Last Night's Top Gear Was The Finest Episode Of The Series, And Arguably One Of The Best In Recent Times

In the lead up to the debut of Top Gear’s big revamp, and throughout the airing of the new series thus far, I’ve probably sounded like a stuck record. “Chris Harris and Rory Reid will be the ones to watch,” I’ve been saying for months. “Chris Harris and Rory Reid should be in every episode,” people are no doubt sick to death of hearing me blurt out.

My rationale for this stance has been a sound one: we know Harris and Reid are two of the best road testers on YouTube, so out of all of Top Gear’s rather large presenter line-up, they are by far the most qualified to drive a car, and tell us what it’s like in an entertaining and insightful way. And yet, there were still a lot of unknowns: would it seem weird seeing these YouTube stars thrust onto TV? Would their distinct styles still shine through with a vastly increased budget? Have they been excessively toned down by the meddlesome BBC?

Last night we got our answer: Chris Harris and Rory Reid were both awesome on Top Gear. Both were very much the personas we know and love, with an extra - and utterly spectacular - layer of gloss and gravitas heaped on top. And at last we had a dose - a double dose, even - of what Top Gear has been missing this season: knowledgable people who know how to drive cars, talking about cars.

It’s not like Harris’ stunning F12tdf film and Reid’s brilliant Focus RS feature were the only two good parts in a steaming pile of turd of a show either. No, the rest was pretty good too. Matt LeBlanc’s buttock-clenching ride with a certain Mr Block - the filming of which caused the production crew a little trouble - was enjoyable if a little too long, and even Evans’ Audi R8 test was decent despite some cringey moments and duff lines. And Star in the Rallycross Car? Well, at least there wasn’t quite as many guests as last week.

All of this came together to make an episode of Top Gear which wasn’t just easily the best we’ve seen from the show post-revamp; no, I’d go so far as saying it’s one of the best TG efforts in recent times.

Given the shaky start Evans-era Top Gear has experienced, it’s easy to put on a pair of rose-tinted spectacles and pine for the days of Clarkson, Hammond and May, whom apparently could do no wrong. But we can’t forget that the trio pumped out many sub-par episodes over the years, particularly leading up to the end. Last night’s episode certainly wasn’t sub-par - far from it - and it fills me with hope for the future of the show, even if the ratings dipped to a disappointing 2.4 million, thanks in part to some well-paid men in France kicking a ball around on BBC1.

The good news is, Chris Harris and Rory Reid will be in every remaining episode of Top Gear Series 23’s six episode run. We can only hope the show’s producers look at the dramatic improvement in critical reception, and re-jig the presenter structure to give Harris and Reid the prominence they deserve, and the prominence we all want to see.