[01x08] November 17th, 2008

[Glinn Mgraw]

No one else knew what the music that Warren was playing then, I'm assuming?

It was from the movie Deliverance, which, simply put, basically deals with a bunch of in-breds.



Could've done far more with the Tasmanian trip in this episode, the fact that it was finished pretty much halfway through shows how short it was. It just kind of stopped all of a sudden, like they'd gone halfway through and then lost all their cameras or something.

[cpd]

Originally Posted by Icedvovo

They need to get better detailers. The close-ups revealed filthy cars.

I noticed that too. And couldn't believe my eyes. Early TGUK revealed some... dusty interiors, but nowhere near this bad.

Originally Posted by fbc

Red vs Blue - I almost wish they'd have run this in ep 1 or 2 to get it out of the way. Memo to Warren - we don't need round 3 until season 3 at least... (I should add, I'm a huge supporter of the Commodore & Falcon, but two comparisons was one too many for the one season).

They managed to get a red Holden and a blue Ford for 01x02, so surely they had more options than to use two white cars this time? Just a tiny little bit of contrast would have made the whole thing more visually appealing. I don't know, say one in black and the other grey / white (both metallic).

Did anyone notice the cars for the Tasmania trip were almost identical to the cars for the TGUK 'Best Driving Road' film?

[stiggie]

Wasn't the Falcon silver?

[wikkedsnaab]

kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill the script writers. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox. kill cox.

Perfectly good ep ruined by Cox. Only decent words that came out of his mouth were the ones in support of the Australian car industry, but even that came out completely pompous, overblown and insincere (ironic given I'm sure it is his own personal opinion).

come to think of it...

WWTT was comedy death.

SIABSC was just plain miserable death.

Tasmania trip was a great ad for Tassie and the cinematography was super but I have two issues. One... it's not very exciting to watch 3 supercars driving around bumper to bumper at 40kph. Two.. there was no real point to it... with the TGUK roadtrip they were going to that bridge... I mean, very simple and all, not that important, but it gives the piece a focus. Steve was right, they should have gone to Baskerville or something for a climax to the piece.

good to see more details and technical info in the reviews - finally!

and kudos where kudos due... they chose a winner between Holden and Ford!

[Fleetfoot]

I gave it a 7 (probably because its the only show on tv I'll actualy sit down and watch).

Cox, kudo's for the rant, 10 for trying anyway and yeah, timing with the fire extinguisher was pathetic :-/ should have soaked him for a good laugh!!!!

Jag, quite a decent review, still a disjointed but good amount of facts and a little story bit thrown in here and there.

What were they thinking; either come up with a lot of funny things or throw it away, it's boring right now.

Tassie of course has a nice track for any GT car, but in the end it was just a drive around.
As a TGuk fan for years none of those cars were new and we still need more PASSION!!

Holden and Ford, bit fifth gear like, but ok,
But why only holden and ford, if you're so passionate about us Aussies buying the local produce prove to us that they are better than the imports, why not have a similarly priced Mazda and a Golf/Polo and do some proper tests? A total test too, not just the "owah we got 180kw" stuff and smoking tires, who cares, it's how it can use it and go through corners, how heavy vs how much power vs money vs fuel economy etc.
And yeah, with plenty of fun thrown in to keep us glued to the screen without falling asleep.

Next time around maybe try do something with fuel economy, is a 4 cyl light car as cheap as a 8 cyl large block on a city trip and what about country etc.

Star is supposed to be famous but I had to google her to figure out who she is but a few seconds and I fast forwarded it, she likes to hear herself too much, yuck.

Now go away, do a loooot of thinking about entertainment and come down to earth, don't stick to some stiff scripted stuff as the script writer hasn't figured out how to make you presentors sell his dribble, getting rid of him might be a better option.

[colddayin-hell]

I said 10, I quite liked it.

[Suedschleife]

9/10

Loved the Episode, my initial dislike of TGA is pretty much gone completely. The Hosts may not be quite as entertaining as the original (yet), but there's a lot more focus on cars, which is a good thing in my book.

"...it's like a beautifully designed handbag." WTH?

[junas125]

I think for the next series they should be careful not to go through things that fast. They put a lot of things without spending time on them. The news is too short. They need to hire a comedian to give them some better jokes.
What were they thinking? The first WWTT was not funny at all but the second one about TopGear UK that was 10/10.
The track layout needs to be changed and more cameras are required to record it correctly.
I am pretty sure they will improve things when they record the second series. Good luck guys

[fbc]

Originally Posted by Blink

WWTT was horrid. but I did hear 'And for the last WWTT' hopefully they meant the last ever.

Yeah, it was a great idea, but they wore it out way too fast. The chanting of the name makes me shudder.

Originally Posted by junas125

I think for the next series they should be careful not to go through things that fast. They put a lot of things without spending time on them.

I've thought the same thing - the whole thing had an element of being rushed about it. The time between announcing the hosts & the show being aired was probably too short for the guys to get a sense of camaraderie. It does seem like they rushed this series somewhat, which is a bit sad since there was no need to and it affected the final product.

[zaybxcwd12]

I am going to hang my head in shame, I really don't believe I am saying this. This was a great episode, cut out the studio bits they spoil what otherwise would have been a highly entertaining show. WWTT thats the worst of the 3 episodes I have watched for closing my eyes and shakeing my head, seeing Clarkson and co put on the board caused a laugh though. I used to read members on here saying they don't know the guest on SIARPC so they didn't watch it and I always thought why does it matter? either Cox interview skills or it does matter not sure which.

[bolly]

If Top Gear were my girlfriend, then Top Gear Australia is like a cheap hooker down on the street.

My girlfriend (TGUK) makes me laugh and smile with genuine passion. The hooker (TGA) flashes me a quick and empty smile and says whatever she thinks it will take to get her bucks. Sure, they can both 'fulfill a need', but unlike my girlfriend (TGUK), the hooker's smile (TGA) leaves me feeling empty, disappointed and more hopeful than ever that my girlfriend will return soon.

I'm sure the hooker (TGA) is quick with her hands (WB & SP) but her brainless head is just empty and nothing interesting comes out of her mouth (CC) but trite one-liners masked by that false smile. As for passion? Well, I'll just wait for my girlfriend to come home.

With a head transplant, the hooker may just get her act together one day. Without it, I fear she's simply going to end up in the gutter (i.e. axed).

For Series 2 of TGA, I'd like to see some real passion like that which underpins the entire creative direction of TGUK, a lot less silly one-line jokes that don't go anywhere and some stories that do. The show has got plenty of potential, but so far, it just hasn't hit the mark. It needs that head (and brain) transplant.


P.S. Special thanks to whoever is neg-repping me just for having an opinion. And for the neg-repper who responded: "Hooker?".... look up the word in the dictionary, then look up the word "metaphor". You might also notice that it's not too strange a word for Jeremy Clarkson to use on Top Gear. But then, he's a man who uses a dictionary and understands metaphors.

[The Chad]

Compared to the other episodes this season, I think the last one was the best. I wish the Tasmania trip would've been a little more in-depth, but still a nice segment. And I think the XF Supercharged review is good and balanced.

Overall this season wasn't bad. I enjoyed the Astra segment a lot, and the Tasmania trip. Those would be my highlights from the series.

[Bomber]

This is the first episode that I thought showed genuine improvement, but they were a little too self-congratulatory and sentimental at the end of only 8 episodes, not sure exactly what that signifies.

I'm still watching out of curiosity and not for enjoyment, the only bits I would freely choose to watch were the parts filmed in interesting parts of the country like the Kalgoorlie mine, Holden test track, Tasmania etc.

If TGA is setting a trend then it's clear that the original TG will be the only one to deliver proper TG entertainment. The rest will be a distant second competing with the likes of Fifth Gear for the title of second best car show.

[Blink]

Looking back at the end where they showed the reel of the season, I sat down and thought 'Yeah, I actually enjoyed this show.' As a whole the season was pretty great, but it was ruined by a few things.

To improve I think we need over the next few months and next season:

• Improve the script writing - Better comedy, more improv
• Continue building the three relationships
• More ideas from the three hosts, rather than what seems copies of the UK Segments
• WWTT Dropped all together, its run its day
• Im going to say it again, but more improv stuff. (The fire extinguisher is a great example, Steve should have walked off, got the fire extinguisher, and sprayed Cox, would have been a brilliant ending Cox standing there covered in it, talking about the next season!)
• Camera work continuing to improve, especially the track work (Which seems to be going up and down)
• Cox having a bit of interview training. Personally I think he will be a great host, with a bit of work in that. Clarkson for example is a great host, but he becomes an even greater host when he is with James and Richard. Steve and Warren are almost there, Cox just needs that bit more I think.
• More summarys of cars, and be a bit tougher on the judging.
• A race would be great (Say Train Vs Car etc) I know its been done before, but it will help a heap aswell with the hosts bonding.

All in all, im pretty happy with how the season turned out. Perhaps we should send a big email/pack with all of our comments to SBS/Freehand and give them out advice!

Cheers,
Matty

[watto]

6/10. Solid with room for improvement.

Where was a proper ending for the Tassie trip? Gee, that was poor form. Sexy cars though.

The XF review was the highlight of the ep, really solid, good camera work... But wow, the inside wheel likes to smoke!

R vs B ver. 2. Hmmmmm, not really sure about this one, at least they came up with a solution at the end. Do not do a third one, that's just overkill.

I look forward to season two, lets hope they improve on things such as track filming and script writing!

[Wizegui]

I say around 8.5/10 which rounds to 9/10. I felt that this was the first episode that felt slightly more well rounded any episodes 1-7. The only shame was the 3 car challenge. I always wanted to find out when it was going to get exciting, but it never happened... I was being very generous though.

[logifuse]

I watched TGUK at 7:30, followed by Stephen Fry in America & then watched TGA - this was a good move.

Previously I have made myself watch TGA first followed by TGUK & I was finding that if TGA didn't really do it, then I'd be on a bit of a downer for TGUK & wouldn't enjoy that as much as I might have.

The end result was that I very much enjoyed all 3 shows & gave TGA a solid 8/10. I'm happy for the same cast of characters next time, but I hope Charlie tones down the arm windmill & they get rid of WWTT (although the last item was gold & I suspect it was a dig at Final Gear & the like). Good to see that the ratings have stabilised - should build through the next season if the show continues to improve.

Biggest flaw in the series (IMHO) is that they simply don't have enough cameras.

[metallix]

I think the presenters are definitely getting the hang of it, and the production quality is fantastic.

My only criticism now is for the Producer, he must be about as interesting as bat shit. It annoys me that they really have no structure to their films, and as a result no real potential for humour. Why on Earth would he approve that the Holden vs Ford be a performance comparison? That is just rediculous for those two cars. It was a carbon copy of the firs HSV vs FPV test just with more open ending...

I surprisingly liked the WWTT board, it has evolved nicely into interesting facts about cars, driving and road rules.

The Tasmania drive looked brilliant, but probably let down by a lack of focus. It was trying to be as much about the cars as it was about the road and failed at both.

[bolly]

Originally Posted by metallix

Why on Earth would he approve that the Holden vs Ford be a performance comparison? That is just rediculous for those two cars.

It's also strange that they would rant at people about the need to "buy Australian" and then do a review on two Australian sedans that provides no compelling reason for anybody who might actually buy one to go, "Yeah, I can see why that's a good car". Surely more appropriate testing would have had a far more positive influence on sales than all that screaming by Charlie at the end of the show?

Also seems a bit hypocritical that he tells the audience to "buy Australian" while he choses to live in the UK and drive a Porsche GT2!

[Icedvovo]

For everyone giving praise, ask yourself one question.

Would you pay $40 of your own money for the DVD of the series?