Reply With QuoteI also enjoyed. Not a big fan of Rory though for some reason.
Just finished watching it and I really enjoyed it. No shouty egotists and seemed to hark back to the good old days of when personalities weren't too 'amped up. Good luck to 'em
Last edited by daveyw; 5th March 2017 at 22:20.
I also enjoyed. Not a big fan of Rory though for some reason.
Yes, a good atmosphere and a very pleasant first episode.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
I thought it was good and will get better, I watched a fwmew grand tours and thought it was rubbish
This is the first post Clarkson Top Gear I've watched and I really enjoyed it.
A vast improvement on the last series and better than the grand tour for me.
Great to see them having a good time.
Glad they are back on the old track, though the camera angles are not as good at the moment.
Better than before.
I think he comes across as trying too hard whilst the other two are more confident. Hopefully he'll find his feetOriginally Posted by jaytip
I was pleasantly surprised and I'll be watching the next episode.
The only thing for me is it's still too much of a copy of the old one and as such comes across a bit awkward in places, but I'm hoping they'll all gel a bit better with time.
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Well, it's better than the Chris Evans top gear but it's basically the old top gear but with 3 new blokes. For me, they don't really gel, somehow a bit forced.
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Thought it was a bit boring and the car challenge too drawn out. Much better without Evans though. I'm sure it'll get better.
I really enjoyed it. Good fun without being to serious, plus I actually learnt a few things. The look on their faces when the rocket launched was golden.
Harris was indeed blessed to have been given a chance to rag the Ferrari (especially as he is a Porsche man). I cannot imagine Clarkson being given the same - he would have binned it.
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Studio segments felt a bit awkward but the rest of it was superb. Much better than last year.
Chris Harris - brilliant, the FXXK segment was great, a guy who knows what he's at.
Matt - I think he is a great fit with the others, no overriding egos on show.
Rory - trying a little bit too hard, hope he mellows just a tad.
Thoroughly enjoyed it, and it pains me to say preferred it to The Grand Tour episodes i watched last night...................only because Clarkson & May are what you get - does exactly what it says on the tin, Hammond I used to think he was OK now he's just a bit of an overbearing obnoxious twat.
Really quite enjoyable, especially the Ferrari sequence. I've not always been the biggest fan of Harris but he is becoming more natural in presenter mode and his driving pieces are always good. I find MLB funny but I'm still not sure about Rory. A good start though.
Been reading and watching Harris for years in auto car etc. Glad he's doing well as he's a top bloke and great driver.
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Seemed a bit stilted, but worth a watch, which I wouldn't have with Evans.
M
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Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
A copy of the old TG but without the properly smart quips. They're not as articulate. Harris wasn't too bad.
Little point to the Ferrari - pretty but nobody will ever see one in real life.
The rocket at the end was the best bit.
Not a big hit with me I'm afraid.
I enjoyed Chris Harris going wild in the Ferrari but hated that stupid Russian road trip thing - it was a tired and boring item on the original TG but this one was particularly predictable and somehow lacked the wit of the originals. And it went on..............and on.................and on...................and on.......
Matt LeBlanc is still a misfit in this programme, but I thoroughly applaud the lack of Chris Evans and that irritating German woman. Rory was ok but didn't really seem to be committed.
Did anyone else notice that bad language and innuendo has crept in to match Grand Tour? Not sure that pre-9pm BBC should be making comments about "balls" and having so many obvious bleeps where you could read their lips anyway. Laddish as we possibly expected, but unnecessary and not very professional.
And if anyone was tempted to go online to see the follow-up bit on BBC III ................ don't bother, it was a dire replay of what some director thought was a good bit, plus Chris Harris being lairy with a new Volvo estate. Not worth the increase in the licence money.
I think TG and GT could easily be consigned to the bin and I wouldn't miss either of them.
Agreed - I liked Chris Harris and I think over time the studio sections will get a bit slicker. I did think the james mcavoy section was a bit cringy and too drawn out though???
For me it was serviceable but lacked a bit of sparkle. Good on the cars, and the rocket launch was a beautifully shot and suitably awe inspiring finale. The choice of the GT86 for the stars is a good one, given its tendency to drift at any speed. But so far only Clarkson, Hammond and May know how to make the endless banger races entertaining by bringing some humour to them, though they've had years to develop their on screen personas obviously. LeBlanc is the funny one in theory but he has no Chandler to play off here. Towards the end I was watching the clock. Though to be fair, Old Top Gear had its fair share of boring items, and as a first episode it's a decent start. I can't see them ever having huge charisma and chemistry as a team, though they are all appealing enough individually. If it keeps improving it will be ok - but more as an actual car show than global family entertainment I suspect. In spite of the high budget filming it feels smaller and lower key than the monster it had become.
I really liked it. The relationship between the 3 presenters feels a bit forced at the moment as they're obviously being fed stuff by script writers, but they all seem to be trying to be themselves nonetheless. Chris Harris has the technical knowledge of James May, but without the slowness. Matt Le Blanc is obviously enjoying himself without taking himself too seriously. I like Rory - he's landed a plum job and still can't quite believe it.
And for me, therein lies the rub.....
It's hard enough to replace any key individual from a team of three but it is doable given time and a decent replacement.
To replace all three at once and retain virtually the same format is nigh on impossible.
I get that the BBC needs to have a go at it but for me, Top Gear is and always will be, Clarkson, May and Hammond.
Thinking about it, the key to Clarkson, May and Hammond was / is that they feel like they share a passion but might genuinely disagree about cars (and life in general), and therefore can have a discussion, which is useful for a car show. Obviously they played it up but it was there. I can't see these three actually having genuine differences of opinion unless they're scripted, which also makes it less interesting when they agree.
For me it's hard to believe that a corporation that schedules awesome TV like Taboo, Last Kingdom, Peaky Blinders et al can't realise that it is time to stop flogging the putrefying corpse that is the Top Gear dead horse.
I tried watching it but it is awful these presenters are just too stilted and unnatural I turned it off as it's just not for me at all very poor indeed!
For me it's better than both CE Top Gear and TGT.
In Chris Harris they actually have someone who can both really drive and communicate what the car is doing / feels like.
Andy
Wanted - Damasko DC57
You can bet Clarkson & Co would have got at least one decent laugh out of a car called the Ferrari F**K that you're barely allowed to purchase or drive. They had a little go, but it was televisual treading water. And if Hammond or May had the bonnet repeatedly springing open in a race their reaction would have made it entertaining.
It was a much gentler pace of programme. The thing with C/M/H is that you know they are all capable of doing something really, really stupid and so there is a sense of anticipation waiting for that to happen while you're watching them. Most of the time you weren't disappointed.
CE tried too hard to be Clarkson. Fail.
It was a competent car show, and better as a television programme than the last few C/M/H efforts but not earth-shattering entertainment yet.
Bits were good, bits were terrible.
If they just tacked together the recorded sections, great. Nothing - literally nothing - in the studio worked at all. Horrible.
Recorded pieces good though, and getting better.
Still some way to catch up with The Grand Tour recorded pieces which are both far more beautiful to look at and much more enjoyable because of the ease of the presenters and the natural chemistry. The GT studio bits were not great though (although still better than TG obviously)
Last edited by kungfugerbil; 6th March 2017 at 09:15.
I thought it showed promise - and I liked the new studio with the Lambo and the Ferrari mounted above the main presenting area.
The road trip was a bit overlong, but the FXXK track test was great, and I thought the three did a solid job. All of them are likable, clearly love cars (whereas it has felt for years as if CMH have long since got bored of them), and aren't looking to be "controversial" in a pointless way.
PS - The Grand Tour was mostly awful (and I think even the most die-hard CMH fans would privately admit this to themselves), so I think TG has a very good chance to re-establish itself now.
Last edited by TheFlyingBanana; 6th March 2017 at 09:07.
So clever my foot fell off.
But flogging Top Gear pays for those other shows so let's hope it continues to improve and we'll all be happy
I'm definitely of the opinion that the format in general has had its day. Anyone, whether it's Evans et al, LeBlanc et al, or even Clarkson et al, will be trying to reproduce the chemistry of the initial few series of revived TG - when the format was fresh and entertaining.
If you take out the link segments (please do!), I think TGT has the edge in terms of photography and production values (especially e.g. the Namibia film), but both are pretty good. The blokey, forced arsing-around is tiresome in all incarnations - TGT being hackneyed and cringeworthy, TG being forced and unnatural. Clarkson/May/Hammond are much more natural in front on an audience though (but let's face it, they've had a lot more experience).
They have brought it to goodwood and run it up the hill the last couple of years.
I found myself cringing at some of the slightly strained banter in the studio sections but on the whole I enjoyed it.
I genuinely really like MLB and his sarcastic humour and it contrasts well with Harris enthusiasm. MLB seems a little quicker than the others on the quips at the moment but I think once Harris will pick it up in the same way he used to take the Mick out his faceless cameraman Neal.
Rory Reid is a bit of a misfit for me at the moment. He isn't natural and seems too rehearsed, even on the road trip. I stumbled across some of his old YouTube reviews and he was much more relaxed in those so he just needs to find his stride.
I think it's a much better start than the last series. I recently watched an early episode of old top gear and surprisingly it was equally as awkward in parts. The gt86 is a great choice for the reasonably priced car and I liked the format of having the star there almost as an extra host. There was no lingering on a stupidly long promotion or basking in glory over their latest Ferrari like that bloody awful episode with Gordon Ramsay and Evans. That must have been the lowest point ever in TG history.
I enjoyed it. Not perfect yet, but certainly shows promise.
Better without the shouty ginger one
I recognised Mike & Bernie Winters, but who was the American bloke?
______
Jim.
T G has had it's day whoever presents and whatever the format.
It was on it's last legs with Clarkson May and Hammond and these three newbies are awful.
Time to kill it off.
I actually enjoyed most of it, all except the commentary over the guest lap which was feeble.
I am beginning to like it. The 'banter' is still a little stilted and obviously scripted but MLB and to a much lesser extent CH are genuinely funny and Rory seems a nice enough chap. I think once the new team settles a reasonable approximation of the old set up may form. The last series turned into Zoo television with too many presenters, probably a direction Evans took it in with his TFIF background but I would be happy to see Sabine back. Less happy if they give Eddie Jordan any more airtime.
Why? It's still a cash generator for the Beeb.
Furthermore, what's the alternative, another My blindfolded dog can sing whilst doing a handstand show?
I actually liked Eddie, not so much Sabine.
I think it's something to do with the fact that Top Gear pays for stuff like you list...
M
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Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
And that you are the one TV viewer who denies that of hundreds of millions worldwide actually still watch it...Well, that was the old one. I can't find up to date figures.
Sabine was great as a guest on the old TG, as a presenter not so good
Better than when Chris Evans was messing it up, the 3 blokes aren't gelling yet though and you can tell that a lot of the 'banter' is scripted and not off the cuff.
The scene where the exhaust fell off was obviously faked, as there just happened to be a camera in that exact part of the dessert.
LeBlanc seems to be 'swearing' just to have an effect.
Rory is a bumbler, keeps moving around probably from nerves and not suited to presenting.
Continuing to argue over the accident got a bit wierd and uncomfortable instead of being a laugh.
Lots to work on to get the same level of entertainment as the original Top Gear. Maybe keep Chris Harris but get rid of LeBlanc and Rory and get another 2 in place who are mates with Harris.
Oh dear. Colin Goodwin would be great (he's mates with James May) but he's too shy for film. Steve Sutcliffe would be great but wouldn't do it and Andrew Frankel is far too posh for TV.
I like Leblanc and don't particularly like Reid. I agree with you that the mateyness appears to be forced.
I thought it was a very good episode and so, surprisingly, did my wife.
"A man of little significance"
+1,........they either come up with a totally different formula or bin it. I'd prefer a more 'magazine' format that's interesting and informative; lose the stupid road trips and laboured attempts at comedy. More road tests, less stupidity. The star in the car thing is worth keeping, but otherwise I'd prefer to see something a bit more informative.
Can't help thinking the BBC are hellbent on flogging the dead horse to prove a point.
Paul
Thing is, the format of Top Gear was built up over years specifically to suit Clarkson and Co's style. They should probably build it around the presenters they have - but it might end up a lot more like Fifth Gear. They're not really the 'setting caravans on fire' type - but are fine for something like the FXXK.
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