Top Gear Is Returning!

Apparently, Top Gear has been one of the most successful long running television programmes for a long time now.  That isn’t just because it is loved by car nuts like myself, but it’s also top quality entertainment.  Even if you don’t necessarily want to hear about ‘trick diffs’ on the latest Evo, you’re sure to get a thrill when the TG boys try to blast a three-wheeler into space.

This being the case, it was with some trepidation that I opened the email I received concerning the new Top Gear series.  This new series will be number 11, quite an achievement for a show that could be seen, by some, as being niche.  Andy Wilman’s blog-like post (he’s the executive producer by the way) gives a good insight into how the show has developed, and exactly what sort of direction the new series will go in.

Here are some of the points that have been confirmed for the new show:
1. There’s a new character that’s a bit like The Stig but isn’t The Stig.
2. The new section is remaining the same.
3. There’ll be a tweaking of the guest spot.
4. There’s a car versus ‘something’ race that will be set in Japan.
5. Sabine (the race ace instructor in Germany who tackled the Nurburgring) will return when the boys go to war with Germany.
6. Jeremy has an improvement for British police cars.
7. Why you should own an Alfa.
8. There’ll still be some big films.
Naturally, as per usual, I’ve got some quite strong opinions about these decisions.  Unlike usual though, I’d have to say that my impressions are good.  There’s sod all information about this new character so I can’t say either way, but I’m guessing it’s some sort of stunt driver who will probably talk – a counterpoint to the uber-race-god that is The Stig.  The guest spot I find frankly quite dull and overlong, so hopefully that’ll be the tweak there.

The car versus ‘something’ in Japan will, I’m guessing, feature a Nissan GT-R.  It’s the obvious choice as it is… Japanese and extremely quick.  Maybe it will be taking on a bullet train?  Sabine returning is always good as she’s quite nice, adds a bit of eye candy for us racing boys and is clearly an expert driver herself.  Who could ask for more?

It’ll be interesting to see what sort of improvement Jeremy suggests for police cars, short of making them all into Evo X models – so again, only time will tell on this one.  As for owning an Alfa – it’ll be great to see them put their money where their mouths are.  I personally haven’t owned an Alfa Romeo, but my cousin did.  Whilst it was an incredibly impressive machine (a 156 GTA), it lived up to the Alfa experience by requiring costly engine rebuilds and fuel injection repairs.  Would I buy one though?   Probably yes.  You can’t be a proper petrolhead until you have, apparently.

Big films seem to have become a new staple of Top Gear – but they’ve also been a good one.  Where else can you watch three madmen try to hammer to the North Pole, two of which set a record in the process whilst drinking gin in a big Hi-Lux?  I’ll tell you – you can’t see that on another other TV show.  Seeing the three very different personalities dicking about is what Top Gear is about.

So, with all that in mind what would I personally like to see in Top Gear?  Well, I’d like to see the news section filled out a little more I think.  Sometimes it is glossed over entirely in favour of longer interviews or more silly segments.   I’d also like to see less of the ‘silly’ segments with that in mind, though I don’t particularly mind if the boys smash some more caravans.

I have to say that the new Top Gear series sounds fantastic overall – I just hope that they have the balance of the show right.  Either way, no doubt it’ll be a rollercoaster ride and I’ll be disappointed when it comes to an end.  Whether Fifth Gear is better however remains a matter of personal taste.  I do like that Vicki Butler-Henderson…