Billy Connolly: Journey To The Edge Of The World

The Big Yin's latest adventure is a travel blog much in the same style as one of Michael Palin's many globe-trotting expeditions safely ensconced within the purse strings of the BBC, with a cameraman and crew charting the course and enabling the presenter to concentrate on looking suitably wind-swept and daring. Here ITV have bank-rolled the trip with Billy traveling the 10,000 miles from the Atlantic to the Pacific rim over the Arctic circle commonly known as the North west passage which links the two oceans.

Coming so quickly on the back of Stephen Fry's American jaunt, this nigh-on solely Canadian outing is a testament to the resilience and quirkiness of North America's neighbours, and pains are made to show that Connolly is a suitably positive catalyst in enabling these often disaffected people to have a voice in preserving their cultural heritage. There is obviously a large amount of comedy to be elicited through Billy’s antics: whether panning for gold with an over-protective miner or exploring the complexities of the Inuit language and revealing first-hand his experiences of global warming, The Big Yin is at his most charming in this ideal vehicle for him.

The DVD contains all four original TV episodes, but also an unseen 50 minute travelogue which is a composite of video diaries and behind the scenes footage of the journey. These actually shed more of a truthful light of Connolly's journey, with him seeming very homesick at times (in counterpoint to his relentlessly upbeat persona in the series) and it offers more exploration of the entertaining bear whispering antics which he pursues when with the Native Americans he encounters.



Extras: Billy’s Unseen Travelogue.

Released on DVD on 16th March 2009 by Universal Pictures UK.

Written by Simon Cole.