TV: An Idiot Abroad

Image courtesy of Tom Curtis

"Chicken - why is it orange in Chinatown?"

When an idiot abroad first aired, I caught ten minutes of it and turned it off. Watching Karl Pilkington antagonise a group of people by trying to push into a queue wasn't my idea of prime time viewing.  Subsequently, I spent the next month or two telling everyone who raved about it that they were wrong and shouldn't be celebrating such ignorance. 

Turns out, I was wrong.  Having watched Episode 1: China in it's entirety I can now admit that Karl Pilkington is the most hilarious man on television.  The episode is memorable quote after memorable quote as he rants about the things that no one else would think about.  On finding out he's going to China, the first thing he worries about is "Why do they have to be so different... Chicken - why is it orange in Chinatown".  Food is a touchy subject and within seconds Pilkington has convinced himself he's going to spend the whole time eating toad. 

Despite being offered a holiday that most people dream of their whole lives, Pilkington gives the impression he would be happier at home.  When he gets there, without exception, everything he sees he has a perfect complaint to apply.  He moans about the Great Wall of China, he moans about Kung Fu, he moans about the fortune teller (but then proceeds to do everything he's told to do - just in case).  He moans about the traditional Chinese massage, admittedly because it involved the masseuse holding her gloved hand in burning oil and rubbing it over his legs.  Needless to say, he moans when he actually does end up being force fed toad.

If you like watching Grumpy Old Men/Women you will love watching Pilkington stumble through China, and indeed the world.  At the end of the day he is just honest.  He doesn't say he's impressed if he isn't, he doesn't like something because he's been told he should.  He can't help being so narrow minded - he knows what he likes and he sticks to it.  Ending on a reflective note Pilkington compares himself with a toad in a well only seeing part of the sky - if you come out of your well you'll see the bigger picture he muses.  But in keeping with the rest of the episode, he decides that actually if you were a toad in China you would be better off in the well where no one will eat you.