The "Mount Burgandy" line, May getting knocked over by a caravan load of water, and Clarkson's just launching into the bushes all had me rolling with laughter
Overall I think it was an excellent return to form over the boat episode, and it was nice seeing the 3 of them being less adversarial than normal. Felt like a friendship ride along
I hated every second of it. Worthless drivel with none of their usual content. Imagine if Jackass came out with a new season, and the only thing they did was punch each others' nutsack all the time. They took stupid, low-hanging fruit from their past episodes and vomited it up a couple times without putting together anything worth watching.
The caravan full of water was completely staged. The interior was different from the other shots, and there is zero chance those walls would contain the thousands of gallons of weight. They also completely screwed up the editing and the door magically opens before James actually touches the latch, and his fall was sped up in editing. He also falls the wrong way.
And what the heck was that BS where they randomly have a Mustang and a Camaro and go to a sporting club only to just do nothing?
The cars were boring, the scenery was just rain, the bridge building was ludicrous, there were really no hijinks except the fake water/caravan thing and a mildly-offensive-to-the-Scots fender skirt. The whole staged "american" town at the end was just totally out of left field.
They all just looked like they didn't want to be there at all. They didn't have fun, which means I didn't have fun. Boring cars, boring drive, boring tasks, boring ending, boring waste of my time. I'm a huge fan of everything back to their first season of Top Gear. The last few episodes of Grand Tour have been dropping off, but this one fell off a cliff.
Ever have a pet nearing the end of their lives and you can see them getting worse and worse, then one day they are 5 times worse than yesterday and you know it's time to send them across the rainbow bridge? This episode was that.
So what you're saying is...you didn't like it?
I think in the beginning I was naive enough to believe most of their hijinks. I've been seeing these for an astronomically long time now and it's hard to imagine they wouldn't learn. Most of them are obviously staged but I imagine in that 2020 COVID climate it was hard to put together a special of even this lower caliber. I'm going to play the optimist and just hope that was them getting together and saying, 'hey, E36 M3 is pretty berkeleyed up right now. Let's throw something spam at the wall real quick to entertain and distract people.'
In reply to iansane :
I can dig that. I think the point of their hijinks is not that it's realistic, it's that they aren't and we know it. Like when they're in Malaysia or something and they take an evening to "turn their cars into the ultimate off road vehicle" and "the next morning" Jeremy has a lifted 4x4 Bentley. That's comedy. This one was just painful.
ddavidv said:So what you're saying is...you didn't like it?
Fair assessment. I would like that time credited back to my account. When I'm on my death bed with minutes left to live, I will recall this episode and be pissed that I don't have the extra hour and a half I wasted on this episode.
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
You're just incorrect here. You must have been in the wrong "frame of mind" while watching it.
Only the final scene was a disappointment.
Excellent ... can't wait!
Let's hope it's better than their last offering. We wouldn't want Curtis to be disappointed. 
I'm on Curtis's side here. I made it until they drove a large American sedan from four decades ago up a stone alley that was too small for the car, and then I turned it off.
I wish May would stick to building lawn mowers and touring the world. Hammond does a few interesting things, although that hopeless mess with Tori ?Belicci? was pathetic.
Clarkson should just retire to his farm and feed the sheep, without a camera present.
It looks fantastic.
preach (dudeist priest) said:It looks fantastic.
+1
In reply to KyAllroad :
Only reason I'll watch it is because of the long history of good shows. I'm giving them a chance to redeem themselves.
Im stoked
Mr_Asa said:I just watched it. They did a good job of winding up the French, and for once didn't have staged arguments with each other.
I liked it, I do wish they had done more with the 2cv and the weird propeller car though
I quite enjoyed that. It felt like the interaction was legitimate, they were really having fun with weird French cars. Also, Richard Hammond should have done the whole show with his ridiculous French accent.
Loved this episode. It felt like I was watching the old TG once again.
That Hammond accent had me wheezing. Really good episode. Some of the more epic plots seem to drag but this was a lot more compact and "tight". "Is that really what it says, Jeremy?"
I got a laugh out of the sponsor names on their race suits that spelled other words when the suits were unzipped.
Coincidentally, today's video from Tyrell's Classic Workshop features the SM they drove at the end. It previously belonged to Mike Brewer from Wheeler Dealers.
Did I enjoy it? Yes. But do I think it's the worst special theyve done? Also yes.
I liked it but it just sort of lacked...something.
Also, what was up with May with the napkin over his head at meals?
hybridmomentspass said:Also, what was up with May with the napkin over his head at meals?
Poking fun at the French. I forget the specific specifics, but there is a meal that is basically horrific to watch someone eat as it consists of an entire bird (not a finch but similar in size) that was force fed and drowned in wine or liquor. The napkin 1) keeps the aromas in and 2) "allows the gourmand to hide from God."
I think it got banned at one point?
I thought it was a good episode, enjoyed it quite a bit
hybridmomentspass said:Did I enjoy it? Yes. But do I think it's the worst special theyve done? Also yes.
You have never watched the Top Gear India special, have you?
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