Top Gear

7:30pm – Tuesday, April 27 on Channel Nine

Motoring news and views from the usual team. Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May decide to buy second-hand lorries despite knowing almost nothing about the world of trucks, and then set about discovering how easy it is to be an HGV driver. Which turns out to be a lot harder than they thought.

Jeremy is also on the test track with a scary Porsche 911, a tame Lamborghini Gallardo and a surprisingly talented Labrador. And chat show legend Michael Parkinson is the Star In A Reasonably Priced Car.

7:30pm – Tuesday, April 20 on Channel Nine

Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May travel to Vietnam. Their aim is to travel the entire length of the country in just eight days, thereby achieving what the American military failed to do in 10 years. However, first they must each buy some suitable transport for the trip and, despite having several million Dong in their pockets, this proves to be of rather less value than they originally thought, especially in one of the most expensive car markets in the world. Nonetheless, the boys are resourceful and, with their wheels finally sorted, they set off on one of the most spectacular and incredible Top Gear road trips ever attempted.

7:30pm – Tuesday, April 13 on Channel Nine

Jeremy Clarkson makes a film about the BMW X6. Despite being told by the producers to keep to a budget, he takes the car to test in all corners of the globe and ends up conducting one of the most expensive road tests in Top Gear history.

Richard Hammond puts the £340,000 Lexus supercar to the test on the Top Gear track, and James May drives the new Vauxhall Insignia VXR, accompanied by Margaret Calvert, the designer of Britain’s road signs.

It is also time for the annual Top Gear Awards ceremony, and the atmosphere is electric as the winners are announced, including Injury Of The Year and Car Of The Decade. The Star In A Reasonably Priced Car is blues musician Seasick Steve.

7:30pm – Tuesday, March 23 on Channel Nine

Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May attempt to prove that cars can be art by taking over an entire modern art gallery and filling it with motoring-related works, including some remarkable creations of their own.

Formula 1 racing driver David Coulthard assists Jeremy in creating a painting using the Red Bull F1 car exhaust and infra-red paint; James builds a sculpture from car parts; and Richard paints an homage to John Constable’s The Haywain with a motoring twist.

In their quest to prove that cars can be more popular than traditional art, the presenters set themselves the challenge of attracting more visitors to their exhibition than will visit a more traditional gallery over the same period – a task that forces them to engage in some unusual promotional activities, including a visit to Middlesbrough Football Club.

On the test track, Jeremy drives a new British supercar, the sensationally fast and sensationally expensive Noble M600. And The Star In The Reasonably Priced Car is Formula 1 Champion racing driver, Jenson Button.

7:30pm – Tuesday, March 16 on Channel Nine

Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond settle the thorny issue of which company has, above all others, made the greatest number of truly brilliant cars. They drive various models of Lancia cars through the British countryside and have a night race against a Morris Marina.

James May has a novel solution for getting caravans to campsites without clogging up the roads by taking the helm of a caravan airship whilst being followed by Richard Hammond in a Lamborghini Balbonne.

Jeremy hits the track in a remarkable replica of a Lancia Hawk Stratos. Chris Evans (TV broadcaster, BBC Radio 2′s Breakfast Show DJ-elect and all-round petrolhead) is the Star in the Reasonably Priced Car.

7:30pm – Tuesday, March 2 on Channel Nine

Jeremy, Richard and James attempt to save the planet by building their own electric car out of TVR chassis and milk float batteries. The electric car is then driven through the streets of Oxford, before being put through the rigours of the new car testing process.

The Top Gear track witnesses a battle of the continents. Representing the United States of America is the American Corvette ZR1, while Europe’s entry is the Audi R8 V10. What will prevail: the American’s muscle, or the finesse of the European.

And the Star In A Reasonably Priced Car is Hollywood’s hottest new property: Michael Sheen, star of Frost/Nixon and Damned United.

Tuesday, March 2, at 7.30pm on Nine

This week the boys are up to more of their tricks and Richard “the Hamster” Hammond runs amok around an airport when Nine rolls out Top Gear at 7.30pm Tuesday, March 2.

Richard investigates ways to speed up your next summer holiday and invents the brand new sport of airport vehicle racing. He wheels out vehicles including a fire engine, a baggage carrier and a hospitality lorry for a race around an airport. In usual Top Gear style there’s the odd drama or two, but Hammond somehow manages to pull it all together. Running late for your airport check-in will never be the same again.

Jeremy Clarkson travels to Belfast to conduct an extremely thorough test of the Renault Sport Twingo 133 involving a tunnel, a ferry, and British television actor and all-round hard man Ross Kemp, of Eastenders and Ultimate Force fame.

Guy Ritchie (Sherlock Holmes, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) the award-winning British film director and pop diva Madonna’s ex-husband, is this week’s Star in a Reasonable Priced Car.

And Jeremy also puts a range of luxury 4x4s through their paces, testing a Diesel Range Rover, a BMW X5 and an Audi Q7 on the Top Gear racetrack. Which one of these tough cars that we see more of in the cities than the countryside will come out on top?

TOP GEAR: TUESDAY, MARCH 2 at 7.30PM on NINE

Tuesday, February 16 at 7:30pm on Channel Nine

EXPECT MORE CHALLENGES, MORE MAYHEM, MORE CARS, MORE CELEBRITIES … AND A LITTLE SURPRISE

Top Gear, the number one car program in the world, revs up at its new home on Channel Nine with a bumper two-hour premiere event featuring Australian movie star and Hollywood heart throb Eric Bana, plus an Olympic Winter Games special, Tuesday, February 16 at 7:30pm.

Irreverent, witty and independent-minded, the Top Gear presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard (The Hamster) Hammond and James (Captain Slow) May test cars to the limit and beyond to find out just how good they are.

Their debut on Channel Nine speeds from 0 to 60 with a driver’s idea of heaven when Hammond and May take an Aston Martin DBS Volante, a Ferrari California and a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder to Romania in search of “the greatest road in the world”.

Elsewhere, James makes a rare appearance on the race track to compare two absurdly powerful limos; Jeremy and Richard settle the thorny issue of which company has made the greatest number of truly brilliant cars; and Richard invents the brand new sport of airport vehicle racing.

All the Top Gear favourites are back, including the celebrity segment where The Stig, the show’s mysterious racing driver, puts the rich and famous through a speed lap on the Top Gear test track. Celebrities at the wheel in the new series include Chopper and Troy star Eric Bana; Hollywood’s hottest new property, the Frost/Nixon star Michael Sheen; and Guy Ritchie, director of Sherlock Holmes, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and Madonna’s ex-husband, who has a little trouble with his gears.

Full of amazing stunts, challenges and special features, Top Gear is self-deprecating, inclusive, and passionate about cars. There are no boring statistics and impenetrable conversations about camshafts and tyre pressures. Instead you get authoritative information and fabulous entertainment, delivered with great wit and rare style.

Top Gear: Premiering with a 2 hour special event on its new home on Channel Nine, Tuesday, February 16 at 7:30pm

Nine have spent the last week selling to the media and advertisers their 2010 line up and programming. CEO David Gyngell, programmer Michael Healy and sales boss Peter Wiltshire presented in each of the three east coast capital cities.

Nine’s year will begin with their ongoing summer of Cricket, then the Winter Olympics in February. Nine made reference to the fact that they have Seven firmly in their sites and that the sun will set this year on Sunrise. Nine’s morning Today show has been narrowing the gap between it’s rival on Seven.

Nine’s collection of shows for 2010 include Underbelly, Top Gear, Hey Hey Its Saturday, V, AFP, Rescue Special Ops, Sea Patrol, Cops LAC and the Politically Incorrect Parenting show amongst many others. Other surprises set to make a return in 2010 will be Who Want to be a Millionaire, This is Your Life and the national IQ Test – a ratings hit back in 2002.

Underbelly – the Golden Mile will score a Sunday night timeslot from February 2010. The previous two series of underbelly have aired on Monday and Wednesday nights. Having the third series on Sunday nights could be Nine’s way to guarantee ratings success on Sundays, especially when combined with a very strong GO line up.

Reality fans, the next instalment of Survivor will be Survivor Heroes Vs Villains which will return in a special event series.

The remake of the 80’s alien invasion classic “V” will air on Nine in 2010, probably from March after the Winter Olympics. So far, 4 episodes have been in the US, with the show set to return over there after the Olympics also.

Further shows returning include: Farmer Wants a Wife, Big Bang Theory, CSI, RPA, Customs, Random Acts of Kindness, Flashpoint (yes – in ratings they say), Money for Jam, What’s Good For you, NRL Footy Show, AFL Footy Show, Getaway, 20-1 (of course), Domestic Blitz, Ellen, The View, Wide World of Sports, NRL games, Funniest Home Videos, Hot Seat, Kerri-Ann and numerous one off events including the Oscars, Logies, NRL State of Origin, Wimbledon and 2010 Ashes series (note not everything is listed here – there is a lot more!)

On the subject of multi channelling, Gyngell is very happy with the success of GO even saying that GO is the new Channel Ten (very odd statement – maybe the fact that a GO show last Sunday beating Ten in the ratings inspired it?) and that Channel Nine is the old channel Nine. He said that they will be launching a third channel early next year that would go against rivals Seven and Ten.

Nine’s third channel would have to be an HD channel unless they move GO to HD. The main channel has to remain as SD. Networks are only allowed two SD and one HD channel at this stage. If the new channel is HD, hopefully it will show Nine content that is made in HD, unlike Ten where ONE HD spelt the end of ever seeing any Ten shows in HD.

Source: TV Tonight

Nine programmer Michael Healy in an interview with David Know of Tv Tonight has discussed what we can expect from Nine in 2010.

Premiering in February will be the third Underbelly series “Underbelly: The Golden Mile” which fills the year between the last two series. The new series will be more like the first that the second in the way it has been produced.

Nine’s recent acquisition Top Gear from SBS will be part of the 2010 line up at a yet to be announced time. Healy indicates that he has a lot of respect for what SBS has done with the motoring show and will not do anything to harm that.

Domestic Blitz, Random Acts of Kindness, Secret Millionaire, Farmer Wants a Wife, Hot Seat, Sea Patrol and Rescue Special Ops will all be seen on Nine in 2010.

With ongoing discussion with Daryl Somers, Hey Hey is mostly to return in 2010 most likely on a weeknight. The two Hey Hey Reunions were amongst the most watched non-sport shows on TV this year.

As for the Apprentice Australia, Nine will see how the current series finishes up before committing to a second. So far, the show has been doing OK at 9.30 Monday nights rating between 700,000 and a million.

Nine staples 20-1 and Two and a Half Men will continue to be part of their schedule but perhaps not in so many time slots.

With Survivor Tocantins being pushed through on GO, Survivor Samoa is set to air on Nine in December.

Other shows on Nine in 2010 include The Forgotten, The Middle, Who Do You Think You Are (US), US sitcom Romantically Challenged, action drama Human Target, a new Supernanny series and Gordon’s Great Escapes which sees Gordon Ramsay go to India.

Finally, 80’s alien remake “V” will not be fast tracked to Nine this year. Nine were showing promos for the show suggesting there would be a good chance of the first four episodes airing in the last four weeks of the ratings year days behind the US. Instead, Nine will hold off airing “V” until 2010.

In February, Nine will air the 2010 Winter Olympics in conjunction with Foxtel.

Source: Tv Tonight