I was never that impressed with GOOD OMENS, which to me read like an inferior attempt to write a Douglas Adams pastiche; it wasn’t terrible but it was about the level of Terry Pratchett’s early Discworld novels. But the television show was popular with a certain crowd, mostly due to the two lead actors, Michael Sheen and David Tennant, until news of Mr. Gaiman’s alleged tubcuddling antics went public.
One of the bigger questions coming out of the scandal’s fallout was what would happen to the SANDMAN and GOOD OMENS series. As it turns out, the wiser decision would have been to simply end both of them on the spot, given how well the latter turned out.
Good Omens Season 3 premiered on Prime Video this week. It is not a true season, but instead a 90-minute finale episode, the compressed wreckage of what was supposed to be a six-episode third season before the show’s creator was accused of sexual assault by multiple women and removed from production.
The Guardian gave it two stars, calling it “possibly the biggest imbalance in TV history between dazzling cast and stale script.” Mama’s Geeky: “messy execution leaves much to be desired. It struggles to find its footing as a rushed finale.” A Medium writer called the script “abysmal” and wrote that Michael Sheen and David Tennant’s real-life friendship was “the only reason to watch.” The Guardian’s Jack Seale called it a “puzzling mess.” Rotten Tomatoes currently sits at 60% from critics — the lowest score in the series’ history. Season 1 held 85%. Season 2 held 88%.
To understand why Season 3 is what it is, you need to understand where Season 2 left off. Season 2 went beyond the source material, following Aziraphale and Crowley as they contended with an amnesiac angel Gabriel, matchmade for some humans, and navigated their own romantic feelings for each other. It ended on a devastating cliffhanger: Crowley professes his love for Aziraphale and begs the angel to run away with him, leaving the fight between heaven and hell behind. Aziraphale turns him down and chooses to return to heaven to become Supreme Archangel, tasked with organizing the Second Coming of Christ.
That cliffhanger is what Season 3 was supposed to resolve across six episodes. It resolved it in 99 minutes.
I don’t know why this should surprise anyone. No doubt Mr. Tubcuddle is going to attempt a comeback, sooner or later, but since his talent, which is genuine, but trivial, and mostly involves repackaging and reselling the original ideas of others, I suspect this fizzled fart of an attempt to continue feeding off the literary corpse of Terry Pratchett will prove to be Mr. Tubcuddle’s last ride.
Prime Video really should have just said no.
It’s not a good way to unwind if you value your behind
You’ll just wish you had declined when he asked you.
You don’t want to join the club
There’s no bubbles in the tub
Just say no, say no, it’s no trouble
You don’t want to join the club
There’s no bubbles in the tub
Just say no, Mr. Tubcuddle