Top Gear (2002 - 2015)

Top Gear is a British motoring magazine and factual television series conceived by Jeremy Clarkson and Andy Wilman, launched on October 20, 2002 and broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two. The program is a relaunched version of the original 1977 show of the same name, which looks at various motor vehicles, primarily cars. While the original format focused mainly on review of cars, the 2002 version expanded on this with motoring-based challenges, special races, timed laps of notable cars and celebrity timed laps on a course specifically-designed for the relaunched program, with its format developing over time to focus on a more quirky, humorous and sometimes controversial style of presentation.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) It changed the way automotive shows are presented.
 * 2) Jeremy "Jezza" Clarkson, Richard "Hamster" Hammond and James "Captain Slow" May (AKA the "CHM" trio) have great chemistry together, making the show very funny and interesting.
 * 3) The segments (e.g., "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car", "The News", and the "Cool Wall") are very creative.
 * 4) The show feels as if it's unscripted and natural.
 * 5) The Top Gear specials are completely different in nature compared to the main shows, yet their humor is still the good old Top Gear style.
 * 6) The Stig. That is all.
 * 7) Many memorable and hilarious moments, such as:
 * 8) * Jeremy reviewing the Ford Fiesta, complete with a high-speed car chase through a shopping mall and a beach assault with the Royal Marines.
 * 9) * Jeremy testing the Peel P50 (the smallest production car ever made), and later attempting to create a car even smaller than that in the form of the "Peel P45".
 * 10) * Jeremy using a V8 engine to create a smoothie made from beef, Bovril and a cinderblock, which James appropriately named "The Bloody Awful".
 * 11) * Jeremy using a chainsaw to remove a motorcycle Richard had placed on the "Cool Wall".
 * 12) * Jeremy racing against God himself - and winning.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) The hosts sometimes caused trouble, creating controversial problems.
 * 2) After the original trio left, the series was ruined by Chris Evans for its 2016 series. Thankfully, it recovered.

Reception
The 2002 relaunch of Top Gear is rated 8.7/10 on IMDb, and has a score of 8.9/10 on TV.com.

Since its relaunch, Top Gear is one of the BBC's most commercially successful programs. It has become a significant show in British popular culture, with episodes also broadcast internationally in many countries in Europe, North America, South-East Asia and more, making it the most widely watched factual television programs in the world, even getting a Guinness World Record in 2013. Its success has led to various forms of merchandising, including live tours, special DVD editions, and books, as well as spawning a variety of international versions in various countries, including the United States, Australia, South Korea, China and France.