| Neverwhere | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | |
| Starring | |
| Composer | Brian Eno |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC 2 |
| Release | 12 September (1996-9-12) – 17 October 1996 (1996-10-17) |
Neverwhere is anurban fantasy television miniseries byNeil Gaiman that first aired in 1996 onBBC 2. The series is set in "London Below", a magical realm coexisting with the more familiar London, referred to as "London Above". It was devised by Neil Gaiman andLenny Henry and directed by Dewi Humphreys. Gaiman adapted the series intoa novel, which was released in September 1996. The series and book were partially inspired byGene Wolfe's novelFree Live Free.[1]
Richard Mayhew, a Scottish man living in London, encounters an injured girl named Door on the street one night. Despite his fiancée's protests he decides to help her; upon doing so he ceases to exist on Earth and becomes real only to the denizens of "London Below", whose inhabitants are generally invisible and non-existent to the people of "London Above". He loses hisflat, his job, and nearly his mind as he travels London Below in an attempt to make sense out of it all, find a way back, and help Door survive as she is hunted down by hired assassins.
In London Below the various familiar names of London all take on a new significance: for exampleKnightsbridge becomes "Night's Bridge", a stone bridge whose darkness takes its toll in human life;The Angel, Islington is an actual angel. London Below is a parallel world in and beneath the sewers. Its inhabitants are the homeless, but also people from other times, such asRoman legionaries and medieval monks, as well as fictional and fantastical characters.
Neverwhere was first broadcast onBBC Two from 12 September 1996. There are six half-hour episodes:
| No. | Title | Original release date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Door" | 11 September 1996 (1996-09-11) |
| 2 | "Knightsbridge" | 19 November 1996 (1996-11-19) |
| 3 | "Earl's Court to Islington" | 26 September 1996 (1996-09-26) |
| 4 | "Blackfriars" | 3 October 1996 (1996-10-03) |
| 5 | "Down Street" | 10 October 1996 (1996-10-10) |
| 6 | "As Above, So Below" | 17 October 1996 (1996-10-17) |
The idea for the story came from a conversation between Gaiman and Henry about a possible television series. Henry suggested a story with tribes of homeless people in London. Gaiman was initially reluctant to commit, as he feared that making the homeless appear "cool" might cause more young people to attempt to emulate the characters, but decided that the effect could be avoided by making the story more removed from reality.[2][3]
Neverwhere received some criticism for its appearance. One major problem lay in the original plan to shoot on video (for budgetary reasons), and then later "filmise" the footage to make it look as if it had been shot on film.[4] For this reason, the programme had been lit and shot in a manner appropriate to a film-based production, but the decision to apply the filmisation process was later reversed. In addition to what some considered the old-fashioned appearance of un-filmised video,[4] the lighting set up with film in mind appeared garish and unsubtle on the more clinical medium. Gaiman himself commented that the loss of quality resulting from multi-generational VHS copies actually improved the appearance in this respect.[4]
After a two-cassette VHS video release, the six episodes were released in the US and Canada to DVD as a two-disc set in September 2003[5] in conjunction withA&E Network. Despite the DVDs often being advertised asregion 1, some of the actual discs are region zero.[6] The BBC released the series on DVD on 23 April 2007.[7] The opening theme tune on the original BBC2 transmission was the same as the music over the closing credits. The opening theme on the Region 2 DVD version is a series of abstract sounds, while the closing music remains intact. The music for the series was made byBrian Eno.[8]
Neil Gaiman wrote anovelisation of the television series that was first released in 1996, during the television show's transmission. This was accompanied by a spoken word release on CD and cassette. The text was later re-written for the US market (Gaiman's publisher insisting that many of the references of London were too obscure for US tastes) and a third version is now available which combines elements of both earlier versions of the novel.
A nine-issue graphic novellimited series began in June 2005, written byMike Carey (who had worked onLucifer, a spin-off from Gaiman'sThe Sandman), with art byGlenn Fabry.[9] Vertigo changed a character, the Marquis De Carabas, that had been portrayed in the TV series and on the radio as a man from the African Diaspora into a creature with a black skin tone not seen in the real world. The comic is an adaptation inspired by the novelisation, rather than the original TV series. Thus the characters and settings do not generally resemble those seen in the series. The series was published byDC Comics'sVertigoimprint. Thecollected volume was also published by Vertigo, in February 2007 (ISBN 1-4012-1007-4).
In 2006, a world-premiere stage adaptation of the novel, developed by writer and actress Eve Butler and director Sasha Travis, was produced by the Savannah Actor's Theatre inSavannah, Georgia.[10][11]
In 2008, a stage adaptation of the novel was created and performed by the Actors Gymnasium inEvanston, Illinois.[12]
In 2010, Lifeline Theatre inChicago performed an adaptation written by Robert Kauzlaric.[13][14] The eight-week run proved so successful that it was extended another four weeks. The play was viewed by Neil Gaiman and the co-creator of the original BBC series, Lenny Henry, during the extension.[15]
In February 2012,Calgary-based theatre company Mob Hit Productions performed a two-week run of Kauzlaric's adaptation.[16]
In May 2011, the first school production of Kauzlaric's adaptation was performed at Northwest Academy inPortland, Oregon. In February 2013, Kauzlaric's adaption was performed at Friends Academy inLocust Valley, New York.[17]
On 5 April 2013, theSacred Fools Theater Company inLos Angeles performed the American West Coast premiere of Kauzlaric's adaptation. Originally scheduled to run through 11 May, it was extended an additional two weeks due to its popularity. The play was viewed by Neil Gaiman.[18]
In August 2013,Washington, D.C.–based company Rorschach Theatre performed Kauzlaric's adaptation after a successfulKickstarter campaign.[19]
A script was written for a film version in 2009[20] and wasoptioned byThe Weinstein Company. The project has been abandoned since.
A radio dramatisation in six parts was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 4 Extra in March 2013, written byDirk Maggs and co-directed with producer Heather Larmour.[21][22] During one of his book signings Gaiman indicated that it would be released for sale in late 2013. The radio play starred James McAvoy as Richard Mayhew and Natalie Dormer as Lady Door.
Since at least 2014, Gaiman said a sequel to the book titledThe Seven Sisters was a possibility,[23] later confirming in 2017 that he was in fact writing it.[24][25]
"How the Marquis Got His Coat Back" is a short story written by Neil Gaiman and set in the Neverwhere universe. It was published inRogues, a short story anthology edited byGardner Dozois andGeorge RR Martin.[26] Audible adapted it as an audio story as well.
[Neverwhere] was shot on video but lit for film [..because..] it had been intended at the time of shooting that it would be given a treatment in post production to make it look like film, a decision that was reversed to the detriment of the show. [..] As Neil Gaiman comments on the DVD Americans who had been watching 5th or 6th generation bootleg videos of the show probably had a better viewing experience because [the degraded image quality] made its production flaws less apparent.
