Top Gear-Patagonia Special (2015) |
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Top Gear-Patagonia Special (2015) |
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| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Documentary | Bonus Episode-Australian Special | |
| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 2015 | ||
| Running Time | 120:47 | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | Dual Layered | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Ads Then Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | None Given |
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Studio
Distributor |
 Roadshow Home Entertainment |
Starring |
Jeremy Clarkson James May Richard Hammond |
| Case | ? | ||
| RPI | ? | Music | None Given |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None | English Dolby Digital 2.0 | |
| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
 |
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| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles | English for the Hearing Impaired | Smoking | No |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
Top Gear was on UK Television on and off since 1978, however most people probably associate the name more with the most recent incarnation featuring Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May which ran from 2002 up until the recent unceremonious demise of the show based on yet another scandal involving Jeremy Clarkson. This disc includes the special which preceded the last season of the show and was the special which triggered the penultimate scandal (as opposed to the scandal which finally killed the show off).
This two hour special features the boys travelling through South America on a mission to improve British/Argentinian relations by staging a car football game in Tierra Del Fuego. They start more than 1000 kms away in northern Argentina and travel through the back roads of Chile and Argentina as they head south. Their transportation this time is 3 old classic V8s with each one of them choosing their car. Jeremy chooses a V8 Porsche, Hammond an old Mustang and James a Lotus Esprit which the others laugh at but proves to be the best car. They travel through the Andes, ford rivers, finish bridges, get stuck in swamps and more before arriving at their destination only to find they are set upon by protesters seemingly due to the number plate on Jeremy's Porsche which alludes to the Falklands War (allegedly). They are basically run out of the country with the crew needing to ditch the cars in order to escape over the border into Chile.
Even without the drama at the end this is one of their better adventure specials from recent years and the two hours are an enjoyable ride of the usual silliness, childish pranks, scrapes and breakdowns. If you like Top Gear, there is much to enjoy in this special. Recommended.
The video quality is decent but there is too much content for one DVD.
The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 16x9 enhanced.
The picture was fairly soft throughout. The shadow detail was good.
The colour was good without being great.
There was quite a bit of simmering on display and some obvious motion blur.
There are subtitles available in English for the Hearing Impaired which are clear and easy to read.
There are no obvious layer changes during playback.
| Sharpness |  |
| Shadow Detail | |
| Colour |  |
| Grain/Pixelization | |
| Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
| Film Artefacts | |
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The audio quality is good.
This disc contains a English soundtrack in Dolby Digital 2.0.
Dialogue was generally clear and easy to hear and understand.
The surround speakers and subwoofer were not used.
| Dialogue | |
| Audio Sync | |
| Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
| Surround Channel Use |  |
| Subwoofer | |
| Overall | |
One significant extra
The menu included music and motion.
An extended version of the Australian special episode from Season 22. The boys hit the Northern Territory in a Bentley Continental GT, Nissan GTR and BMW M6 Grand Coupe. They do speed and braking tests, a mine hill climb, check their number plates for offensive messages and go cattle herding. Worth watching but not as good as the main feature.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
This show is available in the UK in the same format and also on Blu-ray.
The video quality is decent, although three hours of content shows where the capacity of DVD ends.
The audio quality is good.
The extra is another one hour show.| Video | |
| Audio | |
| Extras | |
| Plot | |
| Overall | |
| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Panasonic DMR-PWT500, using HDMI output |
| Display | Sharp LC52LE820X Quattron 52" Full HD LED-LCD TV . Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p. |
| Audio Decoder | Built into amplifier. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. |
| Amplification | Marantz SR5005 |
| Speakers | Monitor Audio Bronze 2 (Front), Bronze Centre & Bronze FX (Rears) + Sony SAW2500M Subwoofer |