Відео

This is a lovely piece, Sendarya, and very much on point, imho. There is so much dissonance blasting everywhere, in every aspect of our lives, and we need to find refuge from the hateful noise. Comfort media, as you say, has been an integral part of our survival from the beginning. Good Omens, for me, has rekindled love in my heart and shattered the thick, stinking shell of cynicism I'd grown around it for the past eight years. I identify so strongly with both Crowley and Aziraphale, and their truly forever friendship and unconditional love for each other has pierced me to the quick. It's been too many years to count since I've felt any joy, and this programme, these actors, have made me giddy with it. They have altered my perspective; I see things now in a different Light. And, I keep unexpectedly encountering references and connections to all kinds of things related to Good Omens. One last thing: I am NOT a joiner; I avoid social media like the plague because my forays into it have been painful, so I am no longer a trusting person. Your oasis of kindness, acceptance, encouragement, and, dare I say, love for others, Sendarya, has also gently brought me out of my self-imposed exile. It's inspired me to write again after 20 years, and I have spent the past five days on a short story for the Holiday Party, submitted for consideration today! You might say, it's a miracle. Thank you from the bottom of my shriveled heart. 😇😎💟

I had just discovered the show last year, when I moved to a new town. It was so scary but there was something about how happy Aziraphale was in his little bookshop for so long, and how he had his silly best friend, that I just loved so much 🖤🤍

My two favourite comfort fandoms are also "The Hobbit" and "Good Omens" and Bilbo, Crowley and Aziraphale are my comfort characters. I love them so much.🥰 What you said about comfort media is so true, I discovered "Good Omens" during a hard episode of depression and it helped me a lot to get through this time.

I think Christmas movies are another example for comfort media. some classics are on tv every year and many people watch them even though they already know them. they just call it tradition instead of comfort media. My comfort media are star trek (mainly TNG) and jane austen, also some movies. and GO, of course. Music is also important. GO soundtracks have become a real favourite. I also read a lot, though not as much as I would like to, and I also reread books, but that is not so much for comfort. Hard to explain, but it just feels different. Reading is escaping, like guided daydreaming. the comfort of books lies in the worlds they create, not in revisiting something familiar. I can totally loose myself in a book, and i hate that moment when i finish it and have return to reality. (Möchte noch jemand gerne ein Hummdudel als Haustier haben?) And can i just say: you've read WOT several times 😯 ! ? That's an awful lot of reading! I started reading it some time ago, but got stuck somewhere in the middle (I borrowed the books from the library and often had to wait for the next one to be available. and the german translations were split into several volumes, so it was a lot of waiting.)

I’ve enjoyed Good Omens so much. Last time I got this excited about a show was thirty years ago with Babylon 5.

I started watching "Doctor Who" with my dad. We didn't always have an easy relationship, but we had that. I read "Good Omens" in 1991, and have been hooked ever since.

Oh how I have missed your analysis videos :)

For me it is the first time, that I actually have a comfort media, as far as I remember 14:46 . Sure, I had stories I loved to hear or movies I liked to watch when I was a child, but with Good Omens it is different. I've never really been a Fangirl of anything, not even the boybands a lot of my peers liked so much in the 90s and 2000s. Well, now that I am writing I realise, that I was quite a fan of Sailor Moon. But I never got really deep into it. But I loved it. Good Omens is the first Book/Show, I've watched/ read several times in one year. And I love to read all the meta and theories. I love the kind of symbolism and mistery in Good Omens. I cannot really pinpoint one thing, that makes me love this so much. It's a mixture of the wonderful characters, the art of humour, the kind of theology I find in it, the chemistry between Aziraphale and Crowley and a lot more. I espasially relate to Aziraphale.

Thank you so much for that wonderful message! ❤️ For me, Good Omens has been a source of acceptance and reconciliation of parts of me that I didn't think was possible. On my last visit in London I picked up Wheel of Time because of your recommendation. Really looking forward to reading it! Lots of love from Poland.

I always felt unwelcome when it came christianity, always ostracized. It's filled with hate and divisiveness. And they tried to make me hate myself to the point of suicide. I walked away. Then I walked away from wicca. I now am nothing at all, and I'm fine with it.

My comfort comes from: a bunch of YT channels, one of a English guy restaurating a French castle, and basically a spin off of that of an Irish guy living the live in rural France (who recently mentioned "as you wish" and stated that the folks who got that reference "are his people"), this channel (Good Omens, but deep dives in general), some particular Excel devoted channels, the Star Gate franchise and songs by the Alan Parsons Project. Among other things 🙂

Such a great and timely video. Thank you. My inner critic - whose voice is not mine but that of all the awful people in my life - constantly berates me for not branching out into new shows, stories, songs, etc, and for getting upset when shows end abruptly because "It's just a show; it's not real." (Three that come to mind are "Surface," "You, Me, and The Apocalypse [I cried in the shower when I learned that it had been quietly canceled just as it was being aired in the states], and most recently, Netflix's "Resident Evil." Still sore about that one.) But being a special needs parent for over 16 years and dealing with my own mental health issues have taught me two very important things: behavior is communication, and everything we do - maladaptive or otherwise - is meeting some sort of need. So when my daughter (who's normally chill) melts down because she's been watching "Martha Speaks" for over a month and I try to steer her to something else, she's communicating to me that she needs the show, and the needs it's filling are for comfort, stability, predictability, and control when the world is falling apart around her (like bouncing from hotel to hotel after a hurricane). I try to give myself that grace when my inner critic denigrates my need to watch "Good Omens" for the umpteenth time or play "The Tortured Poets Department" on repeat for a month. And your words of encouragement to continue to lean into our need for comfort and to not see it as a moral failing are definitely words I needed to hear. I think you're spot on with a key component of comfort media being the fandom around it. Whether the fandom evolves out of the comfort or the comfort comes from being part of the fandom is above my pay grade and probably a chicken and egg situation. But there are plenty of artists and albums and books and shows and movies that I really enjoy and will consume multiple times but wouldn't consider my comfort media nor am I a part of the fandom for those things. I'm a proud Swifty, but even though I'm a Jimmy Buffet fan, I wouldn't call myself a Parrot Head. The comfort for me comes from the predictability of cherished stories that leave a deep emotional impact coupled with the belonging to a group of like-minded individuals. This is exactly what I get from "Good Omens." I loved the audio book the first time I listened to it years ago (pre-season one even being a thing), and I was over the moon with season one, but it wasn't until after season two that I officially became a Fan (pronounce the capital F, please). I think it was the open-endedness of the last episode and my need to connect with other people who were hurting as much as I was that first pulled me in. Then came the conspiracies (RIP, Coffee Theory) and analysis videos and fan edits and there was no turning back. The show has helped me find analogies to help me process my own traumas, and the queer representation is just *chef's kiss*. The biggest thing it did for me, though, was to push me so emotionally hard that I needed to find a creative outlet or explode. From there I learned a new skill, pushed past my fear of rejection and ridicule by starting a YT channel, and built a lovely little community. I will forever be grateful to this piece of comfort media for, weirdly enough, pushing me OUT of my comfort zone. The stability of comfort and encouragement of the fandom gave me the safe space to take a leap of faith that I will never regret. (I also think the uncertainty of the fate of season 3 for so long felt SO horrible for so many of us is not just that we love the story so much, but also because something that was a source of comfort was being threatened.)

Thank you for this thoughtful, excellent post! Good Omens is the only fandom I've really experienced. The only other show I've loved this much was "M*A*S*H" which lasted 11 glorious seasons and is one of my few really happy family memories. But I don't know if there was a fandom for that in the same way (in the 80s)--if so I didn't join it.

Oh shit, now I've really cried a lot. 🥹Thank you for this beautiful video. Until even my therapist said a few days ago that Crowley is my guardian being (recognize myself and heal by watching GO forever and writing fanfiction) I still felt quite embarrassed to have thanked David at the Stagedoor because the way he plays this fallen angel has helped me, alongside friends, partner and professionals, to fight cPTSD. But you described it so beautifully. And last but not least, we are such a great fan community. Thank you 🖤

Thanks for the resource links. I signed up for one of the free zoom seminars.

One of my comfort reads is Watership Down.

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Since I can remember I have all these confort shows, confort character to whom I could relay on to just keep on going despait of the problem I had, or how lonely I was "I could always realy on them". Good Omens does give me that safe space too. It tells me that is okay not to be how they told you were supposed to be, that is okay to feel what you feel. And no matter what other people say or thing about you, what matters is what you believe and mostly what you choose to do and what you do. Believe in you, trust in those you love. And if the day is too much we can always count on this amazing place they call fandom, but I like to call family. We´ll be okay. Oh, and thank you for all these amazing videos you share with us, Sendarya, I´ve cried, I´ve laughted, but moslty they made me feel understood, belonging.

I've got a long list of comfort media that I love rewatching so just to name a few for anyone interested, here: Movies: Interstellar - ''Love IS a quantifiable.'' Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain - message of going out of your comfort zone to engage with a potential love interest no matter how scary it might be Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - duh! The extended Lord of the Rings trilogy - DUH The Lion King 2 - yes there is a sequel and since I only had this and not the original movie on tape when I was little I hold this movie closer to my heart (basically it's Romeo and Juliet but with great songs and lions - I used to be obsessed with them haha) any of the old Tim Burton or Tim-Burtonesque movies such as Beetlejuice, Nightmare before Christmas, Corpse Bride, Coraline, etc. you know what I mean, they are all just so much fun anything Quentin Tarantino - Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, Django... The Addams Family and Addams Family Values - my favourite type of humour + family goals helloo Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - see for yourself if you haven't seen it Requiem for a Dream - okay so this is probably one of those movies that most people see once at most and then they try to forget they ever saw it but to me it's super comforting for some reason, in a way that it showcases worst possible scenarios of people's lives but they are still human you know... they aren't evil people who deserve their fates to be so punishing yet they were pushed to make bad choices and lost themselves to those bad choices... idk it's just comforting somehow also the soundtrack I find extremely pleasant Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) - not much of a moral here, just a melancholic and amazingly looking film great for October movie marathons The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - another sad yet beautiful film also Star Wars movies episodes 2-6 oh and the first three Pirates of the Caribbean movies Series: Doctor Who, Stargate, Fleabag, DARK, Gravity Falls, Infinity Train, The Owl House, Adventure Time, the 1960s Addams Family, Andor Books: A Song of Ice and Fire, The Witcher, LOTR, anything Stephen King - especially The Dark Tower Games: Witcher, Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order, The Last of Us Yes, I engage in the escapism a lot, but it's actually very helpful to me for making me enjoy life more so no way I'm gonna stop anytime soon.

All of these media, plus Star Trek. It's an ultimate comfort show because it's a dream of an optimistic future.

whatever

princess bride really that movie is awful

I dont know if ive ever had a comfort... thing of sorts. If i have, theyre always short-lived, maybe a couple years at most, and it's always just a hyperfix. I dont know if i HAVE a comfort fandom in the first place, and watching this video, maybe those fandoms work??? But they are never lifelong. Maybe Minecraft, since it's always been there for me? Maybe FNAF? But even then, despite how Present fnaf has been in my life, I've gone without it for years. One Piece also stopped being something i like for fun and more of an obligation i still enjoy. So... idk. I want to have a comfort show or whatever so bad, but i just Don't. Good Omens was, for over a year, but now, from all the stresses of modding in a server... it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. And I'd love to have something that consistently provides me comfort, but i just... _don't._ They keep switching. And. ...idk man.

Doctor Who used to be my comfort media, Doctor saying "In 900 years of space and time I've never met anyone who wasn't important" just hit that lonely teenage experience so hard and filled me with hope. A great video, thank you for talking about this!

I left twitter when Musk bought it. I joined Bluesky today.

Thanks for a lovely video❤.

Sendarya, you are brilliant! Before I became addicted to GO I did not know such a thing as fandom existed. As an adult I haven’t reread books over and over again. Each one would lead me to another. I will say that British murder mysteries as a genre have been somewhat a comfort media experience. But until GO appeared I never thought of anything that way. I started thinking of GO that way during some very dark days. Sometimes people would ask me why I watched it so many times and this is what I called it. I really do feel like it saved my sanity. There were a couple of movies I used to watch a lifetime ago. But they were definitely not for comfort. It was about pathos and being disconnected. The only shows that have given me some comfort that I could watch repeatedly was DW, ST (mostly NG), and Torchwood. But nothing has come as close to GO. GO and its fandom have given me a connection even though I can’t say I’ve made friends. But it still gives me comfort just know there are so many people who love it as much as I do. The only other thing that gives me a sense of comfort is the mosaic studio. Making friends and simply talking to other members is very comforting. I’m probably a generation or so older than most you which really puts me out of synch with my peers. So even though this on line, reading so much on discord, ao3 and other things that have may come my way, it is definitely pure comfort.

So well said!! Thank you for the time and effort and love that you obviously put into this and all your videos!

My comfort read is "The Monster At The End Of The Book." I just always NEED to have a very young person with me when i read it.

What a cool concept - I live for comfort media and never realized it before!

3:44 EXPERIENTIAL CONTROL! Thank you, yet again, Sendarya! I have been made fun of by friends and family for needing to know the endings of stressful or frightening films before I watch them. And I am a constant re-watcher of shows I relate to. Now I have science to defend myself the next time they roll their eyes!

Wahoo❣️Thanks so much for addressing this difficult topic in a fantastic way. I’m always searching for a way to describe what Good Omens means to me and what it does with me. And although I’m a writer I still struggle with words to explain it to people who are not familiar with it. So your explanations gave a lot of answers to my questions. Thank you, my dear ❤️

I love to listen to the opening of 'Good Omens' while falling asleep. But the best thing the show has done for me was getting me to finally read Terry Pratchett's Discworld books - thereby adding to my comfort library!

my dopamine mining or comfort media is the interview with a vampire books or on amc+, any georgette heyer novel/ audiobook or jane austin adaptation movie. especially the a and e pride and predjudice from the 90s

Thank you for this! So true! I've been finding comfort for years in well written fan fic. There are some really talented writers on AO3. I'd be happy to recommend some 🥰

Good Omens and its fandom mean so much to me. Maybe I over analyze the characters, but I’m finding myself relating to them on such a deep level and it makes me feel just a little bit less alone. The fandom’s creativity is truly unmatched, and when it inspired me to start creating within the fandom, everyone was so kind and encouraging to me. I’ve been writing more and more over the last year, and it’s awakening something inside me that I’m not sure I’ve seen in a very long time. When it comes to creative outlets, I’ve felt inferior in just about every medium (namely music and studio art), but I don’t feel that way when I share my writing with the Good Omens fandom. They make me feel good enough and I don’t know if I’d get that anywhere else.

"There but for the grace of God go I" This phrase struck me when I was in my early 30s and it really humbled me and gave me perspective. ❤

My mom read The Hobbit to me when I was young! Over and over.. I've read it more times than I can count. It will always be my favorite story! We love many of the same things..

I have this same copy of The Hobbit!! ❤❤❤

Land before time I told myself when I was 9 that I would walk down the isle to the credit song "if we hold on together". 26yrs later I did just that. Even listening to James Horner's soundtrack will make me cry. I was so happy when I could share the joy of this movie with our children.

Thanks for uploading this. It was fun to listen to while I played video games, lol. ❤

If I were to list all the ways that Good Omens has helped me heal, I'd end up writing a thesis-length essay, lol. So here's a brief summary of each of my favorite types of comfort media and why they're intrinsic to my sanity (**TL;DR at the bottom). TV: Star Trek TNG- My original comfort media & OG fandom. Having grown up on ST, and been a kid during the prime time era of TNG, this show, its characters, & especially its messaging are a great deal of why I am who I am today. ST presents the possibility of humanity: what we are capable of achieving if we embrace our differences rather than use them to divide us. If we reject greed, corruption, & self-interest. If we acknowledge that everyone has something to contribute regardless of economic class, education, race, cultural background, gender, orientation, or faith. If we stop hoarding resources. If we stop destroying the one & only planet we have. If we place the importance of human innovation over personal accumulation. While I acknowledge that this is a utopian ideal, and that even the world of ST has its problems, it's still much better than what we have today. I believe in a future like this. And I'm working to make it a reality. Music: Hard rock/heavy metal- Many people believe that those who listen to loud, angry, aggressive music are loud, angry, aggressive people. This can be the case sometimes, but in my case, having an outlet for my anger, frustration, & loneliness kept me from doing things that were harmful to others and to myself. Finding other people who found solace in the chaos let me know I wasn't alone. I often turn to bands like Metallica, Slipknot, & Tool (big when I was a teenager and still around today) when things feel out of control in my life and in the world. Having a semblance of control by listening to chaos seems counterintuitive, but trust me: it WORKS. Movies: 'Dead Poets Society'- Growing up "gifted" is not the accolade it seems to be. So much pressure is placed upon "gifted" kids to achieve things that are usually well beyond our capabilities that we end up burnt out, often before the end of high school. Happened to me. So to see, at a young age, a representation of an educator that truly fostered creativity, freedom of thought, and appreciation of beauty was a long drink of water in a standardized-test-score-driven wasteland. The late great Robin Williams' Mr. Keeting was everything I wanted adults to be: fun, funny, encouraging, nurturing, and respectful of the autonomy & intelligence of children. But more than anything, I wanted them to be honest. I wanted them to show integrity. I wanted them to care for others and foster an environment of cooperation, empathy, & compassion. As I've grown, I have yet to see that... things have actually gotten worse. I turn to DPS when I need a reminder that there are good people out there, even if we don't hear about them or see their good work in our daily lives. **TL;DR: I love Star Trek, heavy metal, & 'Dead Poets Society.' Also, I have that same copy of 'The Hobbit;' it's my dad's copy from when he was a kid 💖

As someone who suffers chronic pain, I agree. I tend to turn to books, TV series, movies, and music. And I read, watch, and listen to the same things over and over. My favorite author Agatha Christie is the one I read mostly. I also love Anne McCaffrey, Gail Carriger, and I'm not going to list all the authors I like, I'd be here all night. And of course Good Omens, I love the book and the series, I've actually lost count of how many times I've read it and watched it. Star Wars, The Princess Bride and Ever After are some movies I've watched many times. Grimm, I'm watching it for the third time. And almost anything with vampires or werewolves. And I can't forget Doctor Who.

Good omens is my comfort media. Most of my other ones are animated series and movies. Another shameless plug for your discord! Great place to hang out with fans. ❤

Thanks Sendarya this is lovely ❤. Stories are important to everyone, even if they pretend to be above having comfort books, TV shows, movies etc. And Terry Pratchett reiterated in his books and maybe in interviews, at least once or twice, how important stories are to all of us as humans, like you said. I love Good Omens too of course, but also I like to go back to my Harry potter books, and my mum still has a VERY beloved story book she used to read to me and my brother, which she's kept because we all share a love of it - it's called "The very best Christmas present" and is about an elderly, lonely man finding companionship, love and comfort in a big ginger cat 💝💖

You have the most soothing voice and such a wonderful sense of optimism. I appreciate your videos!

I love The Hobbit too, it's my favorite book. 💚

"... as such". has become a beloved phrase. and really loved your mentioning Lescaux!

beautiful post. thanks

This is my third big internet-era fandom, each one I’ve joined I’ve made lasting friendships (the first two were music based: Simon&Garfunkel; and the Mountain Goats, and I still comfort-listen to them). I always love your insights, and I’m endlessly grateful for the safe and welcoming spaces that you’ve created. Thank you!