[10x04] November 4th, 2007

[mathematica]

Originally Posted by swordznsorcery

The Beetle wasn't the best. Oliver was the best. Jezza only said all that to wind Hammond up.

No. IMO, Oliver was the best out of the three, just because it is most close to beetle's original idea: simple, light weight, inexpensive, easy to mentain...

[Polish]

I cant say I liked this special any more than the American special or the Polar special. Still a good episode and very funny, but I did not find it as entertaining or exciting as some of the other episodes this series like amphibious channel crossing. Still a great episode, but again, no where near as cool as the other specials.

[SVTWANNABE]

Good episode. Like others have posted, it was entertaining, but it doesn't stick out that much in my mind as the other stunts they have pulled in the past.

The one thing I did like was how "trusty" the Kadet was. A friend of mine used to have a Passport Optima (a.k.a. Pontiac LeMans or the Kadet E version), and boy that thing saw a lot (and was it ever clean).

[Prost264]

That was seriously the episode? Really?

It all just seemed a bit pointless.

[wooflepoof]

Originally Posted by Prost264

That was seriously the episode? Really?

It all just seemed a bit pointless.

I challenge you to find a relevant point to anythign they do on that show EVER.+

[InfernalVortex]

I thought it was fantastic. I laughed quite a lot.

Gotta love Oliver! That Lancia is a pretty cool looking car... almost makes me want one, and I'm in the 'States...

[Prost264]

Originally Posted by wooflepoof

I challenge you to find a relevant point to anythign they do on that show EVER.+

Car reviews tell me whether a car is good or not.

[LurkerPatrol]

Originally Posted by Jezzabelle

I think a lot of what was amusing about the USA special, was the micky taking, and the provocation of the locals. I really don't think it would work in Africa. This was a different type of special, as each one is. They stand alone & I can't compare them really, as I see them all as very different. The only common theme for me is TG3 and them getting from A to B.
I wish there had been more emphasis on African music, but that is the only thing I have found lacking after my first viewing.

I completely agree. I'm sorry to say but i was a tad upset when I was reading comparisons to the American special and your comments about how this African one was not as good. It's a totally different environment. It's more breathtaking and more awe-inspiring. The US special was all about having a "fun" time. It's hard to compare, but its easy to merge these specials together and eke out a final word about them:

The specials were wonderful, and TG should continue to make them in the future. There are so many brilliant places in the world that need to be looked at, driven through and enjoyed in their own ways.

Back to the African special: I really loved it, I want to watch it again later on (maybe tomorrow). The scenery was spectacular and had me in shivers at times. Though it may seem barren and hellish, that actually has an appeal. It's interesting, one would think that a place covered in foliage with a slowly flowing river next to it would be way more aesthetically pleasing and appealing than its sheer opposite. However they're both EQUALLY appealing in their own right.

I liked how Hamster made a connection with this car by naming it. It reminds me of a little kid holding onto a precious stuffed animal. Hamster was totally that kid in this episode, and you could especially see it when he tried to ford the river (or whatever that was). He started whining and almost looked like he was going to cry

Loved it, just absolutely loved it.

[Deanodriver]

I reckon it was a great episode. In many ways, I'd say it was better than the America one. In fact, watching this episode has made me think differently about the America episode.

I reckon all the cars were fantastic, and I want a Lancia Beta now. Gotta love 'Oliver' as well (that little 1.0L engine coped well, too). I would've loved it if they'd bought the cars back on a boat to the UK to put in the Top Gear studio, that would've been pretty cool.

Oh, one more thing, did anyone else notice that all three cars had South African plates on them (I think, probly wrong)?

[Posmo]

The standby beetle of horrors

[InfernalVortex]

Is there some connotation for beetles in Europe that Im unaware of? Or is it just that it's a ubiquitous, old, German econobox?

[Holiace]

IMO richard's Opel Kadett is the best, slow but f*cking amazingly good!
The Lancia Beta Coupe was the worst ^^

I got to say I love Hammonds face:

[swordznsorcery]

Originally Posted by InfernalVortex

Is there some connotation for beetles in Europe that Im unaware of? Or is it just that it's a ubiquitous, old, German econobox?

James said that he hates them because the design was stolen by the Nazis, and then the factory was run using Russian slave labour. And it was the same factory that built the V1 rocket, one of which landed in the place where the house he grew up in was built.

The other two just don't like them. Probably because they don't really like Volkswagen cars in general.

[niccce]

Actually, I quite liked it.

[Mike Bull]

A beautiful episode, really entertaining. Perhaps not as funny overall as the USA one, but a great piece of TV nonetheless.

[Blackflag_Rms13]

Did a monkey actually fall out of the tree that Jeremy hit when his throttle was stuck open?



It's got a banana too.

[champ2005]

Dunno why/how I spotted this, but it appears they shot the intro of this ep the same day they shot 10x03 (same audience member in both eps)



I always thought the people that get in to the TG special filmings would feel shortchanged, but that's obviously not the case .

[otispunkmeyer]

brilliant show

i loved it

and fuck me that man had a very large rifle....i wasnt expecting something with that much force!

dude with the comb over is gonna be ruined for life

picking hammonds tent instead of mays then getting trapped in there coz of hippos lol. and then playing naff tunes to hammond as he tries to fix oliver ... that was gold.

[mautzel]

That was great, I definitely have to watch it another couple of times. Sure, it's nothing like the other challenges, but then, Africa's nothing like Britain or the Arctic. The idea alone of going through Botswana in ordinary road cars not prepared to do anything better than some bad B-roads is frightening enough, only issue is that the reliability of the Lancia didn't do any good to my already existing prejudices against Italian cars.

[swordznsorcery]

Originally Posted by Blackflag_Rms13

Did a monkey actually fall out of the tree that Jeremy hit when his throttle was stuck open?

No, mate. Goggles.



Bugger knows what they were doing in the tree, though. Same as the car door earlier on, maybe!