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 Okay,
I'll admit it: I thought this show (launched at the same time as
the execrable Black Scorpion)
was going to join its compatriot at the pound. I hadn't seen it
yet, you understand, it was just that the concept seemd so...well,
lame.
Here's the scoop. A young Jules Verne (Chris Demetral), struggling
in a Paris garret years before his literary success (Journey
to the Center of the Earth, Around the World in 80 Days, From the
Earth to The Moon, etc.), is abducted by English spy, Phileas
Fogg (Michael Praed) and his faithful retainer, Paspartout (Michel
Courtemanche). Fogg has come across some of Verne's drawings of
strange machines and thinks they are real. Suspicion leads to friendship
and soon the young Verne has joined the enigmatic Fogg on his fabulous
balloon and is traveling the globe foiling the nefarious plans of
various evil-doers. The trio is assisted in their efforts by Rebbecca
Fogg (Francesca Hunt), Phileas' cousin and an accomplished spy in
her own right.
Sounds dubious, doesn't it? Well, it turns out it's actually a lot
of fun. Set in the mid-nineteenth century, the show features a selection
of cleverly designed machines, all with a fabulous overly decorative
Victorian look.
As the young
Verne, Chris Demetral brings an earnest intelligence to the would-be
writer. For the purposes of the story, Verne is mysteriously technical,
a sort of nineteenth century MacGuyver. If Verne had been capable
of designing the kind of stuff we see in the show, I doubt he would
have ever taken up writing. But I quibble. This isn't history, any
more than The Prisoner of Zenda or Errol Flynn's Adventures
of Robin Hood are history. But like them, it is great escapist
fun.
Michael Praed,
absent from the small screen since his eighties stint on Dynasty,
is suitably Niven-like. His understated Britishness (Rebecca: Are
you scared? Phileas: Yes, I rather think I am.) belies an
emotional and complex man. Hopefully (if the writers are up to it)
we'll be seeing more of this.
The stories
themselves are fairly simple and more than a little familiar if
you've watched any sci-fi in the last 40 years or so. We're talking
parallel time continuums, vampires, evil societies, etc. etc. (ho
hum). But the period setting and the formality of dress and behavior
that it forces on the characters makes the whole thing work. This
is not, of course, to say that it wouldn't be vastly improved by
the hiring of some actual writing talent, but at a time when imagination
of any kind is sadly lacking on the tube, The Secret Adventures
of Jules Verne is proving to be a breath of fresh air.
Shot entirely
on digital high definition video, Jules Verne has a dreamlike
quality that perfectly fits its milieu. Effects are good, though
they occasionally veer towards the cardboard (the vampires, in particular,
are laughable -- they look like the apple men from Yellow Submarine).
Still, for
all its charm, there is something childlike about the show and one
has to wonder why the SciFi Channel chose to air it so late (after
9pm). Any series which references literature with the frequencey
of Jules Verne, needs to be seen by kids (it might actually
encourage them to read!), and as for content, there is no more violence
(less, actually) than in Harry Potter. At a time when children
are fed a regular diet of bad animation, The Secret Adventures
of Jules Verne offers an imaginative alternative that should
be welcomed by all parents.
No, it isn't in the same league as Farscape, but it does
represent another kind of fantasy storytelling that has been absent
for a long time. SciFi would be well advised to dump the Scorpion
chick and move Jules Verne to the earlier time slot. Think
they'll listen?
Stay tuned.
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