BBC'S "NEVERWORLD"???

[Guest se7en]

.....hi all. Denise and i were in montreal yesterday-(sunday)- and i was in "HMV" and spotted a DVD release,via A&E network of a U.K. miniseries from the creator of "SANDMAN" called something like "NEVERWORLD" or "NEATHERWORLD"-(??)  

       ...due to the province of quebec putting 900-labels on thier packaging i could not tell if it was animation or "live-action".      ...i almost bought it,"wanted" to buy it,but could not tell,because of all the damn stickers,if it was live action or not. all 3-of thier copies had a very large QUEBECOIS RATING STICKER seemingly strategicly placed right over "ALL" of the credits so i could not tell if it actually starred "people" or not!

    ...i am not a big fan of animation save for the classic warner bros. looney tune/merrie melodies cartoons.-(can't recomend enough the just released 4-disc set of classic looney tunes called "the golden collection",56-remastered/uncut looney tunes/merrie melodies,with the first disc solely dedicated to Bugs Bunny,with an amazing amount of fascinating behind the scenes docus and interviews. almost 7-hpurs of warner bros. greatness!)-anyway >the premise "NEVERWORLD-(?)-sounded REALLY interesting and it took place mainly under the streets of london. the part of the box i could read stated that it was a six-part miniseries,A LITTLE OVER 3-HOURS LONG,and came out in 1996 in the U.K. and that it was highly accaimed. can anyone give more info on this and tell me if it is live action or not?-(there was not 1-picture/photo on the box just gothic looking artwork,hence my ultimate decision to not buy it just then.)

         ...any info/opinions on the show,etc. would be greatly appreciated.

                                            ....THANKS MUCH!,

                                                        se7en

[voidprime]

You're talking about NEVERWHERE.  It is one fof those low budget live-action BBC productions.   It's not a bad series.   Neil Gaiman wrote it with someone else and then Neil wrote a novel based on the series where he corrected some of the shortcomings of the series due to budget (and so on).   I like the novel better ( and the novel AMERICAN GODS is great too) even though the novel came after the series where usually it is the other way around.

https://imdb.com/title/tt0115288/

Be Seeing You,

David Blackwell

[Libby]

We've got the double video set here. The series started from an idea by Neil Gaiman and Lenny Henry (the latter being most well-known as a comedian). I'll type out the blurb on the back of the video, but I have to say that this doesn't really convey the darkness that's an important part of the series:

----------------------

Very funny. Very scary. Very weird.

Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere is a place beyond imagination.

Situated beneath the familiar streets of London is a city without limits. Its fiefdoms and baronies are inhabited by magicians and assassins. Rat Speakers and sewer people, and the myriad other tribes, gangs and individuals who gather at the Floating Market.

There is an Angel called Islington and an Earl who holds Court on an Underground train. There is a Beast in a labyrinth and Black Friars who guard a powerful Key. And there is a girl called Door who seeks to solve the mystery of her parents' bloody murder - and avoid getting killed herself.

One act of kindness throws Richard Mayhew, a young businessman with a routine job and an upwardly mobile girlfriend, into a world his dreams could only hint at. In London Below, even minding the Gap is a life-threatening exercise. So where does he fit into all this? And can he ever get back?

---------------

This makes it sound a bit wacky and weird, rather than hinting at a couple of the more scary aspects. The hero, Richard, gets involved at the start simply because he intervenes to help someone who looks like a homeless person and who everyone else, including his yuppie girlfriend, either ignores or just don't see. As he becomes drawn in, he gets to experience that there is this other world that nobody living a normal life recognises - much as a lot of people can't recognise what it is to live the life of a homeless person who society has abandoned. That the netherworld involves magic, etc. is much more of a metaphor rather than in, say, Harry Potter (which I haven't seen or read, but which I've heard a lot about).

So, it's much darker and deeper than any blurb might indicate. And it has two of the most creepy, evil characters I've ever seen. If you get chance to see it, then I'd recommend it, even though some of the special effects do reflect the amount of money they had available (not enough).

A couple of asides: I'm not sure, David and Se7en, that I understand what you mean by "live-action" - I do realise that Se7en meant the opposite of animation but then I got stuck because I think of live-action as being, say, a sporting event. Anyway, whatever the term is for a drama filmed in the usual way - actors in studios, etc. - that's what Neverwhere is.

One of the characters, an evil temptress called Lamia, is played by the actress, Tamsin Greig, best known for playing Debbie in "The Archers" the longest-running radio drama series/soap, on BBC Radio (15 minute episodes, six nights a week, filled with passion, drama, flower shows and tractors). She has a voice that apparently can bring strong men to their knees. Gra and other Britguys, care to comment?

Libby

[The Old Man]

That's a new one on me, must haved missed it somewhere along the line!

Se7en, its on HMV Canada's website for CA$44 to save you going back.

Direct Link

Graham.