Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: David Tennant, Michael Sheen, Frances McDormand, Sam Taylor Buck, Daniel Mays, Sian Brooke, Adria Arjona, Jon Hamm, Jack Whitehall, Michael McKean, Amma Ris, Alfie Taylor, Miranda Richardson, Paul Chahidi, Ilan Galkoff, Ned Dennehy, Doon Mackichan, Simon Merrells, Gloria Obianyo, Ariyon Nakare, Anna Maxwell Martin, Mireille Enos, Brian Cox, Yusef Gatewood, Bill Paterson, Lourdes Faberes, Jamie Hill, Elizabeth Berrington, Nick Offerman, Josie Lawrence, Nina Sosanya, Jill Winternitz, Tim Bentinck, Dan Antopolski, Bryony Corrigan, Samson Marraccino, David Morrissey, Andy Hamilton, Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton, Mark Gatiss, Paul Kaye, Jonathan Aris, Dan Starkey, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Derek Jacobi, Nicholas Parsons.

One of the great discrepancies of life is that an artist is quite often never given the due consideration in life as they are in death. Not every artist suffers this fate, but it is only when a piece of their life, their imagination, their talent is presented in new and exciting way, that we remember just how much influence they may have had upon us, indirectly or with their truth shaping our own thoughts purposely.

Adapted by Neil Gaiman from his own creative teamed effort of literature with Sir Terry Pratchett, Good Omens finally arrived on the B.B.C. with such fanfare that it could be roughly described as one of the eagerly anticipated television series of the last ten years, if not since the emergence of the Y2K bug which loomed like a phantom over the minds of the apocalypse watchers but which, unlike the series itself, could only be described as figment of Government overstatement.

There will always be those who see such works of fiction as nothing more than escapism, of not being a true reflection of literature in its purest sense; however, the same approximation could be labelled by the undelighted at almost anything that gives the population pleasure and gives delight in taking issue with any religion that does not appreciate that humour is a mechanism of joy and not of subjecting dogma on to the multitude.

Faith is an extraordinarily powerful image to portray to the world, and it is absolute faith that Good Omens is brought to the small screen finally, with exceptional performances, with dialogue that is heavenly and one that really gets beneath the idea of enforced spiritual belief, of taking the end of days a little bit too literal and of not paying attention to the problems of the world, declaring it is the work of the Devil and that it is the will of God.

It is not these ancient relics of fear inducing subservience that we should applaud and venerate; it is to the power of the human mind and its capacity for imagination that we should hold high in esteem, and without question to the combined writing that made Good Omens possible, which brought the cream of British and American talent into the six-part production, is one that thrills quicker than a blessing from an angel and the smile of temptation from the Devil’s dear old blue eyes.

To weave such a tale is one of enormous privilege, to be caught in its tangle is to hopelessly fall in love with its portrayal, and with David Tennant and Michael Sheen capturing the heart of Crowley and Aziraphale, with sublime performances from Sam Taylor Buck as Adam/The Antichrist, Adria Arjona as Anathema Device, Jon Hamm as Gabriel, and Miranda Richardson in impeccable form as Madame Tracy, Good Omens has so much going for it that in other realms it could be seen as an embarrassment of riches, but on Earth is quite frankly one of the finest displays of television imagined.

We might forget those that entertain us eventually, we sometimes dismiss the way they have placed their life in our hands, but for the sake of Good Omens the nice and accurate portrayal is surely seen as living up to the divined prediction.

Ian D. Hall