Before It Goes the Way of the Apocalypse, Check Out “Good Omens”

I suspect that this post will be preaching to the choir — that a lot of visitors to this site have already read, or are at least aware of the joint collaboration by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. But if you are unfamiliar with the book Good Omens, then you’re in for a treat. The story of an angel (Aziraphale) and a demon (Crowley) who work together to stop the apocalypse has been dramatized by BBC Radio. If you’ve got a few spare hours, you should definitely give it a listen(you should also read the book, because it’s awesome). But be quick about it! You only have seven days to listen to the first two episodes for free online.

The story of the apocalypse starts with the Garden of Eden and ends with Death, as these things do. Along the way you meet angels and demons, the descendant of a witch, a private in the witchfinder army, a psychic, some nuns, the Four Horsemen, and the antichrist and his dog. Good Omens is light-hearted and humorous, a different take on the end of the world in a way that only Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett could pull off.

The BBC Radio adaptation of Good Omens is amazing. There are a lot of little bits and side anecdotes that are not in the radio adaptation for time constraint reasons, but it loses none of the humor or quirkiness of the book. The cast is incredible, featuring a lot of voices that I’m sure you guys will recognize — such as Peter Serafinowicz (Guardians of the Galaxy), Harry Lloyd (Game of Thrones), Louise Brealey (Sherlock), and Colin Morgan (The Fall).

I don’t listen to a lot of radio adaptations because I tend to multi-task and usually end up not paying attention to whatever it is I’m listening to, but I actually sat down and just listened to Good Omens and it was fantastic. I wanted to pay attention because I didn’t want to miss a thing, and the stellar cast does a great job of keeping you entertained. I almost forgot I wasn’t watching a movie(it makes me want to listen to more radio plays).

You can listen to Good Omens on BBC Radio here, but only for the next week! Don’t worry, though, it will be available on CD through Amazon UK on January 29.

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

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