Created by: Neil Gaiman, Lenny Henry
Starring: Gary Bakewell, Laura Fraser, Hywel Bennett, Clive Russell, Paterson Joseph,
Trevor Peacock, Elizabeth Marmur, Tanya Moodie, Peter Capaldi
Distributed by: BBC
Episodes: 6
Running Time: 180 minutes
Overall Score: 3 out of 5 stars
Neil Gaiman definitely has a very unique eye for storytelling. One of my favorites of his work is “Coraline” and its stop action animation movie. This BBC miniseries celebrating it’s 15th anniversary definitely shows its age in its production. This is the first time in fact I am viewing this series and it doesn’t have the same visual feel that I loved from “Coraline”. I did catch a little feeling of “Alice in Wonderland” throughout but the magic just wasn’t there. I know this series had issues with production and suffers due to that but I think this would have served better as a feature then miniseries. One thing I did enjoy quite a bit is the music from Brian Eno, he is one of my favorites.
The special features on this 15th anniversary edition are worth the upgrade though especially if you are a fan of Gaiman. It includes a new audio commentary with Neil Gaiman, Lenny Henry and Clive Brill. It is a great retrospective looking back on the series. It goes into decent depth on the production. There is also an introduction to the 15th anniversary edition, which is a fun tribute. I think the coolest thing about this release is there is a huge pull out map of “Neverwhere”. There is also recycled bonus features from the last release includes an interview and audio commentary with Neil Gaiman. I enjoyed the new commentary better. I would have liked to see a new interview with Gaiman as well. Lastly there is the photo gallery and character descriptions included.
Synopsis: Neil Gaiman’s (The Sandman, Coraline) first TV miniseries, co-created with Lenny Henry (The Lenny Henry Show, Chef!), brings viewers to an ambitious exploration of a London with two worlds. When office drone Richard Mayhew (Gary Bakewell) rescues a mysterious girl named Door (Laura Fraser, He Knew He Was Right), he unwittingly finds himself part of her quest to learn why her parents have been killed. The next thing he knows, Mayhew?s life changes forever as he’s pulled into the fantastical world of London Below, far from his mundane life in London Above. Pursued by the murderous Messrs. Croup and Vandemar, Door and Richard, with the help of Hunter and the Marquis de Carabas, attempt to find the Angel Islington, who knows the secret behind the murder of Door’s family, and possibly a way for Richard to go home.
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