Equator is a seemingly simple idea. Simon Reeves goes around the world following the equator. Indeed the idea is so simple, that you'd be forgiven for thinking that Michael Palin has already done it.
But the selection of countries that Reeves visits in this first episode explains why it hasn't been done before. First up is Gabon where Reeves (previously seen in series like Meet The Stans), quickly manages to contract malaria, and where we find imported foie gras on the shelves of the local supermarket. He skips Congo where, we learn, westerners are likely to be killed if they visit, and goes onto the Democraftic Republic of Congo (previously Zaire) which has been war torn for many years now. Even here, he's not completely safe, and it's only in Uganda and then Kenya that he can relax a little. Even Reeves doesn't try to get into war-torn Somalia - a country that gives new meaning to the word lawless.
There's so much packed into a single one hour programme that you're left quite breathless. Given that it must have take a good month or two to film this part of the trip, it's almost too rushed. I know that we live in an "MTV" society, but I reckon transversing the width of Africa must be worth at least two epsiodes of a series.
I'm looking forward to the rest of the series - next week he crosses Asia!
Posted by adambowie at August 28, 2006 10:33 PM