Rating: 
Summary: Nevermind Neverwhere
Review: It's bad theatre on video tape. Neither the production value nor acting stand up to daytime soap-operas. A disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: Can seem to make it through the whole thing
Review: Let me get this off my chest. I am a Neil Gaiman fan. I thought the book "Neverwhere" was excellent. I have been a Sandman fan for years. I have enjoyed his other books immensely. So it is with great delight that I purchased the DVD. Let me also preface any remarks with the following. I also enjoy watching BBC productions. Finally, let me warn you. I have not finished the DVD series. So, with the warning that there could be some real gems later on in the series, I must admit that I do not plan on watching the remainder of the DVDs anytime soon. Maybe it was the low quality production, the slow pacing or the poor acting. Maybe it was that I had conjured up such great images in my head that I could not bear to watch them reduced to a Dr. Who production quality. Maybe it was that fact I have fallen asleep several times watching this at night. But I just cannot picture slogging it through these DVDs anytime soon. As an aside, however, hope does spring eternal. I rescued them from the garage sale bin. As I said in the beginning, I am a Neil Gaiman fan and I cannot bear to part with them without giving them one more shot. So, hopefully, if there are no good books to read, no Seinfeld reruns, no other movies I want to see or the X-Box is on the blink, I will get to it - after all it is the least a fan can do.
Rating: 
Summary: Wow. Seriously. Wow.
Review: Neil Gaiman is a master at his craft ( I really sound like a critic, starting my review like that!!!!). No, seriously; Neverwhere paints a reality of another world underneath our own that none of us are aware of. The characters are vivid and radiate there individual attributes and faults. This is an amazing, amazing movie and should be watched by all ficiton fans!!!!!!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: If you cut us, do we not bleed?
Review: Neil Gaiman is a very professional and entertaining author. His work reaches deep into your imagination ad pulls those chords that you never thought existed until you read his words. He is adventurous, daring, and imaginative with each stroke of his pen. His work forces you to think outside the box and see a new world outside of our own. He is, simply put a genius. Sadly, for those that have never read his work and decide to watch this series will be deeply disappointed. The BBC has crafted a miniseries of one of his stories using cheap production, horrible lighting, and a script that seems so far away from Gaiman that it will bring a tear to the avid reader's eye.
When you read one of Gaiman's stories, it is your imagination that makes it a pleasure from beginning to end. He uses amazing descriptions to build the characters and the story into a visionary and symbolic pop-up book. It literally springs from the pages. Your imagination creates the characters and the worlds instead of someone else doing it for you, and that is where this series ultimately fails. This was not how I envisioned Gaiman's story when I first set eyes on it. I saw a much darker world where life hung on a balance and the most unusual characters were born. In this series, I saw cliched moments coupled with human existence. London Below was full of more than just humans, it was a den of evil and corruption. This was not even explored in this series. Strangely, the themes of humanity were not even uncovered. An aspect that I loved about Gaiman's book was the polar differences between the working class and the poor. The idea that we do not see our fellow man or even remember them is a haunting theme that lingers throughout the book, while in this series it is just a flash in the pan.
So, if you haven't read Gaiman's book (which I suggest that everyone should), what can you expect from this series? To begin, the acting is some of the worst I have ever encountered in a series or film. Nobody seemed to be in their role at all. Their characters were so underdeveloped that they changed in nearly every scene. I felt as if the Marquis had just graduated from High School drama and was handed this part. Door was not the woman I wanted her to be, and Richard Mayhew was nothing more than a bumbling idiot with futile attempts of humorous interruptions. These interruptions only soured this series even more. Several times I had to check the expiration date on the DVD box to ensure that this story hadn't curdled. The humor in some of these scenes was unnecessary and a complete knock against the book. I don't remember laughing at all while I read the story, so why should I laugh now. The only aspect that I did laugh at during this series was the acting and the overall cheap feeling I had from watching this. Several showers were taken after each viewing.
I would also like to add that director Dewi Humphreys did some of his homework, while the other half was done while deeply intoxicated by an unknown substance. For example, each opening scene was cheap (for lack of a better word) and dizzying. The characters were giving their monologues while splices of freeze-frame were intermixed throughout. I felt like I was watching an Oliver Stone rip-off, and that is being generous. These were supposed to be scenes that introduced each chapter, but instead it left that same sour taste in your mouth similar to the humorous interruptions. They were disgraceful and pointless. What drugs did you need to be taking to find this enjoyable? This also goes the same with Richard's continuous flash-forwards of what was going to happen. These images continuously occurred whenever he walked into a section of the film that couldn't fit into the budget. With the budget being below any corporate standards, Humphreys relied on continual showings of the same image over and over again to drive into the viewer the idea of what will happen near the end. By the fourth time I watched this, I was thankful I didn't have epilepsy and that I hadn't paid good money to see this. The first time I saw these flash-forwards I knew what they were to represent, and anyone that has seen any movies would realize this as well, so you didn't need to reuse it time and time again. This only helped destroy Gaiman's original story.
Overall, I was greatly disappointed. There was so much imagination lost with this series that I had to go back and read the story again just to rid my mind of this travesty. For Gaiman fans out there, I do not suggest this series at all. I am saddened by the final outcome and that Gaiman attached his name to such a project. It only proves that a bigger budget is needed to fully convey Gaiman's imaginary voice. I would be happy to have donated some to allow this series to be better. BLAH!
Grade: * out of *****
Rating: 
Summary: Gaiman Abridged
Review: Neverwhere isn't a great work of television. In fact, it's not especially good. The effects are decidedly second-rate, the acting is occasionally hammy, the camera work borders on the amateurish and many of the details used in the novel are sacrificed to fit the constraints of episodic story telling, which means the story can feel thin at parts. In other words, this is a bad introduction to Gaiman's work that looks like a particularly cheesy episode of Doctor Who.But that doesn't mean that Neverwhere is bad. The show itself is actually kind of fun to watch if you don't have the highest expectations and, yes, expect a cheesy episode of Doctor Who. There are also some particularly good acting bits (Croup, Vandemar and de Carabas particularly) and I'd almost say that the DVD pays itself off for Dave McKean's credit sequences. Beyond that, of course, is the commentary by Neil Gaiman, where he describes the joys and trials of making it, pointing out trivia, explaining which characters worked for his imaginings and which didn't. Also occasionally simply watching a scene in quiet enjoyment. Fascinating stuff. This isn't easy to recommend to anyone beyond fans of Gaiman's work, and even then you have to be willing to overlook a lot a lot of failings. Despite that, though, and because of the commentary and other extras, I have to say that this is a good buy for fans of Neil Gaiman and anyone willing to ignore cheesy effects for, what remains despite the Great Cow of London, a good story.
Rating:
Summary: Read the book
Review: No matter what anyone thinks of this title, no one will say that it is anywhere near as good as the book. The characters are poorly casted, the setting is not properly designed and the plot is a little screwy at time. If you want to truly visit Neverwhere you must read the book, which I find to be one of the greatest books ever written.
Rating:
Summary: Very, very good....
Review: No, the TV series isn't as complex as the book. And I understand that the book was written by Neil Gaiman to better reflect his true vision. And it's a pity that being shot on videotape, it lost the sheer beauty and authenticity of the locations, and looks like Dr Who sets. Doctor Who comparisons abound on the commentary track. Partly in terms of the poor effects/filming qualities, but I think the series also captures the best elements of Dr Who, an entertaining, intelligent story with quirky and interesting characters (like Mr Croup and Mr Vandermar). Neil mentions that the Marquis de Carabas was somewhat inspired by the Doctor, and I think that actor Paterson Joseph would make a damn fine Doctor. And I like that dodgy, trickster quality with his ...-eating grin. The concept of London Below just sucks me in and I'd love a return visit to that world. I also felt very nostalgic for the tube. (London Underground, not the TV set.) If you don't like things like the Narnia series or Dr Who, you may not like this -- it's not flashy and Hollywood. But I like this very British style of storytelling. And after you've seen this, read the book ... and mind the gap. Allen
Rating:
Summary: I loved it, but WHERE OH WHERE is the commentary?????
Review: Sorry for substituting a question in place of a review, but I've got a real mystery on my hands. On the back of the slipcase (as well as on the backs of the two DVD cases), it states that there is a "Commentary with Creator Neil Gaiman". If there is, it's VERY well hidden. The first DVD has only the first three chapters on it, as well as a PLAY ALL feature (there are NO BONUS FEATURES ON IT AT ALL). The second DVD has the last three chapters, and a Bonus Features choice, which offers "The Original BBC Neil Gaiman Interview", a "Neil Gaiman Biography", "Character Descriptions", and a "Photo Gallery". On several of the reviews, people rave about the feature-long commentary. Why does my set not include it. I would suspect that someone had switched discs for this set, but that's not possible. I bought this set at Best Buy, and it was shrinkwrapped. Is the commentary hidden, like an "easter egg"? If so, can someone tell me how to access it? Thanks in advance for your help.
Rating:
Summary: I loved it, but WHERE OH WHERE is the commentary?????
Review: Sorry for substituting a question in place of a review, but I've got a real mystery on my hands. On the back of the slipcase (as well as on the backs of the two DVD cases), it states that there is a "Commentary with Creator Neil Gaiman". If there is, it's VERY well hidden. The first DVD has only the first three chapters on it, as well as a PLAY ALL feature (there are NO BONUS FEATURES ON IT AT ALL). The second DVD has the last three chapters, and a Bonus Features choice, which offers "The Original BBC Neil Gaiman Interview", a "Neil Gaiman Biography", "Character Descriptions", and a "Photo Gallery". On several of the reviews, people rave about the feature-long commentary. Why does my set not include it. I would suspect that someone had switched discs for this set, but that's not possible. I bought this set at Best Buy, and it was shrinkwrapped. Is the commentary hidden, like an "easter egg"? If so, can someone tell me how to access it? Thanks in advance for your help.
Rating:
Summary: "Mind the gap!"
Review: The best tele-fantasy in a long, long time, writer Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere is an imaginative breath of fresh air. While technically a fantasy, this is not a fantasy in the dragons-wizards-elves vein, but rather "fantasy-punk," if you will, in the same way that cyberpunk SF is to spaceships and aliens SF. Never mind all the comments and apologies about the production values. Anyone familiar with a typical BBC SF production will find no surprises here (In fact, Gaiman himself was disappointed in the look of the show, as the BBC had apparently agreed to treat the video with Filmlook in post production, but didn't keep it's promise). I loved the whole thing: The acting, dialogue, characters (and look for another Dr Who inspiration in the character of the Marquis, who, Gaiman notes in his commentary, was inspired by the earlier, more mysterious and edgier characterizations of the Doctor, probably early Tom Baker if you ask me) costumes, prop design and general mood are all top notch, and the series is of course filled with that wonderful and unique Brit biting sense of humor. I also loved all the incidental details of Gaiman's fictional world: The use of "Favors" as an important form of currency, or the specific "Talents" that various people/families have. Edgy, mysterious, dark and disturbing, Neverwhere is a uniquely imaginative show and a long overdue return to the glory days of BBC imaginative tv. Only negative thing I can think of is that it didn't continue on for a second season!
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