Fry's Planet Word is a documentary series about language. Written and presented by Stephen Fry, five hour-long episodes were first broadcast in September and October 2011 on BBC Two and BBC HD. The series was produced and directed by John-Paul Davidson who worked with Fry on two other documentaries: Stephen Fry In America (2008) and Last Chance to See (2009). There is a book to accompany the series published by Michael Joseph, an imprint of Penguin Group.

Fry's Planet Word
The title card for Fry's Planet Word. A series of tree branches have the names of languages such as "Dutch", "English", and "Germanic" are seen along background branches and "Fry's Planet Word" is in the foreground.
GenreDocumentary
Written byStephen Fry
Directed byJohn-Paul Davidson
Helen Williamson
Presented byStephen Fry
ComposersDebbie Wiseman
Andy Hopkins
No. of episodes5
Production
Executive producersMark Bell
Gina Carter
ProducerHelen Williamson
Running time60 minutes
Original release
NetworkBBC Two, BBC HD
Release25 September (2011-09-25) –
23 October 2011 (2011-10-23)

Episodes

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"Babel"

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Focusing on the origins of language with topics covered including:

"Identity"

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Focusing on how one identifies through language

"Uses and Abuses"

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The evolution of slang and profanity

"Spreading the Word"

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The history of written language, from the earliest writing to blogging and tweeting

"The Power and the Glory"

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The influence of storytelling and literature on language

International broadcast

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In Australia, this programme was shown on ABC1 at 9:30pm on Sundays from 11 March 2012.[1]

References

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  1. ^ "ABC1 Programming Airdate: Fry's Planet Word (episode one)". ABC Television Publicity. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
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