Top Gear/Tropes N-Z: Difference between revisions

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* [[The Napoleon]]: At 5'7", Hammond is nearly a foot shorter than Clarkson and is probably the most pugnacious and thrill seeking of the three.

** Which despite the short-jokes, is actually a rather average height. May and Clarkson (in particular) just are very tall.

'''Clarkson:''' ..yeah, we used nitrous. }}

* [["No. Just... No" Reaction]]: Word for word from Clarkson when May claims his car/dinghy 2.0 can do twenty knots.

** He's recently received another nickname because of this; Captain Sense-of-Direction.

* [[Noble Bigot]]: Clarkson in particular has made many homophobic and racial remarks on the show, he's also a patron for the charity Help For Heroes.

* [[Nothing Can Stop Us Now]]: "How hard can it be?" [[Hilarity Ensues]].

** Lampshaded by Hammond on returning from his crash: "Oh, how I've missed the pang of dread I feel whenever you mention the words 'How hard can it be'!"

* [[The Obi-Wan]]: [[Formula One|Sir Jackie Stewart and Mika Hakkinen]] have both given James May lessons on how to drive "properly." May explicitly compared both of them to Yoda in their respective sequences.

* [[Obi-Wan Moment]]: By his own admission, Hammond had one just before his near-fatal jet car crash.

* [[Overly Narrow Superlative]]: In the "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" segment, Jeremy will often find some specific category for the guest that makes their achievement sound more impressive, such as "fastest Welshman (Rob Brydon)" or "fastest man with a bus pass (Roger Daltrey)".

** James May is the first man to go to the North Pole ''who didn't want to go''.

* [[Paper-Thin Disguise]]: On a couple occasions the presenters have tried to pass off The Stig as James May. No one finds this convincing.

{{quote|'''May''': Some say: he has a stripey shirt, just like mine...}}

* [[Product Placement]]: Both [[Parody|parodied]] and [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]]. But the presenters aren't shy about pointing out the ones that don't make the grade, as evidenced by the Cool Wall. It's [[The BBC]]: they are not supposed to advertise.

* [[Promoted Fanboy]]: Richard Hammond was a diehard fan of ''Top Gear'', a fan of ''Jeremy Clarkson'' even, back when he was still on satellite Television. How diehard? Well, he read every single ''Top Gear'' magazine, watched ''Top Gear'' every week, and he envied everybody working for ''Top Gear''. Needless to say, he [[Jumped At the Call]] when the current format of ''Top Gear'' started auditioning for presenters, although the last thing he expected was to actually be chosen for the job. Well, look where he is now.

* [[Quicksand Sucks]]: While trying to move the grounded barge that their 4X4's have been floated in on, Clarkson gets stuck in river mud and starts to sink, to [[Vitriolic Best Buds|much laughter]] from the other two. They eventually pull him out with one of their 4X4's and rope.

* [[Ratings Stunt]]: The episode which aired footage of the 300mph crash which temporarily brain-damaged Richard Hammond was timed to compete with the finale of ''[[Big Brother]]'' on Channel 4.

* [[Real Men Wear Pink]]: James May. Although he is teased for having 'lady's hair', wearing flowery shirts and listening to Bach, he claims to be the only 'proper bloke' on Top Gear because of his love of brown beer, pies, tools and fart jokes. He's also the best shot with a rifle, and has a machete and knows how to use it.

* [[Really Gets Around]]: The Stig's Italian Cousin, nicknamed ''Bunga-Bunga Stig'', who is introduced leaving his coach with four women.

* [[Reckless Gun Usage]]: In one episode, the hosts travel to the North Pole, and are given a variety of firearms in case they need to defend themselves from polar bears. At one point, though, James May earnestly looks down the barrel of his shotgun, and is yelled at by their guide, who grabs the weapon out of his hands. In a Series 14 outtake, May defended himself, claiming it was the only way to see whether the barrel is unblocked.

* [[The Red Stapler]]: Inversion; for a show which spends most of its time talking about unaffordable supercars, ''Top Gear'' has a reputation as being able to destroy an everyday car's sales with a single negative word. Manufacturers will occasionally refuse to provide a car for the show to review, fearing they will hate it, but this tends to rile the presenters more, and they will often name and shame such cars before going on to review them "covertly" anyway.

:One notable case is the Vauxhall Vectra (Opel in Europe). The Vectra was trashed roundly by Clarkson and Vauxhall/Opel actually blamed him for their poor sales. BTW, for American car fans, the Vectra's American mutation is the Saturn Aura. '''Clarkson (in a 90s article)''': "There are only three objective reasons for not buying any particular car. It is unreliable; it is hideously expensive; it is a Vauxhall Vectra."

*** Also they've tried putting those animal heads in May's tent.

** May's repeated claims that Monkeys are the most dangerous animal in the world.

* [[Sand in My Eyes]]: James May after taking the Bugatti Veyron to its top speed of 253 mph.

{{quote|"I'm pretty confident that is as fast as I'm ever gonna go in a car. Incredible. That is-- It's made my eyes water."}}

:And from Season 12:

{{quote|'''May''': [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v{{=}}_wxn2cTlW3I And now the news.] And it's great news ladies and gentlemen, it's news to warm the hearts of nations. Jeremy Clarkson has lost his voice! [''Audience cheers and applauds'']}}

* [[Something That Begins With Boring]]: In the Polar Special. And again in the "Economy Run" episode.

* [[Sorry, Billy, But You Just Don't Have Legs]]: Aversion: when Richard Whiteley set an atrocious time on the ''Top Gear'' test track, a blind fan wrote in to say he could do better. And then did (with Jeremy Clarkson riding shotgun and guiding him through the track). {{spoiler|It wasn't Clarkson, it actually was The Stig directing him behind the scenes, they only showed Clarkson on the show.}}

'''Clarkson''': No tow ropes here. Nothing to see here. }}

* [[The Swear Jar]]: James May was subjected to one when reviewing an Alfa Romeo -- not for profanity, but for cliche words and phrases like "passion" or "heart" which typically come up in reviews for Italian cars.

* [[Take Our Word for It]]: We don't see what Clarkson has found on the internet each week, only the response from the studio audience. At one point Jeremy joked that there's more to the internet than "Abi Titmuss's 'Lady Garden'" and those who have attended filming have confirmed that the unseen screen shows "[[The Internet Is for Porn|particularly nasty porn]]".

* [[Take Over the World]]: Top Gear Live World Tour in 2008 started off with the three presenters [http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/sep/02/bbc.television driving over Tower Bridge in a tank].

** After Clarkson and Hammond have been discussing a campaign by the author Bill Bryson against needless roadside signs and clutter, and generally agreeing with the sentiment behind it, May launches into this fabulous [[Character Filibuster|rant]]:

{{quote|'''May''': [http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2008/james-may-american-rant-p1.php I think that man is a danger, frankly]. If there is one thing I can't stand it's beardy, sanctimonious, patronising Americans in tartan trousers coming to England and trying to persuade us to turn into a museum. He wants the East End for the cheeky Cockney chaps pushing wheelbarrows full of eels and he wants northernists to be industrialists with big braces and blokes dying of consumption -- Good morning Bill, I've got the consumption, it's tradition alright. I say Bill, if you're watching -- OK, now you won't be watching because we're not talking about steam engines or longboats or bear-baiting -- but IF you've happened to tune in by mistake: We're not interested in your views of stupid Americans who come over here with their big video cameras saying Gee, I love your history, it's just so old. SOD OFF!}}

* [[Technology Marches On]]: The "flappy-paddle" gearbox. When ''Top Gear'' was first relaunched, over a ''decade'' ago, the presenters were all unimpressed by and dismissive of the idea. Then, as the tech improved, they started praising a few individual ones for being better than most. Nowadays they tend to describe them, more often than not, as an option worth considering.

* [[Technology Porn]]: Basically what the show is for, and what they do pretty much all the time, especially with the camera swooping over the glossy curves of expensive cars.

:The rare exception is the series of challenges in several episodes where the three presenters team up to 'prove' that the production team's low opinion of old British cars is unjustified - using [[Blatant Lies]] of course - in which they all effusively praise each other for their choice of cars.

* [[Tempting Fate]]: Whenever Clarkson sets his jaw, looks into the camera, and says, "How hard can it be?" Inevitably, [[Hilarity Ensues]]. For a while now they've been [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshading]] this by having Richard Hammond shout "Don't say that!" (or similar) when Clarkson says his [[Catch Phrase|catchphrase]].

** In another episode he fitted a large turbocharger to his car's engine for an endurance race, making it the fastest car there but only able to do one lap at a time before the engine overheated.

** Even Hammond got in on the act during ''Top Gear Ground Force'', creating a barbecue out of a jet-engine, complete with a turbo-powered skewer for the chicken. It was a side-splitting [[Epic Fail|epic failure]].

* [[Time Compression Montage]]: In episodes featuring long road trips or extensive work on a car. Sometimes spoofed by showing a series of clips that suggests the work of hours and then revealing that only a minute or two have passed.

** In series 18's 2nd episode, Richard Hammond was in America for NASCAR. With NASCAR races taking hundreds of laps and several hours long, a montage ensued after the race started, featuring various scenes including Hammond bringing tires to the pit stop. All with [[Team America: World Police|an appropriate "montage" song]].

{{quote|'''May''': I'm not sure I really understand "bling," but I think this must be it. I mean, it's got 24-inch rims and blacked-out glass. It's.. wicked.

[''at the end of the review'']

{{quote|'''Adam Ferrara:''' We could explain what ''Top Gear'' is, or you could watch this <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Beyond the Impossible|awesome]] [[Montage]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>.}}

** The opening narration explained what ''Top Gear'' [[Take That|is not]]: no dancing, no makeovers, no cooking ...

{{quote|'''Clarkson''': Look at this, it hasn't been invented in Italy yet... its called ''"a seatbelt"''.}}

* [[Two Gamers on a Couch]]: A conservative-leaning but self-deprecating and witty middle-aged men equivalent (and there's three of them).

* [[Unconventional Smoothie]]: The "Man's V8" from the V8 blender, which out of among other ingredients, also had bits of brick.

** Dubbed by May "The Bloody Awful"

* [[Unusually Uninteresting Sight]]: During the Middle East Special

{{quote|'''Clarkson (in a monotone voice):''' "To showcase my brilliant idea, we stopped at an underground market which had a waterfall and a river in it."}}

* [[Vanity License Plate]]:

** 0LIV3R

* [[Visual Pun]]: On occasion. For example: Hammond's review of three new hatchbacks ended with him in the Volkswagen Golf on a driving range.

* [[Vitriolic Best Buds]]: All three presenters, who can't resist making jabs at each other (and honestly, that's a large part of the attraction of the show). Occasionally borders on [[With Friends Like These...]]. Really, the only clue that the ''Top Gear'' presenters are genuinely fond of each other is that none of them has snapped and murdered the other two. Yet. May came damn close during the Bolivia Special, though.

* [[Watch the Paint Job]]: Often averted.

** Also, the kiddy car Hammond was hypnotised into thinking was a Porsche 911.

** Clarkson does it with the Ferrari 458 Italia due to the control stalks for the indicators and wipers having been shifted to buttons on the steering wheel, which of course end up on the opposite side he's expecting once he's turned the wheel.

*** Clarkson's ''mum'' does it while attempting to start a Peugeot 1007 during a test to see how user-friendly the car is to normal people who aren't car bores.

* [[Women Drivers]]: The team aren't averse to recommending what they would consider "a girl's car" if it's a [[Rule of Fun|whole lot of fun]].

** Subversion. Sabine Schmitz, who Clarkson would replace Hammond with because she's a better driver, better looking, speaks better English and is taller. Sabine mocked Clarkson's 9:59 time around the Nürburgring in a diesel Jaguar with "I tell you something, I do that lap time in a van," and then hopped in the Jag to beat his time by over 45 seconds -- without ever having driven that car before.

** Looking down the Stelvio Pass during the 'best driving road' segment.

** Standing at the side of the road in Vietnam looking at the view of the valley.

* [[Yank the Dog's Chain]]: In the Val Thorens ice race, James May in the Morris Marina won (well, won among the 3 presenters). They exclaimed that they've saved the reputation of the Marina and their owners will be forever grateful... {{spoiler|then a piano falls on it.}}

* [[You Make Me Sic]]: After receiving a threatening letter from the Morris Marina Owners' Club calling for the presenters to be hanged, drawn and quartered ("or is that to good for them?"), Clarkson points out the word should be spelled "too."

* [[Zany Scheme]]: Half of what Clarkson does after saying "How hard can it be?"

{{quote|'''Hammond''': "[[Running Gag|Don't SAY THAT!!]]"}}

 

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[[Category:Split Trope Lists]]