Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere (1996) (DVD)
Fantasy Video
ISBN: 0-7670-5435-0
Publisher: A&E Television Networks, $39.95
Neil Gaiman, probably best known for his Sandman comic series, created this TV miniseries back in 1999. The series, set in London, consists of six episodes spread across a two DVD set. "Neverwhere" explores the fantasy-like "London Below," a vast subterranean realm below the normal "London Above." One of the main characters, Richard Mayhew, a normal white-collar worker, unwittingly gets involved in London Below when he rescues a lady named Door from certain death while on his way to dinner with his fiancée one night.
He helps her out, and in turn, finds the next morning that no one recognizes him and his apartment is being rented out to someone else. He is virtually invisible, except to those few who have dealt with London Below. In simple terms, Richard has become a member of London Below, the inhabitants of which most people on the surface ignore or easily forget. Driven by his near invisible state, Mayhew heads to London Below to find Door, the lady he rescued, in hopes that she knows what has happened to him and can help him get his life back. However, she has problems of her own, as she is being pursued by two assassins, Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar. Door, along with Richard, seek help from the Marquis de Carabas and Hunter, a fearless warrior-human. This rag-tag band must help Door find out who murdered her family, which is quite an ordeal in itself.
Being a "Dr. Who" fan, and also a fan of Neil Gaiman's writings, "Neverwhere" felt like a bit of home, so to speak. It has a fairly decent storyline and being a BBC production, a low-budget look, which didn't bother me a bit.. Unlike Dr. Who though, "Neverwhere" has a much more adult theme to it, and should therefore appeal to a wider audience. There are bits of "The Prisoner" and other such series evident here, as Neil Gaiman even admits in the commentary on this DVD.
Think of "Neverwhere" as a grim fantasy story set below the modern London, where most of the inhabitants are homeless folk who seems to be throwbacks from several centuries past. They speak of allegiances to fealties, for instance, and in many ways their sensibilities seem almost medieval. Many of the costumes and such, on the other hand, are more fantasy-related than either modern or medieval, which adds to the appeal of this strange tale. In addition, there is a specific system of rulers and rivalries in London Below, which gives the place a unique and interesting flavor.
As for the video quality itself, it is not of the best quality. It isn't bad, but the quality shows that it was done on video rather than film. Neil comments on this too, as the BBC was supposed to use the Filmlook process on the video but backed out of the deal at the last minute.
Luckily, the plot, characters and acting more than make up for the video quality. I really could not find much fault with the acting, except for the silly intros at the beginning of each episode. This is something Neil Gaiman also comments on since the BBC changed them in a way he didn't like. I found it cool that Gaiman does comment on the character of the Marquis being loosely based on the Dr. Who character. If so, it's definitely early Dr. Who, as the character is a bit pompous. I also like the villains too, Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar, who are two of the most unique bad guys I've seen in some time. They are just perfect in this series, and what is a series such as this without a good villain or two.
For Gaiman fans, there is an extra interview on the DVD, along with a geography, character descriptions, photo gallery (the gallery was dumb), along with the commentary I've mentioned above. This commentary by Neil is well done, and shows that along with being a rather brilliant and detailed person he is also capable of being critical of his own works. The best part that I liked about the commentary was that the person who created the introduction video for each episode used a standard Macintosh computer, a fact that the folks at the BBC were amazed with!
If you're looking for a dark and unique show, take a look at "Neverwhere." And if you are a fan of Neil Gaiman, you should really like this series, too. Others may want to see if they can rent this video first before making that final purchase decision.
(review (c) June 2004 / David Flemming)