A lot of people started to complain after the start of the season that things on Top Gear just weren’t the same and that laughs weren’t generated like they used to. This was talked about by the show’s producer, which said that the sixth episode, the South American Special, would fix everything.
After seeing it, I’d say he is spot on, all those who complained will be proven wrong, as the episode is great by all measures. Hit the jump to read the review.
The show started pretty innocent, with the guys buying three off road cars over the Internet from Bolivia, without seeing them at all. They were then dropped off by a boat on a river shore, where the cars immediately arrived on a barge, and left there.
After some tough adventures which went on for another day, they finally managed to get them off the barge. Jeremy opted for a Range Rover, while James went for a Suzuki and Richard for a Toyota Land Cruiser. After which, a quick “American-style” montage of them traversing the Amazonian jungle, covering a few meters at most, was shown. Things went bit smoothly, but it would soon take a turn for the worse.
It’s hard to explain what happened, as this is an episode which needs to be seen, involving condoms, Viagra and river traversing. The guys traveled on one of the most dangerous roads in the world, with Jeremy coming quite close to the edge of a huge cliff, and reached altitudes of around 16,000 feet (4,800 meters), where the limits of both the cars and the presenters were pushed well beyond the comfort zone.
If you need to watch one episode of this current season of Top Gear, it’s this one, as it comes close, and in some places even surpasses the Polar special, aired a couple of season ago.
