There are numerous travel shows on television, which take audiences all over the world, exploring the sights and sounds of different countries and cultures. Those who are fans of tele-travel might want to check out Comedy Central’s latest comedic travel show, “Gerhard Reinke’s Wanderlust.”

“Wanderlust” takes an interesting approach to the travel show concept. The show maintains the educational value, which is common of most travel shows, but approaches it in a comedic fashion — which explains why it is on Comedy Central.

The show follows fictional German host Gerhard Reinke — played by American Josh Gardner, who has written for such Comedy Central shows as “The Man Show” and “Crank Yankers” — on his travels to various locations all around the world. During his travels Reinke gets himself into ridiculous situations, adding the humor that makes the show unique. The humorous approach to exploring the world sets “Wanderlust” apart from other ordinary travel shows. It is blatantly apparent that the show is designed to simultaneously entertain and educate.

“Entertaining is the best way to educate,” Gardner said. “It makes it easier and more fun for people to listen and learn.”

There is a lot of truth in Gardner’s statement, but whether or not the concept of a comedy-travel show is successful at educating remains to be seen.

After watching the first two episodes it is easier to get an idea of what the show is all about. Gardner’s portrayal of a nerdy German man is good, and he has captured and perfected the dryness that is popular in most European humor. The humor is dry, which seems inappropriate at times and ultimately effects the ability of the viewer to get comfortable with the show.

In the first episode, the audience follows Reinke to Thailand in Southeast Asia, where he finds a wide variety of Thai culture to check out and poke fun at. He visits a Thai comedy club where he gets to jump onstage and take part in an act. He gets his ass beaten in a Thai kickboxing match. And he endures the embarrassment of not being able to urinate in a public restroom because of a Thai tradition where massages are given by bathroom attendants to those wishing to use the bathroom — which he uses as a main joke for the rest of the show.

In the second episode, Reinke travels to the Andes Mountains of Bolivia and Peru. When visiting the Bolivian capital, La Paz, Reinke comes down with a bad case of altitude sickness which interferes with his ability to host the show. He finds a cure through chewing cocoa leaves. Unfortunately, the cure turns into addiction making clear Reinke’s motivation for the rest of his trip. In his search for more coca Reinke becomes the hostage of a Marxist guerilla group known as the P.U.B.E. Eventually, Reinke finds salvation from his addiction in the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu. It is during the times when Reinke is in such awe-inspiring places such as Machu Picchu, that the humor seems inappropriate and unnecessary.

Gardner said there is often a theme — such as the “pee shyness” in Thailand, and the “cocoa addiction” in Bolivia — in each episode. He and one of the producers of the “Wanderlust,” Tom Stern, explained how they hoped to do a recreation of the Johnny Appleseed story, featuring Ohio.

“We want to do something like a slide show recreating the story of Johnny Appleseed,” Stern said. “But we want to portray him as this bootlegger of Applejack moonshine … you know, making him this wealthy-beyond-recognition marketing genius.”

The outlandish ideas of Gardner and Stern — like the Johnny Appleseed idea — give viewers a good idea of the format of the show. Also, it gives viewers an understanding of the kind of humor associated with the show.

The idea of a comedic travel show is not an easy concept to successfully pull off — and really hasn’t been attempted before — but “Wanderlust” has potential. The humor is a bit basic and crude, but with some fine-tuning the show could prove to be just what Comedy Central needs.