[01x07] November 10th, 2008

[watto]

Originally Posted by Red_Bull

Over 500 for episode 1, it's steadily fallen to 132 for episode five.

And 36 for episode 7...

[Tranquillizer]

star seg was good, for the first time i think charlie was okay with this seg. probably because of alike mind guest. i enjoyed it too. likes the GTR review but subaru seg was pointless to me.

[Icedvovo]

So, in 7 eps we've seen 3 'challenges' with non-new cars.

* Moke - Car supplied
* Paddock bashers - two laps in a paddock
* Audi Boat Car - Car supplied.

The rest has been just driving around in new cars.

Is it any wonder Swift and Shift Couriers is funnier?

[STIG_mata]

Im trying to give the guys slack to develop themselves and the show and last night was OK until the ad for the new UK episodes.

In 30 secs I was all excited and yearning for TGUK, it looks like they have all new ideas (imagine that Stiggie ?...)
The 30 sec ad had an air of energy and expectation that the UK guys will be putting out a funny, interesting and entertaining show was terrific. !!!!




And then they went back to the AU show....b....o...r...i...n...g....................


Theres no need to pull the AU show apart and look for faults because its all just such a low standard production compared to TGAU and even Swift and Shift. Which is sad.

Production note: Dont bother throwing more money at the show hoping to buy entertainment either,
just throw in the towel and let the pain stop.

[Dsemaj]

Originally Posted by watto

And 36 for episode 7...

Wait... 36,000 for the whole country?!

[Zesty]

Gah, I got home later than usual from work last night, so I almost missed the start of it, and then I was busy trying to get dinner started so I missed the petrol vs diesel segment.

Anyway, from what I did see I can give the ep. a good solid 8/10. I'd give it a 9, but I feel that the studio bits are still letting the whole thing down a lot, although 'What Were They Thinking' was kinda okay this time. The star segment was really good, nice to see the little crapbox being thrown around, and I liked the banter between the two guys (damn these blooding racing drivers are so competitive LOL). I also laughed out loud when they showed them practicing with the two of them in the car. Some priceless expressions there.

The Rexy wargame was a nice bit of fun, and it was good to see the Subie being treated 'properly'. Nice camera work too, not to mention the nice piece of military hardware.. But, please. For the love of everything, don't ever, ever, ever put Warren in charge of navigation.

GTR review was one of the better ones they've done, imho. Nicely edited, great music and an impressive review overall. It was especially pleasing to see the car actually given a bit of a push too. Steve's reviews are really improving, I much prefer them to Charlie's, I just still can't stand him. Weirdly enough, when the show first started it was Steve whom I found the most annoying, but I think's he's improved so much and he had some pretty insightful points to make. I liked the comment about the GTR being a 'doof-doof magnet', that made me laugh, 'cause I thought 'haha, I can totally imagine that!'.

Overall, nicely done this time. I don't think anyone has mentioned it, but DID YOU HEAR THE NOISE THE GT2 MADE?!!!

[Icedvovo]

The other issue they're going to trip over is the one of the value these eps have as future exports to other markets and as DVDs. I'm guessing they'd hope to recoup some of the costs this way.

I imagined they'd be hoping to release 'Top Gear Australia - Season One' on DVD in time for Christmas. Who'd buy it now? I guess people would buy for someone else. Hardly seems worth the effort.

And how would the British public view these eps. Not well I'd wager.

But the biggest issue is the content. Because they've included new and current cars in 90% of the content, it won't age very well. When they gather enough to make a 'Best of' it will all look like last year's models. The 'old car' stuff ages so much better.

Overall they've made some bad choices. Our only hope is that the pre-production that's apparently under way for Season 2 contains less of the new and more of the old.

[gir]

Yeah, the last segment seemed like gratuitous product placement. If you watch the credits closely, you'll notice that Caltex supplies TGA's fuel as well ...

Wait, you're saying that Caltex provides fuel for TGA, and in one of the episodes they fill up at a Caltex petrol station? THIS IS MADNESS!

I personally enjoyed this ep, and I've enjoyed most of the season. Work still needs to be done, but I stand by the fact that it's a lot better then TGUK season 1.

[watto]

Originally Posted by Dsemaj

Wait... 36,000 for the whole country?!

No no, the amount of people voting on fg.com.

[stiggie]

Though the torrent isn't out yet.

[Icedvovo]

Originally Posted by stiggie

Though the torrent isn't out yet.

When do they release the ratings?

[stiggie]

We've had them posted here as early as 10:30 tuesday morning, but I don't know what website they get them from.

[Wyvern]

The show's obviously made its way into my psyche. I'm mooching around waiting for the torrent and wondering what I'm going to do with myself in the early hours of Tuesday morning (which is when I usually end up watching it) after next week. I think I must like it or something

[Dsemaj]

Originally Posted by watto

No no, the amount of people voting on fg.com.

I thought you were talking about ratings.. whoops!

[logifuse]

Wow, reading most of the comments, I'm starting to think I must have been watching a different episode.

I found it the most disappointing episode of the series. Not the worst, that coveted title was well & truly sewn up by episode one, but it just felt like an Aero bar.

The GTR review - where was the soul? It was cold & full of nothingness. OK, so he got to take it on a closed road, but that was what, 5-10% of the segment?

The Tiger vs. the WRX - what was the point? The objective? It clearly didn't evade the chopper, so the point was....? And the finish took the whole staged thing to another level. The scenery looked great, but....

The GT2 - a power lap with no review? And what was the lap shot with? A single handicam?

The Golfs to Wollongong via Camden had some bright points (e.g. the M5 toll booth), but it had a real "we haven't really researched this" vibe.

I suppose they had to do race drivers in the BSC eventually, it was OK, but if they're going to persist with long interviews, then they need someone different to do them.

WWTT - it's a dead horse.

I'd really felt like they'd gotten it over the last few episodes, but I felt like this episode went backwards. Kinda glad there's only one left in the series because another one like that & I don't think I'd bother the following week.

6/10 & trying to remain optimistic.

[rkc62]

I still hope to see a Season 2.
If you're watching TGA at the same time as TGUK-12 then TGA is pretty crap, but I've just gone back and started again, and TGUK-1 had EXACTLY the same problems - the presenters were awkward, they didn't have a focus on what the show was about (it was certainly trying to be a serious advice show, spending half its time on dealer special pricing, resale values on Mondeos etc etc) and the studio sessions were "forced" (and with a small, quiet crowd).
TGUK-2 is better, but they didn't really hit the winning formula for several seasons.

As for TGA-1x07, the camera work was just so good I could forgive it pretty much anything else - except Charlie - he really, really annoys me. The GT-R review showed how much Steve has improved (and how a good review doesn't have to include clouds of tyre smoke) though the foil hat was a definite step backward. Warren and Steve work so much better together without Charlie, as the WRX and Toorak Tractor segments show.

[stevanford1]

Originally Posted by logifuse

The GTR review - where was the soul? It was cold & full of nothingness. OK, so he got to take it on a closed road, but that was what, 5-10% of the segment?

Explain to me what you mean by "soul".

Originally Posted by logifuse

The Tiger vs. the WRX - what was the point? The objective? It clearly didn't evade the chopper, so the point was....? And the finish took the whole staged thing to another level. The scenery looked great, but....

Using that logic you could say what is the point of nearly every TGUK challenge.

Originally Posted by logifuse

The GT2 - a power lap with no review? And what was the lap shot with? A single handicam?

Showed more of the GT2 than TGUK.

[bolly]

Originally Posted by logifuse

Wow, reading most of the comments, I'm starting to think I must have been watching a different episode.

Well I was watching the same episode as you Logifuse. Just more disappointment as far as I'm concerned.

It seemed there was almost an air of boredom among the hosts and I thought the stories were still weak and poorly written. I mean, who really believes that throwing up a bit of red dirt is going to protect you from infrared heat seeking missile technology? I'm no rocket scientist, but, duh! I don't think so.

Once again, I can see improvements in the camerawork and editing, but the show is still being badly let down by the wishy-washiness of the content. I just don't understand why the Australian version of Top Gear has been completely stripped of its balls? The UK hosts are just getting more and more provocative all the time, yet we've been given a local version that's so safe, not even a nun would be offended by any of it! I haven't had an outbreak of riotous laughter throughout the whole series. That's why I watch Top Gear (well TGUK!) ... and why I keep banging on and on about weak stories, weak scripts and a weak main host in TGA.

[whitehornmatt]

Originally Posted by tone76

Or the Focus. Or the Astra (although I wouldn't have used the Astra as we've already seen them in the lawn bowls segment). Or the Peugeot 307. Or the Citroen C4. Or the Mazda 3 ...

But how common are those cars, the Golf is the top selling diesel in its class, so why wouldn't it be the one chosen for this test?

[stuvik]

The episode got a lift by NOT having the Castrol ad popping up in EVERY SINGLE AD BREAK!
It got let down with the TGUK ad (which should have played at the END of the episode). It looked so exciting..and then you're plonked back into TGAUS which was made to look a bit hum-drum after it.

I'm beginning to wonder how much time the TGAUS guys have to produce content for each show compared to the TGUK guys...? The filming quality is noticeably poorer than the original, albeit it is improving. Does TGUK do a lot of filming (big challenges etc.) during the season breaks? Perhaps this extra post-production time helps TGUK make things look schmick.