Some TV shows barely justify their existence. Others are original enough to maintain our faith in the medium, making us wonder how they broke through the industry's inhibiting addiction to existing content.
Then there's "Good Omens," a rehash with enough fresh ingredients to explain why it earned a second round despite making a mess of its first. Where to begin? It's another TV adaptation swimming in a sea of them, this time of a novel co-authored by Neil Gaiman and the late Terry Pratchett. The combined reputations of these widely adored fantasy writers guarantees a returning audience regardless of how well the first season of their show was executed.
A stronger magnet is the chemistry shared by its stars Michael Sheen and David Tennant. As the angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley, respectively, the actors have created one of TV's most watchable duos, which is true even among viewers who aren't 'shipping them, fewer though they may be.
One could cite dozens of shows throughout TV history that have gotten by (and by and by) on less while not being blamed for for wanting better.
Their passionate stans will almost certainly take issue with any pronouncement falling short of celebrating the return of "Good Omens" more than four years after the first season came and went in a confused cloud of razzle dazzle. Maybe a little time off and the shedding of other botched TV projects along with lessons learned from his Netflix hit, reminded Gaiman to value conciseness, economy and a skilled writing partner.
For Season 2 of "Good Omens" the author shares writing duties with John Finnemore, a comic whose radio show production expertise shows through in the focused sensibility of the overall arc.
All the same, life is never entirely prosaic for Aziraphale and Crowley, whose present concerns are informed by past adventures where their paths intersect including sharing marginal roles in the Biblical trials of Job. In these contextualizing side stories Tennant and Sheen's onscreen partnership truly shines, and that's probably due in no small part to these flashbacks zooming in on the ways their angel and devil make each other more understanding and human than their omnipotent bosses tend to be.
In modern London the beatific bookseller and the fashionable speed demon share expanded screentime for Jon Hamm, returning as archangel Gabriel, and Miranda Richardson as a sharply dressed hellspawn named Shax, with Frances McDormand popping in again as the Voice of God.
Besides, Maggie comes in handy when a Heaven-sent problem arrives on his doorstep, drawing Crowley's attention and setting off alarms upstairs and in the basement. Figuring out the why of it all involves a familiarity with music and the human heart, since matching Maggie with her crush on Nina (Nina Sosanya), a nearby café's owner, becomes crucial to Aziraphale and Crowley staving off wrathful punishments from their respective supervisors,
But it's not God making the threats. The Almighty's minions Michael (Doon Mackichan), Uriel (Gloria Obianyo), Saraqael (Liz Carr), and the blissfully naïve Muriel (Quelin Sepulveda) uphold Heaven's reputation for bureaucratic rigidity. Sepulveda is especially amusing, and just the right amount of twee, when Muriel is ordered to spend time on Earth dressed as an out-of-place-and-time constable.
The second season of "Good Omens" wasn't pulled from a void. Gaiman previously said that he and Pratchett jotted down a few ideas for a sequel that they didn't have time to fully flesh out before Pratchett died in 2015. The puckish energy that permeates every moment also brings to mind Terry Gilliam's directing style, which is likely intentional since Gaiman had plans to turn the novel into a movie directed by the Monty Python alumnus once upon a time.
"Good Omens" doesn't quite achieve that level of sublimity in these new episodes, alas. A dearth of substance eventually depleted my willingness to invest in the broader mystery beyond wondering what adorable sight gags would be inspired by the next clue or divine/hellish development. This tends to happen when a solid story with an adequate ending is artificially inflated for the sake of wringing more TV out of it. If we're lucky the results will be as easy on the eye as this show always has been, but eventually the philosophic hollowness becomes impossible to overlook.
Sometimes, though, a fully baked story is better left standing, flaws and all, instead of unnecessarily stretching out the pieces that work over underdeveloped narrative road. That is, unless all you want is two actors vamping (deliciously, but tap-dancing nevertheless) through middling material. For many Gaiman and Pratchett readers and viewers, spending more time with their favorite odd couple is heavenly enough.
Season 2 of "Good Omens" streams Friday, July 28 on Prime Video.
