User reviews

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?

You probably have to know London a bit to fully enjoy the story of Neverwhere (the series or the novel for that matter). The whole story relies on knowing a bit of the city layout, above and below :) And it's understandable that US viewers can be surprised by the low budget BBC production (unless they were familiarized with it through stuff like Dr Who which seems to be popular at the moment). Most European TVs don't get to sell their productions abroad so they won't invest as heavily as the US productions.

I read the novel long before I could get my hands on the DVD (actually way before I was even aware of anything being available in filmed form, much less as a DVD). For some reason the only release seems to be for the US market.

Regarding the Neverwhere series, yes, while the cast is mostly good, some of the actors are so-so. Even with the obviously shoestring budget, the sets and costumes are quite inventive and convincingly used. The directing unfortunately is really poor and it does quite a bit of damage to the effectiveness of the whole.

If you have read and enjoyed the novel, you will find the series to be something imperfect yes but also something that you can watch with fondness. Possibly a proper adaptation by a proper director with a decent budget would be nice. But it's unlikely it will ever happen. Isn't it better to enjoy what's available even if it could theoretically be better ?

Books are usually better than their screenings. This is somehow logical, because the adaptation changes the source material to accommodate it to another and completely different medium, whose explicitness could never be compared with the infinite possibilities of crossing the imagination of the author with the imagination of the reader. But it seems that even when things are going in the opposite direction, the books still win.

"Neverwhere" is a British mini-series that Neil Gaiman wrote directly for TV, and then subsequently turned its scenario into a novel, which changed from release to release until it became one of my favorite books, which series on which it is based exceeds in every respect. Although it's BBC, the series is low-budget or at least looks cheap. Also, there are only six half-hour episodes, and the potential here is quite enough for at least ten times more, which would allow a more detailed story and better character development. But that does not mean it's bad. On the contrary, I liked it, because it very convincingly fits quite original fantasy world into our reality. The main problem is that the actors can not play, the director cannot direct, and studio and filming locations cannot look as good as I can imagine when I read a book.

Any attempt to give you a brief idea about its plot finished as a spoiler, so I'm giving up on that intention. The mere fact that it's written by Neil Gaiman should be reason enough for you to take a look.

9/10 for author's imagination 5/10 for the technical realization

After being treated to the first episode of this gritty tale of another world I was left desperate for more! I am quite surprised that this passed me by in the first instance. What on earth was I doing in 1996 when this was being shown?

Neverwhere begins with the introduction of its characters in a less than conventional way. It almost puts you off by its quirky and totally off the rails introduction. Once you get over this and the low budget nature of the program you find that the storyline is quite appealing. There are many familiar faces to discover throughout each episode.

This 6 episode adventure would appeal to fans of Dr Who and general low budget science fiction. This is never going to be mainstream programming and thats where its appeal lies. Give the first 10 minutes of episode one a try, its a pretty good indicator of the general story itself, and it got me hooked pretty quickly.

8/10 LEWIS CAROL EAT YOUR HEART OUT!

The Universe behind Neverwhere's plot is so intense and fascinating that I really wanted to see how this TV Show would have been made if they had a bigger budget at the time. The enormous amount of close-shots that follows us through the episodes are a really frustrating attempt to hide the poor scenarios and the environment. And considering we are following a character knowing a new "world", it would have been much better if it were presented to us by wide-shots. But as I said, this is obviously a choice they had to do because of the short budget. I still think this can't be used as an excuse. Doctor Who is a TV Show that almost every episode brings us to a different "world" and for so many time had problems with budget. However, they were never afraid of showing us the "world" we were seeing.

That being said, what really makes me sad about this TV show, specially because I'm a huge fan of the book, are the performances. The actors chosen were clearly bad choices. This even gets worse when three of the four main characters (Hunter, Marquis de Carabas and Richard) are so awful that really got me out of a story that I adore. There are, of course, exceptions. Peter Capaldi is good as always, and Laura Fraser was a Door that convinced me. That may explain why their careers went forward and the others's career, didn't.

Although all the above restrictions, I still think the plot is interesting, the story is really good, the characters are well-developed and the world we unfortunately barely see on the show is mind-blowing. I strongly recommend everyone to watch Neverwhere and to get in touch with the beautiful and brilliant mind of Neil Gaiman, for those who don't know him yet.

At first glance you may be turned off by the unfortunate quality, but once you can get past it, NeverWhere will take you to places you've never been. You travel along with it's not too willing participant Richard Meyhew as he desperately attempts to figure out London Below's secrets whilst hoping to, in the process, find a way to get back home to London above. Gary Bakewell (known mostly for his perfect portrayals as Paul McCartney) does an excellent job as the confused Meyhew, with a Scottish accent and always another dumb question, all the characters are portrayed wonderfully - especially that of the Marquis De Carabas. The villains, though sometimes the comic relief, can be quite terrifying as well. Wonderful writing throughout, and although sometimes simplified, the sets give the perfect atmosphere to London below. It will make you think about what you *really* see around you!

This series will both surprise and delight you...the quality isn't the greatest, like that of a British soap opera, but you'll be hooked after the first 10 minutes. The writing is great, the characters are wonderfully written, each one with it's own personality, back round, life - you tend to feel you know them by the end, and an emotional connection is unavoidable. Perfect acting by ALL involved. Highly recommended.

I was blown away back in 96 when I first watched this TV series. Not only was the story-line way out there compared with most of the rest of the TV output at the time, but also the casting and acting were both superb. I was already a fan of Peter Capaldi, which was one of the reasons I tuned in at the beginning, but I was soon swept up in the whole story and found it one of those strange stories that is completely believable although obviously fantastical. I have always been sorry that it hasn't been repeated on terrestrial TV and was thrilled last summer to find the book freely available. Reading this I found that many of the image from the original broadcast were firmly fixed in my mind and I have been searching websites for information about a DVD. To my amazement the BBC website denies all knowledge of the series at all! What's that all about? I have finally found a supplier in Australia for the DVD - but that's not much use is it? Has anyone else also watched the brilliant Gaiman recent work Mirrormask?

Neil Gaiman's insanely ambitious 90's TV series is a wild ride into a strangely progressive dark pocket of forgotten Brit TV. Filmed on strange cameras and ending up with this odd unvarnished presentation that looks much better in retrospect than it did at the time, bristling with oddments and weirdnesses and absolutely great British character actors. Trevor Peacock? A super young Paterson Joseph and Tamsin Greig? Peter Capaldi as the ominous Angel Islington?? A thousand times yes. It's extraordinarily gawky but strangely endearing, like a lot of Gaiman's work, but is also very recognisably his which is quite an impressive feat in a lot of ways.

this novel was one of the better dark fantasy books i have read, a very modern Hero Epic. Anyone who has ever lived in london (as i have) will certainly appreciate this. Fans of Neil Gaiman is a must. Its flaw is that some of the performances are only so-so, and it us unfortunately incredibly Under-funded. Not that big budgets are a must (look at Blair Witch Project), but this looks a little too cheap, a lot like Dr. Who.

Yikes.

First of all, I would like to say that unlike many people here, I apparently am on of maybe 3 people who are capable of reading the BACK OF A BOOK. Yes, kids. When we are the slightest bit vigilant instead of gazing with gaping maws at a television set, we notice things.

THIS IS A SERIES THAT SPAWNED A BOOK, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. SERIES FIRST, BOOK SECOND. Get it? Now that that is out of the way... I was one who picked up the book first and then went to the series. I had great interest in tracking it down to compare the series with my imagination. My boyfriend, in his kindness, found it for me and bought it as a gift.

With all respect to his kind endeavor, I almost wish he hadn't spent the money.

After crafting characters in your imagination from reading a book, it is expected that your perceptions will not measure up with a visual/audio representation of the same. I was shocked to find Richard to be a clumsy fool who is painful to watch, let alone sympathize with. Door becomes a character with little to no mystique about her, far removed from my perceptions of a charming and oddly elegant ragamuffin. Similarly, the bravado of Hunter is turned into that of a psychotic cave woman, with the brilliantly deadly Croup and Vandemaar far less like their "wolfy and foxy" counterparts that I had dreamt up which amazed and terrified me.

That aside, I do realize that there is little sense in comparing the latter to the former and expecting to have something made *BEFORE* the previous medium I had read be considered the thing to be changed.

It is for this reason that I beg people who have seen the series to not give up on Gaiman. His novelization of this series is far superior in terms of storytelling, character development, presentation, etc. I do have to say that it was a darn shame to have all of the beautiful characters I had imagined and the intricate world that captivated me so reduced to this. PLEASE read the book if you want a better presentation to a wonderful story. This truly would be unwatchable if it weren't for Gaiman's inventive story and charming dialogue, even if it is utterly butchered by mediocre acting and very poor budgeted sets.

All in all, please read the story if you want a great adventure and steer clear of this series unless you are unshakably a Gaiman fan.

And I DO mean unshakable.

However, if you did get past all of the above problems and loved it still, I highly recommend running headlong from you television sets and diving in to American Gods, The Sandman, or any of the other fine written works of Neil Gaiman.

In short, please, just save yourself the time and money and read a book.

Too much pressure is being heaped onto film makers these days. The filming of "Neverwhere" on video rather than onto film was an incredibly good decision, if one made by budgetry consideration rather than one of style. Video gives one a much more intimate feel on a programme as opposed to the distance and unreality in film. So London Below had a much more realistic atmosphere with its filthy corners and occasional bright patch.

"Neverwhere" is a stunning idea, stylishly filmed, confidently written and (for the most part) perfectly acted. Exquisite performances by Hywell Bennett and the Marquee - dreadful, appalling, hideous acting by Richardrichard Mayhewdick. Bad, bad, baaaaaaaaaad casting decision there. Laura Fraser's alien distance giver her performance a truly detached and often unhuman feel, whilst retaining attraction and (dare I say) cuteness with her huge shimmering eyes. If she ever needs rescuing again, I'd give up *my* credit cards.... =)

Nice ending, not a surprise as such, but a very satisfactory closing to the story.

7/10 (it would've gotten 10/10 if it hadn't been for the lead man's crap acting.......)

This is simply incredible. At the same time dark and brooding, funny and silly, and outright weird. In a nutshell: True Neil Gaiman.

I did not read the book before I saw the series, but now I have read the book and I was struck by how well made the series is. It feels the same way as the book -- and I don't think I need to say how rare that is... Very Neil Gaiman! Now I just wait for the adaptation of The Sandman...

I loved this series. Sure, it's not a Hollywood production budget or anything, but that almost works more in its favor than against it. The world that this series creates is bizarrely believable. From the first few moments when the innocent-bystander hero Richard gets sucked into the adventure to the couldn't-be-more-perfect ending, we get transported into a world of people as real as they are strange, of terrifying beasts and myth-like quests and ordeals, of twists, turns, tricks, and surprises. The book version is, of course, a little better just because it allows you to go deeper into Neverwhere by seeing it all from inside these characters' heads, but that isn't meant as any slam on this series. In fact, this is probably the best filmed version of a story that's also a book that I've ever seen. Totally worth seeing, buying, treasuring. Gaiman is a master of storytelling, and this is one of his first and greatest masterpieces.

I watched Neverwhere when it was first aired on the BBC in 1996 and really enjoyed it, I was rather disappointed when a second series didn't materialise. When I spotted the series for sale on DVD I had to buy it.

Being made for television at a time when good quality special effects were too expensive some scenes don't look as good as they might now, thankfully the creators seem to have realised this and kept the effects scenes to a minimum instead relying on underground locations to give the series its atmosphere.

Richard Mayhew is an ordinary London office worker who's life is changed when he stops to help an apparently homeless woman. He soon learns that she is Lady Door, a resident of London Below, a strange shadow world who's inhabitants pass barely noticed amongst the people of London Above. After helping Door Richard finds himself trapped in this world; his friends and even his fiancé barely notice him and when he confronts them directly they have no memory of who he was. With nowhere else to go he heads into the sewers of London Below trying to find Door again.

Richard isn't the only person seeking Door, she is also being sought by Messrs Croup and Vandemaar, two sinister assassins who have already killed her family and appear to want to do the same to Door. There are several other interesting characters, some who help Richard and Door, some who hinder them and others who are not what they appear to be.

The story uses the various parts London to give names to characters in a delightfully literal way, Hammersmith is a blacksmith wielding a hammer, The Angel Islington is literally an Angel called Islington and Earl's Court is where the Earl holds court. The actors did a good job, I particularly liked Laura Fraser's portrayal of Door and Hywel Bennett and Clive Russell as the two assassins.

I'd certainly recommend this short series to anybody wanting to see something a little different and likes fantasy drama.

Spoiler alert - the book was written AFTER the series was made. The performances are great and the battle scene is wonderful. Actually, only the hallway before the fight with the great beast of london was shot in a studio, everything else was done on location. The quality problem is that it was done on video. Croup and Vandemar are superb and I love Trevor Peacock as Old Bailey, and of course the great Freddie Jones as the Earl of Earl's Court. The first episode is a bit slow getting us to London Below but is a well paced journey to the place. If you get the DVD's do watch the add-on where Gaiman talks about making it. I only have it on amazon as I bought the streaming version.

A brilliant concept - mostly well-done. If you need special effects and exorbitant production values in order to make it work, then you don't really have a story worth telling, do you? Or haven't you ever seen the play "Our Town?"

And yet this story had effects, though subtle. The deep, dark mood of the twilight world was a familiar friend, wasn't it? And watching the strong characters posture and strive for some unknown goal is compelling. It forces one to expect the unexpected because, after all, it's only a dream, isn't it - and anything can happen in a dream. This is a strange, terrible childhood dream come to life. It evokes a sense of dreadful anticipation as it pulls memories out of the hidden folds of one's earliest nightmares. Memories of abandoned buildings or of midnight walks in the garden - places you weren't supposed to have gone because of the unknown, unseen and unspoken dangers that most certainly were lurking there. In this story, you'll see the embodiment of those hidden dangers. And don't forget the sense of invisibility that we all experience at some time in our lives - and now you will know the reason for that feeling, as well - or will you?

A mythical underground city? Not for those who have been there.

Now, quit playing with that computer and go to bed...

Neverwhere is really not for people living in the USA and shouldn't be put down from people outside the UK who probably don't appreciate just because they assumed it would be like Gaiman's Sandman. Neverwhere is supposed to be a gritty dark story with comedy elements and also, if Gaiman didn't like it he wouldn't have agreed to do an exclusive interview after the feature on the VHS copy. Neverwhere has great actors and a great storyline that kept me addicted even at the age of 11 when I first saw it. All of the actors included in this feature have been in other award winning programs and wouldn't do Neverwhere if they thought it was rubbish. These other programs include Casualty, Eastenders, Casanova, The Crow Road, The Vicar of Dibley and Kevnin and Perry go Large.

It's taken me a long time to discover "Neverwhere". When it was first shown in the UK in 1996, I was a student without regular access to a TV, so I never heard of it, and never saw it. The first time I heard about it was in November 1999, when I visited the disused Underground station at Down Street, where some of the series was filmed. People mentioned it, and it all sounded interesting.

I kind of forgot about it until recently, when I was browsing around for something to read, and came across the "Neverwhere" novel. I bought it, read it, and loved it - I think it's an original, exciting and highly readable book that really appealed to me. Having read it, I was itching to see the TV series, which has stupidly never been released on DVD in the UK, but is available in America - I ordered it from Amazon. It's worth pointing out that the DVDs are actually region-free, although advertised as Region 1, so you'll be able to play them in whatever DVD machine you have. The Region 2-only DVD drive on my computer worked fine.

Anyway...it's interesting to note the comments here. This seems to be a love it or hate it series, with some people clearly very unimpressed. I think it's important to point out a couple of things - first, the TV series was made before the novel was published, and it was written first and foremost as a screenplay. Neil Gaiman only began writing the novel once filming had commenced. He says that the novel is how he would have liked the series to be without the constraints of the budget they had, but that said, there's nothing massively different between the book and the series.

Second, I think a lot of people criticise the series for its production values. Yes, bits of it look a bit cheap and nasty, but it's not a major issue if you ask me - it's still a good piece of drama. You don't need a massive budget to make good fantasy, and the BBC has an excellent track record, with things like the older series of Doctor Who. This series is perhaps the last of a long line of typically British sci-fi and fantasy, a genre somewhat different to the stuff made in the States, and to some extent, you either get it or you don't. The BBC have now thrown huge budgets and a lot of SFX into the new Doctor Who and Torchwood, and perhaps they're a little poorer for it.

Third, if you're not at least slightly familiar with London's geography and history, bits of this won't make all that much sense at all. The American edition of the novel is actually quite different to the British one, in an attempt to explain some of the things that Londoners would just instinctively understand. The series is clearly closer to the British version of the novel.

The cast features some surprisingly big names, and I thought they were all good, especially the beautiful and slightly mysterious Door, the deliciously creepy Croup and Vandemar, and the charismatic Marquis. All the actors in the series have gone on to bigger and better things, which shows the strength of the talent in this.

I'll agree that the action scenes weren't very convincing, but never were they so bad that I had to suspend my disbelief. Given the budget and the constraints the makers were working under, I thought this was a really fine effort. The last episode in particular was very good indeed, and finished off the whole series brilliantly.

The only thing that struck me as a little pointless, and annoying, was the monologues at the beginning of each episode. A little stilted and wooden, and not really very necessary.

Neverwhere is perhaps crying out for big-screen treatment, and the Jim Henson Company has bought the rights, but the whole project seems to be a bit stagnant. However, it couldn't be in better hands - with fine films like Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal to their credit, I'm sure JHC would make a fine job of this. I really hope it sees the light of day.

Neil Gaiman has also hinted at a sequel (at least in novel form), and I sincerely hope it happens. If there's any justice in this world, Richard and Door will be an item by now. :) Highly recommended.

I have "Neverwhere" on tape, and I've watched it about a dozen times now - and I still love it. Of course, it probably helps that I visited London just before reading the novel _Neverwhere_ (I read it before I saw the BBC version), and it certainly helps that I love everything Neil Gaiman has ever written. There is one problem, however - the production values are really quite terrible. The special effects are about as well done as Dr. Who, and the Beast of London looks more like a shaggy yak than a true monster. Still, the story more than makes up for the production values.

Neil Gaiman is a genius. I have read the book and immediately sought out the miniseries.

Since it was filmed in England, it has that very TV-movie-ish quality, (but that's what it is, so I'm not going to complain too much.) I really thought all the actors involved really brought to life the characters, and it was great to put some faces to some characters.

The story is quite possibly one of the smartest I've ever seen. They really do keep it close to the book (or the book is close to this....I or whatever.) Check it out if you like British Humor/Dr. Who type stories, it's up that alley just abit.

I started watching this series with keen anticipation. By the end of the second episode I was hugely disappointed.

Have you ever watched something and felt that it could have been so so much better? There's no doubt that Niel Gaimans story is very imaginative, but this series makes it seem unforgivably cheesy.

I'm all for a low budget, so long as some creativity has gone into the use of it. Unfortunately, the combination of disgraceful acting, and boring, DIY, cinematography make this a challenge to sit through.

Maybe one day a director with some talent 'll have another crack. Until that day comes, do yourselves a favour and read the book instead.