Stephen Fry in America

I'm not a fan of Fry, but I like this series. I'm not American or English. I think some American's have taken this too seriously, judging by the reviews here.

After watching Long Way Round, Long Way Down, By Any Means, The Man Who Cycled the America, and just about every other travel TV series I had run out of options. I was put off by some of the review here, but took the dive anyway.

Yes, there is some focus on poor towns, socio-economic issues, brothels and so on, but it's quite tongue-in-cheek. I can't imagine how some here have taken this series as a stab at American culture. It shows some bad stuff, in a funny way, and no one should think that Fry is seriously trying to portray all of the USA as a brothel. Again, I'm not American of English, and can see this for what it is... a glimpse of the USA with a sense of humor.

What's more, there are delightful positive highlights, especially in the sections showing Montana and other natural beauties. In fact, having been to a couple of the places myself (deep south, rocky mountains, etc) I found those sections I was familiar with to be close to my feelings of the places. Also I've lived in San Francisco, and while he only hits the tourist spots, his views of the place are interesting and reliable. And lets face it, Miami really is an uninspiring place! Should we be offended when he says it?

With that in mind, when Fry takes us to places I haven't seen before, I have fuller confidence in his view. Again, you can't take it too seriously, but really, there is some amazing nature shown here, and he gets into peoples lives, talks to some regular, and some irregular people, going beyond the standard travel documentary.

Discussing Ohio only on the standpoint of the Kent State massacre is considerably unfair. Ohio is four major metropolitan areas full of diverse cultures. Definitely need to get a bit more perspective, not that I think you will.

The series follows Stephen Fry as he drives a black London taxicab in every state of the US. (He does leave it in Seattle as he goes to Alaska and Hawaii.) That's the hook. It's not really an in-depth travelogue. Many states get the rushed treatment. Mostly, he picks 1 or 2 people or groups to interview every state. Sometimes they're famous, sometimes they're homeless, but mostly they represent something that Stephen want to highlight from the states.

I like Stephen Fry. I'm not a huge fan, but I've seen him in many different things and he's good in all of them. He's got a big presence and not just in girth. My biggest complaint is that he complains about too many things. Sometimes, he's not discovering America as much as he's making a social commentary about America. Nevertheless, there's a lot of good slice of life and some truly funny moments.

Wonderful series. I enjoyed everything about it with the exception of the study of cadavers - I skipped over that chapter. Mr. Fry was witty and well spoken and educational to boot. I laughed at the part when he was driving next to a cemetery and said that this 'must be the dead center of town'. I recommend this series for the whole family with the exception of the cadaver study - please skip over that (hit the next chapter button) - yuk - celebrate life please. It seems odd to me that a man with such wit and intelligence does not enjoy dancing, skiing, or 'fun' as he stated it. Mr. Fry must of been raised in a serious home. I give it a 8 out of ten. Thank you so much Mr. Fry!

Stephen Fry in America (2008) is a BBC television mini-series. It was directed by John-Paul Davidson (4 episodes) and Michael Waldman (2 episodes).

Fry--who is a great actor-- travels by a London taxi to all 48 continental U.S. states, and then visits Alaska and Hawaii. Most Americans haven't visited all 50 states. And, of course, even fewer British people have accomplished this feat.

The point is not just so that Fry can say he's done it. He attempts to give us a sense of the country and its people. His team had the knack of finding some very interesting events, such as a society fundraiser in Houston. (I've never seen wealth so prominently displayed.) He also visited a Italian-American social club in New York City and a grand mansion in Newport, Rhode Island. (A matron there tells him, "I was at the Bouvier-Kennedy wedding. It was just Jackie Bouvier's wedding--not really that important.")

I truly enjoyed this series, and I learned quite a bit about my own country. Some things were good, and some were terrible, but that's the American reality.

Because these episodes were made for TV, they work well on the small screen. This movie has an extremely strong IMDb rating of 8.0. Absolutely right. It's worth finding it and seeing it.