Informative vs Exciting

We’ve all seen those “informative” shows before. Those shows on gardening, home remodeling, personal finances, and cooking where a few stammering hosts drone on with an informative but wholly unimaginative script. No wonder people switch over to entertainment gossip to hear about the newest celebrity prison sentence for DUI and Brangelina’s next overseas escapade. I myself have a high “bore tolerance” level, but have to admit sometimes, “Man this IS boring, even for me!” Can an informative show appeal to a broader audience beyond the “geeks” and still retain a semblance of fact presentation?? Recently though, I think I’ve found a prime example of this. I believe that it is possible to balance the “mass appeal” with the “facts revealed” in a television series; but to see this, I’m going to discuss a show that is unknown to most American audiences.

Welcome to British television and the BBC automotive show known as “Top Gear”. Now before you write-off the BBC as a place where only Mr. Bean and low budget Victorian dramas exist; let me tell you a little about the popularity of Top Gear. Since the 2002 season, Top Gear has risen to become one of the most popular television shows in not only the UK, but also in Europe as a whole. It won in 2005 and International Emmy in the Best Non-scripted Entertainment category and has won numerous British television awards as well. The show is syndicated around the world, including BBC America, and there are plans to begin another version of Top Gear in Australia. Its three presenters, James May, Jeremy Clarkson, and Richard Hammond are well known celebrities, and auto manufacturers have even modified cars based on the opinions aired in the show. Yet this wasn’t always the case, as far back as the 1970’s the show was just another barely known BBC information show with a skeletal studio audience. So what were some elements that brought on this steady rise to the top of the charts in Europe?

Let’s look at some examples from the show, first is the overall show format. The three hosts casually sit surrounded by a live studio audience and engage in seemingly unscripted and spontaneous banter with each-other and with people in audience. Each one of the hosts has a distinct character (or should I say caricature): Jeremy is the brash devil-may-care, loud talker; Richard is the charming and enthusiastic youth; and James is the stereotypical, stilted, and eccentric “Traditional Englishmen”. The interplay of their characters coupled with the intercutting of various segments of the show creates a humorous and informative experience for the audience.

Another area of audience appeal is the crazy stunts. In a 1998 episode, one of the presenters announces that since “seeing a motorcycle jump buses” is an old stunt; they will see how many motorcycles a bus can jump.

This is followed by a clip of a metro bus lumbering off a ramp to crash onto a line of motorcycles, crushing more motorcycles than it clears. Not all of the stunts are just demonstrations of this sort of inside out humor. They’ve engaged in stunts that are actually quite impressive and creative, such as driving to the North Pole in a pickup, or crossing the English Channel in a “home-made” amphibious vehicle.

A number of stunts (or challenges) are based on real world issues important to the average European. One of these experiments dealt with the question, “Is driving a car across Europe faster than taking the train?” All three of the hosts set out from the studio in England with the goal of traveling from there to Monte Carlo France. James and Richard were only allowed to take bus or train, while Jeremy drove a gorgeous supercar known as the Aston Martin DB9. Although Jeremy could roar along at nearly 80 mph on the open road, the other two men would be hitting up to 180 mph on the train. In the fast paced format akin to “The Amazing Race”, Jeremy beat the other two hosts to Monte Carlo to prove that a car is faster than taking the train. This Top Gear Challenge format is often used and has an appeal to both audience types; the fast pace format and the flashy supercar had broad appeal, while the seeming objectivity of the test gave informative credibility.

Another element of the show which appeals to the sentiments of informative credibility and entertainment appeal are the reviews. In nearly every episode the hosts test drive a car, or a few cars, giving their opinions. Yet this is done in a tongue in cheek manner that will keep the audience laughing. Some people complain that recent reviews only feature obscenely expensive cars, such as the Pagani Zonda or Bugati Veyron, instead of the more affordable “normal” cars. Yet I, and many others, would argue that this tendency toward “extreme cars” is actually more of a draw to audiences because it allows people to vicariously experience their “dream car”.

Top Gear is a show that has successfully capitalized on its success through cross-media marketing synergy. Top Gear has a website, and self titled magazine which both contain opinion pieces, articles, and helpful information on various issues of car ownership. Top Gear has its own promotional merchandise, music CDs, and is even featured in “Gran Turismo 5” for Playstation.

In my opinion, one of the biggest reasons for the success of Top Gear is how the presenters express opinions and sentiments that many people hold. Jeremy Clarkson in particular fires a steady stream of jabs at various celebrities, cultural mores, and government policies. He is often quite rude and offensive to many people, yet he seems to be able to get away with what most other celebrities couldn’t. Jeremy and the other hosts present an attitude of, “Here’s what the rules are, but since they are ridiculous and overbearing, we’re going to break them.” These little “micro rebellions” include: ethnic jokes about Germans and Americans, starting a car in the studio (against regulations), challenging the social dogma of Global Warming, and (gasp) smoking a pipe on stage!

The continual quips and escapades demonstrate a larger philosophy which could be stated in this question, “Are we becoming a society that is so obsessed with safety from danger and offense that we’ve lost touch with the essential human desire for adventure?” I think this is the key, the thinly veiled “rebellion” against a society that bans anything perceived as unsafe or offensive might be just a marketing ploy of the producers or it may be the actual belief of the Top Gear presenters. Either way, it seems to ring true for an enormous segment of the viewers.

Top Gear is a show that presents a decent level factual information in a very entertaining way to the “driving public”. In a sense, it has quick hitting drama like “The Amazing Race”, the casual chit-chat style like “The View”, the crazy experimentalism like “Mythbusters”, and the social/political satire of “Saturday Night Live” in a show that is supposed to only be about cars. In only a few years, the BBC has had a C grade car show grow into an A grade adventure program that is only increasing in popularity.