U.S. Top Gear

gamby wrote:

turbojunker wrote:

gamby wrote: I think all of the haters are going to watch it, too.

If they don't get to an episode that isn't all supercars soon, I won't.

...umm--isn't the Brit Top Gear mostly supercars???

I went back and rewatched the first episode of Top Gear UK last night...the first bit was a review of a mini van from Citroen....and Jeremy liked it. He actually claimed that the ride was as comfortable as a Jaguar.

The first episode of TG UK had some issues, but it was still entertaining. [*] The biggest problem was that it took too long for them to edit the "Star in a reasonably priced car" lap.....they interviewed the guest, then had to cut to another bit while waiting to have the video ready to show.

The news was the strangest section; knowledge of what would come later changes the viewing experience a lot. examples:
Jezza mispronouncing veyron, and making fun of the idea that a car that powerful could be built
hamster praising the appearance of the upcoming convertible nissan micra....the car that he'd later say was too embarrassing to drive (mostly because of the pink color of the test car. Remember, Jeremy said it looked like a scrotum)
* the prediction that FIAT was about to be purchased by an American company (GM)

--

[*] - I feel the same way about the new USA version.

As predicted the chemistry was awkward, the commentary is forced, the interview was pitiful, all in all I felt the production crew was let down by the air talent. The production quality of the films was as good as the UK version.

It's like they are trying to be something they are not. <-- Heavy sarcasm.

One important thing I noticed:

One of my (and many others') biggest concerns is that in our overly litigious society TGUS wouldn't be able to get away with the crazy antics they pull on the UK show. I felt the Viper/Cobra bit pretty well disproved that, and bodes well for absurd antics in the future. They were able to get dispensation to drive a Viper like lunatics while a freaking attack helicopter pulled aerobatic maneuvers at low altitude in a populated area. I'm amazed they were able to do that. I don't think TGUK would be able to get away with that in the nanny state of Britain.

Okay, I finally watched it (for my other cable-hating bros, it's avail on History's website as of tonight).

I was a "hater", but now I'm not so sure. I was actually pretty impressed. Yeah, there's a lot of "franchise" crap ("you must do nothing other than copy us!") going on here..but they had some nice touches. For one, the test track being as rough as American courses are. Man, there's a lotta bumps in there!!

Also, their decision to play the old Doors tune used in "Apocolypse Now" during the Viper vs. Cobra thing was great (from my American POV)! I'll echo the things others have said about the guys being a little uncomfortable with each other on the set..but also have to admit that they're a little more relaxed with each other when riding cars together.

All in all, not the complete train wreck I thought it would be. If I knew who I should apologize to for thinking it would be, I'd make that apology..

And can't leave it alone without posting up this after seeing Aldrin on the show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOo6aHSY8hU

Buzz punches Sibrel. Note to any prospective "Moon Hoax" morons: don't call an ex-fighter pilot a "coward" or a "liar".

I'm still undecided, it has some potential, I like the track layout but they need to come up with something more original than being a carbon copy of the U.K. version.

It was ok, but needs time to gel. It's difficult to get that host chemistry. I wouldn't be surprised to see a host change if it doesn't come about quickly.

One thing I would change would be to change the name of the Stig. To me, he's the guy in the UK show and not the show here. To me it just doesn't work.

Watching it on History Channel's website now. Not bad for a US car show, the Stig intro was uber lame. Kind of felt like a Dodge commercial for the first half.

I stated watching by accident Comcast berkeleyed up and listed it with regular top gear on demand. Made it about a min before I turned it off. If you are going to directly copy a show get better hosts and don't target it to nascar fans.

Hosts are lame. Like people have mentioned, commentary looks forced. Adam looks plain awkward. Buzz Aldrin was the best thing in that whole show. Nobody has any wit, which is what's great about the real Top Gear. Better hosts would be Mike Rowe (brought up on another forum, would be a good choice the more I think about it), Adam Carolla, and Tim Allen.

Bababooey wrote: Hosts are lame. Like people have mentioned, commentary looks forced. Adam looks plain awkward.

Part of that is probably because of trying to do the show on a budget and using less footage. I've heard that the guys from TG UK will shoot 5-8 hours of footage, then edit that down to a 10-20 minute bit. That's one reason they're entertaining....we're always looking at a highlight reel of the funniest, cleverest things they've said.

I honestly thought the TG USA premiere was a good start. I'll definitely record and watch the next episode.

My niggling comments:

1: The Viper piece ran too long
2: The Viper piece was ran at the wrong time
3: The Running of the Bulls should have gone in the Viper slot.
4: The Fast Lap board should have started with the Suzuki, as a joke. Then add the Lamborghinis and then drop the bomb that the Viper was faster than all three Lamborghinis.
5: While I like the guest a lot, and he was a good guest... there should have been a COUPLE of guests of the first show. Making the laps a little more relevant. OR put the three hosts on the board and have the first couple of guests attempt to beat the hosts eventually leaving the hosts off as more guest lap times get added on.

Just watched it.

All in all, I have hope.

Yes, the hosts seem stiff, but it feels to me like lines are scripted and being forced upon them, not that they're being that stilted. I think once they back off on the scripted part and just let the hosts interact and say what's actually coming to mind, they'll all feel much more comfortable.

The only part I didn't like was the interview. It just seemed like "OMG, here's this guy who's superimportant, but I don't know anything about him other than the big obvious stuff". I think getting some livelier stars will certainly help in that department. What I'd LOVE to see, but I know will never happen, is to have Jeremy, Richard, or James come be the star in the reasonably priced car, and actually quantifiably see how their driving compares.

Overall I enjoyed it, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season.

Uh Oh !! I heard the N-word (nascar) twice last night.

Second show comments:

• I have to say the show looks a LOT like the UK show, the cinematography is very good (a bit below UK show maybe).

• This show is very similar to the UK show, missing of course one of the main thing that makes the UK show good, the hosts.

• They had one of the same silly pointless races (Evo vs skiers) that the UK show has... they could lose those on both shows.

• Still no negative comments on cars really, but it is not terribly noticeable at this point.

• The drifting segment was actually pretty good (shot at Willow Springs from what I could tell)

• Still better than pretty much any other car show in the US at this point (that of course is not hard to do at this point)