An angel and a demon meet in the Garden of Eden, striking up a relationship that will endure through the ages, right up to the end of time.

The adaptation of Terry Pratchett (Discworld) and Neil Gaiman’s (American Gods) 1990 spoof on The Omen has been a long time coming. It was very nearly a movie directed by Terry Gilliam in 2002, then became a BBC Radio 4 Christmas serial in 2014, but live-action just kept stalling. Before his death in 2015, Pratchett tasked Gaiman in making it happen and at last this six-part adaptation by Gaiman of Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, is now available in its entirety on Amazon Prime. A BBC screening will follow later in the year.

There’s a real Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy vibe, with the Voice of God (a no-nonsense Frances McDormand) doling out nuggets of info to help our understanding, and she’s one of a huge guest cast, many of whom I won’t reveal as that would be spoiling some of the fun. The main duo of Aziraphale and Crowley are nicely played by Michael Sheen and David Tennant. Sheen is the lamb-haired, slightly timid angel to Tennant’s louche demon, the latter swaggering around like his rock star persona as Peter Vincent in the Fright Night remake. His dark sunglasses hide some terrifying snake eyes, and he’s even mean to plants!

The screen lights up whenever this pair are on screen, and wisely the episode is focused upon the set-up of switching the Antichrist with the newborn baby of an American ambassador in England (The Omen references aren’t subtle). But the switcheroo goes wrong, and supposed demon spawn Warlock is actually the child of Arthur and Deidre Young – they get the Antichrist instead, young Adam.

Crowley and Aziraphale make a pact to share duties in watching over their young ward, and employ themselves as female nanny and gardener. At Warlock’s birthday party, Aziraphale proves himself to be a rubbish magician and I was waiting for Crowley to hang himself – ‘It’s all for you, Damien!’ – but he doesn’t. And then, in readiness for the end of days, a boy needs a dog, a slavering hell hound with razor teeth!

Verdict: A lot of heaving lifting takes place in this opening episode to establish the format, tone and general direction. As someone who (heresy alert!) found the novel a little bit all over the place with far too many asides and characters, there’s a greater clarity and through line here. I imagine that if I re-read the novel after this I would have a different experience. Tennant and Sheen are of course excellent and there’s just the right mix of comedy and drama. Zipping along with some killer one-liners and crazy visuals, Terry would definitely approve. 9/10

Nick Joy