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Why I Love…Paul Merton in India

Paul Merton in India
  • Posted at 5:36pm
  • 07 November 2008
  • by TomLoxley-RT
  • 9 comments

Watching Paul Merton kick a man in the groin, combining the swift upstroke of a goose-stepping Basil Fawlty with the sort of profuse apologies offered by his wife Sybil, brought tears to my eyes. Of laughter.

What it did to the poor chap on the receiving end, goodness knows. Apart from confirm his near lunatic commitment to getting into the Guinness Book of Records by any means possible (and as the reigning holder of the "most kicks to the groin" record, clearly any means are acceptable these days to the record breakers' bible).

Merton is the kind of Englishman we should be proud to send abroad, to travel in the footsteps of Whicker, Palin and the like. Heaven knows what he's doing on Five. It's like finding Red Rum at the donkey derby.

Unlike Stephen Fry's race round the States in a London cab (sadly, a fat man with a thin idea), Merton's approach has been a leisurely treat. Whether watching further feats of testicular fortitude from mystics at Hindu festivals, riding shotgun with street-lethal eunuchs on a mission to extort or wrapping an anaconda round his neck while on call with Delhi's snake collectors, Merton has meandered round the sub-continent with wide eyes and good humour.

The last episode is on Monday (10 November, 9:00pm, Five). But if you missed this new departure in television travelogues, then you will want to kick yourself. But before you do any damage, I see you can catch it again this Sunday (9 November, from 4:00pm, Fiver) when the entire series is repeated. The man is a television traveller who could go far. Like Michael Palin. With knobs on.

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Comments

  • Posted on 21 October 2009
  • at 6:35pm
  • by guria

i think he was just fine!!! not a lot of people can take his jokes in good spirit...which is sad..he didnt seem to disrepect india or indians in any way...and he covered some very intriguing stuff!!! well done paul merton :D

  • Posted on 08 October 2009
  • at 5:12pm
  • by Mini Khanna

Ok.... What a pathetic snob of a man is this Paul Merton saw his show toaday.....Is he a celebrity in the west???? Anyways whatever.... what this guy does not know is that before he beats his drums telling everyone where all he has been and how cool he actually is and what a bore everyone else was he should atleast try to do a bit of research about the place its people their culture and history. I think he has heard about India for the first time.. This man does not know what this great country stands for... Its like he attempts to solve a real complex trignometric equation and he doesn't even know what a sine and cosine are... I am sure he has offended a lot of Indians and he could have saved all of us and especially himself an ordeal if he would have stayed where he belonged to... umphhhh...

  • Posted on 10 September 2009
  • at 6:36pm
  • by Edwin

Sadly, although I love Paul Merton in his "Have I got news for you" role, his travel programmes leave me cold. Although his researchers manage to find wierd and wonderful items, Paul just seems to hold "Johnny Foreigners" habits up for ridicule, in a rather dated way.

  • Posted on 09 February 2009
  • at 2:31am
  • by sarah mackintosh

Paul I am very fond of all your material. I would recommend to anyone reading this the comedy store players and to encourage you all to see them at the comedy store and globe theatre.

  • Posted on 14 December 2008
  • at 12:10pm
  • by laura

i absolutly loved this series and watched eagerly awaited each episode. No doubt that the place itself had the biggest influence as to why it was so suprisingly entertaining, but Paul Merton's everyday man persona really made veiwing feel like you traveling along wiiith him.

I look forward to his next series but can anywhere top India?

Love it.

  • Posted on 10 November 2008
  • at 11:09pm
  • by Erewash

I thought it was badly scripted and poorly edited. He rambled and repeated himself, failed to make any real connection with the people around him and it ended up sounding like another Paul Merton monologue.

The episode where he visited the prison was a typical example of tedious repetition and inane questioning. The programme is third rate.

  • Posted on 10 November 2008
  • at 11:00pm
  • by Kwitderber

Just seen the groin kicking - Bizarre !!

LOL

  • Posted on 10 November 2008
  • at 7:43pm
  • by Bandana Bose

I think Paul Merton in India was absolutely fantastic. As an Indian I saw things that I did not know existed or could exist. It was very subtle tongue in cheek humour and also there were times I was falling of my chair laughing specially when Paul Merton wakes up in the train to find a man painting his protrait with his tongue. This could only happen in India. As for the Snow World it was so funny as an Indian I do know that they are absolutely fascinated by snow, and to invent such a thing can only truly be Indian. It is fantastic. I do not think it was disrespectful at all. We Indians should learn to laugh at ourselves as well. How is it alright when Sanjeev Bhaskar pokes fun at the Indians no one seems to mind. Come on be a sport and have a good laugh. I missed a few episodes and hope it will be repeated again soon.

  • Posted on 10 November 2008
  • at 1:45pm
  • by sunaina bajaj

i hate Paul Merton in India....he is a bad bad traveller with no sense of respect of culture and beliefs. Mocking at poor uneducated individuals with no outlet of self-assimilation being so called cultured! He is doing his best to fing weird stuff in India and doing well at that.

How self obsessed and what a hyporite !

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