Fall 1999
Ultimate TV 1999-2000 Fall Preview
"Arabian Nights"

Call it the world's first miniseries. But the storyteller in "Arabian Nights" had far more than ratings to worry about--she'll be executed at dawn if her tales fail to captivate the Sultan. Scheherazade recounts the adventures of Ali Baba as he loots a treasure cave from a wicked thief; Aladdin, and genies. Told as a four-hour miniseries. The cast includes Emmy-winner John Leguizama, Alan Bates, with Mili Avital as Scheherazade and Dougray Scott as the sultan of Baghdad. The numbers: six stories, 4,750 costumes and 400 pieces of fake jewelry are featured. The elaborate costume drama was filmed on location in Turkey and among the ancient ruins of Jordan and Yemen. Airs April 30 and May 1 at 9 p.m. ET.

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The beautiful Scheherazade tries to postpone her execution by the powerful Sultan by telling him a different story each night. The magical stories of "A Thousand and One Nights" come to life as she tells them.
Cast: Mili Avital ("Kissing a Fool") as Scheherazade, Dougray Scott ("Ever After") as Schahriar, Jason Scott Lee (Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book") as Aladdin, Rufus Sewell ("Dangerous Beauty") as Ali Baba, Tcheky Karyo ("Addicted to Love") as Black Coda, Alan Bates ("Hamlet") as the Story Teller, and John Leguizamo ("William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet") in the dual roles of the Ring Genie and the Lamp Genie. Emmy Award-winning producer Robert Halmi, Sr. produces epic four-hour miniseries set to air as an "ABC Premiere Event," Sunday and Monday, April 30 and May 1 at 9 p.m. (ET), both nights.