Long Way Round Episode Guide, Season 1 - Pazsaz Entertainment Network

Back To Pazsaz Entertainment Network's Long Way Round Page

Episode 1
Meet Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor. The pair met on the set of Serpant's Kiss and have since forged a firm and lasting friendship. Now meet their dream: to ride their motorbikes around the world. Ewan and Charley start mapping out their route, talking through the countries that will make up their Long Way Round the world. They have meetings with fixers and officials to get more information about the places where people never come back from. Next comes the physical and mental preparation for the trip: fitness training, kidnap avoidance and first aid instruction, gathering and testing of equipment and clothing and of course, getting the required vaccinations. The day of departure and all final bits of gear are packed into the bikes and cars. Ewan and Charley with heavily-laden bikes are sent off from HQ with a planet-shaped cake, banners, cheering and applause from the crew, family and friends. Charley almost drops his bike. Final thoughts from Ewan and Charley accompany shots of them driving through the streets of London.

Episode 2
Ewan and Charley are finally on the road, all happy and excited to be there. First stop Prague. Ewan and Charley enjoy playing the tourist: having a caricature done, seeing the sights and visiting the Church of Bones at Kutna Hora. After stopping in a fairy-tale town, Ewan and Charley head for the border into Slovakia and their rendezvous with the support team. Trouble arises in the form of forgetting to get the carnet signed at the last border. Negotiations with the border guards finally grants them passage. On the map the guys judge how far they've come and have to go. They agree it feels like they've covered a lot of ground but it's not actually that far relative to the trip as a whole. Feeling overwhelmed at the events of the last 24 hours, back above ground Ewan is itching to get on the road again but first has to deal with the townswomen wanting their photo taken with movie star Ewan and his bike. Igor's call to the border into Russia ensures that this time they ride right through. A short hop into Russia and they are on board a ferry heading for Kazakhstan and starting, Ewan's declared phase two of the journey.

Episode 3
Ewan and Charley are on the road to Kazakhstan. They notice how both the terrain and people have changed. At the border they are met by a welcoming committee. Almost immediately they encounter the horrible roads they've been dreading. Claudio (the cameraman) falls first. Later Ewan admits to being scared about falling off and nervous about the bad roads. The second greatest problem for Ewan and Charley are the constant police escorts: the last thing they want, they are quickly growing very tired of them. Free for the first time, Ewan and Charley drive to their first night camp. Ewan is giddy at the prospect while Charley is a reluctant camper. They wonder what else is to come. In great spirits, Ewan and Charley have a great visit to a UNICEF project: a school with an indoor-climbing wall for kids. As it's their last night in Kazakhstan Ewan and Charley give in and enjoy a loosely organised show by local singers. They are invited home by a policeman and his wife and follow them back to their house. Ewan explains how he used to feel quite nervous but now it's quite normal to go back to strangers' houses for a meal and the possibility of staying the night. Confusion at the house; no-one knows what's going on. Exhausted and smelly the guys try out the banya (traditional sauna). Their hosts lay on an amazing spread of food and Ewan bravely samples the local speciality - boiled goat's head.

Episode 4
Before Ewan and Charley enter Mongolia, they have a small portion of Russia they must travel through first. Ewan and Charley are taken by surprise by the stunning gorgeous Altai region they find themselves in. Snow-covered mountain passes and lush green valleys greet them as they make their way to a river to clean up. After a quick skinny-dip in a freezing stream-and a night camping - the guys drive to the Mongolian border. There are literally no roads in Mongolia as we know them. Instead, the guys must follow tracks marked in the earth by trucks. Passing a heard of elk, we quickly realize Mongolia is the poster child for "middle of nowhere." The boys ride on their own while the support team is having their own struggles, riding through deep potholes and over rolling terrain. In real-time verite, one of the support vehicles comes across the other support vehicle... lying on its side, having flipped over on its roof in a freak accident. Russ struggles out of the smoking SUV, obviously shaken. Next, Vasilly, the doctor, is pulled from the wreckage. He takes a few steps before collapsing to the ground. During this trauma Ewan and Charley are having trouble starting Claudio's bike but totally unaware of the nightmare that's going on with the support team. Back at the crash site, Vasilly is in shock, lying motionless. David is able to reach Ewan and Charley on the satellite phone, as he tells them about the accident. Charley is extremely frustrated, as he just wants to get to the support team but is unable to as Claudio's bike in still being fixed by the locals. The accident, combined with the days and days of horrendous roads they've just endured, causes Ewan and Charley to look at the map to see how much farther they have to go in Mongolia, as they are only covering about 25 miles per hour, at best. Ewan sees a possible solution to their problem - they can simply bypass the rest of Mongolia and head north back into Russia, where there are paved roads. Charley is obviously scared at the prospect of driving through the rest of Mongolia, but doesn't know whether to take the bypass or not.

Episode 5
Pushing on despite many setbacks, Ewan and Charley immerse themselves in the rich culture and their spirits are lifted by the beauty and kindness of the people of Mongolia. They know that the Road of Bones in Siberia (built by Stalin's prisoners) lies ahead and will surely test them further.

Episode 6
The boys are battling against the remote, hostile and marshy Siberian conditions, and lack of food plus impenetrable rivers and collapsed bridges. Their fighting spirit takes over and Ewan and Charley determine to make up for the lost time.

Episode 7
The home stretch through North America holds secret dangers. Weeks of off-road driving take their toll with the risk of falling asleep at the wheel on one long tarmac road. In Canada a reckless driver causes a near fatal accident with Ewan. But it's all worth it when they are greeted with a triumphant arrival in NYC with a convey of bikers.