Stephen Fry explores the New England states. Starting in Maine to learn about lobster, he then heads over to New Hampshire during the height of presidential primary activity. From there he makes a stop in Vermont and the Ben and Jerry's ice-cream factory, before accompanying deer hunters in the Adirondack Mountains of New York.
Stephen visits the US region most appealing to him, the traditional Dixieland south of the Mason Dixie line, which he physically finds between Pennsylvania and Virginia. In the Virgianias, he visits the coal mines which power half of the US electric current. In Kentucky, he experiences horse breeding, whiskey distilling, Bluegrass, the link to Tennessee and an angle to break his British tongue on the Dixie accent.
Stephen travels through the basin of Old Man River, Northern America's greatest river system. This spans the Rockies to Appalachians and from the Great Lake to its Gulf of Mexico delta. Stephen starts in Louisiana, visiting New Orleans, site of Mardi Gras frivolity and superstition as well as the paternalistic Angola state penitentiary.
Stephen explores the Rocky Mountains, where stops include nature reserves and media magnate Ted Turner's bison farming, as well as the German immigrants in North Dakota and a ghost town.
Steven visits the south-west of the USA and talks to a physicist, an ecohouse resident, a family of native Indians, Mormons and a madam.
In California, Steven adores the old-new and social melting pot San Francisco. In the same state, which would be the world's 7th economy, stops include marijuana growing and a bust, and a forest reserve.
Mondays at 7.30pm
Fridays at 7.30pm
Tuesdays at 7.30pm
Back to top