Tonight is, for all intents and purposes, the first-season finale of History's Top Gear. Next week is billed as a "best of." The season so far has been uneven, so it would be a big step forward for the show to end on a high note, especially if it wants to see a season two.
Adam, Tanner and Rutledge set out to discover what is America's toughest truck, each buying their own sight unseen and taking it to Alaska for a series of challenges. It's Rutledge and his 1997 Dodge Ram, Tanner (and his ridiculous wannabe Crocodile Dundee hat) and his 1986 Chevy Stepside, and Adam and his 1976 Ford F-250, referred to as "the Ford of Death." They embark on the same handful of challenges we've seen on the UK Top Gear, including the caveat of being stalked by an embarrassing replacement vehicle that they must drive should theirs fail. It's the American show's first full-length film.
One of the highlights of this episode is when they're forced to convert their trucks for camping purposes. It's pretty hilarious to see Rutledge's log cabin on wheels, or Tanner's skateboard ramp turned truck spoiler. They're not as funny as Richard's unfoldable multi-room campsite or Jeremy's three-story tower, but they're worth a good laugh, especially when the cabin falls off the back of the Dodge and Tanner runs it over repeatedly, turning it into kindling. It would've been funnier if it had unintentionally caught fire, or if we could have laughed at the guys trying to sleep in massively uncomfortable spaces, but alas our American crew seem too smart for that. They always seem to play it just a touch safer and nicer than the original trio. In the end, Tanner is the winner, by the virtue of being the only one whose truck survives the trip, but that's not the important part. The important part is the journey, and it's worth the hour.
I'm willing to rank this as one of Top Gear's better episodes, as it's entertaining the whole way through, even if it's not uproariously fun. It's certainly got its fair share of good moments and isn't saddled with any particularly slow parts, and it's the first well-deserved adventure for our American hosts. If this is the way the American Top Gear goes out, at least it goes out on a relatively good note. That said, however, I don't know if we'll see a season two - while I know the ratings were good for the premiere, I've yet to hear anyone call the show more than a diversion. I don't see the fanbase and it doesn't feel like the show has staying power. Though I wouldn't mind seeing it come back, it wouldn't surprise me if History turns the lights out for good.
That said, at least we didn't screw up Top Gear the way we did Coupling, or Life on Mars, or...you get the idea.
For more Top Gear (US), check out the show category at my blog, DigitalAirwaves.net.
Brittany Frederick
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Twitter: @tvbrittanyf
