WLIW21: In The Footsteps of Marco Polo

I missed In The Footsteps of Marco Polo, a delightful and unusual travelogue on WLIW21, most probably because I was traveling and not in New York. However, I now have the chance of watching it on its website, and it promises to be a great televised yarn.

The series chronicles the journey of two men – Belliveau, at the time a wedding photographer, and O’Donnell, an artist and former Marine – as they set out to follow Marco Polo’s route. Equal parts travelogue, adventure story, history trek and buddy movie, the 90-minute film weaves footage from the duo’s often perilous voyage with Marco Polo’s descriptions and experiences. Richly enhanced with Belliveau’s photographs, the program details their highs and lows as they retrace Polo’s path, trying to see what he saw and feel what he must have felt.