An Idiot Abroad 2

by Trixi

The hilarious Karl Pilkington returns for another series, this time ticking off the 'bucket list' of thing to do before you die.

The Idiot, Abroad

An Idiot Abroad was a bit of a surprise for me - I'd never heard of Karl Pilkington and was vaguely irritated by Ricky Gervais so only watched the series reluctantly (after a very persuasive recomendation by a friend!). The real draw of this series is the personality of the presenter - the innocent genius Karl Pilkington.

In the series Karl is sent to various far-flung parts of the world with the idea of seeing the seven great wonders, which he does with a charming reluctance: overall I think he'd rather just stick to what he knows.

I was hooked immediately on Karl's no nonsense approach and his (lack of) appriciation of the some of the most famours Great Wonders of the World - he certainly wasn't going to fall for the hype about anything. You get the feeling that he reacts as a child might - entering every adventure with a completely open mind and reacting as he sees it. 

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The Idiot Abroad, Again

In this new series of An Idiot Abroad Karl Pilkington is once again goaded by his friends Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant into travelling around the world - this time in pursuit of adventures that most people spend their lives dreaming of.

In an Idiot Abroad 2, the bucket list (things to do before you die) is the theme, and Karl is given free rein to choose whichever adventures he likes the look of from a selection of 100 popular choices. Of course, as Ricky points out at the start, these are things that other people want to do before they die and Karl's lack of enthusiasm for the task is evident.

Karl travels Route 66
Karl travels Route 66

The Series

Among other things, Karl travels to Australia to swim with Dolphins, spends a night on a desert island and takes the Trans-Siberia Express to a Dwarf village in China. He meets a hippo in the house (that sounds like it would make a great children's picture book), attempts a bungee jump and enjoys an evening as a ladyboy. In short, he is sent on a journey to fulfil his bucket list, with a few extras thrown in by his good friends Ricky and Stephen. If you loved the first series you'll love this, and if you've never yet encountered Karl Pilkington then you're in for a real treat!

The series runs to seven episodes of travel and one where Karl discusses his experience and undergoes an essential medical check which he has been avoiding. Altogether, it's one of the funniest things I've seen this year! Buy it, buy it, buy it now!

Karl Pilkington: Genius or Idiot?

Despite the constant teasing he gets from Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant I actually love the way Karl Pilkington thinks. In the first series of An Idiot Abroad he was considerably underwhelmed by the 7 Wonders of the World and spoke honestly about what he saw and thought (rather than what people would have expected to see and think). It comes across as a sort of innocence which leads him to approach each new situation with a very open mind and see what is there. I have a feeling that Karl wouldn't have been fooled for one second by the Emperor's New Clothes! Whether he is, in fact, a 'character - created by Stephen and Ricky for our entertainment - is a subject of debate on the internet but I choose to believe in the real Karl Pilkington: Genius.

Updated: 04/25/2012, Trixi
 
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