death to fifth gear

Fifth Gear is decent, but if one host isn’t too busy chuckling all the time, the other is putting me to sleep with his monotone voice.

I watch both shows here in the States and though I appreciate them both, I find that Fifth Gear comes out on top. For simple entertainment and oft than not sophomoric humor Top Gear wins hands down. However, with that humor comes the often grating nature of Jeremy Clarkeson, who despite being a dyed in the wool long time car nut and car journalist makes watching Top Gear painful when he is in a bad mood or doesn’t want to go along with the producers instructions. Top Gear is entertaining but to be more exact, it is entertaining for those who know little about cars and whose interest lies mainly in the spectacle of the hijinx.

It was misstated in the review that only Tiff Needel and Vicky Butler Henderson having racing credentials. To clear this up I will go through in order. More information regarding this can be found on Wikipedia and on the Fifth Gear website. Tiff Needel started in motor racing working his way all the way to Formula 1 in 1979 in which he drove two races. Vicky comes from a family of racing drivers going back two generations which takes you to the very beginning of motor racing. Vicky started racing at the age of 12 and at some point moved into instruction and then into journalism. Jason Plato, Tiff’s younger mirror, is currently a racing driver in the BTCC championship, which he entered in 1997. He won the championship in 2001 and is poised to win it again this year.

Since the removal of Tom Lovejoy, Fifth Gear has improved markedly. The addition of Johnny Smith means that there are twice as many excellent “normal” car reviewers available to Fifth Gear. It shows too. Tom Ford and Johnny Smith manage to make even the most mundane machines interesting but without pulling any punches.

The irony of the situation is that this rivalry is the product of Channel Five closing down the earlier Top Gear program that had combined mainstays of Tiff, Clarkeson, and VBH. Overall, this rivalry is for all our benefit. Those who feed on primarily thrill and base humor get to enjoy Top Gear. Those who actually enjoy driving and the technical side of cars (or are just a little more mature) can take both at the right time. Another benefit of this matter is that those who really enjoy cars have an opportunity to see more of them reviewed. Though the major headlines are covered on both shows, the difference in the more mundane releases allows those who don’t necessarily have the time to keep up on all the industry news, a glimpse at more than the super cars.