India Special (Top Gear)

The India Special is a Top Gear special released on December 28, 2011, airing in-between series 17 and 18.

Plot
Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May ignore the then-Prime Minister David Cameron and head to India for a trade mission; the boys hope to improve Britain's international relations with one of the most heavily-populated countries in the world. Beginning in Bombay, the presenters are given a budget of £7,000 to buy a "brilliant" British car. The three then journey up India, promoting British products and services along the way until they reach the Himalayan Mountains.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Compared to previous specials, the segments in this one feel incredibly scripted.
 * 2) There are many unfunny gags, such as Jeremy putting a toilet on the back of his Jaguar XJ-S Celebration and saying that he did it because "every tourist who visits India gets violent diarrhoea".
 * 3) The special features three classic cars getting ruined. While this was a recurring gag on Top Gear, the presenters would usually ruin cars as part of an experiment (such as the Toyota Hilux to test its durability), or destroy those that are generally undesirable and/or underwhelming (such as the Morris Marina). Here, the presenters picked a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow Mk1, a Jaguar XJ-S Celebration and a classic Rover Mini, which are iconic British cars, which is the equivalent of taking a very rare car and damaging it.
 * 4) The special ended Top Gear 's 2011 run (which was already loaded with controversy due to the trio making crude jokes about Mexico during a news segment on the Mastretta MXT, a Mexican-built sports car) on a sour note.

Good Qualities

 * 1) The chemistry between Jeremy, Richard and James is still good.
 * 2) Richard "accidentally" painting a Mexican flag on his Mini instead of an Indian one is a pretty funny reference to the Mastretta MXT incident.
 * 3) Jeremy playing Genesis' "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" over his Jaguar XJ-S's P.A. system to annoy Richard is hilarious, even if it's recycling a similar gag from the Middle East Special.
 * 4) The hill climb sequence is pretty fun to watch.

Reception
Although the India Special received an 8/10 rating on IMDb, fans of Top Gear gave the special mixed-to-negative reviews, with the special being considered an uncharacteristically below-average episode for the show. The special's lack of resonance with the fans was even lampooned by host Jeremy Clarkson in a later episode.

The special also received considerable backlash in India for the Jaguar XJ-S toilet scenes, which led to the Indian High Commission criticising the show's "toilet humour".

Trivia

 * This is the longest episode/special in Top Gear history, clocking in at over 88 minutes, which led to future specials being divided into two parts.