This series features Michael Palin attempting to travel around the world in eighty days while emulating the famous route of same circumference and duration as Phineas Fogg in Jules Verne's book.

That is all good and self-explanatory.
There are a few interesting caveats, however: Palin cannot use an airplane, only travels in a hot air balloon on a stop-over and not during his travel route and he is accompanied most of the journey with a crew of three other men (who are rarely seen on screen, but are vital to the production.

The series is so comfortable in its presentation, that as the viewer you are so comfortable watching it all unfold in each far corner (or near corner) of the world.
Although Palin is on a tight schedule and must work and strive to keep pace with the set calendar, the journey is a warm one and completely engrossing.
The hour-long episodes take forever to go by, but never drag on - it seems as you've watched a two-hour show when at the end of an episode only forty-eight minutes have gone by.

Palin is perfect for this duty.
His personality seems shoe-fit for this and he seems to draw out the best and kindest in the people he meets everywhere he goes.
Palin keeps the journey comfortable, sometimes very funny, always interesting, at the proper times a bit profound and always in the proper perspective.

The places travelled through on this journey will sometimes be familiar and sometimes not.
If the place is familiar, it will not at all be explored and experienced in a familiar way.
If the place is not familiar, you will wonder even wider at how life is so different/so similar to your own and how the people however their lives are, are just like you.

This is an excellent series.
It's much more than a travel documentary, and much less than a heavy-handed attempt at an international cross-cultures expose'.

An hour on this journey with Mr. Palin and crew is far and away worth every minute spent.
And as they all travel far and away, you will be very glad you joined along with them.


Palin's Travels Homepage.
Find the DVD series here.