Monday, February 25, 2008
Top Gear is your new bicycle
Posted by Josh in BBC, Cars, Josh's fanboyism, Top Gear, tv
Though Jeff does the TV work around here, I had to chime in with a recommendation for what to watch tonight. At 8:00 pm EST, BBC America will have its American debut of the new season of Top Gear. It is my understanding that I am bit late to the internet nerd party in being obsessed with this show, but I caught a few episodes last week (BBC America repeats things a lot), and it is absolutely amazing. Apparently the show has been around since 1977, but for most of its run was a traditional car magazine show (sort of like anything you would find on the Speed Network). In 2002 it relaunched with a sense of humor about itself. I don’t know when they started, but the current hosts are Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May.
The show has the feel of a cable access show run by a group of friends that somehow managed to hit it big. The show is more than just “look at how awesome this [insert Italian motorcar] is.” During each episode, the hosts undertake special projects designed to test the limits of what cars can do. For example: converting a car into a reusable space shuttle. In May 2007, two of the presenters even became the first men to reach the magnetic north pole in a car. Throughout the entire process, they mock each other mercilessly.
Bottom line: watch this show if you like cars, gadgets or all things British.
The show has 8 millions viewers in Britain and an estimated 350 million viewers worldwide. It is one of the most pirated television shows in the world. That made it really easy to find clips to embed. Check out what sold me on the show after the jump.