This British-made TV series seems to be designed to be viewed primarily by Americans since it uses mostly "standard" units of measurement instead of metric. It also tends to focus on topics that Americans are already familiar with such as the rise of fast food, the problems that have occurred along with that convenience and other topics such as the space race of the 20th century.
Each episode is short and informative, using lots of real stock footage and also graphics that make things easier to understand rather than bogging us down with scientific jargon that while it would be more intellectual, would be too complicated to interest the general public.
The first episode is entitled simply Fast Food and focuses on the rise of popularity of fast-food franchises starting with ideas that actually failed originating in Wichita, Kansas with the birth and brief death of the chain White Castle. I personally had no idea that they were the first nor that they failed in their first attempt.
Again, the show focuses mostly on USA statistics but does touch base on the international launch and success of chains such as KFC and McDonalds. One interesting tid-bit of information that was completely new to me (aside from the staggering monetary information they provide) is that global fast-food chains are banned in Bermuda in an effort to preserve their charm and tourist appeal. They are one of the few nations in the world to do so.
Later episodes cover such innovations as robotics, plastics, and nuclear power. There are also a few that could be viewed slightly as propaganda such as when they focus on feminism and the rise of China as a global financial powerhouse.
No matter what the topic is, I found each of the episodes to be very easy to digest thanks to the infographics and even some funny ways of measuring things such as when they talk about the International Space Station being larger than an NFL football field. Is it condescending? Maybe a little bit. But it is hard to argue with the fact that using that comparison is easier for most people to visualize than if they were to give the exact measurements. I'm trying to be entertained, not do research for my Masters Degree thesis, after all.
Each episode is only 20-25 minutes long and the information comes at you in quick-step so it is impossible to not be at least at little bit entertained. As informative documentaries go, this is one of the best "casual watching" ones that I have seen in quite some time.
Should I watch it?
Unless you don't like learning stuff or are really pressed for time I would say yes. I watched 3 episodes in a row despite the fact that I had heard nothing about it going in and didn't really know what I was getting myself into. I ended up watching all of the episodes over the course of 3 days. I also now have some interesting bits of information to talk to my friends about after having seen it.
