So far the show seems less about cars and more about skits and sketches.
They have more of a feel of 'Top Gear Specials' like the 'The Perfect Road Trip' or their end of season specials rather than the feel of the weekly shows.
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The tent has got to be a bit of a logistical hassle. It's a lot to ship around, and each episode they would have to wire up all the lighting, electronics etc. I wouldn't be surprised if they ditched it after one season.
I think I read somewhere that the "moving tent" idea was meant to protect them from the BBC's legal team, as shooting in a studio might be too similar to Top Gear.
Also, the Stig replacement is horrendous. I'd be fine with some racing driver who was introduced once and never heard from again.
Not a fan of the second episode. Some funny moments, but overall didn't really work for me. A bit too much audience pandering for me as well. The show looks great though. The camera work and cinematography is top notch.
The worst part though is the american test driver. Seriously get rid of that guy. He isn't funny or interesting. His schtick of anything that isn't an american V8 is communist is downright awful. For a show that loves cars to have a professional racing driver "bash" the Aston Martin Vulcan while driving it doesn't make any sense. I don't understand this aspect of the show at all. I suppose it's Clarkson's way to make fun of Americans, but it's a case of cutting off your nose to spite your face.
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Is this what happens when you don't edit Clarkson?
Well, you have a pretty obviously pathological hatred of Clarkson so I sincerely doubt you're ever going to be pleased unless British Health & Safety find a way to shut them down. I dont know why you even bother to watch.
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I watched all 3 this weekend and was pretty impressed. I agree "the American" isn't my favourite, but I don't even remember him being in episode 3 (was he?). Maybe they cut that bit already.
Everything else seems pretty great to me. I always liked the special episodes and end-of-season road trips the best on old Top Gear, so the Grand Tour focusing more on that stuff is right up my alley.
Well, you have a pretty obviously pathological hatred of Clarkson so I sincerely doubt you're ever going to be pleased unless British Health & Safety find a way to shut them down. I dont know why you even bother to watch.
You've gone off the deepend, dude. I like Clarkson. I think he's an #######, but I like him.
The show sucks, I'm not the only one saying it. Matt Leblanc drove the same rolls as May did in the most recent episode and Leblanc's segment was much better.
Quote:
The far bigger issue in episode two is the basis for its name, Operation Desert Stumble. The two-part video takes the three stooges to a special forces training base in Jordan, where Executive Producer Andy Wilman challenges them to infiltrate a town, steal a car, get to an airport, take down a plane full of terrorists, rescue a VIP, and escape to an embassy. Like with the ambulance film, however, a promising concept falls by the wayside in favor of jokes, in this case Jeremy being molested by terrorists and James being repeatedly shot by a sniper.
Better conceived and ultimately more entertaining than the ambulance film, Operation Desert Stumble has some authentically funny elements. Reviewing an Audi S8 Plus while dodging terrorist gunfire is good, and your author snorted in laughter when Hammond asked if he should tickle Jeremy to force him to exit a Blackhawk helicopter. There's some lampooning of war movie clichés, too, although Clarkson's bit with Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings is a bit much. But the amusing parts and chemistry of the three hosts can only do so much with the material on offer. There's just so much deeply unfunny stuff here. A pantsless Clarkson gets blown up by a fragmentation grenade, and later, Hammond gets killed in a "knife fight." May, meanwhile, is a murderous bastard. He shoots Hammond – twice – and then executes the Queen of England.
And as for Celebrity Braincrash, it deserves a death far more gruesome than anything the team suffered during Operation Desert Stumble. This week, a "lion" mauls Charlize Theron. This may have to be our last mention of Celebrity Braincrash, because it's the worst television concept since the long-forgotten Top Gear Stunt Man.
Jeremy Clarkson warned us that cars wouldn't feature in this week's episode, and perhaps we should have listened. The Grand Tour, like Top Gear before it, is at its best when it does two things – the hosts share their screen time with the cars, and the script walks the line between primetime comedy and reality TV. Episode two is a reminder of these facts.
This is a driving show, right? Where are all the cars?
You've gone off the deepend, dude. I like Clarkson. I think he's an #######, but I like him.
The show sucks, I'm not the only one saying it. Matt Leblanc drove the same rolls as May did in the most recent episode and Leblanc's segment was much better.
This is a driving show, right? Where are all the cars?
Okay, well, for the record I've not gone off the deep-end, I just happen to enjoy the show.
The cars are great, I personally get more of a kick out of the rest of the production though, when they take cars out and do something entertaining with them.
James May drives a Rolls Royce? I dont care. Its not like LeBlanc's take or May's take on that Rolls Royce is going to influence my purchasing decision.
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This is a driving show, right? Where are all the cars?
Realistically, though, was Top Gear even a driving show in the most recent seasons? I heard it summarized (and wholeheartedly agree with the assessment) as a travel show, featuring cars.
Realistically, though, was Top Gear even a driving show in the most recent seasons? I heard it summarized (and wholeheartedly agree with the assessment) as a travel show, featuring cars.
I think that's accurate, but if you compare the segment on the Vulcan between the Grand Tour and Top Gear, I think Top Gear blows it away, INCLUDING the cinematography and camera work.
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I'm a big Top Gear fan and, as I've said before, I love Chris Harris' car reviews. He genuinely loves to hoon and doesn't make the videos about himself. I'm glad he's part of the show now.
I've always watched TG for the cars first, and Clarkson/Hammond/May second. I think most fans are the opposite though, and the show has evolved to satisfy them. I've been kinda bored of their schtick for a few years and the new series is more of the same. Having said that I thought the third episode was pretty good, and I'll definitely keep watching.
GT doesn't quite have the cinematography down like the TG team did. The segments between the 3 are also more heavily scripted than ever and it's detracting from the show because of how obvious and pointless it is.
The Desert Stumble bit wasn't funny. The knocking the house down wasn't funny.
For me, the 3 high points of Top Gear are: 1. Toyota Hilux, Polar Race, and Patagonia Special where the actual cars and terrain were the focus. I think GT needs to capture more of that rather than overly-scripted fake drive through Italy with bad jokes and set-ups along the way.
GT doesn't quite have the cinematography down like the TG team did. The segments between the 3 are also more heavily scripted than ever and it's detracting from the show because of how obvious and pointless it is.
The Desert Stumble bit wasn't funny. The knocking the house down wasn't funny.
For me, the 3 high points of Top Gear are: 1. Toyota Hilux, Polar Race, and Patagonia Special where the actual cars and terrain were the focus. I think GT needs to capture more of that rather than overly-scripted fake drive through Italy with bad jokes and set-ups along the way.
I would add in the Africa special as well as a close third with Patagonia.
I was just in Italy for the first time in many of the places they mentioned they would be going. I was excited for the episode but completely underwhelmed. Mostly Autostrada driving and multiple tunnel downshifts. Yeah, we got it. The 25 seconds of them driving through Tuscany and the 15 seconds in Modena was nice.
Plus, we got to see a horse get hurt in Siena. Maybe they'll come to Calgary, show a chuckwagon accident, drive Deerfoot to the airport tunnel.
Last edited by Barnes; 12-06-2016 at 08:56 AM.
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GT doesn't quite have the cinematography down like the TG team did. The segments between the 3 are also more heavily scripted than ever and it's detracting from the show because of how obvious and pointless it is.
The Desert Stumble bit wasn't funny. The knocking the house down wasn't funny.
For me, the 3 high points of Top Gear are: 1. Toyota Hilux, Polar Race, and Patagonia Special where the actual cars and terrain were the focus. I think GT needs to capture more of that rather than overly-scripted fake drive through Italy with bad jokes and set-ups along the way.
We know Richard Hammond is an intelligent person, but his buffoon act in the third GT episode was horrible.
TG wasn't that great this past season but I found it to be much more tolerable than GT. As some posted have stated, the three are best when they are talking about terrain and cars. When they try and make a sitcom it just doesn't work.
We know Richard Hammond is an intelligent person, but his buffoon act in the third GT episode was horrible.
TG wasn't that great this past season but I found it to be much more tolerable than GT. As some posted have stated, the three are best when they are talking about terrain and cars. When they try and make a sitcom it just doesn't work.
Yes, that's the problem. GT has devolved them even further into silly caricatures and buffoons. These are all really intelligent and capable presenters who all have had amazing solo presenting and writing careers and they have turned them into sitcom people who act to the point of being out of character.
The most endearing moments in TG are when they are being genuine in their reactions (whether good or bad) to something. Now they are all just idiots acting out parts. There's nothing that interests me in them playing pretend soldiers in a Tom Cruise Edge of Tomorrow/Groundhog day plot. There's nothing that interests me in Hammond showing up as the muscle car ###### and acting like a jerk.
And what's the point of going to all these places with the travelling tent and the locations aren't even the featured segment that week but some other random place on the other side of world?
Last edited by Hack&Lube; 12-06-2016 at 04:18 PM.
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