Stephen Fry in America: Deep South
Here, Stephen Fry explores what it is that makes the south so distinctive. He joins coal miners deep underground in West Virginia, meets a young man with the state of Kentucky tattooed on his butt, and enjoys a delirious session of bluegrass music-making in Tennessee.
He has an encounter with a bear in the Smokey Mountains, ascends in a balloon above North Carolina, learns the language of slaves in South Carolina, and is invited into a Georgian family's Old Plantation house to join their Thanksgiving celebrations (and has an unfortunate encounter with a horse).
He fails as a dancing escort in Florida and is moved by two very different events in Alabama: a parole board's deliberations and the extraordinary hoopla of a college ball game, complete with air-force jets. Episode one here New World.
GodmanEnki, I know Stephen Fry is British, but hes wonderfully intelligent and I'm pretty sure he's correct with regards to his geographical knowledge of the united states, and there is nothing wrong with calling it "America", Its part of the American continent after all. Its new name is the United states but the culture itself can only be described as American. I would not try and outsmart Sir Stephen Fry, you would lose terribly.
Texas is the south-west.
Sorry buddy, but "Virginia" by geographical-standards, is in THE EAST! TEXAS, ALABAMA, FLORIDA, ARKANSAS, and maybe Missouri, but not California or Arizona. The "South" is full of idiots that wear white robes and chant KKK all day. Either that, or they drink bear all day and watch baseball or golf. Real "games of intelligence." Texas, is-the-"SOUTH." Virginia is ON THE EAST COAST!
WHY do they STILL CALL IT "America?" Seems to me, after LITTLE-baby-george signed those papers, with the "Prime Minister" of Canada, and the "President of Mexico," "we" haven't been "SAmerica, aka The United States" SINCE 2005!
THIS.....IS NOW "the north American union." GET USE TO IT.
Oh gosh...I've now fallen for Tennessee! This could be a real problem!
It is so damned gorgeous...it takes my breath away!
North Carolina in a hot air balloon...I have never been to the USA, but this is tempting me big time! Stephen, you wicked, wicked man!
I actually tear up towards the end of this one. Best episode of the series.
I love seeing how giddy he got when the auctioneer started doing his thing lol!
yay its uncut, i finally got to see the dead bodies
Just as Alabama is much more than prisons and college sports, as a fifth generation Floridian, I have to say I was disappointed that only Miami was chosen to represent our state. We have some of the largest state parks and nature preserves in the world, one of which is the Everglades, which was shown in the film, and an underwater park in the Fla. Keys. We have the second largest lake in the US, Lake Okeechobee, in Fla. and the oldest settlement, St. Augustine. Many may not realize that the Seminole Indians own one of the largest Indian reservations in the country, where they raise cattle and crops, as well as operating several gaming casinos throughout the state. The Space Coast (a little north of Miami) has been home to the space shuttle launches for several decades, and Orlando, in the center of the state, is known for tourist attractions such as Disneyworld, Universal Studios (where the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is located), Sea World and many more. Although urban areas and some coastal regions are heavily developed, if you could take a balloon ride over Florida, you would also see acres upon acres of farmland, cattle ranches, orange groves and unspoiled wilderness areas. Central Florida, where I live, looks much like Kentucky, with hundreds of horse farms and rolling hills dotted with oak trees, as well as palms. In fact, many Kentucky Derby winners, such as Unbridled that Kentucky takes their motto from, were born and bred in Florida. Affirmed, the last Triple Crown winner, was also a Florida-bred. We also have NASCAR racing in Daytona Beach. We have thousands of lakes and spring fed rivers; in fact, many companies bottle and sell our water around the world. So if you plan to come to our state in the future, try to see more than just the tourist attractions. And no matter where you travel, it is wise to learn as much as you can about your destination, so you will not miss out on the true character of the place and its people.
@ Vlatko?
What's with the new little grey square...notifications? is that where we get scolded for misbehaving?
az
Another look at America through the eyes of another culture. What, he didn't like Miami? Can't blame him. It's an American thing. At least Stephen got a good dose of good old fashioned southern hospitality. Something we Americans are proud of.
Wow. I miss the old days when all the Europeans thought we were cowboys. Now they all think we're rednecks.
Ok i'll give him an other try....later.
az
Fun doc...I love Stephen Fry. WARNING: He goes to The University of Tennessee and looks at decomposing corpses. If you think that sort of thing will make you uncomfortable, then skip through that whole part (it was pretty gross).
LOL.... Don't cha just love folk from DA SOUTH :P
@Pysmythe & @Az I know ya'll are gonna see this :)
When ya'll do just think of that ol Tennessee Gal friend of yours Knowledge
and SMILE!