An Idiot Abroad Review
An Idiot Abroad follows a simpleton as he travels abroad, thrust into new, cultural experiences. Rated TV-14, the show first came out September of 2010. Karl Pilkington, a natural TV personality and British Comedian, travels all over the world in An Idiot Abroad.
Created by the acclaimed Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the British travel documentary is one to definitely binge watch. The entertaining episodes document Karl’s reactions to the noteworthy cultural differences and peculiarities in countries all around the globe like China, India, and more. His eccentric experiences and sheltered personality complement each other, making the show completely hilarious.
From 2010 to 2013, Karl is filmed as he, quite stubbornly, travels around the world, completes a “bucket list”, and experiences different cultures to the highest degree. Karl’s dry humor, idiocy, and general obstinacy adds a ludicrous twist to your basic travel documentary.
Throughout the entire show, Karl is followed by a small film crew, making for a cursory type of filming, which fits the idea of the show very well. The filming style, coupled with Karl’s humorous, non compulsory personality, and the taunting activities planned by Gervais and Merchant all contribute to a unique form of documentary.
The first season, Karl travels to the 7 wonders of the world. In fact, the show was originally called Karl’s Seven Wonders of the World. He visits the Great Wall of China, Taj Mahal, Petra, Chichen Itza, the Great Pyramids, Christ the Redeemer, and the Amazon Rainforest.
During each of these trips, creators Gervais and Merchant ensure that Karl experiences these cultures to the highest degree in many ways. They purposely book cheap hotels, hire odd locals for touring and hosting Karl, and more, in order to give Karl an unconventional travel experience. Karl’s reluctancy leads to hilarious reactions to the bizarre foods, peculiar people, and overall environment of all the places he visits. The following two seasons are rather similar, however they focus more on eccentric bucket list type items for Karl to do while still travelling to foreign countries.
The show’s singularity and countless jokes earn a rating of 5 stars. An Idiot Abroad, while extremely underrated, is a hilarious show. If you’re looking for a laugh, be sure to watch it on Netflix.
Hi, I'm Vivian Harber! I'm a senior and this is my second year on newspaper. This year, I am the managing editor of the Hawkeye. I really like trying new...
Taylor Cabbell • May 22, 2017 at 11:19 am
This movie review was well written in the sense that it uses a lot of voice. You use words like cursory and obstinacy The picture was a nice visual to see what exactly the show was trying to display. I have a few suggestions though. There should have been more background information about the show like who’s producing it or maybe a quote from the director. Another suggestion I have is maybe next time you could compare it to another show like ” if you like xxx then you’ll enjoy this” and it’s unclear of what the genre is for the show. I really enjoyed reading this because show reviews are the only reviews I like to read.