Stephen Fry in America

Stephen does what is almost impossible by visiting all 50 states and at the same time educated me a bit, brought back old memories of places I had visited and gave me a new appreciation for the USA.

The 2 DVD set of Stephen Fry in America continues a tradition of notable Englishmen coming to America and writing about it. Among the earliest was Charles Dickens in the early 1800’s visited America. Besides his published travelogue. In Nicholas Nickleby He would broadly lampoon America as a proudly unsanitary place with a super abundance of men who were called colonel whatever their actual military status. Much later in the 1800’s Oscar Wilde would also visit America. Notably he would as dose Steven Fry, go down into a mine, where Wilde was treated to a 3-course meal of Whisky. Among his other achievements, Mr. Fry would portray Oscar Wilde in the Movie, Wilde.At the end of World War 2, Allister Cooke arrived in America with the assignment to make weekly broadcasts back to England as he toured America. His Letters from America would continue for almost 60 years, during which time Mr. Cooke became and American CitizenAnd in early 21century, actor, writer, comedian, and raconteur Stephan Fry picks up with his version of America, Stephan Fry in America.Given about 6 hours, total, to summarize every American State, the results are uneven. Particularly in the crowded eastern states, his hurry has him giving sometimes no more than a fast mention of which state he transits to get to his next state. Often, he seizes upon the obvious: lobster fishing in Maine, horses and whiskey in Kentucky and so forth, but eventually he does share some of the harder sides of our complex nation. Few American are aware of the Gula culture in South Caroline. A proud African population, mostly descendants of escaped slaves. Elsewhere he will contrast the relative success of the Navaho peoples against challenged existence of the Dakotas.Fry seems to be very willing to place himself out of his comfort zone. But his comfort zone begins with other people having fun. So not always a high threshold. He is very self-effacing, but sometimes that may be a cover for a mild distaste for some American traditions. He is bemused with by American Football, but given the English tradition of Soccer rowdies and the intentional roughness of English Football (rugby), I would think our version has to have more than a few arguments in its favor.Clearly his assignment was to like what he found here, and his research team and own contacts serve this decision well. The result is six episodes that range from trite to amusing to almost edgy. The tour of a “body farm” where corpses are left intentionally to rot, in the name of science, is macabre. Much of what he has to say about the Western states is a blur of how big the all are. Well it is true. America is big and in the words of Walt Whitman, we contain contradictions.Ultimately Stephen Fry in America is an abbreviated sampling of the USA. The audience is not primarily the USA, but care has been taken to not offend his hosts. A few hours of lite learning and occasional wry humor but hardly a must have.

Stephen Fry, a man so British that he's actually been used before as an example of a steriotypical Brit, tries to get the pulse of each individual American state (except Ohio, alas). Don't look for comedy routines here, this is a mostly serious documentary and is only intermittently funny (like a trip to a whisky factory). However, to compensate, it is quite interesting and often decidedly non-touristy, with Fry wandering into (among many other things) a southern prison, a brothel, a firepit for homeless guys in freezing weather, and a human body farm used in CSI research. It's pretty breathtaking overall to see just how huge and how varied America can be.If I have a quibble, it's that this should have been at least four DVDs, not two. I realize it was made for British television, but I wish they would release this as an extended version. Covering almost all fifty states in two DVDs sometimes makes it feel rushed. I could have used a lot more coverage in some areas; Fry is extremely interesting to watch no matter what he is doing.By the way, he wrote a companion book that I highly recommend; it's not a strict repeat of the documentary but rather goes into some additional details to what is covered in the documentary, and sometimes adds new stuff not even in the DVDs. It is worth buying both.You can buy this in a format compatible with US DVD players.

Cut to the chase: I use snippets of this in my U.S. history classes. Most high school students don't know geography in this way -- fishing for lobster off the coast of Maine, and then sitting down to eat it; making ice cream at Ben & Jerry's in Vermont; touring a coal mine in Appalachia; seeing numbers runners in New York City and casinos in New Jersey; local bluegrass in a small town high school gymnasium; the Body Farm at the University of Tennessee (you'll never again see such reverence from high school juniors); blues at Morgan Freeman's place south of Memphis (and following jazz and blues up the Mississippi to Buddy Guy's Legends Bar in Chicago -- the pre-2010 version, before the move); making cheese from sheep milk in Wisconsin; Hmong in Minneapolis; truck stops in Nebraska; Ten Turner's ranches and save-the-bison project in Montana . . . Students like it, they remember it better, and they ask smarter questions about other material we cover.You won't see the Statue of Liberty. You won't see Old Faithful. You will see America, you'll smile, and you'll learn a lot.Stephen Fry is a treasure by himself. His view of America will delight you sometimes, but make you think almost always. You could couple this film with John Steinbeck's book, Travels with Charley, and produce much smarter students. I'll wager they'd do better on state geography exams, too.High school geography and history texts should be this interesting and fun. I recommend it for both history and geography courses.

Stephen Fry brings his own slightly wry sense of humor and his keen sense of observation to bear as he tours the US. The vignettes are necessarily brief, but highly entertaining. He reminded me of Charles Kuralt "On the Road" many years ago, as he visited with unusual Americans across the country. Not afraid to get his hands dirty, he went out on a lobster boat, and got on a horse (I believe he said that was the only time!), and trekked through the woods to see the actual Mason Dixon Line. As he goes, he explores our history and sometimes our mythology, and gives us a quick glimpse of the landscape, characters and customs that are America.I recommend this to anyone who likes Stephen Fry, or the type of travelogue he's presenting - it was relaxing and great fun.

I thought that I had already written a five start review, but having watched the series again I still rate it as being educational, entertaining and at times quirky. However, each visit was for too short, and touched on so little of a fascinating country with such diverse culture, architecture and scenery. We saw some very ugly areas, and yet in contrast the wide open spaces were breathtaking. Stephen Fry is a very articulate and knowledgable presenter, and I am sure that the Americans marvelled at his " Englishness". Another series would be just fine and dandy.

Any short series that aims to show all 50 States of America is bound to be superficial whether presented by Stephen Fry or ANOther . He does bring a certain charm and wittiness to the series and by the choice of just one defining feature to each state it does have a reasonable modus operandi . It is certainly pleasant viewing for a few hours but I was still left feeling rather disappointed overall . A taster course rather than a Maine .I also received 1 disc originally but this was soon rectified by the supplier Musicmagpie ,excellent service .

peters off gradually while going westthe California chapter should have contained any of its marvellous wineries

This series underlines why this Briton is so much loved. In fact, it was the main reason I bought the title. Stephen is completely charming and self-deprecating, gaining the trust and respect of everyone he meets. I particularly like how Stephen has set out with love in his heart for the country and this makes me feel good about it. He seems to have a way of bringing out the best in people.I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys down-to-earth documentaries or the wonderful Mr. Fry.

Bought this for my daughter who is taking to the US roads with her family in an RV this summer, and missed the UK TV screenings as they live in Dubai - watched it together recently and thoroughly enjoyed it! Fry's understated wit and style never encroach on his subject matter,and he has the knack of bringing out the best in people without patronising them. Worth every penny for an enjoyable few hours ramble round the US.