Review: 'Aerial Cities'

I've always wanted to learn how to fly. Primarily because just about everything looks better from the air. It's not just that seeing the world from the sky gives you a new perspective on familiar things. It's that you can often see scenes from overhead that would be lost to you if you're standing on the ground.

That last point is the the premise of the new Smithsonian Channel series "Aerial Cities," which premieres on Sunday, April 8. The program is a spin-off of the network's "Aerial America" series and it follows basically the same format. Spend an hour highlighting all of the cool things you can see from a few thousand feet overhead.

Episode one of "Aerial Cities" focuses on Las Vegas and the surrounding valley. Beginning with the moment the sun rises, the hour-long episode gives viewers a remarkably behind-the-scenes look at all of the activity most tourists will never see. You'll see everything from workers replacing blown light-bulbs on a high-rise hotel to planes belonging to the Defense Department that fly mysterious routes from the Las Vegas airport. Even if you're familiar with the city, you'll be surprised by how many new facts are revealed in the episode. My favorite factoid is that when window washers clean the massive windows on the pyramid-shaped Luxor Hotel, it gets so hot that the workers have to add ice cubes to their water buckets.

Upcoming episodes in this six episode series focus on Chicago, Seattle, Miami, San Francisco and Los Angeles. And also on April 8th, the Smithsonian Channel is premiering "Aerial Africa," which takes a similar look at the wildlife and stories that have defined the continent.