#maggie's record shop

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

SFX Magazine Issue 372 - Designing Good Omens ❤ 😊

PRODUCTION DESIGNER MICHAEL RALPH REVEALS HOW THE SHOW’S CENTREPIECE SET, WHICKBER STREET, WAS GIVEN A DEVILISHLY CLEVER UPGRADE FOR THE SECOND SEASON

WORDS: DAVE GOLDER

Invisible Columns And Thin Walls “The new studio is Pyramid Studios in Bathgate – it used to be a furniture warehouse. And unfortunately – or fortunately, because I accept these things as not challenges but gifts – right down the middle of that studio are a series of upright columns. But you’ll never spot them on screen. I had to build them in and integrate them into the walls and still get the streets between them. And it worked.

“There’s all sorts of cheeky design values to those sets. Normally a set like this is double-skin. In other words, you do an interior wall and an exterior wall, with an airspace in between. But really, the only time a viewer notices that there’s that width is at the doors and the windows. So I cheated all that. I ended up with single walls everywhere. So the exterior wall is the interior wall, just painted. All I did was make the sash windows and entrances wider to give it some depth as you walked in.”

GOOD OMENS HAD A CHANGE of location for its second season, but hopefully you didn’t notice. Because Whickber Street in Soho upped sticks from an airfield in Hertfordshire to a furniture warehouse in Bathgate, Edinburgh. It’s the kind of nonsensical geographical shenanigans that could only make sense in the crazy world of film and TV, and production designer Michael Ralph was the man in charge of rebuilding and expanding the show’s vast central set. “I wish we could have built more in season one than we did,” says Ralph, whose previous work has included Primeval and Dickensian. “We built the ground floor of everything and the facades of all the shops. But we didn’t build anything higher than that, because we were out on an airfield in a very, very difficult terrain and weather conditions, so we really couldn’t go much higher. Visual effects created the upper levels.”

But with season two the set has gone to a whole other level… literally. “What happened was that the rest of the street became integrated into the series’s storyline,” explains Ralph. “So we needed a record shop, we needed a coffee shop that actually had an inside, we needed a magic shop, we needed the pub. To introduce those meant we had to change the street with a layout that works from a storylines point of view. In other words, things like someone standing at the counter in the record shop had to be able to eyeball somebody standing at the counter in the coffee shop. They had to be able to eyeball Aziraphale sitting in his office in the window of the bookshop. But the rest of it was a pleasure to do inside, because we could expand it and I could go up two storeys.”

For most of the set, which is around 80 metres long and 60 metres wide, the two storeys only applied to the shop frontages, but in the case of Aziraphale’s bookshop, it allowed Ralph to build the mezzanine level for real this time. According to Ralph it became one of the cast and crews’ favourite places to hang out during down time.

But while AZ Fell & Co has grown in height, it actually has a slightly smaller footprint because of the logistics of adapting it to the new studio.

“Everybody swore to me that no one would notice,” says Ralph wryly. “I walked onto it and instinctively knew there was a difference immediately, and they hated me for that. I have this innate sense about spatial awareness and an eye like a spirit level.

“It’s not a lot, though – I think we’ve lost maybe two and a half feet on the front wall internally. I think that there’s a couple of other smaller areas, but only I’d notice. So I can be really annoying to my guys, but only on those levels. Not on any other. They actually quite like me…”

Populating The Bookshop “The props in the new bookshop set were a flawless reproduction from the set decorator Bronwyn Franklin [who is also Ralph’s wife]. It was really the worst-case scenario after season one. She works off the concept art that I produce, but what she does is she adds so much more to the character of the set. She doesn’t buy anything she doesn’t love, or doesn’t fit the character.

“But the things she put a lot of work into finding for season one, they were pretty much one-offs. When we burnt the set down in the sixth episode, we lost a lot of props, many of which had been spotted and appreciated by the fans. So Bronwyn had to discover a new set decorating technique: forensic buying.

“She found it all – duplicates and replicas. It took ages. In that respect, the Covid delay was very helpful for Bron. There’s 7,000 books in there and there’s not one fake book. That’s mainly because… it’s a weird thing to say, but we wanted it to smell and feel like a bookshop to everybody that was in it, all the time.

“It affects everybody subliminally; it affects everybody’s performance – actors and crew – it raises the bar 15 to 20%. And the detail, you know… We love a lot of detail.”

(look at the description under this, they called him 'Azi' hehehehe :D <3)

Aziraphale’s Inspirational Correspondence “There’s not one single scrap of paper on Aziraphale’s desk that isn’t written specifically for Aziraphale. Every single piece is not just fodder that’s been shoved there, it has a purpose; it’s a letter of thanks, or an enquiry about a book or something.

“Michael Sheen is so submerged in his character he would get lost sitting at his own desk, reading his own correspondence between takes. I believe wholeheartedly that if you put that much care into every single piece of detail, on that desk and in that room, that everybody feels it, including the crew, and then they give that set the same respect it deserves.

“They also lift their game because they believe that they’re doing something of so much care and value. Really, it’s a domino effect of passion and care for what you’re producing.”

Alternative Music “My daughter Mickey is lead graphic designer [two of Ralph’s sons worked on the series too, one as a concept artist, the other in props]. They’re the ones that produced all of that handwritten work on the desk. She’s the one that took on the record shop and made up 80 band names so that we didn’t have to get copyright clearance from real bands. Then she produced records and sleeves that spanned 50, 60 years of their recordings, and all of the graphics on the walls.

“I remember Michael and Neil [Gaiman] getting lost following one band’s history on the wall, looking at their posters and albums desperately trying to find out whether they survived that emo period.”

It’s A Kind Of Magic One of the new shops in Whickber Street for season two was Will Goldstone’s Magic Shop, which is full of as many Easter eggs as off-the-shelf conjuring tricks, including a Matt Smith Doctor Who-style fez and a toy orang-utan that’s a nod to Discworld’s The Librarian. Ralph says that while the series is full of references to Gaiman, Pratchett and Doctor Who, Michael Sheen never complained about a lack of Masters Of Sex in-jokes. “He’d be the last person to make that sort of comment!”

Ralph also reveals that the magic shop counter was another one of his wife’s purchases, bought at a Glasgow reclamation yard.

The Anansi Boys Connection Ralph reveals that Good Omens season two used the state-of-the-art special effects tech Volume (famous for its use in The Mandalorian to create virtual backdrops) for just one sequence, but he will be using it extensively elsewhere on another Gaiman TV series being made for Prime Video.

“We used Volume on the opening sequence to create the creation of the universe. I was designing Anansi Boys in duality with this project, which seems an outrageously suicidal thing to do. But it was fantastic and Anansi Boys was all on Volume. So I designed for Volume on one show and not Volume on the other. The complexities and the psychology of both is different.”

#good omens #gos2 #season 2 #photos #bts #bts photos #interview #sfx magazine #magazines #hq photos #neil gaiman #terry pratchett #michael sheen #david tennant #michael ralph #mickey ralph #bronwyn franklin #anansi boys #the small back room #maggie's record shop #soho #aziraphale's bookshop #dirty donkey #magic shop #aziraphale's correspondence #give me coffee or give me death #fun fact #michael ralph interview #sfx 372 magazine #s2 interview

[eviebane]

Good Omens: Amazon Prime Trivia

For the Fans! A note from Co-Showrunner and Writer Neil Gaiman on Maggie's Record Shop: "The record shop was opened by Maggie's great-grandmother in the 1920s in a corner of Aziraphale's bookshop. (I think she was demonstrating the new-fangled gramophones and he fell in love with the musical reproduction and realised he could listen to music without leaving his bookshop.) By the 1930s Aziraphale (who owns the buildings that his bookshop is above) offered her the shop next door because (a) it had come free and (b) too many people were coming into his bookshop to buy records. (The original 'Small Back Room' was in Aziraphale's shop.) The shop stayed in the family, and Maggie took it over when her father retired".

#good omens trivia #source: amazon prime #good omens #maggie #maggie's record shop #aziraphale #bookshop

[sad-sad-gay]

the fact i just have a queen single that I don't remember ever buying or when it appeared feels very good-omens-core

#good omens #good omens2 #good omens 2 #crowley #crowleys bentley #queen #aziraphale #beelzebub #good omens maggie #good omens jim #good omens beelzebub #good omens crowley #good omens aziraphale #niel gaiman #vinyl #maggie's record shop

[glitterypin]

Good Omens 30 Day Challenge! (x)

Day 6: Favourite Whickber Street shop

The Small Back Room, aka Maggie's Record Shop

My actual favourite Whickber Street shop is Aziraphale's bookshop but, y'know, the point is to exclude the obvious.

So, I had to go with the next coziest thing, Maggie's Record Shop. It's vintage, it's colorful, it looks warm and I generally have some love for record stores. I've not really dabbled in vinyl collecting (I don't even have a record player) but I dig the vibe. High Fidelity is definitely in my top 10 favourite books AND films of all time, so... Record Shop!

Side note, the production designer explained that in order to avoid copyright issues, the art department basically invented 80 fake bands and designed album covers and tracklists for all of them. We never really see those on the screen but they are there and I'm just itching to wander in there and read it all.

#good omens #go30dc #good omens 30 day challenge #maggie's record shop

[onceuponathyme]

Maggie's note

A noticed a couple minor things to do with the wording of Maggie's note (not the spelling).

Why the odd wording "a matter of" some ugrency urgency?

As soon as Maggie starts speaking, explaining to Aziraphale why she can't pay the rent, we see a large poster for Stairway to Heaven centred in the background. That film, originally titled A Matter of Life and Death, is referenced repeatedly throughout Season 2, so choosing the wording "a matter of" is a subtle reference to the film. From Maggie's perspective, every time she looks toward her window she would see the poster and be reminded of the film, and if she thinks of running the record shop as her life, and is thinking about having to stop, it makes sense she'd have this wording on her mind while writing her note. (She'd also see the huge "Give Me Death" whenever looking toward her window.)

The other thing is just an observation I found amusing. There's only one other time in the season that the word "urgent" or "urgency" is used (thank you flameraven for making transcripts of Season 2!!!). In episode 2 Aziraphale takes Crowley to the pub and says, "There's something urgent I need to talk to you about." Here's Maggie being overly wordy to avoid ending a sentence with a preposition when writing to the prim and educated Mr. Fell (and making a stress-based spelling mistake despite agonizing over how to choose her wording), then Aziraphale just goes and says essentially the same sentence in the the plainest way.

#good omens meta #maggie's record shop #maggie's note #a matter of life and death

[unforgivablego]

Maggie and Nina wearing the colours in which each other's places are decorated.

#maggie #nina #maggie and nina #give me coffee or give me death #record shop #maggie service #nina sosanya #good omens #good omens 2 #good omens series #good omens season 2 #good omens season two #neil gaiman #neil gaiman meme #michael sheen #david tennant #crowley and aziraphale #crowley #aziraphale #good omens show #good omens fandom #good omens tv

[sighed-the-snake]

I just noticed something odd.

In the background, in Maggie's shop, two names appear in multiple places: Michelle Kolove and Rat Keith.

(And for a special mention, Nobody Owens, the main character of The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman.)

Does this mean something? Is this just prop department silliness? Who knows! What do you think?

I also find the front and center placement of Stairway to Heaven to be s u s p i c i o u s

#good omens #good omens meta #good omens maggie #a record shop full of music by people who don't exist #good omens analysis

[anthonycrowley]

saw a manifest being more transgender crystal in the local crystal shop today which now that i think about it is a little bit dumber even than normal crystals because buddy if you wanna manifest that i have good news for you and you don't even need a crystal

#my post #why were you in the crystal shop if you are on record for thinking crystals are bullshit maggie? well you see some of those crystals while #they probably don't give off energy are very pretty and sometimes even inlaid in jewelry. also tarot decks slap and they also carry those

[nighttimenarcotics]

Did nobody else notice that the actors for Maggie and Nina were the same as the nuns in season one????

#good omens #good omens 2 #go2 #maggie and nina #season one references? #Might just be a casting choice but- #If they were that would be pretty cool #Cause consider #Adam altered the world when he replaced the devil with his father #So that mean that the 11 years ago never happened #Which means no cult #And that could be what would have become of them otherwise #Since the cafe and record shop weren’t there in s1 #but whatevs

[maggiesrecordshop]

Hey Maggie! May I suggest Are You Satisfied by MARINA/Marina and the diamonds? (It’s the burnt out gifted kid national anthem)

Ooo, I’ve never heard this song before! Very catchy!!

#Outsider Suggestions #Maggie’s Record Shop

[mayhemmaybe]

@storyandscng

Deep breath in, deep breath out. She could do this. Maggie didn’t remember Crowley being scary, she remembered him looking awfully distraught while her and Nina gave him a talking to. Even so, there was a distinct and unmistakable connection in her brain between him and Mr. Fell. And Mr. Fell was gone, replaced by that lovely individual in the bookshop.

Straightening out the hem of her sweater, Maggie nodded to herself, “Right.”

It was a steady, forward march. The kind that said the owner of it was on a mission and had to get to it before their nerve was lost. It came to a stop just beside the Bentley. Maggie’s hand froze mid-raise and she moved it slightly to the right. At the last moment, she’d caught sight of the decals on the window but didn’t have enough time to register it wasn’t cracks in the actual glass. She didn’t want to do any more damage than had already been done.

Then her knuckles rapped gently against the window. And a second time with a bit more urgency since her first attempt had been rather soft.

#storyandscng #storyandscng; Crowley #I’m Maggie...I actually run the record shop - Maggie #Closed Starter #let me know if anything needs changing!

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

(Mickey Ralph, the graphic designer of Good Omens, talks about showing the Bathgate Soho set to fans who won a visit to it :) <3)

#good omens #gos2 #season 2 #mickey ralph #bts #photos #bts photos #aziraphale #michael sheen #the small back room #maggie's record shop #soho #<3 #promo photos #show promo photos #2ep1 #2i1i2

[rebeccasteventaylor]

Don’t mind me, just sitting here idly wondering if Maggie’s record shop also burned down when the bookshop was burned down.

And if it did and Adam restored it, did he add anything extra like he did with the bookshop?

And did Nina, seeing the record shop on fire, rush out to rescue Maggie but now neither of them can remember that cos it all got reset….

#good omens #good omens 2 #Maggie’s record shop #maggie and nina

[casimirt]

Dear Readers,

I'm really getting into these Ineffable Husband tid bits!

This one is called Snake.

Maggie had never been a fan of snakes. It wasn't their cold scales, or beedy eyes, or flickering tongue. It was the way they appeared to know what you were thinking, or at least they appeared like they knew, you knew they knew what you were thinking.

Regardless, the one in Mr Fell's bookshop didn't make her feel any better about them. It always looked like it was judging her. And, she didn't like the way poor Mr Fell had to look after it all the time. She had assumed Crowley was the one to have bought the damn thing. Exotic pets and weird things seemed right up his proverbial long and dark alley. Perhaps he got bored of it, and offloaded it onto his stout partner to babysit. He was never around when the snake was, so Maggie had just assumed the book shop was some kind of reptile crache.

The only 'kind' thought she had ever had about it, was it making a lovely pair of snake skin boots. Though animal hide wasn't really her thing if she was honest with herself. But every now and then when she would pop over for tea and biscuits, there it would be; coiled around her landlord's neck like some horrifying taxidermy scarf. It would usually lay there sleeping. Or pretending to sleep, though she was never sure which. And oddly enough Mr Fell never seemed to want to discuss or explain it. And even more oddly enough, Maggie had never thought to ask. She supposed it was one of those social faux pas, like asking if someone's perfectly sculpted nose was real or not.

Once the bookshop door was shut, and the sign turned to 'closed', Crowley returned to his humanish form. They never did like small talk, and often avoided it by becoming their serpent-self. That, and Aziraphale's exceptional head pats really did have him taking this other form more and more often these days. The angel scolded him for creeping out their good neighbour, and the demon's only reply was a hiss.

Today, the dark snake had wound itself around Mr Fell's right leg, with its head resting in his knee. It watched her with its bright yellow eyes, almost willing her to say something to it. She busied herself with making small talk about the record shops sudden boom in business, what with the young folk making old fashioned music devices popular again. The shiny scales of the serpent kept catching her eye every time it moved, and it certainly looked well taken care of. Maggie could imagine her friend spoiling the damn thing with lavender baths or scale wax or something. Whatever he did with it was his business, and it had obviously got him on the best of terms with it. She tried to look as though she was paying attention to what Mr Fell was saying, but she was too distracted by that bloody snake. Whether it was fear, curiosity or confusion, she couldn't take her eyes off it. Her plump little friend was absentmindedly stroking its scales, as it writhed hypnotically under his touch. Had she been a vet, or some kind of snake expert, she'd think it was enjoying her discomfort at its show of contentment. That coupled with the fact it kept staring at her, made Maggie cut short her afternoon tea with Mr Fell, and hurry back to the records next door. At least they didn't act like she was witnessing something that should have been private.

They really did like the pats, the belly rubs and enjoying their angels body heat. Something about Aziraphale made him so delightfully warm. Maybe it was his angelic glow. Crowley, over time, had managed to control the size of his other shape. Big as a boa or as small as a shoe lace, whatever the occasion needed was what he could be. Though his favourite, because it got him the most kisses, was what Aziraphale called his 'scarf size'. The angel argued that any size that Crowley was, was perfect. But, their scarf-size did raise less eyebrows, and allowed Aziraphale to wear him around the book shop like some fashionable item from the spring catalogue.

This provided Crowley with warmth and a safe sleeping space, and it provided the angel with some closeness and comfort. They were a bit like a scaly, weighted blanket people use when they feel anxious. Though for most others, having a snake wrapped around your neck would hardly make you feel at ease. So scarf-sized was what Crowley often was when in this form. And it suited them both quite nicely.

#Anyone want a part 2? #good omens fandom #aziraphale x crowley #good omens #ineffable idiots #ineffable partners #ineffable husbands #crowley and aziraphale #good omens 2 #ineffable #idiots in love #good omens fanfiction #fan fiction #fanfic #my writing #maggie #record shop #maggie good omens

[blowuponabruise]

okay but the thing that gets me the most in good omens 2 is the fact that Nina makes such a big deal about the record shop?? record shops are so popular especially in soho

#literally did not understand that point of contention #good omens 2 #good omens #good omens spoilers #nina x maggie #records are just like actually literally so big #and the bit that this street is clearly based on (berwick st) #there’s like 4 record shops on and around there #and they’re always bloody heaving!!

[emeraldstorms]

So there is this Good Omens theory out there…

…with (among others) the idea that Maggie is not a real person but “edited into reality” by the Metatron. At first, I thought that’s a bit whack, but then I remembered Gaiman saying he was fascinated by the concept of Mike Murdock.

Mike Murdock was, at first, not a real person either. He was just an alias of Matt Murdock who was posing as his twin because his stupid ass thought that’s a great idea. Later, make became real. At first, partially due to the powers of a mutant. Then fully, by rewriting reality with a Norn stone…

I actually tried explaining Mike Murdock in another post. It’s a bit more elaborate.

#Good omens #good omens 2 #good omens theory #mike murdock #maggie from the record shop