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Since 2002, DVDs and Blu-ray Discs of the British TV series Top Gear have been released, containing full episodes, compilations, or specially filmed material.
Many episodes are not presented as the original broadcast, and are included as either abridged 50 minute versions or "Director's Cuts" with unbroadcast deleted scenes reinstated. Changes to the soundtrack are also common when the original music is not licensed for home video. Outside of the US and UK DVD releases, a heavily-edited version of series 9 was released in Germany in 2012, and Series 6 onwards have been released for digital purchase in near-uncut versions with the exception of a few episodes.
Series 2-3, 6, 10-22 & 25-27 were released in Japan on DVD for a very brief period of time by Assist-Corp in 2019, but due to poor reliability in DVD players, the BBC would revoke their licence to produce DVDs featuring their intellectual property. [1] [2]
Title | UK Date | AU Date | USA Date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Complete Series | ||||
Series 10 [3] | 25 October 2010 (D) | — | 21 April 2009 (D) | Also includes the Botswana Special . American release titled The Complete Season 10. |
Series 11 [4] | 25 April 2011 (D) | — | 12 January 2010 (D) | American release titled The Complete Season 11. |
The Complete Season 12 [5] | — | — | 12 January 2010 (D) | Also includes the Vietnam Special. Bonus: audio commentaries from The Great Adventures 2. |
Series 13 [6] | 8 August 2011 (D) | — | 28 September 2010 (D) [7] | Bonus (USA only): extras originally included on The Challenges 5 and The Great Adventures 2. American release titled The Complete Season 13. |
Series 14 [8] | 23 April 2012 (D) | — | 15 February 2011 (D,B) | Bonus (American release): Bolivia Special, Polar Special, Celebrity Laps and Featurettes. The American release is titled The Complete Season 14. |
Series 15 [9] | 20 August 2012 (D) | — | 15 February 2011 (D,B) | Bonus (American release): Featurettes (Bentley Continental Supersports: The Stig's Lap, James Cooks Volcano Lunch, James Checks Tire Pressure on Hilux, Porsche 911 Sports Classic: The Stig's Lap, Presenters End of Series Chat), Celebrity Laps, James May's Journey, Outtakes. The American release is titled The Complete Season 15. |
Series 16 [10] | 1 October 2012 (D) | — | 9 August 2011 (D,B) | Bonus (American release): Middle East Special, USA Road Trip, Pre-Series Chat, Behind the Scenes – Top Gear Production Office and Studio, Bishop Celebrity Lap, Nick Frost and Simon Pegg Laps, John Prescott – Jezza vs. Prezza, Clarkson and Hammond Joking About James' Death, End of Series 16 Chat. The American release is titled The Complete Season 16. |
Series 17 [11] | 1 October 2012 (D) | — | 28 February 2012 (D,B) | Bonus (American release): Top Gear USA: Season 1 Episode 6, Behind the Scenes Chats, James Tests the Nissan GT-R Launch Control, New Series Intro and End of Series Chat with Clarkson & May, Celebrity Lap Extended Scenes. The American release is titled The Complete Season 17. |
The Complete Season 18 [12] | — | — | 12 June 2012 (D) | Also includes India Special. |
Series 19 and 20 [13] | 9 September 2013 (D) | — | — | Includes Africa Special (parts one and two). |
The Complete Season 19 | — | — | 14 May 2013 (D) | Includes Africa Special (parts one and two). |
The Complete Season 20 | — | — | 14 January 2014 (D) | |
The Complete Season 21 [14] | — | — | 5 August 2014 (D) | Also includes Burma Special (parts one and two). |
The Complete Season 22 [15] | — | — | 19 April 2016 (D) | Also includes Patagonia Special (parts one and two). |
Series 23 | 25 July 2016 (D,B) | — | 11 April 2017 (D,B) [16] | Also includes Extra Gear: Series One. American release titled The Complete Season 23. |
Season 24 [17] | — | — | 6 February 2018 (D) | |
Season 25 [18] | — | — | 14 August 2018 (D) | |
Specials | ||||
Winter Olympics Special [19] | 5 June 2006 (D) | 5 July 2006 (D) | — | Bonus: Out-takes, additional footage of the Stig's training regimen. |
The Great Adventures [20] | 3 March 2008 (D) | 2 October 2012 (D) | — | A boxed release of the Polar Special (72 minute "Director's Cut"), and the US Special (abridged 50 minute version). Australian release re-titled "Top Gear Double Pack: Polar Special/US Special". |
The Great Adventures: US Special | — | 7 August 2008 (D) | — | Abridged 50 minute version. |
The Polar Special : The Director's Cut | 20 October 2008 (B) | 5 June 2008 (D) 2 November 2008 (B) | — | 72 minute "Director's Cut" |
The Great Adventures 2 [21] | 23 March 2009 (D) | 2 December 2010 (D) | — | Botswana Special (66 minute "Director's Cut") and Vietnam Special. Bonus: audio commentary on both specials with producer Andy Wilman and crew, deleted scenes, and photo galleries. Australian release re-titled 'Top Gear Double Pack: Vietnam Special/Botswana Special'. |
The Great Adventures: Vietnam Special | — | 4 June 2009 (D) | — | Bonus: audio commentary with producer Andy Wilman and crew, deleted scenes, and photo gallery. |
The Great Adventures: Botswana Special | — | 6 July 2009 (D) | — | Bonus: audio commentary with producer Andy Wilman and crew, deleted scenes, and photo gallery. |
The Great Adventures 3 [22] | 22 March 2010 (D,B) | 3 June 2010 (D,B) | — | Bolivia Special (86 minute "Director's Cut"), Romania (44 minute "Director's Cut") and Bonneville (41 minute "Director's cut"). Bonus: commentary on Bolivia Special with James May, Producer Andy Wilman and crew, and photo galleries. Australian release re-titled 3 Great Adventures. |
The Great Adventures 4 [23] | 29 March 2011 (D,B) | 2 June 2011 (D,B) | — | Middle East Special (84 minute "Director's Cut"), Series 16 USA Road Trip (52 minute "Director's Cut"), and the Albanian Challenge (33 minute "Director's Cut"). Bonus: Deleted Scenes, commentary from James May and crew on the Middle East Special (TV Version). |
The Great Adventures 5 [24] | 26 March 2012 (D,B) | 7 June 2012 (D,B) | — | India Special and Supercars Across Italy challenge. Bonus: audio commentary from James May and crew on the India Special, Extra Stig laps, Additional high speed run footage, Deleted Scenes on 'Supercars Across Italy'. |
50 Years of Bond Cars [25] | 18 February 2013 (D) | 6 March 2013 (D) [26] | — | |
The Great African Adventure [27] | 3 June 2013 (D,B) | 7 August 2013 (D,B) | — | Africa Special (parts one and two). Bonus: deleted scenes. |
The Burma Special [28] | 2 June 2014 (D,B) | 6 August 2014 (D,B) | — | 'Extended Edition' of Parts One and Two with "35 minutes of unseen footage". |
The Patagonia Special [29] | 17 November 2014 (D,B) | 17 November 2014 (D,B) | — | Omnibus of both parts. Also includes Australian Road Trip (55 minute "Director's Cut"). |
Compilations | ||||
Back in the Fast Lane: The Best of Series One & Two [30] | 27 October 2003 (D) | 7 February 2007 (D) | — | 95 minute compilation of highlights from Series One and Two. The features are heavily truncated from their original versions. A preview disc, "Back in the Fast Lane – Highlights from Series One & Two", was given away with Top Gear Magazine the previous month. |
Revved Up: Thrashing, Crashing and Trashing [31] | 6 June 2005 (D) | 2 February 2006 (D) | — | 105 minute compilation of highlights from Series Three, Four and Five, plus unaired footage. A preview disc, "The Best of Revved Up", was given away with Top Gear Magazine the previous month |
The Challenges [32] | 21 May 2007 (D) | 3 October 2007 (D) | — | Later releases were re-authored with "menus that aren't totally incomprehensible" and the option to play challenges individually. [33] A preview disc, "Best of the Challenges", was given away with Top Gear Magazine the previous month. |
The Challenges 2 [34] | 2 June 2008 (D) | 6 November 2008 (D) | — | Bonus: out-takes, multi-angle driving sequences, extended 'Star In A reasonably Priced Car' laps/interviews with Lewis Hamilton and Simon Cowell. Amazon-exclusive limited edition release came packaged in a cardboard sleeve, with a free "I Am the Stig" XL T-shirt. |
The Challenges 3 [35] | 8 June 2009 (D) | 5 November 2009 (D) | — | Bonus: "The Cool Wall Uncut", "Extended 'Star In A Reasonably Priced Car' interview/lap with Boris Johnson", "Extended Top Gear Awards", "Spitfire Magic" and "Rides With The Stig". |
The Challenges 4 [36] | 7 June 2010 (D) | 4 November 2010 (D) | — | |
The Challenges 5 [37] | 13 June 2011 (D) | 3 November 2011 (D) | — | Bonus: Extended interview with Lewis Hamilton, Deleted Scenes and Outtakes. |
The Challenges 6 [38] | 4 June 2012 (D) | 2 August 2012 (D) | — | Bonus: Stig’s Cousins’ Laps, Unseen Interview Clips of Sebastian Vettel, Jonathan Ross, Ryan Reynolds, Ross Noble and Alice Cooper, Interceptors’ Titles Sequence, Amy Williams’ Helmet Cam Footage, Desert & Ice Montage, Deleted Scenes |
Best of British [39] | 4 August 2014 (D) | — | — | |
Greatest Hits | 23 November 2015 (D,B) | 3 August 2016 (D,B) [40] | — | |
Best of the Specials | 27 November 2017 (D) [41] | 14 February 2018 (D) [42] | — | Was reissued in Australia on 8 April 2020, following change of BBC distributor. [43] |
Winter Blunderland | 26 November 2018 (D) [44] | — | — | |
Planes, Trains & Automobiles | 25 November 2019 (D) [45] | 12 August 2020 (D) [46] | — | |
Motors, Mischief & Mayhem | 23 November 2020 (D) [47] | — | — | Was later given away with Tesco copies of the November 2021 issue of Top Gear Magazine. [48] |
Cars, Crashes and Chaos | 28 November 2022 (D) [49] | — | — | |
Direct To Video | ||||
Richard Hammond's Uncovered: The DVD Special [50] | 16 November 2009 (D) | — | — | Richard Hammond advises the viewer on how to create and present their own episode of Top Gear, using household objects and relatives' cars. |
Apocalypse [51] | 22 November 2010 (D,B) | — | — | Richard Hammond and James May investigate post-apocalyptic motoring by attempting a number of challenges to discover how those in a post apocalyptic world would cope. |
At the Movies [52] | 14 November 2011 (D,B) | — | — | Richard Hammond and James May search for the best movie scenes connected with cars and re-enact them in their own special way. |
The Worst Car in the History of the World [53] | 19 November 2012 (D,B) | — | — | Jeremy Clarkson and James May travel to the North of England to name and shame some of the worst cars in history, from manufacturers who "should have known better". |
The Perfect Road Trip [54] | 18 November 2013 (D,B) | — | — | Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond select the best mode of transport for each part of a journey from Venice in Italy to Pau in France. |
The Perfect Road Trip 2 [55] | 17 November 2014 (D,B) | — | — | Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond have "another crack" at experiencing the Perfect Road Trip in a range of cars on roads amongst the scenery and sunshine of the Mediterranean. |
Other | ||||
Richard Hammond's Interactive Challenge [56] | 21 November 2007 (D) | 2 January 2008 (D) | — | Interactive DVD, featuring challenges, quizzes and other games from the world of Top Gear. |
Richard Hammond's Stunt Challenge [57] | 17 November 2008 (D) | 2 January 2009 (D) | — | Interactive DVD: further challenges, quizzes and competitions |
Ambitious But Rubbish [58] | — | 2 December 2015 (D) | — | Contains all eight episodes of the BBC America series |
From A – Z: The Ultimate Extended Edition | 2 December 2015 (D,B) [59] | — | — | 143 minute "Extended Edition" |
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English television presenter, journalist, and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes Top Gear and The Grand Tour alongside Richard Hammond and James May. He also currently writes weekly columns for The Sunday Times and The Sun. Clarkson hosts the ITV game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, and co-hosts the reality show Clarkson's Farm.
James Daniel May is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter, alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, of the motoring programme Top Gear from 2003 until 2015 and the television series The Grand Tour for Amazon Prime Video from 2016 to 2024. He also serves as a director of the production company W. Chump & Sons.
Richard Mark Hammond is an English journalist, television presenter, mechanic, and writer. He is best known for co-hosting the BBC Two motoring programme Top Gear from 2002 until 2015 with Jeremy Clarkson and James May. From 2016 to 2024, the trio presented Amazon Prime Video's The Grand Tour.
Jason Andrew Dawe is an English journalist and television presenter. Brought up in Cornwall, Dawe worked at car dealerships and as a motoring industry trainer; he had been a long-time columnist of the motoring section of The Sunday Times. He also presented the first series of the rebooted Top Gear on BBC Two alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond.
The Stig is a character from the British motoring television show Top Gear. Created by former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson and producer Andy Wilman, the character is a play on the anonymity of racing drivers' full-face helmets, with the running joke that nobody knows who or what is inside the Stig's racing suit. The Stig's primary role is setting lap times for cars tested on the show. Previously, he would also instruct celebrity guests, off-camera, for the show's "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" segment.
Top Gear is a British automobile magazine, owned by BBC Worldwide, and published under contract by Immediate Media Company. It is named after the BBC's Top Gear television show. It was first published in October 1993 and is published monthly at a price of £5.99. As of December 2022, there have been a total of 360 issues published in the UK. The major presenters of the rebooted television series — Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May — were regular contributors, along with the series' production staff. "Tame racing driver" The Stig also regularly features in their car tests, though only communicates his thoughts and feelings through the articles of others. It is Britain's leading general interest car magazine in sales terms, with over 150,000 copies distributed each month in 2012, a drop of 50,000 from 2007. Previous columnists have included former Top Gear presenters Quentin Willson, Tiff Needell and Vicki Butler-Henderson.
Series 1 of Top Gear, a British motoring magazine and factual television programme, was broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two during 2002, consisting of ten episodes that were aired between 20 October and 29 December. This series was the first to feature Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond as the main hosts of the programme, a role they would both maintain until the twenty-second series, but the only series to feature Jason Dawe as their co-presenter before he was replaced for the second series.
Andrew Neville Wilman is an English television producer who is best known as the co-creator and former executive producer of the Top Gear show, from 2002 to 2015, as well as being the executive producer of The Grand Tour. He was responsible for much of the show's style and humour, along with Jeremy Clarkson. He has also presented segments of the original Top Gear. He is responsible for the creation of The Stig. Wilman and Clarkson both attended Repton School along with Formula One designer Adrian Newey.
Bedder 6 was a British company, responsible for exploiting and promoting the Top Gear brand, including international sales. It was founded by presenter Jeremy Clarkson and executive producer Andy Wilman in October 2006. In November 2007, BBC Worldwide purchased 5001 shares giving them a stake of just over 50% of the business. They are believed to have paid £100 for the shares, but also transferred merchandising and some foreign sales rights to the company. The remaining 5000 shares were split 60/40 between Clarkson and Wilman respectively.
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Top Gear: Patagonia Special is a full length special that was aired as a two-part episode for the BBC car show Top Gear; the first part was aired on 27 December 2014, while the second part was aired a day later on 28 December. The special sees hosts, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May, using a selection of cars with V8 engines to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the small-block V8 engine, on a journey across Chile and Argentina, starting from Bariloche and ending on the outskirts of Ushuaia, and includes the infamous scene involving the protesters that the presenters and their film crew encountered and the events that happened; it is the last Top Gear special to be filmed with the hosts, prior to Clarkson's exit from the show in March 2015 followed by Hammond, May, and Executive Producer Andy Wilman shortly afterwards. The incident with the protesters was widely documented and reported by the media, prior to the broadcast of the special.
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