[01x07] November 10th, 2008

[01x07] November 10th, 2008


  • Total voters
    101
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?

Ah, but it's not the top selling petrol in its class, is it? Granted, the top selling petrol in the Small class in Australia (Toyota Corolla) doesn't have a diesel equivalent, but plenty of the runners up in the class do.

I would have let it slide if it was a decent enough segment. But it wasn't. It was The Car Show bad. It's as if the producers of TGA thought 'oh shit, we're out of ideas, what do we do?' and someone from SBS's Marketing department went 'Advertorial!'.

If the Bog Standard car gets mysteriously replaced by a Skoda Fabia as soon as it's released in Australia early next year, that would REALLY take the biscuit ...
 
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.

I reckon it's Pre-Production time they're lacking. The Post is looking good.

They're rushing the entire process and missing the important early steps. Like planning.
 
Or how about getting some decent on screen talent ??


The camera work on the GTR segment was great, in fact it made the rest of the show look bad because it was the best thing in the episode.

I cant get over the talent,or lack of, on the show, or all AU shows, its like there a gene missing in Australian TV hosts where they are all cardboard,unfunny,lacking in testicular fortitude, gormless PC twits.
Based on longevity, the most popular would be Bert Newton and Rove, and they both share the same lame gay humour, pull silly faces and do little dances in an effort to entertain.
Its just shameful thay someone pays them money for that crap year after year...

Break out the real talent if there is any in this country.
Any of the 3 UK guys seem like they could entertain a room of people at a party. Theyre opinionated and importantly, complete men. They know who they are and arent afraid to say and do what they believe, or the opposite for a laugh. Each one would be a great person to chat with for an hour or two.

Now look at the 3 Au guys and what have we got to choose from there ??
If you met them 2 years ago at a BBQ which one would you listen to for an hour?
Ego-Man ?
The slightly creepy little one,
or maybe the one who owns a fire engine? ((wow))
Its a tough ask because youre trying to pick the least annoying one.

On air they have no opinion, no individual identity, no professionalism, no personality, no presence and it cant all be the producers fault for telling them what to say all the time.
I havent heard anyone say (of the presenters) ....that any one of them is great.
Sometimes good, getting better, mildly amusing etc...but theres no fan club web site set up for Cox now is there?

Its not a fuckin school holiday Drama Camp for shy kiddies, pull your fingers out and DO something to entertain us if you can.. Maybe in the off-season go and get acting lessons for a start. Or just copy someone who has talent.

The 3 of them just cant cut it on TV, and ugly guys on TV usually need to be more gifted,charming and talented. Whats keeping you 3 employed ??

Unbelieveably,these hollow-men are meant to be professional presenters and the 3 Aussies arent equal to one English guy.
People dont come back to a show for the camera angles, we need confident people with passion and personality to front TGAU and give it a strong presence.
 
Last edited:
I reckon it's Pre-Production time they're lacking. The Post is looking good.

They're rushing the entire process and missing the important early steps. Like planning.

Hopefully they do a lot more planning and filming before series 2 starts so there's more content for them to play with with compiling each show.

...We're all going to have to live with the arm flailing aren't we? :cry:
 
...We're all going to have to live with the arm flailing aren't we? :cry:

Rule one. Put your hands in your pockets and leave them there.

Rule two. Look into the camera and not in its general direction. ( for Studio and car reviews.)

Rule three. When you have finished talking, dont keep darting looks at the other hosts like youre nervous.(Steve does this all the time.)
Instead, Look forward in a confident manner ,(like Hammond) await your next cue calmly and dont fidget. ( Leave hands in Pockets.)
 
Last edited:
There's an even more important 'Rule Number 1' if you're going to be on this type of television show.

Be entertaining!

All three of the hosts on Top Gear UK are entertaining, passionate, intelligent, endearing in their own quirky ways... and sharp and fast with their wit.

Charlie is like an old bottle of wine that's past its use-by date. I doubt it was even a good wine to begin with. Steve is like a wine that has yet to reach full maturity. And Warren is like a wine that plays the banjo.
 
I actually rate Warren as a good bit of talent.

I reckon he'd be grinding his teeth at some of the pap they're producing. He'd have some great ideas, and if they're not listening to him more, what chance is there?
 
Explain to me what you mean by "soul".

No passion. No vibe. No "I like/dislike this car". It was cold, but not even clincal. Sleep inducing even.

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

The Rangerover Sport vs tank - he genuinely got away a dozen times, & if it wasn't genuine, then there wasn't an obvious shot where he was in the sights for 20 seconds (until the end).

Compare that to last night's "spectacular" - they had lenghty shots where they would have been canon fodder. The cinematography fanboys were creaming themselves over it - WTF? It was either rubbish camera work, poor editing or just poorly planned. Or more likely a combo of all 3.

I've been thinking about the whole staged/unstaged argument. It doesn't matter if something staged, it's when it looks staged that's the problem. When TGA bombs out, it's usually down to that. I know TGUK stages things all the time, but they pull it off. Why? Because they've built up to it over time. As they've grown in their personas, so have their stunts. TGA is trying to sprint before they can walk.
 
good show this week. Nice camera work on the GT-R. 7/10. It will be weird not seeing Wazza on the telly two weeks from now.
 
There's an even more important 'Rule Number 1' if you're going to be on this type of television show.

Be entertaining!

All three of the hosts on Top Gear UK are entertaining, passionate, intelligent, endearing in their own quirky ways... and sharp and fast with their wit.

Charlie is like an old bottle of wine that's past its use-by date. I doubt it was even a good wine to begin with. Steve is like a wine that has yet to reach full maturity. And Warren is like a wine that plays the banjo.

I totally agree BOLLY, its the base level of talent that controls how well it matures. Some people are just made to be entertainers, like The Class Clown syndrome. But for all of our suppossed Aussie larrikan culture, we are a very conformist society.
We make East Germany look progressive.

Australia doesnt celebrate personality or opinionated people, all too often called bigmouths or bullshit artists. We are a country of very self absorbed people, with an inferiority complex and tall poppy syndrome. e.g. Im stupid, so why are you any good ?

We've got a huge country and little social competition, so we are kinda lazy and tend to move on than start something that might involve trouble or effort.
All of that results in a society with few core beliefs and a long established claim that we all deserve The Good Life irrespective of talent or application.
Being entertaining takes effort and thats just not the Australian Way, so its no surprise that we arent a particularly entertaining or interesting population.

So maybe these 3 guys are a good cross section of Australians. Not entertaining but then, neither are we...

People from the UK are generally sharper, warmer, chattier. Maybe we shouldve had UK guys host the AU show ??
 
<snip> It will be weird not seeing Wazza on the telly two weeks from now.

Yeah, I he is growing on me.

Oddly, a couple of the girls at work (people whose opinions I respect) hate his guts .... nothing to do with Top Gear either. I've tried to discover the source of this hatred and got nowhere. I'm not sure if it is anything to do with his newspaper cartooning or previous TV appearances ... they won't give me any help .... I'm beginning to wonder (although not believe) whether his "Dirty Sanchez" mo is speaking more to his character than one might otherwise think. :think:
 
STIG_mata, I'm sure the right people for the job must be out there somewhere. It's just that they weren't chosen for the job. The producers of Top Gear Australia seem to have gone for what they assumed would be "safe" choices... and as a result what they got was a weak result.

I suspect it's also probably true that Charlie was picked by the BBC, because over in the UK, he would have seemed like "an Aussie who knew something about cars" and maybe somebody thought he was funny. I don't. I reckon he's about as appealing as George W.... and the sooner he's voted out the better. Warren and Steve leave me with mixed feelings, some positive - some negative, but they're always more natural when Charlie's not around.

Realistically, I can't see all three hosts being replaced. It would be too big a hit to start again with an entirely new cast. But Charlie's my biggest beef and if he was replaced, then there would be some hope on the horizon!
 
I'm beginning to wonder (although not believe) whether his "Dirty Sanchez" mo is speaking more to his character than one might otherwise think. :think:

Hah! That's a classic bit of detective work if ever I've seen (or heard?) about it!

Wazza Sanchez. The Musky Mo Man!!! :mrgreen:
 
Maybe if they chose a UK guy who gives a shit about the show rather than seeing it as another page on his resume.


STIG_mata, I'm sure the right people for the job must be out there somewhere. It's just that they weren't chosen for the job. The producers of Top Gear Australia seem to have gone for what they assumed would be "safe" choices... and as a result what they got was a weak result.

Yes , the producers got it wrong first up, now theyre locked in and we are stuck with them.
If the producers had balls, they would axe one and that would surely make the other pep up a bit.



I suspect it's also probably true that Charlie was picked by the BBC, because over in the UK, he would have seemed like "an Aussie who knew something about cars" and maybe somebody thought he was funny. I don't. I reckon he's about as appealing as George W.... and the sooner he's voted out the better. Warren and Steve leave me with mixed feelings, some positive - some negative, but they're always more natural when Charlie's not around.

Yes again, Charlie seems to be the ring-in, but it was the worst choice of all. Warren and Steve ARE better than Cox, but thats not saying much at all.


Realistically, I can't see all three hosts being replaced. It would be too big a hit to start again with an entirely new cast. But Charlie's my biggest beef and if he was replaced, then there would be some hope on the horizon!

As Cox is the teachers pet I dont see him going, but his lack of appeal is almost universal.
 
Last edited:
We do, and it's generally accepted that he's the worst of the TGA3.


+1 :lol:

That's one of the big problems with Charlie. He doesn't come across as Australian at all. He make a far better "whinging Pom."

As for Brits being "generally sharper, warmer, chattier".... hmmmm. In my experience, I find they're generally grey, sombre and not very funny at all. But having said that, that ones that do "make it" as entertainers are often classics.
 
As Cox is the teachers pet I dont see him going, but his lack of appeal is almost universal.

As "teacher" no doubt wants better ratings REAL bad, I'd say his death warrant is probably already being circulated for signatures.
 
sorry for slight change in topic - but i cant seem to find this episode anywhere? its not even on here on finalgear!
 
No torrent is yet available for this episode ricostuart.
 
Top