Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)The product description and the other reviews give a good breakdown of why you should like Top Gear- a trio of insane presenters who'd be as at home in a sitcom as they are behind the wheel of the supercars they love.
I'll stick with the DVD itself, which is nice to have but has a few flaws.
The first flaw is that the contents aren't perfectly uncut. Most of the "news" segments that featured in eight of the ten episodes of Season 10 are missing- only two are included. Some of the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car segments are also missing- specifically, rugby star Lawrence Dallagio, Absolutely Fabulous star Jennifer Saunders, and comedian Keith Allen. The back of the box says, in tiny print, "For clearance reasons certain edits have been made." Presumably, to save license payments to certain carmakers and celebrities, they dropped less memorable and more Brit-centric material. However, so far as I can tell these are the only cuts; there is ample material remaining that wasn't present on the BBC America broadcasts. (And the Star in a Car bits retained include Simon Cowell and David (Doctor Who) Tennant, and the two News segments retained are pure comedy gold... so it's not a total loss.)
Other cuts include: a very short attempt to do the Cool Wall (Season 10 was shot right after a studio fire destroyed the Cool Wall and other props); the in-studio conclusion of the Silverstone Britcar race; the Stig speed-testing the Vauxhall VXR8; and other bits and pieces here and there that I can't verify based on secondhand info, not having access to the original BBC versions.
The second flaw is that there's really not much in this three-disk set besides the episodes. There's no outtakes reel. There's no information text, background on the cast, or even optional trailers. (Each disk does have auto-playing trailers for other BBC DVD sets, which you can't play voluntarily after you get to the main menu.) There's no alternate language subtitles or dub- this is strictly an English-language release for what the BBC apparently believes is a one-language-if-that-many United States. Granted, there are English subtitles, but that's pretty much the only feature.
The final flaw is minor indeed; a dearth of track skip points. The credits (front and back) are NOT separate tracks; skip the opening credits and you also skip the opening film bit, and you can't skip to the end credits, period. None of the segments has skip points partway through, so you can't queue up anywhere close to a specific point in the film- you have to start at the beginning and fast-forward through.
These minor imperfections rob Top Gear 10 of what, otherwise, should be a well-deserved fifth star. Next time, BBC, when the package says "Complete Xth Season," please give us the complete season...
... but even if you don't, I'll still buy it. Now give us 1-9 and 11-12, please.
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Top Gear 10: The Complete Season 10 (2009)Who in their right minds would try to drive through the Kalahari Desert in 20-year-old bangers? Or cross the English Channel in amphibious cars? You guessed it: Top Gear's intrepid and wonderfully entertaining hosts, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. Buckle up for exciting road tests on the International Emmy-Award winning series, including thrilling rides in the Porsche 911 GT3 RS, Lambo Gallardo Superleggera and Aston Vantage N24. Power test the world's most exotic supercars. And join The Stig on training laps with the rich and famous. Includes The Botswana Special. Special Features: English Subtitles for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired Interviews
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