Or in this case being raised by a perfectly average middle class family in the small British town of Tadfield. This, of course being a mistake on the part of several parties not the least of which is one of the two protagonists of this tale Crowley the demon. If you've seen the show, you'll know immediately that I'm talking about the series Good Omens which was based on a book co-written by Neil Gaiman. There is a lot to like about this show, and it is what I consider dark comedy at its best. But the best thing about it are the characters. You have the demon Crowley played by David Tennant (you might recognize him from his portrayal as one of the better looking versions of Dr. Who, or you may have seen him in his riveting portrayal of Hamlet) and his best friend, the angel Aziraphale. The whole story revolves around the relationship between these two men and their forbidden trysts. Some shows take two characters with obvious chemistry and flirt around the idea of letting you see them get together (I'm looking at you x-files with your 7-seasons-before-the-first-kiss nonsense). I feel like many shows do this way too often with homo-erotic pairings and it's a bit of a problem, I admit. However, I will say that despite the lack of a romantic resolution between these two, the solution they found which (for the time being) solved the problem of "being on the wrong side" was probably more intimate than any kiss or hug or sex scene would have been.
So let's delve a little deeper into the characters. The ones I liked include (obviously) the main two Crowley and Aziraphale, but also Adam Young and to a lesser extent Anathema Device (the oddball witch who follows her ancestor's prophesies to the letter). I didn't really care for the romance between Newton Pulsifer (the descendant of someone who literally murdered one of her ancestors) and her, but mainly because it tends to seem like the story is adding a hetero romance to distract one from the obvious attraction that exists between Crowley and Aziraphale. And it does this one more time, much more subtly with two other minor characters Witchfinder Shadwell and Madame Tracy (his landlord). The character of Pulsifer did end up being crucial to the plot, but I would argue that the romance element was not. They could have had him do the very same things in the very same way to resolve things without the sex. However, it was a bit comedic especially as Shadwell describes the heinous things he imagines his poor private Pulsifer is being subjected to by the witch.
So Crowley is a demon, but he's grown attached to humanity and human inventions and, well his friendship with Aziraphale, so when he's asked to deliver the antichrist to jumpstart the apocalypse, he's none too pleased. He can't just say no, Hell doesn't take kindly to rebels after all, so he attempts to do as he's asked but a comedy of errors puts the baby not in the hands of the wealthy and influential American diplomat to whom it was supposed to be delivered, but to a middle class family from Tadfield. Crowley has no idea this mistake has been made, and for eleven years he and Aziraphale try to influence the (wrong) child each more towards their side hoping that in the end he'll turn out normal and not start the apocalypse. On his eleventh birthday a hellhound is released and the boy is supposed to name him something that will cause him to take the shape that forms his identity. Since they are monitoring the wrong boy they aren't there to see that the dog comes to the real antichrist Adam Young and the free-spirited (and very normal) boy names him 'dog' and so the hellhound becomes a mutt and the boy adopts him.
Antics ensue as heaven and hell try to figure out what went wrong all as the clock is ticking to the end of the world. Not only that, but our main duo must keep their superiors from finding out about their connection lest it be severed forever. The show does a nice job (with flashbacks) of showing various stages of the relationship between Crowley and Aziraphale and it is just so clear that these two love each other it seems a shame that there was no romance other than small flirtations. I've heard the term for this type of homo-erotic media that tantalizes you with hints but never gives you any definitive proof is called "queer-baiting". That being said, the fact that it has a little bit of that is the only down-side to an otherwise perfect story. The comedy is perfect, the story arc is just ludicrous enough to be hilarious and not so ludicrous that you have no idea what in the world you just watched. It kind of gives off Monty Python and Douglas Adams vibes, but that could be because MP is written by British writers and DA was British. I think there's something to that dry, sardonic, wit that I just find absolutely fascinating.
I can't tell you too much without ruining the story but I can tell you that it is really worth the watch and I hope you like it as much as I did. Thanks for reading, signing off for now.
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