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In The Sci Fi Channel's 2001 series, The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne, the character Phileas Fogg, as played by actor Michael Praed, added an element of romance.
Based upon the fictional character created by the French writer, Jules Verne, Fogg was a complex figure with a past marred by tragedy, his outward persona was that of a gentleman of leisure, traveling round the world in style, prepared to risk all on a throw of the dice, or the turn of a card.
Phileas' father, Sir Boniface Fogg, was a towering figure at the center of British Intelligence during the latter part of the Napoleonic Wars and became a close confidant of both Horatio Nelson and the Duke of Wellington.
After Napolean's defeat and the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Boniface sought to ensure there would never be another World War by creating a network of agents to act as the secret guardians of the British Empire . . . and thus of the Pax Britannica that protected the entire world.
Needless to say, Bonifice wanted his two sons, Phileas and his younger brother Erasmus Fogg, to follow in his footsteps. Bonifice might have had his wish if he had not sent them both on a mission which resulted in the death of Erasmus and the destruction of Phileas' ideals.
Thereafter, Phileas reacted violently against his father's view of the world and turned to a life of pleasure. His faith in "the system" had been fatally undermined. He saw no point in devoting his life to an Empire that was prepared to sacrifice its own citizens in such a cavalier manner.
As a result of his early experiences, Phileas has seen the evil in men's souls and emerged into a state of detachment which gave him a special perspective on life, and a wisdom of his own. He was skeptical, easily bored, restless... but also a man of immense style and charm.
Phileas savored life's pleasures with great sophistication, from great art to fine wines and beautiful women. He took satisfaction in his skill as a swordsman, his accuracy with a pistol, his ability to finesse an opponent at a game of cards.
Fogg regarded it as something of a cosmic joke that he'd been saddled with the excitable young Frenchman Jules Verne, who, to further his own literary ambitions, was bent on hurling them both into every possible adventure that came their way.
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