He's traveled "In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great" and gone on a voyage to trace the paths of "The Conquistadors," but for his latest history-travel adventure, British filmmaker Michael Wood goes "In Search of Myths & Heroes."

His latest PBS special airs in four one-hour segments - two from 9-11 p.m. EST Nov. 16 and two at the same times on Nov. 23 - that explore the legends of "The Queen of Sheba" and "Arthur: The Once and Future King" this week and "Shangri-La" and "Jason and the Golden Fleece" next week.

"It doesn't matter whether there is history behind the story," Wood acknowledged at a PBS press conference in July. "What matters is the power of a story that has been told over thousands of years."

Wood thinks the time is right to explore some of these tales that have been passed down through the ages.

"Everybody is really interested in this idea of myths and mysteries," he said. "You can see the success of books like 'The Da Vinci Code.' People are fascinated by the mystery: Was it real? Did it really happen?" Wood generated a list of 10 myths worth exploring and came up with four, balanced by their cultural and geographic diversity. One is Indian, one is Celtic-British, one is Greek and one is from the Bible. He had to throw out one idea due to current events.

"I was very keen to do the Epic of Gilgamesh in Iraq, had things in Iraq turned out differently," he said.

Wood begins with "The Queen of Sheba," explaining the importance of the tale in the cultures of Ethiopia and Israel, and how they remain a part of those country's cultures today.

"What we always try to do is seek those living connections in the culture that make that link with the past," Wood said.

That's easily done in the "Jason and the Golden Fleece" hour.

"It's the story of a hero's quest, the young man who goes on the mission impossible," he said, noting traces of it can be found in modern movies, including "Star Wars." "The young man's quest is one of the fundamental myths in all the stories of the world. 'Shangri-La' is a paradise myth. ...

Behind it lies the idea that somewhere on the Earth is a place that escapes all the destructions of time and history and war."

Wood and his crew traveled to 19 countries for the series, and he said his sense of adventure and discovery never wanes.

"We often go to places that you would never dream of getting to in your life," he said. "I always remember that letter from when we did 'Legacy' for PBS years ago where a woman wrote to us from Lubbock, Texas, saying, 'I've just watched this film, and you showed us things that we never even dreamed existed.' And I still get that kick, actually, when you go to these places.

It's always, it seems to me, a great privilege to spend any time in a foreign culture."