Top Gear (2002 TV series)

Please note that this page uses IMCDb's definition of Top Gear, and so only includes the first 22 series. For the show known as Top Gear since 2016, please see Top Gear (2016 TV series).

Top Gear logo.

Top Gear is the name of a British automotive journalism programme which began airing on the 20th of October, 2002. It is a reboot of the earlier Top Gear which aired from April 1977 through to February of 2002 before its eventual cancellation and subsequent revival. The show ran for approximately 180 episodes across 22 series before lead host Jeremy Clarkson was sacked in March 2015.

Series overview

Series		Episodes	Originally aired		Average UK viewers (in millions)	Home video release date
			Series premiere	Series finale
	1	10	20th October 2002	29th December 2002	3.30	Never released
	2	10	11th May 2003	20th July 2003	3.16
	3	9	26th October 2003	28th December 2003	4.03
	4	10	9th May 2004	1st August 2004	3.48
	5	9	24th October 2004	26th December 2004	4.15
	6	11	22nd May 2005	7th August 2005	4.21
	7	7	13th November 2005	12th February 2006	4.61
	8	8	7th May 2006	30th July 2006	4.45
	9	6	28th January 2007	4th March 2007	7.45	19th October 2012
	P	1	25th July 2007		4.50	3rd March 2008
	10	10	7th October 2007	23rd December 2007	7.01	25th October 2010
	11	6	22nd June 2008	27th July 2008	5.94	25th April 2011
	12	8	2nd November 2008	28th December 2008	7.32	5th August 2016
	13	7	21st June 2009	2nd August 2009	7.17	8th August 2011
	14	7	15th November 2009	3rd January 2010	6.69	23rd April 2012
	15	6	27th June 2010	1st August 2010	6.25	20th August 2012
	16	8	21st December 2010	27th February 2011	7.19	1st October 2012
	17	6	26th June 2011	31st July 2011	6.42	1st October 2012
	18	8	28th December 2011	11th March 2012	6.07	24th March 2016
	BC	1	29th October 2012		5.48	18th February 2013
	19	7	27th January 2013	10th March 2013	6.58	9th September 2013
	20	6	30th June 2013	4th August 2013	5.31	9th September 2013
	FS	1	26th August 2013		Australia only	Never released
	21	7	2nd February 2014	16th March 2014	6.49	12th June 2015
	CP1	3	10th August 2014	24th August 2014	2.80	Never released
	22	11	27th December 2014	28th June 2015	6.49	17th June 2016
	AZ	2	26th December 2015	30th December 2015	1.79	28th November 2016
	CP2	3	24th January 2016	7th February 2016	2.17	Never released

^{For home video releases, the UK release date is indicated in plain text, and may not necessarily mark the first time a series was released for home viewing. Italicised dates indicate that the series never saw a home video release in the UK, but can be imported through Mainland Europe and watched on a Region 2 DVD player.}

Production

Each episode followed a rigourous, mostly consistent production process in a style that was more akin to the production of an American programme than a British one. The earliest segments or "Films" as they are known were typically planned for and shot 3 - 4 months before the first episode premiered. Filming then typically continued right through the programme's cours of around 2 months, finishing a matter of weeks before the final episode went to air. After these were shot, the films were then edited with voiceover lines recorded in a studio. During Series 12, it was established that these lines were recorded during the same week that the previous episode's studio segments were filmed.

The last thing to be filmed were the show's studio segments, which were typically recorded during the Wednesday prior to the episode airing.

Episodes

^{Main article: Top Gear (2002 TV series)/Episodes}

One of the biggest changes between Top Gear and its older predecessor was the change from a 30 minute programme to a 60 minute one. This meant that each episode was fundamentally equivalent to two episodes of the older format.

In terms of number, it is commonly agreed that upwards of 150 episodes were produced during a 13 year period from 2002 to 2015. 10 of these starred Dawe in the place of May, but for the most part, the line-up was consistently Clarkson as lead host and announcer, with Hammond and May as secondary and tertiary hosts. Granted, there were some exceptions, but some of these are debated:

• Due to a throat infection preventing Clarkson from serving in his usual role, one episode (Series 12, Episode 6) featured Richard Hammond as announcer.
• 1 episode was presented by Richard Hammond on his lonesome.
• 6 episodes were presented by James May on his lonesome.
• The show's final episode featured commentary and footage containing Jeremy Clarkson, but did otherwise not feature him.

Officially, there is no definitive episode count. Most official and semi-official sources such as Wikipedia only count seasonal episodes, meaning that Series 12, Episode 4 was considered to be the show's 100th episode, which coincidentally featured Harry Enfield as the Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car, who was also the show's very first guest. However, this count deliberately omits the Polar Special, as at the time the episode was one-of-a-kind.

AlexTGRF's unofficial count

Depending on whether or not one includes the Top Gear: From A-Z two-part compilation special from December 2015 as part of the show's overall chronology, there are either 186 or 188 episodes of the 2002 format.

• Series 1, Episode 1 - Series 9, Episode 6 make up the show's first 80 episodes.
• The Polar Special is the 81st episode.
• Series 10, Episode 1 - Series 15, Episode 5 make up episodes 82 - 125, with Series 12, Episode 3 the 100th episode.
• The Christmas 2010 Specials are episodes 126 and 127, and are also the first two episodes of Series 16.
• The same applies to the following year's India Special, which is the 140th episode and the first episode of Series 18.
• The 50 Years of Bond Cars Special which aired in October 2012 is the show's 148th episode.
• Top Gear: Festival Sydney, a live crossover event from August 2013 filmed in Australia with presenters from the then-recently disbanded Top Gear Australia, is the 162nd episode despite never airing in the UK. It can be considered a "lost" episode due to this distinction.
• The first series of James May's Cars of the People, which were broadcast and distributed with the subtitle of "A Top Gear Special", make up episodes 170 - 172.
• The two-part Patagonia Special, along with the live An Evening with Top Gear special, preface Series 22 and make up episodes 173 - 175.
• After The Big Send-Off Special, the final 3 - 5 episodes include the second series of James May's Cars of the People, and may or may not include Top Gear: From A-Z.

Possible additions

Presuming that the higher count of 188 is used as a base, there are a number of other episodes which can raise this count further.

• If the two charity specials specials featuring the Top Gear name are included in the overall count, the episode count rises to 190.
• If the Stars in Fast Cars pilot is also included, the revised episode count is 191.
• From 2009 - 2014, there were 6 straight-to-DVD specials which aired on television in the United States, but not in the UK. If these are counted, the episode count is 197.
• In 2007 and 2008, there were also two interactive DVDs produced by Richard Hammond, which if counted raise the total number of episodes to 199.
• If the 2021 Top Gear: A Tribute to Sabine Schmitz tribute show is counted, the number of Top Gear episodes rises to a round figure of 200, which also coincidentally serves as Jeremy Clarkson's 400th episode since 1988.
• If the D-Motor and Top Gear Australia versions of Top Gear crossover events are counted, the number of episodes rise to 202.
• One of the 2006 Best of Top Gear specials, subtitled "The Special Guests", features new footage presented by Jimmy Carr, which could rise the number of episodes to 203.
• From 1996 - 2011, host Jeremy Clarkson released his own home videos. If only those which take place at Dunsfold Aerodrome onwards are counted, the number increases to 212.
• If only those filmed during the Top Gear revival are counted, the number rises to 213, and if all 16 home videos are counted, the number is 219.
• Penultimately, if Top Gear: Revved Up (Thrashing, Crashing and Trashing), a 2005 DVD release which features a small amount of new footage and which never aired on TV is included, the final episode count is 220.
• Finally, if all 64 other Best of Top Gear episodes are counted, the total number of episodes jumps to 284, however, these do not include any new footage and are essentially glorified repeats.

There are many more permutations featuring further compilation series such as Top Gear: Best of British and Top Gear: Top 40 which raise the count beyond 300, but these stretch the definition of what constitutes an episode of Top Gear and so have not been mentioned. There is also the 2012 Children in Need "Special" which did not feature any of the active presenters and was shown on BBC's Breakfast news programme.

Possible subtractions

There are likewise a number of episodes which can be removed.

• If only seasonal episodes of Top Gear are counted, then there are just 170 episodes. If every special which aired off-season outside of the Polar Special and Bond Special are re-instated, the number becomes 176.
• From there, the two-part specials (Africa, Burma, and Patagonia) were later folded into singular episodes for re-broadcast and home distribution, leaving just 168 or 173 episodes.
• There is also the question of the Winter Olympics Special, which may lower the count further to 175, 172, or to as low as 167 if subtracted.