The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne is a Canadian science fiction television series that aired on CBC in Canada from June to December 2000, lasting for one season. The show is a fictionalized telling of the life of French author Jules Verne, placing him into the settings of the stories he wrote such as Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas and Around the World in Eighty Days. In the United States, the show aired on the Sci-Fi Channel, premiering in early 2001. The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne was the first television series to be filmed in high-definition video, which made the series expensive to produce.

Plot

The show features a fictionalized portrayal of French author Jules Verne (Chris Demetral), along with portrayals of the characters Jean Passepartout (Michel Courtemanche) and Phileas Fogg (Michael Praed), both originating from Verne's 1873 work Around the World in Eighty Days. A new character is also created for the show: Phileas Fogg's cousin Rebecca (Francesca Hunt). The show's premise is of a young Verne being placed into scenarios similar to those of his stories prior to his having written them. Many of the show's settings are portrayed via special effects and computer-generated imagery. Publicity for the show described its imagery as being steampunk.

Production

The pitch package for the show was developed by a USA based team that included a small VFX company called digital phenomena. As the team geared up, the Canadian government made the show producers an offer they couldn't refuse. Canada would subsidize a majority of the CGI production costs. As a result the show was filmed in Montreal, Quebec at an estimated cost of $30,000,000 CAD. According to the Montreal Gazette, it was the most expensive television series ever shot in the city. English screenwriter Gavin Scott, who created the series, worked with producer Michael Mullally and production company Talisman Films to create the show. Executive producer Pierre de Lespinois chose to film in Montreal due to the city's architecture. The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne was the first television series to be recorded entirely in high-definition video; specifically, it used the HDCAM, a digital camera manufactured by Sony.

Broadcast

The show first aired on CBC in Canada in 2000. It was then broadcast in the United States on the Sci-Fi Channel, premiering in early 2001.

Episodes

Critical reception

An uncredited review in the Times-Picayune rated the show 2.5 out of 4 stars, stating that "With its dark humor, odd machines of the Industrial Revolution, campy derring-do and attractive stars, The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne holds promise." Tom Shales of The Washington Post was less favorable, describing the show's premise as "silly" while also criticizing the directing, script, and characterization of Verne.

Soundtrack

The series' main theme and incidental music was composed by Nick Glennie-Smith. In April 2011, Perseverance Records released a 2-CD soundtrack of the series' music. The soundtrack included the main theme, closing theme, "bumpers" (played at commercial breaks), and suites from every episode of the series apart from "The Book of Knowledge", for which the composer and the recording studio were unable to locate the original tapes.