Neverwhere

As part of my fascination with London Underground, I borrowed the BBC TV series "Neverwhere" and watched the six-parts in about two days. "Neverwhere" was written by Neil Gaiman (of "Coraline" and "American Gods" fame). The story follows Richard Oliver Mayhew, a securities manager, who, whilst on a his way to dinner with his fiancee's boss, stumbles across a girl who is clearly injured. He takes her home and helps her out and the next day, she thanks him, disappears and that's when Richard discovers that nobody else can see him anymore. He passes into what's called London Below, a whole world that exist underground. While attempting to navigate life in London Below, he also attempts to help Door, the girl he rescued, discover what happened to her family and how she can protect herself. They meet various characters, including the mysterious Marquis de Carabas, a guide named Anaesthesia, a bodyguard named Hunter and try to avoid being captured by two assassins, Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandermar. Eventually, Door and Richard are successful in finding out who killed Door's family and being to work towards unity and peace in London Below. Richard is given the opportunity to go back to London Above but after a few days there, he decides that London Below is truly where he belongs and goes back down.

Here is how London Above and Below are explained: “Young man," he said, "understand this: there are two Londons. There's London Above―that's where you lived―and then there's London Below―the Underside―inhabited by the people who fell through the cracks in the world. Now you're one of them. Good night.” 

My favorite part of Neverwhere is how in London Below, the names of familiar areas or tube stop names in London take on new meaning. Knightsbridge becomes "Night's Bridge", a stone bridge whose darkness takes it toll in human life- guide Anaesthesia is lost to the Night's Bridge. The Angel, Islington, is an actual angel, but not necessarily a good one. As a part of their quest, Door and Richard visit the Old Bailey, a man fascinated by birds, the Earls of Earls Court and the Baron of Baron's Court. I was constantly amazed by the cleverness of the puns of the names.

What follows are three clips that will help you understand what I've been watching.

What adds to the creativity of "Neverwhere" is that after the production was complete, Neil Gaiman wrote a novel that was essentially "Neverwhere" in book form. Rumor has it that Neil didn't mind when producers took out certain elements from the series because he knew it could just put it back into the book later. It was interesting to read the book after seeing the series and knowing that the series came before the book- usually it's the other way around. Neil didn't necessarily follow his description of characters based on the actors and I know people found issues with that but I didn't mind. And I certainly read the book a lot quicker, knowing what was coming.

If you need convincing to read or watch this, let me end with some of my favorite quotes.

"You are all very stupid people and you don't know anything." -The Abbot of the Black Friars (see what they did there??)

The Marquis De Carabas: I thought it was just a legend, like the alligators in the sewers of New York.
Old Bailey: What, the big white ones? Oh, they're down there. I had a friend who lost a head to one of them. He's all right, he had another one.

"This ordeal of yours, how much of an ordeal is it? Is this the kind of ordeal like going to visit a rather elderly, ill-kempt, and female relative is an ordeal Or is this kind of ordeal more like a... like a plunging your hand into scalding hot water to see how fast it takes off the skin sort of ordeal?" -Richard Mayhew

Richard Mayhew: Can I ask a question?
The Marquis de Carabas: No. You don't ask any questions. You don't get any answers. You don't stray from the path. You don't even think about what's happening to you right now. Got it?
Richard: Excuse me, I know this is a personal question, but are you clinically insane?
The Marquis: It's very unlikely. Why?
Richard: Well, one of us must be.

"Richard wrote a mental diary in his head. Dear diary, he began. On Friday I had a job, a fiance, a home, and a life that made sense. Then I found an injured girl bleeding on the pavement and I tried to be a Good Samaritan. Now I've got no fiance, no home, no job, and I'm walking around a couple of hundred feet under the streets of London with the projected life expectancy of a suicidal fruit fly."

"There are four simple ways for the observant to tell Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar apart: first, Mr. Vandemar is two and a half heads taller than Mr. Croup; second, Mr. Croup has eyes of a faded china blue, while Mr. Vandemar's eyes are brown; third, while Mr. Vandemar fashioned the rings he wears on his right hand out of the skulls of four ravens, Mr. Croup has no obvious jewelry; fourth, Mr. Croup likes words, while Mr. Vandemar is always hungry. Also, they look nothing at all alike."

Definitely recommend reading "Neverwhere". And watching the series. And enjoying the new version of what London Underground might be like.