Top Gear series 17
| Top Gear | |
|---|---|
| Season 17 | |
 Promotional poster | |
| Starring | |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC Two |
| Original release | 26 June – 31 July 2011 |
| Series chronology | |
The seventeenth series of Top Gear aired during 2011 on BBC Two and BBC HD and consisted of 6 episodes, beginning on 26 June and concluding on 31 July.[1]
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in series | Reviews | Features/challenges | Guest(s) | Original air date | UK viewers (millions) [2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 133 | 1 | Marauder • BMW 1 Series M Coupe | 50th Birthday of the Jaguar E-Type • Mini John Cooper Works WRC with Amy Williams | Alice Cooper • Amy Williams • Kris Meeke | 26 June 2011 | 6.22[nb 1] |
| 134 | 2 | Aston Martin Virage | High-performance hatchbacks in Lucca and around the Monaco Grand Prix track: (Citroën DS3 Racing • Fiat 500 Abarth Convertible • Renault Sport Clio 200 Cup) | Ross Noble • Flavio Briatore • Christian Horner • Bernie Ecclestone | 3 July 2011 | 5.72[nb 2] |
| 135 | 3 | McLaren MP4-12C • Range Rover Evoque | Examine toughness of the Range Rover Evoque in Las Vegas • Second-hand bargains for the price of the Nissan Pixo (Mercedes CL600 • BMW 850Ci) | Sebastian Vettel | 10 July 2011 | 6.55[nb 3] |
| 136 | 4 | Jaguar XKR-S • Nissan GT-R | Make a train out of a specially modified car and caravans as carriages: (Jaguar XJ-S Convertible • Audi S8) | Rowan Atkinson | 17 July 2011 | 7.14[nb 4] |
| 137 | 5 | Lotus T125 • Jensen Interceptor | Demolish a house with second-hand military equipment vs demolition experts | Bob Geldof | 24 July 2011 | 6.13[nb 5] |
| 138 | 6 | Lamborghini Aventador | Electric cars for the seaside: (Nissan Leaf • Peugeot iOn) • Extraordinary rally team of amputee military veterans | Louis Walsh • Race2Recovery Team • Ben Collins | 31 July 2011 | 6.76[nb 6] |
Criticism and Controversy
Electric Cars Review film
Following the broadcast of the final episode of Series 17, a scene from the Electric Cars Review film was criticised by a disabled motorist charity, in which Jeremy Clarkson and James May were shown parking their electric cars into two disabled parking spaces. In response to this, the executive producer Andy Wilman defended the presenters in an online blog, revealing that both had expressed deep concerns it would create a disrespectful impression, but only used the spaces when the car park's owner gave permission, adding that there had been three other disabled parking spaces available, before apologising to any viewers that had been upset by the scene.[3]
In a later scene in the film, Clarkson was shown getting people to help him push the electric Nissan Leaf up a street after it had run out of charge. This sparked controversy when Nissan discovered from the onboard data logging in the car, that its charge had been run down to only 40% capacity before the "test drive", which soon drew in criticism from the company, electric car enthusiasts, newspapers, and celebrities in response to the show's view on electric cars.[4] However, Andy Wilman rejected claims that the show was misleading viewers about the Leaf's charge and range, and stood by the consumer points that were raised in the film.[3]
Notes
The viewing figures shown in the Episode Table above, are a combination of the figures from the BBC Two broadcast and the BBC HD broadcast.
References
- ^ Transmission – BBC Top Gear Top Gear Series 17: starts 26 June «
- ^ "Weekly Top 10 Programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board.
- ^ a b Conlan, Tara (2 August 2011). "Top Gear sorry for disabled parking row". The Guardian. London.
- ^ Loveday, Eric (2 August 2011). "Top Gear airs controversial Nissan Leaf segment, responds to critics". autobloggreen.
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