 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
An Idiot Abroad
- SCIENCE
- Genre: Reality TV
Common Sense Media says
Uncomfortable cultural encounters show how NOT to behave.
Parents say
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this comedic travel series follows a sheltered, narrow-minded man in a journey around the world to capture his discomfort and ignorance for the sake of humor. Although his viewpoint is played strictly for laughter, kids may pick up on his perspective as a viable way to view the remarkable diversity and beauty present across the globe. For older kids able to understand the humor, the series presents a clever travelogue of some amazing locations with a healthy dose of laughter.
What's the story?
Seven years ago, actor/producers Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant met a radio engineer named Karl Pilkington. Thus began a series of podcasts, books, and television series focused entirely around Pilkington's unique, closed-minded, frequently amusing view of the world. On AN IDIOT ABROAD, Merchant and Gervais send Pilkington to visit the seven wonders of the world with a camera crew in tow to capture his every inappropriate reaction.
Is it any good?
The past decade or so of reality television has given us some truly strange figures. Karl Pilkington may be the strangest. Stubbornly certain of his own narrow viewpoint, he speaks without thinking and delivers with such conviction that it becomes difficult to take him at all seriously.
To be fair, taking Karl Pilkington seriously is not the intent of An Idiot Abroad. Rather, show hosts and producers Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant fully encourage the viewer to laugh at Pilkington by placing him in situations where they know his innate instinct for distrust and closed-mindedness will kick in. At first, you may feel uncomfortable at how merciless Gervais and Merchant can be in probing and prodding Pilkington. But Pilkington remains unblinking; whatever his views, however outlandish or unfounded, he has a quiet certainty that almost dares you to keep a straight face. It makes for supremely watchable television.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about how the show deals with stereotypes. Is it easy to laugh at someone who is unwilling to open his mind to other cultures beyond his own stereotypes?
Would you ever want to travel around the world and visit all of its most amazing locations? Why or why not?
- Show:
- All members
- Parents
- Teens & kids
Kid, 12 years old
June 1, 2011
AGE
Looks okay
Doesn't seem like a kids show but looks okay.
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Kid, 10 years old
March 23, 2011
AGE
funny
This show is hilarious. One episode in particular I think is really funny is when he goes to Brazil and when he meets Celso (a gay guy Ricky and Steve set him up with)
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AGE
Best Documentary Ever!!
Best documentary ever!! I've been listening to the XFM conversations with Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, and a man with a head like a f*cking orange (Karl Pilkington). I've also been listening to the audiobooks, and reading some of their books and I can't stop laughing, if you're a fan this show will be great! And if you're a newcomer, it's be awesome as well!!
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AGE
Better than Attenborough
This show is hysterical, it combines 10% Education, 10% Gay people and 80% Laughter
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Kid, 10 years old
April 8, 2012
AGE
Hey,I'M Nine and I watch it
An Idiot Abroad is a funny TV show for the whole family.
Karl gets sent to other Countries and learns they're Cultures in a funny way.
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AGE
Awful Review
Scouring for a 'positive message' amongst Karl Pilkington's comedy masterpiece, An Idiot Abroad, would be like leafing through a copy of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf in an attempt to source a xenophillic (is this a recognised term?) message. Pointless. I applaud the idea, Mr Springer, that children can sit down with their children and watch An Idiot Abroad, taking time out to discuss key issues such as stereotyping (bear in mind, however, that Karl Pilkington does not utter a single stereotype throughout the show). Perhaps these children could do this after they've been playing table tennis with cats on mars. Karl Pilkington is not meant to be taken seriously. This is a comedy. I don't want to respond ad homeum, but I think this dire review is deserved of such a response. If you truly believe, Mr Springer, the drivel you have spouted in this review; then you are more unintelligent, more naive and quite frankly more of a twonk than Karl Pilkington.
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| TV rating: | TV-14 |
| Network: | SCIENCE |
| Cast: | Karl Pilkington, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant |
| Genre: | Reality TV |
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