For the perfect Friday treat, look no further than the opening credits sequence for the Good Omens television series!
And the release date, of course. Which you’re probably more excited about.
The animation style is truly delightful, and takes us through all the pitstops on the road to Armageddon:
There’s plenty of imagery from the Bible and various apocalyptic stories, as well as several key plot points from the book itself tossed into the mix. The theme is an enjoyably bizarre little tune that really sets the mood. And these credits came with an extra announcement! Opposite Frances McDormand’s God will be a Satan voiced by none other than Benedict Cumberbatch. Which seems an understandable side-step from Smaug the dragon, really.
Good Omens will be released on Prime Video on May 31st. Mark your calendars!
I know there’s licensing and all that, but the opening credits really should have morphed into Queen towards the end.
The animation is a glorious mix of Edward Gorey, Terry Gilliam, and Dave McKean, which is perfect.
Is it May yet?
—Keith R.A. DeCandido
My first impression of this was that they’d hired Terry Gilliam.
I was assuming that if the Amazon release date was May that it’d be on the BBC at the same time, but no:
(from https://www.radiotimes.com/news/on-demand/2019-02-14/good-omens-release-date-cast-characters-news-plot-neil-gaiman-updates-amazon-prime-video-bbc/).
I’m not sure why the massive multinational company gets the first showing, instead of the cash-strapped BBC.
phuzz: That is odd, especially for something that is so British…..
—Keith R.A. DeCandido
Because it’s a co-production of Amazon Studios and BBC Studios. And dollars to doughnuts, Amazon spent more money than the BBC on it. Throw in more money, have more say in the distribution deal.
phuzz – I think it’s revenge for all the times we in the US had to wait for Doctor Who. :P
@@@@@ 7 – Those waits for Doctor Who were revenge for the years we sometimes had to wait in the UK for various Star Treks, Stargate, Farscape et al.
A delay for a delay, and soon no-one gets to watch good SFF…
The opening credits sequence is gorgeous, but most importantly, it’s as long as the one for Game of Thrones. I think I’m going to skip it most of the time.
“The animation is a glorious mix of Edward Gorey, Terry Gilliam, and Dave McKean, which is perfect.”
Yes, yes, yes, and YES. Let’s hope the series lives up to these glorious opening credits.
Ashgrove & KRAD: More importantly, the animation is both so very Gaiman and, I believe, Sir Terry would have loved it. That means I will not be skipping it. Ever.
I’m not sure why the massive multinational company gets the first showing, instead of the cash-strapped BBC.
At a guess: if the BBC got it first, no one in the UK would buy it from Amazon, because they’d all have watched it on the BBC for free.