Jose Santiago: BBC's Top Gear, the unconventional motor TV show

Although there are hundreds of motor programmes on TV, all of them seem to be the same. They are presented by a good-looking girl, who, I find it hard to believe, is there because of her speaking skills. Besides, most people cannot afford those expensive sports cars they show as if they were runabouts. Finally, a man’s voice-over tells us how incredibly majestic all the cars are.

Fortunately, exceptions do exist; yes, I am speaking about a TV-show called TOP GEAR. This programme is hosted by three men, Jeremy, James and Richard, who test cars and make funny interviews to VIPs. They do not intend to sell every single car as the best ever, and above all they do it humorously. They also test themselves any other kind of vehicle through very extravagant trials, which clearly demonstrate the programme’s ultimate intention, which is entertainment. However, like the rest of its competitors, TOP GEAR mainly tends to show expensive cars.

If your curiosity is now growing, I have attached a funny video of the show, so you will be able to notice why it is famous and successful worldwide. In Spain you can watch it daily from 8.15 to 10.15 a.m. on CUATRO (available in English, of course).

Thank you so much, Jose. Well, I can only say I utterly love the show, everything about it: from the opening music (a classic rock song, The Alman Bros' "Jessica") to Jeremy Clarkson's dry, often politically incorrect humour, and the wacky car tests, but above all, when the show puts celebrities in a "reasonably priced car". To give you an example, let's watch Spain's #1 public enemy as regards F1, indeed Lewis Hamilton, who visited Top Gear after his debut season in 2008. It's a good laugh to hear him say that our Fernando (his teammate then) "is a bloody good driver" before Jeremy jokingly boasts he once overtook him on an Oxford ring road!

But how about something a little more glamorous? This is Cameron & Tom (Diaz and Cruise, that is) in another reasonably-priced car. Who'll do the fastest lap?

C'mon folks, do as Jose and send your posts for our blog!

BBC's "Holiday": Salamanca (1999)

Some twelve years ago I videotaped (those were the days of non-digital technology!) this two-and-a-half-minute clip from the famous travel programme on the BBC, Holiday. I've always treasured the recording (that's why I later digitalized it and eventually uploaded it on Youtube), as it reminds me of the programme's hugely popular host in those days, the gorgeous Jill Dando, who was tragically murdered a few months later outside his London home by an unknown gunman.

Dando does not appear on the video, but one of her co-presenters instead, whose Indian name I'm unable to remember right now. But that's another story. Anyway, I've transcribed the script down below. Then (no script available this time, sorry!) a former British politician, Michael Portillo, whose father was a Spanish law professor at our university in Franco's days and, being a staunch Republican, went into exile to the UK, came to Spain on a rather spiritual journey searching for his roots. The last stage was, not by chance, our beautiful town. Just one thing: the sound and the picture are slightly out of sync (more noticeably during Portillo's part), but I can't fix the glitch.

Holiday Presenter: A couple of hours down the road to another of Castille’s great cities, Salamanca, which clothes like gold, if you’ve been poetic, or, more prosaically, like sandstone, which is what it's made of. The hotel itself literally grafted onto the ruins of an old church. In fact, this is the kind of place where you can’t fall out of bed without tripping over a monastery or a cathedral. This extravaganza is inside the convent of St. Stephen.

Salamanca’s other claim to fame is its university, built in the 13th century and once as prestigious as Oxford. But that was before the Inquisition got its claws into the place. You have to wonder what was going on in the mind of the sculptor who came up with these creatures.

Salamanca is overwhelmingly one colour: sand. It’s a very nice colour, but when you’ve done the university … sand, the cathedral … sand, the convent … sand, just about all the houses … sand, you get to feel maybe enough is enough and you’re parched for a bit of colour. Did I say … a bit of colour?

The turn-of-the-century Casa Lis is a deluge of colour. It’s now a museum of art nouveau and art deco, with some stunning bits and bobs on display. It’s an oasis in the sand, and the playful contrast to the pomp and circumstance outside.

Night falls on one of the most beautiful Plaza Mayors in Spain. The whole town seems to be here, among them the temporary residents: students, who’ve also come out to play.

Student 1: I think the fact that it’s such a small place and everything is packed into it. It’s not really lacking anything: I mean, nightlife, people, the restaurants, I mean the buildings.

Student 2: It’s the true Spain what you experience when you come here.

Presenter: True Spain? Well, it’s certainly a vision of old Spain which time has not withered.