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The Secret Adventures Of Jules Verne (2000)

 
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Pow
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 29, 2020 12:37 pm    Post subject: The Secret Adventures Of Jules Verne (2000) Reply with quote

This steampunk TV show ran originally from June 18 to December 16, 2000.

Premise } Jules Verne is a young struggling writer who is inspired to write about his real life adventures.

Jules joins up with British agents Phileas Fogg & his second cousin Rebecca Fogg to protect merry ole England as well as other countries from the nefarious schemes of evildoers.

Their transportation is the dirigible the Aurora that is piloted by Passepartout who is also an inventor &comic relief.

The primary enemy for the group is the League of Darkness directed by Count Gregory who is part man and part machine. He operated from his powerful and massive airship in his world conquering attempts.

This was a marvelous show and I was terribly disappointed that it only lasted for 22-episodes.

The cinematography was beautiful and it was one of the first TV shows I ever saw that was in HD.

The plots were fun, far-fetched steampunk action adventure that involved a huge mole machine,time travel, mysterious serial killer stalking people & wearing a hideous mask, a rocket ship,and so forth and so on.

The cast was wonderful as they joined together in their battles and would use a host of nifty gadgets to obtain their goals.

Count Gregory was awesome looking as his deformed face looked out from his large mechanical metal body.
He would frightened Darth Vader!

If you enjoyed "The Wild Wild West" then you would enjoy this fantastic series that deserved a much longer run.
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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 29, 2020 4:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Secret Adventures Of Jules Verne (2000)



In this series, we see the adventures of the young Father of Science Fiction and his friends, Phileas and Rebecca Fogg and their servant, Passepartout. In an alternative Victorian era, which has taken that era's technology to fantastic levels, this intrepid quartet battles villians wherever they find them.



Starving French playwright Jules Verne never had a play remain open for longer than three days. One day, one of the doodles he made of a vehicle that can tunnel through the ground ends up being built by a shadowy organization that seeks to keep Europe under the heels of absolute monarchy. He links up with British secret agent Phineas Fogg, his cousin Rebecca, and his valet Passepartout to combat this organization and keep Europe in peace and scientific enlightenment.



The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne is a 22-episode science fiction television series in the steampunk genre that first aired in June 2000 on CBC Television in Canada. The series first ran in the United States on cable on The Sci-Fi Channel (now Syfy), and lasted for one season.

The premise begins with the revelation that Jules Verne did not merely write the stories behind his famous science fiction classic books Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Journey to the Center of the Earth or Around the World in Eighty Days — but actually experienced these adventures personally.

This series is notably the first hour-long series filmed entirely in HDTV format.

Jules Verne is a struggling author who joins Phileas, Rebecca, and Passepartout after a chance encounter. Phileas leads the group. Dapper, daring, intelligent, brash, and arrogant, Praed described him as essentially a more flawed version of James Bond.

Rebecca Fogg is his second cousin; it is clear that Phileas and Rebecca are attracted to one another, but it remains platonic.

Passepartout is Phileas' valet, and an accomplished inventor/mechanician. Although Phileas treats Passepartout very poorly (at least by today's standards), the servant is a valued member of the crew.

The group's only recurring enemy is the League of Darkness, an international terrorist organization aiming to use steampunk technology to rule the world. Its leader: Count Gregory (Rick Overton), a steampunk cyborg who originally died 500 years ago.



Most episodes took advantage of both the Wold Newton family and metafictional possibilities of the premise. Mark Twain, the Holy Grail, and Cardinal Richelieu (played by Michael Praed) all made appearances.

Some parts of the show are truthfully historical, such as the mention of Nicolas Poussin or Verne's friendship with Alexandre Dumas. However, the show cannot be historically placed. For example, at least one episode ("Southern Comfort") takes place during the American Civil War (1861–1865).



During the Civil War, the historical Jules Verne was already married; the fictional character remains single throughout the first season. Also, the historical Verne would have been in his mid-thirties at the time of that conflict, whereas Chris Demetral, the actor who portrayed him on television, was in his mid-twenties.

The Aurora



The Aurora is at the heart of The Secret Adventure of Jules Verne. The world's first dirigible airship, property of Mr. Phileas Fogg of London, it combines unexampled luxury, total mobility and an extraordinary array of weapons and gadgets.



It is to this series what the Starship Enterprise is to Star Trek: both as a home base and also as the route to the world of adventure. The Aurora became Phileas' property after he won it in a poker game that was rigged by the British government.



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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 11:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

IMDB has an interesting trivia items for this production. Very Happy
________________________________

~ Inspired by an alternate draft of "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea," which featured Nemo as a Pole attacking Russian ships to avenge his dead family. (The book was changed to its more famous version of a stateless man attacking unflagged ships when Napoleon III signed a treaty with Russia.)

Note from me: Obviously these political elements were much more meaningful to readers when the book was first published.

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Pow
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 28, 2023 9:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Proposed episode ideas that were never realized.

"Nemo and Me." Jules, Fogg and Passepartout meet Captain Nemo and journey with him and his captivating daughter Laura on board his fantastic submarine the Nautilus. Nemo, a Polish nobleman, invented the Nautilus to wreak revenge upon Russian oppressors of his homeland. Laura is kidnapped by agents of Otto von Bismark and Nemo is forced to construct a fleet of submarines in order to create an even worse tyranny furthering the Prussian's dreams of domination of Europe. The gripping climax will take place on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean in a collapsing Nautilus.

"The Land Ironclad." Jules and company make the world's first trans-Atlantic balloon crossing and land in a besieged city during America's Civil War. Jules and a young telegrapher, Thomas Edison, construct a steam-driven tank and save the city. They are pursued by a Southern general implacably determined to obtain the tank for the Confederate cause.

"Nemo of the Mississippi" Jules and his friends manage to escape the Southern general and his troops in hot pursuit of them. They are swept down river on a raft with a runaway slave. Later on, they are rescued from a lynching party by a Mississippi gambling boat piloted by Mark Twain. Captured by the Confederate navy, they are rescued again, this time by Captain Nemo and his mighty Nautilus.

"The Time Machine---Part One" Verne, a well established author, meets a struggling young H.G. Wells and inspires him to create a time machine. The time machine transports Verne, Fogg, and Passpertout back to when Verne was a struggling writer and Alexander Dumas believed in him. They all go back in time again, to the 17th century where Dumas is inspired for his classic novel The Three Musketeers. While there, they are threatened by the formidable Cardinal Richelieu.

"The Time Machine---Part Two" Verne, Wells, Dumas, and the three Musketeers attempt to return to the 19th century but overshoot it. They find themselves in a French chateau occupied by Germans just before the D Day landing in World War II.

"Journey to the Bottom of the World." Fogg wagers that he will be the first man to reach the South Pole. A massive Antarctic storm erupts and Passpertout falls down a crevasse. The rescue of Passpertout reveals a series of bizarre tunnels under the ice that have been formed by some object generating immense heat. They meet Jean Jacques Robur---a brilliant French scientist. He has discovered uranium and is burning his way to the center of the Southern continent. He plans to melt the entire ice-cap and create a great new domain for France. Verne & Fogg attempt to persuade Robur of the catastrophic consequences of massive flooding as sea-levels rise and cause the earth to wobble on its axis which could make it disintegrate.

"Voyage to the Center of the Earth" Verne & Fogg examine newly discovered cave paintings by pre-historic man in Southern France. They show clues that our ancestors explored deeper beneath the surface then we believed. An expedition is mounted to discover what really happened to Neanderthal man.
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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 29, 2023 12:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Most episodes took advantage of both the Wold Newton family and metafictional possibilities of the premise. Mark Twain, the Holy Grail, and Cardinal Richelieu (played by Michael Praed) all made appearances.

Perhaps some of us SciFiers aren't quite familiar with the concept....

From Wiki....

"The Wold Newton family is a literary concept derived from a form of crossover fiction developed by the American science fiction writer Philip José Farmer.

In real life a meteorite, called the Wold Cottage meteorite, fell near Wold Newton, Yorkshire, England, on December 13, 1795.

Farmer suggested in two fictional biographies, Tarzan Alive: A Definitive Biography of Lord Greystoke (1972) and Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life (1973) that this meteorite caused genetic mutations in the occupants of two passing coaches due to ionization. Many of their descendants were thus endowed with extremely high intelligence and strength, as well as an exceptional capacity and drive to perform good or, as the case may be, evil deeds.

The progeny of these travellers are purported to have been the real-life originals of fictionalised characters, both heroic and villainous, over the last few hundred years.
Some Members are Tarzan, Sherlock Holmes.Phileas Fogg. and The Scarlet Pimpernel.

As well as Tarzan and Doc Savage, both Lord Peter Wimsey and Sherlock Holmes are descendants of the original families.

Other popular characters included by Farmer as members of the Wold Newton family are Solomon Kane; Captain Blood; The Scarlet Pimpernel; Sherlock Holmes's nemesis Professor Moriarty; Phileas Fogg; The Time Traveller (main character of The Time Machine by H. G. Wells); Allan Quatermain; A. J. Raffles; Professor Challenger; Richard Hannay; Bulldog Drummond; the evil Fu Manchu and his adversary, Sir Denis Nayland Smith; G-8; The Shadow; Sam Spade; Doc Savage's cousin Patricia Savage and one of his five assistants, Monk Mayfair; The Spider; Nero Wolfe; Mr. Moto; The Avenger; Philip Marlowe; James Bond; Lew Archer; Travis McGee; Monsieur Lecoq; and Arsène Lupin."

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tmlindsey
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 30, 2023 9:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

[quote="Gord Green"]
Quote:
"The Wold Newton family is a literary concept derived from a form of crossover fiction developed by the American science fiction writer Philip José Farmer.

In real life a meteorite, called the Wold Cottage meteorite, fell near Wold Newton, Yorkshire, England, on December 13, 1795. <snip>...this meteorite caused genetic mutations in the occupants of two passing coaches due to ionization. Many of their descendants were thus endowed with extremely high intelligence and strength, as well as an exceptional capacity and drive to perform good or, as the case may be, evil deeds.


I'm sorry, but that concept sounds stupid. The idea that every exceptional character must have been influenced by a magic meteor just seems insulting to human achievement, endeavor and/or potential.
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 30, 2023 12:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

______________________________________________

My heartfelt thanks to both Pow and Gord Green for the exceptional posts above! Very Happy

Forgive me, Tim, but I respectfully disagree with your opinion of the Wold Newton concept.

After all, evolutionist claim that all life on Earth (including you and me and the rest of mankind) owes it's progressive development to random mutations — some of which were caused by alterations in the chromosomes due to radiation.

The Wold Newton concept suggests that a specific meteorite emitted a type of radiation which had an unusually strong effect on the humans who were exposed to it. It accelerated the evolution of a specific group of people — and the descendants of this group inherited some of the characteristics caused by this.

The fact that the progenitors of the effected group inherited several different types of special abilities is consistent with evolution.

And the idea that some of these individuals made moral choices as to how they used their abilities is consistent with human nature. Very Happy

With that in mind, I disagree with your statement below.

"The idea that every exceptional character must have been influenced by a magic meteor just seems insulting to human achievement, endeavor and/or potential."

Consider this: according to the theory of evolution, all of mankind's achievements are the result of random mutations which gave us the abilities we have.

But we all know that mutations are, for the most part, not beneficial. So, I like the concept that one specific type of radiation had a unique (and largely positive effect) on the people who were exposed to it.

But hey, that's just the opinion of one individual who's grateful for the mutations that made him love to write, draw, paint, come up interesting ideas, and . . . create a message board that allows other intelligent people to share their own opinions. Cool



Maybe it has something to do with that strange meteorite I sat on while visiting my mother in Utah. Prior to that, I spent sixteen years being a humble baggage handler for Eastern Air Lines! Shocked

Coincidence? Perhaps . .




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tmlindsey
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 30, 2023 1:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud Brewster wrote:
Forgive me, Tim, but I respectfully disagree with your opinion of the Wold Newton concept.

That's fine to disagree. I still think it sounds like a stupid idea that just contrives to connect all extraordinary fictional characters for whatever reason. I don't see why such a concept is necessary to have interaction between said characters.
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orzel-w
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 30, 2023 3:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud, your views of evolution sound heavily influenced by a certain religious spin; in other words, not the scientific view.

Genetic variation is not necessarily the result of mutations. Variation will occur naturally as DNA combine and recombine, and certain traits rise to the surface. If this variation affords survival advantage within the conditions of a given environment, the descendants will benefit from a reproductive standpoint and the advantageous traits become common within the population over successive generations.

Mutation of an individual, resulting in some extraordinary power, is a science-fiction contrivance and is not related to evolution.

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PostPosted: Thu Nov 30, 2023 4:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

orzel-w wrote:
Bud, your views of evolution sound heavily influenced by a certain religious spin; in other words, not the scientific view.

I understand your interpretation of my comments concerning mutation, and I realize that mutations aren't always caused by radiation.

However, for the record, I don't believe in the Biblical claims that a benevolent God created mankind.

And yet I also don't think that the universe and all the life on it can be explained by the randoms actions of the natural world. There's too much evidence of "design" in the universe to believe that it was all the result of lucky mutationsl

If the universe is not the result of "intelligent design", then it all happened by accident. Evolutionists hate it when I make that statement — but you can't have it both ways!

If the universe was not the result of "intelligent design" . . . then we just got lucky with a zillion happy accidents. The two ideas are mutually exclusive.

With that in mind, I strongly suspect that one or more "intelligent beings" are responsible for the creation of the universe. The evidence of their existence are all around us.

However, in view of the savage nature of the world in which we live, it seems likely that this-being-or-beings don't give a rat's ass what happens to the creatures he/they have created. Sad

Folks, I'm a "hopeful agnostic" — I hope there's a good and kind God . . . but I don't see much evidence of it.

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