America is a huge country and would take years to cover, even if one were to only spend a day in each major city or town. I'm sure there are people who have travelled nomad-style throughout the length and breadth of the country, but I am yet to hear of anybody who has done that and documented his/her experiences for others to watch. Fry does cover a few places which are renowned for some particular reason, but as he repeats in a few episodes, what he is after is the "heart" of the city or state, not the parts that have been popularised by Hollywood. This could mean a particular geographical or man-made landmark, food, occupation, or a native who has made it big.As one reviewer puts it, the series covers "voodoo in New Orleans, witchcraft in Massachusetts, and homelessness in St. Louis", all quirks or shortcomings. But that is exactly how people around the world picture these places. For example, India is still portrayed in Europe and the West in general as a land of cow worshippers, snake charmers, and spicy curry. But Stephen Fry covers not just these well known spots but also less well known places and he does it in his trademark witty bantering style.Finally, to me, a bookworm who has only read about and seen America in movies and TV shows, this series is a fascinating peek into the country, which in a short period of time (when compared to countries like India, home to ancient civilizations) has achieved so much.

I get the feeling I'm supposed to know who this Stephen Fry guy is. But to me he's just some pudgy English fellow who somehow managed to land this gig driving around the U.S. from state to state, pausing long enough in each to deliver some remarkably unremarkable observations about American life. His "uber-smart charm" is touted on the DVD package, but comments like "Americans often identify a place by its being east or west of the Mississippi River" strike me as pretty banal, and when he expresses amazement (in Wisconsin) that a water bottle left out overnight in sub-zero temperatures is frozen hard by morning, that seems downright dumb.Some of the things he omits to mention are pretty startling too. When he passes through Clarksdale, Mississippi, he waxes rhapsodic about the astonishing number of great blues musicians who hailed from there— and neglects to name a single one of them. (Wikipedia says that John Lee Hooker, Earl Hooker, Son House, Sam Cooke, Junior Parker, and Ike Turner were born there; W.C. Handy, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, and Howlin' Wolf all either lived or worked there at some time in their lives; and Bessie Smith died there.) No state escapes without some shallow, superficial commentary.Not only is Fry superficial, he's supercilious as well, dismissing the great majority of what he encounters with a superior air and an endless stream of subtle and not-so-subtle put-downs. In New Orleans at Mardi Gras, while everyone around him is partying like mad and having a blast, he remarks that "fun" is a word that "makes me shiver with revulsion." In another state, when a couple who have invited him into their home give him an impromptu homemade serenade with a guitar and a recorder, he says (out of their hearing, of course) that it is the type of event that "makes my blood run cold." If those are examples of his charm, I'd hate to see him when he's being an obnoxious twit.All in all: Fry goes some interesting places, sees some interesting scenery, meets some interesting people, does some interesting things, and makes a lot of uninteresting remarks about all of it.

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.

Immensely entertaining six-part trip through all the U.S. states hosted with likable wit by Stephen Fry.Maybe it's all slightly too arbitrarily episodic and missing some edginess, but as an easy-going travelogue featuring colorful and interesting snippets of what the United States are all about, of nature and culture, of people and their stories, this rates as a well-made, joyfully British journey without pretensions towards epic grandeur.Just follow your jocular tour guide Mr. Fry and you're in safe hands for sure.7 out of 10 travel taxis