I’ve read the book, and I can totally understand why those who haven’t would not be particularly impressed. The show is trying to pack a ton of stuff into 6 hours, and it doesn’t all come through crystal clear. I already know what’s going on from the book, so when something on screen seems a bit off my brain just fills in the missing bits. Shadwell’s mumblings not make a lot of sense? No problem, I know what he means. But if you haven’t read the book, that’s gonna just seem confusing at best.
Hmmm… I read this but don’t remember what it’s about. Will have to read it again.
It’s been about 20 years since I read the book (which I recommended to my employers, at the time, for movie production). I don’t remember the book’s narrative voice/style but going off the TV adaptation’s first 5 minutes, goddamn that’s some serious Douglas Adams anxiety-of-influence stuff going on. I’m sure his shadow loomed large in the creative development of Gaiman and Pratchett, anyway.
My wife and I never read the book but we both enjoyed the first three episodes plan to watch the rest soon
I have not read the book and enjoyed it, but I also really like David Tennant.
I think everything with Tennant and Sheen is fantastic, everything else is just ok.
Tennant is delightful, and absolutely nails Crowley.
OK, I’ve finished it now. Good fun, but I’m glad I was a book reader first.
Does this season cover the entirety of the novel? Or are there a specific number of seasons planned?
It’s the complete first book, but it seems sort of open for a sequel. I know they almost wrote one at one point so Gaiman at least has an idea for more.
I’d mostly agree with that. Some of the problems that crop up when the ultra-charismatic leads are offscreen are due to miscasting of some secondary roles - while no one can doubt the chops of Frances McDormand or Brian Cox as actors, for example, they’re not really suited for their roles here.
Some of the problem is a wildly inconsistent production. The worst offenders here are the VFX, which shift abruptly from perfectly solid to Oh-God-this-looks-like-the-CW-15-years-ago cringeworthyness, sometimes within a single scene. The direction, editing, and music were inconsistent as well. In an era where the best of TV can feel as technically polished as the movies, this at times felt like TV from an earlier era (or from the CW.)
Some of the problems stem from the book itself. The romantic leads have zero chemistry, no distinctive personalities, and no reason to get together romantically other than The Plot Says So. It’s tempting to blame the actors, but the book had exactly the same problem. Likewise the show faithfully recreates the plot structure of the book, including the lumpy and drawn-out nature of the climax(es), where it feels like the story has ended multiple times before it actually does.
And it’s too long (sorry, ineffablebob.) Brevity is the soul of wit, but a bunch of scenes here have been shamelessly padded to get it up to six episodes. I heartily agreed with John Hamm when he yelled, “Just shut up and [end the scene] already!” A bunch of things overstay their welcome, such as the narration, or the characters played by Michael McKean and Miranda Richardson - they’re played well, but just about every one of their scenes is 30 seconds too long. Four episodes would have been fine, and would have forced Gaiman to kill his darlings.
Sheen and Tennant are onscreen most of the time, though, and they’re outstanding. Even if the rest of the show were terrible (and it’s not, just a bit wobbly) it would be worth watching for their performances alone.
Really? I thought it was fine throughout, though I’ll admit I didn’t like the demon underground much. That’s just 'cause it was ugly though, not poorly done.
I think the first leads to the second. The series is very faithful to the book, to a fault in some ways, and one of those ways is including nearly everything. They only left out some pretty minor characters and plot points. I wonder how much of that came from Gaiman wanting to make sure he didn’t cut out anything Pratchett would want to keep.
Watched some more last night. Was hit hard by the production quality thing during that brief boat scene. It’s, like, local TV commercial bad. I thought it was a setup for a bit, it was so bad. Likewise Pollution’s Creek.
Newton and Anathema feel entirely misplaced and unearned in the show,I think mostly from lack of screen time. Should have cut Newt and that subplot entirely IMO.
But yeah, Tennant is a ton of fun.
Finished it and I liked it a lot. Its a tough piece of work to adapt but I think they did a very good job of making it work and still keep the esthetics of the novel. I can see how it may be tough for people who have never read the book though. And it has a lot of that british absurdity in its humor and that doesn’t work for everyone. But as a person who has read the book, I give it high marks.
The wife and I finished it last night. The first 5 episodes are quite fun. The final, though, was a bit “meh.” I haven’t read the novel, but if that is the way it ends also, I’d say Pratchett watched too many Dr. Who episodes where the resolution involved “The Power of Love” ™.
I read the book and liked it. I didn’t care for this much. Tennant and Sheen are fine, but everything else was bad or cheap. The child actors weren’t that good, and as others pointed out, Whitehall and Arjona have no chemistry. (Not that it matters much since even in the book they get together only because Nutter predicts it.) The pacing is wonky and the effects are absolutely dreadful.
The only sequence I really liked was the bit in the middle showcasing Crowley and Aziraphale through the ages. More of that, please.
I was really up for this - it’s an interesting premise with a sweet, sweet cast. Michael Sheen, David Tennant, Michael McKean, Miranda Richardson - sign me up. And yet, after liking the first three episodes quite a bit, it fizzled out for me in the second half. I finished it, but I struggled doing so. I lost interest in where the story was going, and I never cared much about most of the secondary characters. The child actors being barely ok didn’t help it. Sometimes it was really hard to comprehend what was going on and why. So, Satan/Lucifer shows up to give Benedict Cumberbatch a brief cameo and then is quickly defeated by Adam shouting that he does not consider him his father. Ok.
In comparison, I found Dirk Gently to be a show that had the same British quirkiness to it while doing a far better job in juggling around with a large number of characters and getting me invested in them.
Had largely the same reaction. The wife and I looked at each other when the credits rolled and said, “Well, that was disappointing.” I honestly can’t tell you who said it and who agreed with it, because that so perfectly expresses both our feelings.
Apparently I should give Dirk Gently another shot? I think I bounced off half an episode a while back, or maybe that was just the trailer. I do love those stories.
Yes, you should. I liked good omens (despite the last episode somewhat fizzling), but Dirk is much better IMO.