More comedic in tone than Verne's novel, the motives of Phileas Fogg differ from those of his literary forerunner. In this story, Fogg is passionately in love with Belinda Maze, whose uncle, Lord Maze, sternly disapproves of the commoner Fogg marrying his niece. Fogg proposes a wager: if he can travel around the world in eighty days, then Lord Maze will give him Belinda's hand in marriage; if Fogg fails, he will abandon her. The two men also make a side bet of £20,000. Fogg is accompanied by his valet, Jean Passepartout, and Passepartout's pet monkey, Toto. They employ all the methods of transportation available in the late 19th century—balloons, trains, elephants, and steamships—in the course of their journey. Fogg and Passepartout dispense geographical knowledge to the audience at each of their stops. Lord Maze hires a saboteur, Mr. Fix, to interfere with Fogg and Passepartout's journey. Unlike his counterpart in Verne's novel, Fix is not a Scotland Yard detective attempting to arrest Fogg on suspicion of bank robbery. Fogg manages to complete his journey by the end of the programme's single-season run, winning Belinda's hand with little time to spare.
Episode structure
Each episode has the same structure:
Fogg describes their destination to Passepartout.
Fogg asks Passepartout to pack the bag with a seemingly random collection of items.
Fogg teaches a proverb.
Fix describes aloud about his plan to stop Fogg.
Fogg and Passepartout follow their itinerary, while Fix tries to stop them.
During the journey, Fogg finds the time to explain the history and geography of the locations they visit.
Eventually, all the items Fogg and Passepartout took with them prove to be essential.
The proverb Fogg introduced at the beginning of the episode also proves to be essential for their success.
The episode ends with Fogg saying "Good show, Passepartout!"
Places and proverbs in each episode
Production history
The series was produced through Australian Air Programs International, one of whose staff producers, Walter J. Hucker, served as the showrunner. NBC transmitted the sixteen episodes in the United States on its Saturday morning schedule during the 1972–1973 season.
Music
composed the theme music, set to a variation on the tune of "Mademoiselle from Armentières." The lyrics were written, specifically for the show, by an uncredited writer.
