Inspirational Achievments. (Stephen Fry and the Gutenberg Press)

Member Name: QueenElf

Product:	Stephen Fry and the Gutenberg Press
Date:	30/04/08 (107 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: One of a series of great inventions.

Disadvantages: It's easy to miss one.

The BBC has always been my channel of choice, despite the fact that I have to pay a fortune for the licence and now another charge for my digital cable channels. At first I was wondering whether another two BBC channels would make any difference to my viewing. After all, I spend more time reading and on my PC than I do watching TV. However, I must admit that each week I'm finding a new programme that I want to watch, or one that I might have missed. This happened recently with the first programme in BBC4's The Medieval Season.
Stuck for something to watch last Friday (24th April 2008), my eye caught the title, "Stephen Fry and the Gutenberg Press." This was being aired on BBC2 at 9pm, a repeat of the programme that opened the Medieval Season on Monday 14th April on BBC4.
While I can see that the rest of the series should be incredible viewing, my review is based on this one programme alone.

<< Overview>>

Stephen Fry is one of my favourite TV personalities and the topic was also one which is dear to my heart. Namely books and the invention that lifted mankind out of the dark ages into what must surely be the best invention of all times...the printing press. Specifically the Gutenberg Printing press, conceived and built in the 1440's. Fry takes the viewer through the history behind this remarkable event with an enthusiasm of a young man on his first quest into the annals of History. Swept up by his contagious high spirits I overlooked some of the finer details, but was able to catch up with some on BBC I Player. In fact this was the first time I had used the service, so now I never need to miss anything I might have wanted to watch. The website also offers links to other sources of information for those who want to read more about the topic being shown.

Fry explains the difficulties involved in finding out any detailed information about Gutenberg's press. For one thing there is no picture of it anywhere in the world. There are hints and clues and for the technically minded fans, the Gutenberg press was a forerunner of later models, so it is possible to track down certain facts about the press that produced 180 copies of Gutenberg's bible, now a precious reminder of what could only have been done previously by several monks working for a lifetime on one manuscript.

<< The Journey for Knowlede. >>

Fry sets out on a crusade to learn all he can about Johannes Gutenberg and his dream to build the first working press. His travels take him through France and Germany, where Gutenberg was born in the town of Mainz, approximately in the year 1400. The son of a goldsmith, he knew a lot about using metals for various purposes. Fry visits the museum in Mainz where he talks with various experts and tries to find out more about the printing process.
Meanwhile, back in Britain, he has left a team of craftsmen who are attempting to reproduce the original press, using the tools available in the 1400's and taking into account the little known about the press itself. The technical details are fascinating, but more importantly is the sheer genius of Fry's main colleague and friend, Alan, who is building the main body of the press in a very basic workshop.

I had to laugh at the way Fry pitches in and makes some attempts at woodwork to start with, joking about his ineptness with anything to do with artistic work or anything practical. This is born out by his book, "Moab is my washpot", where he recounts his painful efforts at anything to do with handicrafts when he was in school. To produce something as near to the original as possible is a daunting task, which Fry throw's himself into wholeheartedly. I can't help but admire his patience and cheer him on when he makes his first wood cuts into the spindle that forms part of the press. Later on he watches as one piece of type is made by hand, a process that can take half a day at least. Of course there is no time to make each individual letter by hand, but Fry is shown making a single letter E which is later incorporated into the block of type-print.

There is another rather special moment when he visits a paperwork's, where paper is still made by hand from rags pounded down in a huge vat to form single sheets of paper. While he explains how this form of paper was cheaper than the traditional method of using calfskin to make vellum pages, he rolls up his sleeves and makes a passable attempt at making several sheets which will be used back in the UK to print the very first page of a copy of Gutenberg's bible. It's a special moment, you can see that in his eyes and his body language as he tries everything he can to get this right.

<< The Results.>>

My job is not to repeat the programme, but report on it. To get you interested in the short time that you can get an overview of it on BBC I Player. Its not going to spoil the enjoyment to say that Fry's team do manage to make a working model and the excitement of everyone who worked on the project as the first page is manually put through the machinery. It's quite something to watch and wonder about the genius of one man who according to recent polls made the most important discovery of the last 1000 years.

<< Summary >>

This is a superb programme and is sure to be repeated in the near future. The programme was produced, narrated and had Fry as the main participant, which, with his natural exuberance and clear diction, makes him ideal for these type of programmes.
I enjoyed his heart-felt enthusiasm and his willingness to try his hand at things he already knew he wasn't that good at. What he lacked in finesse was compensated for in a true love of the subject matter. One image will stay with me for a long time. The moment when Fry is allowed to see one of the few remaining copies of Gutenberg's bible. Seated at a desk in the bowels of the British library, his hands enclosed in fine cotton gloves while he reverently turns each page with an awe bordering on worship.
As he says throughout the programme, where would civilisation be without books? We can do without cars, television, etc. But we can't really live without books.
Do try and catch this if you can. I guarantee you will be mesmerised for the whole sixty minutes and wish it could have gone on longer.

N.B. This is only available on BBC I player for a few days. The series on the Mediaeval Season will be running for quite some time.

©Lisa Fuller 28th April 2008.

Summary: A wonderfully uplifting programme, with a great director.