BBC Babble – Shifting into Top Gear

You would think after running for 11 seasons I would have seen Top Gear, but it wasn’t until a a couple months ago that I caught a few episodes of this highly entertaining motor show. I’m glad I did because I dig exotic cars and the Brits’ dry sense of humor. Top Gear has plenty of both, so count me as a new fan of this oldie-but-goodie BBC America staple.

Lead host Jeremy Clarkson has been with the series since 1988. At 6’5″, Clarkson is an imposing figure with an unquenchable thirst for speed. Co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May join Clarkson in a bevy of asphalt hi-jinks. Together, these three auto aficionados span the globe in search of the fastest factory manufactured sports cars. In addition, they pick at each other like bickering brothers, but it’s all good-natured rowing.

After the jump, I’ll take a peek under the hood of this high throttled show. Fasten your seatbelts.

The format of Top Gear resembles a magazine style program. Each episode opens with a theatre-in-the-round studio audience surrounding Clarkson; he intros the segments, in his own witty fashion, then tosses to recorded packages that normally entail test-driving some super-charged muscle car outfitted with plenty of nifty gadgets.

There’s much more than laps around a track, which can get a little tiresome after a while. The best part of Top Gear is the challenges between hosts. Each week one of the three gear-heads, usually Clarkson, issues clever dares to his compatriots. Here’s three of my faves:

• A parking contest in Central London: Clarkson drives a 1963 Mercedes Grosser; May gets behind the wheel of a 1972 Rolls-Royce Corniche. Both cars are enormous, so fitting into a spot proves a bit difficult.
• A fox hunt across the English countryside: Since fox hunting was outlawed in 2004, Clarkson replaces the crafty animal with a Daihatsu Terios (tiny Japanese car) painted to simulate a fox and doused in fox urine. Watching a pack of hungry hounds chase down a puny sports car is quite amusing, to say the least.
• Train versus car in Japan: Clarkson climbs into a Nissan GT-R turbo racer while May and Hammond hop aboard a bullet train. The first to make it across the country wins. May and Hammond attempting to decipher the Japanese public transportation system makes for hilarious television.

Top Gear is very guy-centric, but the decision to avoid an overload of technical jargon makes it accessible to large audiences. You don’t have to be a car expert to enjoy the insult-laden banter between Clarkson, May and Hammond. There is also a cool feature involving British celebrities racing one another on a test track. Overall, each episode has something for everyone. Although, I imagine speed freaks like myself will get hooked.

What a fun show. It’s refreshing to watch something with hosts who obviously love their jobs. They know their stuff and have a jolly good time playing with high-priced four-wheeled toys. Top Gear airs Monday nights at 8pm. The season 11 finale will be January 26, so mark your calendars. If you like fast cars, sharp tongues and fierce competition, then check out BBC America’s Top Gear.

Clacked by Scott Tunstall
on Jan 14, 2009 @ 16:00 EST5EDT