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<\/p>\nWhat a very strange time to be alive. At the time of writing, the UK government (and many others) is currently enforcing a national lockdown that\u2019s keeping millions of us behind closed doors. It\u2019s fair to say that any initial novelty is quickly wearing off, especially for those of us who can\u2019t work for the duration, or have kids to care for in the meantime.<\/p>\n
So, it stands to reason that you\u2019re probably looking for some blooming good telly to take your mind off things for a bit. We\u2019re pleased to say that\u2019s something we can help with here at Scrap Car Network. Most of our own team are stuck at home too, so while we can\u2019t help you scrap your car at this stage, we can certainly recommend one or two decent shows to tickle your automotive fancy.<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t necessarily have to define yourself as a petrolhead to have heard of this one. For the last 15 years it\u2019s been a cultural icon, which makes it all the more surprising to realise that its original run only actually went for three years, between 2004 to 2007. Famously fronted by Xzibit (a man somewhat harshly described as \u2018briefly relevant\u2019), the show unapologetically set new standards for style over substance. Some of the stuff they\u2019d do to your car might generously be termed as sort-of practical, but most of it bordered on the downright ludicrous – such as built-in fridges and digital photo editing and printing systems. The thing is, the show knew exactly what it was, and what it wanted to be – and it\u2019s forever in our hearts as a result.<\/p>\n
Alright, you knew this was coming, so let\u2019s just get it out of the way, shall we? Top Gear, as if you didn\u2019t know, has been running since 2002, and over its 20 years of history its appeal has become so widespread that it\u2019s won the impressive accolade of being the most widely watched factual television programme in the world.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s lots of good reasons for that – as well as being a home for serious car journalism, it\u2019s got a long history of doing plenty of nonsensical stuff too. Sure, they review cars, and they do interviews about cars, but they also turn them into boats, blow them up, and have attempted to launch them into the lower atmosphere. It\u2019s undergone a bit of a reshuffle and some changes to its lineup in recent years, but it\u2019s still a solid car show, and a much-loved British icon to boot.<\/p>\n
You can tell they had fun with naming this one. It takes familiar elements of the winning Top Gear formula, namely the globetrotting nature and the ridiculous scale of the automotive challenges, and reshapes them into something that\u2019s still recognisable, but altogether distinct. Its presenters are placed in hostile environments along with a single vehicle, a trusty Jeep Wrangler, and tasked with getting it (and themselves) out alive.<\/p>\n
The presenters themselves are Gary Humphrey, a former British Special Forces operative, and Bill Wu, a Californian who, uh\u2026 really likes cars. It sounds like it could be a car crash of a show (not sorry), but it\u2019s a surprisingly riveting watch. It only went for one season – or two, if you count Car Vs Wild – but all five episodes are all the high-stakes excitement and survivalism you need.<\/p>\n
In a very similar spirit, the World\u2019s Most Dangerous Roads puts two celebrities in a 4×4 and sets them off onto\u2026 well, very dangerous roads. It\u2019s not quite as high octane as One Car Too Far, but it\u2019s certainly still a very enjoyable ride, mainly due to the presenters themselves, who change from week to week. Sue Perkins made several appearances and became a firm fan favourite, and other familiar faces include comedian Rhod Gilbert and actress Liza Tarbuck. In fact if you\u2019re a fan of comedy panel shows it\u2019s definitely worth tuning into a few episodes, as it features a whole host of regulars from Mock the Week and Have I Got News For You.<\/p>\n
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2020 has already not been good to F1 fans, as it\u2019s been brought to an almost complete standstill by this year\u2019s Covid-19 crisis. But happily, you can still get your fill of speedy action elsewhere, as both seasons of Drive To Survive are now available to stream on Netflix. In case you\u2019re not familiar, it\u2019s a cool documentary that goes behind the scenes of Formula One, following the dogged rivalries and machinations of the competing teams, both on and off the F1 grid. As you might expect, it\u2019s packed full of racing highs and lows, and should be enough to keep your engine ticking over for now.<\/p>\n
Admittedly we\u2019re stretching the definition of \u2018car\u2019 a little bit here, but the rules of Red Bull Soapbox race stipulate that the vehicles must have brakes and be able to steer, so that\u2019s good enough for us. The Red Bull Soapbox Race has been described as a \u201cno-holds-barred downhill race using only gravity and courage as fuel\u201d. So realistically, you\u2019re watching stuff crash at the bottom of a hill. It\u2019s not quite on the same level as some of the other shows we\u2019ve listed above, but it\u2019s fun and it doesn\u2019t engage too much of your brain, which makes it perfect for whiling away a long afternoon inside.<\/p>\n