- Mysterious Island (TV series)
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Mysterious Island Genre Science fiction
AdventureFormat Drama Starring Alan Scarfe
John Bach
Colette Stevenson
Stephen Lovatt
Gordon Michael WoolvettCountry of origin 
CanadaNo. of seasons 1 No. of episodes 22 Production Running time 60 minutes Production company(s) Atlantis Films
Tasman Film & Television Ltd.Broadcast Original channel Family Original run June 15, 1995 – November 9, 1995 Mysterious Island is a Canadian television series based on Jules Verne's novel L'Île mystérieuse. It ran for one season in 1995.
The beginning of the series is much as in the novel. A group of refugees attempting to escape the American Civil War in a balloon wind up stranded on a remote Pacific island, where they are able to improvise a comfortable living for themselves while they wait for a passing ship. As time passes, they become suspicious that some unseen force is watching and directing their movements.
The main difference between the protagonists of the series and those of the novel is the addition of a female character, the wife of Pencroft.
The unseen watcher, Captain Nemo, is more active and less benevolent than in the novel. Able to monitor the island through steampunk-style closed-circuit television and other advanced devices, he treats the castaways as human laboratory specimens, influencing their environment to test their behaviour under stressful conditions. As the series progresses, his tests become more extreme as their continued co-operation threatens his preferred thesis that all humans are, at base, selfish and untrustworthy.
In the series finale, Nemo apparently succeeds in breaking up the group; this proves to be a ruse by the protagonists, who are now certain of Nemo's existence. After they penetrate his hideaway, Nemo admits that the 'experiment' is ruined, and offers to return the castaways to civilisation in his submarine. In a final twist, he puts out to sea without them, apparently leaving them alone on the island, without his influence for good or ill.
Contents
Cast
- Alan Scarfe .... Captain Cyrus Harding
- C. David Johnson .... Jack Pencroft
- Colette Stevenson .... Joanna Pencroft
- Stephen Lovatt .... Gideon Spilett
- Gordon Michael Woolvett .... Herbert Pencroft
- Andy Marshall .... Neb Brown
- John Bach .... Captain Nemo
DVD releases
On November 11, 2008, Echobridge Home Entertainment released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 (US only) for the very first time.[1]
On June 14, 2011, Alliance Home Entertainment will release Mysterious Island- The Complete series on DVD in Canada for the very first time.[2]
References
External links
Categories:- Canadian television program stubs
- Canadian drama television series
- Television programs based on novels
- Works inspired by Jules Verne
- 1995 Canadian television series debuts
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