Oh Top Gear, is there any mood you can't fix?
Top Gear is the answer, I don't care what's the question
Right. Its been a bit of a crap week. There was my Oops Moment Of Doom at 1:07 am Sunday morning. Tuesday, I found out that my Dad's Mom has cancer and likely months left. Tomorrow, my Mom's Mom undergoes treatment to remove the cancerous tumour from her lung. Add to that the fun that is looking for a job AND having PMS and, well, there just isn't enough chocolate.
What there is, though, is Top Gear. Not the pretend Top Gear shown in the US and Australia and other countries, but the REAL Top Gear from the UK. The Top Gear with Jeremy, Richard and James. The Top Gear that all four of us run to watch together. And, as I needed some laughs this week, I asked my husband and both of my girls what their favourite ever Top Gear moments were. Cue much giggles, conversations that went on longer than planned, and too many suggestions. They all gave me their picks.
This is one of Chris's picks. Its Richard being a bad winner after winning a challenge against their colleagues from Top Gear Germany.
Well, that's mature.
Chris shrieks with laughter every time. He cries with laughter during James May's guided tour of the MOMA, but I couldn't find any clips of that. Anyway, here's another gem, and one which points out the appeal of the show to me: they're all a bunch of six year olds in grown up bodies. Jeremy and Richard have glued a techno cd into James' stereo, and stolen his stereo remote. Their competition involves sneaking quietly home after curfew, a la a teenage boy.
Play that funky music, white boy.
Maeve, my ten year old, has a crush on Richard Hammond, no matter how hard she denies it. I think she likes cranky short guys. Sorry for the poor quality of the video.
Short man, big temper.
I, on the other hand, have a thing for Jeremy Clarkson. Its a real gift to be able to piss people off as easily as he does. And I quite appreciate his over the top-ed-ness. Like in this clip, for instance. He made it after a viewer wrote in complaining that they didn't do thorough enough tests on the cars anymore.
Question my road tests, will you?
Like mother, like daughter.
Marin, the five year old, is also quite fond of Mr. Clarkson. This link sends her into fits of hysteria. Sometimes, she even pees a little bit. I wish I were joking.
Another one for the mister...
Chris went on at length the other night about this clip, where the guys have to make amphibious cars. It just shows what's at the heart of the three of them so well. Jeremy: power and hammers. Richard: trying to be cute. James: trying to be refined.
This one also sends Chris into hysterics. And not at all because he has a man-crush on James May and is happy that James is happy. Nope. Not at all.
I could go on all day. Really.
My favourite bits are the part of every challenge where they realize they aren't really having fun anymore, and really aren't that fond of each other just right then. But I also enjoy the interaction between the three of them. This clip from the Bolivia challenge shows what I mean.
I promise this is the last one.
That's all, folks
I'm going to stop now, or I'll be here all day. Its already taken way longer than I had planned to assemble this list, because I had to stop and watch every clip I found. But, in the end, there's me distracted from my crappy week, so win/win, yes?
