Actors: Karl Pilkington, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant
Director: Ricky Gervais

An Idiot Abroad charts Pilkington’s reaction when visiting the New Seven Wonders of the World as well as to the situations he’s placed in, the country’s cultural habits and idiosyncrasies.

SEASON 1
Season 1, Episode 0: The Preview Show

Season 1, Episode 1     ”China”
Pilkington is sent to China by Merchant and Gervais, where he lands in Beijing and is seen to be unimpressed by the pollution and a population that does not speak English. The initial scenes of the documentary show Pilkington responding to the way of life of the Chinese most notably the different types of food as well as its door-less public conveniences. The main destination of the piece is Pilkington’s trip to the Great Wall of China where once there he receives a call from Merchant who insists that he travels the entire length of the wall. Merchant and Gervais also star. This takes a reported two weeks to complete.

Season 1, Episode 2     ”India”
Pilkington goes to the Taj Mahal and visits a religious festival known as ‘Holi day’ which involves coloured paint powder being thrown on everybody in the street (Including Karl). Next stop is to visit religious ‘Babas’ who practice an extreme form of yoga naked. He tries the lotus position and visits a Baba who has had his right arm raised for the last 12 years.He also met the Elephant Baba who has a disformed face that went to one side in the shape of an Elephant.

Season 1, Episode 3     ”Jordan”
Pilkington visits Israel and Petra in Jordan, swims in the Dead Sea and rides a camel for 8 hours to visit a bedouin settlement where lambs’ eyeballs and testicles are on the menu for a special meal for him. He also shares a lift with a group of ‘Na Nachs’ who stop traffic and dance for the entertainment of those in the road.

Season 1, Episode 4     ”Mexico”
Pilkington visits Mexico and Chichen Itza. Initially he gets caught up in the dangerous local firework festival which sees him running around in terror. He also tries his hand at wrestling before meeting up with some real cowboys. On his way to Chichen Itza, Karl meets up with some Mayans who show him how to knock down wasp nests. Finally, he gets to see the wonder of Chichen Itza at sunrise but he cannot find any Mexican jumping beans.

Season 1, Episode 5     ”Egypt”
Pilkington gets swarmed in a market, has lunch at a deaf KFC, and visits The Great Pyramids.

Season 1, Episode 6     ”Brazil”
Pilkington wanders the beaches of Rio de Janeiro and visits the towering statue of Christ The Redeemer.

Season 1, Episode 7     ”Peru”
Pilkington visits the pre-Columbian Inca site known as Machu Picchu, an “Old Mountain” perched on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru.

Season 1, Episode 8     ”Karl Comes Home”
In this final episode, Pilkington meets with Ricky Gervais and Steve Merchant to discuss his travels.