Neverwhere/Door

Door
Episode 1
Airdate	September 12, 1996
Written by	Neil Gaiman
Directed by	Dewi Humphreys
— N/A	Episode 2 → Knightsbridge
Neverwhere

Door is the first episode of Neverwhere. Richard Mayhew's ordinary life is disrupted suddenly when he comes into contact with a young homeless girl who needs his help.

Cast: Gary Bakewell (Richard Mayhew), Laura Fraser (Door), Hywel Bennett (Mr. Croup), Clive Russell (Mr. Vandemar), Paterson Joseph (Marquis de Carabas), Trevor Peacock (Old Bailey), Elizabeth Marmur (Jessica), Richard Leaf (Iliaster), Sean O'Callaghan (Lord Rat-speaker), George Jackos (Landlord), Geraldine McNulty (Sylvia), Damien Lyne (Gary)

Plot Overview

In the underground tunnels of London, a woman is running in terror from three men, two of which have odd fluorescent lights and, the third, a knife which he uses to impale and behead a rat. The girl evades the two following her for a while, but the fat man sneaks up to her while she's lying in a corridor. She awakes with a fright and defends herself by placing a hand on her attacker's chest and causing blood to spill out onto the ground. Drenched in the man's blood, she flees the scene.

Meanwhile, Richard Mayhew is in his dead-end securities job where he's reminded by his girlfriend Jessica that he should have confirmed their reservation for dinner that night. Of course, he forgot to do such a thing. He's also behind on a report that should have been finished 10 minutes ago and is being pestered by his friend and coworker, Gary, who insists that they should be on for a drink that night. Before long, time passes and it's already 7:00 in the evening. He's nearly late for his date with Jessica and her boss, but that's the least of his worries.

The girl from the tunnels has been cornered in a dead end by Mr. Vandemar and Mr. Croup, who spent so much time bantering between one another that they don't see her disappear. She reappears in the path of Richard and Jessica shortly after, hoping that someone would help her. Jessica is disgusted by the idea of being late for their appointment and continues to direct Richard on how he should talk and act around him, but Richard becomes preoccupied by the bleeding girl in the street. She begs him to take her somewhere safe, but not the hospital. When Richard obliges, Jessica calls off their engagement and storms off to her dinner engagement.

Richard and the bloody girl arrive at his flat, but she continues to ask that he not call a doctor. She falls asleep on his bed and, for reasons unknown to him, he listens to what she says. He falls asleep shortly after and falls prey to a strange nightmare where he's fighting some kind of creature. The girl is still there when he awakens from the dream, she cleans herself up some but still needs help with bandaging her wounds. The doorbell rings and Richard leaves the less dirty but still injured girl in the bathroom and discovers the girl's two pursuers in the hall. They claim to be looking for their little sister "Doreen." Although they search his house for the girl, she's nowhere in sight and they leave when Richard threatens to phone the police.

"Doreen" reappears after they leave and tells Richard to call her Door. She refuses to tell him what happened to him or where she just went, but she does have a plan for what to do next about her problem. She catches a pigeon and ties a message to its leg. She sends it off in search of the marquis de Carabas and the two are stuck waiting for a reply, which comes in the form of a rat. Richard hurls remote control at it and Door forces him to apologize before peeling off the slip of paper and sending Richard off in search of the marquis. About to give up at the end of his journey, Richard throws the paper toward a pile of rags and the marquis suddenly appears out of seemingly nowhere.

The two work out a deal where Door will owe Carabas a big favor if he takes her home and sets her up with a bodyguard. Before he and Richard return to the flat, they take the tunnels to a tall ladder which leads to the hovel owned by Old Bailey. Carabas calls in a favor dating back 20 years involving Bailey keeping a silver box safe. The two return to the sewers and come back up in Richard's apartment. The two leave in a hurry, apologizing for the trouble that Richard went through.

The next day Richard is having a great deal of problems catching a taxi. He eventually makes it to work, but two men are taking his desk out. His supervisor and friend are acting like he doesn't exist. Desperate, Richard seeks out his ex-fiancée but she only barely remembers his name. He returns to his home to find his flat being sold. The first person who recognizes who he is happens to be the two men from before, who call him on his cell phone. Mr. Crouch threatens Door's life and informs him that they're going to cut out his liver and feed it to him.

Terrified, Richard packs a bag and heads into the streets. He's approached by a homeless man looking for a handout and Richard begs for some help to find the floating market and Door. He takes Richard down into the underground where Richard's coat and bag are stolen. He calls the leader of this new group Lord Rat-speaker, who proceeds to put a knife to Richard's throat.

Arc Advancement

Characters

• Richard: Richard introduces himself in this episode. He describes himself as a normal man who's lived in London for several years. He fears heights, blood and rats but is happy about the fact that he no longer gets lost in the underground. His life is disrupted when he meets Door and is forced into London Below where the people he knows don't recognize him. This also results in the dissolution of his engagement to his girlfriend Jessica.

Trivia

The Show

• Vandemar's Rings: The knife-like rings that adorn Mr. Vandemar's hands are actually bird skulls with sharp ends on them. The fist on the cover of the DVD is actually a shot of Vandemar's fist, but they weren't allowed to have the rings in the picture. Designer Dave McKean was forced to go back and change the rings into fire once the decision was handed down. The hand with the knives does, however, appear at the end of the ending credits sequence.

Behind the Scenes

• Script: Neil Gaiman had originally hoped that the first episode would be slip into a hour long affair as opposed to the normal 30 minutes. But, the BBC refused and Gaiman was forced to condense the opening into a single episode. As a result, Gaiman isn't entirely happy with the output.
• Missing Kitchen: The reason why the kitchen is never shown in Richard's apartment is because that's where the film crew was set up, as well as Gaiman who was writing the Neverwhere novel at the time.
• Alleyway Shooting: The alley in which Richard meets Carabas is actually behind a power station which may or may not have been abandoned. Producers were originally unsure of shooting there due to IRA violence which occurred in the area.
• Office Set: If you look closely in the background of the office after Richard has become an "unperson," you can see an easel with "Violence, Danger, Risk, Excitement" written on it. This is because the entire office set was decorated by the same people who had just decorated Fierce Creatures, a film starring John Cleese. Cleese wrote those words on that pad in the film.

Allusions and References

• Lord Nelson: Lord Nelson is the statue that stands at the top of Nelson's Column which stands in Trafalgar Square. Horatio Nelson was a famous British Navy admiral who notably aided the British in victory against Napoleon.

Richard: It's just a London pigeon. The kind that craps on Lord Nelson.

Quotes

• Richard: Excuse me, I know that this is a personal question... but are you clinically insane?
  De Carabas: It's very unlikely. Why?
  Richard: Well. One of us must be.