Around the World in 80 Days

Having grown up on Micheal Palin's travel series and enjoyed them all, I still return to watch this one again and again.

Although there is an attempt to build tension with the 'will he/won't he' of the 80 day limit in order to echo the fictional journey of Fogg, this really isn't what this series is about. To paraphrase Palin himself, it is about going around the world as fast as you can while still allowing you to see things on the way round.

What makes the series are the friendships Palin forms with people around the world, and the genuine sense of adventure which he brings to the series!

Yes, the film may look a little dated now, and doubtless places have changed since this was made, but it is still a wonderful series to excite the traveller in us all!

After watching a couple parts of the film in a class I was taking at Ohio State, I was hooked and had to find out for myself how the whole thing played out. After watching the entire program, I had to get a copy of it on DVD. The DVD of it is also a brilliant masterpiece. Every facet of the program is perfectly put together, as is the case for the other five travel documentaries he did later. Palin, as is the case for his other travel documentaries, shows the viewers many places of the world we only read about in encyclopedias. He goes many places we would only dream of seeing. If you are a fan of Palin, geography, travel, or documentaries, this is a good show to catch. This is one documentary you will want to watch over and over again, like yours truly; I give it an A+!

Michael Palin manages to make us look at the world through a fascinating perspective. He talks about Philleas Fogg as though as if he was a real character that he's trying to catch up and in the meantime we share with him the joys and dangers of a journey that takes him from the battlefields of the Middle East, to the Purple Mountains of the American West. We can see how the world changes as people and places differ and we get a small taste of our wonderful and diverse world. Definitely a must see for anyone who enjoys travel.

I loved the series but the DVDs you will link to are NOT the dvds of Palin'e journey. Panlin makes a great journey following the original intent of the story. He does not use aircraft and I find the journey both interesting and dramatic. Following the journey of Phineous is difficult today...surprisingly. His observations are amusing and interesting...especially to people from the US. The question that Palin constantly worries about is whether he can make it in 80 days and it is a dramatic race to the finish. Watch out, the dvds on Amazon are not the dvds of Palin's journey. I hope that someday they will make a version for us. Until then, be very careful.

This is my favourite of Michael Palin's irresistable travel shows, and despite the fact that I know the outcome, I revisit it over and over.

The sights from London to Cairo, Shanghai to Tokyo, and Aspen to New York are breathtaking to see, and Michael Palin's delightfully humorous and informative commentary is a joy.

The journey retains all of its excitement every time I view it, and I hope I will never grow tired of it.

I recommend that all lovers of travel see this, and anyone else for that matter, as the sights are fantastic to see from your own armchair.