Top Gear
| Fandom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name: | Top Gear | |
| Abbreviation(s): | TG | |
| Creator: | ||
| Date(s): | 1978-2001, 2002- | |
| Medium: | Television series | |
| Country of Origin: | UK | |
| External Links: | Official site, BBC | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | ||
| ||
The show's premise
In its original incarnation, Top Gear was a straightforward programme about cars. However, fannish interest didn't develop until the show was rebooted into its current format in 2002.
Now, a standard episode features:
- Jeremy Clarkson reviewing a high-powered, expensive car on the Top Gear track.
- The Stig taking the same car on a power lap of the track.
- News - largely an excuse for the three presenters to banter for a bit.
- A Challenge - eg, proving that the British car industry made one or two usable cars, turning a Reliant Robin into a rocket, racing a Bugatti Veyron against the Eurofighter, building an amphibious car and driving it to France
- Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car - a celebrity is interviewed by Jeremy Clarkson, after taking a reasonably-priced car around the Top Gear track.
Particular Appeal to Fans
The three main presenters - Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May - have defined personalities and an easy camaraderie that's very appealing.
There's also a crack element added by the Stig, an anonymous racing driver whose face is never seen and is strongly hinted to be non-human. 'Facts' about the Stig include that he invented the hostess trolley, that his watch goes up to 14 and that he drinks by sucking the moisture out of ducks.
The fandom and its history
Top Gear has a relatively large slash fandom which slashes the boys in all sorts of combinations. Richard Hammond is the most conventionally attractive of the presenters and so appears the most.
There's also a high proportion of crack stories, with car-sex being a popular sub-genre.
Lists and Communities
TopGearSlash (comm)
Discuss_TGS (comm)
TG_Crack (comm)
