Top Gear

Try not to look too surprised here.

Nine have taken off $#*! My Dad Says from Tuesday nights, replacing it with The Big Bang Theory at 8pm. That now means there are two nights a week in Nine’s schedule with triple episodes of Big Bang from 7pm – Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Same Name – Lame programming. Why is it, that just about everyone who comments on sites like this and Nine’s own Facebook page knew that Same Name would have been a flop in ratings?

Last Wednesday, the show managed 525,000, and dragged down Nine’s night with it. Expect to see it on GEM one day! Same Name will be replaced by documentary series Ocean Giants: Giant Lives – the fourth change to 7.30 Wednesday in as many weeks. Methinks Top Gear Australia might work better at this time, when it is not against Packed to the Rafters on Seven?

Speaking of Top Gear Australia, Nine have moved that as well from 8.30 to 9.30 on Tuesday night. No idea why they thought it would do well in that timeslot either. At 8.30, Under Surveillance airs, with an episode called Charlotte’s Web.

10.30 that night is a repeat episode of Top Gear.

Source: Many EPGs.

Questions: Why do I now have to find out this information from EPG’s? Why aren’t Nine sending out amendments to bloggers anymore? Whether they send them out or not, it’s not going to change anyway at all what we post and write about these excessive programming changes.

Ratings predictions: Ocean Giants 600,000. Under Surveillance 600,000. Top Gear Australia 300,000.

At this stage, no clue as to what will happen the week after next as the Foxtel advance guide ap – which allows you to look 14 days in advance – still has the programming unchanged – that is, Same Name is still on, Top Gear Australia at 8.30 Tuesday. Obviously that is all wrong now.

I don’t think Nine have any clue what to air that week either – they’ll watch and see what happens with ratings and then decide.

Top Gear fans can now access their favourite specials via Facebook using an exclusively developed VOD (video on demand) app from BBC Worldwide with three of the show’s most iconic episodes now becoming available to rent using Facebook credits.

Fans visiting the BBC motoring entertainment show’s official Top Gear fan page can access a series of custom-made apps that will also be launched to run alongside their favourite episodes where they can test their series’ knowledge and answer trivia.

Launching with the Polar Special today, the specials will be staggered throughout the coming weeks and available for users in Europe, USA, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Once rented, episodes will be available to view for 48 hours. Facebook credits provide a familiar and consistent payment experience, and a trusted space to store payment information. Credits can be purchased within an app, or through the payments tab within the users account settings.

BBC Worldwide runs both the Top Gear Facebook fan page, which has over 8.8 million fans and The Stig fan page which has over 5 million fans.

Combined they have more fans than inhabitants of Manhattan, which is the final destination of the US Road Trip – the second episode set to air online. It is the 25th largest TV show on Facebook, and the biggest British TV show on Facebook.

Adam Waddell, Managing Director of Top Gear commented that “Top Gear has amassed a huge following on Facebook with almost 14 million friends following the brand itself and The Stig. We’re always looking at ways of adding value for the core fans of the show so it’s entirely appropriate that we should be one of the first TV shows to make its premium content available via Facebook.”

Top Gear is one of BBC Worldwide’s flagship brands sold in over 198 territories worldwide. To watch your favourite special, you can ‘like’ the official Top Gear Facebook page at www.facebook.com/topgear and use your credits to watch the Polar Special.

(From a press release)

Nine, perhaps a little worried about Tuesday night (August 23) with Packed to the Rafters returning on Seven, have turned the night into a Top Gear night, adding an extra repeat episode after the season 17 finale which airs at 8.30pm.

At 10.00pm will be a replay of season 16, episode 1 which was the Middle East special. As a result, Megacities is out. Little Britain follows the Top Gear repeat at 11.35pm.

Melbourne Only (other areas without Friday night NRL, check local guides)

At 7.30pm this Friday (August 19) in Melbourne, the special called Harry Potter – The 50 Greatest Moments of Harry Potter airs. (Sydney and Brisbane viewers see this special after the Harry Potter movie on Saturday night (August 20), around 10.45pm.).

Following Harry Potter on Nine in Melbourne will be The Mentalist at 8.50pm, CSI at 9.50 and CSI: Miami at 10.50.

Sadly, Melbourne Storm fans have to wait until 11.50pm to see how their team goes against the St George Illawarra Dragons. That game is live at 7.30 in Sydney, and delayed to 9.30pm in Brisbane.

In the final episode of Top Gear Series 17 at 8.30pm Tuesday on Channel Nine, Jeremy Clarkson and James May embark on a trip to the British seaside in two new electric cars and Richard Hammond meets the world’s most extraordinary rally team.

First up, Richard drives the Lamborghini Aventador V12, the first new V12 from Lamborghini in almost 50 years, which he says is the “closest thing to a stealth fighter jet you will see on the road. It even has a starter button that is straight out of Top Gun.”

Electric cars are available to buy. But should you? What are the advantages and pitfalls? To find out James and Jeremy take two electric-powered cars – the Nissan Leaf and Peugeot Ion – for a drive to the seaside. What could possibly go wrong?

A new racing team invites Top Gear to a motorsport event involving mud and a Bowler Wildcat. Richard checks it out and finds a team made up of soldiers who have all suffered massive injuries while fighting in Afghanistan. Bomb explosions took the lives of their friends and fellow soldiers and cost the driver, co-driver/navigator and mechanic their limbs, but their determination to embrace a new lease on life has set up an epic goal: to compete in the brutal Dakar Rally in 18 months’ time. Training the young team is a former Special Forces driving instructor, Ben Collins.

And X Factor judge Louis Walsh is the Star in the Reasonably Priced Car.

On a new episode of Top Gear at 8.30pm Tuesday on Channel Nine, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May film their own opening titles for a new detective television series.

Jeremy also checks out the sensational Lotus T125 while music legend Sir Bob Geldof is the Star in the Reasonable Price Car.

Never the sort to turn down a challenge, the boys go head-to-head with the World Demolition Champions to see if they can knock down a row of derelict houses faster than the experts. Jeremy, Richard and James are let loose in an army disposal yard, a big kids wonderland, to choose their vehicle of destruction. Can they beat the world champs at their own game?

Lotus has released an F1-style car that mere mortals can own and drive, the Lotus T125. Decked out with F1 trimmings, it can be delivered to any racetrack in the world for a day of Grand Prix fun. Accompanying the Lotus, and included in the price tag, is the essential posse for any discerning F1 driver: a personal trainer, a chef, a team truck and a team of mechanics, as well as your own private driving instructor in the shape of former F1 Ferrari driver, Jean Alesi.

Jeremy takes the “terrifying” Lotus T125 for a drive on the Top Gear track and learns that to stay alive he must drive faster than his mind thinks possible.

When the boys look back on the cars from the 1960s and 70s television shows, Jeremy drives the updated version of the classic Jensen Interceptor and is transported back in time to 1972 as the star of a new detective television show … The Interceptors.

Top Gear UK: Tuesday, August 16, at 8.30pm

Stamos attached to new series

Actor John Stamos has signed up to feature in a new TV show called Dead Lawyers that focuses on a lawyer who is run over and ends up in ‘hell’, a law firm on Earth which is full of other dead lawyers.

Top Gear apologises for disabled parking incident

Top Gear producers have apologised for the actions of Jeremy Clarkson and James May after they parked their cars in disabled parking bay during a segment for the show. A UK disabled motoring group have complained to the BBC over the incident.

NASCAR drama in the works

US network Starz is close to ordering a pilot for a new drama centring on a woman who attempts to set up a NASCAR team. The project is entitled “Tits in the Pits”.

Lopez returning to Idol

Jennifer Lopez is said to have agreed to a $20 million deal to return to the judging line-up on American Idol alongside Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson.

Kutcher begins work on sitcom

Ashton Kutcher has officially started work on Two and a Half Men, tweeting: “First day on the new job.”

Dinner Date, Seven, 9.30pm
Join Host Manu Feidel as Simone, is a guest at three men’s house for dinner, to see who she is most compatable with. Think MKR with love and laughs.

Australia’s Got Talent, Seven, 7.30pm
After surviving gruelling auditions and intense semifinals, the country’s greatest undiscovered talent remain to perform for the nation and prove that they should win the $250,000 prize and be crowned the winner for 2011. In a show chock-full of talent, who will you vote for and who will blow away judges Dannii Minogue, Kyle Sandilands and Brian McFadden?

Top Gear, Nine, 8.30pm
James May is out on track with the Aston Martin Virage and puts it up against the Aston Martin DBS and Aston Martin DB9. Jeremy is out on the track in the McLaren MP4-12C supercar, while petrolhead comedian Ross Noble is the star in the reasonably priced car.

The Confessions, SBS, 10pm
In August 2009, Virginia governor Tom Kaine granted conditional pardons to four Navy men who had served 12 years in prison for a Norfolk rape and murder. What happened to convince these innocent men to confess to this heinous crime?

The Zoo, Gem, 7pm
Takes viewers behind the scenes at Auckland Zoo, providing great stories about the animals and their keepers.

The world’s number one motoring entertainment program, Top Gear, returns with a new series starting Tuesday, July 19, at 8.30pm on Channel Nine.

Direct from the United Kingdom, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and The Stig are back for another round of car tests and reviews, motoring challenges and celebrity guest drivers in their Reasonably Priced Car segment. Plus all the Top Gear wit and banter from the hosts, entertaining motoring advice, and a stack of more mishaps and adventure.

Series 17 of the world’s most explosive motoring entertainment program sees the hosts reinvent public transport with a car-based train, smash down buildings using surplus military equipment, race fast hatchbacks around the Monaco Grand Prix track, create a title sequence for an imaginary 1970s detective show, and find things to do while you wait for your electric car to recharge.

The Stig is let loose in some seriously hardcore hardware including the Aston Martin Virage, the McLaren MP4-12C, the Lamborghini Avantador and the BMW 1-Series M. If that’s not enough, Alice Cooper, Sebastian Vettel and Simon Cowell are among the sensational stars in the Reasonably Priced Car.

In the first episode, Jeremy Clarkson celebrates the 50th birthday of the legendary Jaguar E-type by driving a modern, half a million pound interpretation of this classic sports car before hitting the tarmac for a typically low- key birthday party involving live music, classic fighter planes and a group of Royal Marines.

Meanwhile, Richard Hammond is in South Africa to test a bigger, even more rugged alternative to the famous Hummer and James May meets up with gold medal-winning British Olympian Amy Williams for a wintry test of the latest Mini rally car. Plus, the power-crazed BMW 1-Series M slithers around the Top Gear test track in a cloud of tyre smoke and another famous celebrity does a lap time test.

In episode two Clarkson, Hammond and May are in Italy to take part in a series of tricky challenges and increasingly loud arguments as they attempt to find the world’s best hot hatchback. With Clarkson in the Citroen DS3 Racing, Hammond championing the Fiat 500C Abarth and May making the case for the Renault Sport Clio Cup, the trio navigate their way around baffling Italian towns and take part in a scavenger hunt. Then they head up to Monte Carlo where they’re faced with a surprise test of their cars’ performance. Also in this episode, Clarkson is out on the track in the excitingly fast but tediously named McLaren MP4-12C supercar and comedian Ross Noble is the star in the Reasonably Priced Car.

Top Gear UK: Returning to the Nine Network on Tuesday, July 19, at 8.30pm

Conan O’Brien wins walk-on role on HIMYM

American talk-show host Conan O’Brien has won a walk-on part in How I Met Your Mother at a recent charity event. Producers of the series are looking to write him in as a quest character rather than simply an extra in the background.

Dunn was over limit when crash occurred

Jackass’s Ryan Dunn, who died in a car crash earlier this week, was confirmed as over the legal blood alcohol limit when the accident occurred. Both Dunn and his passenger Zachary Hartwell were killed instantly.

Lost actor joins Hawaii Five-0

Lost actor Terry O’Quinn has signed on for a recurring role in new drama series Hawaii Five-0. The actor will play a Navy Seal on the show.

Kardashian close to wedding TV deal with E!

Kim Kardashian is said to be close to a deal with the E! channel over televising her wedding to Kris Humphries. Kardashian claims the deal is to help her fans celebrate with her on the most important day of her life.

South Korean Top Gear on the way 

A local version of Top Gear has been commissioned for South Korea following the show’s successful debut in China earlier this year. The series will be hosted by former professional racing drivers.

CSI fans, pay attention! Nine adjusts Tuesday night programming.

This week, the Top Gear repeat at 9.30pm barely managed to rate better in four cities than Underbelly did in Melbourne only. The low ratings for Top Gear on Nine helped the network to an easy defeat that night, reminiscent of those bad old days in 2009 when Nine were regularly third in ratings on Tuesday nights behind Seven and Ten.

Instead, in all markets except for Victoria, will be the series return of CSI: NY, in NEW episodes. It returns with episode 6 of season 6 called “It happened to Me” at 9.30pm, Tuesday May 10. Following CSI: New York will be the Nine New Special discussing this year’s Federal Budget.

In Victoria, double Underbelly series one plays from 9.30pm, with the Budget News Special at 11.30pm.

Now who wants to place bets on how long CSI: New York will remain in that timeslot? Hopefully some promos over the next five days will alert fans to the New York franchise’s return to Nine. Although I wonder how many of them are no longer interested given its on again – off again programming of late?

CSI: New York, Nine 9.30pm, Tuesday May 10, except for Melbourne.