Top Gear series 14
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| Top Gear | |
|---|---|
| Series 14 | |
 Promotional poster | |
| Starring | |
| No. of episodes | 7 |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC Two BBC HD |
| Original release | 15 November 2009 – 3 January 2010 |
| Series chronology | |
Series 14 of Top Gear: Bolivia Special, focused on a road trip with off-road vehicles.
A series of compilation episodes featuring the best moments of the thirteenth and fourteenth series, titled "Best of Top Gear", was aired during 2010 between 10 January to 7 February. The fourteenth series faced criticism for its feature film in the first episode, regarding comments considered unacceptable to Romanians.
Episodes
eosksi slovensko| No. overall | No. in series | Reviews | Features/challenges | Guest(s) | Original air date | UK viewers (millions) Aston Martin DBS Volante • Ferrari California • Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Spyder • Dacia Sandero) Eric Bana | 15 November 2009 | 6.70[nb 1] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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The trio have had a disagreement about which is the best GT Car and so have headed for Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG to see which is best for some bankers with money, while Australian actor Eric Bana is the latest star in the Lacetti. | |||||||||
| 114 | 2 | Audi R8 V10 • Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 | Build an electric car better than a G-Wiz | Michael Sheen | 22 November 2009 | 6.48[nb 2] | |||
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None of the presenters like feel that the MIRA Proving Ground and try pass the EU-required tests needed to make a car road legal (with a little cheating) before giving it to Autocar magazine for an independent test. Meanwhile, Clarkson reviews the brilliant and boring V10-engined Audi R8, and the fun-to-drive but terrible Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, while Welsh actor Michael Sheen flies in from Los Angeles to do a lap in the reasonably priced car. | |||||||||
| 115 | 3 | caravan with a Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2 Valentino Balboni • Why Lancia has made greatest number of great cars | Chris Evans | 29 November 2009 | 6.51[nb 3] | ||||
| Top Gear always hates caravans and tries to destroy them as fast as they are made, so May proposes an ingenious solution to rid them from Britain's roads once and for all - turning them into airships. As he takes his proposed creation on a trip through the skies, Hammond heads off to the caravan site he is heading for, with a much better car to have on a caravanning holiday - the new Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2 Valentino Balboni. Elsewhere, Hammond and Clarkson have a look at some of the great cars made by the former car company Lancia before Clarkson tries out the Hawk HF3000, a continuation car of the Lancia Stratos, and radio DJ and presenter, Chris Evans, discusses his car history and his lap in the Lacetti. | |||||||||
| 116 | 4 | Off Roaders: (BMW X5 M • Audi Q7 V12 TDI • Range Rover (2010MY)) • Renault Twingo 133 | Airport vehicle motorsport | Guy Ritchie • Ross Kemp | 6 December 2009 | 6.29[nb 4] | |||
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Clarkson is testing out the Audi Q7 V12 TDI, the BMW X5 M and a new Range Rover (2010MY) to find which he loves best, before dealing with another letter demanding another "thorough" road test by heading to Belfast and seeing how good the Renaultsport Twingo 133 is. Meanwhile, Hammond is at "Heathrow" to solve the problems caused by slow airport staff, to see if motorsport and a group of touring drivers can find out whether a catering truck, the mobile stairs, an articulated shuttle bus, a baggage train, an aircraft tug or an airport fire truck will become the basis for all airport vehicles in future, while filmmaker Guy Ritchie is on the test track as the latest star to get around it in the Lacetti. Note: The 'Airport Motorsport' film was originally intended for Series 13, but was postponed to this episode for unknown reasons. | |||||||||
| 117 | 5 | Noble M600 | Make an automotive art gallery to prove cars are more popular than traditional art | Jenson Button • David Coulthard • Rupert Maas | 20 December 2009 | 6.90[nb 5] | |||
| The presenters take over the MIMA gallery in Middlesbrough for an exhibition of car-themed artwork, to prove they are art. Alongside picking several pieces, each attempts to make their own piece of art in different ways, and their own BMW "art car", before working hard to ensure everyone they can will attend their exhibition in order to achieve a target of 30,000 visitors. Elsewhere, Clarkson reviews the very fast Noble M600 on the track, and Jenson Button returns for another go in the Liana to see if he can beat his previous time. | |||||||||
| 118 | 6 | N/A – Bolivia Special: (Range Rover • Toyota Land Cruiser • Suzuki Samurai) | None | 27 December 2009 | 7.45[nb 6] | ||||
| In an attempt to see which is the best 4x4 off-road vehicle in the world, the presenters take themselves on a journey across 1,000 miles (1,600 km), from the rainforests of Bolivia to the Pacific coast of Chile, with each buying a second-hand 4x4 off-roader from the Bolivian classifieds, within a budget of £3,500 - Clarkson thinks it is the Range Rover he bought that has the engine he did not expect it had, May feels the Suzuki Samurai he purchased is the one despite being in red and not blue, and Hammond believes it is the Toyota Land Cruiser he found despite the amateur attempt by someone to make it a convertible. On their journey, the trio face deadly insects and tough rainforest undergrowth, make a tricky crossing over a gully and a river, the most dangerous road in the world, the El Camino de la Muerte (Death Road), climb up into freezing, thin altitudes, and make a descent down a steep sand dune towards their final destination. | |||||||||
| 119 | 7 | Lexus LFA • BMW X6 • Vauxhall Insignia VXR | 'Low-budget' worldwide review of the BMW X6 • May and Margaret Calvert reflect on the evolution of UK road signs • Top Gear Awards 2009 | Seasick Steve | 3 January 2010 | 6.52[nb 7] | |||
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The presenters are faced with a serious problem - they were budgeted for fourteen episodes, but have spent too much on the first thirteen, and thus have to be careful with how much they spend for this episode. However, Hammond wastes quite a bit with animated graphics as he takes a drive in the £340,000 Vauxhall Insignia VXR and meets with road sign designer Margaret Calvert. Elsewhere, the 2009 Top Gear Awards are announced, and American musician, Seasick Steve , becomes the last star to take on the Lacetti. | |||||||||
Best-of episodes
| Total | No. | Title | Feature | Original air date | UK viewers (million)[1] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S18 | CE–1 | "The Best of Top Gear: 2009 No.1" | Best Moments from Series 13-14 - Part 1 | 10 January 2010 | 3.12 | |
| A look back at some of the best moments from Series 13 and 14, including the race between the Bugatti Veyron and the Mclaren F1, and the trio's 1940s race between the car, bike and train. | ||||||
| S19 | CE–2 | "The Best of Top Gear: 2009 No.2" | Best Moments from Series 13-14 - Part 2 | 24 January 2010 | 2.37 | |
| A second look back at some of the best moments from Series 13 and 14, including the presenters GT road trip across Romania. | ||||||
| S20 | CE–3 | "The Best of Top Gear: 2009 No.3" | Best Moments from Series 13-14 - Part 3 | 31 January 2010 | 2.08 | |
| A third look back at some of the best moments from Series 13 and 14, including a reminder of some of the great cars that Lancia made. | ||||||
| S21 | CE–4 | "The Best of Top Gear: 2009 No.4" | Best Moments from Series 13-14 - Part 4 | 7 February 2010 | 2.25 | |
| A fourth look back at some of the bets moments from Series 13 and 14, including the presenters' efforts to make a better electric car than the G-Wiz. | ||||||
Criticism
Several Romanian newspapers criticised the comments made by Jeremy Clarkson in the fourteenth series' first episode, designed as a reference to the 2006
gypsy land".[3]
Further complaints were also made in regards to a scene in which Clarkson donned a
"We are sick of being mis-represented as Gypsies, and thanks to Top Gear, have been publicly insulted."
Notes
The viewing figures shown in the Episode Table above, are a combination of the figures from the BBC Two broadcast and the BBC HD broadcast.
- ^ 6.41 million on BBC Two, 286,000 on BBC HD
- ^ 6.19 million on BBC Two, 285,000 on BBC HD
- ^ 6.10 million on BBC Two, 412,000 on BBC HD
- ^ 6.09 million on BBC Two, 196,000 on BBC HD
- ^ 6.35 million on BBC Two, 550,000 on BBC HD
- ^ 7.07 million on BBC Two, 378,000 on BBC HD
- ^ 6.05 million on BBC Two, 472,000 on BBC HD
References
- ^ Broadcasters' Audience Research Board.
- ^ NIŢU, Marius (17 November 2009). "Top Gear about Romania: "Borat's Country" with Russian Gypsies and Playboys". Gandul (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 12 December 2009.
- ^ "Top Gear praises road in gypsy country - Panorama News - Romanian Times Online News - English Newspaper". Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2010.
- ^ "Romanian Ambassador in London Asks Top Gear to Re-edit Episode Shot in Romania". MediaFax. 22 November 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- ^ Arthur, Charles (15 April 2010). "Daily Telegraph website hacked". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
- ^ James, Martin (16 April 2010). "Hackers deface Telegraph sites over 'gypsies' slight". ITPro.