Around The Clock

Introduction

This is a short series of stories based on stories shared with me by Vocal friends. The third one is from Oneg Kushir and is called When Worlds Collide and this is another for the Vocal Fantasy Prologue Challenge. There are a lot of time references in this story and that made me think of the wonderful opening sequence to the BBC’s “Around The World In Eighty Days” series which obviously refers to time as it is based on a wonderful animated clock sequence.

That Opening Sequence

To the music of Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg, we have an apparition of an analogue clock with lots of series based images built in such as the sea, boats, trains as well as Passepartout, Phileas Fogg and Abigail “Fix” Fortescue as they attempt to traverse the globe to win a wager that Fogg took out.

I’ve included the opening sequence and link to the BBC iPlayer series here for those that can watch and if you cannot see it please search using Google or IPlayer or Vimeo to see what you can see, and you will be impressed when you find it.

Starting at eight o’clock with David Tennant's name highlighted on the clock you can see all of the story in the tiny detail and it takes a minute to play through. Jules Berne’s “Around The World In Eighty Days” in sixty seconds so to speak.

The minute hand moves from twelve and we see the cogs moving, clouds blowing across the face of the clock, and then the steamer making its way through the waves around the clock. The words “Around The World” come into view under the clock spindle.

Then there is a train circumnavigating the clock, steam coming from its funnel as it traverses the aqueduct around the clock on Fogg’s attempt to traverse the globe.

Next, we see them in their balloon as they escape from Paris. These are absolutely minuscule beautifully fashioned vignettes from the actual story, and you are always trying to spot what each one refers to in the book and film.

Then we see them running through railway arches or another viaduct as they are pursued by those who are trying to stop them. This does get quite exciting.

We then see our intrepid trio on camels crossing the desert in the baking heat without water, but having read the book you know the jeopardy is lost in this particular tale. And then it is quarter to five,

Now we see a Chinese Junk and a water dragon (and a dragon starts off the story that inspired this one) in the waves on this amazing time-based circumnavigation, before landing on a beautiful tropical island..

In India, there is thievery and unfounded disgrace but Fogg and company leave to cross the Ocean to Hong Kong pursued by an assassin in the pay of Barrington, who Fogg had his bet with.

The clock spins round to one ‘clock the minute Fogg returns to win his bet.

Concluding Watching The Clock.

“Around The World In Eighty Days” is a wonderful series and is great fun to watch, and I am amazed that they could encapsulate so much of the story into the minute of the opening sequence. It does rate with the best opening titles you will see and you never fast forward because you actually want to watch them.

It is a beautiful, enthralling and mechanical introduction that you do watch all the way through even when you are on the final episode.