ABC PREMIERE EVENT: ARABIAN NIGHTS {PART 2 OF 2} (TV)

Summary

Part two 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 as Sultan Schariar's chief executioner pays a visit to Schazzenan. The chief executioner calls Schazzenan's brother both mad and weak, as he's been unable to kill his wife as planned. The chief executioner angles for a job with Schazzenan should he ever accede to the throne. Schazzenan immediately prepares to march on Baghdad. Meanwhile, Scheherezade continues telling Schariar the story of Aladdin, who, after meeting the great Genie of the Lamp, was caught in a huge storm. For his first wish, Aladdin ordered the genie to stop the rain. Aladdin's mother encouraged her son to ask for money, and soon coins fell from the sky. The next day, Aladdin's mother put on a "vulgar display" of wealth as she and Aladdin went to meet with Caliph Beder, presenting riches to him. Aladdin's mother also asked that her son marry his daughter, Princess Zobeide. They presented even more riches but Beder stated that Gulnare, son of the Grand Vizier, was already betrothed to Zobeide. Later, Aladdin schemed with his mother about how to stop Gulnare from marrying the princess. Then, the story is interrupted as Schariar learns that Schazzenan is raising an army against him. Scheherezade later distracts Schariar again, telling how Gulnare and Zobeide were set to wed the next day. That evening, Aladdin took the guise of a chimpanzee and visited the princess, who admitted to the primate that she was drawn to Aladdin. Next, the genie revealed to Aladdin that Zobeide and Gulnare had been married in secret. Accordingly, Aladdin ordered the genie to intervene on the couple's wedding night. The genie made a gust of window blow Gulnare out the bedroom window and into the privy before the union was consummated. The next morning, Beder was infuriated, annulling the marriage. Now, Aladdin had the opportunity to swoop in, offering three million in gold. Beder said that Aladdin could marry the princess when he had a palace worthy of his daughter. Aladdin brashly claimed that it would only take a week. With the genie's help, that proved true. The genie called Aladdin his noblest master ever, but also assured him that one day he would inevitably betray him. With the palace built, the princess was able to marry Aladdin and he was elated. Meanwhile, the still-angry magician Mustappa learned from his singing harp of Aladdin's good fate. Mustappa quickly headed toward Aladdin's new palace. Meanwhile, Zobeide asked Aladdin if he had always been rich, which caused him to lie. Meanwhile, Mustapppa posed as a peddler who trades new lamps for old ones. Finally, Mustappa procured the genie's lamp from one of Aladdin's naive servants. Mustappa immediately made a wish which caused the palace to disappear. He then woke up the princess to tell her that Aladdin's wealth was fake. Soon, Mustappa summoned the Genie of the Lamp. When Aladdin's mother insulted Mustappa, he turned her into a chicken. Aladdin then rubbed his ring and summoned the other genie. The two genies taunted each other before Aladdin forced the Genie of the Ring to battle the Genie of the Lamp. While the Genie of the Lamp beat up on the bumbling Genie of the Ring, the Princess wondered if Aladdin truly loved her. He admitted that he always did. Ultimately, Mustappa and the Genie of the Lamp prevailed. While Mustappa celebrated, however, Aladdin used his pickpocket skills to steal back the lamp and gain the upper hand. Aladdin's mother took human form again, just as Mustaffa was turned into a statue. Aladdin gave the Genie of the Ring his freedom but the Genie of the Lamp refused the gift. Afterward, Scheherezade tells Schariar that happiness is more important than power as she quickly leads into another story about Amin, a young beggar with "no peace, no comfort, no happiness." Scheherezade notes that the Cairo man looked exactly like Schariar. She notes that the other principal in the story is a sultan who looked exactly like Schazzenan. Later, Scheherezade met with the master storyteller, discussing how she planned to tell a tragedy and wanting to know where to begin. Meanwhile, Schariar learns that his brother's army is only two days away. Continuing the story, Scheherezade reveals how Amin unwittingly met the disguised sultan, and the beggar claimed that his destiny was to one day be a sultan. When Amin passed out drunk, the sultan played a cruel joke on the beggar. After having Amin cleaned up, the sultan put him in his palace and forced everyone to pretend that Amin was actually the sultan. Amin was greatly confused, but soon all "his" servants convinced him that he was indeed the sultan. Eventually, Amin began acting like a different man, wanting to bring happiness to his subjects. He then began instituting the building of new schools, doubled the pay of troopers, and halved the taxes for all citizens. The sultan watched the goings-on behind a closed door, no longer amused at how seriously Amin had taken his role. The sultan decided to complete the joke, so he had Amin drugged before dumping him into a filthy alley. Waking up as a peasant, Amin immediately went mad and was imprisoned. As the days passed, his memories of being sultan become less real and Amin wondered if it truly ever happened. Then, the sultan disguised himself again and visited Amin in prison. He drugged him anew and played the same prank a second time. Amin woke up and was more confused than ever. Then, he heard the sultan laughing in the closet and assumed that "a demon" was haunting him. Charging at the figure with a sword, he accidentally killed the sultan. The sultan's advisers quickly decided that they would treat the popular Amin as the next sultan. Thus, Amin became one of the most beloved sultans in history. After Scheherezade's story, Schariar analyzes his own rule as sultan. Then, Schariar learns that Schazzenan's army is now camped just outside the city. With the air tense, Scheherezade thinks it the perfect time to tell Schariar a story about three brothers who fought each other, just like Schariar and Schazzenan. The three brothers -- Prince Ahmed, Prince Hussain, and Prince Ali -- were the sons of Sultan Billah of Yemen. Billah was tired of his rambunctious sons always fighting. Billah thought he had three "blockheads" for sons, favoring none of them. He sent them on a year-long quest, claiming whichever son brought back the "greatest wonder in the world" would become his heir. The trio also had to leave and return together. After racing off, the brothers continued fighting on their journey. Soon, they parted ways. Ali ended up in a bronze city where Master Schaca displayed a telescope that could show a viewer whatever he desired to see. Unfortunately, the telescope was not for sale and Ali could win it only if he defeated the ghostly fighting champions of Hari Ben Karim. Ali prevailed, but Hari Ben Karim then resurrected the ghosts. An angered Ali then killed Hari Ben Karim, which meant the end of the ghosts. As Ali took the telescope, Ahmed headed north, where he tried to buy an apple said to cure all illnesses. The apple also was not for sale and, thus, Ahmed was forced to undergo a bow test to see if he was fit to own the "apple of life." Ahmed showed his great skill but had to undergo one final test: shooting an apple off a child's head while blindfolded. Ahmed wouldn't endanger the child and refused. However, his actions meant that he passed the test of character, and was thus able to claim the apple. At the same time, Hussain was in the east in Petra, a city where a second city lay under the first. There, Hussain was shown a magic carpet. However, it was simply displayed to him as a ruse in order to rob him. When thieves moved toward Hussain, he used his incredible swordplay to fend them off, escaping via the flying carpet and mastering its unruly ways. The brothers then met up to examine their finds. They used the telescope to see their father, shocked to learn that he was dying. They finally became united and rushed home on Hussain's magic carpet, saving Billah with Ahmed's powerful apple. After hearing the story, Schariar tells Scheherezade that her tales have saved him from "the darkness." The two then declare their mutual love. With Schazzenan near, Scheherezade tells Schariar that she will ride into battle with him. Scheherezade states how stories have the ability to "save us if we use our imagination." Finally, Schariar and Schazzenan square off and Schariar prevails by utilizing elements from each of Scheherezade's stories. Finally, Schazzenan is impaled on a spear after he tries to kill Schariar. Schariar and Scheherezade then embrace in victory. Years later, Scheherezade uses her storytelling skills once again, enticing her two young sons with tales of their father's adventures, night after night. Includes commercials.

Details

• NETWORK: ABC
• DATE: May 1, 2000 Monday 9:00 PM
• RUNNING TIME: 1:56:58
• COLOR/B&W: Color
• CATALOG ID: T:60486
• GENRE: Drama, fantasy/science fiction
• SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, fantasy/science fiction; Asian American Pacific Islanders Collection
• SERIES RUN: ABC - TV, 2000
• COMMERCIALS:
  • TV - Commercials - American Battle Monuments Commission: The National World War II Memorial
  • TV - Commercials - Burger King restaurants
  • TV - Commercials - Claritin allergy medication
  • TV - Commercials - E*Trade online financial services
  • TV - Commercials - Ethan Allen furniture
  • TV - Commercials - Farmers Insurance Group
  • TV - Commercials - Ford automobiles
  • TV - Commercials - Freeinternet.com
  • TV - Commercials - JC Penney stores
  • TV - Commercials - Johnson & Johnson products
  • TV - Commercials - Lipton Sizzle & Stir meals
  • TV - Commercials - MSN.com Microsoft website
  • TV - Commercials - MasterCard credit cards
  • TV - Commercials - McDonald's restaurants
  • TV - Commercials - Morgan Stanley/Dean Witter online financial services
  • TV - Commercials - Neutrogena lipstick
  • TV - Commercials - Neutrogena skin cream
  • TV - Commercials - Nivea skin cream
  • TV - Commercials - Office of National Drug Control Policy/Partnership for a Drug-Free America
  • TV - Commercials - Olive Garden restaurants
  • TV - Commercials - Prozac anti-depression medication
  • TV - Commercials - Reach toothbrushes
  • TV - Commercials - Sears stores
  • TV - Commercials - Sonata sleep aid
  • TV - Commercials - Starburst candies
  • TV - Commercials - The Alliance for Youth: America's Promise
  • TV - Commercials - The New Steel
  • TV - Commercials - Toys "R" Us stores
  • TV - Commercials - United States Postal Service
  • TV - Commercials - Windex Outside window cleaner
  • TV - Commercials - www.earthshare.org for environmental awareness
  • TV - Promos - "20/20 Downtown"
  • TV - Promos - "Dharma & Greg"
  • TV - Promos - "Jaws: 25th Anniversary Presentation"
  • TV - Promos - "My Best Friend's Wedding"
  • TV - Promos - "NYPD Blue"
  • TV - Promos - "Nightline"
  • TV - Promos - "Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher"
  • TV - Promos - "Spin City"
  • TV - Promos - "The Drew Carey Show"
  • TV - Promos - "The Kentucky Derby 2000"
  • TV - Promos - "The Wonderful World of Disney: Geppetto"
  • TV - Promos - "The Wonderful World of Disney: Mulan"
  • TV - Promos - "Who Wants to Be a Millionare: 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