''Arabian Nights'' is a two-part 2000 American/British

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

, adapted by Peter Barnes (his last film) from

Sir Richard Francis Burton Sir Richard Francis Burton (; 19 March 1821 – 20 October 1890) was a British explorer, writer, orientalist scholar,and soldier. He was famed for his travels and explorations in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, as well as his extraordinary kn ...

's translation of the medieval epic ''

One Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...

''.

Mili Avital Mili Avital is an Israeli actress. She built an international career, starting in her native Israel, starring on stage, film and television. She won the Israeli Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1991, moved to New York in 1993 to stu ...

and

Dougray Scott Stephen Dougray Scott (born 25 November 1965) is a Scottish actor. He has appeared in the films ''Ever After'' (1998), '' Mission: Impossible 2'' (2000), ''Enigma'' (2001), ''Hitman'' (2007), and ''My Week with Marilyn'' (2011). Early life Sc ...

star as

Scheherazade Scheherazade () is a major female character and the storyteller in the frame narrative of the Middle Eastern collection of tales known as the ''One Thousand and One Nights''. Name According to modern scholarship, the name ''Scheherazade'' deri ...

and Shahryar respectively. Produced by

Dyson Lovell Dyson Lovell (born 28 August 1936) is a British film producer and actor. He produced amongst others, Franco Zeffirelli's ''Hamlet'', starring Mel Gibson (1990), and Francis Ford Coppola's 1984 box-office flop '' The Cotton Club'', starring Richard ...

and directed by

Steve Barron Steven Barron (born 4 May 1956) is an Irish-British filmmaker. He is best known for directing the music videos for the songs "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson, "Summer of '69" and " Run to You" by Bryan Adams, " Money for Nothing" by Dire Stra ...

, the serial was made by

Hallmark Entertainment Halcyon Studios, LLC., formerly known as Sonar Entertainment, RHI Entertainment, Hallmark Entertainment, Qintex Entertainment, HRI Group and Robert Halmi Inc., is an American entertainment company specializing in the production and distribution ...

and originally broadcast over two nights on 30 April and 1 May 2000 on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The series consists of five stories from ''

'', which are framed within a sixth, maintaining the traditional style of '' stories within stories'' that is synonymous with the ''Nights''. The series cast includes

Alan Bates Sir Alan Arthur Bates (17 February 1934 – 27 December 2003) was an English actor who came to prominence in the 1960s, when he appeared in films ranging from the popular children's story '' Whistle Down the Wind'' to the " kitchen sink" dram ...

Rufus Sewell Rufus Frederik Sewell (; born 29 October 1967) is a British film and stage actor. In film, he has appeared in '' Carrington'' (1995), '' ''Hamlet' (1996), ''Dangerous Beauty'' (1998), '' Dark City'' (1998), ''A Knight's Tale ''(2001), ''The ...

Andy Serkis Andrew Clement Serkis (born 20 April 1964) is an English actor, director, and producer. He is best known for his performance capture roles comprising motion capture acting, animation, and voice work for computer-generated characters such as Goll ...

James Frain James Dominic Frain is an English stage and screen actor. His best known television roles include Thomas Cromwell in the Showtime/ CBC historical drama ''The Tudors'' (2007–2009), Franklin Mott in the HBO drama ''True Blood'' (2010), Warwi ...

John Leguizamo John Alberto Leguizamo Peláez (; ; born July 22, 196013:04) is an American actor, comedian, and film producer. He has appeared in over 100 films, produced over 20 films and documentaries, made over 30 television appearances, and has produced ...

(in a dual role),

Jason Scott Lee Jason Scott Lee (; born November 19, 1966) is an American actor and martial artist. He played Mowgli in Disney's 1994 live-action adaptation of ''The Jungle Book'' and Bruce Lee in the 1993 martial arts film '' Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story''. He ...

Vanessa-Mae Vanessa-Mae (陈美 Chén Měi; born 27 October 1978) also called Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson, is a Singaporean-born British violinist with album sales reaching several million, having made her the wealthiest entertainer under 30 in the Uni ...

Alexei Sayle Alexei David Sayle (born 7 August 1952) is an English actor, author, stand-up comedian, television presenter and former recording artist. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement in the 1980s. He was voted the 18th gr ...

, Jim Carter,

James Callis James Nicholas Callis (born 4 June 1971) is a British actor. He is known for playing Dr. Gaius Baltar in the re-imagined ''Battlestar Galactica'' miniseries and television series, and Bridget Jones's best friend Tom in ''Bridget Jones's Diar ...

, and

Oded Fehr Oded Fehr ( he, עודד פהר; born ) is an Israeli actor based in the United States. He is known for his appearance as Ardeth Bay in the 1999 remake of ''The Mummy'' and its sequel ''The Mummy Returns'', as well as Carlos Olivera in '' Reside ...

Synopsis

Frame story

The series starts in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

at an undetermined time (since the story teller seems to live during the late 8th century, but the stories that are told take place during the era of muskets, Englishmen, and Qing-era Chinese hairstyles & architecture, which means they take place from the late 17th century to the early 19th century). The Sultan of Baghdad, Shahryar (

), has gone mad having accidentally killed his treacherous wife five years earlier during a failed

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

, which his wife had planned with her secret lover, Shahryar's brother, Schahzenan (

). In his madness, Shahryar now believes that all women want to kill him, but the law states that the Sultan must be married again or the throne will be passed to his brother. Shahryar has therefore ordered his

Grand Vizier Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...

, Ja'Far ( Jim Carter), to bring him one of his

concubines Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubin ...

from the harem to marry and then have

executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

the next morning. In order to prevent this, the

's clever daughter,

(

), decides to marry the Sultan herself; Scheherazade (a childhood friend of the Sultan who has secretly fallen in love with him since then) formulates a plan to prevent her execution, and at the same time cure the Sultan of his madness. With the help of some tutoring from a

bazaar A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, suc ...

storyteller (

), Scheherazade (an already-avid lover of stories and of the lessons they can teach) tells the Sultan a story every night, stopping at dawn with a

cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhang ...

, and then refusing to continue until dusk. Shahryar must therefore let Scheherazade live for another day in order to hear the rest of the story. Cunningly, Scheherazade has hidden a

moral A moral (from Latin ''morālis'') is a message that is conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader, or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim. A ...

within every story, to help coax the Sultan out of his madness. Meanwhile, Schahzenan (Shahryar's brother) learns about the Sultan's madness and that he is unable to execute his new wife. Perceiving this as weakness, Schahzenan decides to lead his army to

in an attempt to take the throne by force. However, by the time Schahzenan's army reaches the city, Scheherazade's plan has worked. As a result of her stories, Shahryar has overcome his madness and has fallen in love with Scheherazade. Using strategies inspired from elements from the stories, Shahryar is able to defeat his brother's army. At the end of the battle, it is revealed that all that had been seen was a story itself, recounted by Scheherazade to her children. The series ends with Scheherazade promising to tell her children another story tomorrow night.

Scheherazade's stories

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

The first story told by Scheherazade is that of

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" ( ar, علي بابا والأربعون لصا) is a folk tale from the ''One Thousand and One Nights''. It was added to the collection in the 18th century by its French translator Antoine Galland, who heard ...

Ali Baba "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" ( ar, علي بابا والأربعون لصا) is a folk tale from the '' One Thousand and One Nights''. It was added to the collection in the 18th century by its French translator Antoine Galland, who hear ...

(

) is a poor peasant from

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

who finds a magical cave where the loot is stolen by the Forty Thieves, a tribe of murderous bandits that have plagued the kingdom. Using the magic words "Open Sesame!", Ali enters the cave and takes the treasure. When Ali tells his brother

Cassim This is a list of characters in ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ''The Arabian Nights''), the classic, medieval collection of Middle-Eastern folk tales. Characters in the frame story Scheherazade Scheherazade or Shahrazad ( fa, شهرزاد} ...

(

) about the cave, Cassim demands his own share and goes to the cave himself where he is discovered and killed by the leader of the Forty Thieves, the infamous Black Coda (

Tchéky Karyo Tchéky Karyo (; born 4 October 1953) is a French actor and musician of Turkish origin. Beginning his career as an actor on stage in classical and contemporary works, he began to work as a character actor in films in the 1980s. He has acted in nu ...

). Ali Baba finds Cassim's body hung-up by the Forty Thieves as a warning to others. With the help of his newly hired servant, Morgiana (

Amira Casar Amira Casar is a British-born actress who grew up in England, Ireland, and France. Early life Amira is the daughter of a Kurds, Kurdish father and a Russian mother. She was born in London and was subsequently raised in England, Ireland, and Fran ...

), Ali takes down the body and gives Cassim a lavish funeral. This alerts Black Coda and the Forty Thieves to the fact that Cassim was not alone in taking their treasure. Black Coda discovers that Ali Baba and Morgiana are living in a lubricious estate in

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

and devises a plan to kill all in the household. The Forty Thieves enter the city hidden in oil barrels which are placed outside Ali's estate where they wait for nightfall. Before they can strike, Morgiana discovers the barrels and rolls them down to the bottom of a hill where the dazed Forty Thieves are arrested (and later hanged) by the city guards, although Black Coda escapes. To celebrate their victory, Ali Baba hosts a feast. Morgiana performs an exotic dance for Ali Baba during which she stabs one of the guests, killing him. She removes the man's false beard, revealing him to be Black Coda. Awed by her loyalty, Ali Baba marries Morgiana.

The Tale of the Poor Hunchback

To prevent Shahryar realizing she's starting a complete new story, Scheherazade begins her next tale by following on from the last, explaining that Faisal (

Stanley Lebor Stanley Harvey Lebor (24 September 1934 – 22 November 2014) was an English actor. He was best known for his roles as Howard Hughes in the 1980s BBC TV comedy series ''Ever Decreasing Circles'', the Mongon Doctor in ''Flash Gordon'' (1980), and ...

) designed Morgiana's wedding attire and his wife, Safil (

Jamila Massey Jamila Massey (born 7 January 1934) is a British actress and writer. Massey has had a long career on UK television and radio. She is known for playing Auntie Satya in the long-running radio soap ''The Archers'', Jamila Ranjha in ''Mind Your Lan ...

), from

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

(or

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

given the architecture and being under Muslim rule), were at Ali Baba's wedding. Back in Constantinople, the couple have dinner with Bac-Bac (

), the Sultan's

hunchback Kyphosis is an abnormally excessive convex curvature of the spine as it occurs in the thoracic and sacral regions. Abnormal inward concave ''lordotic'' curving of the cervical and lumbar regions of the spine is called lordosis. It can result fr ...

ed-

jester A jester, court jester, fool or joker was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch employed to entertain guests during the medieval and Renaissance eras. Jesters were also itinerant performers who entertained common folk at fairs and ...

, during which Bac-Bac

chokes Choking, also known as foreign body airway obstruction (FBAO), is a phenomenon that occurs when breathing is impeded by a blockage inside of the respiratory tract. An obstruction that prevents oxygen from entering the lungs results in oxygen de ...

on a fishbone and dies. Worried about their reputation, Faisal and Safil leave the body on the doorstep of a Jewish physician, Ezra Ben Ezra (

Leon Lissek Leon Lissek (19 January 1939 – 13 January 2022) was an Australian-born British actor. He appeared in over 80 films in his career, which started with ''Marat/Sade''. Lissek was well known for his television roles in ''The Sullivans'' and ''Eas ...

). Before Dr. Ezra can take a look at Bac-Bac, he trips over him in the dark and they both fall down his doorway stairs. After the fall, Ezra finds the dead body and assumes that he accidentally killed him. Recognizing Bac-Bac, they repeat the actions of Faisal and Safil by dropping the body down the chimney of their Chinese neighbor, Hi-Ching (

Junix Inocian Junix Inocian (born Rufino Duran Inocian, Jr.; March 17, 1951 – June 13, 2015) was a Filipino actor and comedian. He starred in various plays, such as ''Miss Saigon'', '' Fiddler on the Roof'', the film version of the Swedish crime novel ''Tatue ...

). Hi-Ching mistakenly believes that he is about to be robbed and attacks Bac-Bac with

Kung Fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...

. Hi-Ching mistakenly believes that he killed Bac-Bac by hitting him so hard and (like the others) he fears for his welfare. So he carries the body to a dark alcove, where

Englishman The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England, who speak the English language, a West Germanic language, and share a common history and culture. The English identity is of Anglo-Saxon origin, when they were known in ...

Jerome Gribben ( Roger Hammond) is walking home in a drunken stupor. Bac-Bac's body falls onto Jerome, who believes he is being attacked. He repeatedly hits the body against a wall and calls the nearby guards. The guards recognize Bac-Bac and arrest Jerome for murder. Jerome is put on trial and sentenced to death. Unable to bear the guilt, Hi-Ching, Ezra, and Faisal all confess that they had killed the poor hunchback. In the middle of all their arguments, the Sultan (

Tony Osoba Tony Osoba (born 15 March 1947) is a Scottish actor best known for his role as Jim 'Jock' McClaren in the 1970s British sitcom ''Porridge'' alongside Ronnie Barker. He also guest starred in the first episode of the spin-off '' Going Straight ...

) comes and demands to know who killed his jester. The Sultan realizes Bac-Bac's death was an accident in any event and frees Jerome and the others, explaining that Bac-Bac would have been amused by the manner of his death.

Aladdin and the Magic Lamp

This story tells the classic tale of

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...

(

), a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

thief living in the caliphate of ''Samarkand'' (actually, China). While fleeing authorities for pick-pocketing, he sees a carriage and blocks its path. The carriage windows open to reveal the beautiful Princess Zubaïda (

). The two see each other and fall in love. While escaping, Aladdin meets a mysterious African traveler named Mustappa (

Hugh Quarshie Hugh Anthony Quarshie (born 22 December 1954) is a Ghanaian-born British actor. Some of his best-known roles include his appearances in the films '' Highlander'' (1986), '' The Church'' (1989), '' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' ...

), who claims to have been a friend of Aladdin's father and is willing to pay him a high price to do a 'simple' task. Aladdin agrees and meets Mustappa at the entrance of the Cave of Wonders. Mustappa gives Aladdin a ring, and swears "by Hector's feathers", that Aladdin will not see his wedding day if he betrays Mustappa. Aladdin enters the Cave and walks through a

Terracotta Army The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE with the purpose of protecting the emperor in ...

until he finds the lamp. He races back to the entrance, where Mustappa asks Aladdin to give him the lamp before he helps him out. Aladdin refuses, believing Mustappa will take the lamp and leave him in the cave. Mustappa, enraged, closes the cave's entrance and abandons Aladdin, just as the Terracotta warriors come to life. In desperation, Aladdin rubs Mustappa's ring and summons the neurotic Genie of the Ring (

) who reluctantly frees Aladdin from the cave. Back home with his mother, Aladdin wonders why Mustappa would want a worthless old oil lamp. Rubbing it frees the Lamp

Genie Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources) – are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic mytho ...

(also

) an incredibly powerful and intimidating spirit who can grant Aladdin's wishes. Aladdin and his mother wish to become royalty and for a fortune which they use to buy their way into the

Royal Court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...

. Aladdin asks the Caliph for Princess Zubaïda's hand in marriage, but he is turned down as the Princess is betrothed to another, the oafish son of the Caliph's

vizier A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was a ...

. Aladdin discovers that the Princess is in love with him and using the Lamp Genie, he is able to humiliate Zubaïda's betrothed on their wedding night to prevent the marriage from being consummated, by trapping the vizier's son in a foul-smelling privy, and then marry the Princess himself after her furious father annuls the marriage. In Africa, Mustappa realizes that Aladdin is alive and has married as his pet raven, Hector, loses all his feathers. Mustappa goes to Samarkand dressed as a merchant trading new lamps for old ones, prompting a servant in Aladdin's palace to give the magic lamp to the Mustappa. Once the lamp comes into Mustappa's possession, he wishes to undo all Aladdin's wealth. Using the Genie of the Ring, Aladdin challenges Mustappa to a fight to the death with their magic. Each Genie transforms into one beast after another, until the Ring Genie is trapped in a giant mousetrap. Although Mustappa appears to have won, Aladdin is still a thief and is able to pick-pocket Mustappa, taking the Lamp and thus stealing his victory. Reunited with his mother and Zubaïda, Aladdin grants both the Genies their freedom, though only the Genie of the Ring accepts the offer.

The Sultan and the Beggar

At the beginning of the story, Scheherazade explains that her next story is about Amin the Beggar (who looks exactly like Shahryar) and the mean-spirited Sultan Abraschild (who looks exactly like Shahryar's brother) who rules

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

. The story follows Amin, (

) a lonely drunkard beggar who meets the ruthless Sultan Haroun Abraschild (a play on the historical Caliph

Harun al-Rashid Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi ( ar , أبو جعفر هارون ابن محمد المهدي) or Harun ibn al-Mahdi (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Harun al-Rashid ( ar, هَارُون الرَشِيد, translit=Hārūn ...

), played by James Frain. Abraschild kidnaps the unconscious Amin and dresses him as the Sultan. Abraschild then orders his servants to pretend Amin is the Sultan, as he watches the events unfold from secret chambers behind the palace walls. When Amin wakes, he at first thinks he has lost his mind, but soon begins to enjoy being Sultan. He eventually takes the job much more seriously as well and makes beneficial adjustments to the taxes and the wages of his army, with the

and Commander of the army Abou Nouz (a play on

Abu Nuwas Abū Nuwās al-Ḥasan ibn Hānī al-Ḥakamī (variant: Al-Ḥasan ibn Hānī 'Abd al-Awal al-Ṣabāḥ, Abū 'Alī (), known as Abū Nuwās al-Salamī () or just Abū Nuwās Garzanti ( ''Abū Nuwās''); 756814) was a classical Arabic poet, ...

, a courtier of Harun's successor

Al-Amin Abu Musa Muhammad ibn Harun al-Rashid ( ar, أبو موسى محمد بن هارون الرشيد, Abū Mūsā Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Rashīd; April 787 – 24/25 September 813), better known by his laqab of Al-Amin ( ar, الأمين, al-Amī ...

) noting that Amin has gotten more done in a day, than the real Sultan has in years. Overhearing this, Harun becomes angered and puts sleeping powder in Amin's drink. Abraschild then throws him back into the streets as a beggar. When Amin awakes, he is traumatized and insists he is the Sultan, prompting the city guards to put him in an

insane asylum The lunatic asylum (or insane asylum) was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital. The fall of the lunatic asylum and its eventual replacement by modern psychiatric hospitals explains the rise of organized, institutional psychiatry ...

. Abraschild decides to repeat the joke and again drugs Amin and returns him to the palace dressed as Sultan. When Amin wakes and becomes hysterical, he hears the snickering of Abraschild from inside one of the secret chambers, he draws a sword and inadvertently stabs Abraschild, believing he is a

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...

. Seeing that Abraschild is dead and he has left no heir, the Sultan's advisers decide to prevent civil war by telling everyone that the real Sultan has gone on a pilgrimage to Mecca, and that Amin was chosen as the Sultan's successor, all the while continuing to tell Amin that he is the one and only Sultan Haroun Abraschild. Amin goes on to become a respected Sultan beloved by the court and his people. At the end of the story, as his brother's army approaches

, Sultan Shahryar realizes he is in love with Scheherazade and has been cured of his madness, but Scheherazade feels Shahryar needs to hear one more story before he goes into battle.

The Three Princes

The last story told by Scheherazade is about the sons of the long-suffering Sultan of

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

, Prince Ali (

Alexis Conran Alexis Conran is a British actor, writer and presenter on TV and radio, who currently hosts the weekend afternoon show on Times Radio. He is perhaps best known for co-hosting the BBC Three show ''The Real Hustle'' from 2006 until 2012. He was b ...

Prince Ahmed This is a list of characters in ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ''The Arabian Nights''), the classic, medieval collection of Middle-Eastern folk tales. Characters in the frame story Scheherazade Scheherazade or Shahrazad ( fa, شهرزاد} ...

(

), and Prince Hussain (

Hari Dhillon Hari Dhillon ( pa, ਹਰੀ ਢਿੱਲੋਂ (Gurmukhi)) is an American television, film and stage actor, best known for playing Michael Spence in British television medical drama series '' Holby City''. His name has also been spelled Hari D ...

). The three are each gifted fighters and fight each other over the smallest of matters. Both their parents believe that when the Sultan dies, the sons will fight each other for the throne and will destroy the kingdom. After causing chaos in the city by fighting over a Princess, their father challenges each of his sons to bring him what they believe is the most precious object in the world, giving them one year to complete their quest. Ali heads north to a brazen kingdom, and finds a powerful telescope. Ahmed travels east to a mountain Buddhist monastery which possess a mystic apple (the Apple of Life), which when eaten can heal any wound or illness and earns it when he passes a secret test of character. The last brother, Hussain, travels west to the underground city of

Petra Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to t ...

. He wanders through the underground market looking for the most precious thing in the world, eventually finding a

flying carpet A magic carpet, also called a flying carpet, is a legendary carpet and common trope in fantasy fiction. It is typically used as a form of transportation and can quickly or instantaneously carry its users to their destination. In literature One ...

. The journeys of the brothers take up the given year, and all three meet at the Traveller's Rest. Ali's telescope reveals that their father is on his deathbed. The brothers race back to Yemen on Hussain's carpet to save their father with Ahmed's apple of life. Scheherazade explains that as a result of their adventures, when the brothers eventually succeed their father, they rule the kingdom together in peace and harmony.

Cast

as Shahryar and Amin the Beggar *

as The Storyteller *

as Schahzenan and Sultan Haroun Abraschild (character based on the historical Caliph

) * Peter Guinness as The Chief Executioner *

Pik-Sen Lim Pik-Sen Lim (, born 15 September 1944) is a Malaysian-British actress. According to the British Film Institute, Lim was "the most familiar Chinese actor on British television screens in the 1970s and 80s." Her notable roles include Chin Lee i ...

as Aladdin's Mother *

as The Genie of the Lamp and The Genie of the Ring *

as Princess Zubaïda *

as Mustappa * Jim Carter as Ja'Far *

as Morgiana *

as Black Coda *

Kasim Kasim as a given name, a variant of Qasim. It may refer to: People known only by the given name Kasim * Kasım Pasha, Ottoman general and governor * Kasım of Karaman, the last bey of the Karaman Beylik, a Turkish principality in Anatolia * Şeh ...

as Prince Ali *

as Prince Hussain *

as BacBac *

as Robber #2

Filming

Locations

Arabian Nights was filmed on location in Turkey and Morocco and at Antalya Film Studios, Turkey

Critical reception

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote "Lush, lavish and longer than necessary, ABC’s “Arabian Nights” is definitely an appealing spectacle but overly sluggish in too many places"; whereas ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' wrote "Gracefully directed and lavishly mounted, this delicious adaptation bears the earmarks of a sturdy classic."

Honors and awards

References

External links

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Arabian Nights
at

RHI Entertainment Halcyon Studios, LLC., formerly known as Sonar Entertainment, RHI Entertainment, Hallmark Entertainment, Qintex Entertainment, HRI Group and Robert Halmi Inc., is an American entertainment company specializing in the production and distribution ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arabian Nights (Tv Miniseries) 2000 American television series debuts 2000 American television series endings 2000 British television series debuts 2000 British television series endings 2000s American television miniseries 2000s British television miniseries 2000s adventure films Costume drama television series Emmy Award-winning programs Films set in the 8th century Films set in the 17th century Films set in Baghdad Films set in Damascus Films set in Istanbul Films set in Yemen Films set in Samarkand Films shot in Turkey Genies in television Sonar Entertainment miniseries Television shows based on fairy tales Works based on One Thousand and One Nights Films directed by Steve Barron Epic television series Films scored by Richard Harvey