The series tells of more of the great comedies we are having with a group of friends who make many trips around the world. One day, Carl Belkington admitted that he did not see a fuss about the Seven Wonders of the World because he did not recognize it as beautiful although he would not see even one of them since his birth. Now, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant have decided to respond to their friend by sending him around the world to experience the wonders of himself and perhaps there will be real fun.
€œIn an age when reality TV is manipulated and forced and false and phony and so obviously scripted to create a narrative, this is something that is genuinely real and funny and also heartfelt.
An Idiot Abroad has its problems, but so much of it is hilarious and so much of it is surprisingly wide-ranging that it becomes worth checking out all the same.
With the additional benefit of some deft editing and a cheeky, Curb Your Enthusiasm-esque score, Pilkington can seem like the British equivalent of a Coen Brothers character, a rube dragged outside his comfort zone, to great comic effect.
An Idiot Abroad is ridiculously funny and even when it's clear that Gervais and Merchant...are having a cruel laugh, it's nearly impossible not to fall apart laughing at poor Pilkington's fate.
Whatever his views, however outlandish or unfounded, [Pilkington] has a quiet certainty that almost dares you to keep a straight face. It makes for supremely watchable television.
You could argue that Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant have influenced 21st century comedy just as much as Lorne Michaels and the Judd Apatow crew. They gave us The Office and Extras, but they also gave us An Idiot Abroad.
