As I scoured Google Images for a picture to accompany my Lego reality show post, pictures of James May's mop-topped mug kept popping up in my browser. What possibly could the Top Gear presenter have in common with the classic kids' toy that has caused a million foot fatalities? If you've ever stepped on one barefoot, especially the one peg bricks, you know how close to death it actually feels.
It turns out he lived in a whole house made out of them for our amusement. The Lego house was one of many projects for James May's Toy Stories, a series of projects designed to show kids that the classic toys of yesteryear can be just as cool as their newfangled video games and iPods.
This particular story does have an unhappy ending. The producers tried to sell the house to the Lego company for one of their theme parks, but the cost of transporting the house was too much. So they had to tear it down.
Top Gear-related stories
What does James May and three million Legos have in common?
Top Gear's James May takes his new special to the Moon
You wouldn't think a guy nicknamed Captain Slow by his co-hosts on Top Gear would have a deep-seeded fascination with journeying to the Moon.But super car presenter James May (right) has held a childhood dream to experience how it feels to fly to the edge of space in the upcoming BBC America special, James May on the Moon.
According to a Beeb press release, the special follows May as he connects with the astronauts who ventured into space, as well as the engineers and mechanics who built the vehicles that took them there.
And, in keeping with that Top Gear spirit, May takes a virtual test drive in those vintage space vehicles -- recreating the tests and journeys of the original space pioneers.
Continue reading Top Gear's James May takes his new special to the Moon
Top Gear's Richard Hammond insists those rednecks were the real McCoys
Every Top Gear fan remembers the little excursion that Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond took through the southeastern corridor and the very warm reception they received in rural Alabama. For those of you who haven't seen that episode or still can't grasp the concept of sarcasm, you can watch the whole thing here. The long and the short of it is the challenge ended at a backwoods gas station where a group of nearby hillbillies attacked their cars and the crew's vans with rocks, sticks and just about anything their beer stained hands could grab without the need of an opposable thumb.
Hammond wrote in his new memoir Or Is That Just Me? that fans constantly ask him if those rednecks were the genuine article or "just made up for the telly." Hammond not only insisted in an excerpt from the book printed in The Times that they were real people, but they also gave him one of the biggest scares of his life.
What's On Tonight: Sherri, Two and a Half Men, Gossip Girl, Unwrapped
TBS has a Family Guy marathon all night.- At 7, Lifetime has the series premiere of Sherri, then the season premiere of Rita Rocks.
- At 8, ABC has a new, two-hour Dancing with the Stars, then a new Castle.
- CBS has a new How I Met Your Mother, followed by new episodes of Accidentally on Purpose, Two and a Half Men, Big Bang Theory, and CSI: Miami.
- NBC has new episodes of Heroes, Trauma, and The Jay Leno Show.
- FOX has a new House at 8, the a new Lie to Me.
- There's a new One Tree Hill on The CW at 8, followed by a new Gossip Girl.
- ABC Family has a new Lincoln Heights at 8, then a new Greek.
- Also at 8: BBC America has a new Top Gear.
- At 9, USA has a new Monday Night RAW.
- TCM has An American in Paris at 9.
- Food Network has a new Unwrapped at 9.
- At 10, Food Network has a new Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.
- At 11, BET has the series premiere of The Mo'Nique Show.
Check your local TV listings for more.
After the jump, the late night talk shows.
Continue reading What's On Tonight: Sherri, Two and a Half Men, Gossip Girl, Unwrapped
Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson: 1950-1988
Some tragic news has been discovered in the winding and weaving tunnels of the YouTube archives: Jeremy Clarkson died in 1988. A British TV program (or is that programme?) about TV called TV Offal (pronounced "awful") broke the sad news that the Top Gear car curmudgeon and TV presenter passed away while filming one of his infamous car reviews. The show reported that Clarkson died in a car accident due to driver inattention. Just think, if the accident had happened now, his blimp-like ego could have acted as an impromptu airbag and saved his life.
The show's faux-obituary paid a not-so-loving tribute to the car show star by remembering his extremely mixed metaphors, teenage testosterone fueled attitude and inability to let the 1970's go. TV Squad would like to offer our deepest condolences to his family members who existed more than 20 years ago.
What's On Tonight: Dancing with the Stars, Heroes, House, Big Bang Theory
At 7, TV Land starts their 40th Anniversary Brady Bunch marathon.- At 8, ABC has the two-hour season premiere of Dancing with the Stars, followed by the season premiere of Castle.
- CBS has the season premiere of How I Met Your Mother at 8, then the series premiere of Accidentally on Purpose and the season premieres of Two and a Half Men, Big Bang Theory, and CSI: Miami.
- NBC has the two-hour season premiere of Heroes at 8, then a new Jay Leno Show.
- FOX has the two-hour season premiere of House at 8.
- There's a new One Tree Hill on The CW at 8, followed by a new Gossip Girl.
- ABC Family has a new Lincoln Heights at 8, then a new Greek.
- Also at 8: BBC America has a new Top Gear.
- At 8:30, ESPN has a new Monday Night Football, the Colts vs. the Dolphins.
- At 9, USA has a new Monday Night RAW.
- Food Network has a new Unwrapped at 9.
- At 10, E! has Fashion Police: The 2009 Emmy Awards.
- A&E has a new Hoarders at 10.
Check your local TV listings for more.
After the jump, the late night talk shows.
Continue reading What's On Tonight: Dancing with the Stars, Heroes, House, Big Bang Theory
What's On Tonight: Top Gear, Secret Life, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
ABC has a Castle marathon all night.- At 7, ESPN2 has more U.S. Open coverage.
- At 8, ABC Family has a new Secret Life of the American Teenager, then a new Greek.
- ESPN has College Football at 8, Miami vs. Florida State.
- BBC America has a new Top Gear at 8.
- At 9, PBS has a new History Detectives.
- USA has a new Monday Night RAW at 9.
- There's a new Unwrapped on Food Network at 9.
- At 10, TLC has a new Ultimate Cake-Off.
- Food Network has a new Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives at 10.
- Travel Channel has a new Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations at 10.
- A&E has a new Hoarders at 10.
- Also at 10: E! has a new The Soup Presents.
Check your local TV listings for more.
After the jump, the late night talk shows.
Continue reading What's On Tonight: Top Gear, Secret Life, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
What's On Tonight: U.S. Open, CMA Music Festival, Weeds
- At 7, ESPN2 has U.S. Open Tennis.
- At 8, ABC has the CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock.
- ABC Family has a new Secret Life of the American Teenager at 8, followed by the season premiere of Greek.
- ESPN has Pre-Season Football at 8, the Vikings vs. the Texans.
- BBC America has a new Top Gear at 8.
- At 9, USA has a new Monday Night RAW.
- TLC has a new Jon & Kate Plus 8 at 9, then a new Ultimate Cake-Off.
- At 10, NBC has a new Dateline.
- Showtime has the season finale of Weeds at 10.
- Food Network has a new Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives at 10.
- E! has a new The Soup Presents at 10.
- Also at 10: Travel Channel has a new Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.
Check your local TV listings for more.
After the jump, the late night talk shows.
Continue reading What's On Tonight: U.S. Open, CMA Music Festival, Weeds
Is it wrong that I don't hate ABC's Crash Course?
ABC's newest stunt game show Crash Course looks exactly like the kind of show that bloggers and critics watch just so they could put their "Suck Extinguishers" to good use. And yet 45 minutes of TV viewing later, I'm not even feeling the need to break the protective glass. On the surface, it appears to be just another reality/game show with typical contestants having their ids scared for life for cash and/or prizes and most of it is just that.
And even though it met those stereotypical expectations, I still didn't hate it. Part of me actually kind of (gulp) enjoyed it. Did I just swallow my brains along with my pride?
Continue reading Is it wrong that I don't hate ABC's Crash Course?
Vampire Diaries' cross promotion could inspire more TV charities
Cross promotions are not a new concept to TV heads, but this one cooked up by the folks behind the CW's Vampire Diaries deserves a Peabody Award. As Brad mentioned earlier today, The Vampire Diaries is being cross-promoted with the American Red Cross in which the show is hosting its own blood drive.
What a great idea and a great cause! Just think of the other charitable promotions this will inspire other shows to tackle.
Continue reading Vampire Diaries' cross promotion could inspire more TV charities
What's On Tonight: Millionaire, Glenn Martin, DDS, Top Gear, Dating in the Dark
At 7:30, Nickelodeon has two new episodes of Penguins of Madagascar, then the series premiere of Glenn Martin, DDS.- At 8, ABC has a new Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, followed by a new Dating in the Dark.
- NBC has a new Great American Road Trip at 8.
- ABC Family has a new Secret Life of the American Teenager at 8, then a new Make It or Break It.
- ESPN has Pre-Season Football at 8, the Giants vs. the Panthers.
- ESPN2 has Little League Baseball at 8.
- BBC America has a new Top Gear at 8.
- At 9, TLC has a new Jon & Kate Plus 8.
- TNT has a new episode of The Closer at 9, then a new Raising the Bar.
- USA has a new Monday Night RAW at 9.
- At 10, NBC has a new Dateline.
- Showtime has a new Weeds at 10, followed by a new Nurse Jackie.
- TLC has a new Cake Boss at 10.
- Food Network has a new Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives at 10.
- Also at 10: Travel Channel has a new Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.
Check your local TV listings for more.
After the jump, the late night talk shows.
Continue reading What's On Tonight: Millionaire, Glenn Martin, DDS, Top Gear, Dating in the Dark
Top Gear's Hammond wrecks his super car in U.K. accident
Richard Hammond, the diminutive co-host of BBC's Top Gear bottomed out this weekend when he banged up his retro super car in a traffic accident somewhere along the wrong-side roads of the U.K.Hammond was driving his Morgan AeroMax -- a concept super car built to look like a 40's roadster. Except it packs a BMW V8 and tops out at 170 mph. That's a picture of one over there. It sells for north of $120,000 in the U.S.
Hammond -- who co-hosts the hit car show with Jeremy Clarkson and James May -- had a run in with a Nissan on a roundabout and suffered damage in the thousands of pennyfarthings range -- or whatever backward play money they use over there.
Continue reading Top Gear's Hammond wrecks his super car in U.K. accident
New season of Top Gear parking at BBC America
The new season of Top Gear, the wonderfully politically incorrect car fest from the U.K., is set to premiere on BBC America Monday, August 17, 8:00 PM, ET/PT.Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May return to upset the delicate sensibilities of every bloodless turnip who ever surrendered to the dull wheel of a Prius with their endless passion for the world's most beautiful four-wheeled consumers of fossil fuels.
Long-time fans of the irreverent auto show will note that this is the final season for the Suzuki Aerio as the test vehicle in the "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" segment. A collection of TV actors, athletes and government officials take the Aerio's rickety wheel in its final laps.
Continue reading New season of Top Gear parking at BBC America
TV Squad Ten: Shows that deserve to have their own video game
There is nothing inherently wrong with turning a TV series into a video game spinoff. It can fill in the gaps between seasons to quell the viewers' hunger, let audiences explore characters from new perspectives and even give the more hardcore couch potatoes some much needed exercise even if they only burned 1/100ths of a calorie solely through their thumbs. The problem is video game developers pick TV shows that should never even become a travel sized board game. Developers have given the greenlight to games based on shows like American Idol, Desperate Housewives and even ... Grey's Anatomy?!? I hope that last one was a first-person shooter.
There are far better shows that offer far more entertaining elements for a kick-ass video game. These are the shows that should be next in line for a pixelated re-treatment.
Continue reading TV Squad Ten: Shows that deserve to have their own video game
New TV on DVD releases this week
Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.I'd like to apologize to the makers of My Own Worst Enemy. I enjoyed the show to a certain extent, but I have no intention of buying the complete series set (complete series meaning one season). It's one of those shows that I kinda enjoyed each week, yet at the same time I'm not going to miss it, and I can't imagine grabbing the DVDs off of my shelf and watching the episodes again.
There's actually nothing I want to buy this week, so my wallet/bank account will be happy.
- Battlestar Galactica - Caprica
- Dallas - Season 11
- Freakazoid - Season 2
- iCarly - Season 1, Vol. 2
Have any questions for Rich Sommer of Mad Men? Ask them here!
Syfy's Alice -- An early look
The TV Squad Podcast: Surprising shows, decade-end lists, and the Commenter of the Week!
