An Idiot Abroad

An Idiot Abroad
Promotional photo of Karl
Genre	Comedy/Travel show
Running time	60 min
Creator(s)	Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant
Starring	Karl Pilkington
Country	UK
Network	Sky1
No. of episodes	8

An Idiot Abroad (formerly known as Karl Pilkington's Seven Wonders Of The World) is an upcoming travel show on Sky1. It features Karl Pilkington travelling the globe in order to visit each of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. During his travels Karl will visit Great Wall of China, Christ the Redeemer in Brazil, Macchu Picchu in Peru, Chichen Itza in Mexico, the Taj Mahal in India, Petra in Jordan, The Colosseum in Rome and the Great Pyramids in Egypt. Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant got the idea for this show after Karl had mentioned that he thought they were all a bit boring and had no interest in seeing them.

In February 2010 Ricky Gervais stated via his blog that Karl had lost weight due to the food in India, or as Ricky put it "he shat himself thin". Ricky also confirmed that he and Stephen Merchant have been involved with the editing of the show.

Name Change Controversy

The show was initially titled Karl Pilkington's Seven Wonders of the World, however the decision was taken by Ricky to change the name to the more provocative [An Idiot Abroad][1] behind Karl's back. The name change was actually revealed to Karl halfway through the show in order to record his reaction. Karl himself has said in interviews that he thinks the name change will harm the show and that people will not want to watch a program about an idiot.

In a poll on Pilkipedia 61% of fans reported to be happy with the name change.

Programme

‘An Idiot Abroad’ began transmission on 23rd September 2010 on Sky 1. The ‘docuseries’ was produced by Karl Pilkingtons’ podcast<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>and radio show<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>colleagues Ricky Gervais<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>and Stephen Merchant<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>and follows Karl’s trip around the globe to visit the exotic wonders of the world. Sites such as Machu Pinchu<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and The Pyramids<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>at Giza produces an indifferent reaction from Pilkington who had enraged Gervais by stating that they “are a bit shit”.

Whether the experience broadened Karls’ horizons remains to be seen, but the series is a classic piece of travelogue, style programming that never fails to entertain. During the editing process Gervais stated on his blog<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>“I cannot wait for this show to air. Karl is the funniest, baldest, grumpiest Manc tw*t in the world.”

Karls Cult Status

Despite the verbal abuse incurred from messrs Gervais and Merchant, there is no denying Karl Pilkington’s cult status<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>created through the record breaking podcast developed for The Guardian Unlimited.

Travelog docuseries

Karl will join the ranks of other Gonzo travel journos such as:

Paul Merton Stephen Fry Louis Theroux