TV Show of the Week: Top Gear – Series 28 Episode 1

When Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May left Top Gear after series 22, the show has been on a rather rocky ride. Those three presenters made Top Gear a global phenomenon. Their friendship elevated whatever was happening on screen to another level.

From the very first episode the Grand Tour, it was made apparent that the three were getting bored of the BBC. Constantly cutting the show’s budget, constantly interfering with their ideas; the Grand Tour is the reboot of Top Gear we needed. That didn’t stop the BBC from continuing Top Gear, and what a rollercoaster of a ride it has been since series 23.

Chris Evans, the former BBC Radio 2 presenter joined and promptly left due to overwhelmingly negative feedback from critics and the public alike. I had to give the new format a chance, and immediately disliked it. When Chris left the show and a new presenter came on, Rory Reid, it did make the format a little more enjoyable. They had somewhat tolerable chemistry between the three, and understandably, people automatically compared them three to the former presenters, disallowing Matt Leblanc, Chris Harris, and Rory Reid to flourish as much as they could have done. Matt Leblanc only lasted a couple more series before leaving due to the show putting too much strain on his family life, what with travelling so much, which meant we’re getting yet another new set of three presenters. Rory Reid soon left, which mean for series 28, we’re getting yet another new set of three presenters. Chris Harris is the only person from the original trio since the reformatting in series 23.

From series 23 onwards, the BBC tried their best, but it just didn’t work as well as it could have done. There were problems, and many people brought them up and milked them as much as they could to make the point that Jeremy, Richard, and James were the best and the show should have ended when they left. “They are Top Gear.”

Series 27 came along, the first with the new set of presenters: Chris Harris, Freddie Flintoff, and Paddy McGuiness, and I didn’t bother watching the show. I lost interest because of the rocky road the show was riding along. And now we’re at series 28, and my dad mentioned that he heard on the radio that these three presenters were the best of what we had. Apparently, the BBC had finally stumbled upon a formula that works, and that’s what it was like when Jeremy, Richard, and James were leading the way.

Now, I’m not saying these three are perfect replacements, because you cannot replace them, but you can at least emulate what they were – three friends having a good time, working together to make the best show they can. I decided to give the show another chance, and I was pleasantly surprised. It made me genuinely laugh a couple of times, the challenge of buying three convertibles for £600 or less was decent, and the review was informative and structured. Even the daring stunt at the end of the episode where they literally bungee jump a car off a 500-foot dam was gripping.

After a rocky ride of trying to change the format, the BBC had opened their eyes and saw it wasn’t working. This series, they decided to do a different format – practically the same as the one everyone liked. With three new people at the helm, you’re going to get some differences, but ultimately nothing else has changed, and that’s a good thing. Three new people, three new friendships, a whole bucket of new banter, within the same episode format that everyone enjoys, and bob’s your uncle, the BBC has an episode of Top Gear that’s decent to watch and enjoy.

I have strong hopes that, after a couple more series, if everyone remains on the show and doesn't leave, these three presenters will make the show, and soon they'll be classed as the new Top Gear.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)