David Tennant returns to go Around The World In 80 Days on TV
Plus: A new Resident Alien special, TV premieres, and Discovery provides a gruesome premise to start off the new year
TV Lists Around the World in 80 Days
Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Sunday, January 2. All times are Eastern.
Top pick
Around The World In 80 Days (PBS, 8 p.m.): David Tennant stars as explorer Phileas Fogg in a new eight-part adaptation of the classic Jules Verne novel. There are some big changes to this rendition, particularly with Abigail Fix joining the crew, which is a callback to the fact that journalist Nellie Bly actually attempted the titular feat. This is also the only adaptation that keeps the character of Aouda and has her played by an Indian actress (Shivaani Ghai). This 80 Days also appears to keep Fogg’s traits of being incredibly bad at traveling and unable to fend for himself—part of the book’s original humor came from his gentlemanlike demeanor and naiveté. (Though that can probably be true for any Jules Verne book.) The humor doesn’t really come across from the trailer, but the trailer is mainly about David Tennant and little else. The show was a miniseries, but a second season has already been greenlit. Ibrahim Koma and Leonie Benesch also star.
Regular coverage
Yellowstone (Paramount, 8 p.m., season finale)
Dexter: New Blood (Showtime, 9:00 p.m.)
Yellowjackets (Showtime, 10 p.m.)
Wild cards
Resident Alien: Season Two Behind The Scenes (Syfy, 4 p.m.): Before the second season of Alan Tudyk’s Resident Alien premieres on January 26, take a behind-the-scenes look at how the season came into shape in this special preview.
Premieres (Fox, ABC, NBC, CBS): Get set for network TV’s return with new premieres of The Equalizer, NCIS: Los Angeles, The Simpsons, The Rookie, S.W.A.T.
This Came Out of Me (Discovery Channel, 9:01 p.m.): For anyone who’s enjoyed the gruesome, gross, and sometimes funny stories from ER doctors, here’s a show for you. Fashion model turned ER physician Dr. Ruby Rose will treat us to everyday situations in which things end up in places they just shouldn’t be. From a monster bug getting stuck in a patient’s ear to a piece of concrete getting trapped in a patient’s leg, what goes in must come out.
16 Comments
TUSAYPCWI watched Hilda & The Mountain King to finally get closure for that year long cliffhanger!Speaking of Netflix cartoons: If MOTU cartoons are glorified toy commercials, why can’t I buy a God-Lyn action figure? It’s been over a month since MOTU Revelation part 2 debuted, yet Mattel has yet to announce a deluxe God-Lyn. This better not turn out to be like how I still can’t get a Beebo doll from Legends Of Tomorrow!
https://mattthecatania.wordpress.com/2021/12/29/snubbing-motus-god-lyn-is-a-sin/
I did a doubleheader of Wrong & Kitty Mamas. Kitty Mamas is the most wholesome Canadian film about human women getting IVF for transgenic kittens featuring Kim’s Convenience cast. Instead of being another worst case scenario that warns against the hubris of trying to change the status quo for anyone’s benefit, this may be the most optimistic sci-fi story ever. The kittens weren’t realistically goopy & blind though. Wrong is even more perfect despite not being about a lost cat.
Took me a minute to figure out that “Fashion model turned ER physician Dr. Ruby Rose” never played Batwoman.
Tell us about your New Year’s pop culture weekend I watched way less TV than I expected. I haven’t watched a moment of any of the bowl games live, which was probably okay, based on how things turned out.I did watch a bunch of Bluey and Paw Patrol, and I’m expecting our next week of covid quarantine will be the same. I read about a third of Cyador’s Heirs, by L.E. Modesitt, which is a change of pace from my more common Wheel of Time reread. It’s much harder for me to grok the magic system visually. I watched the first two episodes of the new season of Queer Eye and the time jumps are messing with my head. It’s somehow not as comforting as I had hoped, because of the various gatherings I’m seeing.
I binge-watched two seasons of Flack (Anna Paquin) and season 2 of The Witcher.
Wait, your recommending something that isn’t a streaming show?
Everything streams. If it doesn’t, fewer people will see it.I’m sure the Tennant doing Jules Verne will also stream on PBS.org.
There’s also a PBS app available for some smart TVs and other devices. Some programs require a subscription but Masterpiece does not.
I saw it was available on pbs.org last night, so I pulled it up and watched it with my son on the TV’s Roku app. He’s also a Tennant fan. Highly recommend.I may be mistaken, but I believe the go-to for PBS makes things available for free for a month, then they require a $6 per-month donation for their Passport login.
“The show was a miniseries, but a second season has already been greenlit.”If this turns out to be Halfway Around the World in 40 Days, I’m going to be pissed.
It better not be spread over four seasons, each one ending with a cliffhanger, considering Verne’s novel can be read in one long sitting.
80 episodes (20 each season)? I quite liked Tennant as Fogg.
Tennant is great and I’m liking the companions so far, but the first episode was darker and more violent than I expected. Not that I’m against that, but I was ready for a light-hearted romp through pretty scenery. I’ll adjust my expectations accordingly for next week.
Exactly how I read it for a book report in high school. After Joel and the ‘Bots were over on the last Saturday of the month I’d read whatever book was assigned and punch out my paper all in the same day.
The second series is going to, probably, be 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. That is how the show ends according to the BBC iplayer, which all episodes are available on so fire up the VPN to see it, as it has the book ending and then Fogg et al talking about a mysterious giant narwhal attacking shipping.
So will it have a whole new cast like the book?
I think it is keeping the same cast, but who knows?