Around the World in 80 Days

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.

Michael Palin travelled around the globe in Pole to Pole, Full Circle, and Hemingway Adventure. Around the World in 80 Days done twice in 1989 on TV, by follower Monty Pythoner Eric Idle played Passepartout, but Palin did the trip for real. This is his first, based on the fictious trip of Phileas Fogg by Jules Verne. Palin travels by ground transport without a plane flight around the world within the 80 days. You wonder if he will make the alloted time for the trip or not? It is an enjoyable journey following the places that Verne wrote about in the book. It was a pleasure to read and watch this show.

Michael Palin exudes warmth and depth of character as he attempts to follow in the footsteps of Phileas Fogg. His wit, sincerity and enthusiasm set this documentary apart from other pretenders as he experiences the pleasure, pain and fulfilment of a voyage of discovery. One cannot help being in awe of this production which educates and entertains simultaneously. Palin was to follow this series with other 'adventures', which show him to be an affable character with genuine wit and intellect. Along his journey he has memorable encounters with beast and humanity, and his writings and narration capture all of the emotions.

Outstanding TV.

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.

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+!