Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		2.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Top Gear: The Complete Season 14 Blu-ray Movie Review

Enthusiasts and newcomers, start your engines...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown February 18, 2011

Those wily Brit broadcasters continue to amaze me. As if the BBC weren't already an institution unto itself, as if British Comedy hadn't already wormed its way into every corner of film and television, along comes a fast and funny series like Top Gear that says, "sorry America, you haven't seen everything yet." Not that Top Gear is new to anyone familiar with the TV landscape. From 1977 to 2001, the long-running car and motorsports programme was known to every UK auto-aficionado with a telly. Like the BBC, it too had become an institution unto itself. But with audiences growing weary of its well-established format, the series closed shop in 2001, made a variety of tweaks under the hood and relaunched with a wry vengeance. Top Gear's second incarnation -- still running strong after sixteen seasons -- was a different show entirely. Barbed, witty, inventive, captivating and altogether infectious (not to mention a wee bit offensive at times), it entertained seasoned gear-heads and casual car lovers alike. And the show's fourteenth season? Its first shot in high definition? I'm happy to report it doesn't disappoint.

What are dreams made of? Lamborghini Gallardos, Ferrari Callifornias and Aston Martin DBS Volantes.

No need to know every inch, turn and episode of the Top Gear circuit. Even if you've never watched a single minute of the show, you won't have trouble jumping into the series at any point, even at the fourteenth season marker. Cranky columnist Jeremy Clarkson, high-spirited journalist Richard Hammond and even-keeled Daily Telegraph writer James May are engaging hosts to be sure, and the topics they cover are as informative and diverse as they are interesting and unexpected. Season 14 starts in style as Clarkson climbs in a silver Aston Martin DBS Volante, James slides behind the wheel of a white Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Spyder and Hammond nestles into a red Ferrari California. Before you can say "international excursion," the trio trek to Romania, tour the countryside and decide which $300,000-plus vehicle is the champion. (Down to the cars' GPS systems, all of which are comically mediocre.) In the studio, the hosts go beyond Spyders and famed Romanian roads, test the Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG and BMW 760Li, argue about race regulations, and see how actor Eric Bana (Funny People, Star Trek) fares on a slick track in an otherwise average car.

Season 14 isn't all exotic European roadsters and upper-crust speedsters though. In Episode Two, the gents welcome award-winning actor Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon, The Damned United) to the Top Gear studios and put the V10 Audi R8 and Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 through their paces, but they also set out to design and build their own electric car, the fearsome Hammerhead Eagle Thrust. Topping out at 10mph, the shiny aluminum boxer is a fine vehicle... that doesn't make it very far before requiring a recharge... in the middle of a busy city street... to the chagrin of the series' bickering hosts. In Episode Three, Clarkson and crew turn their attention to failed car manufacturer Lancia, convert a caravan into an airborne blimp, take the Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2 Valentino Balboni out for a spin and invite presenter Christopher Evans to demonstrate his skills in their "reasonably priced racer," a track-ready Chevy Lacetti. Then it's off to the airport in Episode Four as Clarkson develops Airport Vehicle Racing (with hilarious results), filmmaker Guy Ritchie (Snatch, RocknRolla) gives in to the call of the Lacetti, and the BMW X5 M, Range Rover Overfinch 580 and Audi Q7 V12 are put to the test. The show's hosts even take time to address an ugly rumor circulating in the press.

From there, Clarkson, Hammond and May get their hands on the Noble M600, conduct experiments to determine the true popularity of cars, delve into the art world and offer a seat on their couch to McLaren Forumla One driver Jenson Button. But how will a professional racer fare in their reasonably priced hellcat? Only time and Episode Five will tell. Next up is the Top Gear Bolivia Special, an on-location jaunt across South America that finds the hosts driving from the rainforests of the Amazon to the mountains of Chile in a Suzuki SJ 40, a Toyota Land Cruiser and a Range Rover. Last but certainly not least, Episode Seven closes Season 14 on a high note. Clarkson and his cohorts argue about their series budget, review a prototype Lexus LFA, burn money dragging a BMW X6 across Europe and briefly look at the Vauxhall Insignia VXR. Want more? Before the credits roll, they announce the season's Top Gear Award winners, discuss new climate change regulations and see if blues musician Seasick Steve (Steven Gene Wold) can bare his soul in the Lacetti. In the end, the self-effacing Brits deliver the goods and make Season 14 a blast to watch.

Aside from its more formulaic variety show trappings, Top Gear's fourteenth season packs in enough surprises, coveted cars, charming guests, gut-busting bits and sharp humor for seventeen episodes, much less the seven it features. There aren't many lulls in the material, couch time is limited, interviews feel spontaneous, none of the episodes grow monotonous or redundant, and every week offers something you probably haven't seen before. Some of Clarkson, Hammond and May's banter comes across as a bit scripted (which makes sense since a lot of it is just that), but it never lasts long. Overshadowing the real stars of the show -- the unobtainable V10 beasties and lifelong dream-cars the trio strap themselves into -- takes a truly charismatic personality and Top Gear has three. Separately, the hosts would quickly wear out their welcome (especially considering the episodes in the Top Gear reboot are twice as long as their 1977-2001 predecessor). Together, there's just enough playful jokes and jabs, tongue-in-cheek in-fighting and ensemble chemistry to keep the series barreling along at top speed. Being new to Top Gear I wasn't sure what to expect. I certainly wasn't expecting to add so many previous seasons to my Netflix queue. Whether you could spot Clarkson in a crowd or wouldn't know the glum journalist if he backed into your Hyundai, Top Gear: The Complete Season 14 has something to offer car enthusiasts of all stripes.

Top Gear: The Complete Season 14 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

To be clear: there isn't anything particularly wrong with Top Gear's 1080i/AVC-encoded presentation. Gear-heads can expect to see whatever May and his cohorts have captured on camera, whether on set or on location. Nothing more, nothing less. The issues that do crop up -- aliasing, ringing, artifacting, shimmering and the like -- trace back to the various cameras used by the production. The series' fourteenth season was the first filmed primarily in high definition, but not every minute of every episode comes from an HD source. Car-cam shots, racetrack runs and nearly every sequence that takes place outside of the Top Gear studio is of a lower quality than everything that takes place under the bright lights of the show's home turf. But fans won't be disappointed. Colors are as accurate as they could be, skintones are relatively lifelike, contrast is pleasing, black levels are satisfying and detail, fine textures included, is fairly impressive (at least for a 1080i television presentation). And again, most every eyesore that appears is source-based. As far as I can tell, BBC Video's technical encode is a proficient one that laps its DVD counterpart and justifies the cost of admission.

Top Gear: The Complete Season 14 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Blu-ray edition of The Complete Season 14 only offers one audio option: a pedestrian 192kbps Dolby Digital 2.0 mix. A lossy stereo track is hardly ideal when it comes to a TV series that focuses on the fastest, fiercest cars on the planet, and the flat, tiresome experience featured here is serviceable at best. In-studio voices are clean and clear, but on-location conversations typically suffer at the hands of weather, air hiss and noise. Sound effects are often thin and tinny, music fidelity falls short, and the LFE channel and rear speakers are sorely missed. Yes, BBC Video's stereo track is a solid representation of the series' broadcast audio, but there simply isn't much difference between the Blu-ray and DVD edition mixes.

Top Gear: The Complete Season 14 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

In addition to the fourteenth season's six standard episodes, BBC Video's 3-disc Blu-ray release includes a pair of entertaining Top Gear specials -- season nine's "Polar Special" and season fourteen's "Bolivia Special" -- as well as an audio commentary, a selection of celebrity laps and a handful of short production featurettes.

• 2009 Bolivia Special with Optional Audio Commentary (HD, 76 minutes): Listed simply as "Episode Six" in Disc Two's episode selection menu, Top Gear's 2009 South American special documents James May, Jeremy Clarkson, and Richard Hammond's thousand-mile off-road vehicle trek from Bolivia to Chile. The special also includes an amusing, fairly informative audio commentary with May, executive producer Andrew Wilman, cameraman Toby Wilkinson, sound maestro Russel Edwards and script editor Richard Porter.
• 2007 Polar Special (HD, 62 minutes): This full-length 2007 television special follows the Top Gear gents to the Arctic as they attempt to drive a Toyota Hilux to the magnetic North Pole.
• Celebrity Laps (SD, 14 minutes): Eric Bana, Michael Sheen, Christopher Evans, Guy Ritchie, Jenson Button and Seasick Steve take a shot at scoring top honors on the Top Gear track.
• Season 14 Featurettes (SD, 7 minutes): A series of five mini-featurettes rounds out the package. Segments include "Behind the Scenes," "Electric Wind Tunnel," "James' Jumpers," "James on Caravans" and "Lancia Breakdown."

Top Gear: The Complete Season 14 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Top Gear has a new fan. Having never seen the series before this week, I wasn't sure what to expect. All I know is that I didn't expect to enjoy the show, its wry humor, quick-witted hosts, high-speed hot topics, up-for-anything special guests or entertaining episodes nearly as much as I did. Granted, the Blu-ray release of Season 14 isn't exactly extraordinary -- especially when it comes to its Dolby Digital stereo track -- but for $20, the series (and its decent video presentation) deserves some consideration. Take it for a spin and see how it handles.