Top Gear is back!

One of my favorite shows on television, BBC’s Top Gear makes its return tonight after an extended hiatus. The ninth season of the show was set to begin in the summer of 2006 but was delayed indefinetly after one of the hosts, Richard Hammond was badly injured in a horrific car accident at the wheel of a jet fueled dragster travelling at 288mph. Hammond…or “Hamster” as he’s known to fans of the show, suffered brain injuries and lacerations but made a miraculous recovery in less than three months.

For those of you who don’t know, Top Gear is a show about cars. Not just any show about cars but one of the funniest shows on television as the banter between Hammond, Jeremy Clarkson and James May on cars, politics and celebrities has more dry wit and sarcasm than any other reality series. This show is like church for petrolheads everywhere as the team test out some of the most interesting and exotic cars in the world. I had no idea what a Zonda or a Ascari or an Ariel Atom was prior to this show.

If you’re an enviromentalist, you’d best stay away from this show but if you’re a normal human being, you’ll love the program and it’s general focus on loud, aggressive, fuel burning, fast cars designed by axe murderers. Burning rubber takes priority over health and safety just like the way it should be.

I actually met James May with my friends on our Eurotrip over the summer at a supermarket near where he lives in London and if you’ve seen the show, he’s exactly as he is on the show.

Since Top Gear only airs on BBC Two, it is a bit difficult to watch the show on television here. You might catch it on BBC World on Fridays but the best way to watch the show in North America is at FinalGear.com.

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