An Idiot Abroad (BBC/DVD.2011)
If Richy Gervais (and by extension, his writing/directing partner, Stephen Merchant) has any value, it lies in his ability to skewer pretentiousness and bigotry. Their world-wide hit TV show, THE OFFICE, showed brilliance and high hilarity, as did the follow up series, EXTRAS. Now, with the controversy over his appearances hosting the very odd and thoroughly pompous Golden Globe Awards behind him, he and Merchant produced, for Sky1/UK, the 2010/11 anti-traveler television series, AN IDIOT ABROAD, in which they send a hired-hand, Karl Pilkington, to visit “The Seven Wonders of the World.” What makes this kind of travel-show unique is that Mr. Pilkington is a self-professed couch-potato, who doesn’t want to try new foods, or see other cultures; in Mr. Gervais’ words, “this is the most expensive practical joke I’ve ever produced.”
Mr. Pilkington would, at first glance, be considered a typical middle-class Brit guy: heterosexual, uninterested in anything outside his immediate concern, and lazy. One step above a Liverpudlian Lout -- one of those folk uninterested in exploring the world around him, but also not willing to get into drunken fights with others, he is somewhat attractive, in a blue-collar way, medium-bright bloke. The less-than-well-spoken anti-traveler complains – with good reason, as it turns out – that the food is lousy, the accommodations are less-than-grand, dirty and/or noisy. But the hidden joke in this eight 45-minute-long-episode travelogue – which shows us the Great Pyramids of Egypt, the Taj Mahal of India, the Aztec Pyramids of Mexico, and The Great Wall of China, among other wonders— is that Mr. Gervais has deliberately put these obstacles in Mr. Pilkington’s way, to “get him out of his comfort zone,” allowing him to be exhausted by the time he returns from each and every fly-out-and-back to foreign parts.
It’s all amusing except for the fact that the mean-spiritedness of the endeavor comes off as vaguely sadistic; every complaint makes Mr. Gervais laugh out loud. So one’s enjoyment of the entire series definitely depends on our tolerance of mean-spirited-ness. On the other hand, Mr. Pilkington was surely aware of the joke as he has worked, often as the butt of jokes, with Ricky and Stephen before, becoming a minor celebrity on BBC radio.
But – more “on the other hand” – our hapless traveler ended up winning a Best Presenter Award at the Factual Entertainment Awards/UK. So fame might have it price, but it also engenders riches of a sort, as well. It’s a darkly amusing show, so if you’re up to it –one who really enjoys seeing others who are the butt of practical jokes – this really is for you. It’s informative, in its way, and ultimately we see Mr. Pilkington begin to enjoy himself the way most of us do as travelers. And, at the very least, all of his expenses were paid.