English-speaking people are familiar with a 1961 loose adaptation of Jules Verne's novel from 1875 L'Île Mysterieuse (The Mysterious Island), which featured giant monsters using stop-motion special effects by Ray Harrihausen. However, people from Continental Europe and Latin America are more familiar with a French-Italian-Spanish adaptation directed by Juan Antonio Bardem and Henri Colpi, filmed in 1972, which aired as a six-part television miniseries first in December 17th, 1973 on France's ORTF network, each episode being 52 minutes long. Omar Sharif played the role of Captain Nemo, and most people (myself included) still consider it to this day to be the most faithful adaptation of Verne's book ever produced, in spite of its reduced budget and limited special effects. In Germany, it premiered in November 8th, 1974 under the title Die geheimnisvolle Insel (The Mysterious Island) on the GDR's DDR1 network, and later in the FRG on January 5th, 1975. In Spain it premiered finally on July 14th, 1976, under the title La isla misteriosa (The Mysterious Island), and in Peru it also aired some time later that year, using the same dub from Spain. The network aired the 6 episodes one after another between Monday and Saturday, and on Sunday, they aired all 6 episodes back-to-back. My parents had taken me to visit my aunt, who had just returned from a prolonged stay in the United States (her husband being an NCO in the Peruvian Air Force, and at the time, I believe, being assigned as part of the delegation sent over there for the Bicentannial celebrations), and had brought back her color TV, so I was able to watch all 6 episodes in color (after having watched them in black and white at home in our Sanyo Portable TV set), marking it as the first ever TV production I watched in color.
For many years, it wasn't possible to obtain a video release of this miniseries, until in 2004, a 6-DVD set was released in Spain, sold by a specialized movie magazine in newsstands:
In 2005 I finally was able to get a copy of these DVDs and rewatch the miniseries after so many years. Although they have been out of production for quite some time now, later the miniseries has been re-released in various formats and languages, and it's also currently available to watch in some streaming services.
A little over a year ago, in August 2025, I got the idea of making a set of cards from screencaps of all 6 episodes, adding descriptions on the back, inspired on those that were being released at the time depicting show like Lost in Space, Star Trek, ot The Time Tunnel, just for fun. I made 16 cards for each episode, in groups of 8 on a single A4-size page, thus making a total of 24 pages (counting the front and back sides). A few days ago, I got the idea of publishing them on my blog, and Google's Gemini AI offered to translated the texts to English (which initially I hadn't considered doing myself, since there are 96 text descriptions in total), so here are they for your viewing pleasure:
Episode 1 - The Escape
Card 1A: March 1865. During the American Civil War, the city of Richmond, Virginia, is besieged by the Union armies and has been under attack for several days. Colonel LaRochelle has declared a State of Siege.
Card 1B: The sailor Bonadventure Pencroft, boatswain of the whaling ship "Silver Fox" from Nantucket, and his protégé, young Harbert Brown—son of his late captain—seek to flee the city where they have been held captive.
Card 1C: An observation balloon is stationed in the city square, which Pencroft intends to use to escape. However, mid-attempt, they are discovered by the guards, captured, and sent to prison.
Card 1D: Amidst a terrible storm raging between March 18 and 26, they manage to escape in the balloon: Pencroft, journalist Gedeon Spilett, engineer Cyrus Smith, and his servant Nab...
Card 1E: ...Smith's dog, Top, and young Harbert, who points out to Smith that the barometer indicates the balloon has begun to descend at an alarming rate, which will cause them to crash into the sea.
Card 1F: Gedeon Spilett recalls how he was detained under charges of espionage and brought before Colonel LaRochelle after having taken notes and drawn a detailed map of the fortifications.
Card 1G: After throwing out all the ballast, the passengers find themselves forced to strip away everything they possibly can to lighten the balloon and halt its descent, including the very basket itself.
Card 1H: Although they manage to stop the descent, they discover the balloon has an air leak. As Cyrus Smith tries to climb up to repair it, he cannot hold on and plummets into the sea. Top leaps into the water after him.
Card 1J: On the seabed, mysterious figures in diving suits rescue Cyrus Smith, placing him in a kind of watertight sarcophagus and taking him away with them to an unknown location.
Card 1K: Cyrus Smith recalls how he and Nab had to appear before Colonel LaRochelle after being captured; Smith was taken to prison for refusing to answer, while Nab was taken away to be sold as a slave.
Card 1L: Top, Smith's faithful dog, tries to follow his master, but after being shooed away by the guards, he has no choice but to stay in the square, watching Smith and Nab being separated, as Nab promises to look for him at the first opportunity.
Card 1M: In the prison cell, Pencroff has managed to get a couple of Confederate soldiers to sell him some tobacco for a dollar, despite Spilett's disapproval. Pencroff promises the soldiers another dollar if they get him some matches so he can smoke.
Card 1N: Cyrus Smith is brought to the prison and introduces himself to his cellmates. Gideon Spilett recognizes his name, as Smith had published technical articles in the newspaper before the war, and Smith, in turn, admits to having been a regular reader of his.
Card 1P: Nab is brought alongside recaptured runaway slaves to be chained, but he successfully manages to orchestrate an escape and sets off to fulfill the promise he made to Cyrus Smith, being found by the faithful Top.
Card 1Q: While the guards are distracted trying to catch Top to cook him, the two soldiers return to bring Pencroff the matches, but Nab knocks them unconscious and frees the rest; they all head toward the balloon to escape, just as Pencroff had planned.
Card 1R: After spotting an island toward which the balloon is heading, the passengers drop themselves onto the beach as they fly low over it, falling onto the sand. Upon waking up and ensuring everyone is fine, Nab sets out to look for Cyrus Smith at dusk.
Episode 2 - The Castaways from the Air
Card 2A: After waking up in the morning, Pencroff and Spilett discuss the need to find water, and they collect mussels on the beach. Harbert points out that they are "lithodomes," but that they are also edible. Nab has not returned yet.
Card 2B: Nab returns without having found any trace of Cyrus Smith. He continues the search along with the others, noting that besides Smith being very capable, Top, who jumped after him, would not have let him drown.
Card 2C: During the search, the castaways find a freshwater stream, which they use to refresh themselves. Pencroff notices that game is abundant in the surroundings, regretting not having a rifle, and tells Harbert to look for something edible.
Card 2D: While they continue looking for something to eat, Gideon Spilett spots a glare at the top of the mountain overlooking the island, and, driven by his natural curiosity as a journalist, heads off to investigate its origin.
Card 2E: Ascending the mountain, Spilett distinguishes not one but several glares at its summit, which intriges him even more, and he continues the climb toward them without backing down.
Card 2F: Meanwhile, in the woods, Pencroff and Harbert manage to hunt a bird by clubbing it. Pencroff regrets that it is somewhat small to feed the four castaways; Harbert simply resigns himself.
Card 2G: As Spilett has almost reached the place of origin of the mountain glares, a beam of light coming from a strange electronic device strikes him, leaving him unconscious.
Card 2H: Before completely losing consciousness, Spilett distinguishes a mysterious figure approaching him. After examining him, the figure signals four others to approach and carry the unconscious body down the mountain.
Card 2J: Pencroff and Harbert find the still-unconscious Spilett near the beach, having gone to look for him after noticing his absence. Upon waking up without being able to remember very well what happened to him, the three of them head to the beach in search of Nab.
Card 2K: Pencroff and Harbert have decided to move the camp to a spring at another spot on the beach. Pencroff reminds Spilett that he bought matches, and while Harbert sleeps, Pencroff gathers firewood and Spilett brings lithodomes and a wild fruit.
Card 2L: After discovering that the matches the soldiers sold him were all burnt, Pencroff does not resign himself and tries to start a fire by rubbing two pieces of wood together, despite Harbert and Spilett's pessimism about it.
Card 2M: When Nab arrives with the others, Pencroff reproaches him for leaving Spilett alone and blames all their hardships on him and his race, with the two almost coming to blows if not for Spilett's intervention.
Card 2N: Just at that moment, Harbert spots Top up high, who begins to bark. The dog approaches the group, and at Nab's urging, makes everyone follow him to the place where Cyrus Smith is located, on a beach that Nab recognizes and where they see some footprints.
Card 2P: Following the footprints in the sand to a cave by the beach, they find Cyrus Smith lying inside, unable to be awakened, which worries Harbert. Pencroff is puzzled by the fact that he has no marks on him, and Nab recalls that he checked the cave the day before without finding anything.
Card 2Q: While the others debate the mystery, Cyrus Smith regains consciousness. They move him to the camp so he can rest, but he cannot remember anything that happened after he fell from the balloon. He asks them the question: "Island or continent?"
Card 2R: Using the crystals from his watch and Spilett's, resin from a plant to join them, and water to fill the inside, Smith crafts a magnifying lens with which he lights a fire. With it, they will be able to cook the food the others bring, to their surprise and delight.
Episode 3 - Forbidden Territory
Card 3A: While the castaways enjoy the birds hunted by Pencroff and Harbert, cooked thanks to the fire lit by Cyrus Smith with the improvised magnifying lens, Pencroff only regrets not being able to enjoy a good pipe of tobacco to accompany them.
Card 3B: Spilett regrets that his only skill consists of writing, but Cyrus Smith reminds him of the articles he wrote about the life of indigenous tribes, learning how they manufactured their weapons and tools. Spilett points out to him that they had better utensils to make them...
Card 3C: ...while they do not possess even a single knife. Nab shares that he worked as a blacksmith and can manufacture many things, even hammers, and Harbert points out that they have a source of iron: Top's collar, which Nab declares suitable for his purposes.
Card 3D: Thanks to the two knives manufactured by Nab with the iron from the collar, the castaways have been able to make bows, arrows, and spears, and Cyrus Smith has crafted a fuse using Pencroff's handkerchief and a saltpeter solution discovered by Spilett, which will make lighting fires easier.
Card 3E: After leaving a pig hunted by Spilett next to the fire, the castaways set off toward the mountain, from whose summit they hope to be able to see far enough to find the answer to Cyrus Smith's question about whether they have arrived at an island or a continent.
Card 3F: On the way to the summit, Spilett points out to Cyrus Smith the bright spots he spotted earlier, a bit further away, seeing that they are moving. Cyrus Smith also notes that they are all at the same level. Spilett wonders if they might be man-made.
Card 3G: Continuing the climb toward the summit, the castaways find an exposed vein of a substance that Harbert assumes could be sulfur. Cyrus Smith confirms it for him and recalls having seen others further down.
Card 3H: From the mountain summit, the castaways can spot the sea all around them. It is clear then that it is an island, making it necessary next to determine its location. Pencroff regrets not having tables or a sextant, but Smith says he can do it without them by waiting until April 16th.
Card 3J: Some days later, the castaways head out to investigate the origin of the mysterious bright glares in the mountains. Along the way, Harbert points out the place where he and Pencroff found Spilett, but the latter recalls having headed toward a completely different spot.
Card 3K: As the group gets closer to the region where the reflections originate, Cyrus Smith, leading the group, is struck by one of the light beams and is aided by the others. They take shelter behind a rock, but as they peer out, other beams strike nearby, forcing them to retreat.
Card 3L: After another beam strikes while they attempt a detour, Cyrus Smith discovers chunks of high-purity magnetic iron on the ground; by using sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal from the trees to make gunpowder, he plans to extract it to use for toolmaking.
Card 3M: On April 16th, using a sundial and Spilett's watch, Cyrus Smith determines that there is a 5-hour time difference from Washington, equivalent to 75 degrees, which places the island at approximately 152 degrees west longitude relative to the Greenwich Meridian.
Card 3N: That same night, measuring the elevation angle of Alpha Crucis in the Southern Cross, located at 27 degrees, Smith determines it to be 10 degrees, which places the island at about 37 degrees south latitude—that is, halfway between New Zealand and the Tuamotu Archipelago.
Card 3P: Later on, following Top as he squeezes through a cleft in the rocks, Harbert discovers a fairly spacious cave that could serve as their lodging. After first widening the entrance with gunpowder and then creating a second entrance, the castaways furnish it as their new home.
Card 3Q: Another day, while hunting near the area of the mysterious flashes, Harbert spots three mysterious figures, but they discover him and give chase. While trying to hide in a cave, toxic vapors cause him to lose consciousness, and he is later rescued by the strangers.
Card 3R: The other castaways, following Top, search for Harbert without being able to find him. Meanwhile, the youth awakens in a mysterious place where he had been taken for his recovery; upon trying to explore it, he is caught by surprise by one of the mysterious figures he saw earlier.
Episode 4 - The Abandoned
Card 4A: Five days have passed since Harbert's disappearance, and the searches have proven fruitless. Pencroff has gone three days without eating. However, Cyrus Smith does not believe that Harbert is dead, despite the passing days, nor that Top simply lost the trail.
Card 4B: Meanwhile, Harbert awakens outside, unable to remember anything that happened to him. He gathers his belongings and sets off on his way back to the rock cavern that now serves as lodging for the castaways.
Card 4C: Spilett points out the similarity between Harbert's amnesia and Cyrus Smith's after falling into the sea. The cube Harbert placed in his pocket scares Top, and Smith cannot identify the material. Spilett recalls indigenous myths about beings from other worlds and believes its owner might come to claim it.
Card 4D: On the island's coastline, the mysterious figures, equipped with diving suits, have salvaged the remains of the castaways' balloon from the sea under the watchful eye of Top, who had gone out hunting with Spilett but later wandered away after catching a scent.
Card 4E: While Pencroff and Harbert are testing the pirogue they built, the latter retrieves a bottle from the sea. Inside is a message: "Castaway Isle Tabor, 152 degrees west longitude, 36 south latitude." Although it is only 50 or 60 miles away, the pirogue lacks sails for such a voyage.
Card 4F: Nab speculates that the man who threw the bottle into the sea might have died long ago, but Pencroff indicates that the bottle has been in the water for no more than three months, or it would have sunk to the bottom due to the weight of the algae and crustaceans attached to it. Furthermore, the paper is in perfect condition.
Card 4G: Pencroff's birthday arrives, and the castaways surprise him by gifting him a pipe and tobacco. Harbert discovered the plant, Cyrus Smith prepared the tobacco, Spilett crafted the pipe, and Nab sewed the pouch to store the tobacco, keeping it a secret until that day.
Card 4H: Top returns to the cavern bringing a piece of fabric that Spilett and Cyrus Smith identify as belonging to the balloon's envelope. Pencroff suggests the possibility of going to rescue the castaway on Tabor Island, and they direct Top to guide them to the place of his discovery.
Card 4J: With the pirogue now equipped with sails, Pencroff, Harbert, and Spilett undertake the voyage to Tabor Island, which will take about 10 hours. To pass the time, Pencroff sings the 70 or 80 verses of the "Ballad of Captain Nemo", which he learned from a Canadian whaler who knew Ned Land.
Card 4K: Meanwhile, using a lightning rod device he has built in secret with Nab's help, Cyrus Smith heads out to explore the origin of the mysterious light beams. Nab does not want to let him go alone and has built a second device for himself, marching after him.
Card 4L: After arriving at Tabor Island and exploring it, Pencroff, Harbert, and Spilett find an abandoned cabin, and inside, two inscriptions: "March 18, 1857" and "Captain Grant, November 23, 1841." Meanwhile, from the thicket, someone watches their movements.
Card 4M: Pencroff also finds a bronze bell belonging to the Britannia. Harbert believes they should not rule out the possibility that Captain Grant might still be alive, so they decide to continue exploring until dusk before returning to their island, also taking a rifle and other gear with them.
Card 4N: As evening falls, Spilett, Pencroff, and Harbert sit down to eat some food before returning to the pirogue, but Harbert has forgotten his arrows and goes back for them, encountering the castaway, who is devouring their leftovers. Pencroff and Spilett run to his call, but the castaway has fled into the thicket.
Card 4P: Meanwhile, back on the island, thanks to their lightning rods, Cyrus Smith and Nab have been able to climb up to the place of origin of the mysterious beams without being affected by them, but the devices have retracted into a crevice in the rock, as Smith concludes upon finding nothing at the site.
Card 4Q: On the way back, Nab spots a man lying on the ground, who turns out to be one of the mysterious figures we have seen. Approaching him, Cyrus Smith detects faint beats from his heart and rules out leprosy as being his sickness. They decide to bring him back with them, carrying him.
Card 4R: On Tabor Island, Pencroff, Harbert, and Spilett manage to capture the castaway after setting a trap in the abandoned cabin using hot food as bait, and they board the pirogue with him, launching it into the sea, thus leaving Tabor Island behind and setting course back to their island.
Episode 5 - The Black Flag
Card 5A: Spilett, Pencroff, and Harbert sail back toward the island, carrying the castaway from Tabor Island with them in the pirogue. A favorable wind blows at their backs, but Pencroff expresses his concern upon seeing dark storm clouds in the distance, which will draw closer as the hours pass.
Card 5B: As the storm breaks out, inside the island's cave, Cyrus Smith and Nab trust that Pencroff will be able to bring the pirogue to a safe destination, and they tend to the mysterious man they rescued earlier, wondering if his companions will come for him, but he expires shortly after.
Card 5C: While the pirogue is being battered by the tempest, Spilett decides to cut the bonds of the Tabor Island castaway, thus preventing him from drowning should anything happen to the pirogue due to the heavy surf, despite Pencroff's distrust and concern.
Card 5D: Pencroff slips and hurts his leg, coming close to falling into the sea. While Spilett and Harbert rush to aid him, amid his despair over having no one at the helm, the Tabor Island castaway runs to the stern of the pirogue and takes it in his hands, to Pencroff's gratitude.
Card 5E: On board the pirogue, the squall continues, and Pencroff is unable to determine their position, but suddenly they spot a light in the distance, which they attribute to a bonfire lit by Cyrus Smith atop the cliff to guide them, renewing their hopes upon seeing that they have almost arrived.
Card 5F: In the morning, while Cyrus Smith, Nab, and Top scout the coastline aboard a raft, the pirogue arrives at the island, and as soon as it touches land on the beach, the Tabor Island castaway bolts toward the interior; he is pursued by Top, but manages to lose himself in the thicket.
Card 5G: When Pencroff, Spilett, and Harbert thank Cyrus Smith and Nab for having lit a bonfire on the cliff, the latter deny having done any such thing, which, coupled with the previous discovery of the mysterious man, reveals to them that they are not alone on the island as they believed.
Card 5H: Atop the cliff, the apparent leader of the mysterious men is retrieving his large lantern that had been placed at that spot, but upon hearing the castaways approaching, he abandons it and bolts to hide from them before they can discover him.
Card 5J: The castaways reach the spot where they saw the bonfire lit, and Harbert finds the lantern abandoned by the mysterious man. They have Top track his scent and follow it until they reach another cliff. Cyrus Smith announces aloud to him that they only want to know how to get off the island.
Card 5K: The mysterious man slips and falls, knocking himself unconscious. The castaways rush to his aid and take him to their cave to examine him and watch over him until he recovers. He pretends to remain unconscious so he can overhear them talking and listen to Pencroff sing the Ballad of Captain Nemo.
Card 5L: In the morning, Spilett discovers a box floating off the beach, and Harbert is sent swimming toward it, carrying a rope to haul it to the shore. The mysterious man takes advantage of Nab's momentary distraction to escape, throwing himself into the subterranean lake inside the cave.
Card 5M: Inside the box, they find weapons, tools, and supplies that will allow them to build and sail a ship to leave the island, and they decide to get to work. A very sharp knife suggests to Spilett the possibility of a much-needed shave, after so many months of letting his beard grow.
Card 5N: While they are building the ship, the castaway approaches to speak with them. He denies having thrown the bottle into the sea and confesses he is not Captain Grant but a sailor named Ayrton, who told Grant's children and Lord Glenarvan that he knew the shipwreck's location, being in reality Ben Joyce—a name Spilett does not recognize.
Card 5P: A rifle, provisions, and Pencroff's tobacco and pipes go missing, casting suspicion on Ayrton or Ben Joyce, who returns and recounts how he tried to seize Lord Glenarvan's ship and was left on Tabor Island after Captain Grant was rescued. They later discover that a chimpanzee is to blame for the thefts.
Card 5Q: Another day, while working on the ship, Harbert spots a vessel off the island. The castaways try to draw its attention and fire into the air, but the ship responds with a cannon shot. As they take cover, the black flag of the pirates is hoisted aboard the vessel.
Card 5R: A group of pirates, apparently unarmed and carrying a white flag, lands on the island. Ayrton recognizes the leader as his former companion, Bob Harvey. It is a trap, and upon retreating inside the cave for shelter, the castaways find themselves trapped from both ends.
Episode 6 - The Secret of the Island
Card 6A: Bob Harvey and his second-in-command, Finch, offer their word to leave the castaways alive if they surrender, and Ayrton responds that he has known for a long time what that word is worth. Bob Harvey recognizes the voice of Ben Joyce and offers a reward to anyone who captures him, but none of his men dare to.
Card 6B: Besieged by the pirates, Harbert manages to slip away along with Top to go look for help from the mysterious men, but Jupiter the chimpanzee is wounded by one of the pirates before Nab finishes him. While Spilett covers him, Nab picks up Jupiter and carries him back to the cave.
Card 6C: Harbert and Top reach the location of the beam-emitters and are halted by them. But then Harbert shows the mysterious metal cube he kept in his pocket and announces that he has come to return it, whereupon the discharges cease, allowing them to continue their approach.
Card 6D: Harbert and Top reach the shelter of the strangers, traversing its interior until they find their leader tending to one of his men on his deathbed. When the leader asks him what he is doing there, for all answers, Harbert shows him the cube he kept in his pocket.
Card 6E: In the cave, Jupiter the chimpanzee dies as a result of the gunshot wound, and the castaways bury him. Then, a powerful tremor shakes the island, and at the mountain's summit, the volcano's crater begins to erupt, with streams of lava flowing down the slope.
Card 6F: While the pirates run to try and find shelter from the lava, off the coast, their ship blows sky-high, the victim of a powerful explosion. The castaways realize that Harbert managed to secure the help of the strangers, and they also spot several dead pirates on the beach.
Card 6G: Two of the strangers, equipped with diving suits, emerge from the sea on the beach and engage in a gunfight with Bob Harvey, who manages to kill one of them before fleeing. The castaways take up their weapons and run after him to prevent him from finding Harbert, while the other stranger returns to the sea.
Card 6H: Having lost Bob Harvey's trail, the castaways continue their way toward the mountain to find Harbert and the strangers, remaining on alert. But meanwhile, Bob Harvey, hidden behind some rocks, watches them from afar and sets off to follow them.
Card 6J: The castaways reach the location of the beam-emitters and can get close enough to see them without activating them. Continuing the climb, they discover that they have been damaged by the tremor, marveling that anyone could have built such a thing. But Bob Harvey is still following them.
Card 6K: Upon reaching the summit, they discover that the tremor has caused part of it to collapse, exposing a wide subterranean cave, which must correspond to the shelter of the strangers. They venture inside, and as they go down, they hear voices singing in Italian in the distance and spot a light.
Card 6L: The castaways have reached the place where the strangers are hiding, inside a metallic structure within the cavern that is washed by the waters. They decide to enter to find Harbert and the strangers, assuming they are still alive after the tremor.
Card 6M: Traversing the interior of the site, the castaways reach a room where Top is sitting next to the leader of the strangers, who is enjoying an opera from his armchair thanks to a projection system. Upon seeing them, he stands up and turns off the projector.
Card 6N: The stranger asks how they were able to arrive, to which Cyrus Smith responds. Knowing that Bob Harvey is still alive and has been able to follow them, he heads to sound an alarm, but Pencroff threatens to shoot him, as he has recognized that they are inside the Nautilus and that he is Captain Nemo.
Card 6P: After sending his last man to stand guard, Captain Nemo takes them to Harbert and asks Smith and Nab to go down to the cave in diving suits to see if the tremor has affected the wall separating the sea from the volcano's boiler. He then recounts his story as Prince Dakkar to Spilett.
Card 6Q: Bob Harvey surprises the guard and boards the Nautilus, where he wounds Captain Nemo, but the latter activates the defense systems and Harvey is electrocuted as he flees. He then indicates to the castaways that the Nautilus will be his tomb and tells them to leave the island on their raft before it is destroyed.
Card 6R: The castaways, aboard the raft, are spotted by the Duncan, Lord Glenarvan's yacht, which has returned for Ayrton after all these years. While Captain Nemo sinks with the Nautilus, the sea rushes into the volcano, destroying the island forever.
And so the six-episode miniseries ends... I hope this summary has peaked your curiosity enough to search for it and watch it, if you haven't done so already in the past.
Be on the lookout for my next post! Because the story doesn't really end here...
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