Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere up for Pre-Order
 

Amazon has a release date of September 9 ($29.96), DeepDiscount DVD says August 26 ($21.25). From A&E Home Video, it's apparently the BBC production from 1996. Two discs, 180 minutes, with commentary by Neil Gaiman and "the original BBC Neil Gaiman interview." I loved the book, does anyone know anything about this?

aande.com is shipping on August 22, 2003 for $39.95+s/h (and if you prepreordered there sending a poster to make up for the delay in shipping- it was supposed to ship around the end of July). Your description is pretty good; here's what A&E says:

DVD Features:
Commentary with Creator Neil Gaiman
The Original BBC Neil Gaiman Interview
Photo Gallery
Character Descriptions
Neil Gaiman Biography
Interactive Menus
Scene Selection

On his way to dinner with his fiancée, he sees a wounded girl on the sidewalk, and his efforts to help her end the life he knows. The next morning, he is a cipher, erased from existence and consigned to a subterranean world of danger and shadows.

One of the most acclaimed fantasy novels in recent years, NEVERWHERE was originally a six-part BBC television series. Rarely seen since its initial broadcast, the visionary tale was the first story written directly for the screen by Neil Gaiman, the prolific genius behind the DC Comics Sandman series and the best-selling novel American Gods. Now, NEVERWHERE comes to DVD with this mesmerizing collection, which includes audio commentary by Gaiman as well as a vintage interview with him.

Volume 1:
Door
Knightsbridge
Earl's Court To Islington

Volume 2:
Blackfriars
Down Street
As Above, So Below

Check out neilgaiman.com>journal for more info

I can't wait to get this. I'm very curious to hear Neil's commentary track too. :)

Thanks for the info!

:drool: --Gaiman commentary

I've had this on VHS for some time, and while in typical BBC fashion the series is demonstrably low-budget and looks it, there are still some interesting aspects to this adaptation not the least of which is the very beautiful Laura Fraser playing Door. Still, at the end of the day it is Gaiman afterall and I'll be replacing my poor copy for the commentary and interview alone.

I hope I can find some place to rent this from, I've been curious to see it but don't know if it'd really be worth the purchase. I liked the book a lot, but I seem to recall reading in an interview with Gaiman that he wrote the book to make up for the TV series not working out as he envisioned.

He likes parts of it... he doesn't like other parts of it. Much of it is word for word from the book. Your opinon on it will vary.

wooo hooo! Now I can upgrade from the Cd-r's that I have of this. :)

Or rather the book is pretty much word for word from the movie. Technically it's a novelization that Gaiman wrote from the screenplay because there were elements of the script that wouldn't work within the limited BBC budget and he also disagreed with some of the editing. From the jacket: "and [he] is the creator and author of the BBC series entitled "Neverwhere," which inspired this novel."

Yeah, I know, I just said it that way since he's familiar with the book.

Just wanted to add my voice of agreement here... a few years ago I was first thrilled but then very much disappointed by this show... not with the content, mind you, but the production values are about on a level of Doctor Who and similar BBC tv productions. In a nutshell, it seems about $5 was spent on the filming, and unfortunately it looks and sounds that way (dialogue has that weird hollow sound resulting for low tech dubbing or something).

In any case, it's 6 half-hour episodes and despite the shortcomings, I will probably get it as I really liked the book.

I

Latest Info From TVSHOWSONDVD.COM
 

Slight delay
8/04/2003

There's a slight delay on the "NeverWhere" DVD set. A&E has moved it from August 26 to September 9.

Just wanted to add my praise for the series. Real cheap as all who saw know but really a good story and decent performances too.

Duplicate Thread
 

This was discussed previously in http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=265792

Actually, it's the other way around. The BBC series preceded the book. Gaiman wrote the book from his BBC script, adding a small chapter up front about Richard's decision to leave his home in Scotland and move to London, giving him a little more depth. I do not know if that part was originally supposed to be included in the BBC series or not. It's not a necessary part of the story, as the story is more about what happens to Richard during his encounters in London Below than it is about where Richard originally came from.

BTW, I've got an autographed copy of the book. NG signed it "Mind the gap". :)

kenbuzz, as I said five posts above I already know that the series came first. I said "word for word from the book" because if you read the book first (which BTW, I did not) then it will seem to you that it's word for word from the book. Just like the person I was responding to.

D'oh! You're right. http://forums.somd.com/images/smilies/notworthy.gif