Series 19 Episode 6
In this episode of Top Gear the
trio is headed to Africa for their yearly two part series special. They start in the studio introducing their
special to the live audience. Jeremy is
the first to arrive in his second hand estate car for no more than 1500 pounds. He arrived in his BMW 528i. He describes his car’s previous owner as
someone who probably took their car to the max on a budget. The car has two different sets of tires and
it’s a manual. Richard is the next to
arrive. He arrives is a Subaru Impreza
WRX. Jeremy describes the car as one
driven by a moron. Richard says he has
the right car for any job. When James is
the last to arrive both Jeremy and Richard poke fun at his Volvo 850R. As they stand around poking fun at each
other’s their challenge arrives via a producer.
They were to find the source of the river Nile. As they begin to drive they come to lake
Victoria. They tell the viewers that the
lake Victoria is the source but when another producer turns up and says no it
is not the source is still disputed and experts cannot find the true
sources. They then go on to look at a
map and determine they need to go further south to find the true source. The trip will not be easy with muddy roads,
dangerous narrow roads, and river crossings.
While traveling through a capitol city they encounter the worst traffic
they have ever seen. The traffic jam
takes them two days to get out of. As
they travel their first over night hotel has been set up Richard, who finds the
worst over night stay possible. After
their first night in the hotel they realize they need to find different over
night accommodations. They decide to
make their estate cars to accommodate them for overnight sleeping. At the reveal Richard creates a small RV in
the back of his Subaru. James creates a
small library in the front of his car, and a small workshop in the back with a
cot to sleep on. Finally Jeremy makes
the back of his car a luxury sleeping quarter.
In the front seat he fitted a small fridge filled with beer, and outside
he has fitted a full bathroom.
As they
continue with their journey they drive through the jungle, on unpaved bumps
roads, and down mud-slicked paths. Their
journey takes them through many different countries in Africa. They finally determine they need to explore
the Serengeti to find the source of the Nile.
Once they arrive to where they think the source could be it’s an all out
race between the three to find the source.
In the end James determines he has found the true source and is the winner.
The episode
is full of very glamorous panning shots of nature. There is a lot of narration by the three
presenters letting the audience know what is going on and what they think about
what they think about their journey. The
camera work for the show is a lot of in car single person self-interviews of
each presenter. There are also shots
from chase cars focusing on each of the presenter’s cars while they are being
driven. The editing of the show is done
very well. They go from a long set up
shot, to an in car close up shot, to flowing shots of each car, to panning
scenery shots, back to close up shots of each presenter. The camera work assist with the whole aspect
of the show.
I watch the
show because of the scenery shots, car following shots, and the in car close up
interview shots. I enjoy how the
presenters make their opinion known to the audience. The production of the show adds a lot of
deciding factors of my love for the show.
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