An Idiot Abroad

Let's take a break from books and focus on one of my new favorite TV shows.
An Idiot Abroad on the Science Channel.

In case the video doesn't work, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpePyoqbtJ0

If you're like me, you probably didn't know the Science Channel existed. Somehow Ethan and I stumbled across this show (and channel) one lazy Sunday. The show is produced by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, who also produced the British version of The Office. The idea behind the show is that they're sending their friend, Karl, to visit the 7 wonders of the world.

But there's a catch...


1. Karl hates to travel. He's very stodgy, British guy who seems quite stuck in his ways and isn't interested in stepping outside his bubble.
2. Karl doesn't really know what he's getting himself into when he goes to see the 7 wonders. He thinks that he's filming a standard travel show. However, Ricky G calls this "The most expensive practical joke I've ever done."

The show is filmed documentary style like any other travel show. But along the way, the producers set up different (and usually uncomfortable) things for Karl to experience. But they don't tell him what he'll be doing until he's just about to do it.

This ranges from:
- Various animals parts that people eat...they eat EVERYTHING. Eyeballs and brains included. I think one of my favorite clips was when Karl was talking about how hungry he was and then he looks over and sees the lady who is fixing his meal, beating a toad up on the sidewalk so that she can skin and cook it.
- Experiencing different religious rituals. This includes one man in India who has held his hand in the air for the past 12 years and his hand had shriveled up and his nails were all curly. Or the naked yogis contorting themselves into crazy positions.
- What different toilets are like (i.e. a hole in the ground that you hover over...with no toilet paper.)

But I think what I appreciated most was Karl's reaction to the actual wonders of the world. Because he is so practically-minded, he had some very funny remarks about why people built what they did and sometimes he just didn't see what was so WONDERFUL about this wonder.

It is a weirdly refreshing show to watch because most travel shows that I watch are very glamorous and don't show what a given foreign country is REALLY like. This one really shows you day to day life in a given country and that it's not all beauty and history.