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DVD Description
Under the streets of London is a strange world inhabited by monsters and saints, muderers and angels, knights in armour and pale girls in black velvet. Richard, a quiet London businessman, is pitchforked into this world when he rescues a young girl he finds bleeding on a pavement. Neverwhere is a dark and thrilling mixture of metaphor, history, humour and high adventure. Starring Laura Fraser (The Flying Scotsman), Hywel Bennett (Loot, Eastenders), Gary Bakewell (Man and Boy).
Synopsis
Get lost under the London streets with this six-part fantasy adventure written for television by the prolific fantasy author Neil Gaiman. Richard Mayhew is a businessman whose whole life is about to change when he comes across a girl by the name of Door...
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
43 of 44 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
I'm a huge Neil Gaiman fan, it's only natural that one of his rare forays into the world of television becomes an essential.
Richard Mayhew has a good job for a respectable London firm and a slightly overbearing fiancée. On his way to a dinner appointment with his fiancée and her boss, he finds a badly-injured girl, and being the good samaritan he is, gets her safely out of harm's way. In this case Harm comes in the form of The Old Firm, oily Mr Croup and the frankly absolutely mental Mr Vandemar, professional killers who've been taking on contracts for a long, long time (one of their biggest claims to fame is burning down the city Troy during the Trojan War). They are on the trail of the girl Richard saves, the Lady Door, who has the power to open and unlock absolutely anything. Croup and Vandemar, having butchered Door's entire family, are anxious to find her to fulfil their contract.
The Old Firm are the least of Richard's worries, because soon after Door leaves, he finds out that people don't notice him...and that it's almost as if he doesn't exist. He no longer has a job, or a flat, so goes looking for Door. He is drawn into the dark and dangerous world of London Below...
Instantly recognizable as a BBC sci-fi/fantasy production, on a par with Dr Who and Red Dwarf, and has the same inventiveness, considering the Beeb couldn't have given them much money to make this. Neil Gaiman's writing is wonderful, playing clever word games with London locations (we find out, for example, that there really IS an Angel Islington). I've visited London several times, and often wondered about the place names, like if there really are Shepherds in Shepherd's Bush (according to The Marquis de Carabas there are, but meeting them is not advisable).
Neverwhere is an excellent dark fantasy series that turns out suspense, drama and black humour on a bugdet of fourpence. One can only imagine what it would have turned out like with a Hollywood budget.
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
Neverwhere is yet again proof that Neil Gaiman is one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. His script has the edgy feel of his Sandman stories, and compliments the world he has created here. He gives us a modern fairytale among London's homeless of adventure and enjoyment. I particularly enjoyed the performance of the Marquis De Carabas. Each of the cast members did a wonderful job and another great performance is that of Door. The villains are thouroughly deplorable, yet are some of the most evil I have ever seen portrayed in film. On the whole the series is very well put together and I would like to see a big screen production of the film.
57 of 61 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I vaguely remember watching Neverwhere when it was on Television eleven years ago on the basis of Neil Gaiman's name - who I knew from the Sandman comics and Good Omens by Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. I can recall enjoying it and a few of the characters were memorable (Old Bailey in particular!), but as it was never repeated and there was no DVD release it fairly quickly got swept to the back of my mind.
Since then, however, I've really got into Gaiman's novels and comic work so when this new release was announced I just had to get it - albeit with a bit of trepidation...
I have to say, I really enjoyed it! I've seen some criticism for the typical BBC low budget (after being hyped for whole series, the "Beast of London" ends up looking like a Highland Coo!), but that's not really the point, is it? In the same vein as Hitch-Hikers Guide and Blake's Seven, it's the characters; storyline and plain imagination really carry it off rather than the special effects. You just can't help getting drawn into the world of London Below where the Earl holds Court in a tube train, Islington is a real Angel and the floating market sets up stalls on the HMS Belfast, and you can almost feel Richard's sense of loss when he returns to the mundane world of London Above.
Since then, however, I've really got into Gaiman's novels and comic work so when this new release was announced I just had to get it - albeit with a bit of trepidation...
I have to say, I really enjoyed it! I've seen some criticism for the typical BBC low budget (after being hyped for whole series, the "Beast of London" ends up looking like a Highland Coo!), but that's not really the point, is it? In the same vein as Hitch-Hikers Guide and Blake's Seven, it's the characters; storyline and plain imagination really carry it off rather than the special effects. You just can't help getting drawn into the world of London Below where the Earl holds Court in a tube train, Islington is a real Angel and the floating market sets up stalls on the HMS Belfast, and you can almost feel Richard's sense of loss when he returns to the mundane world of London Above.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
20 years too late..
Neverwhere has it all: Obvious twists, terrible acting, shoddy sets, cheap affects, lame characters, awful dialogue and a meandering plot. Read more
Published 9 days ago by Adam
The most highly entertaining and imaginative SF of the 90s
The relatively low BBC budget and limited effects technology of the time are the obvious shortcomings of the series, but they can't seriously detract from the sheer brilliance of... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mrs F. Lock
Loved it on TV. Love it on DVD.
Just a little unusual, especially for the 1990s.
Couldn't wait for the next episode when it was shown on TV and now I can watch them back-to-back. Read more
Couldn't wait for the next episode when it was shown on TV and now I can watch them back-to-back. Read more
Published 3 months ago by A. J. Flynn
Neverwhere, A Different London
I Remember this show being on the telly back in the 80', Back then I travelled a lot on the underground and on an almost daily occurance I found myself imaganing that there really... Read more
Published 7 months ago by John Jary
Shockingly Terrible
There is a fantastic story to be set in the literal underworld of London, melding the folk tales, layers of history, and contemporary concerns into a blend of drama, comedy, and... Read more
Published 13 months ago by MLA
low budget but a fine program
It's clear that there were budget constraints in the production - the action sequences and "special" effects are a little embarassing at times. Read more
Published 13 months ago by SB
Neverwhere
This is a mini series of 6 episodes following an office worker who one day stumbles across a world beneath London. Read more
Published 14 months ago by The Truth
Great memories
It was such a good price i had to get this, relive the magic of seeing it when broadcast. Ok, like a lot of older BBC stuff u can see the wobbly effects and where they didn't hv... Read more
Published 15 months ago by MarkCh
Neverwhere
Simply superb and atmospheric. Forget the cheap BBC period special effects and enjoy the story. Very imaginative.
Published 19 months ago by Mr. Mark N. Pearson
hmmm =/
I read the book on holiday and LOVED it. Decided to get the series just to see if it would live up to the book. It didn't. Read more
Published 20 months ago by cookie
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