Gaiman on Good Omens 2 Subtitles, Good Omens 3 & The Sandman S02

Posted in: Amazon Studios, Good Omens, Netflix, Preview, streaming, TV | Tagged: amazon, good omens, neil gaiman, netflix, prime video, sandman

On Tumblr, Neil Gaiman offered some updates/thoughts on the Good Omens 2 subtitles problem, Good Omens 3, and The Sandman Season 2 filming.

With the SAG-AFTRA & WGA strikes currently ongoing and no end to either in sight as the AMPTP starts taking meetings about when the real meetings are going to resume – otherwise known as negotiations, updates on how the entertainment industry is being impacted seem to be changing on an hour-by-hour, day-by-day basis. Thankfully, we have folks like Neil Gaiman using the social media that they have at their discretion (while still keeping safely within union guidelines) to keep fans not only updated on how things are going with their respective shows but also better informed by cutting through a lot of the gossip & rumors out there with cold, hard facts. And speaking of Gaiman… since we already name-dropped him, we might as well take a look at what he had to share on his Tumblr account regarding Amazon’s David Tennant & Michael Sheen-starring Prime Video series Good Omens 2 as well as Netflix’s Tom Sturridge-starring The Sandman.

“Good Omens 2”: So What’s the Deal with the Subtitles/Closed Captioned Text? “I don’t know. Probably I won’t know, at least as long as I’m on strike,” Gaiman responded when asked why the subtitles/closed captioning for the second season weren’t on par with the first season – with many noting important details being left out. “This probably happened because I’m on strike. On S1, I checked the closed captions that the BBC made, and I checked the scripts that went out to foreign countries to be dubbed or subbed. For S2, Amazon did that stuff directly, and I was on strike and unable to do a final check and correct it.” But while the WGA strike may have been a factor, Gaiman is still confused by what made it to the screen, considering the process in place. “Having said that, whoever does the captions is meant to refer to the scripts, so I don’t understand why they were so off. I feel guilty because it shouldn’t have happened: it’s not fair on the hard of hearing or anyone relying on the closed captions for aid. Nobody relying on the closed captions knows about Mrs. Sandwich’s hatpin, for example, or knows that Shax brought Crowley’s mail to the bookshop, or that the first ‘Doctor Who’ Annual was cover-dated 1966,” Gaiman added. “I very much hope it will be corrected soon.”

“Good Omens 3” Will See the Light of Day – On the Screen or On the Page: “As we were heading into Season 2, we planned everything so that we could go smoothly into making Season 3. Amazon wouldn’t commission two seasons, we would have to bring out the audience for Season 2, but everything was planned and set. One reason for shooting in Bathgate instead of London was the relative cheapness of being able to keep our set up between seasons,” Gaiman shared when asked about the plans for Good Omens 3 – before the SAG-AFTRA & WGA strikes. Now? “The strikes have upended that plan a little. At best, they may delay it; at worst, it’s possible that we won’t get the viewing figures or something, and it might not happen at all.” But if that “Worst Case Scenario” that Gaiman referenced at the end there does happen, Gaiman already has a backup plan: “If that became a thing, I’d definitely write the book.”

How Far Into Season 2 Filming Was “The Sandman” Before Hitting the Pause Button? A little more than a month after we checked in with a theory that we had about the second “season” of EP & co-writer Neil Gaiman (Good Omens); EP, co-writer & showrunner Allan Heinberg (Wonder Woman); and EP & co-writer David S. Goyer‘s The Sandman,  Gaiman clarified just how far into filming the Netflix series was before production was shut down. “We shot two weeks, and then production halted, and will restart (I hope) after the strikes,” Gaiman revealed – with that “I hope” at the end of his response making us feel a bit uneasy.

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