ABC PREMIERE EVENT: ARABIAN NIGHTS {PART 1 OF 2} (TV)
Summary
Part one in this two-part miniseries about clever bride Scheherezade, who stays alive by telling episodic stories each night to her murderous husband, the near-mad Sultan Schariar. The program begins with one of Schariar's dreams in which he watches a woman speak with a 542-year-old giant demon -- her husband -- before the ogre dozes off. Then, Schariar approaches the woman, who blackmails him into sleeping with her. Schariar refuses and begins choking her, bringing an end to the dream. Talking with his trusted adviser Ja'Far, Schariar discusses how he needs a new wife by the full moon so that his brother Schazzenan won't take over the kingdom. However, Schariar is fearful that any woman will betray him, just as his last wife did. Schariar comes up with a game plan to marry a woman and then execute her on the morning after their wedding, before she might cross him. Meanwhile, Scheherezade is intrigued while listening to an old storyteller in the marketplace, wondering how he is able to entrance crowds. Ja'Far, who is also Scheherezade's father, tells her how ill the sultan, who was once her childhood friend, has become. At the same time, Schariar discusses the details of his future wife's death with his executioner. Later, Scheherezade goes to the sultan's harem, the members of which have already heard rumors that Schariar's next bride will be executed. When the women become frantic, Scheherezade rushes back to her father to volunteer to marry Schariar. She claims that she loves him -- or who he once was. Scheherezade thinks she can pull him out of his madness. Ja'Far doesn't wish for her to go through with it, but she refuses to listen. At the public wedding ceremony, Schazzenan arrives to offer his blessings, but Schariar doesn't want to reconcile with him. Schazzenan wishes his brother "better luck this time," recalling that Schariar's late wife actually loved him instead. That evening, Scheherezade wonders if Schariar remembers knowing her as a child, but he claims ignorance. Then, Schariar becomes haunted by memories of his first wife. He tells Scheherezade that he doesn't trust her, curious why Ja'Far would let his daughter marry him. With Schariar complaining that he can't sleep, Scheherezade begins telling an impromptu story about a peasant named Ali Baba and how he crossed paths with forty thieves. In the tale, Ali Baba, lived with his lazy brother Kasim in a village ravaged by the savage thief Black Coda. Black Coda was a master of disguise, pillaging traveling caravans. One day, Ali Baba collected firewood to sell in the local market, trying to come up with good ideas to make him rich. Then, Black Coda's gang passed by and a hidden Ali Baba heard the robber utter the phrase "open sesame" to part a rock cave and allow two vile dragons to emerge. Black Coda's gang then stored their stolen loot inside the cave. After Black Coda left, Ali Baba said "open sesame" to get the cave to part for him. Once inside, Ali Baba stole some of the treasure for himself. Returning home, Ali Baba awoke Kasim to show off his haul. Kasim, who didn't have "a good heart" like his brother, insisted on going to the cave to get more, even though Ali Baba advised against it. Though he found the cave, Kasim forgot the words to get out. Eventually, Black Coda and his men returned, finding Kasim and killing him. Meanwhile, Ali Baba and his servant girl Morgiana packed up his treasures, right before he learned that the foolish Kasim was dead. Ali Baba took Kasim's corpse from where Black Coda had left it and gave him an elaborate burial with his newfound riches. Black Coda then heard how much of his fortune was stolen, making him determined to catch the culprit. Heading into Damascus in disguise, Black Coda and his men searched for individuals that recently came into wealth. Meanwhile, a sad Ali Baba relaxed with Morgiana, wishing Kasim was there. Black Coda's men later dug up Kasim's body and realized they were after Ali Baba. Black Coda headed for Ali Baba's residence to slaughter him. The tale abruptly stops as Scheherezade tells Schariar that, with dawn's arrival, she has grown tired. Schariar, who lost track of time, says he wants to hear how the story ends. When Scheherezade claims that she can only tell stories at night, Schariar marches her down to his executioners. After she screams for her life, Schariar decides that he won't kill her until hearing the Ali Baba story's conclusion. Scheherezade sneaks away that day to the master storyteller, getting helpful tips on how to continue crafting her enchanting stories. He tells her how to continue "hooking" her audience. That night, Scheherezade continues her alluring tale, stating how Black Coda rode his wagon into town, seemingly full of jars of oil, pretending he was a merchant. Meanwhile, Morgiana began wondering if Ali Baba loves her. Ali Baba thought he should continue working on moneymaking schemes, should his luck disappear. Then, Morgiana noticed the oil merchant and his wagon. Morgiana went downstairs to check out the oil wagon and instead heard the murderous rumblings of the men hidden in the jars. Alerting Ali Baba, he went to the wagon under the guise of Black Coda and then dumped the jars down a hill. When the dizzy thieves were dislodged at the bottom of the hill, the townspeople caught and killed them. Afterward, Ali Baba threw a magnificent party to celebrate the crushing of Black Coda's gang. There, Morgiana danced for Ali Baba before slaying a man in attendance. Ali Baba was mystified, until realizing that the man was actually Black Coda. Ultimately, Ali Baba married Morgiana. With the tale having seemingly ended, Schariar realizes that Ali Baba was not clever, but rather lucky, needing Morgiana's help for everything. Schariar wonders if there is any more to the story and Scheherezade is forced to scramble in order to continue. She goes on to tell of the tailor Faisal and his wife Safil from Constantinople, attendees at Ali Baba and Morgiana's wedding. At the wedding, the two met an old friend, a hunchback named BacBac, who was the sultan's favorite jester. Faisal and Safil invited BacBac to dinner, where he began choking on a fish bone while telling a joke and then died. Faisal feared that the sultan would be furious and think that they killed BacBac. Safil suggested dropping the jester off at a physician's in order to pass the blame to someone else. There, the poorly sighted Dr. Ezra falls down the stairs along with BacBac. He survived the tumble intact, but subsequently realized that BacBac wasn't breathing. Fearing that he accidentally killed the sultan's jester, Ezra and his wife improvised a plan. They carried BacBac's body upstairs to dump him down a chimney into a Chinese soothsayer's apartment. When BacBac landed in his quarters, the soothsayer fought what he assumed to be a thief. Thinking his mighty fists had killed the sultan's jester, the soothsayer dumped the body in the street. There, the drunk Jerome Gribben thought he was battling a potential murderer, and soon believed that he killed BacBac. With the arrival of guards on the scene, Jerome was charged with having slain BacBac. At Jerome's trial, the incompetent judge sentenced him to hang. However, the Chinese soothsayer, Faisal, Safil, Ezra and his wife then interrupted the proceedings, all to claim that they had actually killed BacBac. When the sultan arrived, he decided that no one was to blame since it was all an accident that ended up being a credit to BacBac's jesting abilities. Now, Schariar begins catching on that Scheherezade is just connecting stories to stories, never ending them. She tells him that they are a series of morals, with BacBac's tale having concerned how an individual must take responsibilities for one's actions. Still furious, Schariar begins cutting up everything around Scheherezade with his sword. She discusses her concern for Schariar, saying she loves him and that he needs her. Continuing her story that night, Scheherezade describes how the crowd of BacBac's friends left the courtroom and saw the famed African magician Mustappa. However, the hero of this story was a young man named Aladdin, a Chinese thief who supported himself by picking pockets at horse races, and whose dexterity impressed Mustappa. Later, Aladdin saw a coach with the beautiful Princess Zobeide inside, instantly falling in love. Escaping from yet more guards, Aladdin ran into Mustappa, who claimed that he knew his father before giving him some coins and asking to meet with him at dawn. The next day, Aladdin followed Mustappa out of town. Mustappa instructed Aladdin to go into a tomb and retrieve a lamp for him. Mustappa also gave him a ring to rub should he get into trouble. Collecting a small fortune first, Aladdin embarked on the dangerous mission. Creeping through the tomb, Aladdin eventually came upon the lamp. Racing to escape the scary place, Aladdin slipped and made a series of statues crash into each other like dominoes. Making it back to the opening as all disappeared behind him, Aladdin saw Mustappa once again. However, Aladdin refused to throw the lamp to Mustappa until reaching safety himself. An angered Mustappa then sealed Aladdin in the tomb. A panicked Aladdin rubbed his ring and a genie appeared, helping him to escape from the tomb. Returning home, Aladdin's mother wondered why Mustappa would have him retrieve a seemingly worthless lamp. Aladdin began to rub it clean and soon a much larger genie emerged, frightening Aladdin and his mother. The genie claimed to have the ability to do anything for Aladdin, leaving his future open to any course. Breaking off the narrative, Scheherezade ignores Schariar's pleas to hear Aladdin's fate. Instead, Scheherezade insists that Schariar wait until the next night, thus buying herself another twenty-four hours of life. Includes commercials.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: April 30, 2000 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 2:00:18
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:60484
- GENRE: Drama, fantasy/science fiction
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, fantasy/science fiction; Asian American Pacific Islanders Collection
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV, 2000
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - "Gladiator" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - AT&T calling plans
- TV - Commercials - Acuvue 2 contact lenses
- TV - Commercials - Audi automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Bank of America banking
- TV - Commercials - California Fluid Milk Processor Board for "Got Milk?"
- TV - Commercials - Claritin allergy medication
- TV - Commercials - Cooking.com online cooking supplies
- TV - Commercials - Discover cards
- TV - Commercials - E*Trade online financial services
- TV - Commercials - Freeinternet.com
- TV - Commercials - Hertz rental cars
- TV - Commercials - Hollywood Park horseracing track
- TV - Commercials - Johnson & Johnson products
- TV - Commercials - K-Mart stores
- TV - Commercials - Kodak photography
- TV - Commercials - Lincoln automobiles
- TV - Commercials - M&M candies
- TV - Commercials - MasterCard cards
- TV - Commercials - McDonald's restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Mervyn's stores
- TV - Commercials - Microsoft technologies
- TV - Commercials - Office of National Drug Control Policy/Partnership for a Drug-Free AmericaTV - Commercials - "Dinosaur" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - Pacific Bell DSL technologies
- TV - Commercials - Patanol eye allergy medication
- TV - Commercials - Reach toothbrushes
- TV - Commercials - Red Lobster restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Staples office stores
- TV - Commercials - Starburst candies
- TV - Commercials - V-Chip television parental control
- TV - Commercials - Verizon wireless
- TV - Commercials - Vioxx arthritis medication
- TV - Commercials - www.philipmorris.com for smoking awareness
- TV - Promos - "20/20 Downtown"
- TV - Promos - "Boy Meets World"
- TV - Promos - "Dharma & Greg"
- TV - Promos - "Eyewitness News"
- TV - Promos - "Jaws: 25th Anniversary Presentation"
- TV - Promos - "NYPD Blue"
- TV - Promos - "Oprah"
- TV - Promos - "Spin City"
- TV - Promos - "The Drew Carey Show"
- TV - Promos - "The Kentucky Derby 2000"
- TV - Promos - "The Practice"
- TV - Promos - "The Wonderful World of Disney: Geppetto"
- TV - Promos - "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Celebrity Edition"
CREDITS
- Robert Halmi … Executive Producer
- Robert Halmi … Executive Producer
- Howard Ellis … Supervising Producer
- Dyson Lovell … Producer
- Peter Barnes … Associate Producer, Writer
- Nigel Wooll … Production (Misc.), Line Producer
- Fiona Walkinshaw … Production (Misc.), VSFX Producer
- Tim Keene … Production (Misc.), VSFX Line Producer
- Steve Barron … Director
- Richard Harvey … Music by
- Mili Avital … Cast, Scheherezade
- Alan Bates … Cast, Storyteller
- James Frain … Cast, Schazzenan
- Tcheky Karyo … Cast, Black Coda
- Jason Scott Lee … Cast, Aladdin
- John Leguizamo … Cast, Genie of the Lamp/Genie of the Ring
- Vanessa Mae … Cast, Princess Zobeide
- Dougray Scott … Cast, Sultan Schariar
- Rufus Sewell … Cast, Ali Baba
- Jim Carter … Cast, Ja'Far
- Peter Guinness … Cast, Chief Executioner
- Hugh Quarshie … Cast, Mustappa
- Pik-Sen Lim … Cast, Aladdin's Mother
- Amira Casar … Cast, Morgiana
- Andy Serkis … Cast, Kasim
- Ayesha Dharker … Cast, Coral Lips
- Alexis Conran … Cast, Prince Ali
- James Callis … Cast, Prince Ahmed
- Hari Dhillon … Cast, Prince Hussain
- John Hallam … Cast, Demon
- Alexei Sayle … Cast, BacBac
- Jamila Massey … Cast, Safil
- Nadim Sawalha … Cast, Judge Zadic
- Leon Lissek … Cast, Dr. Ezra
- Junix Inocian … Cast, Hi-Ching
- Stanley Lebor … Cast, Faisal
- Jane Lapotaire … Cast, Miriam
- Stephan Kalipha … Cast, Nonz
- Benedict Wong … Cast, Hassan
- Orgun Gitir … Cast, Executioner's Assistant
- Inday Ba … Cast, Heart's Delight
- Melanie Gutteridge … Cast, Fair Face
- Burt Kwouk … Cast, Caliph Beder
- Henry Goodman … Cast, Sultan Billah
- Maureen O'Farrell … Cast, Sultana Billah
- Tony Osoba … Cast, Sultan Badr Al-Din
- Emma Lewis … Cast, Sultana
- Roger Hammond … Cast, Jerome Gribben
- Kulvinder Ghir … Cast, Ali's Servant
- David Yip … Cast, Assad
- Don Warrington … Cast, Hari Ben Karim
- Cyril Nri … Cast, Schaca
- Bhasker Patel … Cast, Carpet Seller
- Adrian Pang … Cast, Gulnare
- Simon Gregor … Cast, First Robber
- Oded Fehr … Cast, Second Robber
- Simon Finney … Cast, Second Guard
- Nasser Memarzia … Cast, Prosecuting Lawyer
- Chiaki Yamauchi … Cast, Head Maid
- Peter Bayliss … Cast, First Physician
- Sara Houghton … Cast, Hand Maiden
- Barry Kamen … Cast, First Guard
- Yse Tran … Cast, Bubble Dancer
- Hassani Shapi … Cast, First Army Captain
- Yaman Tuzcet … Cast, Elderly Mourner
- Ufuk Asiliskender … Cast, Clerk