Full Circle With Michael Palin

Full Circle with Michael Palin is the title of a 1997 documentary television series produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation. Presented by Michael Palin of Monty Python fame, Full Circle was one of a series of programmes in which Palin made unusual and interesting trips.

The series documented a 10-month, 50,000 mile (80,000 km) trip taken by Palin and a film crew around the rim of the Pacific Ocean in 1996 and 1997, beginning on the Diomede Islands between Alaska and Russia in the Bering Strait. The intent was to make the full anti-clockwise trip around the Pacific Rim and end up back on the Diomede Islands, but due to rough weather, he was unable to actually set foot back on the Islands again at the end of his journey. He got within 2 miles of completing the full circle. Palin travelled through Russia, Japan, South Korea (they were not allowed to travel very far in North Korea), China, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Mexico, United States, and Canada.

Palin also authored a companion book based upon the series, which was published concurrently with its first broadcast. This book contained both Palin's text and many pictures by Basil Pao, the stills photographer on the team. Basil Pao also produced a separate book of the photographs he took during the journey, Full Circle - The Photographs, a large coffee-table style book printed on glossy paper.