Television - Top Gear 1# Because it's always somebody's guilty pleasure

~Unfaithful~ · 12-17-2008, 06:24 PM

APPRECIATION THREAD

THE CAST

Jeremy Clarkson
An acclaimed broadcaster and journalist, Jeremy Clarkson has hosted “Top Gear” since 1988. Born in the decade of the hippie, Jeremy has shunned free love and peace, preferring instead to drive around corners very fast, yelling “POWER” at the top of his lungs.

Jeremy has been accused of some amazing things in his time, including destroying a mountain, destroying the environment and destroying Rover cars. In his defense, the mountain is still there, we can all still breathe and Rover would still be here if their management hadn’t been so terrible.

Richard Hammond
Affectionately known as Hamster, Richard Hammond is one of the U.K.‘s most popular broadcasters. He began his career at BBC local radio and first graced British TV screens on the cable channel Men & Motors. He proceeded to work on a number of different motoring and lifestyle programs on cable before realizing his dream of cohosting “Top Gear” in 2002. In September 2006, Richard hit the news headlines when he was involved in a serious accident crashing a jet-powered car while filming “Top Gear.”

A versatile presenter, Richard has hosted TV shows from a variety of genres, including science and nature, children’s and sci-fi. Women the world over adore him, something about his puppy dog eyes, and wanting to protect him from the nasty Mr. Clarkson. Richard’s hobbies include buying hopeless cars and attempting to restore them.

James May
When James was first introduced on “Top Gear,” Jeremy claimed he was “clearly a blithering idiot.” The reasoning behind this slightly harsh critique was that James’ car at the time was a Bentley T2. His first film on “Top Gear” was him telling people how great it is to own a 25-year-old classic luxury car while at the same time admitting it cost a small fortune to run and fuel.

James admits he was once fired from a job with a well-known magazine for putting a secret message in a supplement. It’s exactly this kind of fooling around that makes him perfect for the U.K.‘s favorite motor show. James also has his own pilot’s license, which has come in handy on “Top Gear” once already (although it would help more if he was allowed to fly at night).

The Stig
Who is the Stig? A retired NASCAR veteran? Danica Patrick in drag? With Deep Throat outed and safely laid in his final resting place, the Stig’s identity is currently the most closely guarded secret of mankind. What do we know about him? Well, he’s a seriously sick driver. He posts the lap times for cars on the Top Gear test track, trains celebrity guests to race in the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car feature, and performs any other crazy tasks asked of him.

Some say he was forged out of steel and fire in the devil’s own pit garage, or that he trickled to the surface of an oil pocket deep in the Earth’s crust. All we know is, he’s called the Stig.

Visit Top Gear here

CLIP OF THE WEEK

Why is it the clip of the week? I don't know, there is something about the sound of James's "siren" that makes me bust out in a huge amount of laughter, so I figured it was a good clip

**Paul1984** · 12-17-2008, 11:34 PM

for this thread. Top Gear is about the only thing worth watching on the BBC.

~Unfaithful~ · 12-18-2008, 06:41 AM

My husband got the cable package iwth BBC just for this show, and I made fun of him, made fun of it. Said it was stupid, so he told me to shut up and watch it instead of flapping my gums. I've been hooked ever since! It's so funny!

***~*Rach*~*** · 12-18-2008, 07:05 AM

I love Top Gear so much. The episode where they went to America but were only allowed to film if they were factual and not entertaining was fantastic!

~Unfaithful~ · 12-18-2008, 10:39 AM

I love when James painted manLover or whatever on Hammond's car... I

Hammond.....I haven't come across and episode I haven't liked yet!

**Paul1984** · 12-18-2008, 11:51 PM

They're all brilliant. It's about the only british show I watch even though I'm English

. Jeremy Clarkson is just hilarious and they kind of all are.

I love the US episodes they've done and the cross country and cross continent races they do as well.

**crazy_diamond** · 12-19-2008, 04:15 AM

I must admit I do love this show

***~*Rach*~*** · 12-19-2008, 04:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~Unfaithful~ (View Post)

I love when James painted manLover or whatever on Hammond's car... I

Hammond.....I haven't come across and episode I haven't liked yet!

Shhhh, that was too entertaining!

~Unfaithful~ · 12-19-2008, 07:27 AM

The cross country ones are always entertaining. The Africa one was awesome. My husband said that a lot of people got angry about that episode because they were ruining nature or something along those lines.

**Paul1984** · 12-19-2008, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~Unfaithful~ (View Post)

The cross country ones are always entertaining. The Africa one was awesome. My husband said that a lot of people got angry about that episode because they were ruining nature or something along those lines.

Environmentalists get angry whenever somebody touches a blade of grass though. I mean they were hardly going round chopping down trees in the rain forest. They only drove cars over the land, which many Africans do every day there as well. They even had permission from ministers and stuff for a lot of it.

I'm all for preserving the environment, but some people just don't have a clue. The same kind of people who buy hybrid cars that do 5mpg better (if that and most diesels actually do way better) but fail to realise the batteries damage the environment just as much from their production, if not more and that converting energy is less efficient. Also the same kind of people who are vegetarians but still wear leather shoes, or fail to realise that if we didn't have animals like cows bread to milk and eat they would be nearly extinct by now anyway. I'm all for genuine environmental initiatives and rights, but some people just like something to complain about, or don't take the time to even have a clue about the issue they're discussing.

Also with Top Gear a lot of the time people are too stupid to get the jokes which makes me laugh more. Like when Jeremy did that Lorry driver joke about them killing prostitutes. He was actually making a joke using a common stereotype ironically, but people who are too stupid to get it started complaining he should be sacked, because somehow he was attacking lorry drivers. Idiots can't take a joke. These kind of people are ruining television for everyone else that has half a brain.

Rant over

, but I love this show and would defend it against all the haters.

~Unfaithful~ · 12-19-2008, 04:07 PM

I would defend it too. The jokes are great. I love my siggy. The best things come from their mouths.

sporkythespaz · 12-19-2008, 04:15 PM

I love Top Gear my first exposure to the show was this youtube clip:

~Unfaithful~ · 12-19-2008, 05:14 PM

OMG, I love the little car, especially when Jeremy picks it up and brings it in the building. It was so funny!

**crazy_diamond** · 12-20-2008, 05:37 AM

The presenters do give us great one liners

~Unfaithful~ · 12-20-2008, 11:43 AM

They do. I love when they pick on American, which I should be insulted, but I really can't be.