[02x02] May 18th, 2009

[logifuse]

Well I'm enjoying this series much more, gave both episodes an 8 (but felt they were probably 8.5). I'm no longer watch the show cringing. The fact that there's no "Clarkson-lite" anymore removes a lot of the TGUK comparisons in my mind.

When Ian Moss walked out last night, I said to my wife, "this will be a tough interview" as he's a very hard guy to get to open up. Warren actually did a great job.

[Doctor Blade]

I always skip the Interviews, so I can't comment there.

I liked the rest of it. Good effort!

[Sik02Stang]

Originally Posted by tone76

I think the decision of TGA's producers to drop the news in favour of a stunt is a good thing, although I suspect if news was to make a comeback, it would be much better with the current TGA3 than it was in Season 1.

And I had the scariest thought then ... imagine the Ian Moss interview, only with Charlie Cox doing the interviewing ...

First off, listen, charlie cox doing anything on tv makes me sick. im very glad i live in America and i there is no chance ill be flipping the channels someday and run into him. GOD!

Second, i agree, everything is better than season 1. im one of those people that is a TG fan, and, unlike most fans of stuff, like say, sports, i dont leave early when my team is losing, i stick through it cuz im a FAN! now, with that said, that means that, no matter how bad something is, i stick through it and give it a chance. my point is, i watched all of the first season,or, as i like to call it, really bad rehersals for this new season, im calling this one the first season! as i sad last week though, there are things that are part of the Top Gear formula, the Stig, the Challenges (and how they are executed) and the News. if they lose the time used on the commercial segment and, as i said before, the model T segment, they could have fit in the News. just a thought. it one thingi look forward to every week with TGUK.

you see something going wrong and you know it will be mentioned on The News Segment. its just fun.

[Icedvovo]

Originally Posted by dophoto

trust me the drills were real and were in place. I was at the recording and he had a stack of re chargers in the back on the tray for a quick swap for the batteries. They took two takes of that last bit where he tried to get it working twice. Just incase it got working again, cause he originally forgot to flick a switch to turn it opn. lol

Curiouser and curiouser.

I trust that you saw what you saw, and thanks for that.

It still doesn't explain why they would go all that engineering effort and then not show it in place in all its glory. It makes no sense logically. Unless of course it was merely a 'prop'. Which is what you saw.

There's a 'ruse' of some sort happening. It's just a matter of the degree.

PS: Did you get any pics?

[Evan]

Gave it a 7 again this week.

They just arent loose enough in their presentation. It all seems very rehersed. The review of the Super Clubby was good, although it could have been a bit more ballanced (far too many positives for a car that looks as ugly as that).

I think that the electric car challenge would have ben better if they had no idea of what the other person had brought or what he was doing.

Not fussed about the reversing challenge.

Over all the signs are there for this to be a truly great motoring show, the presenters just need to relax and enjoy themselves. The relationship between them will get better and this will translate to shits and giggles for all.

[aussie_eagle2512]

I will give this week a 8 once again, probably on balance slightly worse than last week but thats mainly due to the surprise factor of last week and how it was such a obvious improvement over the 1st series. Now rather than directly trying to imitate the UK presenter team they are starting to form their own style (both presenting and segment wise) and this is necessary if the show is to work at all let alone be generally entertaining. You cannot just pick three people who you think might be suitable and expect them to be Australianised clones of someone else.

In the previous series in the news segment their loud over-excitable voices (except Warren talked a little bit better) and hard attempts at outright humour was very embarassing indeed and were put in the direct spotlight in the segment. Though I think the new trio would do a better job at it its probably best to leave it until they find their feet in the studio segments.

I am liking how with the reviews they are taking on more of a serious Fifth Gear style but talking in a exciteable (not OVER-excitable) way to make it easy to watch. As time draws on and we get more comfortable with the presenters they could start to branch out a bit perhaps and express their inner-child's more. The more quiet attempts at humour definately bring a smile to my face and for a show thats trying to find its place this is a very good move. At this stage of the game I'd much rather they give me a smile then try and make me LOL.

The SIABSC segment didn't seem very engaging but this I suspect as said before was mainly the guest rather than on Warren's part who was making a good effort and combined with last week has shown himself to be probably the best for the interview bit (though I dispute the appearance of this segment altogether).

The Model T segment arguably was the best of the show and the Stig's drive was well done and definately shows the producing team or whoever does it definately has a imagination.

[Icedvovo]

This is the sound of me peddling backwards.

After watching the ep in detail, it would seem there was actually drills in that thar Mighty Boy, they just never showed how they were hooked up in any great detail. Can't for the life of me think why not. Isn't that the crux of the story?

Anyway, I took another screen cap of the drills in situ on the track.



EDIT: I think I've worked it out, and it's the combined perils of no budget and having to rely on corporate sponsorship to get stuff done. Mmmkay. DeWalt are in the credits, so it's safe to assume they supplied the drills free under some sort of 'contra' deal. The problem is, that one (or maybe all) of those drills has had a catastrophic failure. And showing that wouldn't be good for the brand, now would it?

[TopGearJB007]

Holden Review: Boring.
Old Commercials: Boring.
SIABSC: Skipped.
Model T: Enjoyed.
Backwards Race: Boring.
Electric Cars: Interesting.

...I gave it a 6.

[CraigoT]

Originally Posted by Icedvovo

A 36v Cordless DeWalt is about $250. But it doesn't matter. They only had the one drill we saw.

And someone will no doubt be able to work the math regarding the inability for 4 drills to move a car. And then there was the trigger setup....

Fake.

Trigger setup would be the easiest part. dissemble the drill handle and wire them up to some relays.

The drill option would definitely be do-able I believe. multiple drills plus they are already internally geared down. Well you can easily move a car about with the starter motor and thats with the engine under compression.

Having said that if I think I would just go for a couple of starter motors. Actually just remove you spark plugs and you have an instant hybrid... with limited range.

Hmmmm I wonder what speed you could get up to with some gear changes. Would just need to keep the starter motor cool..... Think my afternoon is planned.

[Sik02Stang]

Originally Posted by TopGearJB007

Holden Review: Boring.
Old Commercials: Boring.
SIABSC: Skipped.
Model T: Enjoyed.
Backwards Race: Boring.
Electric Cars: Interesting.

...I gave it a 6.

Wow, awsome review!

Now, please explain WHY they were boring to you. This is a discussion, so, discuss...

As far as the Drill issue. those things had heavy torque and all you reallyneed to do is get the wheels turning then the momentum will help the drills move the car up to speed, im sure they figured that 4 would cut it, as faras saying it was fake, i dont agree, im really do think that it was just him forgetting to hit a button. thats just me.

[Fleetfoot]

Loved the kingswood running like that.
Hated the TGAU style failure and yet pushing it as a challenge, please from now either make sure both go and there's a challenge or don't make it a challenge. We had a few in the first episodes like that too, all built up as a race or challenge and then there's just nothing.

't Was ok. gave it a 7 as I still compare it to TGUK "tgness"

[TopGearJB007]

It's called a Quick Reply for a reason.

Holden Review: Boring. They always seem to review the same Holden (The one the G8 was based on.) It gets old fast.

Old Commercials: Boring. Really no point to it. It is a poor replacement for the News or WWTT segments. Now I know they are trying to separate themselves from TGUK, but I mean really, old commercials? C'mon, you can do better than that.

Model T: Enjoyed. It was cool to see how technology has changed since 100 years ago.

Backwards Race: Boring. It didn't have enough depth to it. It seemed too short and afterthoughtish.

Electric Cars: Interesting. The car running on drills was really fun to watch.

[Icedvovo]

Originally Posted by Sik02Stang

....as faras saying it was fake, i dont agree, im really do think that it was just him forgetting to hit a button. thats just me.

Yep, I've moved away from my original assessment of fake. Now leaning towards brand-name catastrophic failure.

Which I now want to see!!!

[Sik02Stang]

Originally Posted by Icedvovo

Yep, I've moved away from my original assessment of fake. Now leaning towards brand-name catastrophic failure.

Which I now want to see!!!

i would even go as far as to call it a Learning moment for the production team.

i know we all think they are trying to seperate themselves from the UK team, but, i would kinda like to be a fly on the wall when they screen these eppisodes for the UK production/presenters.

[Kiskaloo]

Gave this one a 7 (last week was an 8).

SIARPC segment was a bit dull (though still miles better then TG: Russia's attempts).

The electric car challenge was a neat idea, but I would have preferred a bit more "cocking about" in the "Top Gear Australia Technology Center". I also would have liked it better if Steve (who I believe was noted to have taken engineering at University) had come up with a more workable idea so that there would have been an actual competition.

Trying to drive the Model T was amusing, but I knew from the TG:UK episode where James May and Jeremy Clarkson traced the evolution of systems we now take for granted in modern cars that the machine was bass-ackwards in terms of control functionality and layout.

All-in-all, still a steady show with clear signs of improvement and progress over Series 1.

[Icedvovo]

Originally Posted by Sik02Stang

i would even go as far as to call it a Learning moment for the production team.

I'll go as far as to say it was "Un-TopGear" and "Un-Australian" for Steve to give up on the challenge simply because he had to pull the cradle apart to replace the drills.

How many times have the real TG rebuilt cars out on the road (Supercars) or in the desert (Oliver, Lancia) to finish the challenge against all the odds. And Pissanti can't be arsed undoing a few bolts!!

That's not the Anzac spirit boys!

(Oh and they should stop Warren wearing a watch. According to his watch, he more than halved the Oran Park lap record. D'oh!)

[camsinny]

Hmmm.
When I was watching the ep I didn't enjoy it as much as S2E1, but now in afterthought it wasn't AS bad as I thought it was.

Still, It wasn't that great. Clubby section was interesting, really good to see them pointing out that the ricers are just that, putting bigger wheels on != better. (3sec a lap? wow)

I agree that the ad segment is a little flimsy, there's not enough banter behind it. I did laugh at the "mid-life chrysler" though in light of the current situation.

Model T was a little boring for me, Warren seemed to help steve a little too much. I would have enjoyed seeing him break his arm though, that would have been hilarious.

Interview was tough, but I think warren pulled it off well, I didn't like the blatant plug though, that wasn't cool.

Challenge was interesting. It was a little disappointing to see steve just sit there in the race, would have been good to see him sabotage/cheat. But I laughed when it failed in the studio.

All in all, one rung down on last week, but still enjoyable.
7/10

[Sik02Stang]

Well, i cant speak for you guys down there, the whole challenge, if you can really call it that and not just a sponser plug that went terribly wrong, would have been sooooo much better if he had kept it in the spirit of the top gear attitude and said, hell, ill fix it! i half expected to hear that and then see then do the race a second try. disappointing, but, oh well, waaaayyyybetter than anything they did during that horrible attempt at filming this years dress rehersal last year!

[awdrifter]

The Holden HSV Superclubbie review was good, and I love how they pointed out that 22in wheels on a car drastically lowers performance.

The electric car challenge started out great, but it ended kinda weak. They probably didn't have enough money to fix Steve's car, but they could've planned it better. The drills are not nearly strong enough to power a car. Each drill wouldn't even provide 1hp.

The Model T bit was pretty cool, they should've also shown what the other pedals were for, and which one was the brake. Loved the lap on the track, that was hilarious.

Overall, I liked this week's ep better than last week's, 8/10.

[kekekeke]

the bird behind the power lap board during the r8 segment is a stunner.