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Michael Palin is off on his travels again. This time he
intends to travel from the North to South Pole. His journey
along the 30-degree east line of longitude encompasses 17
countries and both hemispheres - from Greenland in the north
to Kenya, South Africa and Chile in the south. Michael meets
Santa Claus and Lenin, goes shopping for camels in Omdurman
and makes a final hectic dash to the South Pole...
Pole
to Pole has to represent one of the most important documentaries
of recent times. Not only does Palin attempt this landmark
journey, but he does so in the year that communism collapses
and apartheid ends. The last death throws of both regimes
are captured by Palin and his crew in ways that will never
be seen again.
There
is an episode dedicated to Russia, which is one of the most
interesting segments of Palin's journey - not least because
of the fact that almost immediately as he left the country,
the Soviet Union collapsed. As soon as he arrives he is met
by a Lenin impersonator, and the segments which show Palin
attempting to buy Vodka are most amusing - basically he has
to queue for a ticket, then queue to pay for the alcohol,
and only then can he queue to pick up his purchase. He makes
the ultimate faux pas - attempting to give money to the girl
who is handing out the vodka. While in Russia he also manages
to risk his health by setting foot on soil that has been laid
waste by the Chernobyl accident.
Moving
on to Turkey, Palin stays in the actual hotel room in Istanbul
in which Agatha Christie is said to have written Murder
on the Orient Express. When in Turkey... a Turkish bath
is in order and Palin goes the whole hog, getting a painful
looking massage and body scrub. While in this part of the
world, Palin also tracks down famous astrologer Patrick Walker
who warns that the next few days of travel will see a serious
setback for the BBC crew. It's not long before they loose
a camera tripod in the sea. Eerily predicted by Walker? Or
just a coincidence?
Moving
on to Egypt, which is the only location Palin is revisiting
from his earlier filming of Around
the World in 80 Days,
we meet up with a guide who claims to have known Howard Carter
(who discovered Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922). He stated that
there was no curse on Tutankhamun's tomb and that this was
something invented by the press in order to sell papers. As
he points out, Carter spent years in the tomb and went back
to England where he died an old man - he was 65 when he passed
away).
As
we reach the end of the journey it is interesting to discover
that Palin's life is quite often in the hands of vehicles
which are extremely old, and in Western Europe would have
been consigned to the scrapheap. The plane that takes him
on the final leg of the journey doesn't look up to the job.
Add to this the fact that the plane (and the pilot for that
matter) have never been to the South Pole, and you start to
wonder whether Palin will complete his goal. Not only that,
but the co-pilot is not a pilot, but a doctor, and the plane
must land in the middle of nowhere to refuel (the fuel is
hidden under the snow with only a Bamboo pole to indicate
where it is) and you start to get a little nervous yourself.
But
there
are plenty of amusing moments in this collection to keep even
the most attention deficit viewer glued to the screen. These
include the aforementioned vodka shopping experience; Palin
collapsing in hysterical laughter as he tries to erect his
mosquito net; and spending the evening in the company of men
who insist on toasting everything under the sun while consuming
plenty of home brewed vodka - Palin gets extremely drunk.
These are just a few examples of what is a whole stream of
comical events.
The
only extra on this collection is an interview with Palin,
which is well worth watching. Here he is surprisingly honest
about the filming.
Pole
to Pole represents another fantastic addition to the BBC's
range of documentaries. And the fact that a lot of the stuffiness
is taken out of the proceedings means that it will be enjoyed
by everyone.
Darren
Rea
 
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