The British motoring series Top Gear (Monday, 8:00 p.m., BBC America) has a world wide following and happens to be one of the funniest shows on television. It's sort of a combination of Monty Python, Mythbusters, Motorweek, and a talk show all rolled into one crazy hour of British madness with three crazy British hosts. This week, they add beautifully filmed travelogue and a bit of road movie to the mix as they journey to Africa.
The three hosts are tasked to find cheap used cars and drive them 1000 miles across Botswana. Sounds easy enough, but it isn’t since the roads are lacking and the Kalahari Desert needs to be crossed. This of course results in all sorts of wackiness ensuing including a bit of unhealthy love for a little car and some Mad Max worthy vehicle modifications.
So if you are in the mood for some British humor and adventure, this fits the bill admirably and is probably one of the best things on this week. (No word on when their epic drive to the North Pole will air on this side of the pond.) Plus it shows the size of the shoes that NBC’s upcoming American version will have to fill.
Also this week:
It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown (Tuesday, 8:00 p.m., WABC 7) It is another Peanuts holiday classic.
The Riches (Tuesday, 10:00 p.m., FX) The Eddie Izzard vehicle about con men returns for season two.
Live from Lincoln Center: New York City Opera: Madama Butterfly (Thursday, 8:00 p.m., WNET 13) The New York City Opera’s current production of this Puccini opera is featured.





We saw this show once and these guys may all be mezzo-finookios and they are funny mamalukes.
The first time I saw Top Gear was as part of the in-flight entertainment on Icelandair. I was hysterical laughing and near tears several times during the two episodes shown. I'm sure other passengers wondered what I was smoking. I've watched a few episodes on BBCA since, but can't say as they measured up.
I think Top Gear was recommended on Gothamist once before. I was skeptical, since the show is about cars...but I ended up watching an episode, in which the show's hosts towed a dinky camping trailer on a trip and ended up accidentally burning it to the ground at the campsite. Funniest damn thing I have ever seen on television. I'm hooked.