History YMMV / GoodOmens

** There really was a skyscraper at 666 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, although subsequent renovations converted the Top of the Sixes restaurant into a cigar lounge and changed the street number to 660.

** Likewise, the novel ends with Adam philosophically [[spoiler:renouncing his powers, and refusing to use them to fix the world after narrowly averting the apocalypse. He says that even if he could bring back the whales and change human behavior, it would be removing their free will and he doesn't want to accept the burden. In the 2020s, it seems irresponsible to not at least try and save the world, in the wake of climate change and willful ignornace]]. Neil acknowledges that the novel was written during the Cold War's aftermath, when noninterference was seen as the ideal solution. The 2020s series fixes this by [[spoiler:having Adam unwittingly using his powers to stop these problems, only for worse consequences to ensue because he alienates his friends and overrides their free will]].

* AcceptableTargets:
** Crowley is particularly proud of his influence in the creation of Manchester and the M25.
** Telemarketers take a lot of abuse, particularly when Hastur [[NiceJobFixingItVillain inadvertently makes the world a better place]] by killing an office full of them.
** The much-maligned "new town" of Milton Keynes, which neither Crowley nor Aziraphale had a hand in, but both of their superiors were pleased with. This one actually gets a footnote explaining the joke for any non-Brits reading.
** "Nothing but dust and fundamentalists."
** Americans in general are either stupid, TriggerHappy, bigoted, or some combination thereof. Perhaps best represented by that one soldier guarding the base: not only is he easily impressed by the Witchfinder Army's business card, he thinks they burn gays (faggots being used in the bundles-of-wood sense back then), a stance he wholeheartedly agrees with, and is defeated by Anathema poking him in the back with a stick.[[note]]Though to be fair, he does get sent home to the farm of his parents in a very heartwarming scene.[[/note]]
** A whale "research" vessel, which the narration makes quite clear is just a whaling vessel (a controversial issue in real life), gets attacked by the Kraken.

** It doesn't help that Aziraphale comes off, in the words of the text itself, as "gayer than a treeful of monkeys on nitrous oxide" [[ShipSinking (though it's also mentioned that angels are usually entirely sexless until they make a deliberate effort).]]

* HarsherInHindsight: Pestilence retired following the invention of penicillin, because with the invention of antibiotics and other improvements in medicine, they just didn't have as much to work with anymore. Then there came the anti-vaccination movement, which lead to outbreaks of preventable diseases like measles, and the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic...

** Crowley can also qualify. It's [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]] however in that's he only really evil by default.

** Crowley also has quite a lot of fangirls who see him as this.

** There is a particularly ship-worthy line towards the end of the book: ''"And perhaps the recent exertions had had some fallout on the nature of reality because, while they were eating, for the first time ever, a nightingale sang in Berkeley Square." '' The line comes rather out of nowhere and nothing is specified about the nature of said [[IsThatWhatTheyreCallingItNow "exertions"]]. One would assume it refers to Adam remaking reality, but "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" is an old and sappy romantic ''love'' song, whereas Adam is pretty clearly still at the cooties stage. The scene also takes place smack in between two scenes featuring canon couples that confirm the continuation/beginning of their own relationships.

** "There were angels dining at the Ritz" - from the song in question. Aziraphale and Crowley dine at the Ritz regularly. The mention of that song is probably not for the sole purpose of creating Aziraphale and Crowley subtext- though one of its purposes could be that subtext. That one is unsure if it's a dream or reality most likely refers to the characters forgetting, and a couple of other lines apply well to the book, more like.

' EnsembleDarkHorse: Aziraphale and Crowley. While they ''are'' major characters in the book, they're not really the most central to the plot and often take a backseat to other characters -- but they are by far the most beloved and popular characters, to the point where the fandom is pretty much ''all'' about them. It's reflected in the [[Series/GoodOmens2019 2019 adaptation]], where they are unquestionably the main characters and the show is arguably more about their relationship than it is about the Apocalypse.

* HoYay: Or possibly FoeYay, depending. Crowley and Aziraphale - not that they technically have sex. See also HeterosexualLifePartners.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: Pestilence retired following the invention of penicillin, because with the invention of antibiotics and other improvements in medicine, they just didn't have as much to work with anymore. Then there came the anti-vaccination movement, which lead to outbreaks of preventable diseases like measles, and the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic...
* GeniusBonus / PunnyName: The etymology of "nice" (or [[YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe "ni∫e"]] if you prefer) has changed drastically over the centuries. Roughly around the time Agnes would have written her book it could indeed have meant "precise". However its original meaning was "foolish" or "stupid." Then there is the modern meaning attached to the word. They all apply to some extent.
** As Lucifer, in Latin, means "light-bearer" or "bringer of light", Pulsifer can be translated as [[IncrediblyLamePun "bringer of peas/ce"]]. However, the authors have noted that this wasn't planned, but was merely a fortuitous coincidence.

* FanPreferredCouple: [[DatingCatwoman Crowley and Aziraphale]]. Or, if you're [[LesYay into it]], [[CrackPairing Pepper/War]] is becoming quite popular.
** Pollution/Famine is an extremely popular [[ShipMates Ship Mate]] for either of the above. No, really.

** Pollution is youthful-looking and apparently quite attractive, in a creepy way (of course).

** All of the Four Horsepersons of the Apocalypse fall under this trope, as the parts featuring one or all of them are easily the coolest and most awesome parts of the book.

* EvilIsCool: All of the Four Horsepersons of the Apocalypse fall under this trope, as the parts featuring one or all of them are easily the coolest and most awesome parts of the book.
* EvilIsSexy: Crowley, though he's really only evil by default.
** Also War, a redheaded DarkActionGirl who is described as stunningly beautiful in the same way as a forest fire, and regularly has men fighting over her (though that is at least partly caused by her power).

* AngelDevilShipping: Crowley and Aziraphale. Subverted though, since they're MirrorCharacters.

* AngelDevilShipping: Crowley and Aziraphale. Subverted though, since they're {{Mirror Characters}}s.

* AngelDevilShipping: Crowley and Aziraphale. Subverted though, since they're both NotSoDifferent.

** Also War.

** The replacement of Pestilence with Pollution as one of the Four Horsemen seems rather premature following the global devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

* ValuesDissonance: Shadwell has rather racist[[note]]and other -ist[[/note]] views for which his defense is "I'm a jerk to everybody and anybody, so that doesn't count as bigotry", two characters make homophobic comments, and Newt's Wasabi model car has a voice with an AsianSpeekeeEngrish accent. While the first two examples weren't really supposed to be positive and were more about demonstrating how ignorant said characters are, none of this would be considered very funny today. Creator/NeilGaiman himself has acknowledged that those moments haven't aged well since the time the book was published, and as a result they were removed from [[Series/GoodOmens2019 the series]].

* * FriendlyFandoms: With ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''. Series creator Creator/EricKripke has freely admitted that the Season 4 and 5 storyline, in which the Winchester brothers get caught between angels and demons who want the apocalypse to start, was heavily inspired by the book ''Good Omens'', and he even named a Demon character Crowley. Neil Gaiman has taken it as a loving homage, and most ''Supernatural'' fans love both the book and the series. There is copious crossover fanfic.