The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne

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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 the Sci-Fi cable channel.

The plot concept is predicated on a vast fictional conspiracy beginning 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.

A television technological historic footnote, this work was the first hour-long series filmed entirely in HDTV format.

Left to right: Michel Courtemanche as Passepartout, Michael Praed as Phileas Fogg, Francesca Hunt as Rebecca Fogg, and Chris Demetral as Jules Verne.

1 Characters
2 Premise
3 The Aurora
4 Episodes
5 Primary crew
6 External links

[edit] Characters

Phileas Fogg as played by Michael Praed
Rebecca Fogg as played by Francesca Hunt
Passepartout as played by Michel Courtemanche
Jules Verne as played by Chris Demetral

[edit] Premise

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 essentially described him as a more flawed version of James Bond. Rebecca Fogg is his second cousin; it is sometimes implied in the course of the series that Phileas and Rebecca are attracted to one another. Passepartout is Phileas' servant, whose tinkering with the Foggs' machines often comes in handy. Although Phileas treats Passepartout very poorly (at least by today's standards), the servant is a valued member of the crew.

The group's main 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 and metafictional possibilities of the premise. Mark Twain, the Holy Grail, and Cardinal Richelieu (played by Michael Praed) all made appearances. According to Chris Demetral in an informal chat session in 2001, ideas for the next season included an explanation for why Jules never wrote about Rebecca, the appearance of Aouda Fogg, and an episode featuring Captain Nemo. Sadly, no network would finance a second season, which is why the show did not continue.

[edit] 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 (which was rigged by the British government).