DVD/TV: Neverwhere (BBC, 1996)

Thirteen years old now and I hadn't seen it in that long. Surprisingly I enjoyed it more than I remember doing when it was originally shown on BBC. Albeit with reservations.

So, what's good about it? Short answer: lots.

The background setting with its weird and wonderful characters. I love the literal use of names. Blackfriars are black friars. The Angel Islington is an angel named Islington. Old Bailey is an old geezer called Bailey whose home is on top of -well, you figure it out.

I love the characters with their idiosyncratic dialogue, particular favourites being Croup & Vandemar and The Marquis de Carabas. The humour is dry and often deadly.

The actors are terrific. Especially notable in an early role is the young Paterson Joseph as the Marquis, a ripe part which Joseph grabs with both hands and runs away with to score the matchwinner. He's closely pursued by Hywell Bennett and the marvellous Clive Russell as Croup & Vandemar, two merciless long-lived thugs, torturers & murderers with wonderfully funny dialogue. There is also a selection of well-known British character actors doing their seriously good bit in a variety of minor parts.

The fact that there's constantly something interesting happening. There are none of the longeurs you often get in tv series (or another form of fiction come to that); it's a constant hustle and bustle and changing scene.

It's really really great fun from start to finish. But it isn't perfect.

So, what's wrong with it?

Some of the characters are leadenly written and badly acted. The Hunter's dialogue is absolutely excruciating to listen to and it would have taken a very skilled actor to pull it off, but then any skilled actor would have read their lines and handed the script back to Mr Gaiman with pair of long-handled tongs, so they ended up with someone who wasn't skilled and couldn't pull it off. Gary Bakewell as the hero is crap and there's no other way of putting it. Supposed to be an everyman, he nevertheless is unable to display the remotest trace of charisma or steel when the story demands it. He fails utterly to find the required strength within the character. His climactic act of bravery should have some transforming effect but it doesn't.

It was done on the cheap and often looks it. As another reviewer commented, the savage beast of under London which has been built up throughout the series looks like nothing more than a Highland cow. To be fair, the production team did wonders with what they did have but it just scrapes by.

What this really needed was another draft of the script and more money put into it. Much as I enjoyed it I have to say that ultimately it's an honourable failure.

This is a shame because it could have been so good and I'm inclined to think that, after 13 years, it might be time for a re-make, or a re-invention, or, perhaps, a sequel. A new threat has appeared. This time we get David Tennant as the hero (same character, better actor), Paterson Joseph returns as the Marquis; or Lenny Henry who could always do the comic side but now has proven Shakespearean chops. Given how good special effects can be done on relatively small budgets these days, it wouldn't even cost too much. Neil? Lenny?