Stephen Fry goes hunting for deer in New York State, but finds only their “nuggets” (or “poo”).

If I was going to be unkind – and all signs are pointing towards that – I’d say this moment from tonight’s opening instalment of Stephen’s six-part Stateside sojourn could be extrapolated to encompass the whole of the episode. It’s suffering profoundly from an absence of meat, and our hero is left struggling to conjure up whatever he can with only traces of something interesting… something that fled the scene shortly beforehand.

But do all the pieces fit?

A bit of Fry and... Washington et al

Let’s go back to the start. Since Michael Palin paid his respects to Phileas Fogg, every authored travelogue has required a high concept to grease the wheels. Fry’s is a little squeaky. “I was so nearly born an American,” he tells us at the top of the programme. “I came that close. In the 1950s, my father was offered a job at Princeton University, and he turned it down. And so I was born, not in NJ, but in NW3. And I was born a Stephen, not a Steve. But ever since I found this out at a later age, I’ve been intensely curious to discover more about the world of my other self, this strange American… Steve.” Surely this is barely motivation to get out of your chair, let alone clock up 50 states? But then, let’s remember, it’s a TV show. All the conceit has to do is get us there – and even an unconvincing one can be forgiven if it’s quick. But unconvincing is the word that seems to underpin this project.

Arriving in Eastport, Maine (driving “a trusty London cab – albeit one hired in the US”), Stephen catches lobsters with a trawlerman. “What do you call yourself?” he asks. “Maine-iacs?”. “I’ve been called worse” comes the response. The encounter is unedifying and uneasy. Then it’s on to New Hampshire. Stephen is trailing the Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney. “Stephen Fry, from the BBC…” he offers, stepping in front of the prospective presidential candidate at a political house party. “Nice to see you again” comes the response, as the quarry makes a deft sidestep. America, it seems, is just slipping by.   

From here, the programme continues as a series of bullet points: Stephen ascending a hill in a steam train; eulogising unexpectedly about ice cream (“That feeling of comfort you get”); momentarily materialising on board the deck of the 1962 America’s Cup-winning yacht, poking around the log cabin-themed playpen of a super rich banker while nobody’s home, and delivering eggy links to camera – “New York State, dominated by the Adirondack chain of mountains and Niagara at the top. They say it’s the size of England…” 

Perhaps he’s been ill-served by the production team, who’ve set him down in places where there’s little to say, or with people who say little. A conversation with scene veteran Oatsie Charles about the previous generation of super-rich in Newport, Rhode Island is just hard work. “Why did they call them cottages?” asks Stephen, referring to the mansions around. “I wasn’t there then!” is the reply. “No you weren’t,” he mollifies, “but you know about the history”. And then, giving up: “There’s your drink – don’t forget that”.

Stephen Fry, not seeing a deer

Oatsie Charles not talking about the Newport social set

What makes all this even more frustrating is at times there’s a breakthrough. A hint of something really interesting. Oatsie talks fleetingly about the marriage of John and Jackie Kennedy. “It was too funny,” she says, recalling the Kennedy family arriving in almost ceremonial garb. “Always in Newport you were slightly under-dressed, unless it was a big occasion. And this was just Jackie getting married.” But then it’s gone, and it’s off to New York City for a meeting with a gang of wise guys, who greet Stephen at the door with: “There’s tea, coffee, cake, soda in the refrigerator”.

“Thou shalt not question Stephen Fry”. It’s one of the Ten Commandments, and normally an edict sensible to stick to. The notion of the greatest living Englishman undertaking any mission, talking on any subject is normally a pleasing one. But here, the heroic, witty Fry falls a long way short. 

Back on “the green side of the Big Apple”, a man comes over the hill looking slightly baffled. “Did you guys see it?” he asks. No, confirms Stephen. We didn’t see the deer.