Ever since Buffy the Vampire Slayer has been canceled, there has not been anything really good on TV.  There is the occasional interesting cooking show (Daniel’s After Hours) or reality show (Top Chef). The Buffy want-a-bee (Veronica Mars) also canceled.  Even the normal mediocre shows (Boston Legal, Desperate Housewives) have been stopped due to the writer’s strike.  To top it off, our TiVO broke, and for several reasons I won’t bore you with, we have switched to Cox DVR.  You need to use sticks and stones to program the stupid thing, and it only looks one week ahead to figure what shows are on (so every week I need to check if shows are coming back after the writer’s strike, and it does not try to go out on its own and try to record things you might like, such as an occasional Star Trek). This is still better than watching live TV with commercials, but I am digressing, because there has been a bright spot:  Top Gear.  Top Gear is a show on the BBC channel where they review cars, everything from affordable Honda’s to Super Cars. Which is OK, especially with the quippy British vernacular. But the absolute best has been the series of races they have done this season.  This week it was motor homes on a race track (as a special treat, they brought in real race car drivers).  Last week it was a race across London, between a bike, a car, a boat, and public transportation (the bike won the 30 mile trek).  Week before, it was a race across Botswana (I’m don’t remember the rules on the cars, but they didn’t blow the production budget on them).  Week before, it was a race across the English Channel.. in cars (inexpertly waterproofed). I won’t even try to describe these further, but each one of these had had me in tears laughing.   This in the ONLY show on TV (ever ever) that has been funnier than the Simpsons.