922 replies to this topic

[SandraDee21]

It's an amazing show. One of my mates was lucky enough to go to a taping last week and apparently the guys are even funnier and much more coarse in real life.

I love Richard Hammond. I just want to take him home in my pocket.

[curemode]

I have nothing of substabce to add and just wanted to say that I love this show! The hosts are hilarious and know what they are talking about. The cars are fast and driven furiously. Best car show ever.

[SandraDee21]

It was so funny last night (British TV) when they made James May try to make the theme tune out of engine noise. So funny..

My fave ep so far has been the one where their mothers were on.

[mlooney]

Jeremy Clarkson seems more like an American than an Englishmen at times. His hatred of mass transit, for example, seems, well, American Midwestern.

[curemode]

My god. That Porsche Carrera GT tonight gave me a stiffy. 600 horsepower and less than 3000 pounds curb weight? Insane.

The Ferrari vs. Jet race? Very cool. The ending seems so impossible, but I'll take their word for it.

I was so relieved when they said they were going to retire the indestructable Toyota truck. It had been through so, so much, it deserved to go out on a high note and enjoy its peaceful retirement in a museum.

[curemode]

Keeeeyrash!! Boy that was fun. I guess the lesson learned is that when you get into a crash, try NOT to hold on to the steering wheel. Let the safety belts do their job.

I didn't quite understand the whole segment comparing older supercars to the newer ones. At first the point seemed to be that the older supercars (the Jag and McLaren) were faster than the newer ones (F60 and Carrera GT), but then he admitted that the newer F60 would beat the F40 on the track and that the F60 is the fastest car he ever drove. Huh? Just last week he was singing the praises of the Carrera GT and this week he was calling it lifeless (in comparison to the older supercars). He said the McLaren's steering was "heavy" yet he's basically still calling it better than the new cars. He lamented the fact that the new cars have "traction control" and all these things that interfere with the driving experience, yet when he reviewed the F60 he pointed out the traction control button and said he didn't dare push it. I just didn't feel like they made a clear point.

It seemed like an excuse to drive around some really cool supercars.

ETA: Why don't they bring over the American 2005 Saleen S7, with 750hp twin turbos if he wants to see something that'll beat the McLaren. 0-60 in 2.8 secs! 0-100 in 6.0 secs!

Edited by curemode, Aug 18, 2005 @ 6:53 PM.

[Melk]

If ever I have enough money to buy a new car of my choice, I would totally consult the 'Cool Wall'.

I love all the bickering in the news section. Especially when Richard Hammond was showing this map that was 'indestructible', and while he was facing the camera to talk about how it couldn't be damaged at all, Jeremy set fire to it.

[curemode]

If money was no object, I think I'd go with either the Porsche Carrera GT or the Mercedes-McLaren SLR. Both have top performance, great looks, and comfort. And great sounding engines. I love that the SLR sounds like a deep throated Spitfire (mixed with a top fuel dragster). Which also kinda sounds like the Batmobile!

[Scattia]

I'm not a car person at all but I love this show. Despite being technically informative about the cars, it's still really accessible for people like me who really don't get no matter how many times its explained to them what horsepower actually is, or why I should care how fast a car goes from 0-60mph (a travesty I know!). What I watch for is the silly stunts, the genuine friendship between the presenters, the always funny Hammond-bashing (I believe you Richard, you haven't had your teeth whitened!!), and, oh yes, to work out which pretty car I would buy if I had the money (or, you know, a license!). All in all this is a really entertaining show, with the only bad thing about it being is that there are so few episodes per series.

Top Gear, I salute you!

Edited by Scattia, Dec 9, 2005 @ 11:51 AM.

[Divaah46]

I wish this show aired more frequently on Discovery. The cars are beautiful if totally impractical, the shitck is funny, and Richard is adorable, even if his hatred of camping traliers/caravans seems a little odd.

[LeFae]

Seriously, the funniest thing I've ever seen on Top Gear was back in January, when they were doing the 2005 "Awards" - one was for the biggest gas guzzler. The nominations were the Range Rover Sport, the Bugatti Veyron and Hemel Hempstead. And the winner was the Ford GT. Hemel Hempstead burned about 60,000 tonnes of fuel and moved not an inch, and still didn't win.

I was in hysterics - inexplicably, perhaps, given that I was stuck on the M1 when Buncefield blew up, and spent eight hours trying to get back into London along packed B roads through St Albans I never knew existed.

[still fluxing]

I don't have a drivers licence, I know practically nil about cars and motors, and yet I love this show. I blame Jeremy - he's just too funny to pass up.

The Top Gear Winter Olympics had me in stitches the whole way through.
(can be seen here: http://video.google....200&q=top gear)

[Adina J. Luthor]

I think this is the greatest car show ever

Yes. I don't know anything about cars either, and yet this is now one of my favorite shows. I love everything abut it -- the presenters, the cinematography, the direction, everything. The budget for this show must be more than the entire budget for all of BBC's other shows combined, and it's worth every penny.

the always funny Hammond-bashing

I love it when they're fighting over how to categorize each car. That one episode when Hammond took a big bite out of -- what was it, a card? I was laughing so hard.

One of my favorite races is Clarkson versus the speed mountain climber. Awesome. Most recently I saw the race from somewhere in Denmark to Oslo with Clarkson in a McLaren, Hammond and James May taking trains, boats and other public transportation. Hilarious! I especially loved the part where May and Hammond's second speedboat developed technical problems in the choppy sea. Hammond was hanging over the side while May reported their difficulties to Clarkson in the car: "The inflatable part burst, the driver's sick, I think Hammond's dead..."

Top Gear is genius. I can't believe I'm saying that about a car show.

Edited by Adina J. Luthor, Mar 13, 2006 @ 2:51 AM.

[Gulftastic]

It returned last night in the UK. A welcome return indeed.

When you get chance to see it, check out the convertable people carrier. It's a hoot. You should also be glad if you are outside the UK that you never got chance to see the daytime TV show Hammond is embarrassed about. It was almost biblicaly bad.

[Melk]

So far the new series is brilliant. Jeremy's Mercedes/cottage, the return of car football, Richard Hammond's sinking houseboat/camper van, the 'well spoken man', the battle of the £1000 super cars, their attempt to do a radio traffic show, all of it gold. I can't drive, I know nothing about cars, and I love this show to bits.

The convertible people carrier was one of my favourite Top Gear things ever. The sheer terror on their faces when they realised they had to drive their creation through a car wash was hilarious.

[rachel1707uk]

For my money, the best thing about Top Gear is the dynamic between the three presenters. They seem to genuinely enjoy one another's company, despite the copious amount of taking the piss that goes on. I especially love the episodes where the three are competing against one another, either in a race or when they've had to buy a car for a certain amount of money (supercars for £10,000 springs to mind, with May's awful Lambo and Hammond's Ferrari that wasn't one).

That said, the cinematography and music is absolutely breathtaking. I'd never really thought of cars as being sexy before I watched Top Gear, but I'm now a true convert to the idea. There's actually an article written by Clarkson in Top Gear Magazine from a few months ago talking about how they make the show, which is quite interesting (and also illustrates my earlier piss-taking point rather well).

[LondonTina]

Oh my God, the caravan last night! I laughed like a drain the whole time, but when it caught fire I thought I was going to explode. Did anyone else see this?

[Richard Burns]

Yes i did. The caravan segment had me in stitches. What i loved about it is that they demonstrated how utterly pointless caravaning is. And it made Top Gear dog throw up.

Another high point of this season for me was the amphibious car challenge. That was also incredibly funny and it amazed me how far these three would go to entertain us.

[Gulftastic]

Richard Hammond in serious condition following car crash

I hope he's OK.

ETA More here

Edited by Gulftastic, Sep 20, 2006 @ 2:41 PM.

[CJ Haughey]

Poor, poor Hampster. Serious GVs heading his way tonight. Last night I watched the episode with the Jeremy in the Bugatti Veyron and Hammond & May in the light aircraft again. I love that episode and I’ve seen it at least three times. Richard in the back of the plane, wanting to (frequently) kill James, has to be one of the best moments on Top Gear ever.

[marweb]

The good news is that Hammond's condition is now been described as 'Stable', not 'Critical'

[Melk]

It was only a matter of time before one of them got seriously hurt doing those car stunts, but it doesn't make it any more shocking. I hope Richard pulls through and makes a full recovery, although last I heard he was still in intensive care.

[CJ Haughey]

He’s still alive but the doctors are saying he has a significant brain injury. They are reasonably optimistic he will make a good recovery. It’s hard to know if that’s good or bad news. A significant brain injury isn't just something you can shake off. Poor man.

[dissolvedgirl]

By way of an update it looks like Hamster will be OK.

Link

[Gulftastic]

We've got our Hamster back!

He looked a bit more gaunt, but otherwise seemed fine.

Great to have him and the show back, also great that it beat the shallow rubbish of Celebrity Big Brother in the ratings.

Edited by Gulftastic, Jan 30, 2007 @ 3:25 PM.