"Top Gear" (1978) TV series 1978-????

User Rating:

9.6/10   

Director:

Chris Donovan

Seasons:

unknown

Release Date:

11 July 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

Jeremy, Richard and James talk about everything car-related. From new cars to how they're fuelled, this show has it all.

Plot Keywords:

Automobile | Motor

Awards:

9 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Jeremy Clarkson	...	Himself - Presenter / ... (329 episodes, 1988-2009)
Tiff Needell	...	Himself - Presenter (236 episodes, 1987-2001)
Quentin Willson	...	Himself - Presenter (190 episodes, 1991-2000)
Chris Goffey	...	Himself - Presenter (179 episodes, 1981-1997)
William Woollard	...	Himself - Presenter / ... (174 episodes, 1981-1999)

Runtime:

30 min (1978-2001) | 60 min (2002-)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Dunsfold Park Aerodrome, Dunsfold Park, Dunsfold, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

The show is famous for its humorous features. These have included - TV Chef Jamie Oliver making a tossed salad in the back of his Porsche-engined camper van whilst it was being raced around the test track by The Stig. - Car Darts when James May and Richard Hammond were launching cars by compressed air into a quarry and onto a target (which was made juicier by the addition of a caravan in the bullseye). - Russian Roulette when Hammond and May worked for Taxibike and gave comments on the cars they drove their clients home in. - The Toyota Hilux where they attempted to see what it would take to break one of these trucks (it was parked in the sea for a full tidal cycle, set on fire and finally put on top of a tower block that was subsequently demolished) - despite their best efforts the thing still started and moved. - The use of a Boeing 747 at full thrust against a Citroen 2CV and various abuses against caravans.

Quotes:

Jeremy Clarkson: [about TVR Tuscan 2] You see, my wife loves this car. She loves the noise and the vibrations and the sense of danger and the way that when you over-rev it, the whole dash lights up like a baboon's backside. Richard Hammond on the other hand, he pretty much hates it. He says its too difficult and too complicated and that all the stitching in here looks like the kind of stitching you find when someone's tried to mend their own shoes.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Have I Got News for You: (#36.8)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Escape

Top Gear will be missed

Top Gear is unlike any of the car shows produced in the U.S. It is, to use a term popular on the other side of the pond, brilliant. The hosts display personalities, wit, and charm. Along with the facts and numbers the souls of the cars are revealed. Any car. We aren't subjected to just the latest and greatest, but, also the common; just seen through the eyes of those who enjoy cars. Top Gear is like sitting around with your buddies and talking cars and having a good laugh all the while. It was good to have a car show that's intelligent and witty. It's a shame the Discovery Channel no longer has room in it's schedule for a show that's fun to watch.