SPOILERS Discussion of Good Omens, the series

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=Tamar

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May 20, 2012
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#21
Did anyone else notice how often, when the two are side by side, Crowley is at Aziraphale's left side? Even on the bus when Crowley is behind him, we see him placed that way, more or less looking over Aziraphale's left shoulder.
 

=Tamar

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#24
I noticed on my second watch through that when discussing feeding the ducks in St. James's Park, there wasn't a single duck in sight (and also on subsequent visits to the park). There does seem to be a "what duck" theme running through the series. :cool:
I could have sworn I saw ducks in one scene. There was also a black swan (with touches of red) which tended to distract me from the plain white ducks. That resonated nicely with the small touches of red in Crowley's black outfits.
 

=Tamar

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#25
Sometimes it takes me a while... when they're sitting on a bus-stop bench (in front of a church, which is closed to them), Aziraphale is drinking directly from a bottle - most uncharacteristic for him. But it sort of fits, because at that point, Aziraphale is homeless. (Not to imply that homeless necessarily means drunk, but Aziraphale has been drinking a lot when with Crowley and there's no table to set a wineglass on.)
 
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Penfold

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#26
I could have sworn I saw ducks in one scene. There was also a black swan (with touches of red) which tended to distract me from the plain white ducks. That resonated nicely with the small touches of red in Crowley's black outfits.
It's possible but I only saw geese, swans, and a few other waterfowl, but no ducks (although they might possibly have been out of focus in the background somewhere).
 

Dotsie

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Jul 28, 2008
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#30
Everyone's an ornithologist :p Maybe the ducks couldn't be persuaded to land - as soon as you get the bread out, the seagulls are there!
 

=Tamar

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May 20, 2012
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#31
I believe the current word is that you shouldn't feed bread to ducks anyway. Maybe the animal protection people made sure the ducks were safely elsewhere.
 

=Tamar

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#32
There's been some criticism of Anathema's round-frame glasses. Given her age, I think she's a Harry Potter fan.
 

Penfold

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#34
Neil Gaiman's Twitter (you don't have to belong to Twitter to read it) has just posted a link to a really observant thread by Neurocosmos about Aziraphale's body language. It's too long to quote and too good to shorten, and there are exemplary screencaps, so here's the link to her site and thread:

I never noticed that but will look for it when I watch again. Michael Sheen is possibly one of the most subtle actors that I have seen, especially when it comes to using body language in his many varied roles. It might be one of the reasons that he doesn't quite get the recognition he deserves.
 

=Tamar

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#35
He does it so naturally that people don't realize it's a deliberate choice. The curse of good actors everywhere - people who think they're just walking through the role when really every motion and blink is chosen. Like his looking at Crowley three times quickly in the Bastille scene.
 
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=Tamar

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#36
Crowley said "I owe you one" about having lunch together. He owed Aziraphale lunch from 1793, when they had crepes. They met again several times: 1862, 1941, 1967. Did they really not have lunch, or did they pay for their own and 1793 was the time Aziraphale paid as thanks for being rescued?
 

=Tamar

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May 20, 2012
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#37
Speaking of subtle acting: I think this is true:
When Crowley does magic, he raises his hands from a lower position and snaps his fingers.
When Aziraphale does magic, he first raises his hand, then makes a grasping motion with his fingers and moves his hand down as if pulling something down from above, except in the Bastille scene. There, he raises his hand, pulls down when he makes his clothing look like that of the executioner, and then moves his hand upward in a tossing motion when he makes the executioner's clothing look like his white garments had. It might just be that he is "throwing" the old appearance in that direction, but I speculate that (possibly the director's choice): magic that causes harm (even deserved harm) is drawn from lower energies and magic that helps is drawn from higher energies.
 
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Nov 15, 2011
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#38
Hi, How's everyone doing? I was really excited to watch Good Omens. I'm tremendously happy that they were reasonably faithful to the book, you could really feel the love throughout the whole series. Michael Sheen is the stand-out for me, he was absolutely perfect as were Michael McKean & Miranda Richardson. A special mention to the delivery guy, whoever that actor was he was brilliant. I also loved the nuns. I agree with the comments about the kids and Newt and Anathema. The title sequence was great and with the exception of the terrible cgi face Crowley pulls at the hospital/ corporate training thing and the whole cgi Devil at the end, the special effects were really good. I liked the look of the demons and the angels.

On the subject of ducks, my one wish is that they left the bit in where Crowley feeds the duck bread and it sinks. That little bit between Aziraphale & Crowley is one of my very favourite bits in the book. But, ah well.

What did everyone think about the Four Horsemen? That was one bit I was really excited to see what they would do with, so of course I'm a bit disappointed the the Other Four Horsemen got left out. I get why though. Also, What was the thinking behind Death's face I wonder?

Here's probably the one thing I really didn't like and don't know why they did this; Aziraphale and Crowley as the nanny and the gardener, Crowley looked ridiculous. That was a really important part of the story that I think could have been more subtle.

Take care everyone, I look forward to reading more comments.
 
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=Tamar

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#39
Neither of them is really up to date with popular culture, except just enough to pass for human (Crowley is only slightly better at it than Aziraphale). Crowley was being a British Nanny, so he copied Mary Poppins, complete with parrot-head-handled umbrella and carpetbag (which was probably bigger on the inside, though I doubt that he took out a floor lamp as she did). Aziraphale was being a British Gardener, so he copied every cliche of the 19th century British Country Yokel Gardener, with the smock, the hat, and the heavy accent. The politician's household is impressed by Britishness, so they fell for the obviousness of the roles that Crowley and Aziraphale were playing. (Either that or they both used magic to overcome any skepticism.)
 

=Tamar

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May 20, 2012
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#40
Something I recently realized: Crowley in 1941 has trouble just walking down the aisle of a church because the holiness burns his feet (even though later he can retrieve that bird-shaped lectern/pulpit to decorate his apartment). But Crowley in The Present (Afterwards), when disguised, can walk easily in the heavenly penthouse. That means an earthly church is holier than heaven. That being so, where did the Archangel MIchael get that holy water? from the same place Aziraphale got it? I head-canon that it was an earthly source. Ideas?
 
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