An Idiot Abroad
An Idiot Abroad is a British travel documentary comedy television series broadcast on Sky One, as well as a series of companion books published by Canongate Books,[1] created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant and starring Karl Pilkington.[2] The ongoing theme of both the television series and the books is that Pilkington has no interest in global travel, so Merchant and Gervais make him travel while they stay in the United Kingdom and monitor his progress.[2][3]
Not to be confused with The Innocents Abroad.An Idiot Abroad
An Idiot Abroad 2: The Bucket List
An Idiot Abroad 3: The Short Way Round
Richard Yee
Krishnendu Majumdar
Jamie Jay Johnson
Benjamin Green
Luke Campbell
Karl Pilkington
Ricky Gervais
Stephen Merchant (series 1 and 2)
Warwick Davis (series 3)
"Seven Wonders"
"The Wrestler"
United Kingdom
English
3
20 (list of episodes)
Ricky Gervais
Stephen Merchant
Richard Yee
Krishnendu Majumdar
Dan Goldsack
Richard Yee
Krishnendu Majumdar
Luke Campbell
60 minutes (inc. adverts)
Mentorn Media (Series 1)
RiSK (Series 2–3)
Me & You Productions (Series 3)
23 September 2010 –
14 December 2012
Reception[edit]
Series 1[edit]
The very first episode of An Idiot Abroad aired on 23 September 2010 at 9:30pm on Sky1 and achieved an official audience figure of 1,241,000 viewers based on BARB. These audience figures were Sky1's best viewer numbers for a debuting show since Terry Pratchett's Going Postal four months earlier, making An Idiot Abroad the fourth-most popular non-terrestrial programme that day. The program increased its viewing figures throughout its run, with Episode three attracting 1,850,000 viewers and Episode seven attracting 1,918,000 viewers.
Series 2[edit]
The show returned on 23 September 2011 at 9:00pm on Sky1 with 2,659,000 viewers, making it the most watched Sky1 and non-terrestrial programme since 2005.
Series 3[edit]
A three-part Christmas special was shown from 30 November 2012 to 14 December 2012 on Sky1. Pilkington is joined by actor Warwick Davis travelling to various locations along the route taken by Marco Polo to China. On 21 December 2012, a fourth episode entitled "A Commentary" was broadcast; it featured Davis, Pilkington, and Gervais commenting on episode three. Gervais confirmed that the specials would be the end of the series.[7]
An Idiot Abroad: Lost Luggage[edit]
In February 2013, Science, which broadcast all three series in North America, began rebroadcasting episodes of An Idiot Abroad under the title An Idiot Abroad: Lost Luggage, marketed as "Karl Pilkington's greatest journeys... now with never-before-seen footage" and "Same idiot, more scenes." Each Lost Luggage episode is made up of the original episode and two brief, new "Lost Luggage" segments filmed at Gervais's home in England that were not part of the original episode. In each "Lost Luggage" segment, Gervais and Pilkington hold a short discussion.[8][9]
DVD release[edit]
The first series was released in the UK on 15 November 2010 for DVD and Blu-ray. The second series was released on 21 November 2011, as well as a box set featuring series 1 and 2. The third series was released on DVD in the UK on 24 December 2012, as well as a box set featuring series 1, 2 and 3.
The first series was released on Blu-ray in the US on 16 November 2010, and a Blu-ray box set of the first and second series on 29 November 2011. The first series was released on DVD on 10 January 2012, and series two was released on DVD on 8 January 2013.
This is a list of countries, locations and events that Pilkington experiences over all three series of An Idiot Abroad. China, India and the United States are the only countries that he visits more than once, and China is the only country that appears in all three series.
Series 1 – The Seven Wonders:
Series 2 – The Bucket List:
Series 3 – The Short Way Round:[10]
Books[edit]
An Idiot Abroad: The Travel Diaries of Karl Pilkington is the fourth book written by Karl Pilkington. This book is an accompaniment to the television series An Idiot Abroad. It was released through Canongate Books. A second book entitled The Further Adventures of An Idiot Abroad was released on 20 September 2012 by Canongate Books.[11] The second book features a conclusion where An Idiot Abroad 3 is featured, but it is unclear if a third book will be released.
Critical reception[edit]
The show has received widespread acclaim. Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter praised the show, saying: "At times, it's nearly impossible not to fall apart laughing. An Idiot Abroad is ridiculously funny and even when it's clear that Gervais and Merchant—pulling the strings back home in England and communicating with Pilkington via cell phone (some of these exchanges are scripted and sound added post-production, since cell coverage is not available in remote areas)—are having a cruel laugh, it's nearly impossible not to fall apart laughing at poor Pilkington's fate."[12] TV Shows on DVD gave the first series a positive review, saying: "I've been to places featured in three of the episodes, and it was a blast watching Karl experience them."[13]
James Draven from MSN gave the second series a positive review: "An Idiot Abroad 2 may dress up its premise as 'bucket list,' but it's really a fish-out-of-water presentation of Karl Pilkington's idiot-savant credentials. The laughter he inevitably provokes, regardless of the situation, make this a must-see. If you miss it, you'll miss out," and gave the first episode four stars.[14]
Reviewing the show's third series, Shiny Potato said: "Warwick Davis is a welcome addition to the series, as he only seems to make Karl's reactions worse."[15] Ricky Gervais believes the third series to be the show's best.[16]
Spin-off[edit]
In autumn 2013, a spin-off series called The Moaning of Life aired on Sky1. It once again featured Pilkington travelling around the world and was produced in a similar style. Its premise is different, however, as Pilkington set out to discover how other cultures deal with "life's biggest issues". Gervais and Merchant were not involved in the project and they did not appear in the series or its credits.