How wonderful to see Clive Russell in there! Makes me want to rewatch Neverwhere - although, to be fair, the *existence* of Neverwhere makes me want to rewatch Neverwhere!
Oh, he really is! I watch it every few years and its lost none of its magic.
I was in a discussion about Doctor Whos who never were a while back and he would've been SO great... except how could he have played it other than as de Carabas?
I saw him live a few months ago, doing his one-man show about Charles Ignatius Sancho, and came away thinking, welp, that certainly did NOT cure the crush I've had on him since Neverwhere.
I saw him live in 2022 and he literally went 'ah, the coat that would make shaft and blade ask where you got it' when I asked him a neverwhere question.
He’s so hot AF that I thought his actual name was Paterson Joseph HAF.
Also he and Olivia Coleman in Green Wing are my one true pairing.
I have said too much but I spoke my truth.
That one episode of Grantchester in season 4. His American accent is just... it's painfully cringe. The only time I don't enjoy him immensely is when he's doing it.
You are often right, but I do not think you have ever been more right than this.
Paterson Joseph as the Marquis de Carabis is... (fans self, repairs to the swooning couch).
I seem to recall an interview with him where he said he drew some inspiration from Jon Pertwee's Doctor. I can see that.
The problem is that it looks incredibly rough to watch now because it was made with a budget of 50p and it was filmed with a camera made out of a potato.
and it was such a shame because the sets and costumes were *amazing* (I got to go on set to interview Neil one of the few days they weren't filming on location because they decided taking journalists down a sewer was a bit *too* on the nose)
I rewatched it recently, and I find the current streaming version a big improvement over the DVD -- they seem to have applied the visual filter that was intended but left off the original release.
I feel Neverwhere lost out from being ahead of its time. The big Urban Fantasy boom was just around the corner (Buffy aired, I think, a couple of year later, and then there was a huge vampire fad in the next decade).
I think this is all absolutely right. I'm just glad it exists in the form it does. I have so much nostalgia for it and am secretly glad it hasn't yet been remade.
I think Neverwhere definitely deserves a reintroduction or better yet, a remake. Some of the best urban fantasy/mythology ever created. (But who could do justice to the Marquis de Carabas now? Maybe Ncuti Gatwa? Rege'-Jean Page?)
I mean, sure, if they could find a newcomer with the right flair to be de Carabas, that would be awesome. (I think de Carabas is the only character that would generate any significant comparisons with the original show, hence my harping on casting him.)
Looking forward to it, thought I f***ING loved @mitchbenn.bsky.social as Thor in the audio Sandman, so TV Sandman Thor will have a lot to live up to
Clive Russell Vs Bill Nigh, tough call
Freddie Fox will also have a hard fight Vs David Tennant in my head
