Top Gear (series 15)

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Top Gear
Series 15
Promotional poster
Starring
No. of episodes6
Release
Original networkBBC Two
Original release27 June (2010-06-27) –
1 August 2010 (2010-08-01)
Series chronology
← Previous
Series 14
Next →
Series 16
List of episodes

Series 15 of

Kia Cee'd as the Reasonably Priced Car
.

This series' highlights included the creation of home-made

motorhomes, the driving of a modified Toyota Hilux up to the active Eyjafjallajökull volcano during one of its eruptions, the testing of budget cars to see if they are suitable for track days, and the production of a tribute to the late Ayrton Senna
. Two compilation episodes featuring the best moments from the fifteenth series, titled "Best of Top Gear", were aired on 8 and 15 August 2010.

Episodes

No.
overall
No. in
series
ReviewsFeatures/challengesGuest(s)Original air dateUK viewers
(millions) [3]
1201Bentley Continental SupersportsToyota Hilux Invincible up an Icelandic volcano • Farewell to the former reasonably priced car, the Chevrolet Lacetti • A history of the Reliant 3-wheeler: (Reliant Robin)Nick RobinsonAl MurrayPeter JonesPeta 23 from EssexJohnny VaughanBill BaileyLouie SpenceAmy Williams27 June 2010 (2010-06-27)5.60
Top Gear is back and the presenters are trying to be sensible. Of course, that's not the case when Clarkson goes to the North to try to drive a
Kia Cee'd
.
1212
Porsche Boxster Spyder
Find a £5,000 everyday second-hand sports saloon for track days: (Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 CosworthBMW M3Ford Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth)Alastair Campbell4 July 2010 (2010-07-04)6.60[nb 1]

The trio head to Germany to see which is the best second-hand four-door saloon for track days on a budget of £5,000 – May chooses the

Porsche Boxster Spyder on the track, while former Director of Communications under Tony Blair, Alastair Campbell
, is the latest star in the Kia Cee'd.

Note: Due to time constraints, a segment of film for the episode's main feature was cut but made available online for viewing.
1223Chevrolet Camaro SSMercedes-Benz E63 AMGFind the greatest four-door supercar: (Maserati Quattroporte GTSAston Martin RapidePorsche Panamera Turbo)Rupert GrintRubens Barrichello11 July 2010 (2010-07-11)4.58[nb 2]

The boys attempt to see what is the best new four-door supercar – the rather good-looking Maserati Quattroporte GTS despite it being a little fiddly and complicated, the beautiful Aston Martin Rapide despite it being too expensive and the rather ugly Porsche Panamera Turbo. Starting in London, the presenters test out the cars, before stopping at a business park and letting the Stig see how fast they are on an improvised course. To fully decide which is best, the trio give them the ultimate test by chauffeuring members of a wedding party to the church and then to the reception, although the boys get a little distracted. Elsewhere, Hammond tests out two new muscles, the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG and the fifth-generation Chevrolet Camaro, while British actor, Rupert Grint, is the latest star in the new reasonably priced car.

Note: The
2010 World Cup
final took place on BBC 1 and ITV at the same time as this episode of Top Gear was broadcast, hence the noticeable drop in viewing figures.
1234
Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet
Building motorhomes: (Lotus ExcelLand Rover 110Citroën CX)Andy García • Lauren McAvoy18 July 2010 (2010-07-18)7.05[nb 3]
The presenters make their
Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet and puts them through an unusual test, while Hollywood actor Andy García
sees if he can set a fast lap in the Kia.
1245Volkswagen TouaregBugatti Veyron Super SportVolkswagen Touareg vs Swedish snowmobilers • Reach 258mph (415 km/h) in the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport • Commemorating racing driver Ayrton Senna, Lewis Hamilton drives Senna's 1988 F1 racing car.Tom CruiseCameron Diaz25 July 2010 (2010-07-25)7.48[nb 4]

Hammond heads to Riksgränsen to try out the new Volkswagen Touareg, before using a customised one to race against two snowmobile racers. Meanwhile, May returns to the Ehra-Lessien test track with the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, to see if it can reclaim the crown of the "Fastest Production Car in the World", while actors Cameron Diaz and Tom Cruise see who was faster in the Kia when they did a lap of the Test Track. Finally, Clarkson pays tribute to the late Ayrton Senna,[4] finding out from the people who knew him best – Mika Häkkinen, Lewis Hamilton, Jarno Trulli, Martin Brundle, Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa, Rubens Barrichello, David Coulthard, Mark Webber, Nigel Mansell, and Michael Schumacher – what he was like on and off the track, before Lewis Hamilton has a go at driving Senna's F1 car.

Note: For licensing reasons, all re-runs of the episode do not feature the 'Ayrton Senna Tribute' film, but instead they go straight to the closing credits following the 'Star in a Reasonably Priced Car' segment.
1256
TVR S2 • Lotus ElanJensen-Healey)
Jeff Goldblum1 August 2010 (2010-08-01)6.19[nb 5]
Clarkson, Hammond and May feel that classic British sports cars are much better than European Hot Hatchbacks, so the producers task them with proving this correct by each buying one and testing them in a series of challenges – Clarkson seeks to prove his
Ferrari 458 Italia on the track, while Hollywood actor, Jeff Goldblum
, is on the track to drive fast in the Kia Cee'd.

Best-of episodes

Total No. Title Feature Original air date UK viewers
(million)[3]
S22CE–1"The Best of Top Gear: 2010 No.1"Best Moments from Series 15 – Part 18 August 2010 (2010-08-08)3.56
A look back at some of the best moments from Series 15, including the race between a Volkswagen Touareg and some Snowmobilers, and Clarkson's drive to Rotherham in a Reliant Robin.
S23CE–2"The Best of Top Gear: 2010 No.2"Best Moments from Series 15 – Part 215 August 2010 (2010-08-15)2.55
A second look back at the best moments from Series 15, including the search for the best four-door saloon, and May's attempt to drive close to an erupting volcano in Iceland.

Criticism and controversy

The fifteenth series faced criticism after the broadcast of the fifth episode, when Clarkson joked during a "News" segment that he had been in cab the other day and truly seen a woman wearing a burka tripping up on a pavement, upon which he could see that under it she was wearing a "red g-string and stockings". Following the broadcast of the episode, the BBC received a number of complaints regarding the joke,

Mediawatch spokesperson said that Clarkson "should learn to keep quiet".[7]

However, in an article written for The Week, Antonia Bland defended the presenter's joke, saying that Clarkson had done nothing wrong and that Muslim women who wore a burka had the right to "choose to wear gorgeous lingerie in private", adding that the joke proved a good example of the dangers faced by male drivers trying to concentrate on the road during Summer.[8]

Notes

The viewing figures shown in the Episode Table above (with the exception of the first episode), are a combination of the figures from the BBC Two broadcast and the BBC HD broadcast.

  1. ^ 6.00 million on BBC Two, 602,000 on BBC HD.
  2. ^ 4.03 million on BBC Two, 549,000 on BBC HD.
  3. ^ 6.47 million on BBC Two, 575,000 on BBC HD.
  4. ^ 6.65 million on BBC Two, 827,000 on BBC HD.
  5. ^ 5.81 million on BBC Two, 379,000 on BBC HD.

References

  1. ^ "Top Gear – Season 15 trailer". AUSmotive.com. 22 June 2010.
  2. ^ "TopGear motorhomes: official pics". TopGear.com. 21 May 2010.
  3. ^
    Broadcasters' Audience Research Board
    .
  4. ^ "Ayrton Senna's ten defining moments - BBC Top Gear". Archived from the original on 7 November 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  5. ^ "BBC receives Top Gear complaints after Jeremy Clarkson's G-string under burka joke". Metro. 27 July 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  6. ^ Leach, Ben (28 July 2010). "Jeremy Clarkson joins burka debate". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  7. ^ Love, Ryan (27 July 2010). "Clarkson 'burka joke sparks complaints'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  8. ^ Bland, Antonio (30 July 2010). "Clarkson was right about burkas and red G-strings". The Week. Retrieved 29 December 2014.

External links