my favorite idiot — karl pilkington — is back!

Ricky Gervais's and Stephen Merchant's social experiment series is back, An Idiot Abroad: Bucket List. Their semi-willing victim and presenter is Karl Pilkington, he of the interminable (but often hilarious) complaints, and perfectly round head.

Last time we saw Karl, Ricky and Stephen were sending him all around the globe, testing his limits and reaping the  rewards. Karl never disappointed in An Idiot Abroad, whether he was at the Great Wall of China (complaining about how far it was to walk), the Pyramids (moaning about how big the stones the Great Pyramid of Giza were to climb), Machu Picchu (complaining about how far up it was to the top.)

In season 2, the first episode has Karl being sent to a desert island (Vanuatu, in the South Pacific), but not before Ricky and Steve present him with some other challenges on the way — bungee jumping in New Zealand and "dirt jumping" with a Vanuatu tribe that worships Prince Philip of England. Karl's trademark witticisms are still evident. This season is destined to be another winner.

Future episodes will see Karl traveling on the Trans-Siberian Express and swimming with dolphins (and sharks — thanks, Ricky). The show airs Saturdays at 10 p.m. on the Science Channel, and is a bona-fide hit, already garnering even greater ratings for the second season than its impressive debut last year.

Karl discovers that the desert island doesn't have much of a beach, or even sand.

For all of Karl's complaining, he does get into the spirit of things, going "arse-boarding," which is essentially sliding down he side of a volcano on little more than your arse, and donning a grass skirt and dancing with his host tribe before he sets off in a dugout canoe for his Robinson Crusoe experience. I'm not sure how many more challenges and torture chambers Merchant and Gervais can devise for Karl, but I hope they try, as it makes for extremely entertaining viewing.

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