[02x04] December 29, 2017

[02x04] December 29, 2017

  • 10

    Votes: 4 7.0%
  • 9

    Votes: 4 7.0%
  • 8

    Votes: 11 19.3%
  • 7

    Votes: 10 17.5%
  • 6

    Votes: 8 14.0%
  • 5

    Votes: 6 10.5%
  • 4

    Votes: 7 12.3%
  • 3

    Votes: 5 8.8%
  • 2

    Votes: 2 3.5%
  • 1

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    57

Ayman

Active Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2010
Messages
330
Location
Rabat - Morocco
Saw that there was no thread yet. Had to get some thoughts out of my system before I completely forget about that episode.

Let's get the McLaren item out of the way. Not much to say, really. Run-of-the-mill review. Personally, I didn't like the profile with the spoiler down. It looks flattened.
Skipped celebrity bit, again.
Awards were a bit lazy? All TG awards segments had something memorable in them.
The elephant in the room is that scripted unscripted segment. I realise it was made as a joke but the reason I couldn't find it funny (apart from the fact most of what was in it wasn't funny) was that it hit a sore spot without taking it seriously. We know they know what we mean when we complain about the scriptedness. It's ruined more episodes than I can remember over the years and it's something we've learned to live with, but to miss the point (even for comic effect) made me a bit sad.
Also, I get a feeling that at this point James is really just doing it for the money (more so than Jezza & Hamster I mean). Most of the silly stuff they have him do is beneath him, to be honest. When he was 10 years younger and had luscious hair it was kind of endearing but now that he looks like he's getting on a bit, it just looks wrong and awkward most of the time.
Oh well, I still and will still watch TGT because I can't fall out of love with the trio, but I must say I don't care for it that much anymore.
6/10

Cheers,
Curious to know what you all think.
 
Lurker here. I agree with you about the clearly scripted “non scripted” film, it was an absolute mess and like they were sticking two fingers up at everyone who complained. I actually thought it was quite disrespectful to their loyal fans who followed TG for years.

Other than that I thought the McLaren and the celebs were ok.
 
+:
  • Even thought it was the most basic review that i've ever seen in years, it was ok, but not the best that they can do.
  • Conversation street: Nigel Awards, yep, reminded me of good old TG times
+-:
-:
  • CFO(Celebrity Face Off) ​​​​​​I always skip this segment
  • Unscripted segment, made almost turn off the TV at half of the show. Seriously what a waste of time.
R: 4/10

PS: The worst episode so far that i've ever seen with these 3 chaps. It makes the worse TG America episode look like a good episode.
 
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Ironically the "non scripted" segment shows off all the problems with their scripting. A completely unnecessary slap in the face to a group of already disappointed fans. I'll be sure to be completely literal with everything I say from now on though.
 
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What a clusterf ....

Even Mclaren review felt hollow and boring. I can't pinpoint why, i just know i didn't get any "feel" from it.

CFO was decent. 2/10
 
All the things that others found rubbish I enjoyed so much.

The Mclaren segment was okay.
The non scripted segment was hilarious and was used to show that a script i needed for a lot of the show sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
Celebrity Face Off actually had me laughing out loud
The Awards lets be honest they have always been silly when doing them.

All in all for me a solid 10, it had me laughing so many times and that is what I watch a film or something on the television to be entertained and that I most definitely was with this episode.

And as for the non scripted part being a slap in the face seriously I cant see that at all, if anything it shows that they take note of what people write and okay they did use it to make fun of the complaints its not the first and wont be the last, they did this sort of thing in TG as well now and again.
 
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daverobinson;n3543248 said:
All the things that others found rubbish I enjoyed so much.

The Mclaren segment was okay.
The non scripted segment was hilarious and was used to show that a script i needed for a lot of the show sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
Celebrity Face Off actually had me laughing out loud
The Awards lets be honest they have always been silly when doing them.

All in all for me a solid 10, it had me laughing so many times and that is what I watch a film or something on the television to be entertained and that I most definitely was with this episode.

And as for the non scripted part being a slap in the face seriously I cant see that at all, if anything it shows that they take note of what people write and okay they did use it to make fun of the complaints its not the first and wont be the last, they did this sort of thing in TG as well now and again.

+1
I hope no one takes the haters and trolls seriously
 
I thought that this episode was very good. The "non-scripted segment" was the most self-aware segment they've done in a while and I think they should be commended for that. It helped me appreciate the role of some scripting and hopefully they take a lesson from it.

The mclaren film was very good, but the point they made about the tires should be something they take more seriously when it comes to lap times.

One thing I wasn't has happy with was the filming of Jeremy's lap on the gravel track in Croatia. The camera angles were really picked to disguise the difficulty he was having driving on loose gravel and I think it would be worthwhile to show the hosts struggling with driving sometimes.
 
"At last, McLaren's technical perfection has been clothed in a way that does justice to the fizzing brilliance underneath."

Yeah, I've always found the modern McLarens a little...meh, like a softened Lamborghini with a weird melted face. The 720S is a step in the right direction, but still doesn't thrill me whatsoever. There still hasn't been a McLaren—or supercar in general—since the F1 LM that has dropped my jaw as much. It was really, really ridiculously good looking. ;) And stupid Jeremy always whined about the F1s. Haha.

In pro wrestling parlance, the unscripted stuff was a worked shoot. Another 'oh yeah, well how do you like this?' moment. Still, a bit of cheeky fun.

Skipped the celebrity segment yet again, having only watched the first one so far. Wish they'd just double the length of Conversation Street instead or something. (though sadly, the Nigel Awards were short and uninspired) Very few viewers would miss the celebrity segments if they were gone.

"Top drivers, such as myself." :D

The firefighting plane at the end was awesome.

6/10
 
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Even the best seasons of TG usually had one or weak episodes; I hope this one counts for TGT S2.

To me it was as bad as the Sweeney bit or low points of S19-22.
 
I was going to say that the unscripted segment was too scripted to be any good, but I see everybody already beat me to it.

:lol:
 
That was one badly scripted fake unscripted bit.

Low flying firefighter plane was pretty cool though.
 
Sounds like this is another Sweany and india party special. I’ll skip this episode then.
 
If only the writing was up to the level of the cinematography, these would be classics. As it is, I wonder if it's time to bring in professional writers, or get CHM to take comedy seriously again and improve the quality.

And may I say that while in general I have no issue with the new driver, there's not much personality or aggressiveness in the lap - very uninspiring. I wonder how much it throws off comparisons with last years times. The 720S being no faster than the 650S? I doubt it (yes, I'm factoring in the tires).

I voted 8, mostly for the visuals and the start/finish.
 
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Dear Chumps,

Nice one, chaps. Way to underestimate the intelligence of your loyal audience and simultaneously waste an opportunity to showcase one of the best looking countries in Europe. That wasn't satire, it was a lame "fuck you" to loyal fans who simply care about the quality of your product.

Yes, we on FG and others on the TG website over the years have complained about certain scripted elements but we aren't stupid or naive enough to believe that good television can happen without meticulous planning and a wealth of good ideas.

The main complaint has always been and still will be the lame gags that an 8 year old can see coming a mile away in thick fog, perpetrated by two-dimensional caricatures of three guys we know to be highly skilled and intelligent, pretending to be utter buffoons.

The India "Special" years ago was bad enough, but that only made us cringe in embarrassment for you. This year you gave us a very Merry Christmas last week, but followed it up with a "Screw You" New Year.

Not big, not clever and certainly not funny.
 
MWF;n3543316 said:
Dear Chumps,

Nice one, chaps. Way to underestimate the intelligence of your loyal audience and simultaneously waste an opportunity to showcase one of the best looking countries in Europe. That wasn't satire, it was a lame "fuck you" to loyal fans who simply care about the quality of your product.
...
Not big, not clever and certainly not funny.

But the thing is, it sort of proves their point.

The point being, "Scripted" = good TV, "Unscripted" = bad TV.

For every "true fan" who "isn't stupid or naive enough to believe that good television can happen without meticulous planning and a wealth of good ideas," there are 10 who never really think about these things, who assume that boys' best stuff is "off the cuff" and happens on the fly.

In other words, the complaints about "too much scripted stuff" got to the point where the GT writing and production staff just said, "okay, let's show you what happens when we 'do what the fans ask' and not rely on our usual scripting practices." Or, in other words, all the fans, true and otherwise, who publicly said they weren't funny because they were "too scripted" gave them permission to put out a lesser-quality show.

Solution? Simple. It's not "stop complaining about the show being too scripted." It's "explain why a joke didn't work -- you've overused 'too scripted' as a synonym for 'bad' so often, it's now officially meaningless. Be more specific about how a joke falls flat for you."

As for Abbie Eaton -- no, I'm not going to complain about Clarkson not talking more about her. They remember what happened with the American and are applying that lesson: let the driving and the car speak for itself.
 
TopGearNorthAmerica;n3543326 said:
In other words, the complaints about "too much scripted stuff" got to the point where the GT writing and production staff just said, "okay, let's show you what happens when we 'do what the fans ask' and not rely on our usual scripting practices." Or, in other words, all the fans, true and otherwise, who publicly said they weren't funny because they were "too scripted" gave them permission to put out a lesser-quality show.

I disagree. This entire episode, and "Celebrity Brain Crash" last season reminded me of when a parent tells a child to put their shoes on because they have to go to the doctor's office, and the child doesn't want to go so they put their shoes on their hands. The child knew what the parent meant, but instead of following directions normally, they deliberately do it in a way to annoy the parent and that doesn't accomplish anything.

Don't want celebrity interviews? Fine, we'll have a ten minute segment where we pretend to kill celebrities in really obvious ways with lame one liners and gags.

Don't want the shows to be too scripted? Fine, we'll write a script where we pretend not to have a script and show you why a script is necessary.



I enjoy 99% of what they've put out over the years, and I thought that seasons 20-22 had some of the best stuff they've ever made. But The Grand Tour has had some of the worst. It just seems like they drag everything out for far too long. The punchline of a joke should come just before the audience is about to figure out the joke, and then they should move on. It feels like I'm being hit over the head with jokes that we've seen coming a mile away. I bet if they were to make that British Leyland challenge today that instead of having 2 of the doors on Jeremy's car fall off they would have had all 4 doors and the boot lid fall off at various times. It was funny the first time, maybe the second time, but it gets old seeing everything they do go wrong. Especially when they plan it to go wrong on purpose.
 
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That definitely felt like an insult to me. They know what the complaints were about, certainly nobody ever complained that the show was too organised.

720S review was OK, never liked the look of any of their new cars though. Celeb section was pretty good as it always has been this season. Awards were fine, sounds like Hammond really is a liability sometimes.
 
Definitely my least favourite episode of this series. Like most I felt that the unscripted bit was too badly scripted to be funny. My biggest question, though, was why was James there for the "Awards"? He barely got to say/do anything.
 
TopGearNorthAmerica;n3543326 said:
But the thing is, it sort of proves their point.

The point being, "Scripted" = good TV, "Unscripted" = bad TV.

For every "true fan" who "isn't stupid or naive enough to believe that good television can happen without meticulous planning and a wealth of good ideas," there are 10 who never really think about these things, who assume that boys' best stuff is "off the cuff" and happens on the fly.

In other words, the complaints about "too much scripted stuff" got to the point where the GT writing and production staff just said, "okay, let's show you what happens when we 'do what the fans ask' and not rely on our usual scripting practices." Or, in other words, all the fans, true and otherwise, who publicly said they weren't funny because they were "too scripted" gave them permission to put out a lesser-quality show.

Solution? Simple. It's not "stop complaining about the show being too scripted." It's "explain why a joke didn't work -- you've overused 'too scripted' as a synonym for 'bad' so often, it's now officially meaningless. Be more specific about how a joke falls flat for you."

As for Abbie Eaton -- no, I'm not going to complain about Clarkson not talking more about her. They remember what happened with the American and are applying that lesson: let the driving and the car speak for itself.

It would have proven their point if they had actually done an unscripted "adventure" but instead they just scripted a poorly put together one that they said was unscripted. It was totally fake, so it doesn't represent what a truly unscripted and off the cuff show would be like. Definitely the dumbest and least entertaining segment from them in a long time....maybe ever. At least they didn't waste it on better cars. I like the Aerial thing but would still take an Atom over it since there are better offroader vehicles for the price and the Audi certainly doesn't cause any sort of "Fizz" for me despite it having all the elements needed.

I like the McLaren for the most part, but I think the headlights are SUPER ugly and disproportionate. The rest is pretty and I like it, but its feels largely iterative despite it being "91% new". Don't get me wrong, I'd still love to have and drive it, but its not my favorite McLaren. Not that it matters since I'm no where near being able to afford one, but it sort of feels like McLaren are the 90%ers...meaning that they seem to get 90% right but that last 10% is enough to ruin it for me. I think I'd still get a Huracan or 911R or T or something over any McLaren right now.

I like the other segments just fine, and despite only rarely knowing who the guests are, I'm a fan in general of people just sitting down and talking about stuff.
 
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