Top Gear Drivers' Handbook by Richard Porter

 

Following on from Haynes, the Car Manual publisher who branched out into novelty books – The Star Trek based U.S.S Enterprise Manual, Dad Manual, Baby Manual etc – Top Gear decides to get in on this idea. The Top Gear Drivers’ Handbook is a spoof of similar publications by motoring associations. So it is theoretically published by ‘The Top Gear Motoringists’ Association’, and is full of car-maintenance based jokes. Now, if you’re a fan of Top Gear, you may feel a little short changed here, because there’s no content from any of the presenters, barring an introduction that’s theoretically by all three of them. The actual writer is Richard Porter, who’s a script editor for the show, but somehow the humour of Top Gear itself doesn’t really carry over to print. Part of the success of the TV show is the elaborate stunts the team carries out, and these obviously don’t transfer to the page. But another problem is that a car show that makes jokes can be funny, but a joke version of a car manual is not – there’s no serious purpose to be light-hearted about when it’s clear the whole thing is inconsequential. Some laughs, yes, but overall it’s simply dull. [Richard Robeson]