This is a fascinating series, with a terrific set-up, well-drawn characters and excellent acting, but, as other reviewers have said, very variable storytelling.
Both the hero and heroine, Phileas Fogg and his cousin Rebecca, have tremendous sang froid, but for different reasons - Phileas is a haunted man, careless of his life, while Rebecca is a devil-may-care adrenalin junkie. These complex (especially Phileas) and very action-oriented characters are beautifully realised by Michael Praed and Francesca Hunt. At the same time as he is gambling with his fortune or his life, Phileas remains a perfect gentleman, punctilious in his behaviour and fastidious in his appearance. Everyone from Queen Victoria downwards regards him as a safe pair of hands, but things do sometimes go disastrously wrong, for which he finds it hard to forgive himself.
Phileas and Rebecca have an intense bond of affection and loyalty, but as this is a family, rather than a romantic, bond, it also leaves the character of Phileas free to be a romantic hero, ready to fall in love. Rebecca also has her share of flirtations, not least with the delightful Mark Twain, played by Jonathan Walker. And sometimes she is called upon to risk not only her honour, which she is well able to defend, but her feelings. Some critics have seen the central relationship between Phileas and Rebecca as one of unresolved sexual tension, and there are occasional hints that they are not so closely related that romance is out of the question. On the other hand, it appears that they were brought up together, so it's just not on. This adds another dimension to the air of tragic stoicism that makes Phileas so attractive.
The third character in the ensemble is the gauche young Jules Verne, ably acted by Chris Demetral. For me, the idea that he is somehow mystically seeing, rather than inventing, visions of the future detracts from him as a character. The inventiveness is incongruously conferred instead on the final member of the team, the valet Passepartout. Like Phileas, he is drawn from the original Verne novel, but, as with Phileas, that is only a point of departure for the tv character. Personally, I didn't find Michel Courtemanche's buffoonery funny, but others seem to think very highly of him, so I guess this is a matter of taste. Happily, as the series goes on, both characters develop: Jules is allowed to have some engineering skills, and Passepartout settles down to being a reliable and resourceful, though frequently terrified, member of the team.
In principle, Rebecca is still employed by the British Secret Service, but having means of travel - Phileas' powered airship, the Aurora - that aren't matched by means of communication, she is often detached from them and operating with the informal team on the Aurora. The Service does, however, provide her with some nice gadgets - my favourite is the skirt hoop that unwinds to become a ladder.
The travel element of the set-up gives the storytelling a lot of scope, and it's interesting to have a panoptical view of the 1860s, drawing our attention to the contemporaneity of, for instance, Queen Victoria and the French Empire (under Napoleon III), the American Civil War, Alexandre Dumas and Jules Verne. The time travel story line adds even more scope. With all this to play with, it's a pity that Gavin Scott's concept also included fantastical elements such as vampires, demonic possession, and the undead but mechanically preserved antagonist, Count Gregory. The need to have opponents worthy of the Foggs has dragged the story into comic-book territory.
Both the hero and heroine, Phileas Fogg and his cousin Rebecca, have tremendous sang froid, but for different reasons - Phileas is a haunted man, careless of his life, while Rebecca is a devil-may-care adrenalin junkie. These complex (especially Phileas) and very action-oriented characters are beautifully realised by Michael Praed and Francesca Hunt. At the same time as he is gambling with his fortune or his life, Phileas remains a perfect gentleman, punctilious in his behaviour and fastidious in his appearance. Everyone from Queen Victoria downwards regards him as a safe pair of hands, but things do sometimes go disastrously wrong, for which he finds it hard to forgive himself.
Phileas and Rebecca have an intense bond of affection and loyalty, but as this is a family, rather than a romantic, bond, it also leaves the character of Phileas free to be a romantic hero, ready to fall in love. Rebecca also has her share of flirtations, not least with the delightful Mark Twain, played by Jonathan Walker. And sometimes she is called upon to risk not only her honour, which she is well able to defend, but her feelings. Some critics have seen the central relationship between Phileas and Rebecca as one of unresolved sexual tension, and there are occasional hints that they are not so closely related that romance is out of the question. On the other hand, it appears that they were brought up together, so it's just not on. This adds another dimension to the air of tragic stoicism that makes Phileas so attractive.
The third character in the ensemble is the gauche young Jules Verne, ably acted by Chris Demetral. For me, the idea that he is somehow mystically seeing, rather than inventing, visions of the future detracts from him as a character. The inventiveness is incongruously conferred instead on the final member of the team, the valet Passepartout. Like Phileas, he is drawn from the original Verne novel, but, as with Phileas, that is only a point of departure for the tv character. Personally, I didn't find Michel Courtemanche's buffoonery funny, but others seem to think very highly of him, so I guess this is a matter of taste. Happily, as the series goes on, both characters develop: Jules is allowed to have some engineering skills, and Passepartout settles down to being a reliable and resourceful, though frequently terrified, member of the team.
In principle, Rebecca is still employed by the British Secret Service, but having means of travel - Phileas' powered airship, the Aurora - that aren't matched by means of communication, she is often detached from them and operating with the informal team on the Aurora. The Service does, however, provide her with some nice gadgets - my favourite is the skirt hoop that unwinds to become a ladder.
The travel element of the set-up gives the storytelling a lot of scope, and it's interesting to have a panoptical view of the 1860s, drawing our attention to the contemporaneity of, for instance, Queen Victoria and the French Empire (under Napoleon III), the American Civil War, Alexandre Dumas and Jules Verne. The time travel story line adds even more scope. With all this to play with, it's a pity that Gavin Scott's concept also included fantastical elements such as vampires, demonic possession, and the undead but mechanically preserved antagonist, Count Gregory. The need to have opponents worthy of the Foggs has dragged the story into comic-book territory.