Top Gear series 14
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2014) |
| Top Gear | |
|---|---|
| Season 14 | |
 Promotional poster | |
| Starring | |
| No. of episodes | 7 |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC Two BBC HD |
| Original release | 15 November 2009 – 3 January 2010 |
| Series chronology | |
The fourteenth series of Top Gear aired during 2009-10 on BBC Two and BBC HD, and consisted of 7 episodes, beginning on 15 November 2009, and concluding on 3 January 2010. The sixth episode was a special-edition entitled special from Bolivia, while the series was subsequently followed by four "Best Of Top Gear" specials, which aired within the initial months of 2010 during January and the beginning of February, and charted the best moments from Series 13 and 14.
Episodes
Best-of episodes
| Total | No. | Title | Feature | Original air date | UK viewers (million)[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S18 | CE–1 | "The Best Of Top Gear: 2009 No.1" | Best Moments from Series 13-14 - Part 1 | 10 January 2010 | 3.12 |
| S19 | CE–2 | "The Best Of Top Gear: 2009 No.2" | Best Moments from Series 13-14 - Part 2 | 24 January 2010 | 2.37 |
| S20 | CE–3 | "The Best Of Top Gear: 2009 No.3" | Best Moments from Series 13-14 - Part 3 | 31 January 2010 | 2.08 |
| S21 | CE–4 | "The Best Of Top Gear: 2009 No.4" | Best Moments from Series 13-14 - Part 4 | 7 February 2010 | 2.25 |
Criticism and Controversy
Romanian Road Trip film
In the opening episode of Series 14, the presenters were filmed taking a road trip in three grand tourers they had chosen across the country of Romania. While driving through the countryside, Clarkson commented on Romania as being "Borat country, with gypsies and Russian playboys", in reference to the 2006 mockumentary that starred Sacha Baron Cohen as his fictional journalist character from Kazakhstan, in which Cohen filmed a few scenes for the film in the country. Because the film had already stirred controversy in the country, with a number of local Roma who had been involved in the film attempting to sue 20th Century Fox and Cohen, Romanian newspapers claimed that the comments had been "offensive" and had produced "bad publicity for their country",[2] with the Romanian Times also reporting that Clarkson had called Romania a "gypsy land".[3]
Further complaints were also made in regards to a scene in which Clarkson donned a pork pie hat and called it a "gypsy" hat, while commenting: "I'm wearing this hat so the gypsies think I am [another gypsy]." Following the episode, the Romanian ambassador sent a letter to the producers of Top Gear, in which he showed his appreciation for the show, highlighted the press's freedom of expression, the non-discriminatory spirit, and the fact that 89.5% of the country's population is Romanian, 6.5% is ethnic Hungarians, 2.5% are ethnic Roma and 1.5% are other ethnic groups, but asked that the episode be re-edited to exclude the offensive material in future showings.[4] In another response to the episode after its broadcast, a group of Romanians hacked over two pages of the Daily Telegraph website, covering them in Romanian flags and playing Gheorghe Zamfir - Lonely Shepherd (featured on the soundtrack to the film Kill Bill) while stating:[5][6]
"We are sick of being mis-represented as Gypsies, and thanks to Top Gear, have been publicly insulted."
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.
- ^ 6.41 million on BBC Two, 286,000 on BBC HD
- ^ 6.19 million on BBC Two, 285,000 on BBC HD
- ^ 6.10 million on BBC Two, 412,000 on BBC HD
- ^ 6.09 million on BBC Two, 196,000 on BBC HD
- ^ 6.35 million on BBC Two, 550,000 on BBC HD
- ^ 7.07 million on BBC Two, 378,000 on BBC HD
- ^ 6.05 million on BBC Two, 472,000 on BBC HD
References
- ^ a b "Weekly Top 10 Programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board.
- ^ NIŢU, Marius (17 November 2009). "Top Gear about Romania: "Borat's Country" with Russian Gypsies and Playboys". Gandul (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 12 December 2009.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2010.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Romanian Ambassador in London Asks Top Gear to Re-edit Episode Shot in Romania". MediaFax. 22 November 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- ^ Arthur, Charles (15 April 2010). "Daily Telegraph website hacked". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
- ^ James, Martin (16 April 2010). "Hackers deface Telegraph sites over 'gypsies' slight". ITPro.
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