Ricky Gervais is best known here in the states for the surprisingly hilarious movie “Invention of Lying,” portraying the inspiration for Michael Scott, David Brent, and for being a really mean but still pretty excellent Golden Globes host. But if you have ever seen the “Ricky Gervais Show” on HBO, which is an animated version of the podcast he does with writing partner Stephen Merchant and “man of the people” Karl Pilkington, you will know that the funniest thing Ricky ever does is laugh at Karl, who has a sort of Yogi Berra-ish way of looking at the world that is both deep, surprising, and totally stupid.
“An Idiot Abroad” is Karl’s travel show, which is produced by Ricky, and it follows Karl as he gathers new experiences and adventures while gaining no real insight into anything. It’s funny because Karl is funny, and is always trying to figure out what the point of everything is, like the value of a Panda, for example. In the third season, Karl is joined by Warwick Davis, the dwarf actor who portrayed the evil leprechaun in the Leprechaun movies as well as the friendly Ewok that saved Princess Leia in “Return of the Jedi.” In this sponsored video from the Science Channel, Karl and Warwick go to see some Pandas in China, and for some reason are told that they must don Panda costumes to do so. “An Idiot Abroad” is a great travel show specifically because the host is clueless, biased against everything, and does occasionally ask what all the fuss is about. And let’s be honest, that’s the way most travelers are.
This post is sponsored by the Science Channel.