The Americas with Simon Reeve 1
2019-10-06 | Documentary | 5 episodes2 Seasons
Episode
Alaska and Canada (2019)
Simon Reeve begins his most ambitious journey yet: travelling the entire length of the Americas, north to south. In this first leg of his epic journey, Simon travels from the frozen beauty of Alaska down through Canada to Vancouver and the border with the United States. Landing on a huge glacier in Alaska’s Denali National Park, Simon witnesses firsthand the brutal impact of global climate change in the remote north of the planet – ice is receding here at an alarming rate. Hunting caribou with Native Americans, Simon also hears both sides of the debate about President Trump’s plans to open the Arctic National Wilderness Reserve to oil drilling. Canada has a much greener reputation than its powerful neighbour, as Simon learns in the Yukon while sharing a bizarre cocktail containing a frozen human toe with an off-grid character called Caveman Bill. But Canada has many of its own problems: in the wealthy hipster paradise of Vancouver, Simon meets the people saving lives in the midst of a brutal opioid addiction crisis that has cost so many lives across the North American continent. Author and broadcaster Simon Reeve is one of the BBC’s most popular presenters and this series marks his biggest project yet. Meeting engaging and colourful characters along the way, Simon’s adventure uncovers a side to the Americas rarely seen, highlighting serious social and political issues alongside the epic landscapes and sheer fun of an endlessly fascinating part of the world.
U.S. Midwest (2019)
Simon Reeve continues his journey through the Americas. In this second leg, Simon is in the United States travelling down the Rocky Mountains from Montana to Colorado. In the wide-open prairies of Montana, the cowboy way of life is under threat from a long-term decline in the rural economy, but Simon meets a former Silicon Valley executive who has envisaged a new future for the land. The hugely ambitious American Prairie Reserve is attempting to turn three million acres of former ranches, farms and public lands into a protected habitat for America’s wildlife, reintroducing iconic species long extinct, including the North American bison. It is a move being welcomed by native American groups still living under the shadow of historical injustice. Travelling south, Simon explores small town America, which in recent years has witnessed a steady decline as big employers move away and people head to the cities for work. But one small town is bucking that trend by embracing the legal cannabis industry and using the taxation raised to fund lavish local facilities. In a country with the highest incarceration rate in the world, Simon’s final destination on this leg of the journey is a Colorado town that depends almost entirely on eleven different prisons. Simon witnesses how inmates are put to work for the state, and how virtual reality is being used to prepare long-term prisoners for life on the outside. Author and broadcaster Simon Reeve is one of the BBC’s most popular presenters and this series marks his biggest project yet. Meeting engaging and colourful characters along the way, Simon’s adventure uncovers a side to the Americas we rarely see, highlighting serious social and political issues alongside the epic landscapes and sheer fun of an endlessly fascinating part of the world. This series of five 60-minute programmes takes Simon from Alaska to the tropical jungles of Costa Rica.
California (2019)
Simon Reeve continues his journey through the Americas. In this third leg of the journey Simon travels down the length of California. In northern California he explores the land of the giant redwoods, where he learns that only a fraction of old growth forest survives. Climbing 250 feet into the canopy of a giant redwood, Simon joins a team of arborists who are cloning the world’s biggest and most successful trees in an attempt to replant the forests that they hope can help to tackle climate change. California has recently suffered from severe droughts that have helped to create the ideal conditions for wildfires. After visiting the devastating aftermath of the fire that destroyed the town of Paradise, Simon joins the elite fire fighters who are working 24/7 to prevent a similar catastrophe happening again. Travelling south, Simon arrives on the beautiful west coast where most Californians live. But behind the glamorous Hollywood image, Simon soon discovers LA’s dark underbelly when he joins street medics who provide healthcare to the city’s 45,000 homeless. In the spectacular Sierra Nevada mountains, Simon lends a helping hand to the California Conservation Corps, a group that traces its origins to the 1930s New Deal. He works alongside young people who have struggled with drug addiction, mental health problems and homelessness, who have found purpose and employment in protecting California’s threatened environment. Simon ends the third leg of his journey close to the Mexican border, where the man-made Salton Sea is now drying up, and a once fashionable resort has fallen on bad times. In scorching desert temperatures some hardy Americans have still found a place to live off grid here, escaping the rat race and the huge costs and challenges of living in the wealthiest state in the US.
Mexico (2019)
Simon Reeve continues his journey through the Americas. In this fourth leg of the journey, Simon travels through Texas and down the length of Mexico. In Texas, Simon joins the US Border Patrol, who constantly pick up migrants who have illegally crossed the dangerous Rio Grande river in search of a new life in the United States. In the midst of this humanitarian crisis, Simon meets one woman who risks her life to take vital supplies across the border to stranded migrants on the Mexican side of the border in one of the most violent cities in Mexico. Much of the city of Reynosa is in the grip of a powerful criminal organisation, the Gulf Cartel. Simon visits the elite police force tasked with taking on an enemy that uses high-tech surveillance and an arsenal of US-manufactured weapons to control the border city. In southern Mexico, Simon visits Chiapas, a state with spectacular scenery, culture and history. Chiapas is also home to the largest indigenous population in Mexico, who trace their ancestry to the ancient Mayans. In the depths of the rainforest, Simon explores the Mayan city of Yaxchilan, once a thriving hub of a hugely sophisticated civilisation that prospered long before European settlers arrived in the Americas. Simon discovers that today’s indigenous communities have been marginalised, and many complain they are treated as second-class citizens in Mexico. Until the middle of the 20th century, the Lacandon people had little contact with the outside world. Most still live in the forest like their Mayan ancestors, but as Simon finds out, their beautiful home could be lost to logging and farming in less than a decade.
Central America (2019)
Simon Reeve continues his journey through the Americas. In this fifth leg of the journey, Simon travels across Central America from the Caribbean to the Pacific. He begins by diving on a coral reef on the coast of northern Belize and visits a rescue centre for orphaned manatees. In Belize’s Chiquibul National Park, Simon witnesses a gun battle between armed park rangers and intruders from neighbouring Guatemala intent on clearing the rainforest for farming. Simon's next stop is Guatemala, where over half the population live off the land. The staple crop is corn, but Simon discovers that a vast area of Central America is suffering from a severe drought, partly blamed on climate change. Half of children under the age of five are malnourished, and Simon visits one mother who only has eight days of food left to feed her young family. The drought is not only causing hunger but mass migration to the United States. In El Salvador Simon encounters the other big factor in the migration crisis: the brutal gang violence that causes thousands to flee the country. A new government in El Salvador is cracking down on the gangs, and Simon heads out on patrol with an elite police unit tasked with taking back control of the streets. In a dark situation, Simon finds a ray of light in a volunteer organisation that takes young teenagers from gang neighbourhoods and trains them to be paramedics. The last destination on this leg of the journey is Costa Rica, a small tropical paradise that's home to 6% of the world's biodiversity. In a troubled region, Costa Rica is a beacon of hope and stability. It has led the world in eco-tourism and aims to become the first carbon neutral country in 2021. Simon joins school children to plant trees, one of many projects to restore the country's tropical forests and fight climate change.
