{"id":52431,"date":"2024-05-31T12:37:23","date_gmt":"2024-05-31T10:37:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=2049273"},"modified":"2024-05-31T14:20:08","modified_gmt":"2024-05-31T12:20:08","slug":"good-omens-is-a-masterclass-in-book-to-screen-adaptation","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/good-omens-is-a-masterclass-in-book-to-screen-adaptation\/","title":{"rendered":"Good Omens is a masterclass in book to screen adaptation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Five years on from the first episode, we look back at its legacy so far. <\/p>

By Louise Griffin\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 31 May 2024 at 10:37 AM<\/p>

\n\n

It\u2019s a very rare thing for a TV or film adaptation to live up to a book.<\/p>\n

For one, you\u2019ve got mountains more space to work with on the pages of a book, compared to the limited six to 10 hours of TV, or the even more squashed two to three hours of a film.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, the reader\u2019s imagination is unlimited. How could any set rival the world conjured up in a reader\u2019s mind? How could any actor bring a character to life better than in the imagination?<\/p>\n

Usually, it\u2019s near impossible \u2013 but not for Good Omens<\/a>. Crashing onto our screens in 2019, the Neil Gaiman<\/a> adaptation instantly won fans for its magical, whimsical tone. It immediately stood apart from anything else on TV, because of how faithfully it was adapted. The creatives behind the show fearlessly brought Gaiman\u2019s unique and often downright weird world to life with unrivalled dedication.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s that dedication that made worlds of difference. Last year, I was lucky enough to visit the set of season 2 and see inside the incredible world created for the show. Entire streets have been built for the series, with shops entirely kitted out \u2013 even though they might only have a few moments on screen. Aziraphale\u2019s bookshop, in particular, is a different kind of magic.<\/p>\n

\"Terry\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Good Omens set.<\/span><\/figcaption> Amazon Studios<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

It\u2019s filled to the brim with hundreds of props \u2013 not only books but letters, typewriters, records, and quirky items you\u2019d absolutely expect the angel to have collected over the years. Every angle has been thought of \u2013 when you\u2019re standing in one particular spot, you can see all the way through the bookshop to the armchair that Crowley favours.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the biggest sign of that pure dedication from the creatives and crew behind the show was when Aziraphale\u2019s bookshop had to burn down in season 1. Could it have been faked? Absolutely. Was it faked? Certainly not. The actual bookshop was razed to the ground \u2013 meaning the crew had to rebuild it from scratch for season 2.<\/p>\n

Speaking of the bookshop, it\u2019s impossible to ignore the coat stand in the background of most shots, with a very familiar hat balanced on it. Of course, that hat belonged to Sir Terry Pratchett<\/a>, one of the brains behind Good Omens.<\/p>\n

Following Pratchett\u2019s death in 2015, there could be no doubt that the series would pay homage to him, but the dedication shown to the late writer is another reason why it\u2019s worked so well as an adaptation.<\/p>\n