There is a winning calm about this final Grand Tour special, the last such outing for Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. It is called One for the Road (Prime Video) which, for once, was an apt title; it came with that sense of: “Shall we head off on a contrived beano one more time? Is there any point? Oh well, why not.”
The Grand Tour, which launched in 2016, was Amazon’s attempt to recreate the amigos’ Top Gear specials after Clarkson was sacked by the BBC. Where previous outings have often seemed contrived, three characters in search of a story, this final episode instead feels like a well-earned testimonial. Leaving the stage rather suited our demob-happy trio. Farewell, and thanks for all the footling.
This feature-length jaunt across Zimbabwe, that ends up back in Botswana where their first Top Gear special began, is undoubtedly self-indulgent. It is also a little maudlin at times, but always tempered by a seam of self-deprecatory humour. Most of this is actually just deprecatory and aimed at Richard Hammond. He has always been the neediest and here endures 90 minutes of jokes about his future career – which Clarkson and May assume will be in regional panto.
Clarkson, of course, has Amazon’s biggest hit Clarkson’s Farm to return to. He plainly couldn’t give two hoots, and a less prickly Jezza is much better company than usual. Every now and then, as they drive off leaving a flailing Hammond behind to contend with his decrepit Mark One Capri, or as they make camp and talk about how great beer is, there is a sense of going through the motions. But then it’s actually felt like that for nearly a decade now, ever since they ditched actual motoring journalism in favour of doing “The Three Stooges on four wheels ad infinitum”.
If you don’t like that act, you most likely wouldn’t be tuning into The Grand Tour for its last lap anyway. Still, there is a likeable, even moving quality to this send-off. As Clarkson notes in an early diatribe, cars aren’t as interesting as they used to be: electric cars are essentially just new white goods. Views and reviews take place largely online. The trio pioneered the idea of the “Is it just me?” contrarian, but that mantle has now been taken over by keyboard warriors and social media mavens.
In short, things have moved on. What makes One for the Road so enjoyable is that Clarkson and co are resolutely unbothered. They take themselves off to Zimbabwe for a nice drive. They pick cars they like, because, well, they like them. They travel with some of the best camera crews in the business, as they have always done, and so the backdrop to their witterings is exquisite. No dials are moved, no envelopes maxed. But slowly, quietly and with surprisingly little shouting, a TV era is over.
The Grand Tour: One for the Road is on Amazon Prime Video from Friday 13 September
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