The Moaning of Life

The Moaning of Life

Series tile with presenter Karl Pilkington

Sky publicity image
Also known as 'The Moaning of Life 2'
Genre Travel documentary comedy
Starring Karl Pilkington
Composer(s) Mat Davidson
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of series 2
No. of episodes 11 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Celia Taylor
Richard Yee
Krishnendu Majumdar
Running time 44-45 minutes
Production company(s) Sky UK television
Release
Original network Sky 1
Picture format 16:9 1080i
Audio format Stereo
Original release 20 October 2013 (2013-10-20) – 17 November 2015 (2015-11-17)
External links
Sky programme website

The Moaning of Life is a British travel documentary comedy television series broadcast on Sky 1. It follows Karl Pilkington around the world as he visits other cultures.[1] Unlike An Idiot Abroad, which had a similar premise, The Moaning of Life sees Pilkington actually choosing to visit other countries in order to see how they face up to some of life's biggest issues with their cultures and customs. He also reassesses his life now that he has reached the age of 40, which he considers to be "middle age".[1] The series has five one-hour episodes, and sees Pilkington visiting Ghana, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, the Philippines, South Africa, Taiwan, and the United States.[2] Its original broadcast run in the United Kingdom began on 20 October 2013.

Sky1 postponed the fifth and final episode – "Death", which sees Pilkington in the Philippines contemplating death with locals – after Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines in early November 2013.[3] Originally scheduled for 17 November 2013, it was not broadcast until 17 December 2013.

The series was released in the United Kingdom on DVD and Blu-ray on 18 November 2013.

Discovery Communications' Science began broadcasting The Moaning of Life in North America on 18 January 2014.[4][5] The series aired in Australia from 17 February 2015 on BBC Knowledge.[6]

A six-part second and final series was commissioned and premiered on 13 October 2015.[7]

Series overview

Series Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired
1 5 20 October 2013 17 December 2013
2 6 13 October 2015 17 November 2015

Episodes

Series 1 (2013)

No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleDirected byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions) [8]
11"Marriage"TBA20 October 2013 (2013-10-20)1.49

Although Karl has been with his girlfriend Suzanne for 20 years, he has never felt a need to marry her. He travels abroad to witness how other cultures handle marriage and see if he is missing something. In India, he explores the concept of an arranged marriage, accompanies "wedding detectives" as they secretly collect information on a man being considered for an arranged marriage on behalf of the family of his potential bride, and assists wedding planners in arranging a wedding with 5,000 guests. He then visits the United States, where he attends a "pheromone party" and is impressed by the concept of a drive-through wedding because of its speed and convenience. Karl comes up with a unique concept for a couple's wedding and they follow his plan by marrying in a laundromat.

22"Happiness"TBA27 October 2013 (2013-10-27)1.10

Karl goes abroad to discover how people in other cultures find happiness. In Mexico, he runs with a tribe that finds happiness in ultra-marathons and meets a group of people who find happiness in experiencing pain. He then moves on to the United States to join a group of "hip hop clowns" who dance in the streets. He meets Justin Jedlica, who finds happiness in his appearance and is addicted to plastic surgery. Lastly, he spends a day with Daniel Suelo, who gave up his worldly possessions and finds happiness in a homeless lifestyle.

33"Kids"TBA3 November 2013 (2013-11-03)1.11

Karl sets out to learn why people have children. In Japan, he saves a turtle awaiting its fate as someone's meal at restaurant and keeps it in his hotel room's bathtub. He attends a traditional fertility festival and goes to a doctor to have his sperm tested. He then travels to Indonesia, where he helps at a natural birthing center and babysits an infant girl. At his next stop, Karl spends time with the Bajau people, "sea gypsies" who allow their children to roam freely with little supervision. Finally, he visits the United States, where he hires two adult dwarf actors to pretend to be young children for a young couple who are considering having kids.

44"Vocation & Money"TBA10 November 2013 (2013-11-10)1.09

Karl travels overseas to explore how people find their vocations. In Japan, he spends time with an 85-year-old inventor who shows him his various inventions and then tries out the careers of traditional Japanese odd-job man and life drawing model. He flies to South Africa, to meet Kenny Kunene, who is a self-made millionaire. Kunene introduces Karl to his extravagant lifestyle and has his associate show Karl how they got started in business. His final stop is the United States, where Karl tries his hand at being a catwalk model in a Hollywood fashion show.

55"Death"TBA17 December 2013 (2013-12-17)0.68

Karl has never even attended a funeral, but he sets out to see how other cultures handle death. His first stop is a coffin shop in Ghana that specializes in coffins custom-made in any shape the buyer wants. He next helps a mortician prepare the body of Madam Comfort Asaaba Cofie, a 79-year-old woman who had died a month earlier, for her funeral. Karl flies to Taiwan, where he meets up with a professional mourner who can be hired to cry at memorial services. He next goes to the Philippines, where he visits a cemetery that also functions as a small town where people live and work among the dead and assists in the exhumation of a body. His next stop is Sagada, a community where the dead are placed in coffins hung on the side of a cliff to avoid predation by dogs. Back at home, Karl takes delivery of a custom coffin he ordered himself and his girlfriend in the shape of a Twix wrapper, and then drives to the beach to demonstrate his idea for a new type of memorial along the boardwalk there. Inspired by benches dedicated to the deceased, Karl has purchased a memorial rubbish bin in honor of Comfort.

Series 2 (2015)

No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleDirected byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions) [8]
61"Art"TBA13 October 2015 (2015-10-13)1.34

Karl delves into art that is 'not just all flowers in vases anymore'. In New York City, he models for bodypainter Trina Merry, visits the MoMA, and participates in performance art in Times Square. He makes art expeditiously with boxing gloves and transcends dog shit into art with Sprinkle Brigade. In Los Angeles, Karl attempts to create emesis art with Millie Brown, and then he heads back to England to experience his own interpretation of art - a murmuration of starlings.

72"Identity"TBA20 October 2015 (2015-10-20)1.05

Karl explores the nature of identity and how hair, apparel, language, and gender play a part. Karl starts by sending his DNA off to be analysed and getting a 'hair prosthetic' installed to cover his baldness. Then Karl travels to Mexico to experience identity tied to unique footwear and a whistled language. Heading back to the States, Karl also tries his hand at celebrity impersonation and embodying a female figure.

83"How to Live Your Life"TBA27 October 2015 (2015-10-27)0.97

Karl explores different ways of life and delves into the values and priorities others use guide their time on Earth. He spends time with a Buddhist monk, a costumed vigilante, a Mormon fundamentalist polygamist family, a creative philanthropist, an nonagenarian skydiver, and a man who does 'extreme ironing'.

94"The Body"TBA3 November 2015 (2015-11-03)0.90

On the Langjökull glacier in Iceland, Karl tries exercising in cold weather in just his pants. Next, Karl travels to India to meet a practitioner of Shivambu, or urine therapy, and another man who believes he doesn't need to eat, as he absorbs all the energy he needs from the sun. In Tokyo, Karl tries out some robotic arms, has therapy to reduce the size of his head, and finds out what it's like to be blind. Lastly, back in London, Karl gets his testicles inspected for lumps for the first time.

105"Waste"TBA10 November 2015 (2015-11-10)0.85

First, Karl travels to Mexico to perform an underwater inspection in raw sewage and meet a man who's recycled plastic bottles into his own island. In the United States, he meets a man who eats roadkill, helps clean up a hoarder's house, and gets inspired by a man who's downsized to the point of living in a skip. Karl ends his trip in Germany, where he joins a group that plays music on trash bins and discarded items.

116"Time"TBA17 November 2015 (2015-11-17)0.68

Karl starts the episode by having his future told via rumpology. Then he travels around the United States to have his upper body put in casts, get made up to look and feel old, after which he competes against some elderly track and field athletes, and spend time with a man pretending to be dog. In Germany, he explores the process of plastination to preserve bodies. Back in the US, he examines personal doomsday bunkers and simulates what it would be like to live on Mars.

North American broadcasts

In North America, Science premiered the episodes in a different order, as follows:[5][9]

"Vocation & Money" and "Death" originally were scheduled to air at 10:00 p.m. EST on 1 February and 8 February 2014, respectively, but both were rescheduled to 6 February 2014.[5][9]

At about three-quarters of the way through each North American broadcast, Science aired a brief "never-before-seen clip" from The Moaning of Life featuring Pilkington commenting on an issue during filming of the episode.

Merchandise

A book titled The Moaning of Life: The Worldly Wisdom of Karl Pilkington was released on 10 October 2013.

Despite the final episode having not yet aired in the United Kingdom due to its postponement, the entire series was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 18 November 2013.

The series was available on Amazon.com. An advertisement featuring Pilkington complaining about Amazon.com was released on YouTube to promote the series.

The second series titled The Moaning of Life 2 was released onto DVD and Blu-ray on 23 November 2015.

A boxset featuring both series was also released on 23 November 2015 on DVD and Blu-ray.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/20/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.