DVD Review: Top Gear 10: The Complete Season 10: Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May: Movies & TV
DVD Review: Top Gear 10: The Complete Season 10: Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May: Movies & TV
Amazon.com
Calling Top Gear “a car show” is like describing the Titanic as “a big boat” or Dom Perignon as “sparkling wine”–not inaccurate, just inadequate. Oh, motorheads (especially those fixated on fantastically fast, expensive autos) will surely get their fix from the ten episodes (on three discs) collected here from the British program’s tenth season. But Top Gear’s reach is much broader than that; more than merely informative, it’s funny, thrilling, smart, and just plain entertaining enough to appeal to viewers of all persuasions. That’s due to a variety of factors. The three hosts (or “presenters,” as the Brits call them), James May, Richard Hammond, and Jeremy Clarkson, are knowledgeable and witty–especially Clarkson, who, although a bit of a snob, has a gift for droll turns of phrase (driving the Audi R8 “supercar,” he says, “is like smearing honey into Keira Knightley,” while the more humble Honda Civic is “eager, urgent… like a penshioner’s terrier”). From a technical standpoint, it’s excellent; the camera work and production values are first-rate, and the show is filled with beautiful shots and judiciously chosen effects work. Most important, the actual content is compulsively watchable. A typical 50-minute episode will include a hands-on review of an automobile, be it some fabulous rich man’s toy (an Aston-Martin roadster, say, or a self-parking Lexus) or an oddity like the minuscule Peel P50, which is all of 54 inches long and 40 inches wide. Most episodes also include a segment entitled “Star in a Reasonably Priced Car,” in which a celebrity drives a lap around a racetrack in some ordinary sedan (this season’s guests include actress Helen Mirren, Rolling Stone Ron Wood, singer James Blunt, and a very smug and catty Simon Cowell). And then there is the weekly challenge, in which May, Hammond, and Clarkson are given some kind of daunting task. These range from finding “the best driving road in the world” (turns out it’s in Italy) to concocting an amphibious car capable of crossing the English Channel; there’s also a race across London by auto, bicycle, boat, and public transportation, a drag race between the Aston-Martin and a roller skater with a rocket pack, and a two-mile sprint matching the extraordinary Bugatti Veyron against one of the Royal Air Force’s state-of-the-art Typhoon jet fighters. Great stuff. –Sam Graham
Product Description
If you thought Top Gear would calm down a bit and the presenters would start to act their age. Well youre wrong. Season 10 is one of the most ambitious, featuring some challenges that only the very brave or the very stupid would dare to undertake. For example, who in their right mind would attempt to drive through the Kalahari Desert in three 20 year old bangers? Or try to cross the treacherous English Channel in a fleet of amphibious cars that are less seaworthy than the average church? You guessed it Top Gears three intrepid presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. Of course Top Gear is much more than just three grown men who should know better larking about. Therell be some serious car journalism in there too with exhaustive road tests of the latest models; looks back at the history of motoring; man versus machine experiments and weekly power tests featuring the worlds most exotic super cars. And, of course all the tried and tested Top Gear favorites will make a welcome return including the news; the cool wall and The Stig wholl be putting the rich and famous through their paces in the regular Star in the Reasonably Priced Car feature.
Witty TV At It’s Best,
By Melinda Burnett “Springlering”
(Atlanta) -
Wonderful, witty, and completely entertaining show, without a doubt, the best stuff on TV. This is not a car show. This is straight up entertainment. If you enjoy British humor, I promise you will love this show.
On the off chance you’re on this page and have the misfortune to not be familiar with Top Gear, basically, it’s three overgrown boys “cocking about” with cars (their words, not mine, albeit, very appropos).
My household grinds to a dead stop at 8pm every Monday when Top Gear comes on, and our whole extended family can routinely quote Clarksonisms.
I was sorely disappointed when iTunes didn’t include Botswana in the Season 10 Pass, and am delighted the DVD set will include the African Special, as well as extra Season 10 content not available from iTunes. (Later iTunes seasons did include extra content not available on the US broadcasts.)
Season 10 includes the fantastic Channel Crossing featuring the infamous ToyBota and the VW cabin cruiser; the classic (and gorgeously filmed) Bugatti versus Veyron race; wickedly funny motorhome racing; the 24 hour endurance race; and a personal favorite (as if I could really pick one!); the “British car under 1,000 Pounds” challenge. And, of course, there is a liberal dose of the mysterious race-car driver Stig throughout.
But, the piece de resistance of this collection is the African Special, which is hands down one of the best hours ever broadcast on TV. Funny, a record setting endurance challenge, and with the benefit of a film crew that would grace any National Geographic special.
BTW, the unseen and unheralded video, audio, and editing crew on Top Gear is talented and amazing enough to compete with any major motion picture, and the show, particularly the Botswana, is just absolute eye candy, even if you’re not a car fan. This show goes the extra mile of always hiring a helicopter pilot, and the airborne footage helps lift it out of the realm of the ordinary, too. I just can’t compliment the whole Top Gear crew enough.
And, if you enjoy the sometimes maddening but always entertaining posturing of Jeremy, I’d also recommend you check out the “World According to Clarkson” book series. He is a funny, but thought provoking, writer in his own right.
Awesome,
By R. Pop -
I have been a fan for many years and always regretted not being able to buy the seasons. I am so pumped to watch them at home now without having to rely on my DVR. I just hope BBC makes more seasons available. Definitely worth the money, there is absolutely no other show like this.
Cars + Comedy + Tears from laughing so hard = Top Gear,
By Mark Douglas (NSW Australia) -
If you haven’t seen these guys in action all you have to do is go to YouTube and watch a few clips for Top Gear and you’ll never look back!
Three guys talk super cars and do stupid challenges with hilarious consequences.
But for a real fan you CANNOT watch Top Gear on Youtube. You’ll be like the whole of UK and Australia and just need every excellent episode right away!
Highlights are:
- A roadtrip through Europe to find the greatest driving road ever in a Lambogini, Porche 911 and an Aston Martin (so much funnier than it sounds)
- Three attempts at making an amphibious car
- A race between a fighter jet and the fastest production car in the world
- Watch the three hosts cross the uncrossable desert in three african cars that cost $1000.
- See the birth of Motorhome racing
BUY WITHOUT REGRET!
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