Coming Soon: “Stephen Fry’s 21st Century Firsts”
By: Shain E. Thomas
Tags: Documentary, Television, Itv, 21st Century, Stephen Fry

British Network Television

Coming Soon: “Stephen Fry’s 21st Century Firsts”

Promotional Image: Stephen Fry

Stephen Fry’s 21st Century Firsts comes to ITV at 20:30 (GMT) on Monday, 28 December 2020.

Fry, in his latest television production, takes viewers through his pick of the fascinating and groundbreaking things that have occurred since the dawn of the current century.

“2021 will see the 21st Century ‘come of age’ — the 21st year of the 21st century. Stephen Fry’s 21st Century Firsts looks back from the very eve of the millennium through to today to remind ourselves of just how far we’ve come in that time,” Fry said. “The whole landscape of our lives — cultural, social and technological — has been radically transformed. It seemed like a good idea to use this 21st birthday as a good opportunity to look at these transformations, in a way that we hope is informative, surprising and entertaining. A fun mixture of nostalgia and cultural history with me as an enthusiastic guide.”

Fry, with references to the year 2000, begins his nostalgic journey by examining the impact of the first accurate Sat Navs and tracks down one of the first women to voice one.

“What’s still not just surprising but actually shocking is the speed with which we first absorb, and then take utterly for granted the astounding technology that shapes our world,” Fry said. “A third of the century so far went along its way without iPhones, social media, GPS, streaming or any of those elements which now rule our world.”

A nationwide smoking ban, in 2007, came into force. Consequently, because of this ban, smoking in pubs was forbidden for the first time. But not everyone was happy and we hear from the landlord who went to prison for deliberately flouting the ban.

He explores an era that has seen huge tech advances that have affected all our lives from the first iphone in 2007 to the smart speaker in 2018. He reflects on a social media revolution that saw everyone amassing Facebook friends from 2004 and communicating in less than 140 characters via a Tweet from 2006.

“The influence of social media on our mental health, political health and cultural health is a troubling one. You can’t, as Americans say, unring that bell — you can’t stuff that genie back in the bottle — but a world without Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the like now seems immensely appealing,” Fry said.

Airbnb launched in 2008 changing the way we holidayed and the Tinder app in 2012 shook up the world of dating with a swipe to left or the right. The first high street flat white was poured in 2010 and the first lab grown burger was eaten in 2013.

Fry examines the huge cultural and political firsts that occurred over the last 20 years. Same sex marriage was only legalised 2014 and Stormzy became the first solo British black man to headline Glastonbury in 2019.

Greta Thunberg, the 15-year-old school girl, started striking to fight climate change for the first time in 2018 and at the other end of the age scale, Captain Tom Moore became the first 99-year-old to have a number one record in 2020 with all proceeds going to The NHS to help fight the global coronavirus pandemic.

Through interviews with experts and well-known faces, as well as ordinary people involved in some of the breakthroughs, the programme highlights some of the great advancements we’ve seen for the first time in the 21st century.

Illustrated with a rich mix of archive we turn the clock back 20 years and witness the great pace of change and ponder what the next 20 years will bring.

Stephen Fry’s 21st Century Firsts, scheduled to premiere on Monday, 28 December 2020, will be televised at 20:30 (GMT).