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NEW New new new New top gear ON HOLD, RIP?


HMC

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Well reading all of this makes me want to get a telly - didn't know this series was on and like many it seems I agree that the best 3 have been kept on. I just hope that it continues as despite the fact that many will complain this Top Gear is better than no Top Gear. No other show does this sort of thing now 5thGear is no more. I enjoy all those do up a classic shows as I am a classic car guy but we do need an entertaining car show that deals with moderns and new stuff.

My ideal show though would be one that looks at long gone small manufacturers like Gilbern etc, small British companies such as Ginetta & Caterham and Kitcar manufacturers - an area where Britain really leads and featuring some very inventive and ingenious stuff over the years. If you have never been to a kitcar show then "treat yourself fool".

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Well I thought it was much better than the strange version last year with Evans. Much better that they've changed the set and the format a bit but they need to loose the random people stood round and I'm sure their wooden will dissappear soon.

 

As always I fast forwarded the expensive car bit but quite liked the challenge, shame they felt the need to hit each other straight away but I do think the crash was genuine.

 

Overall not bad, I'm sure it'll get better, I like the people doing it but Rory has a wierd accent :-)

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I thought the challenge was good, but felt like something of that magnitude warranted a full episode to get the most out of it.

 

The studio stuff is a bit wierd, relatively little chemistry. I really like all 3 presenters individually and in the challenge it was plain funny but in the studio i felt sorry for James McAvoy, there was no flow to the questions or chat. Awkward.

 

I can't help but think the BBC is flogging a dead horse with top gear now. Theres plenty of people out there that want to watch a funny car programme but why does it have to be studio based? Its a CAR PROGRAMME, get out on the track or road.

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I watched several episodes of Hot Rod unlimited on Netflix last night - I can't watch the BBC any more as I don't have a TV licence any more.  As someone else observed, I can't really proffer an opinion on TG as I haven't watched it for several years.  Being a car anorak and interested in old shite, Clarkson sneering at "Mr Beardy with his socket set" in his review of the original MGF was the point where the rot set in - the gradual removal of any actual engineering content spelled the end for me.

 

In contrast the US programmes like Hot Rod Unlimited actually talk about and show engines and gearboxes, even old ones.

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Well, it wasn't toe-curling like the previous series, but still manages to feel too much like three guys standing in for Clarkson, May and t'other.

 

I hope Rory Reid manages to grow into the role, I like his on-screen open personality. And wonder if CH understands his subject a little too deeply for the Beeb managers to get him, I'd say he needs plenty of freedom and space to develop and shine.

 

Matt could have a suppressing influence on the show if not managed carefully, but his ability to connect with an audience is clear. It's only the first show with these three, after all - plenty of time to grow.

 

T'd be good to think there was a silent nod to Saab's rear-hinged and pivoting bonnets every time the V70's flew up, but suspect that it was more the case of "let's make 'em laugh, lads". Oh, and I preferred the Robin Reliant rocket to the 'real' one. But an autoshite Merc, Volvo and LTI across the Soviet Union shows promise.

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Perhaps Autoshite should volunteer its three most suitable* members....

 

Where are we going to find a posh Englishman who lives in Wales, has a background in magazine journalism and online video reviews, that has a fleet of shite but loves his 2CV. Add to that the fact he's more well known by his nickname than his real name.

Then we'd need an opiniated foreigner, that loves American shite.

 

A Rory Reid would be easy enough to find, I'm sure.

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I rather enjoyed TG, having watched it this morning on the iPlayer (saw Logan last night at the pictures, was very enjoyable!)

 

It's a lot better for it without Chris Evans. The 3 presenters work well as a format. The standard track is back, albeit with a faster car for the celebrity thing - it was very forced trying to get excited about that mini on the 'rally stage' in the last series, I'd be more excited to open up my box of weetabix to then find it contains weetabix.

 

They just need a bit of time to 'settle in', they look like they're having fun and are genuinely enjoying themselves. The absence of hype is a very wise move.

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Where are we going to find a posh Englishman who lives in Wales, has a background in magazine journalism and online video reviews, that has a fleet of shite but loves his 2CV. Add to that the fact he's more well known by his nickname than his real name.

Then we'd need an opiniated foreigner, that loves American shite.

 

A Rory Reid would be easy enough to find, I'm sure.

 

Posh?!

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I'll stick to watching dollywobbler and Harry Metcalfe youtube videos for my on-screen fix, both are far more entertaining and informative than last night's TG.  The presenters seem decent enough blokes, but after watching some of it on iPlayer (so I could skip through the studio bits) not sure I can be bothered with it.  The inclusion of a black cab was quite amusing, but driving a 53-plate V70 in a cold climate is hardly a challenge is it.

 

 

 

 

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Tonight, on Top Gear:

 

47 almost strangers from across the world have to travel to a field in Lincolnshire where a number of challenges await them

Billy gives us the insiders guide on buying a used Vauxhall Zafira

Ian road tests the new Peugeot Vectra

and JohnK takes us for a look at a real life car auction.

 

Special studio guest is TooSavvy and Hairnet (subtitles available)

 

*cue music*

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Not so sure, I was left underwhelmed by it.  I felt transported to somewhere in 2005 on Channel 4

 

Found the studio parts stilted, with Harris especially out of comfort zone.  Was he asked to play 'weirdo OCD man' in reverence to May?

And what was Harris doing in any studio dressed as a half-arsed teenager?  You're on International telly, man!

 

Reid was as expected.  Keen and enthusiatic, though annoying immature.  It was if he still can't believe himself that he got the gig.

 

Le Blanc seemed tired and miffed.  Not quite as bright-humoured as the last series?

 

 

But everyone's a critic, eh.

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Did giggle at the Volvo clout though - what with driving it for rest of show with bonnet in air

 

Value of LT1 and any black cab must have gained momentum overnight.  This years daft theme wedding car?

 

The Merc wasn't rusty enough.  Or did Berliners get better metal?  Glad they picked that wafty yellow

 

No opposite-lock-every-five-seconds supercar-pretending saloons!  Excellent!

 

The three hosts do appear to genuinely have time for each other, with none of them being the alpha-male and none of them being made into 'the one to laugh at'

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The three hosts do appear to genuinely have time for each other, with none of them being the alpha-male and none of them being made into 'the one to laugh at'

 

The thing I really liked about the old TG was that the alpha-male and one to laugh at was liable to change at a moments notice and any one of them could play either role.  One minute its Clarkson and Hammond on May, next minute May and Hammond ganging up on Clarkson...its what made the challenges entertaining, even if the substance was fairly predictable.

 

I'm sure it will come with new TG,  I don't really want to watch 3 guys all being the best of friends all the time.

 

I think Harris and Reid are both still getting over the fact they've been rocketed from relative obscurity to the starring roles in the premiere motoring program on TV.  Maybe not so much Harris, who was reasonably well known in his own right, but its still a step up from mostly web-only content.

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And then the Taxi fell off the bricks and drove away on its own and everyone laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed.

 

Same tired out gags, different faces.

 

 

 

I TRIED TO TALK FOREIGN TO FOREIGNERS BUT THEY COULDNT UNDERSTAND ME BECAUSE IM FOREIGN.

 

Lazy.

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This morning on the radio, Chris Evans said how much better Top Gear was last night without the annoying bloke.

I almost felt sorry for him, he was on a bit of a hiding to nothing . Note I say almost, he is an annoying twat, after all.

From where I'm reading, that almost sounds like an apology from Evans. Something that Clarkson could never manage.

It's interesting reading the comments about how wooden (or not) the current presenters are. I still remember when, during the search for new presenters (pre Chris Evans), a number of people thought Guy Martin would have been great due to his personality. The bloke's a legend, but he would have been fecking horrendous as a TG presenter. It would have been the equivalent of Oliver Stone teaching primary kids. Ultimately, presenters need their charisma to show when the camera is pointing at them. I get the impression that isn't necessarily evident with the current lot.

I recorded last night's episode - I've not seen it yet, and I'm not in a rush to watch it. However, I'll give it a go with an open mind when I've got nothing better to do.

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I've enjoyed Grand Tour - it's benefited from vast budgets and the creative freedoms that the BBC can't give. It has an immensely clever attention to detail, and shows Clarkson's main skill as a (script) writer.  It's also managed to create a new format.

 

So Top Gear felt a bit dialed down in comparison. Certainly way better than the Chris Evans version, and the three presenters work OK together. But it felt a bit "so what".  The whole point of the challenge is that it should be either lavish, or highlight the relationship between the three presenters. And the Kazakhstan gig didn't really do either. TG was quite watchable - but seemed to miss the chance to make something special.  Given the way the TX1 beat the Merc and Volvo, they could have done much more with the whole sequence to build the suspense about which was the best car.  A lot of it felt very formulaic - crashing the Volvo into the back of the merc etc.

 

© 2017 'O'-level English homework TV review.

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I was entertained by it, liked the presenters and reckon they will improve as time goes on. Also liked the new studio with the two 1980s CAR magazine pinup supercars up on a shelf! 

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