Shropshire Star

Top Gear's three stooges lack their usual humour in first of new series

Watching Top Gear these days is a bit like watching a Formula 1 race – you watch the cars and drivers go through the motions of what is more often than not a high speed procession, and what you really want to see is a decent crash to spark things up a bit.

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Supporting image for story: Top Gear's three stooges lack their usual humour in first of new series

Watching Top Gear these days is a bit like watching a Formula 1 race – you watch the cars and drivers go through the motions of what is more often than not a high speed procession, and what you really want to see is a decent crash to spark things up a bit.

And so it is with presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May: You know what's coming before they start and the only hope is that Jezza will say something shocking to draw you out of your Sunday night stupor.

Sadly last night's opening salvo of what is the show's 18th series, was a damp squib with the three masters of vehicular buffoonery serving up a dull hour of predictable petrol-head fodder.

The show opened with Clarkson promising the criticism Top Gear had received for its Christmas special filmed in India would not affect what was coming up in the coming weeks. A montage of the best bits followed (after an ironic film featuring rabbits and bicycles) and all looked well.

But, as is often the case with film trailers, the best bits are just that – a few rare moments snatched from the mass of mediocrity.

Other than the 'news' section and the star in the reasonably priced car (which was Will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas) the show was given over entirely to a drive across Italy in three supercars – a Lamborghini Aventador, a McLaren MP4-12C and a Noble M600.

The premise was to find the best choice of car if you don't want a Ferrari. Not a question most people will be toying with but that should in no way be seen as a criticism as Top Gear has proved conclusively over the years that testing ridiculously expensive cars is far more entertaining than trying to be all sensible about Fiestas and Fiat Pandas.

The road trip followed the usual Top Gear pattern of challenges being set for the three presenters and their chosen cars. Last night the supercars sped round an 8-mile circular test track at Nardo; Clarkson and May 'raced' to a restaurant in central Rome while Hammond and his Noble were towed to a breakdown garage; and finally all three raced against the Ferrari and the show's resident racing driver Stig at the infamous Imola circuit.

This is of course a well-worn approach for Top Gear and I don't mind that the formula is used over and over again as normally it provides a platform for Clarkson and his two stooges to mix together 'car stuff' with plenty of entertaining silliness and tomfoolery.

However this opening trip was a laborious journey that lacked the usual humour. There were a couple of bright moments – such as when Clarkson was pulled over by the Italian police, not for speeding, but for 'working' on Sunday and he responded that that was why Italy was nearly bankrupt – but on the whole this was a tedious affair.

It even included a strange section with the three presenters giving their cars a sycophantic pep talk before the big race at Imola. Odd.

Despite Clarkson's promises at the start of the show, you can't help wondering if his wit has been punctured by the criticism he has received recently and Top Gear has become a little pedestrian.

David Briggs

Watch Top Gear on BBC iPlayer