LO1A Cambridge TEC - Media Unit 10: Media Adaptations

1. Jarad
Tansley
Neverwhere
Text Original & Adaptation Success of the
Adaptation Legal & Ethical Issues
Neverwhere
(BBC Radio
Adaptation)
• The original version of Neverwhere is a
television show. The television show was
broadcasted by the BBC in 1996.
• The original idea for the TV show was created
by Neil Gaiman, who was notable for writing
episodes for Doctor Who (another BBC
production) along with actor and writer Lenny
Henry.
• Later during the show’s broadcast, Gaiman
adapted the television series into a novel
around the same time as the show’s premiere.
• The adaptation being looked at however will
be the more recent radio play. It was aired on
BBC Radio 4 from 16th March to 22nd March
• There are less episodes of the radio show
than the television show, however the show
lasts for roughly 20 minutes while the radio
broadcasts last for 30 minutes (Except for the
first episode which is an hour long)
• Neil Gaiman writes for the radio broadcast as
well as the television series.
• A notable cast member is Benedict
Cumberbatch, who plays the Angel Islington,
a role Peter Capaldi took on the television
show. Benedict Cumberbatch is notable for
being the protagonist for the highly successful
BBC adaptation of Sherlock.
• The series is being
made available
worldwide on BBC
iPlayer, the BBC’s
streaming service.
• Half a million listeners
were estimated to have
listened to the initial
broadcast.
• BBC Radio 4
rebroadcasted the radio
series in Christmas of
2013 and continued the
series for six days. The
rebroadcasting was
reported by several
news websites, such as
Radio Times and The
Verge.
• The radio broadacast
series can be bought on
Amazon. 1,273 user
reviews were averaged
to give the radio
broadcast a 4.4 out of 5
rating.
• Neverwhere may have
had some copyright
issues, however the BBC
owns the copyright to
Neverwhere’s TV show
and novel, reducing the
impact of copyright as a
legal issue.
• There could an ethical
issue about the portrayal
of homeless people.
Homeless people are
treated as fantasy
creatures in the series.
This may spark some
concern, however the
portrayal was done to
reflect on how homeless
people are treated like, or
seen to be treated like, in
the real world.