Top Gear (2002 TV series)/Series 1/Best of Top Gear (30th March, 2003)

Episode 11 (Best of Top Gear)
Title card.
Prod. code	GFGA027S
No.	561 (since 1977)
Runtime	29:10
Viewers	2.46 million
Prev ep.	Best of Top Gear #1
Next ep.	Best of Top Gear #3
Airdate	30th March, 2003

The Best of Top Gear aired on the 30th March, 2003. It was the twelfth episode of Series 1; the 561st episode overall. It was the 552nd episode since Top Gear entered national broadcasting in 1978, and was the 2nd programme to air in 2003 out of a total 27. The second best-of compilation of Series 1, the compilation was also half the typical episode length and aired in a non-traditional timeslot. The Best of Top Gear was originally broadcast in 576i at a 16:9 Widescreen aspect ratio on British television channel BBC Two. The episode was presented by Jeremy Clarkson, Jason Dawe, and Richard Hammond, alongside The Stig.

Synopsis

The Best of Top Gear was a compilation episode; as a result, all segments were those which had previously aired, albeit in an abridged form.

Airing history

As Top Gear was not yet as successful as it would eventually become, this episode would only be broadcast once. In addition, after the later success of host James May, episodes from Series 1 would become undesirable and as a result, would be pulled from the BBC World Sales Catalogue after 2009. This was likely due to the fact there were now more than 100 other episodes available for syndication.

Channel	Date	Time	Cut	Definition	Type
	30th March, 2003	21:30	Original	Standard	Premiere

Preservation status

Unfortunately, The Best of Top Gear cannot be watched in its entirety, due to never being archived. It is considered lost media.