Terry Pratchett Archives - Sci-Fi Tips

Good Omens Season Two Review: Devilishly delightful

admin — Sat, 29 Jul 2023 21:39:43 +0000

Neil Gaiman and Sir Terry Pratchett’s adaption of their book Good Omens lit up Prime Video when it landed back in 2019. Overflowing with the same devilishly delightful wit and imagination that are the hallmarks of the authors, it’s no surprise that the series is back again for Season Two.

This time around, there is no source material to work from, instead Gaiman has created a new tale for the unlikely duo of Michael Sheen’s fussy fallen angel, Aziraphale and David Tennant’s callous and carefree Crowley, an exiled demon. Having narrowly thwarted the apocalypse in Season One, Aziraphale and Crowley are enjoying a well-earned rest living among the mortals of London’s Soho.

Their tranquil existence is interrupted, however, when a familiar face (accompanied by the rest of a very naked body) appears at Aziraphale’s door. It would appear that heaven is missing an angel, the archangel Gabriel in fact and the amnesiac Jon Hamm at Aziraphale’s door might just be at the centre of it all.

Aziraphale does his dandiest best (in amongst organising the shopkeepers’ council meeting to discuss the Christmas lights) to try and set things right. But with a war between heaven and hell ever on the horizon, Aziraphale enlists the help of a reluctant Crowley to try and get the job done.

There’s something charmingly Paddington-eque about the way with which the show treats the miraculous and the magically mundane. Be that the bureaucracy of hell or just how many Lazarus’ worth of miracles it takes to fall in love.

Although there is a high-stakes plot that drives the series, the real joy comes from watching the many cutaway stories that fill in the history of how an angel and a demon could ever become friends in the first place. From the dawn of time, through to Job’s old testament trials and even grave robbing in Victorian Edinburgh (where Tennant gets to flex his native Scottish accent), each minisode that maps their unlikely friendship is a delight anchored by the two brilliant leads.

Speaking of which, Sheen and Tennant are having the best time reuniting to portray old frenemies with such ease and charm that we just want to be part of the gang, but we’ll have to settle for being a fly on the wall.

Sadly Pratchett is no longer with us and it’s fallen to Gaiman to try and carry the tone of the original story in this new adventure. But even from the opening episode, it’s undeniable that more than a little Discworld deviance has rubbed off on the old Sandman, as the humour, inventiveness and general tomfoolery of the story bounce you jovially along with the same madcap magic that has been so sorely missed from the modern fantasy ourve.

Season Two of Good Omens gives us more of what we loved from Season One and Sheen and Tennant are clearly relishing stepping back into their celestial shoes. Supported by a roster of superstar British talent and some Pinterest-worthy production design, you can see the passion behind the creation of the series. The love for this world and these characters quickly rubs off on the audience, leaving us hoping for the Season Three already planned out by Gaiman and Pratchett.

Good Omens Season Two will land on Prime Video on 28 July

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Good Omens: Head to heaven in Season Two trailer

admin — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 08:44:45 +0000

The archangel Gabriel (Jon Hamm) has gone missing (or has he?) in Season Two of Good Omens, which returns to our screens this July on Prime Video.

Based on the best-selling novel by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, the first series of the show was a big fan favourite and now, for Season Two, Gaiman has created an entirely original story.

Watch the trailer for the second season here…

A mystery that takes us from before The Beginning, to biblical times, grave robbing in Victorian Edinburgh, the Blitz of 1940s England, all the way through to modern day, Good Omens 2 explores storylines that go beyond the original source material to illuminate the ineffable friendship between Aziraphale, a fussy angel and rare-book dealer, and the fast-living demon Crowley. Having been on Earth since The Beginning, and with the Apocalypse thwarted, the duo are getting back to easy living amongst mortals in London’s Soho. That is, until the archangel Gabriel turns up unexpectedly at the door of Aziraphale’s bookshop with no memory of who he is or how he got there. While Crowley is leery as to why the archangel has come to the bookshop, Aziraphale is keen to solve the mystery behind Gabriel’s condition. However, hiding the archangel from both Heaven and Hell quickly disrupts their lives in unforeseen ways. To solve this mystery and thwart Heaven and Hell in the process, the duo will need more than a miracle; they’ll need to once again rely on each other.

The series stars Michael Sheen (Quiz, Staged) and David Tennant (Des, Staged), who return in the leading roles of the angel Aziraphale and demon Crowley.

Also reprising their roles are Jon Hamm (Black Mirror) as archangel Gabriel, Doon Mackichan as archangel Michael, and Gloria Obianyo (Dune, High Life), as archangel Uriel. Returning this season in new roles are Miranda Richardson (Stronger, Rams) as demon Shax, Maggie Service (Quiz, Red Dwarf XI) as Maggie, and Nina Sosanya (Red Joan, Killing Eve) as Nina, with new faces joining the misfits in Heaven and Hell: Liz Carr (The Witcher) as angel Saraqael, Quelin Sepulveda (The Man Who Fell To Earth) as angel Muriel, and Shelley Conn (Bridgerton) as demon Beelzebub.

“In this season we get to have new adventures with old friends, to solve some extremely mysterious mysteries, and we encounter some entirely new humans (living, dead, and otherwise), angels, and demons,” said Good Omens writer and co-showrunner Neil Gaiman last year.

“We were lucky in the first season to have so many outstanding actors taking part, so I took pleasure in inviting people back, wherever we could, some in the roles they played originally, some in new parts written just for them.”

Good Omens Season Two will premiere on 28 July on Prime Video.

Watch more trailers at the SciFiNow YouTube channel.

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Five ghost stories where the victim solves their own murder

admin — Fri, 26 May 2023 12:29:58 +0000

I’m certainly not the first author to create an amateur sleuth who raises the dead. But in the Lavington Windsor series, our jobbing necromancer Toni gets to ask the murder victims who killed them, and I had so much fun creating situations where the poor old shambling corpses didn’t have a clue who had bumped them off or why. Toni always gets her man, or woman, but often her ravenous moldering zombies are more trouble than help on the way.

In a lot of ghostly tales, though, the murder victims know exactly who wiped them off this mortal coil and they are keen to right wrongs and reap revenge. I’ve picked out some of my favourites, so here are five ghostly tales where a dead person solves their own murder…

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

We sometimes forget just how much fantasy good old Will Shakespeare wrote. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is full of fairies and spells, while The Tempest features wizards, monsters and spirits.

But Hamlet is not merely a ghost story with added witches; it’s also a whodunit that only gets solved because the murder victim’s phantom reveals all to his son on the spooky gothic ramparts… Oh yes, and everyone dies.

Ghost Story by Jim Butcher

Very suitably, this is the 13th book in The Dresden Files, which catalogue the (mis)adventures of Chicago wizard Harry Dresden.

In this volume, poor old Harry is dead as a doornail after being murdered, but returns as a spirit to solve the case.

Many magical Chicago shenanigans ensue. If you are an audiobook afficionado, this series is an absolute treat because they are all narrated by the silver-tongued James Marsters, formerly Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Swoon.

Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

This is an unexpected gem. It’s so light and fluffy that the poignancy of the end will catch you unawares.

Great Aunt Sophie is dead, but once upon a time she was a gin-swilling, pearl-twirling lass who liked boys, pretty dresses, parties and dancing. And now she has to persuade her hapless niece to work out what happened so that her spirit can move on.

If you only know Sophie Kinsella from her Shopaholic books, this will come as a delight.

Lost Boys by Orson Scott Card

Warning – this book is very, very dark, and the ending is far from happy.

Who are Stevie’s imaginary friends, and why do they share the same names as children who have mysteriously “vanished”? The answer is Not Good and no one lives happily ever after.

Scott Card has claimed that many elements of M. Night Shyamalan’s film The Sixth Sense were plagiarised from this book, and it’s easy to see why. Creepy as hell and definitely not holiday reading.

Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett

It’s a bit of a cheat to also include this wonderful book by the late great Terry Pratchett, because it’s very much a spoof of Hamlet, but I also couldn’t miss it out because it’s completely adorable.

Poor old King Verence has been slain by his own cousin, and it’s up to the three least-wicked witches the Discworld has ever scene to sort out the ensuing mess… Cue cauldrons, black crepe, Greebo the cat and a wonderfully unlikely romance.

Grave Danger by Alice James is out now. Order your copy here.

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Good Omens: First look as production starts for Season Two

admin — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 08:06:05 +0000

Aziraphale and Crowley are back as production begins in Scotland on the second season of Good Omens, and along with it comes a couple of first-look images (above and below)!

Originally based on Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s international best-selling novel, the new season will explore storylines that go beyond the original source material to illuminate the uncanny friendship between Aziraphale, a fussy angel and rare book dealer, and the fast-living demon Crowley.

Having been on Earth since The Beginning, and with the Apocalypse thwarted, Aziraphale and Crowley are getting back to easy living amongst mortals in London’s Soho when an unexpected messenger presents a surprising mystery.

The series stars Michael Sheen (Quiz, Staged) and David Tennant (Des, Staged), who return in the leading roles of the angel Aziraphale and demon Crowley.

They will be joined by many of the key cast from the first season (read our review here), who will return for Season Two with some reprising their roles, and others playing new characters (the specific characters each actor plays will be revealed at a later time), including Paul Adeyefa (Bancroft, Ransom), Michael McKean (This Is Spinal Tap, Better Call Saul), Gloria Obianyo (Dune, High Life), Miranda Richardson (Stronger, Rams), Maggie Service (Quiz, Red Dwarf XI), Reece Shearsmith (Inside No. 9, The League of Gentlemen) and Nina Sosanya (Red Joan, Killing Eve).

“I am so happy to be back here on the streets of Soho, watching, every day, the glorious performances of Michael Sheen and David Tennant,” said Good Omens writer and co-showrunner Neil Gaiman. “I miss having Terry Pratchett’s genius, but it does feel like we are still all walking around inside his head.

“It’s been an absolute pleasure to have the brilliant John Finnemore co-write this season’s story shenanigans with me, and to work with director and my co-showrunner Douglas Mackinnon as he steers the ship, along with our astonishing crew, who have returned to do it again. In this season we get to have new adventures with old friends, to solve some extremely mysterious mysteries, and we encounter some entirely new humans (living, dead, and otherwise), angels, and demons.

Good Omens will stream exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide; a premiere date will be announced at a later time.

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