0:00:02 > 0:00:07I have crossed the Atlantic to ride the railroads of North America,
0:00:07 > 0:00:10with my faithful Appleton's Guide!
0:00:13 > 0:00:15Published in the late 19th century,
0:00:15 > 0:00:19it will direct me to everything that's novel, beautiful,
0:00:19 > 0:00:22memorable and curious
0:00:22 > 0:00:24in the United States.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26Yee-ha!
0:00:26 > 0:00:29As I travel through this vast continent,
0:00:29 > 0:00:32I'll discover gold and silver,
0:00:32 > 0:00:34movies and microchips,
0:00:34 > 0:00:36oil and oranges,
0:00:36 > 0:00:39and learn how America's most famous railroad
0:00:39 > 0:00:42conquered the wild landscapes of the west.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16My journey has brought me to southern California.
0:01:16 > 0:01:21The major cities of this state were named in Spanish on Catholic themes.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24I will soon arrive in the City of the Angels,
0:01:24 > 0:01:27where many a young actor prayed miraculously
0:01:27 > 0:01:30to be raised to the level of the stars.
0:01:30 > 0:01:35I will be interested to see whether in this city of the freeway,
0:01:35 > 0:01:37there's a future for the railway.
0:01:37 > 0:01:39HORN HONKS
0:01:44 > 0:01:47I'm making a 1,000-mile trip from
0:01:47 > 0:01:49Reno, Nevada, through California,
0:01:49 > 0:01:51to San Diego, just short of
0:01:51 > 0:01:52the Mexican border.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57This time, I'm in the home of the movies, Los Angeles.
0:01:57 > 0:01:59I'll travel to the north of the city,
0:01:59 > 0:02:02to the neighbourhoods of Van Nuys and San Marino,
0:02:02 > 0:02:05and visit an iconic studio at Burbank.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08I'll head downtown to Wilshire Boulevard,
0:02:08 > 0:02:11before finishing on the boardwalk at Venice Beach.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16On my travels, I bring Christmas to LA...
0:02:16 > 0:02:19- Pretty cool, huh? - Ha! It's cool, indeed!
0:02:21 > 0:02:26..I discover the Metro's plan to tempt Angelenos from their cars...
0:02:26 > 0:02:30You're going to be able to go from downtown to Westside in 25 minutes -
0:02:30 > 0:02:33that's unheard of during the rush-hour period.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36..and become an all-action Hollywood hero.
0:02:36 > 0:02:38THEY GRUNT
0:02:40 > 0:02:41And cut!
0:02:41 > 0:02:43HORN HONKS
0:02:51 > 0:02:54Appleton's confirms that Los Angeles was settled
0:02:54 > 0:02:56by the Spaniards in 1780,
0:02:56 > 0:03:00and by 1890, the population was 50,000,
0:03:00 > 0:03:04and the adobe buildings of which it was originally composed
0:03:04 > 0:03:08are fast giving way to larger and more imposing structures.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10And that process was accelerated,
0:03:10 > 0:03:15as homes were built for movie moguls and matinee idols.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17Whether you love it or hate it,
0:03:17 > 0:03:21Hollywood has given a common culture to the world.
0:03:21 > 0:03:27People in every country, especially the young, share icons and heroes,
0:03:27 > 0:03:29from Mickey Mouse to Wonder Woman,
0:03:29 > 0:03:32from Marilyn Monroe to Tom Cruise.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41BRAKES SCREECH
0:03:48 > 0:03:50How absolutely magnificent!
0:03:50 > 0:03:55I've been looking forward to Los Angeles' Union Station.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58It's built in Art Deco and Mission Revival style,
0:03:58 > 0:04:01which means you get travertine marble and you get terracotta,
0:04:01 > 0:04:06and you get these hints of the Mexican and Spanish worlds.
0:04:06 > 0:04:11It was opened in 1939, really the last of the great railroad stations
0:04:11 > 0:04:12of the United States,
0:04:12 > 0:04:15and from here, the stars would travel on
0:04:15 > 0:04:19the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway to Chicago,
0:04:19 > 0:04:21their gateway to the east.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32Los Angeles is the second-biggest city in the United States.
0:04:37 > 0:04:42From golden beaches to palm-lined boulevards,
0:04:42 > 0:04:45jam-packed freeways to teeming tourist hot spots,
0:04:45 > 0:04:49Greater Los Angeles is in every way larger than life.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52On the Hollywood Walk of Fame,
0:04:52 > 0:04:57more than 2,500 stars have been tattooed into the sidewalk
0:04:57 > 0:05:00to honour the greats from the world of entertainment.
0:05:00 > 0:05:01How are you doing?
0:05:01 > 0:05:03I'm just hanging out here - do you know what I mean?
0:05:03 > 0:05:05Why are you dressed as Spider-Man, Spider-Man?
0:05:05 > 0:05:08Erm... Besides fighting crime, you mean?
0:05:08 > 0:05:09Yeah, yeah, besides that, yeah.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12I'm here to have a good time - do you know what I mean?
0:05:22 > 0:05:27It's hard to get your head around the sheer scale of this conurbation.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30The metropolitan region is one of the largest in the world,
0:05:30 > 0:05:33with a population of over 18 million,
0:05:33 > 0:05:36and one of LA's tallest skyscrapers promises
0:05:36 > 0:05:39an impressive bird's-eye view.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44Very tall buildings have a magnetic attraction to me,
0:05:44 > 0:05:45and I've been zoomed to the top... LIFT CHIMES
0:05:45 > 0:05:48..but I have a feeling I'll soon be on the slide.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57I can just about make out the smudge of the ocean there,
0:05:57 > 0:06:00and the high-rise buildings I think are Beverly Hills
0:06:00 > 0:06:01and the mountains beyond,
0:06:01 > 0:06:04and, of course, pointing to each one, fingers of freeway.
0:06:08 > 0:06:13Here on the 70th floor, 1,000 feet up, is the Skyslide,
0:06:13 > 0:06:17offering thrill-seekers a unique way to see the city.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19Hello! My name is Michael. What's yours?
0:06:19 > 0:06:21Nice to meet you. My name is Ellen.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24- Ellen.- It's very nice to meet you. - Whoa, this is exciting.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26- I go down there, do I? - Definitely, yes.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28Push forward, and you're good to go!
0:06:28 > 0:06:33And I'll see north-east Los Angeles shooting by the window, will I?
0:06:33 > 0:06:35- Yes, you will!- OK!
0:06:36 > 0:06:38Whoo! Ha-ha!
0:06:39 > 0:06:41Wah!
0:06:41 > 0:06:42Whoo!
0:06:42 > 0:06:44Wheee!
0:06:44 > 0:06:45Ah!
0:06:45 > 0:06:47Good fun. Not easy to be elegant, but good fun!
0:06:54 > 0:06:58I'm taking the Metrolink north to the neighbourhood of Van Nuys.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07Along with its film stars,
0:07:07 > 0:07:10Los Angeles is known for its year-round sunshine,
0:07:10 > 0:07:14so keeping cool has long been big business.
0:07:14 > 0:07:19The Union Ice Company is the oldest ice-producer in California.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22It's a warm late summer's day in Los Angeles,
0:07:22 > 0:07:24but I've brought a coat,
0:07:24 > 0:07:27because I thought there might be a cold snap.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31Pete De Grandis is the senior plant manager.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33- Hello, Pete. I'm Michael. - Michael, nice to meet you.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36Looks like we're in an ice world, a winter wonderland here.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40You and I take it for granted that we can manufacture ice at will,
0:07:40 > 0:07:43but in the 19th century, when they needed ice, what did they do?
0:07:43 > 0:07:46Originally it was transported from the east coast, as far as Boston,
0:07:46 > 0:07:48where it was cold enough.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50The problem was, the cars themselves,
0:07:50 > 0:07:52they weren't refrigerated, so the weight that
0:07:52 > 0:07:55they originally started with wasn't the same once they
0:07:55 > 0:07:56reached the west coast.
0:07:56 > 0:08:01What they eventually did was find lakes in the Sierras or in Alaska -
0:08:01 > 0:08:03that was the origins, really,
0:08:03 > 0:08:06of the ice industry on the western United States.
0:08:06 > 0:08:11So, what they would do is start sawing or cutting big sections
0:08:11 > 0:08:12out of the lakes.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14And then at more of a local level,
0:08:14 > 0:08:17you had the ice man that would load up blocks of ice
0:08:17 > 0:08:20in his horse-drawn carriage and deliver it to the houses.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26Union Ice was founded in 1882 by Edward W Hopkins,
0:08:26 > 0:08:29nephew of Mark Hopkins,
0:08:29 > 0:08:32one of the Central Pacific Railroad's Big Four.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34By the late 1880s,
0:08:34 > 0:08:37there were more than 200 commercial ice-making companies
0:08:37 > 0:08:41in the United States and, thanks to mechanical refrigeration,
0:08:41 > 0:08:43the business grew rapidly.
0:08:44 > 0:08:50Here, they now sell an extraordinary 86,000 tonnes of ice annually.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53Michael Munn oversees production at the factory.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56Hi, Mike. Good to see you. What goes on in this huge room?
0:08:56 > 0:08:58Here is where we produce our 300-pound block ice.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02It's basically dropped down into a huge brine tank
0:09:02 > 0:09:04with extremely cold water.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06We mix it with salt so that the water doesn't freeze,
0:09:06 > 0:09:08and basically it freezes the blocks.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11300-pound blocks of ice - who wants blocks that big?
0:09:11 > 0:09:14We'll do movie studios. We'll do television shows.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16We have a lot of cement companies that use it
0:09:16 > 0:09:18to cool down the cement, as well.
0:09:18 > 0:09:23The ice blocks are lowered into a dip tank of lukewarm water to
0:09:23 > 0:09:24release them.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26It's just like trying to get the ice out of a container
0:09:26 > 0:09:30- in your freezer - you've got to loosen the edges.- Exactly.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33We're getting an idea now of the size of these 300-pound blocks.
0:09:36 > 0:09:37How many did you produce there?
0:09:37 > 0:09:40- 12.- 12, that's 3,600.
0:09:40 > 0:09:41- Yes.- That's heading for two tonnes.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43Very close to two tonnes.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47Amazing. This is, if I may so, ice of a titanic proportion.
0:09:47 > 0:09:48Absolutely!
0:09:48 > 0:09:52And ice isn't the company's only frozen product.
0:09:52 > 0:09:53This is our snow maker,
0:09:53 > 0:09:56and basically what we have is a machine here that will take
0:09:56 > 0:10:00a 300-pound block of ice and literally pulverise it down to snow.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04This would be used to snow down boltholes for the fish industry
0:10:04 > 0:10:05or train cars for vegetables.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09As time went on, the special effects industry, they would bring us to,
0:10:09 > 0:10:11let's say, the backlot of one of the major studios,
0:10:11 > 0:10:14and we would just cover down New York Street, for example.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17What about having instant Christmas, like, now?
0:10:17 > 0:10:20That's something that's really gotten big, and especially in LA.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23So, you have a holiday party,
0:10:23 > 0:10:27and we'll come in and cover your front yard.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29- That's a big hit.- Can we make it Christmas just now, you and I?
0:10:29 > 0:10:31Let's do it - as long as you're going to hold on to the hose.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33- I'll hold on to the hose.- All right.
0:10:33 > 0:10:38Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
0:10:38 > 0:10:40MACHINE WHIRS
0:10:40 > 0:10:43MUSIC: We Wish You A Merry Christmas
0:10:47 > 0:10:51- This is pretty cool, huh? - Ha! It's cool, indeed!
0:11:07 > 0:11:11I'm heading east to San Marino in Los Angeles County
0:11:11 > 0:11:15to uncover the legacy of one of the city's best-known businessmen
0:11:15 > 0:11:16and philanthropists.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25This is such a Los Angeles scene.
0:11:25 > 0:11:30The rail tracks are threaded between 12 lanes of freeway,
0:11:30 > 0:11:34and as you stand on the platform, the noise is deafening!
0:11:41 > 0:11:45In more peaceful and leafy surroundings, a mile south,
0:11:45 > 0:11:49lies the Huntington - a cultural research and educational centre
0:11:49 > 0:11:53founded in 1919 by Henry E Huntington.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57It includes one of the finest research libraries in the world,
0:11:57 > 0:12:01with a collection of more than 420,000 rare books,
0:12:01 > 0:12:06three galleries of European and American art, and more than a dozen
0:12:06 > 0:12:08botanical gardens.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11Jim Folsom is one of the directors.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13Jim, on my travels, I came across Collis Huntington,
0:12:13 > 0:12:14who was one of the Big Four
0:12:14 > 0:12:17who developed the Central Pacific Railroad -
0:12:17 > 0:12:18is Henry Huntington related?
0:12:18 > 0:12:21Huntington's father and Collis were brothers,
0:12:21 > 0:12:23so he was Huntingdon's uncle.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25You might say that he became his protege.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29Certainly Huntington relied on his nephew to follow through
0:12:29 > 0:12:31with projects around the country.
0:12:31 > 0:12:35When Collis died, he left a portion of his estate to Henry.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38Huntington moved here in 1903.
0:12:38 > 0:12:43With interests spanning real estate, utilities and electric streetcars,
0:12:43 > 0:12:47he became the de facto metropolitan planner for Greater Los Angeles.
0:12:47 > 0:12:53He built trolley lines, so dictating the layout of many neighbourhoods.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57In a period of 20 years, he did an amazing amount of things -
0:12:57 > 0:13:00not only building this estate and his collections,
0:13:00 > 0:13:02but building the largest urban railway in the country,
0:13:02 > 0:13:05and essentially being responsible for the creation of
0:13:05 > 0:13:0817 different towns in southern California,
0:13:08 > 0:13:10practically inventing the suburbs.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12Jim, it seems to me an unusual combination,
0:13:12 > 0:13:16a man who's interested in logistics and infrastructure, and collecting.
0:13:16 > 0:13:17Quite a fellow.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20I think so, and I think that the library, the gardens,
0:13:20 > 0:13:23the art collections, the cities established, the roads,
0:13:23 > 0:13:26those were all part of a single vision for
0:13:26 > 0:13:28what southern California might be.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34At the age of 60, Henry Huntington retired to
0:13:34 > 0:13:37devote his time to building his collections.
0:13:37 > 0:13:42Today, 750,000 people visit the Huntington each year.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45Jim is in charge of the estate's botanical gardens,
0:13:45 > 0:13:49including this display of over 5,000 different cacti
0:13:49 > 0:13:52and succulent plants.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55Jim, as a layman, I'm astonished at how beautiful
0:13:55 > 0:13:57a desert garden can be.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01Did Henry Huntington appreciate how beautiful it could be?
0:14:01 > 0:14:02Not at first.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04- MICHAEL CHUCKLES - Huntington was not especially
0:14:04 > 0:14:07supportive of the idea of a cactus garden.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09He had had bad experiences with the railroad,
0:14:09 > 0:14:11building it through desert regions,
0:14:11 > 0:14:14but William Hertrich, Huntington's landscape gardener,
0:14:14 > 0:14:18convinced him that the soil on this slope, which is an earthquake fault,
0:14:18 > 0:14:22is so rocky and unuseful for general horticulture
0:14:22 > 0:14:25that this would be the perfect place for a collection of cacti.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27And in these gardens today,
0:14:27 > 0:14:30you are engaged in serious botanical research?
0:14:30 > 0:14:35We intend to take this collection and use it to establish real,
0:14:35 > 0:14:39sustainable conservation techniques that can be used around the world.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42Let me show you some of the kinds of things we do.
0:14:42 > 0:14:48So, one of our practices is to test the viability of desert plant seed
0:14:48 > 0:14:50after having been stored in liquid nitrogen.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54That means running a viability test on the seed beforehand,
0:14:54 > 0:14:57plunging them in liquid nitrogen at minus 196,
0:14:57 > 0:15:00and then running a second test to see if they germinate.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03If you can get plant tissue into liquid nitrogen
0:15:03 > 0:15:06and then out, recover it,
0:15:06 > 0:15:07you can leave it there hundreds of years.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10- Really? - It's a permanent form of storage.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14So here, for example, we have seed of agaves, and we're finding that
0:15:14 > 0:15:1780% of the species can take that incredible treatment.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19- Extraordinary.- So, some of the ones in the collection
0:15:19 > 0:15:21have not been tested, including this one.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25To do that, we just go out into the garden and collect seed.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28Give it a shake...
0:15:28 > 0:15:30Ooh! Ha-ha!
0:15:30 > 0:15:33- It's raining down on us, and into the sheet!- Yeah.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35We've got a good collection there, Jim.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38And if they survive this incredibly low temperature in liquid nitrogen,
0:15:38 > 0:15:39what is the significance of that?
0:15:39 > 0:15:43There is a huge, huge extinction crisis looming,
0:15:43 > 0:15:45and it's going to happen perhaps even in our lifetime.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48But these, then, might survive whatever?
0:15:48 > 0:15:51We will have, in a very small way, hedged our bets.
0:15:56 > 0:16:01As I make my way back into the city, the famed evening rush hour begins,
0:16:01 > 0:16:05and dusk settles on my first day in Tinseltown.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21This morning, at downtown Pershing Square,
0:16:21 > 0:16:24I'm taking the Red Line north to explore the roots of
0:16:24 > 0:16:27a business that would transform this city.
0:16:28 > 0:16:33At the turn of the 20th century, the population was around 100,000,
0:16:33 > 0:16:36but within three decades, it had grown to over 1 million,
0:16:36 > 0:16:41as aspiring actors, producers, directors and technicians
0:16:41 > 0:16:43flocked here to follow their dreams.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47And so, I arrive in Hollywood, not on my push-bike,
0:16:47 > 0:16:53like so many aspiring singers, actors and dancers in the past,
0:16:53 > 0:16:56not in a limousine, like a studio owner,
0:16:56 > 0:17:01but by metro, like a train-obsessed British tourist.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05This train's final destination is North Hollywood Station.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15About three miles on, in Burbank, lies Warner Bros Studios.
0:17:15 > 0:17:20Built in 1926, it stretches over 110 acres
0:17:20 > 0:17:24and has been the location for more than 100 feature films,
0:17:24 > 0:17:26from Casablanca to La La Land.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31I've just emerged from the New York subway,
0:17:31 > 0:17:32but there are no trains down there.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34And this... HOLLOW KNOCKING
0:17:34 > 0:17:36..is just a bit of carpentry.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38And this isn't New York City,
0:17:38 > 0:17:42because we are in a world of make-believe.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44We are in Hollywood!
0:17:45 > 0:17:47John Kourounis is a studio guide.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51So, John, surrounded by production trucks as we are,
0:17:51 > 0:17:52this is New York City.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55- Mm-hm.- And behind me...?- Chicago!
0:17:55 > 0:17:58How was this area of Hollywood first settled?
0:17:58 > 0:18:01Well, originally, you had Harvey and Daeida Henderson Wilcox,
0:18:01 > 0:18:03who travelled here from Topeka
0:18:03 > 0:18:06on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09He was a shoemaker turned real estate agent,
0:18:09 > 0:18:14and he decided to buy her favourite plot for 150 an acre,
0:18:14 > 0:18:15and tried his hand at farming,
0:18:15 > 0:18:17because it was a fig and apricot orchard,
0:18:17 > 0:18:19but it wasn't a success,
0:18:19 > 0:18:22so he started to sell off the land at 1,000 a plot,
0:18:22 > 0:18:26and his wife Ida invented the name Hollywood.
0:18:26 > 0:18:28And what attracted the film industry here?
0:18:28 > 0:18:30The film industry had started on the east coast,
0:18:30 > 0:18:33and Thomas Edison, who owned the patents on so much of the technology
0:18:33 > 0:18:35that was being used to make film,
0:18:35 > 0:18:39he had created the Motion Picture Patents Company, or the Trust.
0:18:39 > 0:18:41So, people realised that, with his attempt to monopolise
0:18:41 > 0:18:43the film industry, they had to get away,
0:18:43 > 0:18:45so people flee west,
0:18:45 > 0:18:46and they kind of landed in Los Angeles
0:18:46 > 0:18:48because the weather was perfect.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51You could have a factory, you could have a downtown, you had a beach,
0:18:51 > 0:18:53and it was all within a day's reach for filming.
0:18:53 > 0:18:54It was very conducive for film.
0:18:56 > 0:19:00In 1911, the first studio opened on Sunset Boulevard,
0:19:00 > 0:19:03and soon around 20 companies were producing films here.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08The Warner Bros - Harry, Jack, Sam and Albert -
0:19:08 > 0:19:12started out as movie projectionists and distributors in Ohio
0:19:12 > 0:19:16and Pennsylvania, but then moved into movies and headed west,
0:19:16 > 0:19:19setting up Warner Bros Pictures in 1923.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24So, they came out to Los Angeles to establish their first studio in
0:19:24 > 0:19:28Hollywood, and eventually, we got this studio after we made
0:19:28 > 0:19:31a 1927 picture called The Jazz Singer.
0:19:31 > 0:19:32The first talkie?
0:19:32 > 0:19:33That's exactly right.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36You have other studios that just have catalogues of silent film,
0:19:36 > 0:19:39and starting to worry that if this thing takes off,
0:19:39 > 0:19:40what are we going to do?
0:19:40 > 0:19:43So, everybody starts to pass it off as a flash in the pan,
0:19:43 > 0:19:44and it's not going to last.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46I think somebody was quoted saying,
0:19:46 > 0:19:47"People don't care to hear actors speak."
0:19:47 > 0:19:50But the movie is such a success that, overnight,
0:19:50 > 0:19:52it turns the Warner Bros from a struggling studio
0:19:52 > 0:19:54to a top-tier studio.
0:19:54 > 0:19:59In this world of fantasy, I feel that anything could happen.
0:19:59 > 0:20:05Now, getting behind the scenes of an action movie will be my next stunt.
0:20:05 > 0:20:10Banzai Vitale trains stunt doubles to stand in for Hollywood A-listers
0:20:10 > 0:20:13at the Stunt Performers Academy.
0:20:13 > 0:20:14Hey, Banzai. I'm Michael!
0:20:14 > 0:20:15Hey, Michael. How are you?
0:20:15 > 0:20:17Looks like I arrived at a violent moment.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19A violent moment - always a violent moment.
0:20:19 > 0:20:20You're rehearsing a fight scene.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22We're rehearsing a fight scene for you.
0:20:22 > 0:20:23- Oh, really?- We are!
0:20:23 > 0:20:25- Hello, guys.- Hi.- Hey, how are you doing?- Great to see you.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29- You, too.- So, what's made you interested in going into stunt performing in the movies?
0:20:29 > 0:20:31For me, I love learning and training,
0:20:31 > 0:20:34and the adrenaline and excitement for that is just...
0:20:34 > 0:20:36It's awesome.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38And you have to be, do you not, very physically fit to do this?
0:20:38 > 0:20:41Yeah, I was, like, an athlete my entire life growing up,
0:20:41 > 0:20:43and all I loved was, like, being active
0:20:43 > 0:20:45and after graduating college,
0:20:45 > 0:20:49I kind of realised a nine-to-five probably wouldn't work for me.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51- Well, Banzai...- Yes, sir, Michael.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53..any chance of creating some illusions today?
0:20:53 > 0:20:54Let's do it.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56The camera can't see depth, right?
0:20:56 > 0:21:01So, basically, if I keep the camera there and I come here,
0:21:01 > 0:21:03and I'm going to throw her a right cross, right,
0:21:03 > 0:21:05and she reacts...
0:21:05 > 0:21:07Look at the distance we have here.
0:21:07 > 0:21:08You're a mile away!
0:21:08 > 0:21:11- A mile away! - Let me try punching Courtney now.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13OK, so go ahead and try that, and just remember, don't...
0:21:13 > 0:21:14There you go. Good.
0:21:14 > 0:21:15- Everybody ready?- Ready.
0:21:17 > 0:21:18And action!
0:21:21 > 0:21:23THEY GRUNT
0:21:30 > 0:21:32SHE SCREAMS, GUNFIRE
0:21:32 > 0:21:34GUNSHOTS RICOCHET
0:21:34 > 0:21:35GUNSHOT
0:21:38 > 0:21:40GUNFIRE
0:21:48 > 0:21:51And cut! Yeah!
0:21:51 > 0:21:52Nice!
0:21:52 > 0:21:54Whoo!
0:21:54 > 0:21:55- Nice.- Michael's a hero!- All right.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05I'm heading back into downtown LA on the Metro's Red Line,
0:22:05 > 0:22:07changing at Wilshire and Vermont.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14I've always thought of Los Angeles as the ultimate car city,
0:22:14 > 0:22:17without much public transport, at least by rail,
0:22:17 > 0:22:20and for much of the 20th century, that was true,
0:22:20 > 0:22:24but from about the 1990s, billions of dollars have been spent,
0:22:24 > 0:22:28both local and federal, to create this Metro system,
0:22:28 > 0:22:32which is now the third-largest in the United States
0:22:32 > 0:22:35after New York City and Chicago.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38Now arriving at Wilshire/Western Station.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44Here on Wilshire Boulevard,
0:22:44 > 0:22:49they're engaged on a 6.3 billion project to extend the service west.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51With seven new stations,
0:22:51 > 0:22:55they estimate it will be used by 49,000 commuters.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58Dave Sotero is one of LA Metro's managers.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03Dave, this is an extraordinarily impressive construction site.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05How long has it taken you to do this?
0:23:05 > 0:23:07We started construction in 2015,
0:23:07 > 0:23:09so this is only two years' worth of work.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11And is it possible to go down?
0:23:11 > 0:23:12Sure, I'll be glad to show you.
0:23:12 > 0:23:13Thank you.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18This is the first phase of the Purple Line extension.
0:23:18 > 0:23:23It's one of only two underground routes on the six-line Metro system.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28So, Dave, a very beautiful, very well-engineered station box -
0:23:28 > 0:23:29what sort of dimensions?
0:23:29 > 0:23:36This station is 900 feet long, 60 feet wide and 65 feet deep so far.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39What we're doing now is we're excavating the soil -
0:23:39 > 0:23:40they call it muck.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44We're excavating upwards of 200,000 cubic yards of muck
0:23:44 > 0:23:46in this one station alone.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49So, the tunnel boring machine will be lowered into here
0:23:49 > 0:23:51and will then set off down its tunnels?
0:23:51 > 0:23:53Absolutely. This is the first phase,
0:23:53 > 0:23:56and this is the station that is the most complete so far.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59And this is part of a project of what length?
0:23:59 > 0:24:01This is a nine-mile subway extension.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05It was critically needed to connect downtown Los Angeles with
0:24:05 > 0:24:09the Westside, two of the most dense areas in Los Angeles County.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13You're going to be able to go from downtown to Westside in 25 minutes -
0:24:13 > 0:24:16that's unheard of during the rush-hour period.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19I think a lot of people will be surprised that there is a Metro
0:24:19 > 0:24:22in Los Angeles, because we think of this as being the city
0:24:22 > 0:24:23where a car is needed.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25We've been known as the car capital of the world,
0:24:25 > 0:24:27but we want to change that.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31Right now, we are engaged in a transportation revolution.
0:24:31 > 0:24:32In the last quarter century,
0:24:32 > 0:24:36we've built 105 miles into Los Angeles County.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39We have local sales tax funding that will enable us to build
0:24:39 > 0:24:4240 transportation projects in the next 40 years.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45Are you persuading Angelenos to abandon their cars?
0:24:45 > 0:24:46Well, it's a daily struggle,
0:24:46 > 0:24:49but I think, with the more options that we provide the public
0:24:49 > 0:24:53and the better connections we make for them to reach transit,
0:24:53 > 0:24:57we're going to see a groundswell of new ridership on the system.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00How long before I see a train swishing through this station?
0:25:00 > 0:25:03We plan to finish this by 2024.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05I shall be back for the opening.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07Absolutely. We'll be glad to have you.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21To experience LA at its most colourful,
0:25:21 > 0:25:23and for a spot of people watching,
0:25:23 > 0:25:25there's really only one place to head.
0:25:28 > 0:25:32Venice Beach is wonderfully zany, a magnet for the young -
0:25:32 > 0:25:35for skateboarders, for rollerbladers,
0:25:35 > 0:25:37for artists, for eccentrics,
0:25:37 > 0:25:41and all enveloped in a cloud of pot smoke.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53In many places, skateboarders are considered a nuisance,
0:25:53 > 0:25:55creating mayhem in public places.
0:25:55 > 0:25:56Not in Venice Beach -
0:25:56 > 0:25:59they've created a kind of Olympic course for them,
0:25:59 > 0:26:01and the skills on display are amazing!
0:26:04 > 0:26:07Look at this guy! Hey, man, let me help you.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09- What's up?- Yeah.- Oh!
0:26:09 > 0:26:10Oh, yeah, yeah.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12MICHAEL LAUGHS Oh, thank you, thank you!
0:26:12 > 0:26:13You have a lovely coat!
0:26:13 > 0:26:15Thank you very much indeed.
0:26:15 > 0:26:16Are you a visitor to Venice Beach?
0:26:16 > 0:26:18No, I am a resident.
0:26:18 > 0:26:19It's an amazing place, isn't it?
0:26:19 > 0:26:20It's great, man.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24It's still the melting pot of LA.
0:26:24 > 0:26:25- Hi.- Hi.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28- What are you shooting? - Erm, I'm a livestreamer.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31- What does that mean? - So, I livestream on YouTube.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33I have all these people talking to me right now.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36It's kind of... It's like...almost like a daily vlog but live,
0:26:36 > 0:26:38so, like, they, like, interact with you.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40Michael Portillo?
0:26:40 > 0:26:41Yes. Somebody...?
0:26:41 > 0:26:42- Yeah.- Somebody got it?
0:26:42 > 0:26:44- Yeah, somebody got it. - Oh, that's good.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46Listen, it was nice to talk to you.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48- Yeah, nice to talk to you, too. - Keep livestreaming.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50- Bye, everyone.- Bye.- Bye.- Bye!
0:27:01 > 0:27:06Why has California been such an economic success
0:27:06 > 0:27:10compared with Spain's other former colonies in the Americas?
0:27:10 > 0:27:14I think because the United States' federal government provided such
0:27:14 > 0:27:16extraordinary opportunities.
0:27:16 > 0:27:18It gave the railroads land,
0:27:18 > 0:27:23not only to build their tracks but also to sell on to settlers.
0:27:23 > 0:27:28It allowed prospectors to keep the gold and silver that they found.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32And people like Harvey and Daeida Henderson Wilcox could simply
0:27:32 > 0:27:36get off the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
0:27:36 > 0:27:40and found a community like Hollywood.
0:27:40 > 0:27:45For Californians, self-reliance and risk-taking are in the DNA.
0:27:58 > 0:28:03Next time, I discover what put the zest into California's economy...
0:28:03 > 0:28:04Citrus fruit, really, Michael,
0:28:04 > 0:28:09became THE source of wealth in the early 20th century for California.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12..attempt to create a local delicacy...
0:28:12 > 0:28:14You did very well, as a first time.
0:28:14 > 0:28:15It could easily be my last.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18- HE LAUGHS - Well...
0:28:18 > 0:28:21..and take to the beach to indulge my artistic side.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26MICHAEL CHUCKLES I didn't realise how well I was doing!