Plot Synopsis

As Karl Pilkington becomes middle-aged and attempts to put his life in order, he travels around the world to learn how other cultures deal with children, happiness, marriage, career and death. In each 60-minute episode of THE MOANING OF LIFE, Karl visits multiple locations centered on a single theme, including: Happiness, as Karl travels to Mexico to meet a tribe that gets happiness from running ultra-marathons and a group in Guadalajara who get pleasure from pain, while spending time in Los Angeles to meet hip-hop clowns and dance through the streets of Compton; Kids, as Karl heads of to Japan, where he attends a traditional fertility festival, and continues his journey to Bali, where he helps out at a natural birthing center; Marriage, as Karl starts his journey in Delhi, where he explores arranged marriages, and continues to Los Angeles, where he uses science to meet an ideal partner before driving to Las Vegas to find unique wedding ceremonies; Vocation, as Karl meets an 85-year-old inventor in Japan, catches up with a flamboyant self-made millionaire in South Africa, and tries working as a Catwalk model in a Hollywood Fashion Show; and Death, as Karl begins his trip in Ghana, where he seeks out alternatives to depressing funerals, continues to Taiwan, where he's taught how to cry and deal with grief, and ends up back in Britain, where he organizes an unusual memorial. Science Channel aired the U.S. premiere of this series on Saturday, January 18, 2014 at 10pm ET/PT, showing two back-to-back episodes.