London Below. Never heard of it?

Neither have I but in Neil Gaiman’s 1996 BBC TV show, Neverwhere, it’s a place fellow nerds would enjoy.  London Below has monsters, angels and old school figures dating back from the Roman Empire.  The story is about Richard Mayhew, who lives in what we know today as London.  He helps out a girl named Door and finds out she lives in the streets below London.  Door introduces Mayhew to the new world and it just gets weirder for him.  His fiance and friends can’t recognize him anymore.  Those aren’t his only problems.  He also has to deal with assassins that are out to get Door.  Door’s no pansy either and wants revenge for her parents death.

Along there adventure, they meet an angel, Islington.  We find out he used to be the guardian of the doomed city of Atlantis.  Backstories for the characters that involved myths and other fable stories is what makes Neverwhere an interesting show.  Gaiman did a great job thinking outside the box and combining different elements.  It adds depth to the show.

The six episode show was shot on video.  I had a problem with the cheap look, especially in the first couple of episodes.  Once I got past that, I started appreciating the show more.  Just accept that the budget wasn’t the best but at least they tried their best to make London Below a living, breathing city.  Just like with Dr. Who (another BBC production), I have a hard time understanding English accents so I had to turn on the subtitles.

The 15th anniversary edition set comes with commentary from Neil Gaiman, co-creator Lenny Henry and producer Clive Brill, a new introduction, interview with Gaiman, a photo gallery, map of London Below and character descriptions.

Neverwhere is an entertaining show that has full of creativity and imagination.

Grade: A-

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