GULLIVER'S TRAVELS {PART 1 OF 2} (TV)
Summary
Part one of two. A made-for-television movie based on Jonathan Swift's book "Gulliver's Travels," a satirical story about surgeon and sea captain Lemuel Gulliver whose travels to far-off places -- and interactions with the inhabitants of each -- offer fundamental lessons about the human condition. Part one covers Gulliver's return from his travels and his accounts of Lilliput and Brobdingnag. The program begins as Gulliver returns to his home in England, nine years after having been lost at sea. He finds his wife Mary and son Tom living with Dr. Bates, who took over Gulliver's medical practice and became the family's breadwinner. Upon returning home Gulliver is haunted by what happened to him and tells the story of his travels compulsively. The program's narrative proceeds both in the past and present; what happens to Gulliver after his return to England is intercut with flashbacks as he tells his story. Gulliver begins with the story of Lilliput, a land inhabited by people only six inches tall. He tells the story to Mary, their son Tom, and Dr. Bates, explaining how he woke up on the Lilliputian shore and found himself tied to the ground and surrounded by scores of awestruck Lilliputians. The Lilliputians quickly realize Gulliver's potential as a resource, specifically for his capacity as a weapon in their aimless, never-ending war against the Bigenders. Gulliver continues his tale, explaining that he finally left Lilliput after extinguishing a fire in the palace by urinating on it.
Escaping punishment, he builds a boat and flees to the sea. Meanwhile, Gulliver's travel story sounds utterly ridiculous to everyone in England. In his own interest, Dr. Bates has Gulliver committed to a mental hospital. There, Gulliver continues telling his story to doctors and patients, and even to himself when no one is around. The next stop on his travels is Brobdingnag, a land of giants. There, the Grultrud family exploit Gulliver as "The Wee Wonder," charging people to see him and presenting him as a witch doctor who can change the future. Then a lady-in-waiting purchases Gulliver for the Queen, and he learns all about the unfamiliar, socialist-like society of Brobdingnag. Locked in the mental institution, Gulliver continues ranting about his travels. Meanwhile, Tom sneaks into Dr. Bates's study, and pokes around inside his father's satchel. There, Tom discovers Gulliver's sketchbook, along with a tiny Lilliputian sheep -- proof that Gulliver's stories are true. Dr. Bates walks in on Tom and, as he reprimands Tom for sneaking into the private room, the sheep runs under some furniture. Gulliver's story continues; a little girl from the Brobdingnag palace, Glumdalelitch, takes Gulliver to the beach. There, an eagle grabs the bag Glum was carrying Gulliver in and drops him over the ocean. Commercials deleted. Continues with T:56729.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: February 4, 1996 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:33:12
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:56727
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama; Literature - Adaptations; Travel
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV, 1996
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Robert Halmi … Executive Producer
- Brian Henson … Executive Producer
- Duncan Kenworthy … Producer
- Chris Thompson … Associate Producer
- Charles Sturridge … Director
- Simon Moore … Writer
- Jonathan Swift … Based on the novel by
- Trevor Jones … Composer
- Geoff Alexander … Conductor
- Ted Danson … Cast, Lemuel Gulliver
- Mary Steenburgen … Cast, Mary Gulliver
- James Fox … Cast, Dr. Bates
- Ned Beatty … Cast, Farmer Grultrud
- Edward Fox … Cast, General Limtoc
- Robert Hardy … Cast, Dr. Parnell
- Nicholas Lyndhurst … Cast, Clustril
- Phoebe Nicholls … Cast, Empress of Lilliput
- Karyn Parsons … Cast, Lady-in-Waiting
- Edward Petherbridge … Cast, Dr. Pritchard
- John Standing … Cast, Admiral Bolgolam
- John Wells … Cast, Flimnap the Treasurer
- Alfre Woodard … Cast, Queen of Brobdingnag
- Edward Woodard … Cast, Drunlo
- Peter O'Toole … Cast, Emperor of Lilliput
- Warwick Davis … Cast, Grildrig
- Kate Maberly … Cast, Glumdalelitch
- Thomas Sturridge … Cast, Tom Gulliver
- Annette Badland … Cast, Farmer Grultrud's Wife
- Mac McDonald … Cast, Farmer
- George Harris … Cast, Brobdingnag Scientist
- Ricco Ross … Cast, Brobdingnag Scientist
- Gordon Sterne … Cast, Brobdingnag Scientist
- John Bardon … Cast, Bedlam Admissions Warder