#next time i'll introduce you to Alessandro Barbero - and then it's over b*tches!! lol | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

fluffbyday-smutbynight · 7 months

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Good Omens x Michael Sheen x Ancient Rome - a crossover made in heaven Italy

I'm crawling out of the rock I've been living under - just because I feel like this post I reblogged needs some context to be fully appreciated (and you all know how much I love deep diving into the most random shit). Quoting @thiswomanshouldbewriting :

No one is doing it like the Italian Good Omens fandom, making Michael Sheen trend on twitter because Alberto Angela used his footage as Nero in his documentary. Literally no one is like us.

The mentioned footage is, as you might have inferred if you're a Michael Sheen/GO fan, from the 2006 BBC docudrama "Ancient Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire", which Sheen starred in as a very unhinged Nero. Imagine you're the average italian GO fan, channel-zapping while you do chores, or homework, or you're having dinner, and you suddenly see (on RAI1, aka the state-owned broadcasting *main* tv channel) THIS:

(and also the show somewhat restores Nero's reputation, *and* discusses at length the Romans' rampant bisexuality *and* mentions Nero's same-sex marriageS (plural) *and* the soundtrack SLAYS) (god I wish it was subtitled in English 'cause y'all would love it)

That's something to be excited about already. But wait... there's more!

If you're not Italian (hi 99,9% of tumblr) you might ask yourself: but what's all the fuss about? and who the fuck is Alberto Angela?

Glad you asked.

Alberto Angela, author and host of the documentary programme that included the aforementioned footage, is - simply put - an icon, a myth, a cornerstone of cultural divulgation in this country.

He's an accomplished paleontologist, archeologist, writer, and a very engaging communicator.

He's a son of art, since his late father Piero was an even greater public figure, an all-time favourite of the italian audience (think: the Mr. Rogers of science divulgation) -- which only adds to Alberto's fame and love by the masses.

He's been a staple on tv for a long time, a beloved chaperone to everything about science, culture and especially history, which he conveys with utmost passion.

He's also a very fine man.

It won't surprise you that, over time, he's become sort of a national sex-symbol: the charming nerd, the next-door Indiana Jones, the cultured, wholesome, handsome heartthrob.

...and a great source of memes:

"I DIVULGE. HARD."

"Deoxyribonucleic acid" *splash*

So... let's rewind for a moment: you're the average italian GO fan, channel-zapping while you do chores, or homework, or you're having dinner, and you suddenly see Michael Sheen as Nero featured on the most popular documentary programme in the country, by the most beloved & iconic tv host of recent times.

In conclusion: this is why the italian GO fandom is going positively feral on twitter. You're welcome. *crawls under her rock again*

#a new segment:#italian culture 101 with fluffsmut #next time i'll introduce you to Alessandro Barbero - and then it's over b*tches!! lol #michael sheen #good omens #alberto angela #italian tumblr #italian stuff

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