What I know about cars couldn’t fill a glove compartment, but I have learned one important tip: When “Top Gear” is on the air, don’t get between the TV set and motorheads. They’ll run you over.
The 33-year-old British sensation is beloved by more than 350 million viewers in 100 countries, despite the fact that it consists of little more than three men testing, racing, smashing and salivating over anything on wheels.
“I really genuinely have tried to work it out and just can’t,” said co-host Jeremy Clarkson when asked about the show’s enduring popularity. The escapades of the latest two seasons, currently running back-to-back Monday nights on BBC America, include a drive through Botswana, a wreck-filled journey up Bolivia’s “Road of Death”; an attempt to find the perfect make- out vehicle for a 17-year-old; and a 1949-inspired race among a Jaguar, a Vincent Black Shadow motorcycle and a steam locomotive.
But what really fuels the series is the giddiness of the three main blokes — Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond — who are about as sophisticated as a kid at his first Pinewood Derby.
“When I construct the show, I always write it with my children in mind,” said Clarkson.
“Men may be 40 or 60 or 80 years old, but we never really get past being 8. I think that has something to do with the show’s appeal. If a little boy will like it, his dad’s going to like it too.” According to Clarkson, 48 percent of the worldwide audience is female.
Clarkson thinks women watch to get some insight into the opposite sex. He points to the episode in which the guys fulfilled their fantasy of driving to the North Pole.
“I’ll be watching an episode like that, and my wife will turn to me on the sofa and say, ‘Do you (men) really think like that?’ And, yeah, we do.” The wide appeal of “Top Gear” isn’t lost on American TV executives. After spinoffs were launched successfully in Russia and Australia, NBC commissioned a pilot featuring Adam Carolla in hopes that the series would join the network lineup in 2009. The network eventually abandoned the idea.
Country music star Brad Paisley recently said that it’s must-see television in his house. Jay Leno is such a fan he basically copied the show’s celebrity racetrack for his ill-fated prime-time series. Leno appears as a guest on the March 8 program.
Getting more big names isn’t Clarkson’s top priority for the future. So what is? “I really do wonder if it would be possible to put a car in space and drive on the moon,” he said. “I’d love to try that.”
