S01.E08: Episode 8

[AnimeMania]

Fogg meets on old friend at New York’s Grand Central Depot and must decide whether to continue his trip. Astronomical effects will decide the outcome.
Airing 2/20/2022 @ 8:00 PM    US: PBS

[Zonk]

This was a really good show. Fun. The outcome with Estella seemed a lot more realistic than I had thought it would. The actress also was a great choice. Love Dolly Wells.

The Trio has great chemistry and now I hope they actually do make the followup series of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas. Maybe we can even see Dolly Wells again? Since it's a british show, they probably won't make it, but one can hope.

Edited January 5, 2022 by Zonk

[HoodlumSheep]

Asdfghjkl

I was wondering why last week's "next time on atwi80d..." Preview for the finale stated "season finale" instead of "series finale”!!!!!

Are we actually gonna get a season 2 with this trio covering 20,000 Leagues?!?!?!?!

Please say yes please say yes!!!

good finale!

Loved everything Fogg x estella. They finally got closure. And who knows, maybe they'll run into each other again some day.

Glad Bellamy got boo'd all the way out the door. Surprised the telegram didn't get brought up in the Convo tho. It would have been better if that bar tab equalled to about 20000 pounds or if the police were there to meet him at the door, etc. He got off easy, but it proved that Fogg was the better man.

I know passepartout has always had doubts, but I thought he was just a lil too much of a Debbie downer when they were waiting for Fogg to leave on the boat.

There was no way in heck he would have been allowed in that fancy dining room tho, but at least it didn't go totally unaddressed I suppose.

*I'm so glad the trio stuck together at the end. Love them together.

**Overall thoughts on the series:

I think they struck gold with this trio. They have crazy good chemistry together, which I've stated before.

Imo this series was a really solid, character-driven story.

Started decently strong, ended strong. 

Favorite/strongest episodes: 

Italy, Hong Kong, the Island (minus the hypothermia bit) and the finale.

Least fav/weakest ep:

India for me. While super hammy David Tennant was entertaining...it was a lil too much at times, especially that big speech about love.

Edited February 21, 2022 by HoodlumSheep

[edhopper]

Outside of the way too opulent steamer, enjoyed this episode. Belemy needs to be in jail. 

If they do 20,000 Leagues, they would really be going off of Verne.

[magdalene]

https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/around-the-world-in-80-days-season-2-release-date/

This what I could find about season 2.....

[DoctorAtomic]

I'm surprised they got on the boat so fast, and then Fogg just takes off. Nice picture of the Brooklyn Bridge being built. Passepartout was unusually sour with Fix. Everyone was all going good in the West. Good of him to apologize. I loved their dance. The actor playing Fix looked like she was having a blast. 

Estella kind of holds a bit of a grudge to send the postcard. Although I did like that she shut that door, 'you and me are done.' Then she gives this rousing speech to send him on his way. Not a fan of Bellamy either!

I guess time stands still in New York! That's a loooooong 20 minutes. I kind of wish Kneedling had been more of an antagonist to the trip. He only popped up three times. 

Tennant did a lot when he didn't have any dialogue. 

I think the Hong Kong warrant was a bit much. I would have actually liked him to have made it on the train after running through. I loved the title card resetting to 80. Use your Doctor running shoes Fogg!

I probably would have bankrupted Bellamy and filed charges about almost being murdered, but I'm not an English gentleman. Bellamy having to take the money and be kicked out of the club seems worse. I guess possible jail was piling on. I'd probably hang on to it for insurance in case Bellamy was thinking of striking back. I did like that Fortescue was genuinely happy for Fogg. 

[magdalene]

You could really see that Fogg is a true gentleman when he shook hands with the clerk at the train station despite believing it all over. That's class.

Bellamy should rot in jail.

Edited February 21, 2022 by magdalene

[JPPT1974]

Really wished that Passepartout would have hit those snooty racist first class people there before he danced with Abagail there. But he did it his way and took the high road.

Bellamy deserves to rot in jail for all we care. And really the guy nearly ruined Fogg.

Well at least Phileas got some closure over in the long lost love Estella there. As really he messed up on that but at least she has a family and let Phileas depart in peace.

I thought he would punch the cop out for messing up his journey there but the cop ended decent and apologetic there in the end and redeemed himself.

But in the second season, want to bet that Passepartout and Fix get married!?

Not as good as the 1989 miniseries IMHO but really give it 8/10! Better than the 1956 original movie.

[JudyObscure]

I liked the whole thing much better than I thought it would. I thought it would be all adventure with very little character development.  I should have known David Tennant would bring plenty of development to any part he  played. 

Fix was delightful.  I love an actress who can play a feminist with courage and strength without  feeling the need to walk and talk like a man.  She had a sweet softness to her that I really liked.

Passepartout was a little bit of a disappointment to me. He too often looked like a little boy pouting  and I could barely understand his lines. I wonder if someone like Gary Carr (Rose's jazz singer in Downton Abbey) would have been better.

This last episode was everything I wanted, closure with Estelle, Fogg fighting off the gangs of New York, and  Bellamy suffering a fate worse than prison.  Passepartout and Fix relaxing in the club  they ordinarily wouldn't be allowed in.  All three off on another adventure!

[Cress]

9 hours ago, JPPT1974 said:

I thought he would punch the cop out for messing up his journey there but the cop ended decent and apologetic there in the end and redeemed himself.

In the book, it was Inspector Fix who got him arrested, and so when Fogg was released (after the real bank thief was caught), he punched Fix. In that case, the betrayal was more personal, since Fix had pretended to be a friendly fellow traveler on the trip.

I did like Fogg fighting off that gang, yelling stuff about an "English boarding school." But I wonder why Estella waited seemingly hours to show up at the train station when she knew he had a deadline, and then she didn't offer to talk to him while traveling to the ship, to help him get back on time. They mentioned the Coward postcard, but I think there's still a plot hole, since there still no explanation for the lack of a postmark.

Glad that Passepartout and Fix worked things out. Before the next adventure, they can spend Christmas with Fogg, and maybe Fix can introduce Passepartout to her father, as she wished.

[DoctorAtomic]

1 hour ago, Cress said:

They mentioned the Coward postcard, but I think there's still a plot hole, since there still no explanation for the lack of a postmark.

I would guess that she could have sent the postcard in an envelope to a relative, who then delivered it directly to Fogg's house. She wanted Fogg to know it was her though, so it doesn't explain that. 

3 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

Passepartout and Fix relaxing in the club  they ordinarily wouldn't be allowed in.

And Fogg made a big flourish in lighting his cigar!

[mmccpp]

Loved that just at the end, as they are contemplating a new adventure, Phileas calls them Abigail and Jean.  It had been Miss Fix and Passapartout up until then.

[JustHereForFood]

Great finale. I am glad that they didn't go all romantic with Estella, just Fogg getting the closure he needed and some more encouragement. I must have missed the explanation for that postcard, because I was left wondering why they didn't address it at all and here I see that they apparently did 😄.

I wish Fogg had mentioned Bellamy's attempts to get them killed in front of everyone in case he tries something as a revenge. I wonder if he has more cutthoats at his disposal. 

I also liked the reset of the day count from 81 to 80. One more Doctor Who reference.

Overall, I really liked this series, it was a nice mix of adventure and character development, with some great soundtrack and episodic characters. DT can still pull of that puppy eyes look, even with that dreadful moustache. (If we get another season, can he please shave it off, though? Pretty please.) I also liked the actors playing Fix and Passpartout. I was expecting they would end up together, but they are probably saving it for the next season.

[DoctorAtomic]

3 minutes ago, JustHereForFood said:

I wish Fogg had mentioned Bellamy's attempts to get them killed in front of everyone in case he tries something as a revenge. I wonder if he has more cutthoats at his disposal. 

Bellamy taking the check seem to generate the most shock. Bellamy also doesn't know that Fogg has the telegram. He could always whip that out if needed. I think ending the season having his status as a gentleman revoked will close this character out. I don't really see the need to any of the characters to carry over to a Season 2 other than Fortescue. I actually was hoping for more on their new relationship given his past and now Fix being a legitimate journalist and writer for the paper. By all accounts, her column was widely popular. 

[Cress]

1 hour ago, JustHereForFood said:

I must have missed the explanation for that postcard, because I was left wondering why they didn't address it at all and here I see that they apparently did 😄.

Well it was kind of indirect. Estella said her husband died four months ago, and it made her think of Phileas, so she sent him a postcard from New York. We're supposed to figure out that 4 months ago means she sent it before his 80 day trip, and probably the card just took a few weeks to arrive in London on the exact same day as he made his bet. I would have thought he would then ask, "but how did you send it without a postmark?" Apparently the show just forgot that detail.

Also I found this article/interview with the show creator, talking about the finale and what he plans for season 2. He actually kind of dismisses doing "20,000 Leagues under the Sea" because of Disney making a version.

Quote

I think we probably won't be doing that because Disney is doing a massive-budget version of that.

 

Edited February 21, 2022 by Cress

[JustHereForFood]

8 minutes ago, Cress said:

Well it was kind of indirect. Estella said her husband died four months ago, and it made her think of Phileas, so she sent him a postcard from New York. We're supposed to figure out that 4 months ago means she sent it before his 80 day trip, and probably the card just took a few weeks to arrive in London on the exact same day as he made his bet. I would have thought he would then ask, "but how did you send it without a postmark?" Apparently the show just forgot that detail.

Oh, thanks. I remember the part about her husband dying, just not that she sent a postcard. Kind of weird, after years of happy marriage, that her first act was to think of her ex.

[gingerella]

Such an enjoyable series, I'm so happy we get a second season as well!

[Jane Tuesday]

Well, that was eight weeks of fun.  Next Sunday is going to be a dreadful let-down.  :D

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

Maybe we'll finally start getting a new season of Endeavour ???

[magdalene]

19 hours ago, One4Sorrow2TooBad said:

Maybe we'll finally start getting a new season of Endeavour ???

I think that airs usually in late summer....

Since it's almost March it may be time for another pledge drive. I think later in March is season 2 of Sanditon.

[chitowngirl]

28 minutes ago, magdalene said:

I think that airs usually in late summer....

Since it's almost March it may be time for another pledge drive. I think later in March is season 2 of Sanditon.

Call the Midwife is also airing soon

[Zonk]

On 2/21/2022 at 9:35 PM, Cress said:

Also I found this article/interview with the show creator, talking about the finale and what he plans for season 2. He actually kind of dismisses doing "20,000 Leagues under the Sea" because of Disney making a version.

I hope they still do it. There is no way Disneys version will have as much charme as this show has. The Disney one is probably going to be a soulless action spectacle.

[DoctorAtomic]

tbh, I would like Journey to the Center of the Earth better, but that cancels out Fix being able to still write the column. Is there some type of African safari adventure? The English were all going to Africa back then. Maybe they can uncover a dastardly poaching ring!

[Tom Holmberg]

14 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

 Is there some type of African safari adventure?

"Five Weeks in a Balloon" by Jules Verne

[Megras]

H Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines & She, perhaps, or Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan. Might need a bit of updating for the times though, and I'm not sure how you'd shoehorn Fogg & co in.

[tkc]

20 hours ago, Zonk said:

I hope they still do it. There is no way Disneys version will have as much charme as this show has. The Disney one is probably going to be a soulless action spectacle.

In that case, maybe Season 2 will have to be a Jungle Cruise story…

…or a reboot of Pirates of the Caribbean. 😁

[DoctorAtomic]

I'm still voting for Africa something and if has a balloon even better. 

[CheshireCat]

Guys, just a friendly reminder that this is the episode topic. Please take all speculation about the second season to the spoiler and speculation thread.

[Dowel Jones]

Just one thing about the confusion around the date.  They would have passed the International Date Line between Japan and America.  Since thre were at least a few days aboard ship, and then the long stage and train trip across the US and again across the Atlantic, you would think that, at some point, they would notice the difference in dates

[DoctorAtomic]

I thought of the international date line. Since they were rescued from the shipwreck, I'm not surprised in all the drama that Fogg might have forgotten. 

I'm surprised when in San Francisco, Fogg or Fix didn't get a paper before they got on the stagecoach. I can buy that they didn't get a paper in Battle Mountain and then they had to run for the train, so there probably wasn't a chance in New York. They were all busy until the boat shoved off, but again, you'd think on the boat, Fogg would get a paper. Or even someone from the press telling them what day it was. 

They did point out in the stagecoach that the gang was reported dead, and they didn't know about it. Surely, it might have made a major paper in San Francisco if Fix's column was all the way out in Hong Kong. 

It was still fun to have the doddering butler who can't carry a cup of tea, bust out all the math in the mad dash to the club with Fogg finally taking one to Bellamy. 

[Tom Holmberg]

18 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

Just one thing about the confusion around the date.  They would have passed the International Date Line between Japan and America.  Since thre were at least a few days aboard ship, and then the long stage and train trip across the US and again across the Atlantic, you would think that, at some point, they would notice the difference in dates

The time change is a well-known feature of the book, so I would have been surprised if they dropped that.

[chitowngirl]

The day difference is weird because it’s not like a ship from New York leaves every day. Other schedules might leave daily, unless it was a situation where they get to New York, get to the ticket office and finds out a ship is leaving that day.

[Tom Holmberg]

When traveling around the world to the east each day is only about 23.7 hours long (because you are traveling in the opposite direction to the sun). You wouldn't necessarily notice this. 

"In journeying eastward he [Fogg] had gone towards the sun, and the days therefore diminished for him as many times four minutes as he crossed degrees in this direction. There are three hundred and sixty degrees on the circumference of the earth; and these three hundred and sixty degrees, multiplied by four minutes, gives precisely twenty-four hours — that is, the day unconsciously gained. In other words, while Phileas Fogg, going eastward, saw the sun pass the meridian eighty times, his friends in London only saw it pass the meridian seventy-nine times." -Jules Verne

Edited February 25, 2022 by Tom Holmberg

[DoctorAtomic]

Well, the butler delivered that monologue wonderfully. 

Fogg wasn't booking anything in advance. He talked a lot like - when we get to Hong Kong, then we have X hours to get the boat to Yokohama. They new the train to London was leaving at 11.30 when they got back to England. So the date not registering is believable to me. 

 

Edited February 25, 2022 by DoctorAtomic

[HoodlumSheep]

First Sunday without this show and I'm already missing it dearly.

I've been thinking...if there was one thing I would have liked to have seen this episode it would have been a short scene near the end or aftercredits showing Fogg writing a postcard to the Italian boy from episode 2. 

I hope he sent him a postcard like the the boy asked him too :(

Edited February 27, 2022 by HoodlumSheep

[mammaM]

Finally saw this episode. I ended up loving this show, what they changed, what they kept, it all worked out wonderfully.

And a second season would be even more wonderful. I'm hoping for 20,000 leagues but if not, maybe Africa.

And that final scene, Fogg with his arms around the other two, walking off into a new adventure, all I could think was "run, Doctor!"    😂😂😂😂😂