I first heard of this series through my seminar tutor at university when she recommended I watch it as part of my written assignment about how London has been portrayed on screen due to some of its characters being literal representations of different parts of London (Angel Islington, Old Bailey) and I rented the DVD from LoveFilm. I ended up not including references to this series in my assignment in case I overran the word count but I watched it anyway. After having watched the series, it exceeded my expectations to a lesser degree but I found the story hard to follow in parts.
The production values are pretty advanced for 1996, especially the scenes in London Below. While there were mostly dark, eerie and gory moments, there was a touch of humour, particularly when Richard Mayhew introduced himself and said he collected Trolls (which he plays with when he returns to his workplace in London Above in the final episode). Some of the costumes were stunning, especially Old Bailey's feather clothing and the suit worn by the Marquis de Carabas. The best performances came from Richard, Door, Jessica, Hunter, the Marquis, Old Bailey and Angel Islington. The music by Brian Eno was suitably haunting. While the theme music sounds creepy, the closing credits music sounds more pleasant. Further to the production values the camera work is decent, the editing is mostly consistent but fast (particularly in Blackfriars) and repetitive (Richard's nightmare sequence accompanied by the sound of a heartbeat and yet more spooky music) in places while the lighting is atmospheric. The dialogue is dramatic if somewhat idiomatic but it is also witty in parts. In addition to finding the story hard to follow in parts, I also found it repetitive due to two or three episodes all ending with shots of the Angel Islington and I initially found Hunter's gender confusing. Other than that, I enjoyed spotting the interiors of Holborn and Blackfriars stations as well as London landmarks such as St Paul's Cathedral and Tower Bridge.
Overall this was a dark yet mostly enjoyable television mini-series that would also appeal to fans of the recent Doctor Who series. 8/10.
The production values are pretty advanced for 1996, especially the scenes in London Below. While there were mostly dark, eerie and gory moments, there was a touch of humour, particularly when Richard Mayhew introduced himself and said he collected Trolls (which he plays with when he returns to his workplace in London Above in the final episode). Some of the costumes were stunning, especially Old Bailey's feather clothing and the suit worn by the Marquis de Carabas. The best performances came from Richard, Door, Jessica, Hunter, the Marquis, Old Bailey and Angel Islington. The music by Brian Eno was suitably haunting. While the theme music sounds creepy, the closing credits music sounds more pleasant. Further to the production values the camera work is decent, the editing is mostly consistent but fast (particularly in Blackfriars) and repetitive (Richard's nightmare sequence accompanied by the sound of a heartbeat and yet more spooky music) in places while the lighting is atmospheric. The dialogue is dramatic if somewhat idiomatic but it is also witty in parts. In addition to finding the story hard to follow in parts, I also found it repetitive due to two or three episodes all ending with shots of the Angel Islington and I initially found Hunter's gender confusing. Other than that, I enjoyed spotting the interiors of Holborn and Blackfriars stations as well as London landmarks such as St Paul's Cathedral and Tower Bridge.
Overall this was a dark yet mostly enjoyable television mini-series that would also appeal to fans of the recent Doctor Who series. 8/10.