The BEST episodes directed by Tom Whitter
#1 - Volkswagen Beetle
James May's Cars of the People - Season 1 - Episode 1
In his quest to discover how we the people got our wheels, James travels to Germany, Italy and Russia to reveal the extraordinary story of how dictators kickstarted the mobilisation of the masses. It is a tale of design brilliance, abject failure, war, fraud and double dealing featuring some of the best (and worse) cars and characters of the 20th century. James discovers how the British motor industry blew a gift-wrapped chance to rule the world and he gets his own back with a stunt that means bad news for one of the planet's most hated cars.
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#2 - Microcar
James May's Cars of the People - Season 1 - Episode 2
James May downsizes to explore the weird world of the microcar. He discovers how austerity and fears of congestion led to European tragicomic disasters in the shape of Britain's infamous three-wheelers, French death traps and German absurdities. James takes to the battlefield to settle one of the greatest rivalries in car history and travels to Japan for an urban race between a state-of-the-art micro sports car and the best-selling vehicle in history.
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#3 - Steam Power
James May's Cars of the People - Season 2 - Episode 3
James explores the wilder shores of motoring to discover what happened to the cars of the future that we were promised. From improbable steam cars and ludicrous jet turbines, he reveals how the petrol engine and the power it gave us came to dominate the 20th century. He takes to the waves in an amphibious car, risks his life at the wheel of a notorious electric scooter and takes a hair-raising trip in the fastest driver-less car on earth.
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#4 - Post-War Boom (and Bust)
James May's Cars of the People - Season 2 - Episode 1
James reveals the cars that turned post-war Germany and Japan into motoring powerhouses at the expense of Britain and the US. On his travels he encounters classic E-Types, Mustangs and the German and Japanese upstarts that were to conquer the world. He also has an unfortunate encounter with an Austin Allegro - the car that helped destroy the British car industry.
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#5 - 4x4
James May's Cars of the People - Season 2 - Episode 2
James May goes off-road to tell the story of how the 4x4 conquered the world. From the wartime jeep to the global struggle between Land Rover and Land Cruiser, the white-knuckle world of rallying and boy racers, plus James conquers Mount Fuji and races through the sun-scorched Mojave Desert to decide which is the ultimate people's 4x4.
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#6 - Man Lab Orchestra
James May's Man Lab - Season 1 - Episode 3
Outnumbered star Hugh Dennis takes on a wallpapering challenge, the Man Lab orchestra prepares for its debut concert at famous London church St Martin-in-the-Fields, and the experts build their own cinema, complete with popcorn and a Wurlitzer organ. The team also constructs a sky rocket, two men settle a 25-year-old quarrel by duelling with sabres, and James uses modern technology to help a man on a first date. Last in the series.
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#7 - Prison Breakout
James May's Man Lab - Season 2 - Episode 1
James and Oz Clarke break out of Dartmoor Prison, evade a team of trackers and navigate their way across moors using only a map and compass in their latest attempt to re-skill the modern male. James tests his own abilities further as he takes on what he feels is the most threatening challenge facing men today - remembering names at a dinner party.
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#8 - Navigate the Seas
James May's Man Lab - Season 1 - Episode 2
James navigates the high seas the old-fashioned way - instead of SatNav, he must avoid sand banks and shipping lanes using only a compass and a dog as navigational tools. Plus, James engages in a duel over a parking space, starts an orchestra and builds a pub. And in Celebrity Man Skills, John Sergeant changes a tyre.
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#9 - Rolls Royce Silver Shadow
James May's Cars of the People - Season 1 - Episode 3
This episode is all about power and glory as James reveals the cars that finally gave the people hope. From the Rolls Royce that became a people's champion to the blue-collar heroes that launched a thousand burn ups, James reveals how aspiration and new wealth would drive the development of some of the greatest cars ever made. James tries to make sense of the baffling world of company car hierarchy with a travelling salesman race-off and indulges his 1980s urges with the twin delights of Lamborghini and Porsche. He also unveils his choice of the ultimate people's car - a car that can claim to be the greatest vehicle in history.
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#10 - Defuse an Unexploded Bomb
James May's Man Lab - Season 1 - Episode 1
The first of a new series that sees James May on a mission to save modern man - from themselves. From his Man Lab HQ, James and his team set out on a series of action-packed challenges that will help modern man relearn some of the vital skills, once cherished by his forefathers, that are now in danger of being lost forever. In this episode, we learn how to defuse an unexploded bomb, build a kitchen out of concrete, how to serenade a woman, transform a fishfinger sandwich, and create the world's first motorised picnic table.
Watch Now:Amazon#11 - James May's Toy Stories: The Motorcycle Diary
BBC Documentaries - Season 2014 - Episode 4
James May attempts to build a motorbike and sidecar entirely out of Meccano to take round the Isle of Man's famous TT circuit. But designing a machine capable of carrying James and his passenger, wine expert Oz Clarke, around the daunting 37-mile course is not a task for the faint-hearted. Fifteen thousand pieces of Meccano must be assembled to create a full-size, road-legal motorcycle that James hopes will be more than a match for the circuit's treacherous twists and turns, steep climbs and dizzying descents. And as in the real TT, the bike must race against the clock.