[02x01] May 11th, 2009

[Fleetfoot]

I'll be honest, I missed half of it as I forgot it was on, the wife mentioned it so I gave it a go, got in at Warrens interview, that was a good thing, I think he's the most "top gear" style of the first trio, very natural, maybe a bit too over the top but the interview was neatly and naturaly done.
I had to stop as the rest of the family wanted to watch something else but it's hopefully taped so I'll watch the second bit tomorrow (if my useless TEAC set-top recorder hasn't failed again) and I'll vote then.

Kudos to the producers for giving it a second go, I wish you all the best and to the team.. the US would never be real TG, Russia is a bit of a joke and Korea? gimme a break what's that going to do.. so you've got the best chance to run a good second TG team.

[pAuLw85]

it was worth it just to hear skafe tell warren he was going to upend him

[tone76]

I have to say, 2x01 puts the whole of Season 1 into perspective. Charlie Cox seems even more cringeworthy now in hindsight.

Once James warms into the role, he should be fantastic. You could tell that he was a bit rusty as a car show presenter, but you could also tell that once he warms up, he'll be worth a watch. Wazza is a pretty decent interviewer, and my suggestion in the 1x01 thread about Pizzati having some serious potential is starting to become evident.

As for the episode:
- Evo X: James was a little Fifth Gear, but that's OK. Despite being a little wooden, it was still a better review than most of the CC era stuff combined. The cinematography was top notch and the aerial shots were superb.

- Lambo vs Waverunner challenge: quite good, the banter was quite droll, but it didn't seem to have a really dramatic climax. It felt about 90% complete, whereas the other challenges from S1 felt anywhere from 50-80% complete, so that's a bonus.

- Destruction of WWTT board: had to be done, and it was done in pure TG style.

- SIABSC: the highlight, if only to see how gutted Skaifey looked when Wazza read out the first lap time ...

- Recreation of Mitsubishi Lancer car ad: genuine PMSL moment there.

- Track description: excellent, but about 8 episodes too late. SBS need to put this clip on the TGA website.

Other observations:
- Production values seem to be even better again, this has always been TGA's strong point.

- The car ad, whilst interesting, seemed to be filler. Given that the challenge was about 2 minutes too short, what were they thinking?

- The track filming has greatly improved, to the point where one can see just how poxy the TGA track is. no matter how good the filming gets, the track - and the helicopters and McMansions in the background - will still look like a poxy little airstrip in the middle of outer suburban Hell .. which is what it is. Maybe it couldn't be helped due to the paucity of decent tracks available in Sydney, and the fact that Freehand/SBS couldn't raise the money to get the rights to use Eastern Creek... I dunno.

- one car review in an episode is fine, so long as it is done well. The Evo X review was done very well.

- lack of news felt a bit weird, but then again with the current automotive climate it would be almost impossible to shoot a news segment with 1 week's lead time, let alone 4.

If they're reading this, and I know they are, I'd like to thank Freehand for taking on board many of the criticisms that the internets generated over Season 1 - i.e. Cox, the filming of the track etc.

A very solid 7/10. Might have to go to an episode of S3 if I can get tickets ...

[STIG_mata]

Much improved cinematography, a few good laughs along the way too, and Im glad to see that they didnt do the News, mixing it up keeps the punters interested to see if their favourite segment is coming up.
Its still not smart or sharp enough for people in the street to relive the shows enthusiasm around the watercooler but its better than Season 1, its professional, knowledgeable, direct, sensible, predictable.
I'd like it to be a bit more entertaining and with Steve and Warren, Im looking at seasoned showman James to bring it up a level.
Ep 2 will be interesting to see how it grows.
I wonder if Charlie watched ?

[junas125]

Absolutely a huge huge improvement and a breath of fresh air. I will be waiting for an episode every week. Great job guys, you were excellent, I am now a fan for sure.

[Disciple]

Good ep. MUCH better than last season. James and Warren seemed to have quite a natural rapport.

Only gripe for me was they didn't know how to use the launch control on the EVO X MR!

[Rossa AU]

I must admit i was a little disappointed with the new presenter; his intro at the start of the show was pretty boring in my opinion, which almost made me turn the tv off and go watch repeats of TG haha. After that it started to slowly go uphill, then as soon as Skaife came on the show started to get much better after that .

Still, will wait to see how 2x02 turns out since the previews we saw last night made it look much better than last night’s episode.

[Broken Hamlet]

Really enjoyed this episode, the parts in the studio flowed very well. I'm not sure if this is due to the Charlie-endectomy or the fact they've had time to gell over the off season and get to know each other a bit better.

The way they announced that there would be no more WWTT board was terrific and got a good laugh. The lack of news section wasn't that bad but I hope it makes the odd appearance when there's somehing to mention rather than closing car factories etc.

Again the lack of detail about the car (Lambo) was a bit disappointing, I know it's been out for a little while but still there's a bit to talk about surely. The thing that they need to tweak is talking through the Bog Standard Car lap and get some energy going.

All in all it's off to a good start for season 2. Well done to all involved.

[Evan]

Not a bad effort from the boys. 7/10

I think that James needs to losen up a bit. He seemed to rehearsed in the Evo review.

I would have liked to see more of a review of the Lambo in the challenge. Perhaps save the Lambo for a more appropriate challenge (open road) and use a car suitable to sitting in traffic (comfortable, nice interior) for this challenge.

Loved Warren interviewing Mark Skaife. Great job on providing information and entertainment.

The relationship needs to be more natural between the boys, but they are on the right track.

[Dsemaj]

The thing that makes the challenges what they are in TG UK is they actually review the car through the challenge. Without that, it's a bit dull.

That said, big improvement! Shot much better and everything has improved! Keep up the good work, looking forward to the electric cars next week!

[DXPetti]

Originally Posted by stiggie

Especially since TGA have already reviewed the WRX STi.

Which they still haven't put on the track yet >__>

Originally Posted by lockstops

(and THAT look from Mark Skaife was priceless!)

I really thought WTF he looks really pissed, is this meant to happen, Skaife is going to kill him

So far Morrison seems like a good replacement. Sharing the load of interviewing/commentating etc is working well also.

Melbourne to Portsea challenge...ARGH they drove right past my place Where the road is really twisting and narrow, I get to drive that every day (its also the road that took away my first car). So cool to be able to relate to the location of a Top Gear segment where as in TG UK half the time I have no idea where they are and probably miss some inside jokes because of it.

I couldn't believe that Skaify was faster than the other two V8 drivers, the way he chucked the Proton round the track I thought he was losing precious time for sure.

Steve (and Wazza's) time with the TG UK crew has seemed to help immensely as did Andy Wilman's time behind the scenes.

[logifuse]

I missed it thanks to the IceTV EPG changing the listing yesterday. I fired up my Media Center last night, double checked that it was scheduled & then went on with my pre-recorded viewing. Went to start watching it at 7:50 only to find it wasn't there. Turned out that the guide had updated in the mean time & the Media Center assumed SBS had changed the show to another show & didn't record it.

Fortunately my Channel BT recorder picked it up, so I'll have a look some time over the next couple of days. Good to read some positive reports.

[stuvik]

Yay! It's better!

Seeing the WWTT board crushed by the moke was brilliant! A nice symbolic gesture of them seeing the error of their ways.

The lack of news in last nights episode really wasn't missed. In the current climate it'd be mostly negative news anyway.

The ad recreation wasn't too bad despite the camera angles being a little awkward. Who'd have thought a thawed out chicken could bounce that high!

Skaife's interview was pretty good too. You could tell he was relaxed chatting with Warren. Had Charlie done the interview I'm sure it would've felt a lot more sterile.

The Melbourne to Portsea race was nice, although some of the lens filter work seemed misplaced. I guess they're still finding their feet with when to use them? Listening to Morrison laugh while pounding the waves with Warren clinging on for dear life was infectiously funny!

Overall I'm happy with the improvements. Let's see if they can keep it going for the whole series. 8/10 - By no means perfect but enormously better than last series.

[rowd22]

Great episode compared to last season. Thank goodness they got rid of Charlie, and the WWTT board!
Trampoline segment and the skaife interview were the best parts for me. I didnt expect the stuff they threw down to (nearly) make it into the car..! Funny stuff

Now im actually looking forward to next week, whatever they have planned.

[whitehornmatt]

Ratings for [02x01] (national, Syd, Mel, Bris, Adel, Perth):
25 Top Gear Australia SBS 689,000 235,000 196,000 119,000 62,000 76,000
I think this is what it was competing with:
17 How I Met Your Mother Seven 956,000 275,000 266,000 216,000 80,000 119,000/24 Scrubs - Mon Seven 773,000 277,000 *** 234,000 99,000 163,000
10 Recruits Ten 1,116,000 325,000 279,000 243,000 124,000 145,000 (and the last half of Masterchef, 4 Masterchef Australia Ten 1,331,000 350,000 423,000 248,000 157,000 153,000)
18 7.30 Report ABC1 926,000 325,000 256,000 153,000 77,000 116,000/13 Australian Story ABC1 1,057,000 366,000 290,000 186,000 82,000 133,000
16 Missing Pieces Nine 984,000 266,000 307,000 183,000 109,000 119,000

So it came last in its time slot. Possibly harmed by Football being on, so next week will see a bit more normal comparison.

Last week a repeat of the Top Gear Botswana Special [10x04]? got:
15 Top Gear Botswana Special Rpt SBS 991,000 280,000 339,000 182,000 91,000 99,000

[twarren]

Originally Posted by stiggie

There was no news. I'm going to miss that if it doesn't come back, its an integral part of TopGear.

The night I was there the producer said the ads were in lieu of a news segment.

[stiggie]

It was also competing with the new episode of Two and a Half Men that followed Missing Pieces-

Two And A Half Men Nine 1,262,000 318,000 435,000 231,000 115,000 162,000

and Scrubs, which followed How I Met Your Mother-

Scrubs - Mon Seven 773,000 277,000 *** 234,000 99,000 163,000

[Kiskaloo]

Gave it an 8.

A solid improvement on Series 1. I much prefer Jim over Charlie. Solid SIABSC with a nice interview before the actual lap. Glad to see "What We're They Thinking" sent to the Great Beyond. Good challenge. Nice of them to directly address some of the major viewer questions.

[Misfit]

loved it. it was like TG through and through, and I'm a Brit.

[rkc62]

I think the ratings might be affected by the lack of publicity. The local magazine ran an article on them, but I didn't notice a start date. I only found it by accident, as I scrolled through the channels looking for something else. Luckily it was near the start, but I doubt many would have known it was on. (Of course, the Botswana ep probably proves me wrong...)

I was impressed by the improvement - I always hated Cox, but I didn't expect this much improvement from all three of them - how much better was Pizatti than last year!
Highlights were Skaifey's gutted look - priceless, and the WWTT board. The WWTT board was just a perfect "Top Gear" moment and the perfect way to tell their audience that the team understands what needs to be done.

Kudos to the entire team.