Pop Vultures

I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but there’s this thing going on in America at the moment called a Presidential Election. It’s kind of a big deal, apparently. And in recognition of that fact, the BBC has busted out its big guns and sent two of its finest small-screen stars across the pond, to report back to the mother country about all the fuss going on in that uppity former colony of ours.

I am, of course, ecstatic about this, because one of these stars is Stephen Fry, otherwise known as the only man I would leave my fiancé for, if only he would ask. In Stephen Fry in America, Fry has spent several months travelling across the United States, in a London taxi of all things, and is stopping off in every state of the union in order to report on interesting and unusual things. So far these things have included lobster fishing off the coast of Maine, a meeting with the mafia gang who inspired The Godfather in New York, and a visit to a body farm in Tennessee (and if you don’t know what that is, I suggest you Google with caution).

I am so delighted that my beloved Stephen Fry is back on our screens, being his usual erudite and foppishly-charming self, that I hesitate to voice any complaint at all. But I must admit, this series is not as perfect as it could be, only because too much is crammed into every show. Yes, Fry does go to every state in the Union, but so rapidly that some are simply driven across and remarked upon in passing.

If only we could have a show for every state. I would happily watch Stephen Fry trying to fill an hour of television with interesting facts about Nebraska or Delaware. Let’s face it, if anybody could do it, it’s him. But, this is only a minor quibble, and mostly I find Stephen Fry in America utterly wonderful and delightful, and so will you.

Slightly higher up the didactic ladder, The American Future: A History is Simon Schama’s survey of the history of the United States as a cautionary tale. Or, in other words, everything that is happening now has happened before, and we could all learn a thing or two from it if we would only pay attention. The first episode looked at America’s wartime history, going all the way back to the conflicting perspectives of Jefferson and Hamilton to illustrate the ideological conflicts about the Iraq war that are now at the forefront of the presidential campaigns. It’s stirring and controversial stuff.

In the next episode, apparently, Schama is examining the history of religious pluralism in the United States. It’s all a lot less frivolous than Stephen Fry creating a new flavour of ice cream at the Ben and Jerry’s factory in Vermont, but it’s fascinating viewing nevertheless.

You can find further Stateside hi-jinks with my beloved Fry on BBC1, Sunday nights at 9pm. And if you also want to learn about the minutiae of American history and what it all means for today, you can catch Simon Schama on BBC2, Friday nights at 9pm. I have no doubt both these shows will also be coming to BBC America in no time at all.