Customer Reviews

Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

After seven years, Neverwhere is finally available on DVD, and can be found on major shopping sites like Amazon. I'm sure many of you heard of it, but much fewer have seen it. This fascinating 1996 BBC mini-series was created by Mr. Neil Gaiman, accomplished and acclaimed author of American Gods, Coraline and Good Omens (with Terry Pratchett) among others, and co-written by Gaiman and the wonderful British comedian Lenny Henry. Gaiman fans such as myself have waited for quite some time to see this series introduced to American audiences - and since Gaiman is now finally breaking ground in the States (American Gods actually won the Hugo award, and was an international bestseller) this seems like the perfect time. I was lucky enough to get my hands on a video of the series a couple of years back, but those are quite rare. If you love Neil's work, take the chance to finally see this lovely piece of work.

Neverwhere is a highly imaginative story of urban legend, rich with Gaiman's special brand of British black humor. The script is really wonderful, and Henry helps with his own experience in screenplay writing. Acting is terrific by everyone involved - I loved Gary Bakewell (frequent Paul McCartney impersonator on various BBC tele-biographies) as Richard Mayhew, the ordinary Englishman drawn into a strange adventure underground, and many other accomplished British actors - such as Laura Fraser, Trevor Peacock, Freddie Jones and Peter Capaldi - give a great performance. Unfortunately, the series suffers from the same problems shared by most British TV series - a budget lower than that of one episode of `Dharma and Greg'. Therefore, the scenery, though highly inventive and original, doesn't look very impressive. Dewi Humphreys directs like he would direct a soap opera or a murder mystery, and though the directing of the dialogue is flawless, the action scenes are immensely disappointing, especially the `Beast of England' battle, which is incredibly unconvincing.

Despite these weaknesses, though, the series is still well worth watching, especially if you're fond of the genre, and also if you're fond of British television. A word on two great artists who contributed much to the series: Dave McKean, for one, the great artist who collaborated with Gaiman in works like `The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch', `Black Orchid' and Coraline, created an astounding opening sequence to every episode, which is a fascinating piece of work by itself; if you enjoy his work on such graphic novels as Arkham Asylum, Cages and his covers for Neil's Sandman series, the DVD is worth it just for this one sequence. Secondly, the brilliant Mr. Brian Eno, the inventor of Ambient music and musical collaborator of the likes of David Byrne, David Bowie and Robert Fripp, supplies the wonderful score to the series, very eerie and atmospheric synthesized music. Thank god for that, because without him we'd probably have basic British TV music, which tends to be quite awful - and Eno's sound really adds a lot to the atmosphere of the story.

It's important that, if you read and enjoyed the novel Neverwhere, you won't approach this series expecting Hollywood - or even modern American television - production values, because you'll be disappointed. A movie version of this nature, in collaboration with Jim Henson co, has been in talks for some time, but it doesn't seem very likely. If fantasy films are to you special effects and big battle scenes, you probably won't be impressed by Neverwhere. If you love fantasy literature, though, and especially Gaiman's work, you'll find Neverwhere highly rewarding. It's very entertaining, and very imaginative. And in the end, imagination is what fantasy is all about. Isn't it?

Don't be fooled by those who complain that this BBC series isn't a worthwhile adaptation of the novel. The book that many love so dearly would not exist if not for this series.

Mr. Gaiman actually wrote the teleplay for this series FIRST. He then turned it into a novel afterwards. So if you're a purist, perhaps you should truly watch this before you read the book.

As for the DVD: it seems to be mostly shot on video, so it definitely has that Dr. Who feel to it. Book lovers will want to check out the Neil Gaiman interview included with the DVD extras.

Overall, once you accept the fact that there quite obviously wasn't a multi-million dollar budget, and let go of your (unintentional, I'm sure) Hollywood elitist ideals, you'll find yourself carried off into an alternative fantasy world... and you just might have a good time.

Fans of "Dr. Who" will feel right at home in "Neverwhere," with its fantastic story line, low-budget look and creaky acting. But "Who" haters will find more of an adult appeal to Neil Gaiman's darkly comic tale, which also brings to mind "The Prisoner," "Clockwork Orange" and, say, "Yellow Submarine." "Neverwhere" wastes no time in hooking viewers, and maintains its loopy appeal over the course of six episodes.

"Neverwhere" imagines a grimy fantasy world beneath modern London that's unknown and off-limits to those who live above. The homeless who inhabit London Below seem to hail from an unspecified time several centuries back, with their own olde English mythologies, rivalries and rulers. Viewers enter their world along with the mini's hero, a yuppie exec (Gary Bakewell of "Backbeat") who falls down the "Neverwhere" rabbit hole while helping a damsel in distress.

Video is just passable -- the BBC apparently backed out on the plan to process the taped mini as film, foiling director Dewi Humphreys' lighting scheme. Still, the images are a big improvement over the grainy bootleg tapes that have been circulating on eBay. Audio is surprisingly effective now and then.

Gaiman has his say in a BBC interview from 1996 and in a commentary that runs the length of the miniseries. He tells how he got art-rock legend Brian Eno to do the score for pennies and how he snuck in a cameo in graphic-novel artist Dave McKean's astounding opening titles.

Neverwhere isn't a great work of television. In fact, it's not especially good. The effects are decidedly second-rate, the acting is occasionally hammy, the camera work borders on the amateurish and many of the details used in the novel are sacrificed to fit the constraints of episodic story telling, which means the story can feel thin at parts. In other words, this is a bad introduction to Gaiman's work that looks like a particularly cheesy episode of Doctor Who.

But that doesn't mean that Neverwhere is bad. The show itself is actually kind of fun to watch if you don't have the highest expectations and, yes, expect a cheesy episode of Doctor Who. There are also some particularly good acting bits (Croup, Vandemar and de Carabas particularly) and I'd almost say that the DVD pays itself off for Dave McKean's credit sequences.

Beyond that, of course, is the commentary by Neil Gaiman, where he describes the joys and trials of making it, pointing out trivia, explaining which characters worked for his imaginings and which didn't. Also occasionally simply watching a scene in quiet enjoyment. Fascinating stuff.

This isn't easy to recommend to anyone beyond fans of Gaiman's work, and even then you have to be willing to overlook a lot a lot of failings. Despite that, though, and because of the commentary and other extras, I have to say that this is a good buy for fans of Neil Gaiman and anyone willing to ignore cheesy effects for, what remains despite the Great Cow of London, a good story.

I must confess to having never read anything by Neil Gaiman. I have American Gods in my 300+ volume strong To-Be-Read library in Mahwah-Above as opposed to the Archive in Mahwah-Below and I will get to it one day.
I HAVE sat through decades of rubber monsters, Daleks who (I think Jon Pertwee pointed this out) could be easily foiled by tossing an opaque mac over their tops, Cybermen who could have been outrun by a lame tortoise, etc. in Dr. Who and I loved every minute of it. Honestly now, were the effects in Hitchiker's Guide all that terrific? Did Zaphod's extra head look even remotely alive?
I watched Neverwhere before reading any of the reviews here and I found nothing wrong with the visuals at all. The overall quality added to the effect of unreality and it was only here at Amazon that I read that a planned processing step had been omitted by Auntie and that everyone found this a detriment.
I didn't even think ill of the cow, probably because of the flash forwards where it looked much more menacing.
The ideas are what counts. And the ideas, starting with the subtext about the homeless through to Door's family abode and Angel Islington are just fab.
All of the actors, especially Hywel Bennett and Paterson Joseph were wonderful.
My suggestion, unless you are spoiled by state of the art tech to the point of being unable to appreciate the ideas, is to run with it and not look for flaws. American Gods just moved up quite a few places in the queue.

Are you willing to forgive Neverwhere's ghastly technical flaws? The answer will determine if you characterize Neil Gaiman's miniseries as a masterpiece or a disaster.

Neverwhere, an interdimensional murder mystery set in the bowels of bizarro-London, is a skillfully written film hampered by serious production problems. These are fairly well catalogued: horrible lighting washes out the actors' faces, the sound quality is so poor that parts of the dialogue are unintelligible, and the special effects would make even the most die-hard Doctor Who fans wince. Then there's the acting, which tends toward the lifeless and flat (the notable exception is Paterson Joseph's wonderful portrayal of the Marquis de Carabas). At times it has the feel of a Super 8 home movie.

So why would anyone watch Neverwhere? Because it's really good - IF you can look past its many defects. Gaiman is an excellent writer whose novels, stories and groundbreaking Sandman comics have brought respectability to the much-maligned fantasy genre. His dialogue is intelligent, the characters are genuinely interesting, and the visual puns (for anyone who has spent time in London) are outrageously funny. Characters named Old Bailey and Angel Islington feature prominently in the plot - and let's not forget the earl who lives at Earl's Court.

Neverwhere was first aired on the BBC in 1996, but it wasn't widely available in the US until 2003. The seven-year gap was ample time for it to become a cult classic seen only by people who had access to bootleg copies. Like many films that fall into this category, actually seeing it can be a bit of a letdown, especially for fans who read the Neverwhere novel that Gaiman wrote in 1998. And it all comes back to the production value.

Apologists claim that Neverwhere is a triumph of English skill over Hollywood flash. Hogwash. While it's true that special effects can camouflage poor acting and writing, there is no excuse for some of the truly terrible visuals in Neverwhere. Even die-hard fans have to admit that the enormous heifer in the London Tube is a joke. It's supposed to be the world's most dangerous monster, but it just looks like Millicent the Milk Cow ambling past a fog machine.

Fortunately, there are many excellent scenes that make the production worth watching - and make the bad ones even more maddening to endure. If Laurel and Hardy had ever been cast as hitmen in Hell they would have been Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemaar: it's almost worth buying Neverwhere just for their brief appearances. The "ordeal" scene is as imaginative as anything ever shown on television. And Dave McKean's opening credits will make you think twice about ever using your fast-forward button again.

No one is on the fence about Neverwhere. If you can get past the egregious production issues, it's a "must have" for your collection. If you roll your eyes every time Captain Kirk blasts some guy in a fakey rubber alien suit on Star Trek - well, it's going to be a long three hours.

I caught Neverwhere in England and was utterly entranced with it to the point of getting it taped and transferred so I could watch it here. To berate it because of these `English shortcomings' is ridiculous. What would you prefer...a low budget English affair with amazing and intricate story, full of mystery, confusion, and overflowing with cutting originality? Or would you like a high budget piece of US trash with uber T&A, gunshots, explosions, slang, car chases, overt brand name sponsoring crammed down your throat, and that is a complete story and new idea free zone presented by talentless bimbos and muscle boys? Pretty much what happened to Doctor Who in the movie.
Personally, the choice is very, very easy.
The Marquis, Door, Kruppe and Vandermarr (we'll be hurting you badly, before killing you even badly-er), Hunter, Old Bailey, the Black Friars, Angel Islington, all of it creates a wonderful and enticing story amidst some of the most classic locations of London. The whole story leaves you spellbound and completely oblivious to these supposed `shortcomings.'
I'm not a huge Gaiman fan, but this is truly a masterpiece. It's amazing it has taken so long to come out over here.
A must see, a must buy, I'll get my US copy as soon as it comes out and bin my UK tape.

My friends and I have been Gaiman fans for quite some time. When we heard that Neverwhere was on DVD and produced by BBC, we wanted it instantly. Neverwhere was the first book of his that I read and I fell in love with it instantly, so I had high expectations when I finally got the DVD. I knew that with the book so wonderful, it had a lot to live up to.

My first impression upon seeing the very first scene was to burst out in hysterical laughter. With the hand-held lights and the dramatic, "Ooh! Drama! So dark! So spooky! Look! I suddenly appear and disappear! I'm out to kill you!" feel to it, who couldn't laugh? As it continued, my friends and I came to the conclusion that you had to be on some sort of drug or medication to watch it, it was that trippy. There are many times throughout the episodes where the situation stuck us as hilarious even when it really shouldn't have.

However, I will say this for it. It's an excellent source for entertainment. The Marquis de Carabas is absolutely brilliant and on the mark, a perfect casting; Richard Mayhew can't stop complaining, true to character; and the Angel Islington will have you nearly screaming. Watch out for that age-old song, "Heaven, I'm In Heaven," it'll haunt even your nightmares and send them screaming. It definitely has that Neverwhere feel to it, and though at times it can be corny and you can definitely tell what era it was made in, I was greatly satisfied with it and would gladly watch it again.

It also wouldn't hurt to watch the Gaiman interview in the Special Features. It gives insights into the book and episodes that you wouldn't have known before unless you did your homework. And it is equally entertaining, guarenteed.

The best tele-fantasy in a long, long time, writer Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere is an imaginative breath of fresh air.

While technically a fantasy, this is not a fantasy in the dragons-wizards-elves vein, but rather "fantasy-punk," if you will, in the same way that cyberpunk SF is to spaceships and aliens SF.

Never mind all the comments and apologies about the production values. Anyone familiar with a typical BBC SF production will find no surprises here (In fact, Gaiman himself was disappointed in the look of the show, as the BBC had apparently agreed to treat the video with Filmlook in post production, but didn't keep it's promise).

I loved the whole thing: The acting, dialogue, characters (and look for another Dr Who inspiration in the character of the Marquis, who, Gaiman notes in his commentary, was inspired by the earlier, more mysterious and edgier characterizations of the Doctor, probably early Tom Baker if you ask me) costumes, prop design and general mood are all top notch, and the series is of course filled with that wonderful and unique Brit biting sense of humor.

I also loved all the incidental details of Gaiman's fictional world: The use of "Favors" as an important form of currency, or the specific "Talents" that various people/families have.

Edgy, mysterious, dark and disturbing, Neverwhere is a uniquely imaginative show and a long overdue return to the glory days of BBC imaginative tv.

Only negative thing I can think of is that it didn't continue on for a second season!

To all those who claim the show looks bad, cheesy, amateurish, with lame special effects, sometimes bad acting, and very-low rate, they are correct.

But, that is not the point. The story and characters and plot that only Neil Gaiman could come up with is so far above all that that the series itself can only be called a masterpiece.

True, it would have been nice to have had the series shot on film instead of video (as Gaiman gripes about throughout the commentary) and it would have been nice to have a bigger budget and have not had the BBC taking control over dialogue and what not. But the fact is that the story shines through all of that, and a true fan of not only Gaiman but the genre will realize that.

It was entertaining and just kept you enticed with its depth and left you wanting more everytime an episode ended. The show itself is heavily abridged, cut many times over due to budgeting and time issues. Gaiman is developing a novel though, and as with many great stories, the film version is lacking in complete realization of the story at hand. But in the end, this series has been one of the most enjoyable to watch for me, and I was simply amazed at how great it truly is.