Top Gear

I watch it a lot, and I can’t wait for the new season to start here.

If you’re American, it’s an automobile show from the UK. “Blah, another candy-ass car show for rich people. Who cares?” Because it’s funny, that’s why. The presenters are hilarious. In between the car whoring, they do stunts, and some of these stunts are so ridiculous it boggles the mind. You could get Howard Hughs, Evel Knievel, and the Marquis de Sade in the same room, hand them a blank cheque, and the results wouldn’t be as hilariously high-concept as the average Top Gear episode.

I remember the episode where a 4WD (driven by Clarkson and Hammond) raced against a team of sled dogs (led by May) to get to the north pole. The 4WD was a huge distance ahead, but they encountered a field full of icy boulders that they had to chip through by hand. You had to savor the moment, when, after 10 hours of chipping ice, they finally break through…and see a second field of icy boulders just up ahead.

Or how about the one where they took a second-hand bomb, strapped it to a rocket, and ACTUALLY TRIED TO LAUNCH IT INTO SPACE. They failed, but it was still impressive to see so many studio dollars get wasted like that.

And who could forget the episode where they drove all the way through Alabama with slogans such as “Hillary for President” and “Man Love Rules OK” painted on their cars, and ended up being attacked by a gang of rednecks?

Bottom line: it’s a great, great show. I can’t wait for the new series.