I have decided to write about my new favourite person in the world. Karl Pilkington. I suppose the term ‘unconventional celebrity’ might describe his niche in the world of entertainment. Ricky Gervais describes him as the funniest man in Britain today and I have to agree. While his musings and humour may not be the most cutting edge or trendy, the quips and attitude are presented in a refreshing way. Pilkington is a joe soap. He openly talks about his fears and short comings as a person. In a society which has considerable power to pressurise people into being open minded society friendly twitterers and facebookers, Karl is a televised beacon of hope. He talks about how he hates parties, which, face it, you’re not meant to. This basic ignorance of a pretty strong social taboo is a great example of the irreverence with which he treats the seven exotic locales he visits throughout the course of his travel show, ‘An Idiot Abroad’.
The format of the show is quite basic. Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant send Karl to visit the Seven Wonders of the World. They believe he is a ‘moron’ and fully trust in his ability to make compelling viewing while away. They keep in fairly frequent contact with him throughout his journeys and we are let in on the phone calls as they happen. Poor old Pilkington is their plaything as they repeatedly set him up with comical situations obviously at odds with his personality. Everything is aimed at getting him out of his comfort zone. The show is one of the funniest I have ever seen. It departs from the type of observation that brushes over flaws in the locale. Pilkington says it as he sees it. Hats off to him, he’s brilliant at what he does.
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