CrzRsn
So long, and thanks for all the fish
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2005
- Messages
- 17,444
- Location
- Motor City, Michigan
- Car(s)
- 13 Ford Mustang GT, 17 Ford Fiesta ST
Columbia Special part 1 is up. Share your thoughts here.
So much cringe, especially the first 25 minutes. Either I am getting old or this formula is getting very worn out.
Nothing funny, hardly anything about the cars, a wasted opportunity, at least part 1.
8/10
It was what they've always been good at: Driving through foreign countries with nice landscapes, pissing each other off, mocking each others' cars, getting themselves into trouble and/or dangerous situations why generally being silly manchilds. Has been this way ever since Series 7 of Top Gear with their trip through France in three super cars.
Yet they ruin it with scripted comedy bullshit that nobody believes or finds funny. Then add insult to injury by doing that appalling "unscripted" BS in Croatia.
We are intelligent people and we all get that good TV doesn't happen by accident but the best TG moments always came from when it felt natural - get XYZ cars from A to B and do a damned good edit of what happens when 3 mates takes 3 shit cars on a road trip. Sure, create the situations on the way but stop scripting the lame fail for cheap laughs.
It's embarrassing. For us and them.
They seem to have gotten rid of the things that people hated most (celebrity stuff, forced comedy and annoying scripted slapstick). But if you leave that out and simply film what the three of them are doing, without artificially creating funny situations, it's possible that funny situations don't always happen.
If I stopped liking something, I wouldn't watch it anymore, no matter how much I once loved it. I won't go on watching it, only to be disappointed and frustrated. I did that with Doctor Who, which I stopped watching after Series 9 when the scripts kept getting worse and worse. Now I can't be bothered with it anymore. I rather re-watch the old episodes than hoping for good new ones.
So, if someone has stopped liking what CHM are doing, why waste precious lifetime by still watching it, knowing they'll be disappointed anyway? Go on and re-watch the old Top Gear episodes over and over again to satisfy your nostalgia.
I still like what they are doing because I think what they do now, isn't better or worse than what they'd have done with Top Gear. And so far season 3 of The Grand Tour hasn't disappointed me. They seem to have gotten rid of the things that people hated most (celebrity stuff, forced comedy and annoying scripted slapstick). But if you leave that out and simply film what the three of them are doing, without artificially creating funny situations, it's possible that funny situations don't always happen.
I liked the running gag with moving the Fiat Panda at night, I liked the whole Colombia special, I liked that they still don't shy away from putting themselves into danger, I like The Grand Tour as a show. And I'm not alone: On Rotten Tomatoes, The Grand Tour has an audience score of 95%, as opposed to last season's Doctor Who, which is currently at 21%. It shows that my choices have been right so far.
Might not be as bad as the India trip.....