REVIEW: Clarkson's Farm, Series 1 Episode Eight 'Harvesting'

 REVIEW: Clarkson's Farm, Series 1 Episode Eight 'Harvesting'

One of the most joyful series on Amazon Prime is without a doubt Clarkson's Farm. Usually I'm not one for farming programmes, finding the concept of watching people work on a farm a little boring. Clarkson's Farm, however, is a completely different kettle of fish. It has a certain charm that many shows lack, a show that instantly brings a smile to your face.

I wouldn't want to live Clarkson's average farming day though. The episode opens with a general example of what his day entails, and it looks so packed that you imagine he must be exhausted by the end of it. Especially as he gets up at six in the morning. I thought getting up at 7am was early; farmers seem to have earlier starts than most, judging by what we see here. 

After this sequence we move onto the main focus of the episode: harvesting. Kaleb manages to get a hold of a local with a combine harvester called Simon, and for the next hour majority of the running time concerns Simon, Kaleb and Jeremy's attempts to harvest the farm. Clarkson's early attempts at aligning the trailer on the back of his tractor with the harvester's chute are just as funny as you'd expect, but to be fair to him he succeeds at it with his second attempt. It certainly does not look easy.

It gets harder for Jeremy when Gerald Cooper takes over the combine harvester. Clarkson's inability to understand a word that Gerald says has proven to be one of the most entertaining running jokes in this series, and it's turned up a notch here with Jeremy Clarkson struggling to understand his driving directions. I laughed so much at this segment, and I hope we get Gerald partaking in the harvesting again next series. It's a lot of fun for sure.

Kaleb's banter with Jeremy Clarkson is even more on point in this episode than in any of the previous ones too. When Clarkson parks his car somewhere that Kaleb won't find it, Kaleb takes Clarkson's tractor keys and throws them in the field, showing a more mischievous side to Kaleb that honestly feels comparable to something Richard Hammond or James May would do. Later on, he even jokingly insists that Clarkson goes back to London, which is the kind of lad's humour worthy of the Clarkson, Hammond and May brand. It makes me even more desperate to see Kaleb on a future Grand Tour Special, as judging by the evidence here he would fit right in driving alongside the trio.

It's not all fun and games however, as Clarkson receives some sad news regarding one of the sheep. Wayne Rooney has died, and the Grand Tour presenter is devastated. This is one of the most engaging aspects of Clarkson's Farm; it has shown a more vulnerable side to Clarkson that we rarely get to see on any of his projects. He seems to get so emotionally attached to the sheep on his farm, and I think it always makes for great television when you see the chinks in the armour of these kind of larger than life personalities.

Outside of the typical farming stuff, we do get a scene that feels reminiscent of something straight out of The Grand Tour. When Clarkson discovers his bottled water is infected with bacteria, he races to the farm shop in the Bugatti Veyron from the Grand Tour Madagascar Special, and it's like seeing a clashing of both sides of Clarkson's television lifestyle. On the one hand, you have the motoring journalist Clarkson, who races fast cars and performs crazy manoeuvres. On the other, the farmer Clarkson, dealing with the trials and tribulations of the farm. These two worlds collide in the most spectacular of ways, and it doesn't feel out of place. The shows feel born out of the same DNA, in a similar fashion to how the Marvel Studios shows and films all feel like a part of the same universe, and so it's not all that jarring to go from the slightly less bolshy farming segments to Clarkson literally driving a fast car. 

Overall, 'Harvesting' is a stunning conclusion to Clarkson's Farm's first series. It develops the highly entertaining personalities of the farm further, giving us some instantly memorable scenes featuring favourites such as Gerald Cooper and Kaleb, whilst also giving Clarkson an excuse to fuse aspects of The Grand Tour with the farming format. Let's hope there isn't too much of a gap until the second series, because this is a show that's definitely one to keep watching.

Due to my work pattern and other commitments, there will be no more 'Whovian TV' articles in the near future. I will still try to complete my reviews for Bates Motel and Batwoman, and there will be Runaways, Monsters At Work, Whose Line Is It Anyway and Marvel's What If reviews among other shows in the future, but I'm unsure of the frequency of future television reviews. Thank you for reading my articles, and I hope you enjoy my upcoming takes on various television programmes.

What are your thoughts on the eighth episode of Clarkson's Farm? Let me know in the comments.