The BEST episodes of Gadget Man

Every episode of Gadget Man ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Gadget Man!

Gadget Man shows the world's collection of handy gadgets throughout the ages, from today's smart devices to decades old electronics to even older mechanical devices. Stephen Fry presented Series One, with Richard Ayoade taking over for Series Two onward.

Last Updated: 1/19/2024Network: Channel 4Status: Ended
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Rise and Shine
star
7.65
136 votes

#1 - Rise and Shine

Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/9/2013

Richard tests new gadgets to get people get out of bed and out of the house in the morning with long-term early-riser DJ Sara Cox. He also encounters some unusual vehicles as he experiences the commute at the crack of dawn with the Today programme presenter John Humphrys. Gadgets include a new machine for ironing clothes without ironing, a magic mirror and the most energy-efficient car in the world. The show culminates with Richard trying out a Get Ready Machine which promises to propel him from his bed and to wash, dress and feed him automatically.

Watch Now:Amazon
The Staycation
star
7.58
212 votes

#2 - The Staycation

Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/8/2014

This episode features the world's tiniest caravan, 360 degree cameras, 300 litre rucksacks and a pair of trousers that can transform into a picnic table. With the combined horror of picnics, days out and bracing walks in the countryside looming, Richard turns to comedian Phill Jupitus to hold his hand through this "trial by leisure".

Watch Now:Amazon
Christmas Special
star
7.58
121 votes

#3 - Christmas Special

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 12/24/2012

In this Christmas special, Stephen Fry brings his insight and wit to bear on gadgets from Christmases past. Drawing on unusual and entertaining archive footage, Stephen surveys how Christmas and gadgets go together like mince pies and cream, as he takes a wry look at toys, snow, decorations and Christmas dinner.

Directors: Mark McQueen
Watch Now:Amazon
Summer Holiday
star
7.53
161 votes

#4 - Summer Holiday

Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 9/23/2013

Noel Fielding joins Richard Ayoade to road test holiday gadgets including a superfast motorcycle/car, anti-jet lag glasses, a BBQ dinghy, an unbreakable suitcase and a box of holiday smells developed by the American military. Richard and Noel travel to the South of France examining gadgets to make journeys less boring, lying on the beach more relaxing, and swimming in the pool more entertaining. The show culminates with Richard trying to recreate the South of France in Southend, with the help of a astronomical device

Watch Now:Amazon
Smaller Is Better
star
7.52
157 votes

#5 - Smaller Is Better

Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/7/2013

Richard attempts to prove that small is beautiful by demonstrating the world's smallest gadgets. He visits musician Alex James at his enormous farm and six bedroomed home to demonstrate how he can downsize his lifestyle using tiny gadget alternatives to his large appliances. Richard shows Michelin star chef Galton Blackiston a gadget that can prepare and cook a three-course meal entirely on its own. Using moving walls and innovative interior design, Richard creates a house of five interchangeable rooms out of a tiny four metre cube, and invites Jimmy Carr for a tour.

Watch Now:Amazon
Staying In
star
7.52
200 votes

#6 - Staying In

Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 9/29/2014

Richard sets out to prove that gadgets can make it possible to lead a full and healthy life without leaving the house. He enlists the help of comedian Seann Walsh to check out gadgets that deliver the health benefits of the great outdoors, without the necessity of braving the danger, filth and inconvenience of the world outside. Richard also invites comedian David Mitchell to help him road test the latest in home gaming gadgets, in a bid to attract 'normal folk' to the Gadget House.

Watch Now:Amazon
Public Transport
star
7.48
209 votes

#7 - Public Transport

Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/1/2014

Richard takes a look at the discomfort that he suffers while on public transport and is joined by Russell Howard on London's tube network to assess the effectiveness of gadgets designed to deal with poor air quality and extreme heat.

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Home Improvement
star
7.48
160 votes

#8 - Home Improvement

Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 9/30/2013

Richard looks at DIY, including robot lawnmowers, the world's safest saw, an automatic wallpapering machine and the latest 3D printers capable of making plates and cutlery in minutes. Richard is not a fan of doing it yourself and believes that gadgets should be able to do all the work for you. So he tests the latest safety tools, building machinery and lawnmowers, all of which promise to take the strain and pain out of decorating your home. He also sets himself a challenge: to makeover a room in his house using robots and gadgets and without him having to lift a finger.

Watch Now:Amazon
Property
star
7.43
136 votes

#9 - Property

Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 10/13/2014

Richard meets an army of window cleaning robots, samples some garden pods recommended by designer Naomi Cleaver and visits a super high tech home with Claudia Winkleman.

Watch Now:Amazon
The Weekend
star
7.40
155 votes

#10 - The Weekend

Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 6/1/2015

Richard tackles the great British weekend with comedians Sara Pascoe and Al Murray, from exercise to a night down the pub, the perfect selfie, and dodging the night bus home.

Watch Now:Amazon
Work Made Easy
star
7.37
99 votes

#11 - Work Made Easy

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 12/3/2012

Stephen examines devices that make work easier and more fun, meeting up with Lord Sugar to road test some of the latest work-saving gizmos, including a coffee machine that talks to your phone. Stephen also plays around with some of Lord Sugar's early inventions. Other gadgets covered in this episode include a pen that transcribes notes direct to your computer and an executive sleep pod.

Directors: Mark McQueen
Watch Now:Amazon
Self-Improvement
star
7.37
174 votes

#12 - Self-Improvement

Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 9/22/2014

Can Richard Ayoade make himself a brighter man with the aid of gadgets? He gets Eamonn Holmes and actor Richard E. Grant to help, and challenges memory legend Dominic O'Brien to a contest. He plays Scalextric and tries flying a drone simply with mind power. And realises that to prosper in his memory challenge he has just one option - to cheat.

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Cooking and Dining Out
star
7.36
133 votes

#13 - Cooking and Dining Out

Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 10/6/2014

Richard invites celebrity foodie Adrian Edmondson to his revolutionary bistro, where there's printed food, robot waiters, levitating desserts and clear coffee. There are also computerised wine sniffers and zero calorie electronic starters, as Richard confronts the twin horrors of cooking and dining out.

Watch Now:Amazon
Weather
star
7.36
151 votes

#14 - Weather

Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 8/25/2014

Richard takes a look at the British weather with the help of Tim Vine as he braves a hurricane in a wind tunnel to assess the best in gust busting gadgetry.

Watch Now:Amazon
Health and Safety
star
7.36
129 votes

#15 - Health and Safety

Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 6/22/2015

Fearing that the world is a dangerous place for Gadget Man, Richard Ayoade tests security devices with Keith Allen and Bill Bailey, including a post-apocalypse survival kit that works at festivals too.

Watch Now:Amazon
Shopping
star
7.35
201 votes

#16 - Shopping

Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 9/15/2014

Richard heads to the strip-lit aisles of the supermarket where farmer and foodie Jimmy Doherty joins him to check out a robotic shopping assistant, a fruit ripeness reader and a food ethics scanner. And Richard and actress Alison Steadman visit a busy department store to check out a 3D virtual mirror and a mannequin with expanding bust and hips.

Watch Now:Amazon
Tasty Tech
star
7.35
115 votes

#17 - Tasty Tech

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 11/26/2012

Stephen takes a look at how gadgets can make shopping and cooking so much easier and far more entertaining. He escorts the world's only driverless shopping trolley around the supermarket, tests high-end barbecues and tries out an array of fancy kitchen gadgets as he prepares to host a spectacular dinner party for his friends.

Directors: Mark McQueen
Watch Now:Amazon
Fun and Games
star
7.28
103 votes

#18 - Fun and Games

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 12/10/2012

Stephen looks at how gadgets entertain us. He shows Jeremy Clarkson how traditional pub games could be overhauled by replacing them with various gadgets, including an automatic cocktail-maker and a futuristic pool-table machine that lines up your shots for you. (And remote-controlled pet as well.) Stephen also tries to build the world's biggest computer game.

Directors: Mark McQueen
Watch Now:Amazon
Child's Play
star
7.27
162 votes

#19 - Child's Play

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/16/2013

Richard tests some parenting gadgets for toddlers through to teens with the assistance of Denise van Outen and Hugh Dennis, including a mind-controlled helicopter, a self-assembling pram, the latest in interactive computer gaming and a £10,000 robotic baby-sitter. His main objective is to showcase gadgets that promise to make parenting a more enjoyable and less stressful pastime. And the episode culminates with Richard showcasing his brainwave for a parent-friendly playground that runs on kiddie-power alone, taking away the need for mums and dads to do all the work pushing swings and roundabouts.

Watch Now:Amazon
Body Beautiful
star
7.27
67 votes

#20 - Body Beautiful

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 12/17/2012

Stephen looks at how new technology can help keep us fit and healthy. He road-tests some of the latest gym gadgets and gets a makeover from Amy Childs (from The Only Way Is Essex), using some weird and wonderful beauty devices. Some of the gadgets on the show include an app which predicts how long you will live, the world's most incredible treadmill and a device that claims to make you slimmer in just 30 minutes. And Stephen attempts to build the ultimate running machine that will enable him to race against double Olympic champion Kelly Holmes.

Directors: Mark McQueen
Watch Now:Amazon
Super Commuter
star
7.18
120 votes

#21 - Super Commuter

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 11/19/2012

Stephen and his guest Jonathan Ross look at how gadgets can make the daily commute more bearable and more fun. Gadgets include a very unconventional electric car, a very unusual bicycle and a 3D headset. Stephen also attempts to beat the traffic jams by creating his own fantasy super-vehicle.

Directors: Mark McQueen
Watch Now:Amazon
Date Night
star
7.15
135 votes

#22 - Date Night

Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 6/15/2015

Richard joins comedians Katherine Ryan, Sanjeev Bhaskar and Tom Rosenthal in testing out dating and relationship gadgets - including 3D chocolate printing and virtual flowers.

Watch Now:Amazon
9 to 5
star
7.14
132 votes

#23 - 9 to 5

Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 6/8/2015

Richard beats the workday grind with cool, clever gadgets, and with the help of comedian Dara O'Briain and writer Grace Dent. He even arranges to do all his office work without leaving bed.

Watch Now:Amazon
The Great Outdoors
star
7.03
206 votes

#24 - The Great Outdoors

Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/2/2013

Richard turns his attention to the increasingly popular world of camping and shows viewers how gadgets can make the great outdoors more entertaining and bearable for novices.

Watch Now:Amazon