Take that, ya Slytherin sissy!
One down, one to go :)
We watched “Neverwhere” last night. I’m a Neil Gaiman fan and I bought this, sight unseen (something I almost never do), almost as soon as I heard about it. It was a BBC mini-series made in 1996 and consisted of six, half-hour episodes.
Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere
This is one you have to see more than once. Sadly, the production values are poor (to say the least - listen to Gaiman’s commentary to hear the specifics) - this looks like a grubby, punk-fantasy sort of soap-opera. But the lack of production values can’t affect the story or the acting and both of those factors are very good.
Gary Bakewell plays a somewhat wimpy, somewhat clueless young man named Richard Mayhew. One night, on the way to dinner with his snotty fiancé, he stumbles over a young woman on the sidewalk. She is dirty, unkempt and bloody. He brings her back to his flat to try and help her - and his life takes a left-turn onto a darker, more dangerous but absolutely more interesting path.
You do need to see this more than once. The first time through, you’ll just pick up characters and the grossest plot points - especially if you aren’t familiar with the way British TV does things. Let it sit for a while before you see it again. It’s really, really worth re-watching. I know, when I read that in the reviews I thought: Oh right, I’m going to have to re-watch it because it’s so cruddy I’m not going to get it the first time. It’s not a matter of being bad, it’s a matter of there being too much to assimilate on the first go-round.
And, I’m pleased to say, it improves upon further, subsequent viewings.
I think I may take the weekend off from scarves (heheh…), make my other mitten and otherwise just play around. My fingers are itching to goof about with some cables, increases and decreases, maybe a bobble or two - just to see what happens. Perhaps I will have some Frankenknitting to show you on Monday :) MUH-HAHAHAHAHA!
Have a great weekend!
Bat mats & now Frankenknitting - girlfriend, you got a serious case of the sillies.
I do, however, love that hot pink coaster. Rock on!
Thanks for the DVD recommendation - I need to expand my horizons & I love anything British.
Last but never least - lovely scarf - worthy of any Griffindor neck. “Have a great weekend” back at ya!
Thanks Bron, sweetie :) I’ve been having a definitely “iffy” day and your note really helps. Check out Gaiman’s novels too - the man is a very good writer!
I love your scarf. If my daughters were old enough to follow Harry Potter it would have given me a chance to make at least one. In fact, I’d love to make one for myself. You never know… 
Thanks Cheryl - mindless as it was, it was still fun. I hope my nephews will enjoy them - when I get the other one completed, of course :)
Zach loves the picture of the scarf and seems to be fascinated that you actually made it somehow out of yarn—I think that’s a bit baffling to his 5 year old brain. After he oo’ed and ah’ed over the Harry Potter Scarf, he asked, “Can Aunt Robbyn make a Scooby Doo scarf out of yarn, too?” Uh, no dear, I think not. Aunt Christa would roll her eyes everytime she saw it. :)
Donna - I’m glad Zach was pleased but I have to draw the line somewhere 
- No Scooby Do anything. My eyes started to bleed just reading that :)
Have you read the Neil Gaiman / Terry Pratchett collaboration: Good Omens???
Hi Pam - Yes, I have read it and it’s on my re-read list :) Talk about a marriage made in heaven!
Sorry, commenting a bit late (catching up on my blog reading) but I have to say that I love Neil Gaiman. Love love love him ever since I rediscovered him with the Sandman comic books. I was first introduced to him via Don’t Panic, his non-fiction book on the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Now, he’s a multi-media creator. His script for Dave McKean’s film Mirrormask is coming out this fall (direct to video, I believe, and the stills are stunning. They’re like the opening sequence to Neverwhere, also done by McKean). He’s finished writing and is going to direct his own Death, the High Cost of Living script (Neil! A director! Squee!).
Oh… and Neverwhere looks like it is going to get a comic book adaptation my Mike Carey (my favorite Vertigo comic book writer, currently doing Hellblazer (yes, the material that the upcoming Constantine movie is based on) and Lucifer, which is an extension of the character for Neil’s Sandman series.
Okay… I’ve probably yammered on enough about my serious Neil Gaiman love. I’m happy that you enjoyed Neverwhere.
PS—Don’t you love how it is only the Lamia, the Velvet, that realizes they’re in a retelling of The Wizard of Oz? Hee hee.
Hi Iko :) I’d like to read the Sandman series but haven’t gotten to it yet. I’m looking forward to Mirrormask and Death, the High Cost of Living.
Do you wonder what an American Gods film would look like? 
The only problem with the Sandman series is that I think it is prohibitively expensive for most people. Each soft-cover book is something like $13 and there are 10+ books in the series. (Ten official books in the comic run, many side stories and spin-offs.)
An American Gods film needs a really good adapter. It’s a big book. I think it would be better as a mini series than a single film. (Did you know he’s got a sequel? Nancy’s Boys should be coming out in the next few years.)
Oh, and check out the article on the Neverwhere comic.
You’re right about the cost - I checked into it; our local Borders has the books but the price was out of the question. I’ll probably look in the library at some point.
A mini-series :) What a splendid idea!
