Sahara with Michael Palin

It's hard to imagine that there are any places Michael Palin hasn't visited yet, but this has all the interest of any of his previous travel series.

This time the intrepid adventurer sets out to tackle the Sahara desert, and meets many interesting people along the way. The scenes are bright and full of life, and Michael Palin is as enthusiastic as ever before, and his inimitable humour and informative commentary is simply irresistable.

This time Palin encounters people in countries such as Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, (where he explains that he was once crucified - a referance to a filming location from "The Life of Brian") and Mauritania. He even witnesses a part of the Paris - Dakha rally.

The mixture of cultures is incredible to see, with considerable educational value, and some are almost entirely isolated from the outside world. Others follow slightly more western ways, but each is beautifully unique, and a pleasure to see.

Personally, I am eagerly anticipating a new journey for the brilliant Michael Palin. Outstanding entertainment.

Michael is traveling across the Sahara desert this time. He starts in Gibraltar and heads south and east. He makes a big circle and returns to Gibraltar. This series has only four episodes. The best one is the third episode where he travels with a camel train. It is noteworthy that he is out there in the middle of the desert when 9/11 happens. The camel train is probably comparable to the dhow in 80 Days. The last episode has Palin returning to Life of Brian. That's great for Monty Python fans. The security issues in Algiers foreshadows the post 9/11 era although I don't think he ever mentions it. I'm not sure if he understood its significance at the time. He also tackles the migration issue in another forward thinking moment. It's another interesting transitional moment on TV.

The first episode was tremendously boring. It's enough to make you fall asleep. Not so with the others. The deeper Palin goes into the Sahara, the more fascinating it gets.

Keep with it! It's a monstrously well-made series. And Micheal Palin is an added bonus.

The episode where he goes to Tunisia, Liberia and Algeria is the best one of all. He shows where he (and the Monty Python-gang) shot "Monty Python: Life of Brian" which is not really my favorite Python Movie, but seeing where they shot it is an education.

Enjoy the series!

I have just viewed the second episode of this wonderful exploration of the massive desert. As i speak its raining outside but for the moment i have been transported to Africa and are wallowing in its colourful and friendly atmosphere. Congratulations to Palin for another brilliant travel series!

Why can't American TV make shows like this? Michael Palin traps around the Sahara, always charming, never condescending and always fun to watch. He floats gently from 'moderately amused' to 'mildly irritated' as the train is 10 hours late, but he never stays down too long. Palin seems genuinely at peace with the strangeness of these places, and goes to learn, and not to fix anything, which is so refreshing. The show lightly touches on the Polisario/Morocco Western Sahara conflict, but doesn't stay there too long.

Nice to see Muslim countries on TV, away from the whole 'terrorism, Al Qaeda, whatever' debate. Quite a few discussions on the Polygamy issue -- which looks like a way to stir up a lively opinion from women in that part of the world.

Small warning: 'where meat comes from' is revealed in this show. In case you are trying to keep the kids ignorant of this.