Really a 7 or an 8...
The does a car make you sexier bit was... ... out of place. To me it seemed like a segment that somebody in management thought would make a really cool segment. It was a nice idea... but... the execution... was lacking.
Top Gear UK's mantra is ambitious but rubbish. When Jeremy, Richard, and May have an idea, they carry it all the way out... even if it's a bad idea. E.G. Convertible Mini-Van; Renault Avantime into a race car; amphibious cars. When Top Gear Australia has an idea that just isn't panning out or delivering, the idea just sort of drops.
The mail run challenge was another case where it was a great and brilliant idea... but it would have been better as a 3-way challenge that lasted the entire show with proper reviews and commentary on the cars used. I say 3-way because it honestly would have been better if Morrison had been along.
Earlier in the season, somebody commented that many of the Warren and Steve segments seem to have been filmed before Morrison was actually available, although I forget who. I also commented earlier in the season that the format of TopGear Australia was probably to blame for some of the problems. I think the format is also showing up as an issue with allotted time for filming. The electric cars challenge, for example, would have been better if the filming schedule had allowed Steve time to fix his car... rather than running with the oh kitty litter, it broke, end of challenge.
I got the strong feeling in the mail delivery challenge that once again, a tight filming schedule was to blame for the lack of a proper conclusion to the challenge... and it wasn't the only point of the show to suffer.
The 4x4 challenge also reeked of format cutting.. as evidenced by the montage of clips that lead to the 80-degree incline and Morrison loosing the top to his truck.
The Star in a Bog Standard Car... I actually thought was one of the better ones so far. Warren is slowly becoming a better interviewer. That being said, it wasn't as good as last week's where the constant snide comments back and forth (exactly like an old married couple, there's no sex; did you hear that? No cheer ; once again, no cheer) really delivered a stellar interview.
The Nissan GT-R... not an unexpected result.
***
Okay, with Season 2 probably wrapping up, as I think only 8 episodes were ordered for filming... it's probably time to start looking towards next season.
Now, we know (or heavily suspect) that Andy W. reads over the FinalGear forums... and I'm pretty sure Mr. Clarkson probably reads them as well. I'd also lay money that the Australian producers probably have links and might be checking out the episode reactions as well.
I think if Top Gear Australia is green-lighted for another season, under the SBS commercial format, the show would be better off cutting down the number of episode events. Specifically speaking for Episode 7, both the Mail Challenge and the 4x4 could have stood on their own if they hadn't been shoe-horned into the same episode. If the 4x4 segment had been dropped from Episode 7 and the Mail Challenge fleshed out with 3 different small cars and all three presenters, there's little doubt that the chemistry between the 3 presenters would have had some time to bloom. Some of my favorite moments from the show have been all 3 presenters interacting, e.g.: the trampoline into car commercial; the mexican hat dance.
Conversely, if the 4x4 challenge had been fleshed out, with all 3 presenters, and the challenges gone into with more depth... It could have been awesome as well. The montaging (is that a word?) and short-cutting is just shooting the show in it's rump.
Now, I can just hear some beancounter saying they can't do that, they need as much variety as possible in order to retain advertisers. There is some argument that due to the advent of Commercial Skipping technologies, not to mention the ages old technique of just switching the channel or turning the TV off, many viewers don't see the commercial breaks and only see stuff that's advertised in the show itself.
However, depending on in-show advertising is a bit... stupid. Several posts in this forum alone have mocked some of the apparent advertiser stunts... e.g. the Dewalt Drills and Morrion's Mitsubishi Evo. We aren't the only ones who have poked fun at the Evo, the show itself has poked the choice as well.
However, the rapid fire delivery and film shooting schedule is keeping Top Gear Australia from really having a chance to mature. Re-tuning the show for longer challenge segments might drop the amount of screen time for specific advertisers... but developing a larger audience that watches a show that's able to deliver and resolve on it's events... is a lot better than having no show at all to advertise on.