Nearly two decades after Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s 1990 novel, Good Omens, fantasy fans finally got a TV adaptation from Amazon/BBC. Much like the source material, the miniseries takes a angel-demon buddy comedy approach with Michael Sheen as the angelic Aziraphale who teams up with David Tennant’s demon, Crowley, to halt the apocalypse (because life on Earth is comfy). The result has been called “devilishly funny,” but not everyone was pleased, and that includes a furious Christian group that petitioned for the project’s cancellation.
There was one major problem with the angry group’s strategy while gathering thousands of signatures for complaints that the show is “another step to make satanism appear normal, light and acceptable” and “mocks God’s wisdom” while casting a woman (Francis McDormand) as God’s voice. The issue? The petition calls upon Netflix, which has nothing to do with Good Omens, instead of Amazon. This gaffe was not lost on Gaiman (who’s showrunning), who tweeted an appropriate response: “I love that they are going to write to Netflix to try and get #GoodOmens cancelled. Says it all really.”
I love that they are going to write to Netflix to try and get #GoodOmens cancelled. Says it all really. https://t.co/8WNxCY1YmV
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) June 19, 2019
Boom. Can’t argue with that response! Gaiman didn’t even attempt to talk about dogma or lack thereof, he went straight to the procedural error from the group. That’s the easiest way to get a case thrown out of court, and it works while dispensing of fury-born internet petitions as well. Meanwhile, Good Omens has gathered an 83% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes and co-stars Jon Hamm as the Archangel Gabriel, Benedict Cumberbatch as Satan, and Mireille Enos and Brian Cox as two Horsemen of the Apocalypse (War and Death, respectively). The miniseries is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
(Via The Guardian & Radio Times)
