Up, Down and Round the Farm

Episode Summary & Review

Summary

Jeremy Clarkson decides to make one of those Ken Block style car skidding videos that are very popular on the internet using an old Subaru and a suitable swathe of English farmland. His endeavours are swiftly dismantled by Richard Hammond and James May who are on hand in the studio tent to reveal some of the embarrassing behind the-scenes footage. Also in this show, May makes a rare trip to the Eboladrome test track to try out the tiny Volkswagen Up! GTI while Richard Hammond is in Dubai rummaging in the toy box of machinery and coming out with an incredible high speed tracked vehicle called the Ripsaw. Plus, Celebrity Face Off sets out to find the world’s fastest person with a failed early career in a band as Preacher star Dominic Cooper goes head to head against comedian Bill Bailey.

Our Take

The rally footage gets old faster than Clarkson probably hoped, and the studio ribbing feels like filler stretched across the whole hour. May’s polite little VW review is the highlight, while Hammond’s Dubai toy segment is flashy but thin. Fine background watching, though you won’t miss much if you skip it.