An Idiot Abroad 2: Spoiler Thread

[moonllight]

I was really touched by the ending, him listing everything he has never finished, glad he finished mt Fuji. Also it's also a great ending to the series, where in the first series he didn't want to finish Machu pichu here he wants to finish it and actually does.

[Scotland Rocks!]

"Me taste buds just got mugged." Brill.

Anyone else get the feeling that Ricky's call to Karl while he was meditating actually happened in the editing room? Yeah, me too.

I do like that Karl realized that making a "big deal" out of daily minutiae is perhaps one of the most important tenants of Zen Buddhism to grasp. He got it.

"Fucking idiots." - Karl on roller coasters. Yes, we are! And it's great.

Yep, sweet ending making it to the top of Fuji. I suspect that's why there won't be a third series - Karl isn't the "little Englander" anymore. It would take way too much to wind him up now, which is of course Ricky's goal. He's not the everyman - he's a seasoned traveler. Good for him, and it made good television watching him get that way, but now...where do you go from here?

DEREK!
KARL READS FLANIMALS!
MAKE CARTOONS OF THE XFM SHOWS!



...fuck me.

[It'sAFoodage]

It was an alright episode, me thinks. Got better near the ending, I was so proud of him finishing Mt. Fuji. It feels like this series went a lot faster than the first one. Overall, the first series was better IMO.

However, we haven't seen the prostate exam yet. Looking forward to that.

[EinHistory]

I don't think it'll be that entertaining to see a doctor shove a finger up Karl's arse. Maybe funny for Ricky, and he'll at least shut up about it now, but I just don't get it. It serves a medical purpose.

If, for the final episode, they want a big finish which was mentioned during the XFM days, raise Karl by balloons.

[FITZSIMMONS]

and he'll at least shut up about it now

For a short while, Ricky seems to annoying of a person to not bring it up again, or fine something else to bug him about daily.

[RandyChimp]

Its partly Ricky annoying Karl, but let's be honest, this is an important procedure. If Karl had just stopped being a homophobic moron and get past the fact that it's not gay to have a prostate exam and got it out of the way, this wouldn't have happened. No broadcast on telly, no ricky shouting at him to have it done. Karl's a moron, and he's a moron that needs to have a finger popped in his bum for his own safety.

[ike]

Does not wanting a man's finger up your arse automatically make you homophobic by default?

[Scotland Rocks!]

Its partly Ricky annoying Karl, but let's be honest, this is an important procedure. If Karl had just stopped being a homophobic moron and get past the fact that it's not gay to have a prostate exam and got it out of the way, this wouldn't have happened. No broadcast on telly, no ricky shouting at him to have it done. Karl's a moron, and he's a moron that needs to have a finger popped in his bum for his own safety.

There's one important bit many people are forgetting:

The prostate exam bit is totally scripted.

Remember in...I think it was 2007?...when RSK did the Public Service Announcement involving this? (It's on the "Best of the Rest" compilation.) I can't prove it with photographic evidence - thank God - but I'm sure Karl has had this procedure done before, and they just threw in the squeamishness the way they "forget" old conversations for the sake of the podcasts. Let's face it: Ricky sure had his fact sheet handy to rattle off, didn't he?

I don't even think the prostate exam will be the "payoff." But if it is, I maintain that it will have always been there so that we can hear some moralizing on the importance of the exam. (Not that I disagree - I'm just saying that it's totally contrived.) Karl is resistant, like many men, Ricky spouts the data, eventually Karl relents, Ricky belly laughs, and Karl does some narration saying it's not that bad and important and all that. Yee-haw. Exact same point made as the PSA, but to a wider audience.

Man, I really hope it's not that!

[RandyChimp]

I honestly don't think they're going to show it happening. Let's face it, there are limits to what fans want to see, and this is definitely way over the line.

Karl IS homophobic, he shows that every time they talk about a prostate exam or even talk about his arse. Remember that conversation where they mention that he doesn't even like suzanne touching it? He says, and I quote, "It's a bit gay, isn't it?"

[ScottHanson]

Yeah but you're forgetting earlier in the series when he said he'd still love Suzanne whether she was a woman or a man.

[Steven]

He encounted a few gay fellas in the last season and was fine about it.

[Manhole Cover]

Haven't watched the latest one yet, just finished the America one, but bloody hell what is everyone talking about saying Karl singing Glee was unbearable to watch? It was great, he's a natural entertainer! The crowd loved it. "It went down a storm"

[RandyChimp]

Homophobia doesn't have to mean you hate homosexuals, it can mean you're scared of them. He does come across as nervous when he's around gay people in this series. He's said it before, he doesn't understand what they get out of their relationships, which probably makes him nervous. It's natural to be scared by something you don't understand, and let's face it, Karl doesn't understand much.

[nicholls]

Oh dear. Having to do an uncomfortably intimate medical procedure doesn't make you gay (as Karl thinks) and not doing it doesn't make you homophobic (as you seem to think).

[EinHistory]

I don't think Karl's homophobic. He's just uneducated, like with most things he perceives as different, meaning his comments come off as offensive.

Sometimes he gets defensive when talking about butt plugs and mirrors, but so what? He seemed no more uncomfortable around Celso than any other culture in AIA. Not liking China, for example, doesn't make him racist, even if some of his thoughts were generalised or stereotypical.