware of the mix-up, Crowley and Aziraphale wonder how to stop Warlock fulfilling his destiny to bring about Armageddon in 11 years time.
Jon Hamm’s Archangel Gabriel reckons they’ll fail, and Beelzebub, played by Anna Maxwell Martin, isn’t convinced either.
Yes, the cast is a roll call of top talent. Frances McDormand is the voice of God. Benedict Cumberbatch is Satan himself.
But back to the present day. It’s six days before Armageddon and the penny has finally dropped for our hero and villain that they have the wrong boy.
“We’re doomed,” says a worse for wear Crowley, in the pub.
As we prepare for the end-times, you will not want this to end.
A hell of a lot of fun, it’s telly that’s good for the soul.
