I have been waiting to see this miniseries since it was announced. I have always been a fan of Neil Gaiman’s books and I am only now getting in to reading Terry Phratchett’s books, especially his Discworld novels. Sadly I haven’t read the book until the end yet because I had to put in on hold with my entrance exams happening and have yet to start getting in to the groove of reading anything else other than history. In my defence I find it somehow helpful to read while seeing the characters from the movie or series, so this miniseries is a – dare I say it – Heaven sent…or Hell depending how you wanted this review to be. Now I honestly think I cannot hear the dialogue without hearing the cast of this show, so there.
Summary:
The Apocalypse is to come and all the plans are set up for the confrontation between Heaven and Hell. The Demon Crowley and the Angel Aziraphale have been living on earth for a long time and want to prevent it all happening. Anathema Device is a witch and Newton Pulsifer is a witchfinder, mortal enemies. Then there is the modern Jezebel Madame Tracy and the old Sergeant Shadwell who are quite mortal. In comes the four horsemen of the Apocalypse on motorbikes to find the Antichrist who will bring on the end times…but he has somehow been lost on the way.
David Tennant as Crowley, a Demon and Michael Sheen as Aziraphale, an Angel are truly a match made both in Heaven and Hell. The way their chemistry together jumps off the screen makes me giddy and they truly are like an old married couple having a bit of a rough patch at the moment. The two really do love one another, there is no denying it and there is no other way to see it whenever they are together. Their arguments, the way they worry about each other is subtle ways and upfront…so if you end up shipping these two the join the club that has been there since the book published. Tennant really brings his most dramatic and erratic energy in to the role of Crowley who trusts like a rockstar and whose devilish demeanour gets peeled a little away in small ways, yet it doesn’t change who he truly is inside. Sheen as Aziraphale is just pure softness and emphatic sincere goodness embodied. The way he holds everything so delicately and fidgets nervously, how he talks and interacts is always filled with warmth, yet one can clearly see the conflict within him to do good and his fear of the above. In internet terms Aziraphale is the purest pure cinnamon roll while Crowley is the chaotic neutral boyfriend and together they are ineffaceable husbands. All I have to say is books, church and violins and you know will know the moment that one of them fell in love with the other while it’s left ambiguous when the other did.
What makes this show great is also the rest of the cast. Miranda Richardson is having the time of her life playing Madame Tracy. Jack Whitehall as Newt bring forth all his awkward manners in to the front. Adria Ajorna as Anathema is wonderfully two sided as the deeply feeling and determined Adria whose conspiracies are wonderfully shown and her clothes are so beautiful that I want them for myself. John Hamm as the Archangel Gabriel is the boss from Hell and hams it up wonderfully.
The humour on this show is top notch. It is intelligent and what makes it effective is both the writing as well as the characters. Nothing is left uncashed and without satire in this story, everything is up for grabs and it relishes in it. There is great heart in the show amongst the comedy and drama and the emotional moments grip you since you care about these characters so deeply, some more than others, but that is only natural. The narration might at first be a little irritating, but I grew used to it and it is nice to see God in a different manner. The production is also high for a show so different from anything else on television, there is a care and delight in every angle of the camera and in every performance made.
So watch this and be prepared for a show which is as weird as a funhouse mirror narrated on a megaphone by a deep voiced kitten with a top hat with devil wings who has a boyfriend in the local dog who does tricks on the trampoline. The music in this show is used appropriately and the Queen (yes, the band) tracks are a delight in making the main relationship anything but subtle. There is so much good in this show, the humour and the heart and the main pair as truly the highlights in a show that comes wonderfully the day before the LGBQTA+ Month begins. I will rewatch this show again and again while smiling like an idiot all the way through.
Thank you for reading!
The Little Corner 