There's a lot of America on the box at the moment, thanks largely to one of the most intriguing presidential elections in recent history. Never has America been so under the mircoscope of everyone else... on one hand you have the promise of Old America, a conservative baton down the hatchets McCain, and the promise of a hip new modern America in Obama. After the Dubya Bush administration, there's a feeling of wanting to love America again. For too long, the US has been an blot on the international landscape, regarded as a bunch of redneck racists, war hungry madmen and guzzling down the Earth's resources without much care for the rest... but that's obviously not true. So who better to remind you that America is as brilliant as it is, than Stephen Fry, the man who is so painfully English, and so wonderfully curious. So with his super brain and inquisitive nature, we met up with Stephen Fry in America (BBC One, Sunday, 12 October, 9pm).

I touched upon Fry's quintessential Englishness earlier, but it nearly wasn't so. Early in the show, Uncle Stephen shares that he was nearly born in America, thanks to a job offer for his father, but alas, we were blessed with the treasure that is Fry, and America is a 'Steve' down. However, it's this fact that has seen Fry become curious of America, almost the spiritual home for the Fry that never was. So in his round-trip, he started north, notably, in beautiful Maine and working his way south..

The first thing that struck you about the compelling and charming show, was the sounds. Aside from showing just how diverse the accents are in America (c'mon, don't tell me you knew the shades between Maine and Boston... you were just like me and only knew New Yoik and La-la Cali tones), this brilliant road-trip managed to soundtrack each place musically, from the Bebop of The Big Apple and the earthier tones of North North America. It's these details that truly make a BBC show like this, so rewarding.

Of course, we've all got this preconceived notion of what America is; that of hamburgers, cars and sunshine... but thanks to its vastness, America is everything and nothing at all. So huge is the place that it's both hamburgers AND refinery... it's both crass AND cultured... in a way, it's the perfect place for Fry to be. A place of contradictions that's both heavy weight knowledge and bum-jokes.

This, of course, needed reflecting, which Fry was more than happy - and able - to do, thanks to his engaging conversation, warmness and honesty about the things he knows little about. Along the first chapter of this trip, Fry went catching lobster, visited a cabin made entirely of trees and animals, made ice cream (which we need in a "cold and unforgiving world"), played at being a croupier and visited a witch, which saw him sporting a rather fetching wizard hat. And more.

However, two of the richest seams came with character. One such character was Oatsie Charles who, if you'll forgive me making a sweeping generalisation for one moment, was every gay man's dream come true. Wealthy, bitchy, eccentric, slightly off-hand and completely batty, Oatsie regailed Fry with tales of the Kennedy wedding, snobbery and "tough tiddy." She was a riot to have on TV and Fry was clearly enraptured AND terrified of her - brilliant!

However, as ever, trumping the lot, was New York. In a visit to a Big Apple taxi rank, Fry was like a kid in a sweet shop, soaking up the accents, the atmosphere and, most importantly, the anecdotes. One guy, called Mikey ("There had to be a Mikey!" chirrups Fry) tells a typically New Yorkian tale about someone getting shot... "and my friend calls an Ambulance, and he says 'I'M SHOT IN THE HEAD! and the person on the 'phone sez 'How do you know?' and he sex "There's a hole in my head and blood's comin' out - how do you think I know I got shot?!"* The fact of the matter is, the merest scratch of the surface and New York is as cool as you think it is... it's a sickener for us Brits!

Basically, America is on the PR offensive at the moment, because for whatever reason, it's become laughed at, looked down at. It's easy to forget how great, vast and varied it is, and Stephen Fry is THE best person to go for a journey through America with. This is a wonderful, wonderful programme that ticks all the right boxes and requires very little effort to love. More of the same please!

*please read quotation in the broadest New York/Italian accent you can think of