10,000 years in the making; 10,000 years of endeavour in science and the arts and humanities and within one generation man has been reduced to a feckless, bedwetting, parmesan shaving imbecile who revels in his own uselessness. Something has to be done.

James May is the man to do it by exploring the world as it was, and the world as it should be, complete with its own bar, private cinema and electric train toilet-paper delivery system.

On the way, he'll learn about bomb disposal, how to build a kitchen (and a rocket), duel with pistols and swords, conduct a band of long-retired Grade 1 musicians,
and much, much more.

Features Celebrity Man Task in which hand-picked celebrities are invited to beat their own records in such jobs as changing a tire, wall-papering a room and putting together flat-pack furniture - challenges few can resist.