Top Gear – WISE Score & Parent Review | Screenwise

Top Gear

Name: Screenwise
Author: Screenwise

show2002

52%

WISE Score

Three middle-aged Brits crash cars, crack jokes, and occasionally teach you something about engineering—if you can get past the dated humor.

Top Gear

show

TV-PG, 2002

52%

WISE Score

Three middle-aged Brits crash cars, crack jokes, and occasionally teach you something about engineering—if you can get past the dated humor.

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Screenwise Verdict

Top Gear is a cultural phenomenon that genuinely revolutionized car television—the production values are incredible, the challenges are creative, and when it focuses on engineering and adventure, it's legitimately enriching.

But let's be real: this is three middle-aged men being paid to act like teenagers, and sometimes that's charming, sometimes it's cringe. Clarkson's controversies aren't just Twitter drama—he literally got fired for physical violence. The show's humor traffics in stereotypes that were questionable in 2002 and are painful in 2025.

For the right teen (car-obsessed, mature enough to roll their eyes at the dated jokes), it's entertaining and might inspire real interest in engineering. For younger kids or families looking for wholesome content, this ain't it. The WISE score reflects that it's decent entertainment with educational moments, but weighted down by problematic elements and aging humor that make it harder to recommend without caveats.

Age Fit

Best for ages 13-16 who can appreciate the automotive creativity while recognizing the hosts' problematic humor for what it is. Adults still love it (hence the high IMDb score), but younger kids will miss the context and might absorb the wrong lessons.

WISE Breakdown

Wholesome

Top Gear (2002-2015 era with Clarkson/Hammond/May) is infamous for juvenile humor, occasional meanness, and hosts who frequently mock each other and others. While there's camaraderie, it's wrapped in British banter that can be harsh, stereotypical, and sometimes crosses into offensive territory. The show doesn't model cooperation so much as competitive one-upmanship. Not toxic, but not exactly wholesome either.

Imaginative

The show excels at creative car challenges, ambitious stunts, and genuinely inventive segments—turning a car into a boat, racing across continents, building ridiculous vehicles. It sparks curiosity about engineering, geography, and problem-solving. The cinematography is often stunning. However, it's more about consumption and spectacle than encouraging kids to build or create themselves.

Safe

No graphic violence, sex, or gore, but the show features dangerous driving stunts (clearly marked 'don't try this'), occasional mild profanity (depending on edit), and the hosts have made culturally insensitive jokes that sparked real controversies. CSM rates it 12+, which feels right—there's nothing that will traumatize, but younger kids might absorb some questionable attitudes. The bigger safety concern is the glorification of risky driving behavior.

Enriching

Kids can learn about automotive engineering, global geography, and physics. The challenges require problem-solving and creativity. However, the educational content is secondary to entertainment, and the show's values skew toward consumerism, machismo, and sometimes dismissive attitudes toward safety and environmental concerns. It's entertaining first, enriching second.

Parent Info

✓

Why It Might Be Great

Genuinely creative challenges and ambitious stunts that showcase engineering and problem-solving
Stunning cinematography and production values that make cars look like art
Can spark interest in automotive technology, physics, and global geography
The host chemistry is undeniably entertaining, even when they're being ridiculous
High IMDb rating (8.7) reflects its massive fanbase and entertainment value

⚠

What to Watch For

Humor that frequently punches down—stereotypes about other countries, women, and more that hasn't aged well
Dangerous driving stunts that are clearly staged but might inspire bad ideas in younger viewers
Clarkson's controversies are real—he's been fired for punching a producer, among other incidents
The show's environmental stance is basically 'climate change? never heard of her'
Better for mid-teens who can understand context and won't try to recreate the stunts

Conversation Starters

"Why do you think the hosts are allowed to do such dangerous things on TV? What makes it different from real driving?"
"Some of their jokes about other countries are pretty stereotypical—can you spot when they're being unfair?"
"What's the coolest engineering solution they came up with in that challenge?"
"How has car technology changed since this episode aired? What would be different if they filmed it today?"

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