SPOILERS Discussion of Good Omens, the series

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=Tamar

Lieutenant
May 20, 2012
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Public transport is not shut down trains and buses run as normal as do the trams.
Okay, I misremembered. I checked and what the announcement actually said was that people had to drive themselves because, due to covid restrictions, "we cannot encourage public transport or car sharing."
Also, people applying must be based on Scotland because, Neil said, "It’s intended to employ and train up Scottish talent."
 
Jul 27, 2008
19,425
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Stirlingshire, Scotland
:eek: Now I'm jealous. Very jealous. :mrgreen: If "Good Omens" was filming just down the road from me, I would take a few weeks' annual leave and watch the fun! :)

But I don't know if that'd work for you, Dug? ;)
What's work Rath? do you mean hours glued to a computer screen , if so I gave that up years ago so I don't get annual leave anymore or any other holidays.:mrgreen:
First you need to know where the actual location is ,not as if they publish it online, planning on going on Monday shopping to do so a short train journey.
 
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=Tamar

Lieutenant
May 20, 2012
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Some foreshadowing that was sneaked into the end of Good Omens Season 1:

Crowley: "So that was the last of Agnes Nutter's prophecies?"
Aziraphale: "As far as I know."

Crowley: "Adam, human now?"
Aziraphale: "As far as I know."

ME: Well, we found out at the end that Agnes wrote
another whole book of prophecies!

So - Adam [almost certainly] still has his powers!
I mean, Aziraphale and Crowley still have their powers.
 

RathDarkblade

Moderator
City Watch
Mar 24, 2015
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Interesting. So neither Aziraphale nor Crowley are omnicognizant, even though they know many, many things - or at least say they do. :)
==============
'How should I know? I don't know!' lied the tortoise.

'But you ... you're omnicognizant,' said Brutha.

'That doesn't mean I know everything.'

Brutha bit his lip. 'Um. Yes. It does.'

("Small Gods")
 

=Tamar

Lieutenant
May 20, 2012
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Update on Season 2 filming: Neil will be co-show-running Anansi Boys, which will be filmed in the same studio location, AT THE SAME TIME that they are filming Good Omens S2.
That's going to keep him busy. I just hope he doesn't get the two confused.
 

=Tamar

Lieutenant
May 20, 2012
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SPOILER QUESTION FOR SEASON ONE
About Season 1, I just noticed something odd. When the first trailers came out, they showed a clip of Crowley shouting "Then you'll have to deal with - []" - and in that early trailer, he shouted "Satan!"
But in the actual show, when I watched it on Amazon Prime here in the USA, Crowley shouted
"Then you'll have to deal with Eternity!"
I put it down to a late decision that was dubbed in, and let it go at that - until today.

Today I watched one of those "reaction" videos on Youtube, one that was made only about a month ago.
In it, that part was shown and it was like the earlly trailer - Crowley shouted "Satan!"
So now I'm wondering - is there a different soundtrack elsewhere in the world? [I don't know where the person who made the video is located.]
Is it different on the DVD?
And either way, are there other parts of the soundtrack that are different elsewhere?
I know that in the past some other movies have been recut and had entirely new music tracks made for the USA release, so I know it's theoretically possible, especially as I read a rumor that there was a cut-to-ribbons version made for regular broadcast TV [hard to believe, but corporations are corporations].
 
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I'm pretty sure the version on Amazon Prime (and probably the DVDs/BluRays) would be the final cut as per the director/showrunner/studio. There might have been small modifications by the BBC so it can air on that public broadcaster, but I've got no ideas what they might be. Did they censor the one major swear word?
 

=Tamar

Lieutenant
May 20, 2012
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The person doing the reaction videos only uploaded her reaction to Episode 2 today, so I don't know whether the version she's watching censors that line. However, when the demons told Crowley that the ambassador and family were being taken to the site of Megiddo in the Middle East, the person said "Noo, don't send them here" so I assume she's somewhere in that area. She is dressed very Western.
 

raisindot

Sergeant-at-Arms
Oct 1, 2009
5,125
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Boston, MA USA
Update on Season 2 filming: Neil will be co-show-running Anansi Boys, which will be filmed in the same studio location, AT THE SAME TIME that they are filming Good Omens S2.
That's going to keep him busy. I just hope he doesn't get the two confused.
He (or Starz) must have given up on American Gods, which deserved to wither on the vine.
 
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Tonyblack

Super Moderator
City Watch
Jul 25, 2008
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Season one (in my opinion) of American Gods was decent. but the subsequent series were a disappointment. They should have stuck to the original story, but because they got a second season, they had to add things to the story that weren't in the book.
 

raisindot

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Oct 1, 2009
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Boston, MA USA
OK ... and did that derail the series, because they had to keep on adding things, and eventually it didn't make sense (or the additions turned into Big Fat Coincidences(TM))? ;)
No, the additions didn't derail the series. I blame Neil himself, who took over as showrunner for season 2. I don't know his motivation, but for some reason he decided to turn huge parts of season two into an allegorical indictment of slavery and white oppression in America. It basically brought the main plot to a standstill and was unbearable to sit through.
 

RathDarkblade

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Mar 24, 2015
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Oh, dear. I can just imagine that being unbearable to sit through. *sigh* I agree that white oppression and slavery in America were terrible things, but what do they have to do with "American Gods", again?

Also, there has to come a point where the audience says "We get it! Stop hitting us over the head with this and get on with the story, already!"

One last thing: how do we know that Neil himself decided to do this? Maybe it was someone else. *shrug* Do we know that for sure? If so, how? Neil doesn't seem like the kind of person who would do something like this. He comes across as a really amazingly together hoopy frood who knows where his towel's at. ;)
 
No, the additions didn't derail the series. I blame Neil himself, who took over as showrunner for season 2.
I'm not sure where you got this information - Neil has been involved as Executive Producer (which is a title that can mean anything from 'show runner' to 'rights owner' to 'someone who paid for it') but he's not been the showrunner of American Gods at all. I don't think he's had much creative control over it - just vague input at the script stage. He's much more hands on for Good Omens and The Sandman.

Wikipedia says: "[Brian] Fuller and [Michael] Green served as the showrunners for the first season and were replaced by Jesse Alexander for the second season. Charles H. Eglee serves as showrunner for the third season. Gaiman serves as an executive producer. "

Yes, I know Wikipedia is probably not always a reliable source, but them's the breaks. I think I recall reading that the reason they keep changing showrunners is due to studio interference, and Fuller in particular seems to be great at coming up with concepts for shows but never being able to follow them through for very long. (He created Pushing Daisies, Wonderfalls, Star Trek Discovery... and didn't stay with any of them for very long. Some were cancelled after a season or two, some he left during or after the first season. Hannibal is probably his most successful show).

I will agree that the first season of American Gods is the best, and the most faithful to the book - although they did add stuff (mostly side stories and back stories for characters like Laura, Mad Sweeney, and bringing one-sceners like the Djinn and Bilquis in as recurring characters) which seemed to work. Going from S1 to S2 and the lost of the showrunners caused cast members like Gillian Anderson (Media) and Kristin Chenowith (Easter) to decline to return, meaning they had to change Media to New Media, and skip any followup with Easter. This meant further diversions from the book which also kind of meant the story moved more slowly than it should. S3 was supposed to be "back to the book" with the Lakeside arc, but they kept having episodes where Shadow leaves Lakeside to go deal with more god-related things all over the country (whereas in the book, he stays there for the whole winter). There was also a lot more added stuff with Laura, and Technical Boy, and entirely new characters like Demeter, Tyr, and Cordelia which meant moving more and more away from the book.

I think *originally*, back before they'd even started S1, Neil had said that the plan was to split the original novel into three seasons, and then they could continue beyond that with new material following the characters. Obviously this plan changed, as by the end of S3, they're about 2/3 through the book, with the big climax still to come... assuming that the show is picked up by another network, as Starz has cancelled it.

I am somewhat disappointed at where it went - sometimes a book-to-tv show can undergo significant changes and still be a great telling of the story (The Expanse kind of fits here - the diversions from the book add to the characters, rather than divert the plot), but others it just kind of ruins things and slows stuff down, which is kind of what happened to American Gods.
 

raisindot

Sergeant-at-Arms
Oct 1, 2009
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Boston, MA USA
I'm mistaken--there are three seasons of American Gods. I only saw the first two and didn't realize there was a third season. I supposed I'll have to watch it even though this is not an attractive prospect.

Also true that Gaiman didn't directly show run Season 2, but I've read in many places that after a bunch of squabbles and firings among the production team he took a much more prominent role in shaping the arc of Season 2. Hence, why I put the blame for its mediocrity on his shoulders.
 

RathDarkblade

Moderator
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Mar 24, 2015
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One part of me is saying: Aaaaaaaaaaaahcan'twait. :mrgreen:

Another (much, much smaller, since I trust Douglas and Neil) part of me is saying: Aaaaaaaaaaahdon'tscrewthisup. (But let's not compare this to the execrable "The Watch"). *makes a face*

Since I don't have Amazon Prime (or access to it), I wonder if I could get the DVD in due time.
 

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