Top Gear (1977 TV series)/Series 32

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Series 32 (1977 format)
Jeremy Clarkson with Tiff Needell and Quentin Wilson[1].
Jeremy Clarkson with Tiff Needell and Quentin Wilson[1].
Episodes 14
Originally aired 22/09/1994 - 05/01/1995
Original network BBC Two
Resolution 576i
Aspect ratio 4:3 Standard
Uncut length 363:42
Preceded by Series 31 (1994)
Superceded by Series 33 (1995)

The thirty-second series of Top Gear premiered in the United Kingdom on the 22nd September, 1994, and concluded on the 5th January, 1995, after a run of 14 episodes. The series' main host was Jeremy Clarkson, and he was accompanied by Tiff Needell, Quentin Willson and various other hosts as co-presenters. The series was produced at Pebble Mill Studios in Edgbaston, Birmingham, and aired on BBC Two in a 30-minute magazine format.

Highlights from this series include the unveiling of several highly-anticipated sports cars such as the Jaguar XJR and Aston Martin DB7, as well as the on-screen debut of Top Gear and later Fifth Gear stalwart Vicki Butler-Henderson.

Production[edit | edit source]

1994 was the first year which really saw the consolidation of Top Gear into a format largely dominated by Jeremy Clarkson as a personality, as opposed to a mere presenter. To help indicate that the programme had moved into a new era, a brand new title sequence was commissioned, the first since 1989. Primarily featuring the colour orange, the sequence prominently featured a few radio-controlled cars, such as a Mitsubishi Shogun and a group of Ferrari 456s, which are spray-painted black and spun on a miniature skid pan, revealing the Top Gear logo. Bob Cosford would direct[2] this introduction, with editing done on a Quantel Henry editing suite.

Jeremy Clarkson was noticeably absent from 3 of the regular seasonal episodes, as he was largely busy filming the first series of Motorworld throughout the Summer of 1994, which premiered later on the same night[3] the series concluded with a 15 minute-long special[4] centred around the revival of the Klausenrennen, a Swiss hillclimb event.

Giving a written interview for the Top Gear supplement in BBC's Action, it was revealed[5] by Clarkson that the programme's 32nd series was put together by just 11 people, 3 of whom were either working with him on Motorworld or Quentin Willson's other spin-off production titled The Car's The Star, which likewise began airing[6] on the 25th September, three days after Top Gear. Individual items were typically filmed in areas near where the presenters lived, and taken to Pebble Mill Studios to be assembled, with 5 minutes of footage taking an average of 4 days to prepare for the eventual episodes. Tracking shots were filmed from the rear hatch of a Ford Mondeo.

Hosts[edit | edit source]

Also featuring[edit | edit source]

Trivia[edit | edit source]

  • This was the first series of Top Gear to air during two separate calendar years.
  • Series 32 is the earliest confirmable series of Top Gear to have aired internationally on BBC World, with a fragment of Episode 8 having survived.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ This photograph was taken for a competition where a member of the public (represented by the mannequin) could win the opportunity to present their own Top Gear segment, as advertised in the October 1994 issue of BBC's Action.
  2. ↑ BBC Motion Graphics Archive - Top Gear (1995).
  3. ↑ BBC Genome - Jeremy Clarkson's Motorworld. (5th January, 1995)
  4. ↑ BBC Genome - Top Gear: Klausen Run.
  5. ↑ Clarkson, J. (1994) 'How Do They Do What They Do To Me?', Action, October.
  6. ↑ BBC Genome - The Car's The Star. (25th September, 1994)
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