Instead of a single subject series, this time Michael Wood has four independent searches. These episodes are placed out of order as the advertisement at the end of one-episode points to an earlier episode.
The Search for Shangri-la brings back the old images of Frank Capra's movie "Lost Horizon" (1937). We learn of the writers and the location which was almost impossible to get to because of the politics of the time of this series. Michael looks bedraggled in this episode. But as much as you think you know the story there is always more to learn.
The Queen of Sheba stories has a black and white difference from the old mostly bare-breasted Betty Blythe movie (1921). She really got around from the Hebrew Scriptures to the Koran among other writings. Again, just when you think you know all there is to know Michael Woods pulls something out of his hat that you would never have thought of as trade routes revealing more about the real Sheba.
Arthur: The Once and Future King is probably Michael Wood's best of the presentations in this series. We see the excerpt from the film "Excalibur" (1981). And the best part of the tail is told by an enthusiastic cutie of who appears unaccredited tell the tail while lighting candles. Look at her necklace. I learned more about the ties among people in Europe and the islands. Again, must of history that is lost in statistics is brought alive by Michael Wood.
Jason and The Golden Fleece will have you feeling you are there as you follow the different trails set by different writers at different times. We find that Jason does not fit Michael Woods's definition of a standard hero. And somewhere on the way, we are more interested in Media and her troubles as people accuse her of being a witchy woman. It is not a nice tail but makes you want to know more.
