August 6, 2010, Los Angeles, CA – HISTORY(TM) is in production with BBC Worldwide Productions on Top Gear. The series, which showcases an offbeat celebration of automobiles and driving, is set to premiere this fall 2010, and will be hosted by comedian and car buff Adam Ferrara, champion rally and drift racer Tanner Foust and racing analyst Rutledge Wood.
WOOT!
History will be a good fit. I don't think many car companies advertise on History.
Nothing says motorsports like the History Channel! Will there be an american Stig?
Some say he thinks that Florida’s Interstate 4 is his race track, while some say he has the shape of Sebring International Raceway shaved in his back hair. …all we know he’s not The Stig, but The Stig’s American fat cousin.
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Ironhorse For This Useful Post:
The promo ad got me hooked to watch the first few episodes. Hopefully the three of them interact well, that is what makes proper Top gear so great, they are all pals and hang out.
My hopes are low, but it can't be any worse than Top Gear Australia.
The thing is with normal Top Gear, Clarkson is like the big head honcho out of all of them. He's definetely the biggest personality in the room and that's why he's the lead and he's the interviewer.
The American show lacks that completely. The three hosts just seem like your average annoying exactly the same dudes who are utterly generic in every way while UK's Top Gear has 3 very different people who have their own eccentricities that make them work together very well.
I've always hoped that US Top Gear could have had Jay Leno being the Clarkson of that show. Why couldn't Jay have just done that instead of all that late night crap?
May and Hammond are great but Clarkson is what makes the show and everyone knows it. Go watch a Jeremy Clarkson special (from the years that he left the original Top Gear (the one from 1967-1999 that was more documentary like) or one of his segments from the original Top Gear years (1989-1999) and it's instantly recognizable and "feels" just like modern Top Gear. There was no May or Hammond. It was actually Tiff Needle and it worked great as well. In the first series of modern Top Gear, May wasn't even on the show at all. It was Clarkson, Hammond, and a wierd guy telling you about car prices and deals in the UK.
Clarkson makes that show. All the other Top Gear's from Australia, Russia, etc. and now the US Top Gear are making the fatal mistake of not having a lead host in that manner but rather making it seem more like a show of 3 equals. You need the stubborn yet hilarious common-sense celebrity on there. You need a big American celebrity or comedian who enjoys cars.
^^Adam Carolla would have been that man. Did anyone see that home reno show he did on TLC. I thought it was halarious! His interaction with the contractors would have been the type of dynamic needed on Top Gear America. Jay Leno would have been good too.
I reserve judgement on Top Gear America, nothing is set in stone. Like Top Gear UK, the hosts can change, if it lasts that long.
This show could have used Danica Patrick too, that would be yummy! As long as she is nothing like the female host of Fifth Gear, I can't stand her. That 8 year old girl screech she does, makes me go into a rage.
__________________
Last edited by GreatWhiteEbola; 08-13-2010 at 06:25 AM.
What makes Top Gear UK so great besides the hosts and the chemistry they have together, are the challenges, and road trips. The ability to race a train from London to Monaco, or a boat from the UK to Helsinki.
I just can't see these sort of things happening in Top Gear US, and still have the ability to hold my interest.
I will give it a watch for the first few episodes and see, but from the trailer, it just looks forced.
__________________
"Opinions are like demo tapes, and I don't want to hear yours" -- Stephen Colbert
Why couldn't Jay have just done that instead of all that late night crap?
NBC originally had the rights to making Top Gear in the US, and offered it to Jay Leno. The thing is, he said that they were very restrictive about what he would be able to say about cars. Basically, car companies would sponsor the show, and he would not be able to be honest about their vehicles. He said that his favourite part about Top Gear is how blunt they are, and without that, he didn't feel he could do the show justice. I think it was a pretty fair point, and that also made me think there would never be a Top Gear US.
Can't remember where I heard this, some interview I think.
It looks like Jay Leno has some apprehensions about Top Gear America, and we're guessing he hasn't even seen the poorest imitation yet. In his column for The Sunday Times, he lists the reasons why he thinks the program is doomed (and he doesn't even mention Adam Corolla as host). Most importantly, he thinks the show is going to lose the edge it has because it'll bow to sponsors who don't like having their cars criticized. In addition, he feels as though the show is going to be produced by people not interested in cars. Don't believe us. Check out his conversation with producers below the jump.
TopGear US
