New Europe

Michael Palin's New Europe gives the viewer a glimpse of the new European countries, focusing mainly people who live there and what has changed in their lives after gaining independence.

You get a slight overview of the main cities and also get to see some beautiful landscapes.

At times, the episodes turn a bit too much around Palin and his fantastic health treatments, but generally it is a very interesting and quite funny journey with a different kind of reporter.

Worth watching.

7/10.

New Europe (and Brazil) are Palin's worst travel documentaries by far. There is really no rhyme or reason for his travels thru each European country and instead of focusing on politics, tourist attractions and the economy, Palin instead visits restaurants, massage parlors or local yokels making alcoholic drinks. The only highlight is that Palin keeps company with attractive young ladies posing as guides in each city. Palin explains almost nothing of interest in each country. I was really shocked and disappointed after seeing Pole to Pole, Around the World in 80 Days, etc. Poland is the only country which gets any coherent coverage of things that matter.

I have seen yet the first three episodes...which included my country, Romania.First impression was not so good, Michael Palin presented too much the country side in Romania and very little of big cities.But, finally, it is OK.(still i have mixed felling about hiding our treasures or present them to the world) To present so many countries of east Europe, with all their long and complicated history and strong traditions...it is really very difficult. This is only a start..."a push up" for any other TV producers to try and discover any of these countries mentioned...in as many details possible. I hope this 7 episodes will start the curiosity and taste for these places, this series is just a glimpse...frustrating little. I thank Michael Palin and his BBC team for this series, because their work was very difficult.

Seeing 'New Europe' now, 20 years after the fall of the Iron Curtain gives a 40000 feet image about what is happening on the other side of the continent for the British and Western viewers who are the principal target audiences if I am not mistaken. The series try to position themselves on the middle of the road between the TV travel series and the investigative documentary, but they just succeed to scratch the surface of the two genres. It is not that screen time is missing - seven series of one hour each could have been enough for saying many interesting and important things about the complex fate and the sinuous development of the countries that Palin visited. It is preparation time that seems to have been missing and what the authors have chosen to do was to pick a little bit of everything for each country some political comments, interviews with important figures in the life and history of the latest 20 years and with Brits traveling or settled in the visited areas, exotic landscapes, folklore, esoteric health treatments. The combination has an air of superficiality. It is not that the serious political comment is completely missing - actually many observations are quite sharp, but they lack deepness, and the trivia wrapping they are delivered in gives a sensation of entertainment show which may actually have been the principal intent, but which cannot win my enthusiasm.

I just love Michael Palin travelogues! I choose this one to review since he is passing thru my homeland, former Yugoslavia.

I watched most of his trips and I have to say all of them are fantastic. From Pole to Pole, around the world, this way, that way. He has been fantastic! True gem of television. From the times Monty Pithon and film connected to it. Till today. I often watch interviews with him. He says that he is agnostic, but I would like to ask him in person about his religious believes after he spent so much time traveling. He traveled the whole globe. He saw probably every religion possible. I bet he is secretly atheist, but he can not say.

Michal, I wish you all the best in your life and future travels. You are one of the rare people who I would like to meet in person. All the best!!!