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Tag: Michael Palin

  • ‘Monty Python’ star Michael Palin cast in BBC War Drama

    ‘Monty Python’ star Michael Palin cast in BBC War Drama

    MUMBAI: British comedian, actor, writer and presenter Michael Palin will star in TV movie The Wipers Times, a World War I drama to air on BBC2. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

    The drama details the story of how a squad of British soldiers in the trenches produced and published their own satirical magazine during the First World War.

    The movie is co-written by Ian Hislop, a regular on satirical British TV show Have I Got News For You, and also the editor of Private Eye, the UK‘s weekly paper which takes a humorous and often barbed look at the political scene and the media.

    Palin will join Ben Chaplin, Julian Rhind-Tutt and Emilia Fox in the drama also written by Nick Newman and directed by Andy De Emmony.

    The movie is produced by Oscar winning producer David Parfitt through his banner Trademark Films and is backed by BBC, Northern Ireland Screen Fund (supported by Invest NI and part funded by the European Regional Development Fund), Goldcrest Films and Content Media.

    The Wipers Times combined dark humor and satirical swipes at allies and enemies and was set up an abandoned printing press discovered in the ruins of Ypres, Belgium.

    Palin‘s more than 40-year career on television and movies includes being a founding member of legendary comedy collective Monty Python, featuring in such classics as Monty Python‘s Flying Circus, The Holy Grailand Life of Brian.

  • Alan Johnston awarded on anniversary of his kidnap

    Alan Johnston awarded on anniversary of his kidnap

    MUMBAI: BBC correspondent Alan Johnston was given an award by BBC World Service for his outstanding contribution to the international broadcaster.

    The award coincided with the first anniversary of Alan’s kidnap in Gaza. He spent 114 days in captivity and was released on Wednesday 4 July last year.

    The award was presented by BBC television documentary presenter Michael Palin in Central London at a ceremony to celebrate excellence, innovation and creativity in BBC World Service.

    BBC World Service director Nigel Chapman said, “Alan Johnston has worked across the range of BBC World Service output, both as an editor and a correspondent. He is a skilled all-round journalist with a talent for words; he has never shied away from the toughest assignments. His passport has stamps in it from Tashkent, Kabul and many parts of the Middle East.

    “He has extraordinary personal qualities. After his release from captivity in Gaza, he was calm and focused enough to report his own story in an unforgettable way. He later wrote a memorable and beautifully crafted essay for our programme, From Our Own Correspondent. His reporting is always of the highest class.”

  • BBC launches ‘Sahara with Michael Palin’

    BBC launches ‘Sahara with Michael Palin’

    MUMBAI: BBC World is launching a new four-part series rom 4 Novemver, which sees Michael Palin’s journey unfold across the Sahara Desert revealing a huge and diverse range of cultures, landscapes and a long history of civilisation, trade, commerce and conquest stretching from the ancient Egyptians to the oil-rich Islamic republics of today.

    Starting and finishing his adventure in Gibraltar, Palin crosses the Straits to Morocco where he visits the main cities before traversing Atlas Mountains.

    The first episode, A Line In The Sand would premiere Saturday 4 November at 2:10 pm and would be re-telecsted on Saturday 4 November at 10:10 pm, Sunday 5 November at 5:10 am, 10:10 am and 6:10 pm.

    The first episode would see Michael’s journey begin in Gibraltar where he crosses the Straits to Tangier in Morocco. After pausing in Fez and Marrakech and crossing the High Atlas he enters the real desert. He is then guided to the Mauritanian border by the Sahawari people, where he climbs aboard the longest train in the world, breaking his journey at Chinguetti.

    The second episode, Destination Timbuktu would be aired on Saturday 11 November at 2:10 pm and re-telecasted on: Saturday 11 November at 11:10 pm, Sunday 12 November at 5:10 am, 10:10 pm and 6:10 pm.

    The second episode would see Michael briefly visiting Senegal, Bamako, Dogon and Djenne on the way to his destination Timbuktu. Celebrating the Muslim Tabaski feast in the city of Djenne with a man called Pygmy, and securing a passage on a cargo boat with a Norwegian missionary called Kristin, the rest of the journey down the Niger River to Timbuktu seems plain sailing till the boat runs aground a day out of its destination.

    The third episode, Absolute Desert would be aired on Saturday 18 November at 2:10 pm and re-telecasted on Saturday 18 November at 11:10 pm, Sunday 19 November at 5:10 am, 10:10 pm and 6:10 pm.

    In the third episode, Michael reaches the city of Timbuktu. He wanders through the rubble that is 21 century Timbuktu to find the Imam who shows him original astronomical textbooks that predate Galileo’s discoveries by 200 years.

    Amidst the chaos of camel races, shopping and general mayhem, Michael meets up with a group of Touareg for the next leg of his journey: a camel train across the Tenere desert to Algeria. Walking 12 hours a day, eating the odd sheep, and learning the rudiments of Tamashek, the language of the Tuareg, Michael finally gets to grips with the heart and soul of the desert.

    The fourth episode, Dire Straits would be aired on Saturday 25 November at 2:10 pm and re-telecasted on Saturday 25 November at 11:10 pm, Sunday 25 November at 5:10 am, 10:10 pm and 6:10 pm.

    In this episode, Michael arrives at the border of Niger and Algeria, where banditry is a way of life in the absence of law and order.Turning north Michael passes through the mountains of the Hoggar massif before he pauses in the oil and gas fields of central Algeria.

    Crossing into Tunis Michael re-lives the filming of The Life of Brian in Monastir, before taking the Maghreb Express to the city of Algiers.

    Michael talks to would-be immigrants before returning to his original starting point, Gibraltar.En-route he learns of the terrible fate that has engulfed so many Saharan men, women and children who attempt the eight mile crossing in search of a better life.

  • BBC Worldwide signs deal with Australia’s Seven Network

    BBC Worldwide signs deal with Australia’s Seven Network

    MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide Australasia has concluded a new deal with the Seven Network in Australia to license Michael Palin’s new travel series Palin’s New Europe. In addition, a raft of drama and factual programming has been acquired by broadcasters in New Zealand, through agreements signed in the run up to MIPCOM. Palin’s New Europe which will air on BBC One in the UK next year, follows the ex-Python as he explores 21 countries such as Bosnia, Albania, Moldova and Macedonia. BBC Worldwide Australasia’s sales manager Amber Knight says, “Michael Palin has that rare combination of integrity, wit and bravery which makes all his programs such hits. We are very excited to be bringing this program to Seven.” Seven Network’s director of programming and production Tim Worner says, “Australians are renowned travellers – as a youngster it is a virtual rite of passage and you always seem to bump into fellow Australians in the most far flung locations. Michael Palin captures that spirit in his very own way and we at Seven look forward to being able to have him take Australian audiences to places they have never been before. “Palin is the pre-eminent television travel communicator of his time – in his company you do not just see; you taste, you smell, you experience. And, above all, he makes it fun – that’s why we’re proud he’s coming to Seven.” A package of returning series has been licensed to New Zealand’s TVNZ including key titles from Kudos productions such as Hustle Series 4, and Life on Mars Series 2. TV One has taken series two of Clerkenwell Films’ Afterlife, as well as Hotel Babylon (Carnival Films), Waterloo Road (Shed Productions) and Bodies (Hat Trick Productions).