The premise involves three hosts, professional driver Tanner Foust, actor Adam Ferrara (Rescue Me), and automotive analyst Rutledge Wood, discussing and reviewing cars. But, much more than that, it often sees the trio coming up with a lot of unique scenarios to test and challenge different cars as well as the people driving them. For example, seeing who can find the best car with a $1000 budget. Or racing a Dodge Viper through a track while being chased … by a military helicopter. Did I mention it has missiles? Or my personal favorite, finding the best pickup truck  for under $3000 and pushing its limits in the Alaskan wilderness.  There are also weekly celebrity guests, such as Buzz Aldrin and Dominic Monaghan, who each perform test runs in a Suzuki SS4 in the Big Star, Small Car segment and their mystery driver, the Stig, that also performs test runs on vehicles discussed throughout the show.

During the challenges, the cinematography is pretty amazing. The colors really pop and makes the cars look extremely sexy, even if it’s a 1984 Nissan. The show travels to a number of cool locations throughout the US, and the geography looks gorgeous everywhere they go. I wish I had seen this on Blu-ray because it looks fantastic on normal DVD. The sound production is also very well done and makes me wish I had a sound system that could take advantage of all of those rumbling engines.

The show’s hosts are quite good. The chemistry doesn’t always feel completely natural and is a bit forced at times, but there are times when they seem to be having a great deal of fun, and as the show goes on they seem to gel better as a team. In fact, their constant sparring at each other becomes fun to watch the further you get into the series. Seeing them all get drunk while doing a prohibition run – and discovering how flammable moonshine is at the same time – was pretty awesome.

The ten Season 1 episodes are spread over three DVDs. Episodes on the DVD menu are broken up and labeled by segment which allows you to easily see what is on an episode and jump to the section you want to see. There are also some additional special features. There are a handful of Webisodes, about 15 min in length total, that have a good mix of outtakes and on-set shenanigans. There are also about another 30 minutes of segments called Poolside Chats which has the hosts covering a number of random topics off the top of their heads.

Overall, I really enjoyed the Season 1 set. If you’d like to get your hands on your very own copy of the DVDs, check out their official site for details. I won’t be rethinking my stance on reality TV but I will be looking out for Season 2 of Top Gear. Speaking of which, Season 2 kicked off on July 24 on the History channel in the US and airs Sundays at 10pm. You can even catch full episodes on the History channel website – even in Canada!

Photos Courtesy of BBC

I have to admit, I wasn’t on board with Eleven. I still wasn’t over Ten – David Tennant’s version of The Doctor was an extremely tough act to follow – and when I attempted to watch any of the Matt Smith episodes, I’d just end up disappointed and frustrated. I was torn, because I really liked Matt Smith and Karen Gillan in all of the interviews I saw with them, but their characters annoyed me to no end!

Fast forward to present day and the DVD release of Doctor Who: Series 6, Part 1. I watched the episodes, and have to admit I enjoyed them. My main issue with the start of Smith’s run as The Doctor was the stories were a bit too childish for me. I preferred the darker, intense episodes with both Nine and Ten, so the 2-part Series 6 opener was right up my alley with its elements of mystery and suspense, and I was pleased to see the characters have become more endearing rather than annoying. The Silence, the alien threat that The Doctor was up against in “The Impossible Astronaut” and “Day of the Moon” were Ood-level creepy. I’d even be as bold to say they’re almost as creepy as The Gentlemen in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Incorporating Area 51, the Nixon administration and the US space program were really neat touches to the story as well.

There are two “Monster Files”, one on each disc, which feature The Silence and The Gangers. You get a really good behind the scenes look on what went into creating each creature, and learn more about what they are, and the threat that they pose. The Silence are basically parasites that have always been around that can use humans to their will, planting thoughts in people’s minds. It’s an interesting take on the idea of deja vu because when you see them, they immediately wipe your mind so you don’t remember them. I don’t want to give too much away, but you get to see what work of art inspired The Silence, and what went into creating the prosthetics and SFX makeup to bring these aliens to life. The Gangers, short for Doppelgangers, appear in “The Rebel Flesh”, and are they ever a unique looking creature. Several sets of prosthetics had to be created for each actor playing one of The Gangers, and this Monster File gives you a real appreciation of the level of work that’s required for the effects makeup intensive episodes.

I may go back to Series 5 at some point, but for now, these DVDs have actually convinced me to watch the second half of this series, which starts at the end of August. I’d say if you weren’t impressed with Series 5, at least give the Series 6 opener a chance. You might be surprised. This DVD set is a good refresher for those who have already seen the episodes, or the perfect way to catch up in time for the new episodes.

Photo Courtesy of BBC

Here’s a little video of Matt Smith and Karen Gillan – aka The Doctor and Amy Pond – getting down at San Diego Comic-Con last weekend:

New episodes of Doctor Who begin August 27th at 9/8c on BBC America.

Video Courtesy of BBC America

We’ll have a full review of the discs for you soon, but in case you haven’t checked it out yet, here’s a look at the two-disc set that includes the first seven episodes.

In case you didn’t catch these episodes when they originally aired, or need a refresher, here’s the lowdown:

In Part 1, the Doctor, Amy and Rory find themselves in Sixties America, battling the invasion the world forgot, then journey on the high seas of 1696 aboard a pirate ship, to solve the mystery of the Siren. In a bubble universe at the very edge of reality, the Doctor meets an old friend with a new face, and in a monastery on a remote island in the near future, an industrial accident takes on a terrible human shape. And waiting for them, at the end of all this, is the battle of Demon’s Run, and the Doctor’s darkest hour. Can even the truth about River Song save the Time Lord’s soul? Only two things are certain. Silence will fall. And a good man is going to die…

Take a glimpse at some of the adventures that The Doctor, Amy and Rory embark on in this fantastic photo gallery:

To get your hands on your very own copy, visit the official site! And remember to check back soon for our review!

Images Courtesy of BBC

Canadian fans are still waiting on SPACE to announce a start date, but I suspect it won’t be around the same time as US audiences because SPACE is currently airing the Syfy version of the series.

Photo Courtesy of BBC

While the show was chock full of Potts, it was also a smart, funny, sci-fi show about a ragtag team of dinosaur wranglers. The setup for the British series (which reaired in the United States on BBC America and Syfy and is now airing on BBC America) is that space-time “anomalies” exist – passageways where time bleeds occur and things from the past jump forward and things from the present jump backward. In the context of the show, that meant a T-Rex stalking a modern London mall and prehistoric sea beast swimming in the Thames.

What most impressed me about the way the show had been done up through the third season was that pretty much the entire cast – except Potts, who plays Connor, Hannah Spearritt, who plays Abby, a zoologist brought into the team as the voice of reason about the animals, and Ben Miller, who plays James Lester, the formal head of the Anomaly Research Centre (ARC) – was expendable. Connor was initially a graduate student of the show’s original lead character, Nick Cutter, a paleontology professor who died at the hands of his nutbar wife, Helen, a presumed-dead fellow paleontologist who’d actually been time-trotting all over the universe and losing her mind.

Prior to Helen’s return, Cutter had been wooing, and then was devastated to lose, a government official, Claudia, who was part of the team. When he returned from one of the anomalies, he found that the universe had altered and he was the only one who knew she’d ever existed. In a tricky bit of casting, the actress came back in another role, Jenny, and Cutter had to keep correcting himself that his Claudia didn’t exist anymore. Jenny departed after Cutter was killed. The show also lost another original crew member, Stephen, when he sacrificed himself to save Cutter after realizing he’d been duped by Helen, with whom he’d previously had, and then resumed, an affair.

When the show rebooted in its third season, it had a new military-type head investigator, Danny, and a new historian, Sarah, who joined the group after they found an anomaly in her museum. The final new addition was a soldier named Becker who was the ARC’s go-to arms guy, a sweetheart built like a tank. When season three closed, Danny, Connor, and Abby had gone through an anomaly after Helen, who was on a quest to go back to the dawn of man and eliminate the human race. Danny jumped a second time and caught up with Helen; she was killed in a fall and he was left stranded. At the site of the first jump, in the Cretaceous, Abby and Connor were stranded in a treetop in the middle of a swarm of prehistoric predators, and the characters reconciled their friendship, which had taken a beating after he declared he loved her when he saved her life, and then backed away from the confession. And that’s where they left everybody.

More than a year after the third season ended, season four kicked off on New Year’s Day on BBC America in the United States and ITV in the UK. It’s been 12 months in the show’s timeline, and the ARC has gone on with new players. Lester is still in charge, and still grieving his team’s losses, but he’s also gotten into bed with a private financier and inventor because the events that lost Connor, Abby, and Danny, and we learn, killed Sarah, led to a government request for private oversight. There’s a new techie, Jess, and a new lead investigator, Matt, who seems to be in the pocket of a larger agenda. Becker is still in charge, militarily speaking, but he’s hesitant to break new ground in weaponry at the risk of losing anymore of his friends.

We pick up with Abby and Connor in the Cretaceous, friendly and flirty and desperate to go home, but otherwise safe and sound. Abby is seemingly fracturing from the stress- she secretly weeps while Connor’s out gathering food. When she overreacts about one of the creatures stealing her blanket, they track it to its nest and find a missing, but nonworking, anomaly device. After they argue a bit about rebooting it like a TV remote (remove batteries, put back, and shake), it fires up and an anomaly opens. They shoo off a couple of the dinosaurs, jump through, and find that they’re in a city but they’re not sure when and where until the ARC’s cavalry of black SUVs tears around the corner. They’re taken down to the ground by a group of commandos and then Becker arrives, asking where the hell they’ve been and sweeping them into a hug.

Their joy is tamped when one of the creatures comes though behind them, and they give chase before send him packing (proving that their year away hasn’t made them at all rusty at what they do) only to return to the ARC and find out that the new regime has no place for them because they’re essentially civilians. Connor goes off about it and the new private head, Philip Burton, who’s big enough in nerd circles that Connor geeks out about his involvement, tells them to use the ARC apartment to catch their breath and then they’ll reconvene. Later, Matt has a chat with professorial-looking fellow who seems to be running a separate agenda and they agree Abby and Connor know more than anyone else and the ARC needs them.

We close on a sunrise view over the city as Connor wakes up alone. He sees Abby outside on the balcony and goes out to her, asking her if she’s still keeping watch for predators, and offering to take the next shift. She smiles up at him in an “old habits die hard” sort of way and says no, she’s happy there with him. They kiss, and she nestles into his chest as they both look out over the city. Home. Now what?

I’m a complete 12-year old because my take away from the show’s return was happiness that we know for sure Abby and Connor are a couple, none of that undefined bullshit. Yay! I thought the action clicked along like always but we spent way too much time on the ARC newbies (there was a whole opening tease with a creature loose inside the ARC before we got to Abby and Connor). I get it, though, because once we pick up next week, we’re going to have them all on board for cases. I’m curious to see what they do with Abby and Connor now that they’re back in reality. They were always sort of in love with each other under the guise of BFFs before they were stranded, but neither one could pull the trigger on it, and yet they finally managed to have a relationship when they were the only two people in the world.

BBC America in the United States and ITV in the UK will continue airing season four simultaneously on Saturdays, and you can catch the episodes afterward on iTunes. Be warned, the commercial breaks on BBC America are choppy since they’re timed differently from ITV. Season five was ordered with season four, so we’ll get those eventually, too.

Photo Courtesy of ITV/BBC America

-Annie is in a frenzy, cleaning the kitchen and crying, and the guys automatically assume that she’s hormonal. Truth is, the real reason for her mood swing is that her wedding was supposed to be that week. She comes across a parsley mill at the back of a drawer, which had been an engagement gift. Owen loves parsley sauce, and Annie had planned to make many meals for him as his wife. The kitchen utensil has sentimental meaning to her, and she’s upset that it’s just a random item in the drawer of a rented house.

-Mitchell decides that Annie needs to get out of the house and meet some “kindred spirits”, so he and George take her out to a club. Mitchell introduces her to Gilbert, a ghost who looks like he just left a Smiths concert. He’s a bit of an odd character, but he and Annie seem to get along.

-Mitchell is checking out the ladies at the club, and encourages George to do the same. Of course, George is hesitant because he’s too scared he might not be able to restrain himself. Mitchell comments that he’s not sure if George suffers from “Jewish guilt” or “werewolf guilt”.

-Lauren visits Mitchell at the hospital, and wants to know if he got her “gift”, i.e. the DVD. She tells him that she thought of him the entire time. She also confesses that Herrick & the others forced her to do it as a way to try and draw Mitchell back in.

-Annie decides to get out of the house to meet Gilbert. He takes her to a cemetery, and she sees her grave for the first time. Gilbert tells her that she’s still here for a reason, and Annie asks him to help her finish her unfinished business.

-It’s been hinted at before that George is a really intelligent guy, he just chooses to be a porter when he could probably be a doctor. George reveals a bit of his genius to Nina when he offers his services as translator after some foreign exchange are brought into the ER, listing off several languages that he can help out with.

-Owen comes by the flat again to try and fix the plumbing problem, but he is unsuccessful again. As he is leaving, it almost looks like he’s staring right at Annie. I don’t think he saw her, but it’s an interesting point to consider.

-Annie visits Owen’s new house and decides to add some of her personal touches to it. While she’s there, she decides to move into his place permanently, be Owen’s guardian angel.

-Lauren visits Mitchell at the hospital once again. She hasn’t fed in a while, and is consumed by killing and her need for blood. Mitchell comforts her, and gives her his blood. He agrees to meet her after work and help her. Lauren and Mitchell start meeting in hotel rooms, exchanging blood and having sex.

-Knowing that George will never make the first move with Nina, Mitchell steps in and sets them up for a dinner date. He even volunteers George to do the cooking. It’s also a clever way for Mitchell to draw attention away from George discovering what he’s up to with Lauren.

-Over at Owen’s new place, Annie is doing all the wifely things she would have done for him if she’d lived. Later on, she’s back at her flat, making parsley sauce for Owen, and decides that her unfinished business is that she never got to be a wife to Owen.

-George ends up making a nice dinner for Nina, and when they go upstairs for “dessert”, George finds he is having trouble containing himself, and starts growling. He stops the action, and Nina assumes he has performance issues.

-Owen thinks that all of Annie’s little gestures around his place were the work of Janey. Annie is there, and hears this, so she decides to leave Owen a message. She writes something on his bathroom mirror – “Happy Wedding Day Tiger”. Owen is distraught by this, but hides it from Janey. He heads over to the flat, thinking that no one is there, and heads to the bathroom. Annie looks on as he pulls apart the toilet, and the cause of the plumbing problems is revealed – a thong. The thong had belonged to Annie, and had caused quite the fight between her and Owen. In fact, during this fight, Owen hurled Annie down the stairs, and killed her. My suspicions were correct … Owen is a scumbag. Annie has not moved on because she was killed by her fiance.

-Mitchell steals blood from the hospital to try and help Lauren, but it’s not enough. She ends up running right out of the hotel, and into a car with Herrick.

-George is trying to get to the basement of the hospital to transform, and is sidelined by Nina, who wants to have a talk about his inability to perform. As she describes alternate ways he can satisfy her, he’s suddenly consumed by the urge, and ends up shagging Nina silly!

-Gilbert is there to comfort Annie after her discovery, and he tells her that he loves her. With those words, a door appears out of nowhere – it’s there for Gilbert, so he can move on. His unfinished business? He needed to meet Annie and feel love.

-Annie still loves Owen even though he killed her, and she believes that he loved her. She still doesn’t know why she hasn’t moved on now that she knows the truth about her death.

This is such a loaded episode, with a lot of revelation, and a fantastic balance between light and dark. There were several scenes that made me giggle like a fool, but I was also saddened not only by Annie’s discovery, but Mitchell’s struggle as well. The music was also remarkable. I mean, I adore the song choices in every episode, but this particular one appealed to my love for the moodier, broodier classic alternative tunes that i have always loved.

There’s a comment in the opening, that “love should be the opposite of death”, but if this episode proves anything, it’s that there is love in death, as we see in the relationships between Annie and Owen, Annie and Gilbert, and Mitchell and Lauren.

I’d really love to hear everyone’s thoughts on this episode. Did you suspect all along that Owen was responsible for Annie’s death? How did you react to this revelation? Think George and Nina have a future together? And now that Herrick’s plan to lure Mitchell back by using Lauren doesn’t seem to be working, what do you think Herrick’s next play will be?

Don’t forget to come back on Saturday, when we’ll be discussing S1 E4!

Here’s the extended Season 2 trailer:

For those lucky enough to be hitting San Diego Comic-Con, there’s going to be a signing and panel with the cast of Being Human on July 23rd.

The cast is already hard at work on Season 3, which will air in 2011.

Images Courtesy of BBC America

Don’t forget to catch Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars this Saturday night!

Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars airs on December 19th at 9 pm, immediately following Inside the Tardis, a one-hour special recapping the series through the eyes of The Doctor’s companions.