Review of Around the World in 80 Days

This TV adaptation is a pale shadow of the 1956 film, which starred David Niven as Phileas Fogg. They have changed the main supporting characters to tick the diversity boxes and Phileas Fogg, played by David Tennant, instead of being a fun loving eccentric, is a bore and a colourless character! Many of the scenes seem to revolve around social issues, feminism and civil rights, with a 'feminist' journalist constantly parading her assertiveness and Phileas Fogg's servant, now a black man, is cast as the social conscience of the film. I watched the first episode, which plodded along with David Tennant frequently whinging about his plight about being cast adrift on a island, but the second 'Wild West' episode was even worse. The American accents were cringeworthy and the actress playing the tough, hard bitten American lass had a grating southern drawl which was never convincing. It seemed that the script writers were trying to rewrite history and imbue the characters with 21st century social justice notions. Tennant came across as an annoying and naive character who talks in riddles and always seems confused. Indeed, his portrayal of Phileas Fogg is all wrong and hence makes it unwatchable. My advice is to see again the 1956 film, which is far more entertaining!