The Red Sea Sharks is a two-part episode of The Adventures of Tintin, produced by Ellipse-Nelvana, based on the book of the same name by Hergé. This was the first episode of the show's third season.
Changes from the Book
The original book dealt with the topic of slavery in modern times, but the TV episode was centered around the smuggling of refugees, which surprisingly, are Arabs instead of Africans. They weren't meant to be sold, rather killed after handing over all their money. Furthermore, while the Africans in the book volunteered to be simply stokers for the ship that Captain Haddock has command of, this version makes a point of having the characters doing more sophisticated work on the ship.
Also, Piotr Skut has already known Tintin and Captain Haddock when they saved him while they haven't met each other in the original story. Mull Pasha/Dr. J.W. Müller's role is expanded, and he becomes the leader of the attempted coup d'état rather than just being one of Bab El Ehr's military commanders. Bab El Ehr himself is entirely absent from the storyline. Also, the scene in which the Mosquitos bomb the armored cars is rewritten - in the book, Muller is safely inside the command quarters and talks to the General via telephone, whereas in the TV version, Muller is in one of the vehicles and communicates via a com-link. Jolyon Wagg is also absent, and the last scene depicts the exploding firework in a chair, another trick from Abdullah.
Voice cast
- Colin O'Meara - Tintin
- Susan Roman - Snowy
- David Fox - Captain Haddock
- Wayne Robson - Professor Calculus
- John Stocker - Detective Thompson
- Dan Hennessey - Detective Thomson
- Harvey Atkin - Mohammed Ben Kalish Ezab
- Vernon Chapman - Nestor
- Maureen Forrester - Bianca Castafiore
Production errors
- In part 2, during a brief shot after the Captain explains that he has inspecting the S.S. Ramona for cargo, Piotr Skut's shirt goes blue.
