Introduction
Damn I hate Jeremy Clarkson but damn Clarkson’s Farm is a great show. Having just concluded its second series, Clarkson’s Farm does deserve credit for bringing the plight that British Farmers face. So while the future of the show may be in doubt after Clarkson’s misogynistic and offensive comments against Meghan Markle, why not look at the best episodes of the show to celebrate a positive impact he’s had? So without further ado let’s get into some history about the show.
History
Clarkson’s Farm first debuted in 2021 on Amazon Prime and has just concluded its second series. The show follows the former Top Gear host as he attempts to turn a profit on his farm in the Cotswolds. And yes the farm has a superb name: Diddly Squat. Alongside Clarkson on his journey to become a farmer are a number of other lovable characters like Kaleb, Charlie and Gerald amongst others. The show received near critical acclaim for highlighting a lot of struggles that British farmers face like double standards from councils and the government as well as Brexit. Also, the fact the show is really funny and heartwarming at times is brilliant too as Clarkson can use his media training and personality to really get you invested in something you probably wouldn’t have cared about before you started watching. Honestly that is a massive strength of the show. Anyway, without further ado here are the best episodes of Clarkson’s Farm.
10: Sheeping (S1, E2)
Kicking off the list of the best Clarkson’s Farm episodes is Sheeping. So what makes this episode so good? Well, it’s the fact Clarkson realises what he thinks he can turn the farm around: sheep. But what he fails to realise is how difficult it truly is to keep the sheep under control. Whether it’s his difficult rams, Leonardo and Wayne, or problems with lameness, Clarkson soon has to grapple with the enormity of the sheep farming. Oh and this episode introduces an underrated character: Ellen the shepherdess.
9: Tractoring (S1, E1)
Well it probably can’t be a best Clarkson’s Farm episodes list without mentioning the first episode: Tractoring. So what makes the opening episode great? Well, it shows how Clarkson attempts to approach his farm through his choices of tractor. Rather than use a sensible smaller tractor to do his farming with, Clarkson opts for the POWER approach. By this I mean he buys a Lamborghini tractor which is too big for his shed and leads to a brilliant interaction between Kaleb and Jeremy. So really it’s a brilliant way to open the show to a new audience…
8: Cowering (S2, E2)
Now I bet you can’t guess what sort of animal this episode focuses on… If you love cows you’re going to love this episode. As Clarkson sets in plan his season long plan to open a farm restaurant, he decides he wants to bring in cows so he can have beef to serve. Problem is once again Clarkson has underestimated how difficult cows are going to be to raise. Also, the little girl who wants Clarkson to make sure her favourite cow is well taken care of which is just adorable in all honesty. Honestly, it’s really wholesome and there may be more appearances for Pepper…..
7: Fluffing (S1, E7)
So I bet you can’t guess that this episode isn’t going to be about Clarkson’s adventures with sheep. Instead it focuses on his farm shop and initially nothing it sells is from the farm. So to get out of a sticky situation, Clarkson starts to harvest honey from his bees to remedy this. Also apologies for the shocking pun there… Anyway, this episode also sees Kaleb sent to London to sell wasabi. And that goes really well as he comes back with all the wasabi and a parking violation. Hopefully Jeremy learnt something about sending Kaleb to London….
6: Scheming (S2, E7)
Now if there’s something Jeremy Clarkson is very good at in Clarkson’s Farm it’s scheming against West Oxfordshire Council. So what is Clarkson scheming about? Well for a way to open his farm restaurant after permission gets denied. Basically, he finds a loophole and rushes to get everything in place. However, he also decides to notify the council regardless so there’s a massive race against time to avoid being shut off again. Honestly it’s very entertaining to watch Clarkson trying to outscheme the council yet again in the series….
5: Counciling (S2, E5)
Speaking of West Oxfordshire Council versus Jeremy Clarkson, this episode once again deals with their seemingly endless battles. This time it deals with the outcome and fall out of his restaurant case against the council. And the prior episode on this list should show what the outcome of this case is. Like the introduction suggests, this episode shows how difficult it can be for farmers to diversify when councils refuse their ideas costing them millions in profit.
4: Climaxing (S2, E8)
Now that is a very dodgy title but also a very funny title for the last episode in Series 2. So what makes this episode so good? Well, it finally sees Clarkson open his long teased restaurant despite the council not granting permission. Whatever your thoughts on Clarkson, it is wonderfully wholesome to see that his idea did actually work and that he could make his cows and farm profitable. However, the ending of the series Climaxing is a phenomenal episode which potentially sets up a third season…
3: Surviving (S2, E1)
Now this episode’s title is rather apt unfortunately as it tackles Clarkson’s attempts at revenue diversification. I wonder why after he only made £144 profit in his first farming year. Obviously this leads to him buying the aforementioned cows for his aforementioned restaurant. But this episode’s real strength is how it sets up all the challenges that face Clarkson and his farm in the series so that’s a massive positive. Also it’s just infectiously joyous to watch Jeremy trying to bid for cows only for Charlie to do the work for him. The more things change the more they stay the same….
2: Harvesting (S1, E8)
Narrowly missing out on the top spot in the best Clarkson’s Farm episodes is the series one finale Harvesting. Now I bet you can’t guess what Clarkson and the rest of Diddly Squat are up to in this episode? If you said attempting to collect a harvest in, you’d be unsurprisingly right. Because of the amount of crops he has to harvest, Clarkson struggles with it being his first. While he does eventually make the aforementioned profit he does struggle to get to that point. Honestly it is really heartwarming to see Clarkson do something nobody had any faith in him to do so props to him there.
1: Pan (dem) icking (S1, E5)
And the best episode of Clarkson’s Farm is…. Pan (dem) icking. Now naturally this episode tackles the impact of the pandemic on farmers and obviously Diddly Squat. With the pandemic hitting the country, Clarkson is forced to adapt by replacing barley with vegetables. Now I wonder if that has anything to do with the pubs being shut leading to a lack of pints being poured. Anyway, he also reopens the farm shop yet can scarcely get through all of the unsold potatoes. Wonder why he’s struggling to sell them….
What are your favourite Clarkson’s Farm episodes? Let me know in the comments below!
