the moaning of life

British television personality Karl Pilkington is back with a new travel/adventure series, The Moaning of Life. Karl, who has just turned 40, has decided that he needs to investigate the true meaning of life as he enters middle age, or as he refers to it, "We've had the Iron Age, the Stone Age — this the pissing-about age." Karl recently explored the subject of "Marriage" in the series, which airs on Science Channel on Saturdays at 10 p.m. Now a seasoned world traveler, thanks to his previous series An Idiot Abroad, Karl traveled to India to learn about arranged marriages, and to the U.S., to Los Angeles and Las Vegas, to try out a scientific way to meet some one at a pheromone party, as well as witness some unusual weddings in Las Vegas.

Karl meets the parents

In India, after consulting with a marriage broker, Karl selected and then met a young lady and potential bride whose parents quizzed him, asking him a series of practical, yet, in Karl's view, intrusive questions. After an hour and a half of meeting the girl and her family wedding plans were even discussed (unbeknownst to Karl's longtime girlfriend of 20 years). Karl also learned that the other side of the arranged wedding/interview is the marriage detective, who he joined one afternoon on the trail, investigating if what was said by a potential groom to his potential mate and her family meeting was true.

The series, which began airing in the U.K. last October, has a total of five episodes. Besides "Marriage," Karl looks into "Happiness" in Mexico and Los Angeles; "Kids" in Japan, Bali, and Indonesia; "Vocation and Money" in Japan, South Africa and Los Angeles; and "Death" in Ghana, Taiwan, the Philippines, and finally, back home in England.

Karl is as entertaining in his observances as ever, but not quite as reluctant to sample local cultures as he appeared to be in An Idiot Abroad (and its two spin-offs, The Bucket List and An Idiot Abroad: The Short Way Round) — probably because this time out he is choosing these adventures, as opposed to what comedians and show producers Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant decided they should subject him to, constantly jerking him out of his tiny comfort zone. But that doesn't mean that Karl has lost his critical abilities, as the show is full of his funny and exasperated observances and creative expressions of disbelief.

  The Moaning of Life - "Marriage" Clip from ScienceChannelPR on Vimeo.
For instance, he can't believe the Indian wedding he has been invited to observe and attend has a guest list of five thousand. "There's five thousand people. How many people do they know?" As always his mind races towards the most practical of matters, "... How many toilets? Two." He's a little more open to the pheromone party in Los Angeles, where guests sniff baggies of attendees' tee shirts to select the perfect person, but thinks his nose may have "too high standards" compared to the rest of him.

Karl Pilkington definitely seems more at ease without Gervais and Merchant hovering over his shoulder, but The Moaning of Life is no less funny than his previous efforts. He may believe that a job in television is ultimately "the most unworthy job," but hopefully that won't stop him from continuing to produce such entertaining and funny documents of his travels in future.

Originally published on Blogcritics: TV Review: ‘The Moaning of Life – Marriage’

my favorite idiot — karl pilkington — is back!

Ricky Gervais's and Stephen Merchant's social experiment series is back, An Idiot Abroad: Bucket List. Their semi-willing victim and presenter is Karl Pilkington, he of the interminable (but often hilarious) complaints, and perfectly round head.

Last time we saw Karl, Ricky and Stephen were sending him all around the globe, testing his limits and reaping the  rewards. Karl never disappointed in An Idiot Abroad, whether he was at the Great Wall of China (complaining about how far it was to walk), the Pyramids (moaning about how big the stones the Great Pyramid of Giza were to climb), Machu Picchu (complaining about how far up it was to the top.)

In season 2, the first episode has Karl being sent to a desert island (Vanuatu, in the South Pacific), but not before Ricky and Steve present him with some other challenges on the way — bungee jumping in New Zealand and "dirt jumping" with a Vanuatu tribe that worships Prince Philip of England. Karl's trademark witticisms are still evident. This season is destined to be another winner.

Future episodes will see Karl traveling on the Trans-Siberian Express and swimming with dolphins (and sharks — thanks, Ricky). The show airs Saturdays at 10 p.m. on the Science Channel, and is a bona-fide hit, already garnering even greater ratings for the second season than its impressive debut last year.

Karl discovers that the desert island doesn't have much of a beach, or even sand.

For all of Karl's complaining, he does get into the spirit of things, going "arse-boarding," which is essentially sliding down he side of a volcano on little more than your arse, and donning a grass skirt and dancing with his host tribe before he sets off in a dugout canoe for his Robinson Crusoe experience. I'm not sure how many more challenges and torture chambers Merchant and Gervais can devise for Karl, but I hope they try, as it makes for extremely entertaining viewing.

best show out there

Article first published as An Idiot Abroad—The Best Show Out There on Blogcritics.

Lately I've been watching An Idiot Abroad and laughing my arse off.

But I started feeling a little guilty enjoying this newly-discovered treasure without spreading the word. No one should be missing Karl Pilkington and his wonders-of-the-world travels and travails. In the words of show creator, BFF, and torturer, Ricky Gervais, "Nothing is funnier than Karl in a corner, being poked by a stick, and I am that stick."

Stephen Merchant, Ricky Gervais & Karl Pilkington, An Idiot Abroad, photo: Rich Hardcastle, from Ricky's blog

Pilkington is Gervais's friend and former presenter and producer of The Ricky Gervais Show podcasts. In this travel show spoof he is sent on assignment to famous sites such as the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids, Machu Picchu, and the Taj Majal. Karl is the ultimate reality show character, as he is singularly unimpressed by wherever he is, while simultaneously being generally cranky and obstinate about indulging in any local color. He is in on the joke, sort of, but he just can't help being himself. And he happens to be very, very funny.

The season is winding down, but luckily the shows are in reruns over the next few weeks, so you can still catch Karl complaining about the bugs, the food and the locals various states of undress. Even better news is that An Idiot Abroad will return for a second season, with Karl filming "a bucket list." We can only imagine what sort of "things to do before he dies" Gervais has planned for Karl, as he tells his obstinate world-traveling friend in an episode from this season, "This isn’t for your amusement, this is for my amusement. Mine and the viewers. You are my gift to the world."

Thank you, Ricky.