# Around the World in 80 Days (1989)

> A stiff-upper-lip gentleman bets he can circle the globe in eighty days while a detective dogs his every step.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/18985

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 3
- Episode runtime: 89 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: adventure, drama
- Created by: John Gay, Jules Verne, Buzz Kulik
- Network: NBC
- Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Eric Idle, Peter Ustinov, Jack Klugman, Julia Nickson, Ian McNeice, James B. Sikking, Lee Remick
- TMDB rating: 7.1/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096535/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: mild
- Tone: whimsical, adventurous, witty, breezy

## What critics say

Reviewers treat this 1989 miniseries as a lavish, watchable period travel romp that is lighter on depth than on spectacle and charm.

## Synopsis

Around the World in Eighty Days (1989) is a Yugoslavian, German, Italian and American co-produced miniseries created by John Gay, Jules Verne and Buzz Kulik for NBC. Pierce Brosnan plays Phileas Fogg, a rigidly punctual English gentleman who wagers twenty thousand pounds with members of the Reform Club that he can circle the globe in eighty days. Eric Idle plays his newly hired French valet Passepartout, who accompanies him on the journey, while Peter Ustinov plays Detective Wilbur Fix, who mistakenly believes Fogg has robbed the Bank of England and follows him from port to port as a suspected fugitive. The three-episode miniseries, each roughly ninety minutes long, is built around the wager and the chase, with every episode carrying the travellers through new cities, ships and trains across the nineteenth century world. The tone is mannered and affectionate, sustained by Brosnan's dignified restraint and Idle's comic warmth, with a sense of adventure that fans of the 1956 film Around the World in Eighty Days, The Adventures of Tintin and Verne's own novels will recognize. Its appeal is the gentle pleasure of a classic globe-trotting romp, with lush period locations and an easy comedic rhythm that suits family viewing.

## Shows like Around the World in 80 Days

- [Pole to Pole (1992)](https://ember.film/tv/811)
- [Moby Dick (1998)](https://ember.film/tv/28585)
- [Shackleton (2002)](https://ember.film/tv/12799)
- [Sherlock Holmes (1984)](https://ember.film/tv/757)
- [Around the World With Willy Fog (1983)](https://ember.film/tv/4889)
- [Marco Polo (1982)](https://ember.film/tv/6050)
- [Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days (1989)](https://ember.film/tv/808)
- [Jeeves and Wooster (1990)](https://ember.film/tv/997)
- [Noble House (1988)](https://ember.film/tv/12900)
- [Around the World in 80 Days (2021)](https://ember.film/tv/81219)

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