Starting on Sunday at 2100.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2019/41/the-americas-with-simon-reeve

Have been going back over a lot of his stuff on flights recently. Just such good television. The right balance of information, entertainment, challenging thought and open jawed wonder.

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/why-isnt-there-tax-on-aviation-or-shipping-fuel/

Boom!

Very good, bb, are you suggesting that people who travel abroad for business travel by sailing ship?
The new Simon Reeve series is already noted and set to record!

Reeve always comes across as a down to earth nice guy. I’ll be watching, cheers for the psa.

Thanks for the PSA. Really enjoy his programmes and have watched a few repeats that have been on recently. Just bought his book “Step by Step” which I’m looking forward to.

So far so good!

The Montana piece had me pining to go back, such a wondrous place.

Found it a bit boring to be honest, first one at least. I was hoping to see an account of travelling and lots of pics of awesome scenery but there was too much talking to people about environmental stuff and saying “ooooh it’s so bad isn’t it?”. I know it’s the trendy thing to be talking about but let’s just have a nice travel/scenery programme without the politics.

but let’s just have a nice travel/scenery programme without the politics.

I feel similar …. some of the politics is pretty interesting but some is just social rubber necking

You feel sorry for the poor lady living in a caravan with no plumbing, in surposededly a developed country, while you sit on your sofa, all warm and comfy. While the fact it’s halfway across the world means you can watch it guilt free !?!

So if its guilt free TV, lets have more shots of the wonderful landscapes and chats with the locals but without politics every time…. needs a better balance.

I totally disagree, it’s just the sort of social and political nastyness we need to hear about. Don’t forget we may end up with even closer ties to the U.S. very soon.

but there was too much talking to people about environmental stuff and saying “ooooh it’s so bad isn’t it?”. I know it’s the trendy thing to be talking about but let’s just have a nice travel/scenery programme without the politics.

Have you never watched a Simon Reeve documentary? He doesn’t do travelling and nice scenery.

So if its guilt free TV, lets have more shots of the wonderful landscapes and chats with the locals but without politics every time…. needs a better balance.

Well, there’s always Joanna Lumley…

Are you like the David Attenborough of people?

Bloody hellfire, America is a mess, isn’t it?

Watch tonight’s fascinating, interesting viewing. Yep America is screwed up – homelessness rates in LA mind blowing and the Redwoods similarly mind-blowing.

Brilliant episode tonight, massively thought provoking. Yes America has problems, like many places but SR intentionally looks for the difficult cases, not the typical.
The woman living in the bridge was just……….

I know it’s the trendy thing to be talking about but let’s just have a nice travel/scenery programme without the politics.

There’s a really nice one about the world’s most scenic railways you could watch instead of this series, and make a note to never watch anything by Simon, because he never does scenic and pretty, environment and politics are inextricably entwined with the scenery, and quite rightly so, as tonight’s episode shows in a quite frightening fashion.

Enjoyed that episode…

He’s a journalist, he does reporting, that’s his job. The programmes he’s made have always touched on both political and environmental issues… and rightly too. This world isn’t just about a travel show for people who can’t get off their sofas, it’s about reality in a world obsessed by the glamour shot of Mansions and Blinged out Cars Insta’d baby.

He did some proper reporting way back when 9/11 was about to happen, predicted something was about to happen yet got vilified for his then stance on it… just google him.

I don’t think America is screwed, it’s always been like that. LA is just a focus point for it all due to the fact that that many folks “go west” in search of the promised land and end up in reality… what then happens if they can’t find work is the same everywhere in the world. This programme simply showed the dichotomy between those that “have” and those that “don’t have”

Step off the train in any city in the UK and walk around the back of the station and you’ll see folks camped out in doorways or under cardboard boxes. The fact that the UK has a functioning social security system is still lost on people that can’t claim for it whatever reason.

Oh I didn’t know that’s what Simon Reeve normally does. The adverts for the series didn’t sell it as a journalistic sort of thing, more a scenic travel program. I’ll give it a miss from now on.
Unfortunately I’m not a fan of these programs as they always seem to major on the doom and gloom side of things.