You don't have to love cars to like Top Gear

Statement: the TV show Top Gear is only interesting to people who love cars. Wrong! Top Gear is about much more than just cars. It's even a great show for people who don't like cars at all.

Top Gear is a British TV show. The show is hosted by Jeremy Clarkson, assisted by two sidekicks: Richard Hammond and James May. The most important subject is the car, but it's the typical British humour which attracts a lot of viewers.

Why would I watch it?

Because it's really good TV. The fights and teasing between the three men are more important than the cars. Jeremy Clarkson is known for the typical sound of his voice and the way he does his announcements. Richard Hammond is the favourite of the watchers, especially to the women amongst them. His nickname is "The Hamster". He is teased a lot because of his height. James May is the fool and is called "Captain Slow". They make fun of him because he doesn't like speed.

They make life hard for each other. An example is their cruise through a few very conservative states in the United States of America, driving around in cars on which they painted provocative slogans. They came up with slogans such as "Man-love rules ok" and "Country and Western are rubbish". This caused some embarassing and even dangerous situations when they were hunted by Hillbillies.

Other things that makes the programme worth watching:

Celebrities

In each show a celebrity pops by to do a time trial in a simple car. This part of the show is called "Star in a reasonably priced car". After driving on the circuit, the celebrity appears in the studio to talk about his or her trial. This leads to very interesting and funny interviews. Just a few celebrities that came to Top Gear: Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Gordon Ramsay, Hugh Grant, Tom Jones and Jay Leno.

The Stig

A mysterious man in a white suit with a white helmet on his head. That's "The Stig". Each show this driver tests a fast car on Top Gear's racing track. Every time Jeremy Clarkson announces him like this: "Some say that .., all we know.. he is called the Stig!". Every time the host adds other words to the sentence "some say that". Some quotes from the programme:

• "Some say he's wanted by the CIA and sleeps upside down like a bat."
• "Some say that on really warm days he sheds his skin like a snake and that for some reason he's allergic to the Dutch."
• "Some say he knows two things about ducks and both of them are wrong."

Viewers of the show speculate a lot about the identity of "The Stig". In 2009 The Stig appeared in the show and revealed his identity. It was top racing driver Michael Schumacher. But later on it became clear that British racing driver Ben Collins sat behind the wheel a lot of the times. Each show the viewers are wondering who is in the white suit this time. 

Competitions

Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond organize crazy competitions. A few examples:

• Driving from London to Edinburgh on 1 tank of fuel;
• Driving a Mini Cooper off the ski jump in Lillehammer;
• Who can get the best road kill (animals which got hit by a car) to eat for dinner. A well-known fragment from the show is the one in which Jeremy Clarkson drives around with a cow on his roof.

Some numbers to persuade you

Top Gear has been broadcasted since 1977. The three hosts have already worked together for 8 years. Top Gear is broadcasted in 37 countries around the world. The show won several British television prices and won an Emmy award in 2005.

Check it out. It's really worth it. Top Gear is broadcasted on Wednesday evening on BBC 3. You don't live in the UK? Check out which broadcaster in your country shows Top Gear. With 37 countries on the list, chances are high you can see it too. 

Sources: www.todio.nl