Top Gear: Middle East Special

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"Top Gear: Middle East Special"
Top Gear episode
Ancient Roman Hippodrome chariot racing oval in Jerash
Roman Hippodrome in Jerash used for NASCAR-style racing by the presenters
Episode no.Series 16
Episode 1
Directed byPhil Churchward
Presented by
Produced by
Original air date26 December 2010 (2010-12-26)
Running time76 minutes
Episode chronology
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"Top Gear: Middle East Special" is a 76-minute-long extended episode of

theme park, and a stop at Ein Gev on the Sea of Galilee
.

Planning and filming

Planning for the episode began in January 2010,

Sheikh Hussein Bridge border crossing from Jordan to Israel on 19 October 2010.[3][7][5] Subsequent filming took place in Nazareth with the crew departing via Highway 6.[8] The Kurdistan UK Friendship Association, RUS Aviation (suppliers of the Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane), and the Syrian Automobile club are thanked in the credits.[9]

Because it was a

landmines, and border controls.[13] May was greeted by locals using his name in Iraq and Syria.[14] Whilst crossing Syria the presenters discovered they were extremely popular and well known.[15]

The cars purchased with a budget of £3,500 each have

number plates from the country of Georgia.[16] Clarkson is driving a Mazda MX-5, Hammond a Fiat Barchetta Riviera and May a BMW Z3.[16] The team arrives sitting in their vehicles inside a Russian Cargo aeroplane which opens the cargo door prior to landing and performs a go-around, before the starting location is revealed as Iraq.[16]

Experiments were made on

Afrika Corps,[19] and Clarkson's Mazda received a Technicolour Dreamcoat-style paint scheme.[20] During a NASCAR-style rally race at a Roman circus, the Gladiator soundtrack is played along with music from Ben-Hur.[21] Clarkson narrates the words "Peace on Earth, and Goodwill to all men" from the Annunciation to the shepherds as the team are seen passing the Israeli West Bank barrier.[22] The episode ends with the presenters finding a miniature version of The Stig, complete with racing overalls and helmet.[23] The presenters' gifts are a gold-relief medallion, a shampoo bottle called "Frankincense" and a Nintendo DSi XL in lieu of myrrh.[16]

Broadcast

Along with the

iPlayer.[27] It was scheduled for broadcast in Australia on 8 February 2011 on Channel Nine,[28] and watched by 792,000 viewers.[29] The adventure was included in the "Top Gear – The Great Adventures 1–4" DVD box set released in 2016.[30]

After the screening of the episode the three main cars joined the World of Top Gear exhibition in the collection of the

Top Gear Live in November 2011.[33][34] Unpainted HO scale and TT scale models were made available for 3D printing.[35]

Reception

At the time, The Daily Telegraph described it as "one of the best [Top Gear] specials yet."[24] In 2015 the Swiss magazine Watson (de) included the Middle East Special on their top-eighteen best Top Gear moments describing it as the best Christmas Special of all time.[36] In 2021, Clarkson described the Middle East Special as the best of the adventures to watch.[37]

For the Middle East Special the BBC Trust's Editorial Standards Committee reviewed two rejected appeals in June 2011,[38] two in July 2011[39] and one in October 2011,[40] noting in all instances that they were "satisfied that the decision not to proceed with the appeal was correct."[38][39][40]

References

  1. ^ a b "James May hurt during Top Gear stunt". The Daily Telegraph. 23 December 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  2. Vulture.com. Retrieved 11 December 2017. [Devon Ivie] … filming in Syria and Iraq, what, six years ago? [Jeremy Clarkson] A brief window. We were only 40 kilometers from Mosul then. We drove through Aleppo. I've never forgotten — James May got out of his BMW in Syria and there was a big crowd shouting at him, "Welcome to Syria, Mr. Slowly!" And I went off for a cup of coffee in this little shop and had a fantastic night there. You look at it now, and the cities are simply gone. Erased. … And then we went to Jerusalem
    . That's not going to be possible for the next week or two, for sure.
  3. ^
    Sheikh Hussein Bridge into the Golan Heights {{cite web}}: External link in |quote= (help
    )
  4. ISBN 9781409164753. with Ben
    very publicly out of the white suit ... now we just had to work out how to introduce a new Stig who looked just like the old one. ... Then someone suggested that since the upcoming Middle East special was planned to end in Jerusalem, what if we found a baby Jesus Stig in a lowly stable and claimed this was the birth of the new tame racing driver?
  5. ^
    Autoblog
    . Retrieved 26 October 2017. crossing westward over the border between Jordan and Israel in a dingy trio of roadsters ... accompanied by convoy of support vehicles for the production and camera crews
  6. private security and a medic on their recent 2000km ... drive through the Middle East, stopping over in Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Israel and the West Bank
    .
  7. Walla!
    (in Hebrew). 19 October 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2017. שלושת מנחי הסדרה הבריטית – ג'רמי קלארקסון, ג'יימס מאי וריצ'ארד האמונד, נצפו באחד ממעברי הגבול בין ירדן לישראל כשכל אחד מהם נוהג במכוניות רודסטר שעברה ימים יפים יותר
  8. ^ Hartman, Ben (22 October 2010). "BBC's 'Top Gear' car show races through Israel". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 24 October 2017. Mazda Miata driven by Clarkson that had a hookah affixed to its drivers' side door. ... Channel 2 reported that the Top Gear crew was seen filming in Nazareth, before tearing through the hills chased by paparazzi to Highway 6, where they high-tailed it south toward Jerusalem.
  9. ^ "Top Gear: Middle East Special". Top Gear. Series 16. Episode SP2. 26 December 2010.
  10. ^ Grant, Olly (21 December 2010). "Top Gear in Iraq: bullets, The Stig and 'a few wars'". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on December 23, 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2017. Iran refused them entry: the BBC is banned there
  11. ^ Burgess, Michael (23 December 2010). "James May Injured Filming Top Gear Stunt". Sky News. Retrieved 23 October 2017. Suffering a severe concussion, ... May said: 'I stood in the line of where the tow rope went taut. ... '
  12. Sydney Morning Herald
    . Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  13. ISBN 9781849901543
    . Retrieved 25 October 2017. The Middle East: ... path of the Three Wise Men across Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Jordan and Israel, ... to the finish line in Bethlehem. Except the Three Wise Men never had to deal with landmines, food poisoning and scary border controls.
  14. burger van
    , ... in the middle of nowhere. There was this one bloke ... And he said, "Oh, hello James. What are you doing here?"
  15. ^ Qassim, Lubna (21 October 2017). "The UK can still wield its 'soft' power status". Gulf News. Retrieved 24 October 2017. To cite two random examples of the UK's ability to project its culture for powerful diplomatic effect, in "Top Gear's" 2011 Middle East special, the three presenters discovered that not only did Syrians watched the show in their droves, but the presenters were extremely popular.
  16. ^
    ISBN 9781326293284
    . Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  17. ^
    ISBN 9781784180904. Retrieved 24 October 2017. they disguised one car as a Bedouin tent, tested out how to bullet-proof car doors and fitted Hammond's Mazda [sic] with a stereo that constantly played Genesis
  18. ^
    brush guards, shovels, and the aforementioned giant hookah
    .
  19. ^
    Africa Corps
    .
  20. ISBN 9781405910149. "the MX-5 ... is not improved by the addition of extra rear wheels or a 'Technicolour Dreamcoat
    ' paintjob...
  21. ^ Harrisson, Juliette (7 August 2013). "Top Gear Middle East Special: Roman Rallying" (blog). Retrieved 26 October 2017 – via Blogspot. Roman circuses were in the shape of flat versions of NASCAR tracks ... The music, ... is the Ben-Hur soundtrack for the introductory bit and the Gladiator soundtrack for the racing
  22. ^ Bailey, Richard (29 December 2010). "Top Gear not very PC?". Motorsport M8. Retrieved 1 November 2017. Clarkson was also critical in his narrative about Israel, referring to it (with no small amount of irony) as a peaceful country while simultaneously there was footage of the high wall it has built around the West Bank to segregate the Palestinians.
  23. ^ "Top Gear special sparks anger from viewers for Baby Stig". Metro. London. 29 December 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  24. ^ a b "Top Gear's back: from East Coast to the Middle East". Daily Telegraph. 21 December 2016. Archived from the original on December 23, 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2016. foreign extravaganzas as Christmas specials ... For the second programme, which will air on Boxing Day, the trio abandon Britain's wintry climes and head off to the Middle East ... Kurdistan, Turkey, Syria, Jordan and Israel ... one of the most entertaining specials yet.
  25. ^ Plunkett, John (30 December 2010). "Upstairs Downstairs wins its slot, but Downton Abbey did it better". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 October 2017. Top Gear, BBC2, 8pm, Boxing Day – ... in which Clarkson, Hammond and May followed the path of the three wise men, averaged 5.863 million viewers, a 21.5% share, with another 546,000 on BBC HD. It gave BBC2 a rare ratings victory over ITV1.
  26. Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Weekly top 10
    (Report). Retrieved 26 October 2017. [27 December 2010–2 January 2011] ... BBC HD ... w/e 2 Jan 2011 ... Top Gear (Mon 1848) ... [7 day data (000s)] 202; ... BBC2 ... w/e 2 Jan 2011 ... Top Gear: Middle East Special (Mon 1845) ... [7 day data (000s)] 6,647
  27. ^ Laughlin, Andrew (18 January 2011). "'Top Gear' drives record iPlayer December". Digital Spy. Retrieved 24 October 2017. BBC iPlayer enjoyed a record-breaking December, ... Top Gear continued to dominate the TV requests chart, with the 'USA Road Trip' special attracting 1.29m and the 'Middle East' Special pulling in 1.26m.
  28. ^ Knox, David (1 February 2011). "Top Gear: Middle East special". TV Night. Retrieved 24 October 2017. Nine begins new episodes of Top Gear next week beginning with the 'Middle East' special ... airs Tuesday, February 8, at 8.00pm
  29. ^ Knox, David (14 February 2011). Week 8. TV Tonight (Report). Retrieved 24 October 2017. Tuesday: ... [Rank] 12; [Description] Top Gear; [Station] Nine; [Total] 792,000; [Sydney] 233,000; [Melbourne] 285,000; [Brisbane] 131,000; [Adelaide] 70,000; [Perth] 74,000.
  30. ^ Pritchard, Tom (11 December 2016). "The Giz UK Gift Guide for Fans of Top Gear/The Grand Tour". Gizmodo. Retrieved 24 October 2017. 'Top Gear – The Great Adventures 1–4' ... in this box set, ... the special episodes ... and The Middle East. ... special
  31. ^ Knapman, Chris (4 January 2011). "Top Gear cars at the National Motor Museum". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 October 2017. the vehicles from the show's Three Wise Men Christmas Special, ... part of the World of Top Gear exhibition at Beaulieu.
  32. ^ Knapman, Chris (23 May 2011). "Top Gear cars on display at Beaulieu". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 October 2017. including the three roadsters from the 2010 Three Wise Men Christmas special
  33. ^ "Top Gear Live powers into London!" (blog). Motorious. 26 November 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2017. Top Gear Live is go go go at the ExCel London, ... a few treasured bits of Top Gear TV including the Christmas special convertibles,
  34. ^ Usher, Stephanie (15 November 2011). "Top Gear Live" (blog). Hope, Freedom, Love. Retrieved 24 October 2017. A big fave of mine was seeing the cars they used to go and see Baby Jesus, aka Baby Stig in the Christmas special last year. ... Jeremy's car used in the Christmas Top Gear Special 2010
  35. H0 scale and TT scale models:
    [dead link
    ]
  36. ^ Baroni, Oliver (25 March 2015). "Der einzige Clarkson-Artikel, den du brauchst: Das sind die 18 besten "Top Gear"-Momente" [The only Clarkson article you need: the best eighteen "Top Gear" moments]. Watson (in German). Retrieved 23 October 2017. 11. Das Weihnachts-Special: ... nach Bethlehem in Budget-Occasions-Sportwagen: Das beste Weihnachts-Special aller Zeiten.
  37. ^ Chillingsworth, Luke (2021-01-22). "Jeremy Clarkson admits Top Gear Middle East special was 'amazing' in Twitter revelation". Daily Express. Retrieved 2021-01-24. Jeremy quickly replied: "Botswana was great. Mongolia too. But the Middle East was probably the most amazing to watch." Released in 2010, Top Gear's Middle East Special saw the trio follow the journey of the Three Wise Men to Bethlehem.
  38. ^ a b Editorial Standards Committee (27 July 2011). "Appeals to the Trust and other editorial issues considered by the Editorial Standards Committee" (PDF). Editorial Standards Findings (June 2011 issued July 2011). BBC Trust: 48–51. Retrieved 24 October 2017. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  39. ^ a b Editorial Standards Committee (21 October 2011). "Appeals to the Trust and other editorial issues considered by the Editorial Standards Committee" (PDF). Editorial Standards Findings (July 2011 issued October 2011). BBC Trust: 31–34. Retrieved 24 October 2017. Top Gear: Middle East Special, BBC Two, 26 December 2010 ... The complainant appealed to the Editorial Standards Committee following the decision of the Head of Editorial Standards, BBC Trust, not to accept his complaint on appeal. ... The Committee was therefore satisfied that the decision not to proceed with the appeal was correct. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  40. ^ a b Editorial Standards Committee (22 December 2011). "Appeals to the Trust and other editorial issues considered by the Editorial Standards Committee" (PDF). Editorial Standards Findings (October and November 2011 issued December 2011). BBC Trust: 27–31. Retrieved 24 October 2017. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Top_Gear:_Middle_East_Special&oldid=1212557545"