And the winner the first night out of the May sweeps is - are you ready for this? - Arabian Nights.

The two-part, four-hour, special effects-laden extravaganza premieres tonight at 8 on Buffalo's Channel 7 with the conclusion tomorrow night at 9. That's right, there's no Canadian simulcast, which usually means the production is horrid.

In the case of Arabian Nights, exactly the opposite is true. Here is a mesmerizing and beautifully filmed version of the legend of Scheherazade who for 1,001 nights kept her maniacal husband from having her killed by telling him the stories she learned from a master storyteller in the market.

The storyteller is played by Alan Bates, Scheherazade by the impossibly gorgeous Israeli actress Mili Avital and the sultan of Baghdad with homicide on his mind by equally handsome Dougray Scott. In this version the sultan has so far only killed one other wife - the one who was caught having sex with his brother.

So Scheherazade begins spinning stories all night to keep her husband occupied. She's loved him since they were children, she confesses, and is convinced he can be dissuaded from turning into a mass murderer.

Meanwhile, the chief executioner waits impatiently at the couple's door with the silken cord already in his hand.

The five stories we see are a dazzling display of filmmaking at its best. First up is the yarn about Ali Baba (Rufus Sewell) and the 40 thieves. The second story concerns the hunchback, Bacbac (Alexei Sayle), ''so tiny he could milk a cow standing up." Then comes the story of the handsome rogue Aladdin (Jason Scott Lee).

Next, we meet up with Amin (Scott again), who in a drunken moment declares he wants to be Sultan and gets his wish. And finally, there is the tale of the old Sultan Billah (Henry Goodman) and his three sons.

''I had this grand idea when I was making the miniseries Merlin," says British director Steve Barron from his London home.

''Producer Robert Halmi asked me what we should do next. Merlin involved my British roots, it was very culturally soothing. But Arabian Nights I saw as grand and fantastic, set far away from comfortable Pinewood Studios where we'd made most of Merlin."

Barron says he doubted the $28-million production could ever be made. ''It seemed quite daunting. We had to transport 150 key crew members all the way to Turkey."

Most of the miniseries was filmed in the new Antalya Studios in Turkey.

''We were the first tenants, and we built 48 different sets and shot for 15 weeks. It's built on a rice paddy field and after a flood it was under six feet of water."

Barron says the success of Merlin convinced the network to back off and not insist on a cast of American TV names.

''I went for the best actor for each role," he says. ''John Leguizamo is wonderful as the two genies & semi; he's American but not a TV name. I wanted Jason Scott Lee as Aladdin - I needed that impish quality."

Even while the miniseries was filming, technicians back at London's
FrameStore studios were developing the digital special effects. It took 104 computer-generated effects to make the magic carpet come alive.

The Jim Henson Creature Shop (in London) created two magnificent computer- generated Chinese dragons for the Ali Baba section.

''We had cutouts on location so the actors would be looking at something resembling the final product. It's easier doing the effects for the small TV screen - TV requires 625 lines of resolution for each effect compared to 2, 000 for a big screen movie."

Barron says he preferred to make Arabian Nights for TV ''because I'm telling a story over four hours, which would be too long for a conventional movie. And film studios would never stand for anything so episodic."

Barron got his sense of visuals directing such videos as Michael Jackson in Billie Jean (in 1982). After two years of hard work on Arabian Nights, he says his next project ''is a true change of pace, a very little Irish black comedy of a movie called Rat with Pete Postlethwaite and Imelda Staunton. There's nary a genie in this one."

Thanks to Rai for sharing this!