TV is a medium. but on rare occasions it is well-done, and actually worth watching .
Karl likes to live on the edge. It is the edge between being whinny and being annoying. It is not a very exciting edge, but still, an edge. I don’t think he can do "exciting", probably against the beliefs of the Church of England.
You cant sell news stories that have data and cautious predictions. Where is the panic? Where is the impending doom? C'mon people , give me something to work with here…
..and as I was a yuppy marketing and advertising executive for the better part
of a decade, I am not really impressed with stories of selling your soul to the devil...
There is something extremely annoying about Karl Pilkington. And it is not the fact he is an idiot, no, I have learnt to live with idiots and my doctor says I am showing improvement. No, it is the fact he is, like so many people who fail to admit it, is actually proud of being an idiot.
It is a very British thing, knowing that your personal idiocy is still superior to the local genius in the places you visit (they used to call it colonialism) and Karl is the ambassador of this approach, bringing a bag of crisps wherever he roams and mostly complaining about it being too hot. Or too cold. Or just plain nasty.
It’s really grey here in China.
Not really worth having this in HD is it?”
(In a rikshaw in beijing ) "I don’t think I ever felt this lost…not even in wales!"
To his defense, his torturer, Ricky Gervais is indeed the comical equivalent of the marquis de sad who is not happy with seeing somebody slip on a banana peel but prefers to throw that person into a dumpster of rotting bananas. Oh, and without forgetting to tell him to enjoy it … it is a series about putting a poor traveler in a serious of the worst practical jokes you can imagine. Well, some of them are not that bad, unless of course you are an idiot who hates traveling and is opposed to anything that is not familiar or comfortable. Oh, right, well, what can I say, it is the perfect fit.
I still haven’t managed to decide if this round headed buffoon is acting a part or if it is really who he is, but knowing people, not that I am saying anything bad about the Brits (who think that talking to a person who doesn’t speak your language is to be done in English but in a constant shouting voice so he can understand you…) I am talking about people in general, I have to admit I am starting to think it is just a documentary and not a comedy routine.
(In the Taj Mahal ) “This is where Diana had her photo taken when she was having her problems with Charlie. Everyone said this is why she looked so miserable, but to be honest I think she was just sick of being in India.”
"Yes, the Great Wall –You can see it for miles. Like, it goes over the hills and stuff ….but so does the M6″
Karl likes to live on the edge. It is the edge between being whinny and being annoying. It is not a very exciting edge, but still, an edge. I don’t think he can do "exciting", probably against the beliefs of the Church of England.
And for someone who is truly naturally uncomfortable anywhere, the ping pong headed one is really taking some heavy blows to his comfort zone and ego, being dragged around deserts, in the Amazon, the pyramids, a Brazilian lady boy bed , a delicacy stand in rural china and other places which would have made a brilliant real travel show. if it wasn’t for the idiot.
“Who’s in charge of health & Safety here??… I can see the bloke with one eye is in charge of making the fireworks, are you sure he’s the right person for the job?? If they at least got a bloke with two eyes they’d look as if they’d made a effort!’
But It is not only a tongue in cheek travel show, it is also a truly philosophical Endeavour, which by showing us how not to act, how not to think, how not to travel, suddenly opens a whole new set of questions about who we are, how we live, how this whole planet is made out of small magnificent cultural forces and people who might seem strange to us almost as much as we seem strange to them.
( On seeing a lama in peru) " Is that his natural hair, or did someone dye him like this? His head looks ok I guess. But the rest of him looks like me mum's bathrobe."
The world is full of wonderful surprises. If only this karl character would love surprises it would have been perfect. Unfortunately, he doesn’t. Steinbeck said that the best way to fail in your travels is to think you control the journey. I say the best way to fail in your travels is to take Karl Pilkington with you. But it IS funny…
