Neverwhere

Last updated

Neverwhere
NeverwhereDVD.jpg
DVD cover
Genre
Created by
Starring
Composer Brian Eno
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of episodes6
Production
Running time30 minutes
Original release
Network BBC 2
Release12 September (1996-09-12) 
17 October 1996 (1996-10-17)

Neverwhere is an urban fantasy television miniseries by Neil Gaiman that first aired in 1996 on BBC 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 and Lenny Henry and directed by Dewi Humphreys. Gaiman adapted the series into a novel, which was released in September 1996. The series and book were partially inspired by Gene Wolfe's novel Free Live Free . [1]

Contents

Plot

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 his flat, 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 example Knightsbridge 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 as Roman legionaries and medieval monks, as well as fictional and fantastical characters.

Characters and cast

Episodes

Neverwhere was first broadcast on BBC Two from 12 September 1996. There are six half-hour episodes:

  1. Door
  2. Knightsbridge
  3. Earl's Court to Islington
  4. Blackfriars
  5. Down Street
  6. As Above, So Below

Background

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. However, 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]

Production

Locations

DVD releases

After a two-cassette VHS video release, the six episodes were released in the US and Canada to DVD as a two-disc set on 9 September 2005 [ citation needed ] in conjunction with A&E Network. Despite the DVDs often being advertised as region 1, some of the actual discs are region zero. [ citation needed ] The BBC have released the series on DVD on 23 April 2007. 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 by Brian Eno.

Adaptations

Novelisation

Neil Gaiman wrote a novelisation 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.

Graphic novel

A nine-issue graphic novel limited series began in June 2005, written by Mike Carey (who had worked on Lucifer , a spin-off from Gaiman's The Sandman ), with art by Glenn Fabry. [5] 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 by DC Comics's Vertigo imprint. The collected volume was also published by Vertigo, in February 2007 ( ISBN   1-4012-1007-4).

Stage

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 in Savannah, Georgia. [6] [7]

In 2008, a stage adaptation of the novel was created and performed by the Actors Gymnasium in Evanston, Illinois. [8]

In 2010, Lifeline Theatre in Chicago performed an adaptation written by Robert Kauzlaric. [9] [10] 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. [11]

In February 2012, Calgary-based theatre company Mob Hit Productions performed a two-week run of Kauzlaric's adaptation. [12]

In May 2011, the first school production of Kauzlaric's adaptation was performed at Northwest Academy in Portland, Oregon. In February 2013, Kauzlaric's adaption was performed at Friends Academy in Locust Valley, New York. [13]

On 5 April 2013, the Sacred Fools Theater Company in Los 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. [14]

In August 2013, Washington, D.C.-based company Rorschach Theatre performed Kauzlaric's adaptation after a successful Kickstarter campaign. [15]

Film

A script was written for a movie version in 2009 [16] and was optioned by The Weinstein Company. The project has been abandoned since.

Radio

A radio dramatisation in six parts was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 4 Extra in March 2013, written by Dirk Maggs and co-directed with producer Heather Larmour. [17] [18] 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.

Sequels

Since at least 2014, Gaiman said a sequel to the book titled The Seven Sisters was a possibility, [19] later confirming in 2017 that he was in fact writing it. [20] [21]

"How the Marquis Got His Coat Back" is a short story written by Neil Gaiman and set in the Neverwhere universe. It was published in Rogues , a short story anthology edited by Gardner Dozois and George RR Martin. [22] Audible adapted it as an audio story as well.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neil Gaiman</span> English writer (born 1960)

Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic book series The Sandman and the novels Good Omens, Stardust, Anansi Boys, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book. In 2023, he starred as the voice of Gef the talking mongoose in the black comedy film Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sweeney Todd</span> Fictional serial killer barber

Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial The String of Pearls (1846–1847). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London legend. A barber from Fleet Street, Todd murders his customers with a straight razor and gives their corpses to Mrs. Lovett, his partner in crime, who bakes their flesh into meat pies. The tale has been retold many times since in various media.

<i>Good Omens</i> 1990 novel by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch is a 1990 novel written as a collaboration between the English authors Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, who in turn were dubbed "Double Trouble" by the British press.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islington</span> District of London, England

Islington is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy High Street, Upper Street, Essex Road, and Southgate Road to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernard Cribbins</span> British actor (1928–2022)

Bernard Joseph Cribbins was an English actor and singer whose career spanned more than seven decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freddie Jones</span> English actor (1927–2019)

Frederick Charles Jones was an English actor who had an extensive career in television, theatre and cinema productions for almost sixty years. In theatre, he was best known for originating the role of Sir in The Dresser; in film, he was best known for his role as the showman Bytes in The Elephant Man (1980); and in television, he was best known for playing Sandy Thomas in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale from 2005 to 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hywel Bennett</span> Welsh actor

Hywel Thomas Bennett was a Welsh film and television actor. He had a lead role in The Family Way (1966) and played the titular "thinking man's layabout" James Shelley in the television sitcom Shelley (1979–1992).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Allam</span> British actor

Roger William Allam is a British actor, who has performed on stage, in film, on television and radio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dirk Maggs</span> British writer and director

David George Dirk Maggs is a British freelance writer and director. During his career as a Senior Producer in BBC Radio he made radio drama adopting a cinematic-sounding approach, combining filmic story construction, layered sound effects, orchestral music and digital recording technology. Maggs introduced productions in Dolby Surround in BBC Radio and termed the result, "Audio Movies".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paterson Joseph</span> British actor and author (born 1964)

Paterson D. Joseph is a British actor and author. He was announced as Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University in October 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Harris (actor)</span> British actor

George William Harris is a British actor. His notable roles include Kingsley Shacklebolt in the Harry Potter film series, Captain Simon Katanga in Raiders of the Lost Ark and Clive King in the BBC medical drama Casualty, where he was one of the original cast members. He also played real-life Somali warlord Osman Ali Atto in the 2001 film Black Hawk Down.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toby Whithouse</span> English actor, screenwriter and playwright

Toby Lawrence Whithouse is an English actor, screenwriter and playwright. His highest-profile work has been the creation of the BBC Three supernatural television series Being Human. He also created the Channel 4 television comedy-drama series No Angels, the BBC America/BBC Two espionage drama series The Game and has written seven episodes for BBC One's Doctor Who. His work on Doctor Who was primarily for the Doctors played by Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi.

Oluwakemi Nina Sosanya is an English stage, television, film, and radio actress, and narrator. She is most notable for her roles in Teachers, W1A, and Last Tango in Halifax.

Abdul Wahab Mumuni, known professionally as Abdul Salis, is a British actor. He played paramedic Curtis Cooper on Casualty, the longest-running medical drama broadcast in the UK.

<i>Neverwhere</i> (novel) Novel by Neil Gaiman

Neverwhere is the companion novelisation written by English author Neil Gaiman of the television serial Neverwhere, written by Gaiman and devised by Lenny Henry. The plot and characters are exactly the same as in the series, with the exception that the novel form allowed Gaiman to expand and elaborate on certain elements of the story and restore changes made in the televised version from his original plans. Most notable is the appearance of the Floating Market at Harrods rather than under Battersea power station. This is because the management of Harrods changed their minds about proposed filming. The novel was originally released by BBC Books in 1996, three episodes into the television series run. It was accompanied by a spoken word CD and cassette release, also by the BBC.

Neverwhere is a 1996 television series by Neil Gaiman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Ashton (actor)</span> British actor and writer

David Scott Ashton is a Scottish actor and writer. Trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, 1964–67, he has acted in a wide variety of film, television, theatre and radio roles. He has also developed a parallel career as a writer of fiction, film and television screenplays and plays for theatre and radio. His radio play The Old Ladies at the Zoo, which starred Peggy Mount and Liz Smith, won the Radio Times Drama Award in 1985.

Neverwhere is a radio drama based on the 1996 novel Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. It was dramatised by Dirk Maggs. The theme music is by James Hannigan.

The Sacred Fools Theater Company is a Los Angeles–based theatre company and nonprofit organization. Founded in January 1997, it's a member organization of the LA Stage Alliance.

<i>Good Omens</i> (TV series) 2019 fantasy comedy TV series

Good Omens is a British fantasy comedy television series created by Neil Gaiman based on his and Terry Pratchett's 1990 novel. A co-production between Amazon MGM Studios and BBC Studios, the series was directed by Douglas Mackinnon, with Gaiman also serving as showrunner. Michael Sheen and David Tennant lead a large ensemble cast that also includes Jon Hamm, Miranda Richardson, Michael McKean, Derek Jacobi, Brian Cox, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Frances McDormand as the voice of God, who narrates the series.

References

  1. "City subway will never seem the same again after reading Daley's final one book pick" . Retrieved 17 March 2018. "In a letter from the author included in the study guide, Gaiman revealed that he got the idea for Neverwhere after reading, "Free, Live Free", a Gene Wolfe book set in Chicago".
  2. Interview on the UK VHS Release of Neverwhere
  3. Geoff Boucher (29 November 2011). "Neil Gaiman returns to 'Neverwhere' (and 'Graveyard Book' movie?)". Los Angeles Times .
  4. 1 2 3 Nathan Laird (8 July 2006). "Neverwhere (review)". DVD Bits. Archived from the original on 12 January 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2016. [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.
  5. Neverwhere at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original )
  6. Stages of existence: Three local theatre companies move into what they hope are permanent spaces Archived 23 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine , by Linda Sickler, retrieved 7 June 2007
  7. "Oops and nudity" Neil Gaiman's blog, 9 June 2006, retrieved 7 June 2007
  8. "Past Productions".
  9. "Lifeline Theatre :: Neverwhere". lifelinetheatre.com. Archived from the original on 18 June 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  10. "Robert Kauzlaric – Playwriting – Neverwhere" . Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  11. "Neil Gaiman and Lenny Henry visit Neverwhere". 6 July 2010.
  12. "Mob Hit Productions - the Duchess of Malfi".
  13. "This came in yesterday. It's official. I'm..." tumblr.com.
  14. "SACRED FOOLS – Past Productions". sacredfools.org.
  15. "NEVERWHERE: Neil Gaiman's Nightmare Wonderland @ Rorschach". Kickstarter.
  16. "Last Orders" Neil Gaiman's blog, 17 April 2008, retrieved 25 April 2008
  17. "BBC Radio 4 – Neil Gaiman – Neverwhere – Episode guide". BBC.
  18. Jones, Paul. "Benedict Cumberbatch and the cast of Neverwhere – first photo and air date revealed". RadioTimes. Archived from the original on 19 March 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  19. Gaiman, Neil. "FAQ". Neil Gaiman. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  20. O'Connor, Roisin (18 February 2017). "Neil Gaiman announces Neverwhere sequel titled The Seven Sisters" . Culture › Books › News. The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
  21. Barnett, David (17 February 2017). "Neil Gaiman announces Neverwhere sequel, The Seven Sisters". Culture > Books. the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
  22. Martin, George R. R. "Rogues Anthology delivered to Bantam" . Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  23. Ben Moor. "Ben Moor as Heard on Radio" . Retrieved 29 September 2012.