Jules Verne – Geheimnisvolle Insel (1995): Besetzung, Handlung & Streaming

Released in 1995, Jules Verne – Geheimnisvolle Insel is a drama and action & abenteuer series.

What it’s about. Mysterious Island is a Canadian television series based on Jules Verne's novel L'Île mystérieuse. It ran for one season in 1995. The beginning of the series is much as in the novel. A group of refugees attempting to escape the American Civil War in a balloon wind up stranded on a remote Pacific island, where they are able to improvise a comfortable living for themselves while they wait for a passing ship. As time passes, they become suspicious that some unseen force is watching and directing their movements. The main difference between the protagonists of the series and those of the novel is the addition of a female character, the wife of Pencroft. The unseen watcher, Captain Nemo, is more active and less benevolent than in the novel. Able to monitor the island through steampunk-style closed-circuit television and other advanced devices, he treats the castaways as human laboratory specimens, influencing their environment to test their behaviour under stressful conditions. As the series progresses, his tests become more extreme as their continued co-operation threatens his preferred thesis that all humans are, at base, selfish and untrustworthy. In the series finale, Nemo apparently succeeds in breaking up the group; this proves to be a ruse by the protagonists, who are now certain of Nemo's existence. After they penetrate his hideaway, Nemo admits that the 'experiment' is ruined, and offers to return the castaways to civilisation in his submarine. In a final twist, he puts out to sea without them, apparently leaving them alone on the island, without his influence for good or ill.

Who’s in it. Jules Verne – Geheimnisvolle Insel stars Alan Scarfe as Captain Cyrus Harding, Gordon Michael Woolvett as Herbert Pencroft, John Bach as Captain Nemo and Stephen Lovatt as Gideon Spilett, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 6.8/10, Jules Verne – Geheimnisvolle Insel has drawn a solid, mixed-to-positive response.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Jules Verne – Geheimnisvolle Insel page.

If you liked it. Fans of Jules Verne – Geheimnisvolle Insel tend to enjoy Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and Attack on Titan.