Neverwhere

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.......)

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

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.

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!