What is it with American television networks that makes them pick up the worst reality and unscripted shows imaginable? I was just watching the Super Bowl and by mistake flipped over to ABC and caught about 40 seconds of Wipe Out. This had to be the worst 40 seconds of television that I have ever seen. This poor man's version of Ninja Warrior is a complete disgrace.
What's worse is we Americans have been tricked into having lower expectations from the majors networks, especially when it comes to reality shows. I'm 20 years old and I remember the excitement that the original set of unscripted shows like Survivor and American Idol had about them. To this day these two remain the gold standard for their genre in America. Although they are still two of my favorite shows, they don't belong in the same sentence as BBC's Top Gear.
What makes Top Gear so great? It is simply the quality, knowledgeable and hilariously funny hosts Jeremy Clarkson, James May, Richard Hammond and the mysterious Stig. The BBC took one of its longest running shows, the original Top Gear (a basic show that reviewed cars), and revamped it in 2002 to a completely original studio format with Clarkson's help. The current format still revolves around cars, however they gave it a large budget and gave the hosts creative freedom to test them. The show mixes complete lunacy and practicality all while providing consumers with good information and quite a few laughs. The Top Gear brand has become the number 1 worldwide guide to cars and its magazine is one of the biggest in the world. Explaining the true brilliance of Top Gear is simply impossible, so check it out for yourself Monday nights on BBC America. If only American networks could realize that fat contestants falling into murky water is not good television and put some of the integrity back onto our screens.
Here are a few examples of the challenges from Top Gear:
1. A race between a Bugatti Veyron and an Airplane across Europe
2. How much Porsche can you get for £1500.
3. Can you turn a normal car into a boat and cross the English channel?
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