So...okay...it wasnt terrible, but it wasnt great either.
It was like watching a Kids Christmas Pageant. You know whats going to happen, you know the story and you applaud politely.
Its just guys following a program and going through the motions.
At the same time though, I have to cut it some slack, this is Year 1. They havent got it yet. No problem.
I'd call that episode a 5/10, but it was lightyears better than last season and theres lots of hope.
It was more or less watchable which is an improvement.
There just isnt any....magic. Theres no chemistry. They dont have a 'Clarkson,' someone who absorbs the attention and lets the others play off of him, they're obviously trying to make LeBlanc that guy but I dont think he has the chops and even if he did, it isnt the same. I like LeBlanc though.
There is potential, it just needs time.
__________________ The Beatings Shall Continue Until Morale Improves!
This Post Has Been Distilled for the Eradication of Seemingly Incurable Sadness.
If you are flammable and have legs, you are never blocking a Fire Exit. - Mitch Hedberg
Clarkson, Hammond and May had a sort of love/hate confrontational relationship whereas these guys are kind of competitive but they're friends, they rib each other a little, but they get along.
Its good though, but its young. I do see potential here though, Chris Evans was a trainwreck, but I could see this show, if it grows with these three, being really good.
__________________ The Beatings Shall Continue Until Morale Improves!
This Post Has Been Distilled for the Eradication of Seemingly Incurable Sadness.
If you are flammable and have legs, you are never blocking a Fire Exit. - Mitch Hedberg
This latest episode of Top Gear was far and away better than anything the grand tour put together.
I don't think there was a single grand tour segment as good as either the FXX segment or the khazak adventure, and the khazak adventure wasn't that great by TOp Gear standards.
Really, really enjoyed this episode of Top Gear.
The Following User Says Thank You to Flash Walken For This Useful Post:
Clarkson, Hammond and May had a sort of love/hate confrontational relationship whereas these guys are kind of competitive but they're friends, they rib each other a little, but they get along.
Its good though, but its young. I do see potential here though, Chris Evans was a trainwreck, but I could see this show, if it grows with these three, being really good.
Rory is young, im unsure of him, but he is passionate about all the things he tests. a little too quick to fall in love with things.
Im probably the biggest Chris Harris fan, his romance with cars paired with his driving skills are 2nd to none save maybe the oiginal trio in their heyday. actually, maybe schmidt and stig are better dirvers, maybe...but thats about it.
Im high on leblanc, i just think his scripts are too wooden. perhaps without Evans there ticking him off all day he'll loosen up and have a bit more fun. excited to see the new season.
This latest episode of Top Gear was far and away better than anything the grand tour put together.
I don't think there was a single grand tour segment as good as either the FXX segment or the khazak adventure, and the khazak adventure wasn't that great by TOp Gear standards.
Really, really enjoyed this episode of Top Gear.
Man...okay.
We are obviously opposites on this.
That was amateur hour. Matt LeBlanc is still reading from a script. Badly. You can tell that someone just put something in front of him and hes reading it. There is no tone, emotion or inflection. Nothing. He could be reading a take-out menu.
But yeah, fantastic top-shelf stuff.
Anyways, back to reality, there is a lot of hope and potential. They've got to be given time to grow into the show together to get chemistry and a rapport together, it still seems somewhat forced at the moment, but I think they picked three really good hosts.
Granted we probably dont have to worry about LeBlanc finding other work, but I hope they stay together and we can have two really good car shows.
__________________ The Beatings Shall Continue Until Morale Improves!
This Post Has Been Distilled for the Eradication of Seemingly Incurable Sadness.
If you are flammable and have legs, you are never blocking a Fire Exit. - Mitch Hedberg
I enjoyed the lastest episode - the enthusiasm the trio have for cars is what brings me in. Harris in particular - the guy has mad skills behind the wheel and can translate that into words. Rory is enthusiastic too. LeBlanc....is wooden by nature so we're seeing the most you'll get from him. He's the weakest link IMHO.
The biggest thing is that they're still using the classic TG premises as schtick. Trips in vehicles. Loving vehicles at the end of the journey. Rory doing a May-esque loser dance. They're all following classic TG routines.
How about coming up with some new content and segments? An awesome new original show segment will leave Grand Tour in the dust.
I did like the new reasonably fast car. The "chat" with James MacAvoy was a bit too long and awkward with the three of them. Could tell it was all scripted and the dialong was disjointed enough you could feel the editing....
On the positive side - the FXXK segment was amazing. Harris beats Clarkson again in terms of gaining access to one of the most desirable cars in the world.
The Following User Says Thank You to I-Hate-Hulse For This Useful Post:
The celebrity aspect is still a major low point of the show.
I think it's better than it was before, with the right guest that sort of 'sit along' aspect could be decent, but I'd rather hear some bizarre car related story from a celebrity than watch celebrity brain crash, one of the worst segments in TV history.
I honestly don't care about which celebrity drives faster around an airport runway. I understand it's an income source to get film promotion or whatever, but I would rather they do something else car related entirely.
I will probably end up fast forwarding through the celebrity bits like I did in old top gear and this year with grand tour.
Also, the Ferrari was so freakin gorgeous.
Last edited by Flash Walken; 03-07-2017 at 10:37 PM.
TOP GEAR SHOULD HAVE BEEN PARKED WHEN JEREMY CLARKSON WAS FIRED The producers of Top Gear have once again drafted in a generic celebrity and two Muggles who both look as though they have spent formative parts of their career working in local radio or children's TV.
TOP GEAR SHOULD HAVE BEEN PARKED WHEN JEREMY CLARKSON WAS FIRED
The producers of Top Gear have once again drafted in a generic celebrity and two Muggles who both look as though they have spent formative parts of their career working in local radio or children's TV.
See I dont get that. BBC owns Top Gear which at points has been one of the most highly rated shows on TV, it made sense to go forward.
Last season was a disaster, I mean, I dont think anyone could or would argue that point. Just complete garbage.
But thats because it was Amateur Hour.
The BBC wanted Top Gear to keep ticking along without missing a beat and thats just a thing that wasnt going to happen.
If it gets burnt to the ground you have to start fresh.
__________________ The Beatings Shall Continue Until Morale Improves!
This Post Has Been Distilled for the Eradication of Seemingly Incurable Sadness.
If you are flammable and have legs, you are never blocking a Fire Exit. - Mitch Hedberg
Don't get the hate for that episode. It was solid.
The studio segments are rough as it's almost like they're reading a prompter but I think once they get the flow of things and build some chemistry I think it'll improve. The challenge was good and had funny moments ("What do you think he's got?" "Some mental issue probably" made me laugh harder than anything I can remember from Grand Tour) and I could see this whole having the celebrity for the entire episode thing being decent if it's able to mimic something similar to the Graham Norton show where they kinda just shoot the sh*t.
Top Gear US was brutal in terms of chemistry between the hosts for the first bit and then they really were great together in the last 4 seasons. I actually wish they just brought the Top Gear US guys over. Could've jump started the new generation of Top Gear with guys that already have 6 seasons worth of rapport together.
Finished watching episodes 2 & 3. I have to say episode 3 was better than 95% of Grand Tour IMHO for the simple reason it was about cars with a dollop of entertainment value.
- the DB11 / S63 James Bond Segment was awesome. Especially with Harris as Dr No. But the cars were the star...I could look at a DB11 all day long
- Again, I could watch the manic Sabine ripping it up in a GTI (or a Transit van...) on the Nordschleife all day long. Call it Porn for Pylon. Admittedly, I don't think the locals were pushing it too hard out there but watching her do her thing is always a great time.
- I'd highly recommend the Extra Gear segments too. Lots of extra Sabine and Rory commentary on that Nordschleife segment (including how the inside wheel on the GTI spins in corners). But the best was a segment on street cruising and how it changed from 20 years ago to now. You can really see how Rory loves his cars. Harris also takes the GT86 out on the TG track to show how it's done...
- Which brings me to one minor, yet increasing gripe I have about the show. Maybe it's me but I'm seeing a trend where all the good cars go to LeBlanc and Harris and Rory gets the leftover crap. Next week is especially bad for this as Harris gets a Chiron and Rory gets a Renault Twingo...
- The chemistry the Tamsin Greig had with Leblanc via their other show was clear and really made the SIARPC segment work reasonable well. Some may disagree but I welcome a bit of changing up the pace of the show via this segment and The News. GT lacks that and it turn into their DVD specials....zzzzzz....
Last edited by I-Hate-Hulse; 03-24-2017 at 10:26 PM.
Finished watching episodes 2 & 3. I have to say episode 3 was better than 95% of Grand Tour IMHO for the simple reason it was about cars with a dollop of entertainment value.
- the DB11 / S63 James Bond Segment was awesome. Especially with Harris as Dr No. But the cars were the star...I could look at a DB11 all day long
- Again, I could watch the manic Sabine ripping it up in a GTI (or a Transit van...) on the Nordschleife all day long. Call it Porn for Pylon. Admittedly, I don't think the locals were pushing it too hard out there but watching her do her thing is always a great time.
- I'd highly recommend the Extra Gear segments too. Lots of extra Sabine and Rory commentary on that Nordschleife segment (including how the inside wheel on the GTI spins in corners). But the best was a segment on street cruising and how it changed from 20 years ago to now. You can really see how Rory loves his cars.
- Which brings me to one minor, yet increasing gripe I have about the show. Maybe it's me but I'm seeing a trend where all the good cars go to LeBlanc and Harris and Rory gets the leftover crap. Next week is especially bad for this as Harris gets a Chiron and Rory gets a Renault Twingo...
- The chemistry the Tamsin Greig had with Leblanc via their other show was clear and really made the SIARPC segment work reasonable well. Some may disagree but I welcome a bit of changing up the pace of the show via this segment and The News. GT lacks that and it turn into their DVD specials....zzzzzz....
LeBlanc is the star and a Harris is a badass race driver. It's not surprising they get the best cars.
I kinda like Rory as the guy who drives sensible cars. That was James May's role when he joined. I think the show started going downhill when he started doing the same dumb schtick as Clarkson.
I've been happy with the episodes so far. Sabine is awesome. She's not a strong presenter but man can she drive the ring.
