Part 1 • 2020 • episode "S1E1" • Mediterranean: A Sea for All

58:50

Northern Thailand is dominated by mountains and cloaked in forest. It hides ancient creatures and surprising partnerships. To survive here, both the wildlife and people rely on maintaining the natural harmony of the mysterious north.

S1E3 • Thailand: Earth's Tropical Paradise • 2017 • Travel

58:39

The clean minimalism of the Japanese home has been exported around the world, from modernist architecture to lifestyle stores like Muji. But the origins of this ubiquitous aesthetic evolved from a system of spiritual and philosophical values dating back centuries. James visits one of Japan's last surviving traditional wooden villages, and the 17th-century villa of Rinshunkaku, and reveals how the unique spirit of Japanese craftsmen turned joinery into an artform - creating houses without the need for nails, screws or glue. Exploring some of the traditional arts of the Japanese home, James also investigates attitudes to domestic culture in modern Japan, meeting photographer Kyoichi Tsuzuki, chronicler of Japan's crowded cities and tiny apartments. Other highlights include a performance by calligrapher and artist Tomoko Kawao and a visit to the hometown of architect Terunobu Fujimori.

S1E3 • The Art of Japanese Life • 2017 • Travel

59:03

Michael begins the third leg of his journey in the mineral-rich state of Minas Gerais, where he learns about the Brazilian mining industry and meets some of the people dedicated to overturning the environmental damage it causes. He then heads to Rio de Janeiro, focus of the next World Cup and Olympics, where the authorities are ridding the streets of violent drug gangs that have controlled the city's shanty towns. On a lighter note, the globe-trotting broadcaster also learns to celebrate a goal like a well-known radio commentator and visits a `love hotel'.

S1E3 • Brazil with Michael Palin • 2012 • Travel

58:05

Giles and Monica arrive at Royal Mansour, one of the world's most discreet hotels, hidden deep in the heart of Marrakech's ancient Medina. In stark contrast to the developing country it inhabits, the 'jewel of the city' was built with a limitless budget by royal decree to showcase the kingdom to world leaders and to billionaire and celebrity guests.

S1E4 • Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby • 2017 • Travel

46:30

The trip begins on the frozen Japanese sea of Okhotsk, and goes across China and Mongolia before arriving at Lake Baikal in Siberia, where Joanna meets some amazing seals.

S1E1 • Joanna Lumley’s Unseen Adventures • 2020 • Travel

50:10

The final leg of James’s journey from north to south finds him in Shikoku and Kyushu - the largest of Japan’s Southern Islands and a stunning paradise of blue water and semi-tropical sandy beaches. Cycling, archery, noodle making, and motorbike manufacturing are all in store, plus James is preserved for eternity in a creepy scarecrow village.

S1E6 • James May: Our Man in Japan • 2019 • Travel