Top Ground Gear Force
Encyclopedia
Top Ground Gear Force is a one off TV special, featuring the cast of BBC
's Top Gear
, which originally aired on BBC Two
at 22:00GMT on March 14, 2008 as part of Sport Relief 2008
. It was repeated on Easter Monday
, 2008. Its name is based on Ground Force, a popular gardening show.
It borrowed its format from Top Gear of the Pops
, a similar one off special which aired as part of Comic Relief 2007. Whereas Top Gear of The Pops combined Top Gear with Top of the Pops
, this episode combines the motoring show with Ground Force
, a gardening makeover show which ran on the BBC from 1998-2005.
Regular Top Gear hosts Jeremy Clarkson
, James May
and Richard Hammond
take over sportsman Sir Steve Redgrave's
garden, to dispense advice on creating a zero maintenance lawn, installing an impressive water feature and getting rid of unwanted plants. Naturally, disaster ensues.
Top Ground Gear Force was then included as a page in the 2009 'Big Book of Top Gear', giving advice to garden problems including concreting the garden over, petrol bombs and flash fires.
Like Top Gear of the Pops
, the title screen and music is changed to suit the programme. Instead of having cars in the background, images of gardening were shown instead. The images bore a strong resemblance to the Top Gear title screen (e.g. dirt coming out of a spinning pot, similar to a car wheel spinning and kicking up water from the ground) Hammond was seen pushing a spade into the ground, and then holding it over his shoulder. May was seen holding a wheelbarrow, and breaking a gnome in half (in replacement of him pushing a button on a remote control in the Top Gear title screen). Clarkson was seen with a pair of open hedge trimmers, which he then snaps shut.
, Tommy Walsh and Charlie Dimmock
respectively). The rest of the crew were all listed as having the first name "Monty
". This 'mocking' was also used in special editions such as the Top Gear Polar Special, in which the presenters' first names were changed to 'Sir Ranulph', as a reference to Sir Ranulph Fiennes
.
to resurrect the show Ground Force
, and provide a garden makeover to the garden of one of Britain's sporting legends, namely Sir Stephen Redgrave. Helping them was a team of Poles
, and on hand to provide advice on Sir Steve's tastes was Ann Redgrave
(who was erroneously addressed and referred to as "Lady Ann" rather than the proper "Lady Redgrave").
As the team's only 'country bumpkin
', Hammond was the team leader. However, his garden plan failed to impress Clarkson and May, who wanted to include a water feature
and a shed
, respectively. They were sent to a Wyevale Garden Centre to pick up supplies, returning with their desired equipment.
Hammond used a small digger to dig a trench, to be used to create a 'river of gravel.' Clarkson earlier revealed his unique method for pulling up weeds and cutting branches off trees using a shotgun
. Hammond's digger toppled over in the trench, so he returned with a much larger digger to pull it out, resulting in leaving numerous caterpillar track
marks all over the garden lawn. Meanwhile, James and the Poles completed the shed, but Clarkson accidentally shot a hole in it, breaking a window.
Hammond's tree seat was completed, however outside the tree trunk. He brought in a 14 ton crane to hook the seat so he could slip it over the tree. The crane was too heavy and sunk into the lawn, leaving huge holes in it. However the crane was long enough to hook onto the seat. Because of Richard's inexperience with cranes, he accidentally swerved the seat sideways, destroying both the shed and the seat.
Clarkson decided to remove a rockery by using a homemade bomb. During the explosion one wall of the shed James had rebuilt, after it was destroyed by Hammond, was smashed by the blast. After this May stepped out of the shed with a plank of wood, and asked what time the programme will air. After being informed it was going to air after the watershed
, he exclaimed 'you're a fu-'. At this point, the episode cut to the next scene.
Jeremy ordered some cement
to pave over the garden, but he ordered too little, and only a small portion of the garden was covered. Hammond got stuck in the cement, and Jeremy had to lift him out. James' shed was rebuilt for the third time while Jeremy erected some rugby
posts (despite being told that none of Sir Stephen Redgrave's family plays rugby). However, he and the Poles accidentally dropped the posts on James' shed, squashing the roof and part of the walls. This led to James angrily telling Clarkson to apologise while pointing a two-by-four at him. Hammond revealed his barbecue system, which used a jet engine
to rotate the meat and cook it. However, the blades rotated too fast and flung the chicken off the rotisserie and the fire from the engine set James' newly-rebuilt (for the fourth time) shed on fire.
The team then received word that Redgrave was coming up the drive to the house. Redgrave was upset at the destruction of his garden, so the Poles ran away. Eventually, after Jeremy talking to him privately, his mood lightened. Jeremy then showed off his turbo-charged water feature, which blew the top off itself due to the water pressure and crashed into the greenhouse built by the Poles, breaking all the glass. Until then, the greenhouse was the only structure still intact (and the only item in the garden Steve Redgrave was pleased with).
, the programme obtained 4.5 million viewers which equated to a 22% audience share for its timeslot between 10pm and 10.40pm. The programme was part of the Sport Relief
fundraising evening, and the Sport Relief programmes preceding it on BBC One
between 7pm and 10pm averaged 6.2 million viewers (28% audience share) and the Sport Relief programmes on BBC One between 10.50pm and 1am averaged 2.6 million viewers (29% audience share).
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Top Gear
Top Gear (current format)
Top Gear is a British television series about motor vehicles, primarily cars. It began in 1977 as a conventional motoring magazine show. Over time, and especially since a relaunch in 2002, it has developed a quirky, humorous style...
, which originally aired on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
at 22:00GMT on March 14, 2008 as part of Sport Relief 2008
Sport Relief
Sport Relief is a biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, which brings together the worlds of sport and entertainment to raise money to help vulnerable people in both the UK and the world's poorest countries...
. It was repeated on Easter Monday
Easter Monday
Easter Monday is the day after Easter Sunday and is celebrated as a holiday in some largely Christian cultures, especially Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox cultures...
, 2008. Its name is based on Ground Force, a popular gardening show.
It borrowed its format from Top Gear of the Pops
Top Gear of the Pops
Top Gear of the Pops was a one-off special of Top Gear, broadcast in the evening on 16 March 2007. It was shown as part of the Comic Relief 2007 appeal, mixing the usual elements of Top Gear with Top of the Pops, the music chart show that was cancelled in 2006...
, a similar one off special which aired as part of Comic Relief 2007. Whereas Top Gear of The Pops combined Top Gear with Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
, this episode combines the motoring show with Ground Force
Ground Force
Ground Force was a British garden makeover television series originally broadcast by the BBC between 1997 and 2005. The series was originally hosted by Alan Titchmarsh, Charlie Dimmock and Tommy Walsh and was produced by Endemol for the BBC.-Production:...
, a gardening makeover show which ran on the BBC from 1998-2005.
Regular Top Gear hosts Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May...
, James May
James May
James Daniel May is an English television presenter, journalist and writer. He is best known for his role as co-presenter of the award-winning motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond....
and Richard Hammond
Richard Hammond
Richard Mark Hammond is an English broadcaster, writer, and journalist most noted for co-hosting car programme Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson and James May, as well as presenting Brainiac: Science Abuse on Sky 1.-Early life:...
take over sportsman Sir Steve Redgrave's
Steve Redgrave
Sir Steven Geoffrey Redgrave CBE is an English rower who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000. He has also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and nine World Rowing Championships gold medals...
garden, to dispense advice on creating a zero maintenance lawn, installing an impressive water feature and getting rid of unwanted plants. Naturally, disaster ensues.
Top Ground Gear Force was then included as a page in the 2009 'Big Book of Top Gear', giving advice to garden problems including concreting the garden over, petrol bombs and flash fires.
Title screen
Top Gear of the Pops
Top Gear of the Pops was a one-off special of Top Gear, broadcast in the evening on 16 March 2007. It was shown as part of the Comic Relief 2007 appeal, mixing the usual elements of Top Gear with Top of the Pops, the music chart show that was cancelled in 2006...
, the title screen and music is changed to suit the programme. Instead of having cars in the background, images of gardening were shown instead. The images bore a strong resemblance to the Top Gear title screen (e.g. dirt coming out of a spinning pot, similar to a car wheel spinning and kicking up water from the ground) Hammond was seen pushing a spade into the ground, and then holding it over his shoulder. May was seen holding a wheelbarrow, and breaking a gnome in half (in replacement of him pushing a button on a remote control in the Top Gear title screen). Clarkson was seen with a pair of open hedge trimmers, which he then snaps shut.
Ending credits
The Top Gear ending credits are also adapted to suit the programme's resemblance to Ground Force - the presenters' names were listed as Alan Clarkson, Handy Hammond and Charlie May May (references to Ground Force presenters Alan TitchmarshAlan Titchmarsh
Alan Fred Titchmarsh, MBE DL is an English gardener, broadcaster and novelist. After working as a professional gardener and a garden journalist, he established himself as a media personality through appearances on gardening programmes...
, Tommy Walsh and Charlie Dimmock
Charlie Dimmock
Charlie Dimmock is an English gardening expert and TV presenter. She was one of the team on Ground Force, a BBC gardening makeover programme.-Early years:...
respectively). The rest of the crew were all listed as having the first name "Monty
Monty Don
Montagu Denis Wyatt Don is a British television presenter, writer and speaker on horticulture, best known for presenting the BBC television series Gardeners' World.-Early life:...
". This 'mocking' was also used in special editions such as the Top Gear Polar Special, in which the presenters' first names were changed to 'Sir Ranulph', as a reference to Sir Ranulph Fiennes
Ranulph Fiennes
Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet, OBE , better known as Ranulph Fiennes, is a British adventurer and holder of several endurance records. He is also a prolific writer. Fiennes served in the British Army for eight years including a period on counter-insurgency service while...
.
Title Irregularities
The title "Top Ground Gear Force' appears during the opening credits and is spoken by the hosts throughout the show. However, the insulated jackets worn by the three hosts are silkscreened with "TGGGF" on the front chest and "Top Garden Ground Gear Force" on the rear. Other equipment, such as a flatbed truck, is labeled with the factual title, "Top Ground Gear Force". This minor detail is not explained throughout the show and may be a simple mistake or an intentional joke.Synopsis
The Top Gear team of Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond decided, for Sport ReliefSport Relief
Sport Relief is a biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, which brings together the worlds of sport and entertainment to raise money to help vulnerable people in both the UK and the world's poorest countries...
to resurrect the show Ground Force
Ground Force
Ground Force was a British garden makeover television series originally broadcast by the BBC between 1997 and 2005. The series was originally hosted by Alan Titchmarsh, Charlie Dimmock and Tommy Walsh and was produced by Endemol for the BBC.-Production:...
, and provide a garden makeover to the garden of one of Britain's sporting legends, namely Sir Stephen Redgrave. Helping them was a team of Poles
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, and on hand to provide advice on Sir Steve's tastes was Ann Redgrave
Ann Redgrave
Dr Ann Redgrave, Lady Redgrave MB BS DO , is the wife of British rower Sir Steve Redgrave CBE and is a qualified British doctor and osteopath....
(who was erroneously addressed and referred to as "Lady Ann" rather than the proper "Lady Redgrave").
As the team's only 'country bumpkin
Yokel
Yokel is a derogatory term referring to the stereotype of unsophisticated country people.-Stereotype:In the US, it is used to describe someone living in rural areas...
', Hammond was the team leader. However, his garden plan failed to impress Clarkson and May, who wanted to include a water feature
Water feature
In landscape architecture and garden design, a water feature is one or more items from a range of fountains, pools, ponds, cascades, waterfalls, and streams. Before the 18th century they were usually powered by gravity, though the famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon are described by Strabo as...
and a shed
Shed
A shed is typically a simple, single-storey structure in a back garden or on an allotment that is used for storage, hobbies, or as a workshop....
, respectively. They were sent to a Wyevale Garden Centre to pick up supplies, returning with their desired equipment.
Hammond used a small digger to dig a trench, to be used to create a 'river of gravel.' Clarkson earlier revealed his unique method for pulling up weeds and cutting branches off trees using a shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
. Hammond's digger toppled over in the trench, so he returned with a much larger digger to pull it out, resulting in leaving numerous caterpillar track
Caterpillar track
Continuous tracks or caterpillar tracks are a system of vehicle propulsion in which modular metal plates linked into a continuous band are driven by two or more wheels...
marks all over the garden lawn. Meanwhile, James and the Poles completed the shed, but Clarkson accidentally shot a hole in it, breaking a window.
Hammond's tree seat was completed, however outside the tree trunk. He brought in a 14 ton crane to hook the seat so he could slip it over the tree. The crane was too heavy and sunk into the lawn, leaving huge holes in it. However the crane was long enough to hook onto the seat. Because of Richard's inexperience with cranes, he accidentally swerved the seat sideways, destroying both the shed and the seat.
Watershed (television)
In television, the term watershed denotes the time period in a television schedule during which programs with adult content can air....
, he exclaimed 'you're a fu-'. At this point, the episode cut to the next scene.
Jeremy ordered some cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
to pave over the garden, but he ordered too little, and only a small portion of the garden was covered. Hammond got stuck in the cement, and Jeremy had to lift him out. James' shed was rebuilt for the third time while Jeremy erected some rugby
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
posts (despite being told that none of Sir Stephen Redgrave's family plays rugby). However, he and the Poles accidentally dropped the posts on James' shed, squashing the roof and part of the walls. This led to James angrily telling Clarkson to apologise while pointing a two-by-four at him. Hammond revealed his barbecue system, which used a jet engine
Jet engine
A jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet to generate thrust by jet propulsion and in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets...
to rotate the meat and cook it. However, the blades rotated too fast and flung the chicken off the rotisserie and the fire from the engine set James' newly-rebuilt (for the fourth time) shed on fire.
The team then received word that Redgrave was coming up the drive to the house. Redgrave was upset at the destruction of his garden, so the Poles ran away. Eventually, after Jeremy talking to him privately, his mood lightened. Jeremy then showed off his turbo-charged water feature, which blew the top off itself due to the water pressure and crashed into the greenhouse built by the Poles, breaking all the glass. Until then, the greenhouse was the only structure still intact (and the only item in the garden Steve Redgrave was pleased with).
Ratings
On its first showing in the UK on BBC TwoBBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
, the programme obtained 4.5 million viewers which equated to a 22% audience share for its timeslot between 10pm and 10.40pm. The programme was part of the Sport Relief
Sport Relief
Sport Relief is a biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, which brings together the worlds of sport and entertainment to raise money to help vulnerable people in both the UK and the world's poorest countries...
fundraising evening, and the Sport Relief programmes preceding it on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
between 7pm and 10pm averaged 6.2 million viewers (28% audience share) and the Sport Relief programmes on BBC One between 10.50pm and 1am averaged 2.6 million viewers (29% audience share).