The Fogg lifts off on a new 80 Days
Boasting a Sherlock-eseque swagger, this slick and entertaining version of Verne’s classic lets David Tennant shine,
Considering its enduring popularity and constant inspiration for the modern day celebrity travel show, it’s surprising how few live-action adaptations there have been of Jules Verne’s beloved 1873 novel Around the World in 80 Days.
David Niven and Mexican comedian Cantinflas teamed up to Oscar-winning effect in 1956, Pierce Brosnan took time out from James Bond duties to play Phileas Fogg in a 1989 mini-series and Steve Coogan and Jackie Chan headed a star-studded critical and box-office disaster in 2004.
Almost two decades on and there are certainly higher hopes for this latest take.
Former Doctor Who and Broadchurch star David Tennant plays Fogg in this eight-part adaptation, while multi-European country backing is reflected by French actor Ibrahim Koma as Fogg’s valet Jean Passepartout and German Leonie Benesch (The Crown) as accompanying journalist Abigail ‘‘Fix’’ Fortescue.
Although some characters’ backgrounds might have changed (Fix was a male Scotland Yard detective in the book), the basic premise is the same and the story is still set in 1872.
Inspired by a newspaper article and sick of being taunted for his bumbling previous attempts at adventure, Fogg makes a £20,000 wager that he can circumnavigate the globe in just 1920 hours.
Fogg though, has a more pressing problem. His manservant Grayson (Richard Wilson) hasn’t left the house in 20 years and, with a reputation for being the ‘‘most timid, unprepared man in Christendom’’, Fogg definitely needs support.
Fortunately, Reform Club waiter Passepartout, with a desperate need to vacate London himself, recognises this and engineers a way to offer his services. Also joining them on the journey south, much to the would-be adventurer’s consternation, is Fortescue, so mad at her publisher father that he removed her byline from a story that she makes him agree to let her follow Fogg’s progress firsthand. (‘‘Would your readership really have a mass coronary if they discovered an article had been written by a woman?’’ she snarls.)
But despite safely making the daily ferry to Calais on time, it isn’t long into the Channel crossing before Fogg loses both his hat – and his lunch. To make matters worse, their arrival into Paris just happens to coincide with a demonstration and attempted assassination of the French president. As Passepartout’s attentions are diverted, Fogg struggles to keep his dream alive – and his belongings in his possession.
There’s a touch of the Steve Moffat-helmed Sherlock swagger (a comparison greatly assisted by Hans Zimmer’s magpieing of elements of David Arnold’s score from that series) about Ashley Pharoah (Life on Mars) and Caleb Ranson’s (Distant Shores) take on Verne’s classic adventure. Humour is as much a part of this story as the narrow escapes and assorted action set-pieces.
Much of the former comes from Tennant’s rather scatterbrained Fogg, a decidedly flawed hero whose ‘‘mind-palace’’ is clearly rather scrambled. He bumbles his way through each escapade, saved from disaster by nuns, hip flasks and other increasingly bizarre incidents. It might not be the confident, assured Tennant we’re used to, but he certainly sells Fogg’s grim determination not to be the butt of the joke – yet again.
While, on the downside, spreading the story across eight broadcast hours means there’s a rather episodic nature to events, it does mean more time is able to be spent on crafting the characters, especially the slightly nefarious Passepartout and strong-willed Fortescue. Later instalments also see them encounter real-life people of the time, a la The Young Indiana Jones Adventures.
With a second, all-new adventure already in the works, Tennant may well have found a new calling and the BBC (where this airs in the UK) that increasingly rare commodity, an ongoing period drama designed to entertain and enthral the whole family.
Around the World in 80 Days is now available to stream on TVNZ OnDemand. New episodes also screen on TVNZ 1 on Saturday nights from 8.30pm.