[16x00] December 26th, 2010 [Middle East Special]

[GreenBullet]

I feel like I'm a bit late to the party... But figured I'd add my few cents.

I gave it 10/10. This isn't based on some scientific/rigorous benchmark, I simply enjoyed the episode for what it was. I don't think it's fair to compare it against say, Bolivia (my personal favourite) simply due to the different nature of the locations. The entire episode DID have a carefully pre-planned atmosphere, and would you expect it any other way? I certainly wouldn't venture into that area without a massive prep, and whether the presenters WERE genuinely left out of the loop as far as the route (who knows), you can't complain that it was all "scripted". To pull this off, it had to be rigidly planned, which certainly put a damper on some improvisation and general tomfoolery. (Btw, if you watch the Iraq segments more carefully, you'll notice that they're followed by armed military escort at all times).

Definitely a more somber show, I especially liked the metaphorical amusement park scenes. James' accident was also a pretty moving moment.

I thought it was a great special, no complaints here.

 

[Burak]

I don't like it because of political things they said about my country

 

[xxax]

Rather boring to be honest. I still think it wasn't the best trip to plan and it was more done for shock value. In some shots you see they have an entire column of armed guards so they couldn't just fool around as usual. Actually apart from the Syrian dessert everything felt a bit rushed. Like that everywhere they came, they just wanted to get the hell out as fast as possible. Jeremy, Richard and May didn't look relaxed as usual, but more anxious to get this over with... I dunno. Some funny moments but nothing spectacular.

 

[narf]

I don't like it because of political things they said about my country

Are the statements false?

 

[NoNeedForAChestWig]

I don't like it because of political things they said about my country

They say plenty about Britain, almost every episode (how rubbish it is, how we don't build things any more, and so on). We laugh at them. And at the government.

Because it's all true.

Where you're born is just an accident. Being proud of it is like being proud of having a penis (or otherwise, if you are a woman... but I don't think they actually exist).

 

[he-he]

... Being proud of it is like being proud of having a penis (or otherwise, if you are a woman... but I don't think they actually exist).

What - women? Or penises?

 

[Burak]

How can you call terrorism as a war, and say there isn't war in Iraq but there is in Turkey. Does any one watches the news. Don't you see the explosions and ambushes in Iraq regularly? How many attacks had happened in a year in Iraq? How they can say Turkey is worse than Iraq? Wearing a flat jacket in civilian roads or anywhere is not funny.

 

[Aces High]

I don't like it because of political things they said about my country

Are you sure this tiny misapprehension is the reason you give this episode the lowest score? Talking something bad about one region of your country (and let's face it, there's quite a lot to note) doesn't cover the rest of Turkey.

 

[iam-nobody]

I don't like it because of political things they said about my country

Have you seen this show before? They say something bad about every country.

 

[the Interceptor]

How can you call terrorism as a war, and say there isn't war in Iraq but there is in Turkey. Does any one watches the news. Don't you see the explosions and ambushes in Iraq regularly? How many attacks had happened in a year in Iraq? How they can say Turkey is worse than Iraq? Wearing a flat jacket in civilian roads or anywhere is not funny.

They didn't say that. What they said was that they had "escaped from a region where there is no war to a region where there is". What they meant with that was that the northeastern part of Iraq they came out of was actually quite calm, while the southeast of Turkey they entered is a military-controlled safety zone (according to Wikipedia) which has been struck by several armed conflicts between the PKK and the Turkish military within the last years.

 

[reghat]

9/10 because of some really good lines and the beautiful scenery.

 

[kurthest]

How can you call terrorism as a war, and say there isn't war in Iraq but there is in Turkey. Does any one watches the news. Don't you see the explosions and ambushes in Iraq regularly? How many attacks had happened in a year in Iraq? How they can say Turkey is worse than Iraq? Wearing a flat jacket in civilian roads or anywhere is not funny.

Do you think Top Gear is a documentary?

 

[cookiebun]

Have you seen this show before? They say something bad about every country.

That's what I like about TG: They slam nearly every one, given half the chance.

 

[MattD1zzl3]

How can you call terrorism as a war

Arent the kurds trying to accomplish something tangible that would end the fighting (state formation), and therefor it would be incorrect to call it terrorism (which is generally more political and is designed for publicity and shock value)?

 

[controlspecimen]

Absolutely beautiful scenery. Some hilarious quips from the boys, and they seemed to be genuinely having a good time. Power sliding through Leviticus was great. Much much better than the American special, which was just another TG episode by their standards. I certainly appreciated Clarkson at least trying to take the trip somewhat seriously, which has been lacking in TG of late.

 

[DubyaStep]

does anyone else think this is turning into a political discussion thread?

anyways, like was said before, they say something bad about EVERY country. the rip on the USA all the time by calling us all fat. i live in florida and when they came here all you saw was the crappy areas but i wasnt offended. do you think everyone in alabama is going to chase you in a pickup truck? no. take it for what it is, its a fat guy and his two friends (plus crew) stating what they think/see. you cant let that bother you because if you do then nothing will ever be fun. im not saying they are lying or telling the truth but i have been to that area a few times and its not exactly Disney World.

on a side note, i have been seeing alot of shit written about them wearing the womens outfits and "how dare they" or "these guys crossed the line" ect. if anyone on here was offended by that then i wanna ask you an honest question and i mean no offence by this but, what would be the difference if they were trying to sneak through something like Rome without being noticed so they dressed like Nun's, do you think that they would be mad...wait, they would, bad example . ummm,

the bottom line is, its life. not everyone will agree and if you watch your favorite show and then get offended by a few "jokes" then you really are watching for the wrong reasons. most of the people on this forum know these guys mean no harm and they are just trying to have fun and entertain us. if you want to continue to enjoy the show the people just need to remember that. have fun and be open minded.

 

[narf]

does anyone else think this is turning into a political discussion thread?

More like the who have TG offended this time thread - a Turkish dude.

 

[Mike Nassour]

It's probably more than that.....not that it's a problem!

 

[warren]

Where you're born is just an accident. Being proud of it is like being proud of having a penis

Or as George Carlin put it, "Being Irish isn't a skill, it's a fucking genetic accident! You wouldn't be proud to be 5'11. You wouldn't be proud to have a pre-disposition for colon cancer."

 

[Mercury]

I friggin loved it! First, watching them drive on the roads of the Golan Heights and loving them gave me a sigh of relief cause I love those roads to death and I was scared they'll be all like "oh this is nice, it's no Stelvio tho" so that's a bit of a confidence boost to my driving

Second, the whole thing felt friggin awesome, starting with them in the airplane taking back off after the landing was (intentionally) aborted it was bloody brilliant, all I could think was "I WANT TO DO THAT NOW!!!!" through pretty much every part of it, to the end in Beth Lehem and the baby Stig. it was an epic episode.

I also love how far they stayed from getting all political about it. It's not easy in this part of the world but there you have it. 3 middle aged blokes pulled it off.

BTW, they were hunted down in unbelievable ways when they were here. I'm quite surprised they managed to stay hidden most of the time here (when they crossed the border it was on the cover of the biggest news paper here). They were eventually caught in Nazareth which is why I suspect there's no footage from that area, they were just being leached on 24/7. Somehow though they managed to escape again around Jerusalem and made their way to Beth Lehem in relative peace. then when they came back for the air port the media was all over them again. Hop over to the spoilers section if you wanna see some videos and such.