An Idiot Abroad

I just watched the penultimate episode of Karl Pilkington’s An Idiot Abroad where he travels to Peru and Machu Picchu. Since Y and I got cable TV, I have eagerly looked forward each week to this program created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant on the Science Channel. In each episode, Gervais and Merchant pick a new great wonder of the world for Karl to visit in the hopes that the process of visiting these places and interacting with peoples around the world that Karl may become a more cosmopolitan person rather than the provincial person he seems to be. Next week at 10PM on the Science Channel is the series finale, but there is talk that there will be a second series that focuses on Karl’s ‘bucket list.’

[Warning to Safari users: the Science Channel’s An Idiot Abroad website crashes Safari every time that I visit it. I would suggest using another browser to access that site.]

Published by

Jason W. Ellis

I am an Associate Professor of English at the New York City College of Technology, CUNY whose teaching includes composition and technical communication, and research focuses on science fiction, neuroscience, and digital technology. Also, I direct the B.S. in Professional and Technical Writing Program and coordinate the City Tech Science Fiction Collection, which holds more than 600 linear feet of magazines, anthologies, novels, and research publications.