Ever since it was published in 1872, Jules Verne’s great adventure novel has delighted readers with its cavalcade of cameos for faded movie stars. At least that is the impression you would get from the Oscar winning 1956 movie. Regrettably, the cast of hundreds has not aged nearly as well as that of “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.” In fact, the David Niven vehicle’s critical stock has declined steadily over time, greatly lowering the stakes for subsequent adaptations. Series creators Ashley Pharoah and Caleb Ranson take another crack at Verne’s globetrotting yarn “Around the World in 80 Days,” which premiered Jan. 2 on PBS. Do not panic. This series only runs eight episodes—rather, 80—averaging about ten days per installment. As is often the case, the first is the slowest. In this case, it is laboriously slow, but Steve Barron (director of the first four episodes and the finale) soon picks …