1x01 In the Beginning

[7.4/10] Chemistry can take a television show a long way. I’ll admit, in the opening stanza of Good Omens, I find myself not particularly interested in the mundane goings on of Heaven or Hell, or the baby switcheroo that leads to a spoiled normal child and a working class British antichrist, or even the impending armageddon. But I find myself very interested in spending more time “hanging out” with the indulgent but amusingly arch demon and the uptight but life-loving angel who’ve struck up an unexpected friendship.

I chalk much of that up to the performers. As David Tennant proved in Jessica Jones, he can make pure evil very compelling. And Michael Sheen has earned in his spurs in everything from Frost/Nixon to the god-forsaken Twilight movies. You could probably put those two actors in a room, have them play aluminum siding salesman, and still get something watchable and perhaps even compelling out of it.

But I can’t neglect the premise. I am a sucker for a good high concept pitch, and the notion of a demon who means to do evil but can’t help but do the right thing, and an angel who means well but inadvertently points humans in the wrong direction is a hell of a good one. While the narration puts things a little too much on the nose at times, the idea of these two diametrically opposed individuals who find common ground in their love of this flawed little blue orb, is one good enough to power the series alone.

There’s also something to be said for the idea that each is, in his own way, thwarting the will of their respective “home offices.” The notion that each is doing their best to do his duty, if only in name, while enjoying the quiet indulgences of earthly light, adds a sense of wryness to the whole thing. As my lovely wife pointed out, there’s a Hitchhiker’s Guide quality to the tone of this one, where much of the humor comes from the combination of the wildly fantastical and the utterly mundane (in the best British tradition).

The catch is that this is still a pilot, and thus there is lots of throat-clearing to be done. We have to establish an elaborate shell game with two regular babies and one antichrist. We have to spend time with the American diplomat who’s palling around with George W. Bush during his wife’s labor, and the ordinary British couple who end up with the prince of darkness in waiting. And we have to get to know the satanic order that’s making this all possible.

None of this is bad exactly. Frances McDormand’s narration as God adds a sense of humor to the proceedings, and many of her explanations are amusing enough. There’s still just a sense of perfunctorily setting the stakes and establishing the situation to it all. It’s necessary work, and the show endeavors to make it as irreverent as possible, but it can’t escape the sense that it’s the vegetables that must be eaten before we get to enjoy the sushi and wine single-malt scotch that is the day-to-day interactions between Aziraphale and Crowley.

The same goes for the literally apocalyptic stakes of it all. The glimpses we get of young Warlock’s upbringing are amusing for the costuming and prosthetics. The fact that Adam names the hellhound meant to herald the coming of the end times simply “dog” is worth a chuckle. And the view we have of Beelzebub and Gabriel in their light and dark home offices respectively is amusing enough. There’s just not much meat there, either in terms of comedy of plot. It’s the required putting of things into place, rather than pure enjoyment experienced elsewhere.

Still, the opening chapter of Good Omens thrives on the unlikely friendship between Aziraphale and Crowley. The mechanics of the apocalypse may not be especially interesting, but the notion that they’ve each been following the wrong boy, botched the hand-off and the efforts to thwart the other in perfect balance, has a lot of mileage in it. It portends the two having to work together to both prevent the apocalypse, while making it seem to their respective superiors that they’re still very much trying to bring it about.

That suggests more room for the chances to spark off of one another. The two of them debating the wisdom of the Eden story, with one questioning the edict to just “make trouble”, and the other emphasizing that the Lord’s plan is ineffable has the right balance between the high-minded debates of theologians, and the humdrum conversations of two guys waiting for a bus questioning the intricacies of the universe.

There’s hopefully more to Good Omens than just that -- truer commentary on the success and pitfalls of organized religion, and insight into our cultural stories and takeaways. But for now, the dynamic, camaraderie, and chemistry between a pair of exquisite actors, and spiritual creatures, is enough to fuel the show through the ensuing five episodes.