Episode 1 – The New World
In this first episode, Stephen explores the states that make up New England, before heading south to the nation's capital and ending up at the Civil War battlefield of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania, where Abraham Lincoln made his famous address.
Episode 2 – The Deep South
Stephen gets back into his trusted taxi and heads for the Deep South – a distinctive part of America that has always intrigued him. Starting in West Virginia, where 50 per cent of the energy comes from coal, he joins a shift of coal miners on a trip deep underground. It's hot, dark and, for a man of Stephen's height, very uncomfortable.Episode 3 – Mississippi
Stephen Fry follows the mighty Mississippi River from its southern-most tip in Louisiana through to its source in the snowy wastes of Minnesota, on the border with Canada, as he continues his road trip around every state in the USA. It is Mardi Gras – Fat Tuesday – in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. Here, Stephen meets high priestess Sallie Anne Glassman, whose voodoo charms are employed to try to fix his recently broken arm.Episode 4 – Mountains and Plains
Stephen travels from the northern to southern borders, where he sees the natural beauty of the Rocky Mountains and the prairies – "America's Breadbasket". Stephen starts with the airborne border patrol agents at the Canadian border in the stunning mountains of Montana and ends at the very different border with Mexico in Texas.Episode 5 – True West
Stephen goes South West, as he continues his tour of all 50 States of the USA. The high mesas of New Mexico are the starting-point for his journey through the dramatic landscapes and peoples of the South West. Here, the lives of physicists at the Los Alamos Lab, who are unravelling the mysteries of dark matter, contrast starkly with those of the eco-house dwellers living "off grid" near Sante Fe.Episode 6 – Pacific
Stephen Fry concludes his epic journey by exploring those that touch the Pacific Ocean. Starting in San Francisco's Chinatown, he first meets Jony Ive, Apple's design guru, before crossing the Golden Gate Bridge to join Tom Allmann, the Sheriff of Mendocino. He joins Tom on a drugs bust during which a few thousand marijuana plants are uncovered. Travelling through the giant redwood forests of Northern California and Oregon, Stephen meets dope-smoking students and arboreal activists who are trying to protect the pristine forests. He also meets a man who's convinced he's met a Bigfoot.Promo Banner