I'm a huge fan of the show. I have about 200 episodes on my DVR and it's all I watch since I don't have Directv now (in between homes). I just watch the shows I recorded over and over. Anyway, my question is... what is your favorite film or special episode?

I'm always amazed at the quality of the films they turn out on a weekly television show. It is amazing compared to the crap we have on TV here. Is there any show in the US that has anywhere near the production quality? Here we have Big Brother and stuff like that (I know those shows originated in the UK, but still.... why can't we have some informational shows with what I think are theater quality films in almost every episode??).

My favorite is hard to peg down. I really loved the Botswana special. That was pretty cool. I also loved the one where they attempted to drive across the Andes. My next would probably be the one where James drives to a volcano. But there are just so many. The one in Japan, the Polar special, their trip on motorbikes from South to North Vietnam etc. are all great pieces of film and just darn enjoyable to watch. The interactions between the guys is just funny as well.

I got hooked on the show originally from watching Jeremy Clarkson attempting to destroy a Toyota Hi-Lux (known just as the Toyota Pickup in the states). It is the model prior to the Tacoma. He was driving something that was around 1985 or 1986 I believe (same model as the Marty McFly Back to the Future Toyota Pickup) with a diesel engine. The depths they went to kill that thing was amazing. That's why I drive a Tacoma today.

I'd love to hear any feedback from any other top gear fans, or any of your favorite films. I still haven't seen them all, so I'd like to hear what others liked.

Toy-Boat-a


Great episode.

Love that series. Can't wait for it to return...and can't wait for them to review the Subaru BRZ!

My favorite Special is the first one i ever saw, the Vietnam special, as far as normal episodes go it has to be the Space shuttle Episode.

I love the US trips too. and the Middel East special, and the Andes crossing.

But....who can forget the first Toyota Hilux episode. that truck is amazing. and ive always liked toyotas

Funny, I watched the Vietnam Special and the Space Shuttle Episode consecutively last night. The look on Richard and James faces when the thing went down was priceless. Same with in Vietnam where Jeremy is screaming that he had done what the Americans never could and wipes out as he's yelling it. That cracked me up.

Glad to see some other fans. I also loved the middle east special. It was great. They got so much flack for the ending, but come on... it's a comedy show people. Lighten up. I drove my Tacoma through a foot of snow today. I have a TX Pro edition, which is as close as you can get to a Hilux in America (it's the same version they build for the US Special Forces). I was loving the drive and thinking about my indestructible truck. It is a smooth machine.

Took me a long time to get into that show, but yeah, I've seen most of them and love it now. I used to post on this board where probably 70% of the members were from the EU and they would go on and on about top gear. I tried watching it and got fed up with Clarkston right away going on and on about how American Cars were rubbish and all. Now I think all three of them are funny as be all. (funny how he had one of the first gt40s in the UK and how it was such a nightmare for him..karma)

episode?? hmmm gotta love the one where they hit the south in the junkers with all that stuff painted on them. Anything they do with campers is pretty dang funny too.

Funny, the other episode I watched yesterday was the south episode. Richard's truck said something like "Manlove ok!" and somebody's car said "Vote for Hillary!". That was crazy when that pickup truck full of guys showed up and started throwing rocks at them. They were using coke to scrub the words off of their cars. I think they realized that saying "NASCAR SUCKS" doesn't go over well. I am frankly embarrassed at how they have been treated. The time they came to Nevada/Utah they were also harassed endlessly by the highway patrol. I wish I'd have known they were coming, I would have gone out to Bonneville to meet them when they raced their cars.

I'm reading Richard Hammond's book right now about his jet car accident, and he's an amazing storyteller. I hope he reaches his goal as a "tv presenter in America" someday. I think he'd be really successful here. He seems to "get" America much more so than the other two.

Jeremy is the ultimate blowhard, but I once heard him say in response to somebody asking him about something somebody had said in a column, "Why would I believe that? I don't even believe 95% of the rubbish I say." So he plays his part well as the ultra old-school Brit with the "Americans are fat buffoons and Parliament can go to hell" schtick. James is just the loony old artsy-fartsy writer resident snobbish upper class man who observes tea time and drives his Fiat Panda. Richard is the young guy that thinks America is cool and that motorbikes are cool, and that guys like Jeremy are old fogeys.

Overall I am just glad that some Americans are catching on to the show and realizing it isn't a CAR show, as much as it is a show that uses cars as a vehicle (no pun intended) for making an excellent social studies class in a way. I really love how much I've learned, and I have a degree in education with a subject specialization (like a minor, with a lot more work) in social studies/history.

I have seen every one. A great show.

Never miss a chance to watch it.

Well, in fairness, most American cars are rubbish.

The show is probably one of the best on telly, bar none. The American version is an affront to the good Top Gear name and should be cancelled.

I agree with peaches. I can't stand the American TG.

I love this show, I don't get around to watching a lot of TV but when I do... it's TG!

My favorite episodes were the Bugatti Top Speed and the Ariel Atom.

peachesenregalia wrote:Well, in fairness, most American cars are rubbish.

The show is probably one of the best on telly, bar none. The American version is an affront to the good Top Gear name and should be cancelled.

I agree, I was so excited when I heard my car was going to be aon an episode of the US show.....I was hoping they would drive it around, give their thoughts, maybe race they other guys cars, waiting for them to rip it apart. They drove it over speed bumps with champagne in it. THE END

My son and I have watched every single episode of the UK version some numerous times

BBC America is now in HD on Directv so I get to to rewatch all of them in HD now, so much better. The production team on that show would be getting Emmy's left and right.

Do you know why the American one is so bad? I tried to figure it out, and then was reading something Clarkson said that made so much sense. BBC is publicly funded, so they don't have to cow-tow to any car makers. That is why certain manufacturers won't loan them a car, such as when James had to sneak in disguised and test drive that rover made in India. They knew it would get blasted.

So they are pretty unbiased (to a point). They of course have their favorites, but they can rip a car or a company to shreds. I think brutal honesty is great, and it has given me a great respect for many car companies who have made modifications and ECM updates for vehicles based directly on feedback from Top Gear. In the US... the car companies run the show. So it is working under an entirely different set of rules, and it just does not work.

The closest thing we ever had to a car show in the US was "Auto Week" and even then... they were very in the car company's pocket, but that was about as close as you could get to seeing a review. Thank goodness real people started making honest Youtube reviews of different vehicles. It has helped a lot in my search for vehicles.

I also can't wait for the review of the Subaru BRZ smurf. I was pretty surprised at how little they liked the Lexus supercar, but they made terrific points about its cost to value ratio. It is a Lexus and priced accordingly compared to I guess your average Lexus considered what they spent on R&D, but cars just can't cost that much and be viable at all. I mean literally you'd probably sell 10.

Overall... I actually wish we had more public channels that were like the BBC stations and had comedy and info programs. Like Discovery channel, but they don't answer to anybody. I think it would be great. Instead we get PBS, PBS kids, and C-Span (who all have their merits, but are mostly just boring).

The three personalities on the show are what make it work for me. The American show is lame becuase the three hosts are just lame.

You're right there Scottemojo. The personalities on the American version are awful. You have a wannabe standup comedian, a car racer, and some know-it-all. It does not work.

I prefer watching Jay Leno's car reviews on Youtube 100 times over American Top Gear (and I am not a Leno fan at all, but at least he knows cars and does some pretty good reviews in his spare time).

The South episode was pretty hard to top, probably my single favorite episode. But my favorite episodes are when they profile cars that are unique to Europe (Konigsegg, TVR, the old British Leyland cars that sucked, etc).

Their hatred of the Morris Marina and how they keep crushing them even though there are only a few left (pissing off the Morris Marina Owners Club to no end) is my favorite running gag!

How could I forget pianos dropped on the Morris Marina? It seems to genuinely pain James every time it happens.