The original Michael Palin adventure. A global journey against the clock.
“Not until dawn on the day of departure did a full-blown, gut-tightening panic set in. I had volunteered to deliver these documentaries, (having only done one in my life before), against the clock, with absolutely no script at all, on a route that might change without warning. Nothing like it had been attempted before.”
A Venetian refuse barge, a battered taxi in Egypt, a primitive boat across the Persian Gulf, a Chinese steam engine and a container ship across the Date Line… Michael Palin’s attempt to circumnavigate the world heralds a phenomenal journey of dhows, diarrhoea, hungry parrots and a world full of surprises.
Programme One
1. Outward Bound
2. Prepartations
3. The Ultimate Traveller
4. Orient Express
5. Bad News
6. Venice
7. Travelling by Ferry
8. An Evening Meal
Programme Two
1. Arabian Frights
2. The Road to Cairo
3. A Closer Look
4. An Appointment to Keep
5. Problems
6. At Sea
7. Jeddah
8. A Plan
Programme Three
1. Ancient Mariners
2. Provisions
3. Mohammed
4. Life at Sea
5. Chips
6. Raising the Mast
7. Bombay Bum
8. A First Glimpse of India
Programme Four
1. A Close Shave
2. A Day in Bombay
3. Off to Madras
4. Making Friends
5. Arrival
6. A Boat to Singapore
7. 11 Days Behind Schedule
8. Waiting to Dock
Programme Five
1. Oriental Express
2. Welcome to Hong Kong
3. Local Life
4. The Hong Kong Riviera
5. “China, here we come”
6. A Snake Supper
7. The Train to Shanghai
8. A Four Seasons Climate
Programme Six
1. Far East and Farther East
2. Time to Move On
3. Japan
4. Karaoke
5. The Neptune Garnet
6. Worsening Weather
7. Ship-Lag
8. Halfway Round the World
Programme Seven
1. Dateline to Deadline
2. America by Train
3. Glenwood Springs
4. Behind Schedule Again
5. New York Bound
6. Nine Days Left
7. Felixstowe
8. The End in Sight
Directed by Roger Mills and Clem Vallance. Produced by Clem Vallance.