Cigars of the Pharaoh (TV episode)

Cigars of the Pharaoh
Director(s)	Stéphane Bernasconi
Unit Director(s)	Peter Hudecki
Storyboard Artist(s)	Christian Choquet
Orig. airdate	6 & 13 November 1991
Episode no.	8 & 9

Cigars of the Pharaoh is a two-part episode of The Adventures of Tintin, produced by Ellipse-Nelvana, based on the book of the same name by Hergé.

Changes from the Book

In the TV episode, Tintin's cruise is transported from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean and scenes showing the criminal boss writing orders already hint at the boss being Rastapopoulos by his voice and by clothes matching his preceding appearances. Also, the dream sequence when Tintin passes out in the tomb is made more frightening when the Pharaoh's emblem (colored red and slanted to look more like a no symbol) melts into a smoke that appears to be blood and eventually transforms into a disfigured skull-like apparition. The gunrunner's role was much reduced. Also, the poet Zloty and Reverend Peacock are absent in the episode.

In the mental hospital, the cell is a padded cell, while in the book it has a bed.In the TV episode, Dr. Finney is a member of the gang and wrote the letter saying that Tintin was mad. In the book, the fakir copied the doctor's handwriting and wrote the letter. In the comic, Doctor Sarcophagus ends up in the asylum, while in the TV episode he does not. In the comic an unnamed Japanese man is a member of the gang. In the TV series, the unnamed Japanese is replaced by Allan Thompson, whom Tintin recognizes.

Following the chronology of the books, Tintin does not see Allan until The Crab with the Golden Claws, but as the TV series episodes of The Crab with the Golden Claws, which aired before Cigars of the Pharaoh, Tintin's recognition of Thompson is credible when the episodes are viewed in that order. Furthermore, there could exist the possibility that in the series Tintin had briefly seen Allan when he was inside the sarcophagus, on Allan's ship, though in the book he's unconscious the whole time. In the TV episode when Thompson and Thomson come into Tintin's cabin, Tintin already knows them, while in the book he does not. Tintin is not recaptured by the asylum; instead, he is found by the Maharaja of Gaipajama's son.

Also, while Snowy is searching for Tintin, unlike the book, he does not attack a holy cow and hence was not captured by Hindus who wanted to sacrifice him. Instead, Thompson and Thomson find him wandering the railroads and "arrest" him.

Voice cast

• Colin O'Meara - Tintin
• Susan Roman - Snowy
• John Stocker - Detective Thompson, Mr. Snowball
• Dan Hennessey - Detective Thomson
• Marc Thompson - Doctor Sophocles Sarcophagus
• Jim Byrnes - Dr. Finney
• [McNeil] - Roberto Rastapopoulos

Trivia

• Roberto Rastapopoulos' scenes only showing his hands and hearing his voice were inspired by the portrayal of Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the James Bond films From Russia with Love and Thunderball.

Production errors

• In one scene when Tintin is talking to Dr. Sarcophagus, his socks disappear.
• In part one, when Tintin and Snowy walk into the tomb, Tintin clips off screen.
• In part two, Tintin refers to Dr. Sarcophagus as a professor at one point.
• In part two, as Tintin shouts "You're making a mistake", the hospital director seems to walk through the wall as he turns the corner in the corridor.