Stephen Fry in America Sees US DVD & Blu-Ray Release

American fans of Stephen Fry's brilliant documentary Stephen Fry in America will be pleased to know that they will finally be able to buy the program on DVD and Blu-Ray!  On July 27, 2010 the title will be officially available in stores.  The list price for the DVD is $29.98.  The Blu-Ray list price is $39.98.  Stephen Fry in American can currently be pre-ordered through amazon.com for a $2.99 discount.  The discount is in effect on both versions of the documentary.

Stephen Fry in America is a 6 part documentary that takes viewers to each of the fifty United States.  Fry, driving his trusty little black London cab, makes a stop in virtually every state (a few states he only passes through).  You can read a summary of all 6 parts here.

Amazon.com DVD Pre-order Link:  Stephen Fry in America (2pc)
Amazon.com Blue-Ray Pre-order Link:  Stephen Fry in America (2pc) [Blu-ray]

Stephen Fry in America, Episode Six: Pacific

Stephen Fry in America
Episode 6, Pacific
The original air date for this episode on BBC One was November 16, 2008.

All good things must come to and end and, alas, Stephen Fry in America is no exception.  We've covered thousands of miles and 45 states with our fearless host in his little black London cab.  In this episode, we visit the last five states in the Union.

We start in San Fransisco, California.  Trolley cars, hills, the Painted Ladies and Chinatown.  Stephen tours Chinatown and sees fortune cookies being made and gets to taste a freshly made and still hot chocolate cookie.  He heads to Nob Hill to speak with Jonathan Ive, design guru for Apple Computers.  As well all know, Stephen is a huge fan of Apple products.  Stephen drives across the famous Golden Gate Bridge on his way to Mendocino County to ride with Sheriff Tom Ullman who is on the front line of the "weed growing" in California.  Stephen attends a quick firearms class in preparation for the bust he is getting ready to attend with the officers.  He gets to shoot a "Dirty Harry" magnum.  It's clear to see that Stephen isn't completely comfortable with firearms from his handling of the gun.  Stephen is fitted with a bulletproof vest and we set off for the bust.  The cameras go inside to see what the police have taken in the bust.  Sheriff Ullman tells Stephen that marijuana sells for roughly $2,500-3,000 a pound and each plant can produce two pounds.  The grow rooms are full of marijuana plants.  Thousands upon thousands of possible dollars of weed.  Stephen leaves the drugs and heads for Humboldt University to a cafe where there is an all-female amateur performer night. 

Stephen Fry in America, Episode Five: The True West

Stephen Fry in America
Episode 5, True West
The original air date for this episode on BBC One was November 9, 2008.

This, the second-to-last installment of Stephen Fry in America is full from the first second to the last with breathtaking scenes and great humor as we tour one of the most spectacular parts of the United States, the American West.

Episode five opens in New Mexico with Stephen riding in a hot air balloon high over the Rio Grande Rift.  He moves on to Taos, New Mexico where he visits one of the "earthships" of the desert.  He speaks with founder, Mike Reynolds about the self-sustaining homes built with refuse such as old tires, cans, etc.  For a home built essentially with garbage, it is quite lovely.  The idea of the homes is that a family of four could live in one with absolutely no utility bills and still have plenty of water and food.  The home employs solar panels to generate power.  Reynolds explains how the homes fully sustain themselves and the residents needn't go without a single modern convenience.  He arrives in Santa Fe, New Mexico and visits "Post Office Box 1663".  Stephen takes us to Los Alamos past the Center for Integral Nanotechnologies and to the Quark Bar.  Terry Wallace and Stephen discuss the research conducted in Los Alamos today.

Stephen Fry in America, Episode Four: Mountains and Plains

Stephen Fry in America
Episode 4, Mountains and Plains
The original air date for this episode on BBC One was November 2, 2008.

In the state of Montana Stephen starts his journey at the Airborne Border Patrol Headquarters in Great Falls.  He flies along the 49th Parallel with the Airborne Border Patrol.  He speaks with Agent John Miller who takes him to the American/Canadian border.  He holds his hand over the barbed wire fence so his hand is in Canada while his body is in the United States.  He stands on a marker with his right foot in the United States and his left foot in Canada--literally straddling the 49th Parallel.  He drives to Glacier National Park and takes in the gorgeous scene in front of him.  Beautiful mountains, crystal clear water, blue and white skies and white snow.  He heads into southern Montana to visit Ted Turner at his two million acre ranch to see the 46,000 bison he owns.  Stephen and Turner drive out onto one of his ranches to see the bison after having breakfast.  They get out of the car to walk to view the bison closer and Stephen asks what reaction he should have if they charge to which Turner simply replies "run like hell".

Stephen Fry in America, Episode Three: Mississippi

Stephen Fry in America
Episode 3, Mississippi
The original air date for this episode on BBC One was October 26, 2008.

The "Mighty Mississippi River" is the theme of this entire episode.  Stephen follows it from the southernmost tip of the river in Louisiana to its source in Minnesota.

We start our journey in Louisiana where Stephen is in the French Quarter in New Orleans on Mardi Gras.  He is sporting a broken arm, the same break he received during a bad fall while filming another excellent documentary series Last Chance to see.  (For a top-notch recap of the entire Last Chance to See documentary please visit the "A Media Mindset" blog.)  He takes us to see Sallie Ann Glassman, a Voodoo priestess and attends a Voodoo celebration.  Glassman describes Voodoo as a mix of African traditions that came over with the slaves, European Catholicism, Native American practices and Masonry; "a gumbo of all those traditions".  He tours some of the destruction of Hurricane Katrina in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans with Isiah.  He takes a ferry ride up the Mississippi on his way to his next stop:  the Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as "Angola" or "The Farm".  It houses some 5,000 prisoners and employs 1,800 staff members.  He tours the 18,000 acre prison campus with the warden, Burl Cain.  He sees the workshop where prisoners make wheelchairs and items to assist the handicapped.  While the security might seem lax, the prisoners know that if they try and escape, if the guards don't get them, the wild hogs, alligators, snakes, bears and other panthers that roam the woods near the prison very well might.

Stephen Fry in America, Episode Two: The Deep South

Stephen Fry in America
Episode 2, The Deep South
The original air date for this episode on BBC One was October 19, 2008.

In this, the second part of Stephen Fry in America, Stephen leaves the hustle and bustle of the busy eastern United States and heads for the more laid back life of the Deep South.  In this episode, Stephen encounters colorful locations and even more colorful people.

Our first stop is the state of Virginia where Stephen watches a military parade at Arlington National Cemetery on Veterans Day. 

Next, we move on to West Virginia.  Stephen gives us the story of the Mason-Dixon line and actually takes us to the stone marking the line itself.  For something that is so famously referred to by many in the South, the Mason-Dixon line is in a remote location with not even a formal sign marking it.  Stephen next visits a coal mine where he gears up and goes down into the mine with the brave men who work it.  It is a dark and frightening place he goes into.  It's like a hot, black and endless tomb.  And with all the recent stories of mine cave-in's that have been in the U.S. news, I can't help but look at the faces in this episode and wonder if they are all still alive.  They truly are brave men.

Stephen Fry in America, Episode One: The New World, New England

Yeah, I've gotten a tad side-tracked and it's taken me longer than I intended to get this up.  I know I promised this a while back, so, after too-long of a wait, here it finally is.  Mr. Fry packs so much into a single hour that it would take several pages to give you every single detail so I'm just going to be giving you a hit-and-miss review of all the places he goes and all the things he sees.

Stephen Fry in America
Episode One, New World, New England
The original air date for this episode on BBC One was October 12, 2008

In this, the beginning of Stephen Fry in America our fearless hero takes us on a guided tour of the eastern United States.  The eastern portion of the United States is best known for its picturesque views, stunning fall colors, never-sleeping big cities and colorful residents.  We see all of these things in this episode, plus.

The first stop on our journey is the state of Maine.  Maine is the northernmost, easternmost state in the continental United States.  It is widely known as the home of author Stephen King and setting for the large majority of his writings, moose and as one of the best places, if not the best place, in the United States to go for fresh seafood.  Following the latter, Stephen takes us to the city of Eastport where he goes lobster fishing with a local family of commercial fishermen.  Stephen goes out on the boat with them and, then once back on land, he learns how to "put a lobster to sleep" before enjoying a fresh lobster dinner.

Stephen Fry in America: An Introduction

"I was so nearly an American. It was that close. In the mid-1950s my father was offered a job at Princeton University – something to do with the emerging science of semiconductors. One of the reasons he turned it down was that he didn’t think he liked the idea of his children growing up as Americans. I was born, therefore, not in NJ but in NW3."

So begins Stephen Fry in America.

When a documentary is made about a particular country or state usually you see the normal tourist highlights. When one thinks of the United States places like Washington D.C., Miami Beach, Hawaii, Chicago, Detroit and St. Louis might come to mind. Stephen shows you those things in this documentary, but he also focuses on the roads less traveled in America. He doesn't just show the beautiful side of life in America, he shows a part of American life that is gritty, depressing, violent and heartbreaking. He sugar coats nothing and you get to see parts of America for all they are worth--both good and bad.

I'd wager that even people who were born and raised their entire lives as United States citizens will be seeing some things that they've never seen before. Mr. Fry is able to take viewers places the average traveler wouldn't be able to go or wouldn't care to go such as inside a home built by Marjorie Merriweather Post, on a tour of a U.S. Navy submarine, to a "body farm", sitting in on a Pardons and Paroles session in Alabama, inside Angola State Penitentiary, to the factory where the Oscars are made and a home once lived in by Edith Wharton.

Stephen Fry in America was presented in the United Kingdom in six, sixty-minute segments on BBC One in October and November of 2008. Viewers in the United States were able to see the documentary on HDNet. Stephen drove a black London cab, "albeit hired in the U.S." to all 50 of the States (he couldn't take his little cab to Alaska and Hawaii). Each segment comprised one section of the United States.

He meets a wide variety of people in his travels: barbers, deer hunters, prisoners, celebrities, Native Americans, distillers and amateur musicians. The people themselves are often as colorful and unique as their surroundings. I mean, how many people would really have the state of Kentucky tattooed on their posterior? That's being unique!

Episode One, New England saw Stephen visiting Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York City, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania.

Episode Two, The Deep South took Stephen through Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Alabama.

Episode Three, The Mississippi River brought Stephen to Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Episode Four, Mountains and Plains took our host through Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas

Episode Five, True West continues the journey to New Mexico, Utah, Arizona and Nevada

Episode Six, Pacific completes the journey by visiting California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Hawaii

Fans of Stephen Fry in America, myself included, have been hoping for a long time that extra footage Stephen and his crew obtained during his travels in America would be compiled into a second series. The original series and a companion book, Stephen Fry In America, was released onto DVD in the United Kingdom. Fans in the United States are still awaiting the release of this brilliant documentary of their country to be released on DVD.

For more information about this amazing six part documentary series please visit Stephen Fry's official site. While you are there, why not enjoy the rest of the great content on Stephen's site? You might even want to join Club Fry so you can leave comments for Stephen and discuss all things Fry (and even things non-Fry) with other Stephen Fry fans.

Over the course of the next several days I will be discussing each of the six parts in greater detail. To start off with, enjoy a brief introduction to Stephen Fry in America from You Tube presented on the BBC's Official YouTube channel:

The Genius That is Stephen Fry

I must say that I am a massive fan of Stephen Fry. I've adored his work and Fry himself for years now. I love words, love everything about them. No one person that I've ever seen on television before has had such a unique grasp on the English language as Stephen Fry. To listen to him speak or to read his writings is to immensely enjoy the English language. His manner of speaking and writing is a pleasure to behold.

I was first introduced to Mr. Fry and his work when I bought the UK comedy The Black Adder on VHS many, many years ago. Mr. Fry plays an incarnation of Lord Melchitt in Blackadder the Second, Blackadder the Fourth and Blackadder: Back and Forth. In Blackadder the Third, Mr. Fry makes a greatly memorable appearance as the Duke of Wellington in the final episode of the series. He also appears in several of the Blackadder specials as various characters.

Fans of Mr. Fry probably know him best as the other half of the comedy team Fry & Laurie with Hugh Laurie, of House fame being the second half. Fry & Laurie had their own hugely successful television series in Britain titled "A Bit of Fry & Laurie". Fry & Laurie also worked together in the aforementioned Blackadder series.

Stephen Fry also made a brief, yet hilarious appearance in Rowan Atkinson's British comedy "The Thin Blue Line" playing an over-the-top guide, Brigadier Blaster Sump. The character is truly barking mad and will say anything!

Anyone who has seen the works of Stephen Fry knows for certain that he is bold, daring, funny and absolutely genuine. I honestly believe that when you see Stephen in his documentaries that what you see is what you get: he is a kind, honest, caring and straightforward individual who harnesses his status as a celebrity to help bring attention to issues that need to have attention brought to them.

I firmly believe that no one could watch him in his BBC documentary "The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive" and not be impressed with the man you see on the screen. Mr. Fry shares some of the most deeply personal details of his life with viewers and, in the course of two episodes, helps viewers to better understand manic depression and those who suffer from it. I think every single person, whether you or someone you love deals with depression on a daily basis and especially if you know nothing about it at all should watch this documentary.

In 2009, another Fry documentary aired in the UK, Last Chance to See. In this brilliant work, Stephen Fry and Mark Carwardine traveled the globe in search of 6 animals on the brink of extinction. This documentary set out to education viewers about the perils many species face in the world today and I believe it succeeded brilliantly. For an in-depth review of this documentary I highly recommend visiting the Media Mindset Blog. The blogs author has written a detailed summary of the first part of this 6 part series and intends to review the other five as well.

Another Fry documentary, Stephen Fry in America, will be discussed later on this blog.

As much as I adore him, don't be surprised to see many things about Stephen on this blog as time goes by.