Thursday, September 30, 2004

Neverwhere is Captivating

While I dined on a cheese steak sandwich from Subway today, I put in the first DVD of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere.

Briefly, Neil Gaiman is an award-winning British author of some fame. As mentioned elsewhere, he and his work form part of the basis for this blog's title. He has written for a variety of media and even has an upcoming movie, MirrorMask (official site).

I know Neverwhere originally as a book and subsequently an A&E/BBC 6-episode miniseries. An excellent summary courtesy of Amazon:
Neverwhere's protagonist, Richard Mayhew, learns the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished. He ceases to exist in the ordinary world of London Above, and joins a quest through the dark and dangerous London Below, a shadow city of lost and forgotten people, places, and times. His companions are Door, who is trying to find out who hired the assassins who murdered her family and why; the Marquis de Carabas, a trickster who trades services for very big favors; and Hunter, a mysterious lady who guards bodies and hunts only the biggest game. London Below is a wonderfully realized shadow world, and the story plunges through it like an express passing local stations, with plenty of action and a satisfying conclusion. The story is reminiscent of Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but Neil Gaiman's humor is much darker and his images sometimes truly horrific. Puns and allusions to everything from Paradise Lost to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz abound, but you can enjoy the book without getting all of them. Gaiman is definitely not just for graphic-novel fans anymore.
So today found me watching the miniseries for the second time. Even as I sat there, enthralled by its mystery and wonder, I experienced that same rush of excitement and tension that accompanied my first viewing and reading. While the book is not my favorite of Gaiman's (that honor belongs to American Gods and/or The Sandman Series), the miniseries is exquisite in my opinion. If you enjoy British films or television and are in the mood for a dark, compelling adventure, I highly suggest you look into it.

As for me, I've watched 2 episodes so far and now must return to my Forensics outline and bibliography which are due tonight.

ADDENDUM: After searching on the web for an hour or two, I found two documents that seem to answer the forensics question I was to address. This does not look good. Tonight I'll have to see what my professors say. [4:48 PM]