The Top Gear Iceberg Explained 

Some things I feel important to mention, a few days on: This isn't an exhaustive list by any means. There are many more things I could (and should) have included, but either chose not to, felt too difficult to implement, or felt too risky to include (including one I'll mention at the bottom of this comment). But as I state in the video, I felt like making it since no-one else had made one, whether image or video covering it. If someone makes a different iceberg in the future, I may make another one of these videos explaining it. Don't rule it out. Outside of the content covered, there were elements I chose to cut back on, namely BGM/water sound effects since I felt they'd get monotonous after a while, and any water-related video effects. I had a general idea of how I would achieve this, but didn't want to put in the extra work, as I felt the image on its own was enough. Speaking of, I realised fairly early on that the resolution I produced this image at was inadequate, and that zooming in would cause pixelization. Unfortunately, by that point I'd already finished much of the image and was in no mood to start over, as it would mean I'd have to redo the original Iceberg image (including the extension I made), upscaling all of the text, along with redoing all the extras I'd cut out, shaded and added to the image, such as the Airship, Hilux and Car Boats. This would have easily taken another day out of my time, maybe even a couple. There's a bit of a video glitch around ~35 minutes in, as one of the Iceberg layers didn't zoom in as I'd originally designed and instead sticks on "Old Top Gear Website" when it shouldn't have. This is a minor error and isn't worth fixing. There's also a missing fade-in effect when I talk about the test track, but again, this is minor. A few of the website screenshots and book scans I used were sent to me by other people around March/April time (told you this video had been in the pipeline a while :P) since it was quite difficult to source them independently as websites such as Pistonheads are a nightmare to search and trying to printscreen books from the Internet Archive with anything less than a 2K monitor is torture. I did go over these images first to make sure I wasn't unwittingly revealing the personal information of any of the people who helped to make this video possible, but unfortunately a couple times there was stuff which slipped through the cracks. Thankfully I was able to edit these out in post using RU-vid's editor, but for future reference; if you're going to send me a screenshot or piece of video to use in an upcoming video, *please* make sure you pay your due dilligence first and hide/remove anything you don't want 30,000 people (and counting) to see. That reflects as badly on me as it does you, and I have spoken to them to make sure it doesn't happen again. That said, please don't harrass these people if you did see something prior to the edit. Funnily enough, the original script featured a reference to the disgraced Top Gear RU-vidr Hell Toréer in the final layer, but I thought this was pushing things too far since the manner in which those incriminating images were obtained was very sketchy, and I didn't want to bring any controversy upon myself nor did I want to be accused of doxing or the individual(s) who procured those screenshots to be accused of such. But I digress. If you liked this video, subscribe to my alt (Gearknob Productions) as there will be a 2 hour documentary on the history of Hot Wheels coming soon, and consider donating/subscribing via Ko-Fi and/or Patreon. That is all.

I wonder how the BBC feels knowing there's loads of people out there who would rather watch content like this than new episodes of Top Gear

I love that "actual consumer advice" is one of the deepest layers, thats why we all loved Top Gear

For any lad born in the 90’s / early 00’s, TG will always hold a special place in their heart. At its peak it was must-see TV. Staying up late to watch the specials with my brother and dad are still some of the best memories I have from my childhood. I really don’t think there will ever be another show quite like it. Lightning in a bottle.

The scene where May hit his head with so much force on that stone makes me feel pain even to this day.

Also "The Holy Trinity" refers to how, shortly before Clarkson was let go and the other two quit, they had plans to race the aforementioned McLaren, Porsche, and Ferrari head-to-head to see which one was better. They never got around to doing this on Top Gear, but they were able to do so on the very first episode of The Grand Tour.

The Chilean pin badges (as well as mugs iirc) were a show of thanks to chili as the authorities there were a huge help in getting them back across the boarder as I understand

Also, for May’s test of the Ariel Atom, Tiff Needell was revealed to have driven for the more high-speed and extreme shots.

Im dying! Everything seemed so factual, professional and objective until "they would settle on this annoying ginger TWAT!" at 7:15 rofl!

wtf is top gear r34 im crying

Regarding caravans, Clarkson once appeared on the show Room 101 where the guests had to present things they hated and convince the host why they deserve to be banished to Room 101. His first item was caravans, so this is a long running hatred of his. I vaguely remember him explaining that caravans are limited to a slower speed so they often caused massive tailbacks and it's difficult to overtake them safely. Also fun fact, when Richard Hammond acted as host for the show Braniac on Sky One in the early 2000s, they also destroyed a bunch of caravans as a recurring gag, so it might be a reference to his role on Top Gear

I feel that part of it was the controversial statements and actions of the three that helped give the show it’s charm. Along with the pure chemistry of Clarkson, Hammond, and May. It never felt like any of them were the primary host, they all had their own great moments.

Dave and TopGear re runs had an important role to play in my life as a migrant in the UK, around 2007. I've learnt a lot from the episodes, while being entertained the whole time. I also develop my passion for cars and passed my drivers license in 2012 :)

Top Gear pretty much defines my childhood. Clarkson, love him or hate him, is an excellent producer and is made even funnier and more controversial by his colleagues which for me makes the show even more iconic. The BBCs attempts to revive the show after they murdered it have never pleased me. If they were gonna take away the most iconic parts of the show (the presenters) they should have just cancelled it and reserved it’s legacy.

Not usually a fan of Iceberg videos, but the way you deliver this is so clear cut and much more informative than others. Looking forward to more diverse content from the golden boys.

One thing that wasn't mentioned was a Top Gear DVD special that was basically Hammond being recorded sitting in some garage and asking questions like "which do you think has more power, the Ford Mondeo or a tractor" and with a remote you could choose. I remember this fondly from my childhood

Tonight on Top Gear: I drove a electric golf cart, James crashes into iceberg, And Richard crashes his car again.

Been on final gear a few times recently, the site is still up but it feels pretty skeletal the original dev's passing certainly didn't help keep the site afloat, but it is still out there The fact that Andy Willman and JC acknowledged and interacted with the final gear userbase in the behind the scenes extra footage is remarkable.

That lesser-seen series 1 intro is nightmare fuel. The final bars were used as a break intro/outro on Dave versions til at least Series 10, possibly later.

I came across Top Gear when it first came onto Netflix. I was naturally a diehard gear guy, so it was awesome to see all the cool cars that came on, but I have kept being a fan of it (The Clarkson era) and the Grand Tour due to the ongoing hilarious antics of Clarkson, Hammond, and May. You did a fantastic job on the video and in your research. Keep up the splendid work!

when it comes to the arts and media, people like things either because they're good or they're controversial. to be both at the same time is pretty impressive and is surely a large part of how successful top gear was

If I remember correctly, Jeremy had injured his neck in Japan when driving the GT-R around the track he was on and they had to stop filming. I think underlying issues with that injury fueled the pain he felt in the Renault brick wall crash. He was hurt twice in that episode now that I think about it. Slid out of his seat trying to slide the truck and the brick wall crash.

*TIMESTAMPS FOR YOUR REPLAY PLEASURE!!!* 00:00 Introduction and notes 01:49 *A) 1st level of Iceberg* 02:00 "Jessica" Theme Tune 02:55 The Holy Trinity 03:32 The Cars 04:07 The Challenges 04:37 The Celebrities 05:19 Nicknames & Catchphrases 05:57 Specials 06:31 Controversies 07:13 Chris Evans 07:47 Ratings Drop 08:35 Redneck Incident 09:19 The Dacia Sandero 09:54 The Grand Tour 10:41 Hammond's Accidents 10:45 Finalgear 11:22 Funny Sponsors 11:55 Pre-2002 Top Gear 12:40 *B) Second level of iceberg* 12:47 Dave 13:16 Top Gear Magazine 14:08 Caravans and Morris Marinas 15:11 Informercials 16:08 Clarkson's Punch-Up 17:42 "Bentley Mulsanne" 18:05 On-Screen Injuries 18:54 Cool Wall 19:55 Charity Specials 20:36 The Tesla Scandal 21:26 The Guardian 21:59 English-Language Adaptations 22:36 The Interceptors 23:17 Scene Releases 24:17 The Stig's Past Identities 24:44 *C) Third level of iceberg* 24:52 The Stig's Current Identity 25:36 There Were Multiple Stigs 26:26 Other Adaptations 27:19 Clarkson's Solo Home Videos 28:11 Clarkson's Original "Holy Trinity" Wager 28:47 Jason Dawe 29:13 The South American Connection 29:57 Celebrity Brain Crash 30:27 TGT Game 31:03 Trading Card Games 32:02 SniffPetrol 32:33 Audience Member Placement 32:58 Mazda Fire-Ai 33:37 Keanu Reeves SIARPC 34:08 Richard Hammond's Odd Jobs 34:36 *D) Fourth level of iceberg* (Note: Although it is not mentioned explicitly in the video this section is represented in the original illustration of the iceberg over at 01:43 as a separate level. Consider this as a continuation of the third level if you must) 34:43 The Old Top Gear Website 35:09 Stigs Are Farmed 35:40 Top Gear Dog 36:10 Top Gear Stunt Man 36:47 Strictly Come Dancing Is Crap 37:16 Gambon's Corner Original Name 38:10 Series 9 DVD Release 39:58 The Boneyard 40:26 Hangar Roof Logo is CGI 40:50 They Don't Really Drive The Cars 42:08 Restoration Rip-Off 43:05 Jabba355 43:48 Top Gear Xtra 44:43 Greatest Car Competition 45:38 Series 3, Episode 10 46:56 Top Gear-themed Lost Media 47:39 *E) Fifth level of iceberg* 47:49 The Black Stig Is Still Alive 48:39 Perry McCarthy Was NOT the Stig 49:09 Goodyear, Stickleback & Bunsen Burner 49:37 Top Gear Rule 34 49:45 "I Went On The Internet" Mystery Image 50:35 Top Gear Pilot Episodes 51:03 The First 2002 Intro Sequence 52:58 Rejected 2006 Intro Sequence 53:43 Woollarding 54:01 JC Death Hoax 54:50 Heat Weird Crush 55:13 Actual Consumer Advice 55:54 Jennings and the Planned operation 56:17 *F) Sixth level of iceberg* 56:36 4K Episode Urban Myth 57:59 Clarkson Was Replaced By A Clone 58:44 Clarkson Island Is Real 59:19 Ashes To Ashes Charity Special 59:40 1000HP MG Power Lap 01:00:46 Ferrari On The Moon 01:01:06 Jason Dawe Moved To Miami 01:01:31 The First "Yeet" 01:02:07 Richard Cat-mond 01:02:23 JC = Jesus Christ 01:02:37 Top Gear Is A Lead Poisoning Documentary 01:03:13 Richard Porter Is A Timelord 01:05:37 Top Gear Apocalypse is the show's canonical/"true" ending. 01:06:26 Headcases is the show's canonical/"true" ending. 01:06:52 Outro + Closing Notes + Channel Updates.

I'll be honest, it's not amazing Clarkson "kept his composure for that long" because a lot of people have bad periods and don't end up punching their colleagues. What I will say however is he knew he messed up, reported it, apologised, and rebuked those who attacked the guy, that was the right course of action.

let's get this around, high quality. The best person to make an "iceberg" is the type of person who realizes how lazy they have become.

This is a superb video. I know how hard it is to edit 70 minutes of video and keep it all interesting and consistent. You've clearly worked your arse off to get this out, and it was very very entertaining.

Hey mate, I would love to see a full length video breaking down why the current top gear doesn't work.

Great video mate, just wanted to say that there was a minor mistake - the Charlie Turner recently retired a few months ago and Jack Rix took up his role as Editor in Chief of TG mag, the same guy who hosts most of TG YT's vids

An interesting note about the alternate 2002 title sequence- every time an older episode of Top Gear is shown on Dave and it breaks for adverts, the jingle at 52:08 is played. Probably the only remnant of the alternate theme tune still shown on TV.

Wow, this video is a year old now, I do hope another video is coming soon because this channel has resparked my Top Gear interest realising there's pretty much a more behind it

That cgi roof logo is nuts I never noticed that

Hey mate, just wanted to say thanks for this quality content. I just learned about top gear about 4 months ago and this content really helps learn about the top gear subculture alot!

Here before 1k views, 849 specifically. Marking this so when I look back in a few months to see how popular this video is. Great video, GearKnob!

Really enjoyed this video. I know you aren't particularly huge on "Icebergs", but I do enjoy this sort of content as I find out way more than even I realized I had known myself, even if it is rather in segments. Though even I'll agree, there are many out there that are of rather poor, lazy quality. This certainly was done with care and interesting tidbits.

All hail the king of esoteric Top Gear deeplore! The domain of the blessed ancients (ie people who weren’t children when post 2002 top gear was on)

After finishing this I feel I've learnt a lot and you clearly have a near total understanding of the subject unlike some iceberg content nowadays. This is brilliant, and it didn't feel too much like an Iceberg so thanks mate

"-when the BBC instructed that its FTP be shut down-" Almost every _actual_ problem that production had, was caused - or exacerbated - by management. I don't think it's impossible to recreate Top Gear... I think it's impossible to do it, if you actually hated the people that made Top Gear.

I think you should try to do an interview with Richard Porter, he seems most likely to sit down and do an interview with you.

I think that the attempts at making foreign adaptations struggling were a tell-tale sign that the original trio were the... driving force to the show, along with their fantastic crew. I love watching the GT and occasionally seeing the crew behind the camera having a laugh with Director Andy Willman at the helm, it shows a level of transparency and grounding, unlike the massively over-produced shows that look like car commercials today. It really adds another level to the show. I would recommend Car Throttle's channel on YT. Those lads are on to something, natural chemistry and comedy, proper banger cars and lash-up mods for their specials with fast and loose rules of safety in the pursuit of having a laugh on camera in some cars.

Really great video. I cant imagine the extent you went to get all the b-roll footage + the research, my patience could never! Earned a sub. Keep up the good work mate!

Bro made an iceberg chart and said "its because i need clout, not because i like my audience"

Youre extnesive, in-depth research, knowledge and love for this show earned you my sub immediately. Your videos are thorough and well laid out so that even non-(top) gear heads can follow along. I still cant get enough of this show and still find myself watching episodes ive seen before a handful of times. Well done and continue on.... just dont end on a bombshell please.

I do understand your troubles into making these videos. You put so much time and effort into finding rare Top Gear content for us all to see. I know it may look cool to watch, but not cool when you try to find it and upload it on to RU-vid. But we at least understand now that making RU-vid videos like these ones aren’t so easy to make now that the viewer has waited so long for the person to upload them on to their respected channel and that we could find out why they have taken so long. You’re an absolute legend who, but no one else, could find such related content. Thanks for brightening up my day with this and keep up the good work! 😊❤️

Amazing video! I've been a fan of top gear for about a decade now and this video definitely got me to know my favorite tv show more. Thanks for the content and I hope you're able to continue producing more videos like these in the future!

Top Gear did have a game thought. It was a stunt game. I had it on my iPod touch in like 2012. It was just a bunch of challenges that you could do, and then you could unlock other items to use like rocket boosters and wings and such. You could also do the free roam part of the game where you could drive around the test track with all the items you had unlocked, and use them however you wanted.

This is the first time I have come across the "Iceberg" video essay/review as a concept. Seen loads of "top tens" and "tier lists" this one is new to me.

Kudos for filling the gap in the market with this video, and I respect your views on most iceberg videos so I’m really glad you approached it the way you did!

Thanks for putting in the effort to make this video about one of my favorite series of all time. Quite the quality production!

Don't worry about how long this video took! I absolutely love your videos! I understand how long this takes, but your videos are the best-top gear related content on RU-vid!

Fantastic as usual! Really enjoyed this, I thought I knew everything there was to know about the show, but clearly not! 😂 I’ll look forward to the next one.

As an ex-Finalgear regular, thanks for the mention. Alex deservers every bit of credit for introducing this pokey little motoring show to the international masses.

34:25 is absolute comedy gold, Richards face said it all 😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣

Very much enjoyed and appreciate the effort you put in to this!

I would've added the Phineas & Ferb cameo of the 3 TG hosts in a (fittingly) racing episode from the animated series, my jaw dropped when I saw the scene but I'd assume it's probably well known

Crazy amount of work you've put in here! So fascinating to see the history of this timeless masterpiece

Amazingly detailed video. Can't imagine working for 25 days on this. Where did you get such high quality sources for the scenes of the episodes? I live outside the UK so it's not easy to find somewhere I can watch Top Gear.

Wow, thanks for all the work this took to make!

13:11 James May: "Now as regular viewers of Dave will know we have, over the last 24 hours, done our very best to rid the world of the caravan menace."

One of the best videos I have seen on this site mate, well done!

I've never actually watched one singular Top Gear episode while paying attention, but I'm willing to believe that that one guy is a time lord

I sometimes wonder how the BBC knows that they lost the three best Car Program hosts to have ever lived, but I know that the BBC's ego is too high and mighty to feel regret in any form or admit when they make mistakes.

The lead poising theory is hilarious 😂😂😂

I was away when this released but thoroughly enjoyed catching up! Great work. Thank you.

*I was waiting for someone to make this. Thank You*

This not even felt like a hour long video... it's like i just started it. Great work, even tho you don't have much time to read that. Also this comes in my TG Playlist.

We don’t have top gear UK in the US so I didn’t grow up watching the golden era of top gear but one day I found some funny moments of the news on RU-vid and I was hooked. Clarkson Hammond and May where the best trio I’ve seen on this show and I constantly go back and watch old episodes on RU-vid if I can find them. It’s a shame that they left but thankfully TGT is available to me so I get new content all the time

This is the first Iceberg video I've watched in full, good job on it.

This is without a doubt the best 'Iceberg Explained' video I've seen to date. I call myself a Top Gear fan yet I barely even knew half of this stuff.

21:37 Jesus, what did Greta do to you? Very arsey comment there

@30:30 There actually was a Top Gear Game that came out on DVD. It had various challenges such as a quiz and some other things. I don't remember too much of it as I was 7/8 at the time but i remember using my DVD player remote to answer the questions (must have been circa 07/08)

I was waiting for this video, you did mention you’re working on this if I remember correctly. I’m so glad you didn’t do an iceberg video with minecraft gameplay as the background. Thank you for the video.

That's a very interesting way to start of a video. Telling the audience straight away that you're exhausted from working on it and could not be bothered to finish it properly

54:35 Where did you find this apparent eulogy video by Chris Morris? This video is absolutely brilliant, by the way. This whole channel is a pure gold. Well done!

39:00 To add insult to injury, the way DMAX airs Top gear to this day is by having the original audio SLIGHTLY turned down and then talking over it in german. And sometimes they just don't translate certain sections, so the dubbing stops and the original audio keeps going in the background.

Awesome video. Amazed at some of the things you found. Top marks

Great job Alex, really enjoyed this and hasn't a clue about most of this stuff. Shoutout to you and your crew in the Discord server!

I think you called Jabba's bluff, I doubt he actually has access to the BBC vault, he was ripping them off Dave reruns with a TV to VCR recorder, then digitising them for torrenting.

The Dacia Sandero. Its delayed!

I heard that there was a lost episode that features Richard Hammond nearly dying in a car crash and he had no memory but when he was shown the footage he didn't want it brought up again.

wait till they start to air "Bottom Gear"

When I was a kid, I had most of series 1 (2002) recorded on VHS. Shame the tapes are long, long gone. It might have been possible to rescue a few original broadcast episodes if they had. EDIT: I do however, have all the Jabba releases and other releases to make a complete collection series 1-22 stored away on a hard drive. I even kept one of the old episode guides made by someone on FinalGear.

truly impressive efforts in making this video, thank you! I only discovered this show because of the Ukraine special meme, and since then I became really interested in it, so it's always nice to learn some "lore" :)

i usually skip to the end of the video to see the stuff i dont know about, but i actually watched this whole video and found out about a bunch of new thing i had no clue about

This is why I love watching icebergs of things I’m really interested in

This gonna be interesting

I wonder what the response to ‘new’ Top Gear would have been if they had went with the current 3 from the start. Sure McGuiness and Flintoff aren’t experts, but Harris is a very knowledgeable guy and a great presenter.

A very important part of Top Gear to me was the half hour snippets of episodes that were aired in the US on the Discovery channel back in 2004 or 2005, I saw the Lotus v Apache segment you start your video with and was instantly hooked.

there hasnt been a top gear after clarkson left, the only thing we have is the occasional grand tour episode

After watching at least half of your video, I'd say your point on tier and iceberg videos being for people with bad attention spans is an unfair assessment. They're handy to learn briefly of many topics in an area you're unfamiliar in, or just want a refresh of the scene. Also, the quality iceberg videos I've seen from the likes of Parallel Pipes are roughly an hour long and above, which as someone who's best friends with a hyperactive, that is far too long for someone lacking attention to sit through. No need to slander a different form of content to yours, especially while you make your own version not that different from the rest (or at least the ones I've seen). Besides that point I kept thinking about, it's a useful video.

I adored the iceberg and the high quality video 🔥🔥

I enjoyed this video very much! Excellent details and enough time spent on each topic. Well done. I’m a long time subscriber and ask all who can pitch in to help you out to do so.

For reference, the Clarkson obit was done by Victor Lewis-Smith on TV Offal, he died a full series of "honest obituaries" that always ended with "who died today".

Just a quick addition to the Audience placement part : The director sometimes would put his daughter & or her friends in the shot directly behind Jeremy Clarkson. Which is likely what sometimes added to the idea that "provocative women" were behind Clarkson.

wow this look awesome

Hello Gearknob lad!!! First of all, this channel is one of my favourites recently. Your extensive research of 3 car driving buffoons on the telly and immense time you put into these videos is just incredible! I got a strong memory of Top Gear which I have barely seen being talked about ever. In 2013 - 2015, top gear had 2 mobile games. One being derived off Subway Surfers called Race The Stig and the other being Stunt School. Race The Stig was so bloody fun, the car detail and nods to the show were spot on! Didn’t play much of Stunt School though, that one was rather jank, physics wise! I can’t find these games anywhere now outside of old gameplay videos, screenshots and a promo they did for Race The Stig. Would love to know if you (or any other people in this comment section) have any more knowledge on these games ! Cheers

Wow what a video! Really enjoyed this deep dive!

Hey man, if you'd like to promote your second channel more, I'd advise you put it in your "Featured Channels" on your profile so people can find it and know it exists other than by the final end bits of your videos. Should hopefully help somewhat to be a permanent link that isnt hidden in your video descriptions either.

I've never seen any of these iceberg videos you mentioned, but this was interesting.

The "slope" gag in the Burma special was over a year before Clarksons sacking..

I enjoy how every iceberg starts with “I dont like icebergs” (justifying iceberg) “level 1 is stuff you all know”