[13x04] July 12th, 2009

[13x04] July 12th, 2009


  • Total voters
    482
I gave it 10/10.

I thought the news was hilarious, the SIARPC was really great and entertaining (and fast!!). The Renault vs Focus was a great segment, but I'd easily choose the Focus. Who needs a super light impractical car (no a/c, radio!?) when you can get a very nicely equipped car which is almost as fast?

The challenge was really brilliant imho. I found it very exciting, and nice that the boys lost for once! Of course I'm sure that the mail had some kind of "priority" (and clearly a postman picked it up seconds after they deposited it etc) but that doesn't detract from it.

I loved the army segment! What amazing vehicles the army has! The point was not whether it was scripted or not, it was purely showing off the British army's vehicle power. My jaw dropped seeing that bridge vehicle! That was stunning. And that mine clearer was so evil!

People complaining that it was staged that Clarkson was not in the vehicle when it was destroyed must get a life! What do they expect?? That Clarkson IS in the vehicle? That we see Clarkson clearly exiting the vehicle and THEN it is crushed? That the vehicle isn't crushed at all? Some things are just put there for dramatic effect. No need to be skeptical, it is obvious. People would say that the segment was boring if nothing happened.

So overall a very solid episode in my opinion, and I think that reading the comments here shows how you absolutely cannot make everybody happy! Ok, maybe the polar episode or the veyron race or something really epic is an exception...
 
The army bit just seemed like a giant army recruitment propaganda ad. But, overall, a decent episode
 
Sensitive people get all upset when they see the word FUCK, so I should be removing all instances of FUCK from this post.

This post has a long and exciting history, so if it doesn't seem to make any sense to you, ignore it :mrgreen:

Oh, wait, I forgot one thing. Fuckings fly out to those who negrepped my for my original post, worse still, without signing it.
 
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I gave it 6/10.

This was due to the SIARPC and the news segment. And i just didn't get the army part. Don't get me wrong, it was all very entertaining, but not in the way TG usually delivers. But that's just my opinion. Can't wait for the next episode!
 
Clarkson is entertaining but they should have got a real rally driver for the segment. Ken Block was on last week and is coming back later in the season. Would have loved to have seen Makinen on this one.
 
7/10 for me.

First, I don't rate 10/10 unless it is 100% all the way through perfect on every level. I think maybe 1 or 2 shows are 10/10. I mean, why rate them if you're going to always pick 10/10? I think if you are one of those who is 10/10 every single episode you need to rescale your ranking system, otherwise how can you ever remark that a particular episode was especially good?

The RS/R26R was good, but did you at any point really believe the two cars were really equal enough to warrant side-by-side comparisons? Of course the Renault is going to be faster on the track (it's got plastic windows and scaffolding!) and of course the Ford is going to be more comfortable (it's got sat nav and a bit boot!). The outcome wasn't at all a surprise. I wish they'd of spent more on reviewing the individual cars separately rather than mashing it up into a "this is better" "no this is better" bit.

Enjoyed the Panamera race. I like those long trips where by the end the driver(s) has a changed opinion. Big journeys where you really get to test all facets of the car. The behind-the-scenes technical bits annoyed me. They couldn't have had some sort of digital tracking device in the letter since it was A) too small and B) wouldn't be allowed on the airplane. I figure either the camera team followed the letter and updated their location as needed and someone back at TG's central office updated some web site with the last know coordinates of the letter, or they got a waiver from the Royal Mail and sent out a package (and the letter was just for show) which contained some kind of GPS tracking device. I'd really like to know which it was; those sorts of behind-the-scene details interest me.

Usain Bolt was surprisingly interesting. Can't believed he rolled that M3 and didn't injure himself. Lucky guy.

The Army segment bugs me. It was fun watching the Evo do a bit of rally course work across the dirt. Those big powerslides were fun to watch. But trying to tell me they used live ammo while Jeremy was still in the car is just insulting my intelligence. No way the BBC or the Army's health & safety would ever allow such a thing. Same with that whole portrayal that Jeremy is in the car when it's being crunched. Don't insult my intelligence. You really don't need to. It's still entertaining without this silly plot. Leave the movie fluff to Hollywood and stick to cars and the natural presenting abilities of your presenters. It will be funny and entertaining and it won't feel painfully fake.
 
7/10 for me.

First, I don't rate 10/10 unless it is 100% all the way through perfect on every level. I think maybe 1 or 2 shows are 10/10. I mean, why rate them if you're going to always pick 10/10? I think if you are one of those who is 10/10 every single episode you need to rescale your ranking system, otherwise how can you ever remark that a particular episode was especially good?

The RS/R26R was good, but did you at any point really believe the two cars were really equal enough to warrant side-by-side comparisons? Of course the Renault is going to be faster on the track (it's got plastic windows and scaffolding!) and of course the Ford is going to be more comfortable (it's got sat nav and a bit boot!). The outcome wasn't at all a surprise. I wish they'd of spent more on reviewing the individual cars separately rather than mashing it up into a "this is better" "no this is better" bit.

Enjoyed the Panamera race. I like those long trips where by the end the driver(s) has a changed opinion. Big journeys where you really get to test all facets of the car. The behind-the-scenes technical bits annoyed me. They couldn't have had some sort of digital tracking device in the letter since it was A) too small and B) wouldn't be allowed on the airplane. I figure either the camera team followed the letter and updated their location as needed and someone back at TG's central office updated some web site with the last know coordinates of the letter, or they got a waiver from the Royal Mail and sent out a package (and the letter was just for show) which contained some kind of GPS tracking device. I'd really like to know which it was; those sorts of behind-the-scene details interest me.

Usain Bolt was surprisingly interesting. Can't believed he rolled that M3 and didn't injure himself. Lucky guy.

The Army segment bugs me. It was fun watching the Evo do a bit of rally course work across the dirt. Those big powerslides were fun to watch. But trying to tell me they used live ammo while Jeremy was still in the car is just insulting my intelligence. No way the BBC or the Army's health & safety would ever allow such a thing. Same with that whole portrayal that Jeremy is in the car when it's being crunched. Don't insult my intelligence. You really don't need to. It's still entertaining without this silly plot. Leave the movie fluff to Hollywood and stick to cars and the natural presenting abilities of your presenters. It will be funny and entertaining and it won't feel painfully fake.
They could have just put a phone with GPS enabled into the letter.
 
7/10 for me.

First, I don't rate 10/10 unless it is 100% all the way through perfect on every level. I think maybe 1 or 2 shows are 10/10. I mean, why rate them if you're going to always pick 10/10? I think if you are one of those who is 10/10 every single episode you need to rescale your ranking system, otherwise how can you ever remark that a particular episode was especially good?

The RS/R26R was good, but did you at any point really believe the two cars were really equal enough to warrant side-by-side comparisons? Of course the Renault is going to be faster on the track (it's got plastic windows and scaffolding!) and of course the Ford is going to be more comfortable (it's got sat nav and a bit boot!). The outcome wasn't at all a surprise. I wish they'd of spent more on reviewing the individual cars separately rather than mashing it up into a "this is better" "no this is better" bit.

Enjoyed the Panamera race. I like those long trips where by the end the driver(s) has a changed opinion. Big journeys where you really get to test all facets of the car. The behind-the-scenes technical bits annoyed me. They couldn't have had some sort of digital tracking device in the letter since it was A) too small and B) wouldn't be allowed on the airplane. I figure either the camera team followed the letter and updated their location as needed and someone back at TG's central office updated some web site with the last know coordinates of the letter, or they got a waiver from the Royal Mail and sent out a package (and the letter was just for show) which contained some kind of GPS tracking device. I'd really like to know which it was; those sorts of behind-the-scene details interest me.

Usain Bolt was surprisingly interesting. Can't believed he rolled that M3 and didn't injure himself. Lucky guy.

The Army segment bugs me. It was fun watching the Evo do a bit of rally course work across the dirt. Those big powerslides were fun to watch. But trying to tell me they used live ammo while Jeremy was still in the car is just insulting my intelligence. No way the BBC or the Army's health & safety would ever allow such a thing. Same with that whole portrayal that Jeremy is in the car when it's being crunched. Don't insult my intelligence. You really don't need to. It's still entertaining without this silly plot. Leave the movie fluff to Hollywood and stick to cars and the natural presenting abilities of your presenters. It will be funny and entertaining and it won't feel painfully fake.
Painfully fake? Such as killing off black stig? Having white stig sitting in numerous cars which have exploded?
 
I am still laughing at Hammond having his "dinner" during the challenge :D . It completely tore me apart
 
Thanks for the NEGATIVE REPUTATION. (WHOEVER HE/SHE WAS)

I'd like to explain something my point of view...
normally when you really like something, you want it to be every time better, and for me the way to do it, its via critics. If you put every single episode a 10 or a 9... it just doesn't make sense to try to do a voting... because you're not being objective enough. Of course if you compare it with anything else on the TV It would be really good, every single program, but I think the point of doing an evaluation of each Episode is to compare it with the other TG episodes, and being OBJECTIVE! for me is not putting only 9 or 10 every episode. (with all the Respect people who put 9 or 10 deserve)

And to put negative or positive Rep. points it's OK, but here in this thread its all about what do you thing and your tastes... and EVERYBODY has got DIFFERENT ones... so if you put neg or pos. reps, somewhere else because I or someone did said something wrong, about.. don't know... e.g. a three ...
But putting someone neg reps for trying to make a critic to a program that we all like, or just emit a comment does not look fair to me.


take care and have a nice day.

P.D.: Sorry about my terrible English, but I think you understand what I'm trying to communicate
 
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They could have just put a phone with GPS enabled into the letter.

Maybe. Although they always tell you to turn off your mobile when you're on a plane. And reception during a flight, while possible, certainly problematic.

Painfully fake? Such as killing off black stig? Having white stig sitting in numerous cars which have exploded?

Those examples were all presented in a very tongue-in-cheek manner, with a wink and a nod. Jeremy's drive while being fired at with live rounds was presented much more seriously. Even the TG blog has a piece that continues to push the idea. No wink and a nod here. That's what bugs me.

TG feels more rehearsed now than it did a few series back. Maybe it was always rehearsed and they're just getting lazy with the editing or maybe they found a few real funny moments in past episodes that they want to recreate with a slightly different wist. I don't know. I'm probably just being a cranky old sod who gripes how it isn't "his" (insert name of any band) band anymore; that it's gone all Hollywood.
 
Whoever neg repped me for saying that I didn't like the Evo trashed part...seriously man, atleast sign it so I know who you are...
 
Well, they had to make a "cheap" show because of the shorter budget in the series - and this one looks like it. Didn't travel too far, RS vs. Renault tested on the track and got an evo that had to be destroyed... and who knows, maybe the Army even paid for this. Enjoyed the show nonetheless, the race was not too interesting to me, the RS vs. Renault was very very nice and showed to me, that those cameramen and cutters are now as important for the show as the presenters. Didn't know the SIARPC guy - but he was entertaining to me. And he did a pretty good job on the track.

Given an Evo to destroy I might have had some other ideas. Like testing it on the track and then handing it to the Promoters to do some rally-style racing without caring for the car, fixing it as long as it can be fixed... This car should have died being driven, not being shot at: "Oh no, Captain Slow has killed the Evo! Anyways..."

Anyways, if it needs budget shows like this to spend more quid on other ones - so shall it be. Was slightly below an average TopGear show so to me it's like 4.6. I'll give it a 5.
 
The Army segment bugs me. It was fun watching the Evo do a bit of rally course work across the dirt. Those big powerslides were fun to watch. But trying to tell me they used live ammo while Jeremy was still in the car is just insulting my intelligence. No way the BBC or the Army's health & safety would ever allow such a thing. Same with that whole portrayal that Jeremy is in the car when it's being crunched. Don't insult my intelligence. You really don't need to. It's still entertaining without this silly plot. Leave the movie fluff to Hollywood and stick to cars and the natural presenting abilities of your presenters. It will be funny and entertaining and it won't feel painfully fake.

This made me think of a post I made about TGA in the first series:

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.

Everyone knows the army stuff was staged, that's not the point. It looked obviously staged & it wasn't done tongue in cheek/nod & a wink way.

The more I think about it, the more it seemed like a TGA challenge (as mentioned earlier in the thread by Tone76?) - i.e. "lets get a hotted up Evo 7 & drive around the army test ground being chased by the army." "Awesome!" Then they get out there & go, "right, so what are we actually going to do? Jezza, you go flat out & get chased by the made by a man in a shed vehicle." "Hey, there's a big gorge. I know, we'll get the army to build a bridge & then Jezza can sneak over while their backs are turned!" "Even more levels of awesomeness!!!" "I know! We're so talented." "You're so right.":hump::sick:
 
That was among the worst episodes of Top Gear I've seen. It reminded me of the dashed off post-accident season. Cheap, pointless and boring:

The Focus RS vs. Megane was the best part of the show. This isn't saying much: it was a dull review of two fairly ordinary hot hatches... well ordinary when compared to the usual one-off, bonkers supercars they review. What also bothered me is that the Megane is clearly a track-day car while the RS is much more of a daily driver. It was a silly comparison.

The Mail Race was similarly pointless. It was clearly a result of the budget cuts (keep it in Britain). Shots of mail in sorting offices are hardly compelling and we really got no sense of the Panamera. Contrast this to the powerboat v. Ferrari Daytona along the Riviera or the GT-R v. bullet train in Japan, Veyron, "find the greatest driving road in the world"... this "race" was not even in the same league.

Bolt looked extremely nervous to start (Clarkson did most of the talking), but his lap was good. I usually fast-forward through SIARPC anyway. This segment needs to be killed or at least made new somehow, IMO.

The Army ad was dumb, ludicrously unrealistic, overscripted and, worst of all, unfunny. At least the (similar) "fox hunt" chase from last season (or the season before?) was funny. Also, they already did this exact segment with the Land Rover a year or two ago. This may have been the most pointless segment I've seen since the "road refinishing" crap they tried to fob off on us.

Boo hiss, Top Gear. This season isn't off to a good start.
 
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Thanks for the NEGATIVE REPUTATION. (WHOEVER HE/SHE WAS)

I'd like to explain something my point of view...
normally when you really like something, you want it to be every time better, and for me the way to do it, its via critics. If you put every single episode a 10 or a 9... it just doesn't make sense to try to do a voting... because you're not being objective enough. Of course if you compare it with anything else on the TV It would be really good, every single program, but I think the point of doing an evaluation of each Episode is to compare it with the other TG episodes, and being OBJECTIVE! for me is not putting only 9 or 10 every episode. (with all the Respect people who put 9 or 10 deserve)

And to put negative or positive Rep. points it's OK, but here in this thread its all about what do you thing and your tastes... and EVERYBODY has got DIFFERENT ones... so if you put neg or pos. reps, somewhere else because I or someone did said something wrong, about.. don't know... e.g. a three ...
But putting someone neg reps for trying to make a critic to a program that we all like, or just emit a comment does not look fair to me.


take care and have a nice day.

P.D.: Sorry about my terrible English, but I think you understand what I'm trying to communicate

HEY!! and now I've being neg rep for writting that...WTH??

P.S.: thanks for the pos. reps!
 
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I really enjoyed the episode... OK not the Best episode out there but a really good time killer!
Well done... and for the Evo being destory, that was a bit too much even if it had to be destroyed :( I loved it when the Evo was misfiring :D
 
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