Top Gear – Seasons 11 – 13 (BBC DVD Sets) + Seasons 14 & 15 (BBC Blu-ray Sets/Automobiles/Sports Cars)
Picture:
C+/B- Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Episodes: B-
The U.K. version of
Top Gear continues to be the best
all-around TV series on automobiles and has even hit a stride that no other
show like it has. We first covered the
show when the BBC decided to issue Season
Ten on DVD:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/8537/Top+Gear+10+%E2%80%93+The+Co
Since
that review, three more solid DVD season volumes have arrived, plus two
additional season volumes on Blu-ray (which we will cover here) and more
DVDs. Another U.S. edition has launched,
though it is not about sports cars as much as its U.K. counterpart, which is
actually the second version of the series and just as successful as the first
at this point.
Season Eleven highlights include taking on the
German version of the show, trying out the Bentley Booklands, Ferrari 430
Scuderia, Mercedes Benz AMG Black, Alfa Romeo 8C Competzione, some cheaper
Alfas and the Gumpert Apollo. Season Twelve offers the Ferrari
Daytona, Pagani Zonda F Roadster, Bugatti Veyron, Porsche 911 G2, Lamborghini
Gallardo LP560-4, an American Muscle Cars segment and their Vietnam Special
(extras are included on that (a commentary), stills. Deleted Scenes and more of
the Cool Wall & Awards segments). Season Thirteen adds the Lotus Evora,
Ferrari FFX, Lamborghini Murciélago LP670-4 SP, McLaren F1 taking on the
Bugatti Veyron, Mercedes Benz SL65 AMG Black, Jaguar FXR, BMW Z4, Aston Martin
V12 Vantage and a hilarious Classic Car Challenge. A Stig POV (their mysterious stunt test
driver), Spitfire plane segment, Murciélago speed test and some extended pieces
are included in extras here.
Though it
looks like the previous seasons were HD shoots, BBC has issued Season 14 & 15 on Blu-ray and the show works much better this way, but with
some reservations. The trio pits a
Ferrari California, Aston Martin DBS and Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder in a race
in Romania
among other things for Season Fourteen,
while Season Fifteen offers some
wacky vehicles, the Bentley Continental Supersports and more from Mercedes,
Porsche and BMW. We even get a diesel
BMW versus regular gasoline version compared.
(Both have extras including more audio commentary, outtakes, behind the
scenes, extended scenes and new pieces).
The show
loves cars and other vehicles, really loves the idea of going fast and wild in
them and has developed a one-of-a-kind chemistry that makes it a classic. It does well on BBC America as well and I am
glad to see it doing well on home video in the States. Try out any volume, but if you have a Blu-ray
player, start with Seasons 14 & 15!
The anamorphically
enhanced 1.78 X 1 on the DVDs continue to have some good color and are good
tradedowns from the HD shoots, but they just cannot handle the detail, color
and depth of the best footage in each episode.
Tests by the stars tend to be styled down, but when The Stig shows up,
you can really see how great the cars are among other cases. The 1080i 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition
image improves on the Video White and Video Black issues, delivers much better
color, is warmer and is more involving overall.
The improvements more than justify the Blu-ray releases. Unfortunately, all versions offer lossy Dolby
Digital 2.0 Stereo, which is a shame, because at least the car testing and
racing sequences could have been in 5.1, or even with DTS 5.1 optional tracks. Sometimes, you get Pro Logic surrounds.
By the
way, Mr. Clarkson may be the victim of a curse he is not aware of. As you may know, he has bashed Triumphs and
Jaguars before including some cars I like.
Since I noticed this, a pattern has developed, especially in his
comparison tests. Any time he decides to
pick any car over vehicles from James Bond films or certain equivalent TV
series (The Avengers, The New Avengers, The Saint, The Return Of The
Saint, The Persuaders, even Department S), he loses! Yes, hard as this is to believe, the Bond/ITC
Curse has arrived and is on, preventing him from bashing fun cars from those
shows and the 007 series. We’ll see how
long this lasts.
For more
automotive excitement on Blu-ray and DVD, try these links and you will discover
they lead to other great links of more great titles:
Super Speedway IMAX Blu-ray
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/8441/Super+Speedway+–+The+Mach+II+Sp
Faszination DVD Series (Porsche, Supercars…)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/9318/Faszination+Series:+Hummer/Modern
- Nicholas Sheffo
