Streaming on: Prime Video
Episodes viewed: 5 of 6
You know how it is with apocalypses: you avert one only for another one to loom along in a minute. At least the protagonists of this Neil Gaiman show – it feels disrespectful to refer to a demon as a hero – are somewhat equipped to deal with the ineffable threat. The only problem is that they may not be equipped with any truly useful skills, resulting in a gentle, shaggy-dog sort of comedy where all sorts of ancient conflicts echo down to the present day.
After averting the Apocalypse last season, angel Aziraphale (Michael Sheen) and demon Crowley (David Tennant) are back on Earth minding their own business when the archangel Gabriel (Jon Hamm) appears, naked and suffering amnesia but warning of a coming disaster. The pair scramble to protect the holy fool, while attempting to cover their tracks and his presence from their respective superiors. In the process, their own relationship is developed at least a little further, which should delight fans.
It's arch to the point of being twee, but any time that Sheen and Tennant are onscreen together, that ceases to be much of a concern.
This is a less frantic and less crammed season than the first in terms of story, and perhaps due to filming under Covid restrictions, it also feels smaller. Aziraphale’s book shop and the street outside has an artificial, film-set otherworldliness to it that smacks less of Soho and more Singin’ In The Rain, while hell is a warren of dingy, garishly-lit offices. Other Biblical environments are fully CGI, but the best visual flourishes are enhancements to the real world, like one magical road trip to Scotland.
It's arch to the point of being twee, and sometimes clunky in its storytelling, with some jokes driven into the ground to make sure we got them, but any time that Sheen and Tennant are onscreen together, that ceases to be much of a concern. The same bickering, odd-couple energy that powers Staged (the Zoom-based sitcom they started during the pandemic) makes them a delight here, as two apparent foes who may share more than divides them. Those scenes, at least, are a divine comedy.