Reply With QuoteBit let down by it this week but the promise of a great week next week! They can't all be amazing I guess
watched (or tried to watch) episode 2 on iplayer last night
bottom line is that whoever presents it these days the formula is tired and boring.
The Alfa segment was fine for 5 minutes, but then the wall thing was just boring and repetitive. I would also love it if they killed the music so we could properly here the engine - especially as they made such a fuss of it being a Ferrari engine. Ended up skipping through that segment
The 911 Turbo S v Lambo could have been great but again such repetitive dialogue about "Super - car" that I ended up giving up
Its a shame because the car industry is constantly evolving and bringing out new products.... they should take a leaf out of Car magazine...just look at this month's edition - how great would it be for them to interview the Zonda guy and visit his factory, or that nutty Californian collector with his amazing collection of early M Cars.... there is new and interesting material out there .... they just haven't the balls to move away from same old same old...
Bit let down by it this week but the promise of a great week next week! They can't all be amazing I guess
RIAC
I really enjoyed this week, back to being a car show with a bit of fun and nonsense.
Also going to test drive a DB11 now!!
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TG has developed well (much better without Evans IMO).
I found tonights episode very watchable and entertaining - Sabine rocked the GTI.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Sabine at the Nurburgring is really something.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
I find the whole chat/interview stuff a bit painful. They don't have much charisma in that department.
Also that Rory guy will be gone in a few weeks. He's only allowed a few lines now.
Otherwise, I enjoyed it
A few LoL this week. The chat thing is horrible, they need proper petrol heads on like JK.
The Nurburgring thing was pointless, for someone who has done as many laps as Sabina, she could lap a milk float faster than most cars with muppit drivers. Interesting they did not tell use the lap time, just the value of the cars passed.
Not sure of the value of shredding a volvo (less engine) and a shed, but it wasted a few minutes.
The DB11 piece was fun - lovely car as well. I also enjoyed the Fiat piece which I imagine had the MX -5 supporters cheering.
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
EDIT: I realise I am duplicating much of the preceding post - great minds etc.............
The chat part of the show was excrutiatingly embarrassing - like walking in on a party where they forgot the music and the beer. Just nothing going on, with long pauses and forced laughter. Truly dreadful.
The session with the Golf was tedious and overly childish - and Sabine was shrieking and irritating. Yes we know she can drive round the 'Ring faster than any known human being, but trying to overtake at least a million quidsworth of cars - oh come on, they'd all paid for their cars whereas if Sabine had binned the Golf everyone would have laughed and the BBC would have picked up the tab. Can't wait for the lads to try that out round the M25.
Not sure what the point of shredding melons, a shed and a Volvo was - at least Matt and Tamsin got a laugh out of it. A fast-forward moment.
And they can kiss goodbye to getting any more Press cars out of "FeeeAt" after they slagged off the Abarth 124 Spider.
Still not delivering for me - but I will have to watch next week because it is probably as near as I will ever get to a Chiron with all it's tyres on fire at once.
(PS - I beg you not to try and watch George and the crew on Extra Gear BBBIII/iPlayer - it is dire)
Fixed that for you!Originally Posted by Saint-Just
I really enjoyed this week's episode - probably the best one so far IMHO.
The celebrity segment was dire though - was it just me or did Tamsin Greig come across totally uncarismatic and really bland?
The studio stuff is still terrible. Horrible. Fast forward is essential. Rubbish and long-winded.
The Aston piece was really good indeed - Matt and Chris are developing a good rapport and the recorded pieces to camera are their natural environment. Excellent.
The muckspreader bit was rubbish and pointless, the Nurburgring meh.
Matt is getting really good. The fiat MX5 bit was great.
Frustrating and enjoyable in equal measures. Oh for just the Matt and Chris pre recorded pieces and nothing else.
Just to go slightly OT, The Gadget Show has also been revamped. It was pretty low-rent before, probably not really aimed at my demographic, but something to have on in the background (and forward through a lot of).
Now, they've altered the studio sections, put Craig Charles at the front, and proceeded to Chris Evans-fy the show. He's there, shouting and gurning at the camera, showing off to the audience - it's almost unwatchable.
I saw the gadget show the other night and thought it was much better and far less frenetic than the previous series. I do think Robot Wars needs him back though.
I didn't enjoy TG as much last night, there seemed to be far more acting involved than usual.
The subtitled line in the Aston piece where the police referred to the suspects as being "Joey from Friends and a bald guy in a bad jacket" made me laugh though.
I am sat in the garage waiting for my car to be serviced so I gave the new episode a go and couldn't get through the Aston film before I turned it off as it is just awful,. the attempts at comedy are as bad as the Grand Tour I can't bear any of the presenters and there is no way I can watch or listen to that squawking Sabine!!
For me it is finished and these presenters are truly awful.
My thoughts and that's me done watching this crap any longer.
Funny that. I felt Craig Charles (who I normally like) was just trying too hard, and doing a bit of shouty-Chris Evans-thing.
Goes to show that it's personal taste.
They are all so - wooden........
JC and Co were a natural team - everyone since has not achieved that.
M Lb must spend ages rehearsing his lines - it sure as hell doesn't come naturally.
Load of crap
Given the reset of TG after last season's failure, I was willing to give it a shot. And I'm actually quite enjoying a majority of it, basically anything that isn't studio related. But to be honest, you could level the same criticism at the Grand Tour where the Conversation Street and Celebrity Braincrash segments should never be spoken of again.
I'm guessing (particularly for TG) that a bit of filler in the studio keeps the costs under control and still allows an hours length, but I would rather watch 45 minutes of decent films than an hour which includes cringe-inducing interviews and "banter". And to be honest, by timeshifting or watching on-demand that's exactly what I do thanks to the forward button.
I've decided it's better than last time but trying too hard to be something it just isn't , cool and fluid
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If you watch the first few series, from when JC, JM & RH started, it was pretty much the same, it was only JC that came across with anything remotely resembling "natural".
This was my impression too.
ktmog6uk
marchingontogether!
It's far from perfect, but I think it's on the right track. Hopefully each season will be better than the previous as they fine-tune the product and the hosts get to gel a little.
The Gadget Show hasn't been the same for me since Rachel left.
Mmmm..... I take your point, but perhaps in mitigation- it was an unproven formula then.
I really cant see the current lineup doing anything of note
Al
I agree.
The Bond sequence was better fun than anything I've seen on TGT, and looked more expensive.
I like Matt LeBlanc obsession with diggers and heavy machinery - daft but entertaining.
The celeb interview was too long and feels forced, but then they always did.
The Fiat review was also very nicely done, and the golf GTi sequence was pretty good too.
I think they are doing well so far, and I'm going to keep watching. My wife and nine yr old son also like it, and the missus had really gone off CMH...
So clever my foot fell off.
Agreed. Although Pollyanna was very easy on the eye as well!
To me it was the best test new TG has done and was more or less what the old TG did regularly. I enjoyed it.
As soon as Le Blanc got out of the car without his trousers it might as well have been the unfunny comedy in the Grand Tour, the so called celeb bit was always awful but it is even worse now but of course we all like different things but to me it is excruciating viewing and it won't be watched again.
I like LeBlanc a lot. It's a scripted show, so he plays it well and has the confidence to do it. He also copes well when it goes off script. Monkey and the other bloke aren't very good at it all, although they may improve. The films are well done, and really nicely filmed. I couldn't help thinking they didn't need Monkey in the Mercedes but someone like Ryan Gosling or that bloke from the Transporter films. Alan Rickman would have been ideal. Monkey did some superb films on his own youtube channel, I wonder if they'd be better off getting him to do that, and having him do the stuff the Stig did. There doesn't seem to be much point in the Stig these days. The Nurburgring thing was appalling. Lots of screaming and shouting and bollocks about a Golf with pro driver overtaking a load of other cars on a public day. By all means involve Sabine but as a driver, not a presenter. Stick her and Monkey in a new 911 in a 24-hour race at the 'Ring, for example, and then follow it up with them running some kind of classic car in a historic race. It would probably be best if they didn't try to make it silly but they could always have LeBlanc involved in it somewhere.
Here's a really excellent film Monkey did on the Spa 6 hours. Note the more natural Monkey compared to the one on Top Gear:
"A man of little significance"
Caught the latest episode last night I must admit the interview was embarrassing ... but I did laugh at the massive shredder and Chris Harris in his doctor no outfit ...
I would like to see them all in a race, endurance was a good idea
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i found it painful to watch.
I think that the BBC is desperately trying to make the presenters into "characters" and generate some instant chemistry. The problem is that they have an actor, who is very good at - well - acting, and doing pieces to camera. He can also drive a bit. Chris Harris looks like a serious chap, bit of a misanthrope, who has been told to cheer up and get excited for the benefit of the cameras, whereas I'm not sure where Rory Reid has come from, but I suspect that it involved childrens' tv.
In Jeremy Clarkson, we had a misanthrope who remained a misanthrope, and was very good at it. He was a superb wordsmith, and a very good journalist. James May appeared to be hyper-intelligent, multi-faceted and a genuinely nice bloke, whereas Richard Hammond was over-eager but at times very funny. And the three of them worked together for long enough to find each others' weak spots, and irritate each other. Which made for good tv, and took a car programme into the realms of light entertainment, and it became "Last of the Summer Gear".
I think I like Matt LeBlanc. He's laconic enough to carry the show, and a big enough character to front it. I agree that Chris Harris looks forced to the point of looking as though he has electrodes attached to his testicles, and needs to find his own level. I'm unconvinced that Rory Reid has a long-term future with the show. Sabine? She's done too many laps of the 'Ring to get that excited, so as with Harris, she needs to tone it down.
The BBC does "subtle" and "restrained" really well, but tends to think that exciting = shoutiness, and Top Gear has to be exciting. Yet the top (most popular, therefore most saleable) programmes have been the most engaging and subtle - "Bake-Off", for example. But does the BBC want a more subtle Top Gear? The pressure to syndicate the show and keep the revenue stream must be immense, so it needs to be a "product" or "brand".
Most people aren't interested in the mechanical workings of cars, or motor sport. Ask anyone involved with Fifth Gear. Top Gear is prime-time "appointment to view" (yes, I watched W1A) tv. If it doesn't succeed, it fails. And the BBC loses a huge chunk of income. Presenters who look as though they are there because their close family and pets are being held hostage aren't the answer. I think they need to move away from the "Three Amigos" presenting team, use Harris and Sabine for what they're good at (reviewing and comparing cars, and a bit of track-based stuff), and find someone who can liven up the studio sections. Ditch the "celeb" interviews/chat/laps and find people who are genuinely interesting to talk to about cars.
Surely you mean 'Rory Reid, ok?'?
"A man of little significance"
I like the idea of Chris, possibly Matt, Sabine and the Stig taking part in endurance racing at the Nurburgring or Spa in 'funky cars, like the Beemer the tres compadre did 24 hours with.
Brilliant episode, that. What made it work for me was their amateurism mixed with a perfect blend of humour and ultimate emotional investment - the packets of crisps and chocolate bar "catering", Peniston Oils and Larsen Biscuits sponsorship, Captain Slow coming in on his first pre-race session without completing a fast timed lap, nicking parts of road cars to keep their race car going, the will they/won't they last 24h and the sincere, genuine jubilation of completing the race. I like the idea of those listed above doing something more serious and without the malarkey, they couldn't pull off the humour though they wouldn't need to.
As for the current show, I'm of the opinion that Chris Harris is more comfortable when behind the wheel and out of the studio, he appears to be a lot more relaxed and able to be himself. I've watched pretty much all of his YT videos (where he wrote his own script and it was just him and a single cameraman) so admittedly I may be conditioned to that, however I still believe that studio stuff with a live audience isn't his forte. He's a positive for the show though, it's good to have a proper peddler on the team, and someone who can communicate both the technical and emotional aspects of driving. I'm really warming to Matt LeBlanc, especially so after the great piece on the Fiat 124, presuming that all that he said was his own opinion it came across very well. The setting helped though. Rory Reid... I'm sure that he has a place though I'm not so sure that the show has found it yet, and for me he's the odd one out.
On paper I think that the three of them should work though chemistry is something that you'll never know exists until you mix all the components together, it's not there yet and neither is the show. No-one will do the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car better than JC, the Renault Twingo joke is a rehash of James May's Dacia Sondero gag, and the randomness of MLB's earth-mover fascination is just a bit odd and disjointed.
Well after watching the first few TopGear's I've given up. It was a valiant attempt and much better without Chris Evans but it still torturous to watch. The film sequences are good though but as I commented earlier Rory is trying to a Hammond, the wide eyed teenager impression. Viewing figures have been terrible and falling week by week. It'll be interesting to see if the BBC keep it going or quietly kill it off?
As for the Grand Tour, I really enjoyed the Namibia two part special but haven't watched any since. But I still preferred The Grand Tour to the current Top Gear and I think Amazon have committed to a second series regardless how well the first series has been received.
At the very least TG need to scrap the nauseous VIP chit chat. On the Clarkson TG, the one to one was miles better but was always an opportunity for the celebrity to plug their latest work.
I just think that maybe the BBC should stop flogging a dead horse????
Well that episode was largely excellent.
I'm very much coming round to the Harris / LeBlanc films. Genuinely enjoyable and I don't find the relationship between them forced. Rory still adds nothing, which is a shame. The studio bits are still awful. The pacman bit was trying a bit too hard.
They should stop trying to ape the previous format, drop the tat and just focus on the good stuff which is becoming better every week.
Agree, one of the best yet, I think they have got it
RIAC
Chris Harris's commentary of the star in a car was abysmal. I find him an awkward & miserable individual. Genuinely very little charisma & personality. His only strength is to talk technical about cars.
Rory is a little nervous but I don't find him quite as awful as many seem to.
Overall TG rating so far for the series 6/10.
I went to see TG a few years back and Clarkson interviewed Rubens Barrichello. He spent about 45 minutes being rude to him and the five minutes of interview they managed to scrape together to show was a remarkable piece of editing. I somehow don't think the new lot are doing that, but I do agree that it is rubbish TV.
I thought the Chiron piece last night was two things:
1. Better than anything Grand Tour can do.
2. A return to Monkey being himself and writing his own script, rather than reading out someone else's script. It's what he does best, combined with some extremely good filming and editing.
"A man of little significance"
Just finished it and thought it pretty crap tbh.
About 20 mins of stuff I enjoyed and the rest felt like pointlessly filler. So inconsistent for me right now.
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After a slightly uneven first episode, I think they are finding their feet. Episode 2 was largely very good, and last night's properly excellent, knocking anything Grand Tour have done this year into a cocked hat. It is assuming the position of a proper car show, rather than as a vehicle for a series of juvenile and embarassing japes carried out by a collection of middle aged men who should know better. More power to you Top Gear.
Martin
I spent the first fifteen minutes or so with a massive smile on my face. The Bugatti Chiron really is something else. I didn't see the rest because shortly afterwards, we had a powercut. But that was enough to tell me that I want one.
I begrudgingly watched it after what Martin said above as I think it's been awful and the presenters wooden, so the Bugatti film I did enjoy but after that it was poor the studio guest nonsense goes on for far too long and is awkward and really boring and the last film was to me just terrible as with those two presenters they both keep trying to be funny and it doesn't work and these races have been done to death by the other 3 before them so it's just all a bit stale now and I know many will disagree but the three presenters are terrible and so is the programme although it is better than the GT but not good enough for me to watch it again.
So to summarise....
Some people love it, some are indifferent and some hate it. Much like most other stuff on the box!
Personally i've been a petrolhead all my life, watched every grand tour and think the new TG is better in every single way. Even my wife (who is about as far away from petrolhead as it's possible to be) enjoyed the Aston feature the other week
They'll never be able to appeal to everyone but i for one am happy they've gone back to it being a motoring programme rather than appealing to non-car people as Grand Tour tried to be (and Clarkson admitted they'd done).
Glad it's not just me.
MLB is good but the other two are just painful to watch.
Twingo bit started well and then degenerated into sheer nonsense with the Pacman bit and SIARPC just gets longer and more dire with every episode.
SIARPC was always the weak part in CHM days but it is now much longer (or certainly seem so) and the guests are just not vey interesting imo.
Thought after last week the programme was getting better only to be disappointed by last nights episode.
I might be a bit odd though as I was still enjoying Top Gear when CHM were presenting, a bit of Last of the summer wine with cars but still liked it.
Last edited by JeremyO; 27th March 2017 at 14:42.
There's a balance to be found. If they go too far toward straight-laced car features, they lose the audience that are watching for light entertainment. Top Gear didn't become a global phenomenon for their in-depth consumer reports or half-hour features on real-world fuel economy.
Non-car people outnumber car people many times over - completely cut them off and you end up with a niche show.
Competition is good - it's forcing them both to up their game. Yay.
Agree but if you were forced to watch the Grand Tour episode where they had to rescue someone from a war zone (i forget who) then i'm sure you'd agree that SOME car content is nice.
I think TG is getting the balance better than The Grand Tour have.
I agree, but I still prefer TGT and no different to new-new TG, TGT will slowly work out what it wants and needs to be doing (and can, without upsetting the legal folk)
At the end of the day, we now have 2 lighthearted car shows instead of 1. Can't complain about that :)
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