[14x06] December 27th, 2009 [South America Special]

[14x06] December 27th, 2009 [South America Special]

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Absolutely superb...have to admit this is probably the best challenges and some of the best television I've seen this year
 
I didn't think there was any way TG could match the Polar Special, but this is only the second TG I've put into my permanent "don't ever delete" directory. Watching Jeremy make that pass made my ever-livin' toes sweat. Holy hell.

The first solid 10 for some time, in my opinion.
 
WOW WOWZERS! 10/10, it had me on the edge of my seat:shock: Good job Topgear :cheers:
 
Best episode I've ever seen, bloody fantastic
 
6/10. Would've scored higher if it wasn't supposed to be "epic", but it is getting judged on the scale of Vietnam, polar special, winter olympics, etc. Also would've scored higher if they threw away the "single sheet of A4" that acted as the script. There was too much that was predictable. They aren't even trying anymore.
 
Just watched this episode again with my sister. She loved it but noticed that they never said how much the cars cost unlike in the other specials. Of course it's not important but it is kind of interesting to see the cost of cars in different countries. I was quite shocked by the cost of cars in vietnam for example.

Also that they had washed off the anti-drug messages on the cars shortly afterwards without mentioning why. I can only assume they were given some advice that the messages may not be appreciated by the locals.
 
really liked the episode.
really enjoyed the fact that they were so obviously out of their comfort zone.
my wife liked it too, so it must have been good.
a 9.
 
Wow. The look on Jeremy's Face when he knew that pushing forward was a big idea. Best Episode yet!
 
Just watching the daily Dakar Rally highlights. Amazing pics of the vehicles driving down the same hill toward the ocean.
 
I have no idea what this book will be all about, but it does have the words Top Gear and Bolivia in it, so I'd thought I'd better post it. :D
 
This is late, but...

I hope for the 2010 Macquarie Dictionary they've appended the definition of the word 'epic' to include "Top Gear Special Challenges".

People may bitch and moan about the wavering/falling quality of the standard shows, but the boys' track record of striking automotive comedy gold when they go OS with the budget and time remains thoroughly intact.

The show was an absolute ripper. The scenery, the cinematography, the one-liners from James (!). Hugely funny stuff. Wouldn't it be wonderful if every TG ep could be like this?

Instead of talking pointlessly about what was fake and what wasn't, I thought I'd just make the following observations.

1. The show was fantastic, but it didn't make me feel the same was as the Botswanna, Polar and Vietnam specials. That's not to say it sucked, but it means we're talking 12 out of 10 rather than 14 or 15 out of 10. I watched the other ones again recently and there is just something about them that pips the South Americian special. The African special was the first and unprecedented, so the sense of epicness was unfathomable. It also felt very 'complete' and nicely paced, as did the Polar special, which was also just bone-crazy in its premise. The Vietnam special holds something dear to me for some reason, probably because I was in the country when it screened, several of the places I'd been to myself and I guess I just love the place.

I'd call it on par with the US special... some incredibly crazy and amazing bits but ever so slightly let down by being rushed or oddly paced in spots. Things like James crashing into a village well being passed over in 2 seconds - surely there was a funny story there? Was there so much material that nuggets were tossed to fit it into 75 mins? One can only hope they do an extended DVD release.

2. Current so-called issues with quality and consistency in the last couple of seasons appear to be mostly centred on time and money (which, in TV land, are the same thing). Give the guys a shedload of cash, a month in the jungle and 4 months in the edit suite and they produce the goods no worries. Give them a wet British road and a 3 person camera crew for the afternoon.... and chances are we've seen it all before.

3. Where Clarkson and Co go now for the next challenge will be interesting. The 3rd Law of TV Physics states that epicness is directly proportional to time, which is a fancy arsed, bullshit way of saying each Special should outdo the last... whether or not that's happened previously is open to debate, but one has to think they're quickly running out of epic places to circumnavigate. Options I can think of include:

1. The outback in Australia (harsh but no more so than Africa, plus the Greenie issue down here is a concern).
2. Trans-Siberia
3. Antarctica (would be a bit too much like the Arctic Polar Special, albeit probably harder ie. all overland no frozen seas)
4. Homemade amphibious vehicles island hopping across the Pacific
5. Drive up Mt Everest (yeah, OK, not gonna happe...)
6. Around the world in 80 days/cars, aka the now discounted movie rumour.

I guess it is better to be a victim of our own success than a victim of being resoundingly crap. :)
 
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loved it :D

was a bit miffed at how annoyed both Richard and James were at Jeremy for driving off considering they did the exact same thing to him in the Vietnam one so I was glad Jezza got his own back this time, lol
 
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