On the DVD: Sahara comes in at a mere four one-hour episodes and the producers were left with a huge amount of unused footage. Thus the DVD features a large selection of deleted scenes, all linked by Palin. The excellent set of extras also includes a collection of rough video diaries--mainly featuring Palin being pummelled by the elements--and an extensive interview with the presenter. The picture quality is fantastic (particularly compared to Palin's earlier series), as is the digital sound. There is a subtitle option and scene selection and the whole package is thoroughly recommended. --Phil Udell

The trip started at Gibraltar and went all the way around, and sometimes into, the Sahara Desert, through Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Niger, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria again, Ceuta, and back to Gibraltar. Some of these countries are huge, for example, Algeria is four times the size of France or three times the size of Texas. The Sahara Desert is roughly the same size as the United States, and the trip covered 10,000 miles and took three months.

The Sahara Desert is so close to well-known Europe (just on the other side of the Mediterranean Sea) and is yet almost totally unknown to most of us in the West. In "Sahara" this veil of ignorance is lifted.

All of the Michael Palin travelogue programs feature his wit and charm and exuberance, and "Sahara" is no exception. It was a very impressive trip, with many special Palin-style encounters with interesting people. And, of course, beautiful pictures from the desert and the picturesque ancient cities like Fez and Timbuktu.

Still, I'm giving only four stars to "Sahara" instead of the five stars I've given to most of the other Michael Palin travelogue programs.

My reduced enthusiasm for "Sahara" is related to the fact that most of the countries he visited this time are ones that represent many problems. Heat, drought, poverty, begging, sickness, cultures in decline, refusal to accept the modern world, political instability, even barbaric traditions (female circumcision).

These are not countries that I feel much desire to visit myself, and this reduces my interest in the program. It is occasionally evident that Michael Palin was not all that happy with things himself, and this is also a negative factor.

Another negative factor is that the trip is presented in a somewhat disjoint manner at times. The trip was simply too much for the time allotted, so parts are skipped and we jump from one place to another. (The associated book does a much better job of covering the entire trip.)

I also felt that some of the things included in the program were very special and not really representative of the area, for example the Paris - Dakar rally, the British WW II veterans' reunion in Libya and the flash-backs to the filming of "Life of Brian" in Tunisia.

The DVD version of this program is on two discs. In addition to the four one-hour episodes there is the following extra material:
- Interview with Michael Palin (16 min.) - very good
- Deleted scenes (30 min.) - very good, some very funny bits
- Video diary (25 min.) - not so interesting

As Michael Palin says himself, "With the wonders of DVD we can show you and bore you rigid with things that didn't actually make the final cut."

Conclusion: Not as good as the best of the Michael Palin travelogues, but still very good.

Rennie Petersen


Michael Palin strikes again!   May 3, 2005
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

A nostalgic trip (for me), and an excellent work by Michael Palin. The DVD is very well done with a wealth of information contained in it. Not only entertaining, but if you are planning a trip to North Africa, it's a good introduction / prompter.


Bit of a rush job!!!!!   June 30, 2004
 2 out of 3 found this review helpful

Whilst it could be argued that the countries that Michael visits throughout the Sahara region are some of the least well known to the layman, each country is passed through suprisingly rapidly. Whole swaths of the region are crossed in mere minutes, areas that when shown on film are fascinating but ultimately a region as geographically wide as the United States is not covered in enough detail. Worth buying but don't expect as much insight into cultures as Michael's other programmes.


Is Palin getting to old for this?   February 8, 2003
 11 out of 27 found this review helpful

After ordering this video from Amazon, I sat down to watch it with my family. Although we all very much enjoyed, I couldn't help wondering if Michael was getting too old for wandering in foreign, third world countries. In Pole to Pole and Around the World in 80 Days, he seemed very eager, always wanting a new challenge, whereas now, he looks a bit exhausted every time something new is announced. During the interviews he kept looking around nervously as if he needed to go to the toilet and he didn't really pay attention to the people he was interviewing. Don't get me wrong, I thought it was great but I think we are coming to the end of Palin's travelling career.......