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Around the World in 80 Days (miniseries)

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This article is about the 1989 TV miniseries. For the Michael Palin travel series, see Around the World in 80 Days with Michael Palin. For the 2021 miniseries, see Around the World in 80 Days (2021 TV series).

Around the World in 80 Days
DVD sleeve artwork
Based onAround the World in 80 Days
by Jules Verne
Written byJohn Gay
Directed byBuzz Kulik
StarringPierce Brosnan
Eric Idle
Julia Nickson
Theme music composerBilly Goldenberg
Country of originUnited States
Italy
Yugoslavia
Germany
No. of episodes3
Production
Executive producerRenée Valente
ProducerPaul Baerwald
CinematographyNicholas D. Knowland
EditorsDavid Beatty
Les Green
Peter Parasheles
Running time266 minutes
Production companiesAvala Film
Harmony Gold
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseApril 16 (1989-04-16) –
April 18, 1989 (1989-04-18)

Around the World in 80 Days is a three-part television miniseries originally broadcast on NBC from April 16 to 18, 1989.[1] The production garnered three nominations for Emmy awards that year.[2] The teleplay by John Gay is based on the 1873 Jules Verne novel of the same title.[3]

Plot

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The plot centres around Phileas Fogg (Pierce Brosnan) making a £20,000 wager with three members of the Reform Club that he can circumnavigate the world in 80 days. He takes with him his newly employed French valet Passepartout (Eric Idle), and is pursued by Detective Wilbur Fix (Peter Ustinov) who mistakenly thinks Fogg robbed the Bank of England and is using the wager as a cover to escape capture.

Cast

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Development

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Starring Pierce Brosnan as Phileas Fogg, Eric Idle as Passepartout, Julia Nickson as Princess Aouda, and Peter Ustinov as Detective Fix, the miniseries featured multiple cameo appearances, including Patrick Macnee, Simon Ward, and Christopher Lee as members of the Reform Club, and Robert Morley, who had a cameo in the 1956 film adaptation, and Roddy McDowall appear as officials of the Bank of England.[4] Other familiar faces, credited as guest stars and in more substantial roles, include John Mills (who also appeared in the 1956 film version), Jack Klugman, Darren McGavin, John Hillerman and Henry Gibson.[3]

The heroes travel a slightly different route than in the book, and the script makes several contemporary celebrities part of the story who were not mentioned in the book, such as Sarah Bernhardt, Louis Pasteur, Jesse James, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Empress Dowager Cixi, and Queen Victoria.

The miniseries was filmed on location in England, Macau, Hong Kong, Thailand and Yugoslavia.

Viewership

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Television ratings for Around the World in 80 Days
No. Title Air date Timeslot (ET) Rating/share
(households) 		Viewers
(millions) 		Ref(s)
1 "Part 1" April 16, 1989 Sunday 9:00 p.m. 15.5/24 24.4 [5]
2 "Part 2" April 17, 1989 Monday 9:00 p.m. 13.2/21 19.4 [6]
3 "Part 3" April 18, 1989 Tuesday 9:00 p.m. 13.0/21 19.3 [6]

References

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  1. ^ "Around the World in 80 Days - what time is it on TV? Episode 3 Series 1 cast list and preview".[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS". Television Academy.
  3. ^ a b "Jules Verne's around the World in 80 Days (1989)". BFI. Archived from the original on 7 October 2018.
  4. ^ "Around the World in 80 Days (1989) - | Cast and Crew". AllMovie.
  5. ^ "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. 19 April 1989. p. 3D. ProQuest 306176608.
  6. ^ a b "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. 26 April 1989. p. 3D. ProQuest 306174966.
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