[14x06] December 27th, 2009 [South America Special]

[14x06] December 27th, 2009 [South America Special]

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Brian said:
Or set it alight and roll it down the dune in a Chilean-style Viking funeral. How is that so tough?
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tough ? no. rather ridiculous and sure to get plenty of "how lame was that ?" posts ? you bet.
as i said, they were damned no matter what they did. there was no way they would please everyone.

stokesy1 said:
Totally against them travelling against across Aus.
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ideas for future trips go here
http://forums.finalgear.com/top-gear/what-exotic-driving-locations-should-top-gear-film-at-32802/

the Interceptor said:
One thing for the "just enjoy yourself for god's sake!" people: ask yourself why so many FG visitors have started to analyze the show so deeply. After all, there has to be a reason for this, right?
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why do people tend to look back at the past shows with rose coloured glasses ? same reason, its human nature. people feel a need to compare the old to the new and then analyse.
if it gets to the extreme point where someone is analysing everything while watching then they may want to ask themselves why they are doing that, rather than watching it unbiased/with no expectations first and then only analysing their after it(if they must).

Nowadays, when happenings are predictable because we know how the boys will act and what gags they'll play out, the crust has crumpled, and we're able to see beyond it.
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meaning people are turning in to cynics. :)

What happens on Top Gear right now simply isn't involving enough anymore to cover that much of it is set up.
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true for some. not true for many as well.
 
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EDIT: Cvector, would you mind if we continue this discussion in the season 14 slid off track thread since we're offtopic here? I copied my posting there.
 
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This has been extraordinary, the whole show...but I have to mention my amusement peaks:
James falling
Rain forest, shit! Absolute genius
Do you two need some time to yourselves?
James was suspiciously skillful with the vaseline and the condoms.
Careful, careful, careful...all right, it wasn't as careful as it could have been
At the border post we were given the traditional welcome: MY ASS!!! genius
Richard Hammond was the smallest living organism for miles.

PS: bumping James's car-that will never get old, I still laugh at it when I hear the cars crashing...just like that sound in a cartoon, when somebody slips on a banana peal and falls-instant comedy.
 
10 out of 10. That was amazing: I glued to the screen for the entire time and I wanted for more at the end.

Splendid in pretty much every way, one of the best TG episodes ever.

As for the scripting, I don't think this was, honestly, apart from Hammond's buggy rolling down the hill, but, I'm sure someone already said that in the last 20 pages of comments, that car could not drive down the hill - two wheels drive, bad to no brakes, no clutch, short wheel base, high center of gravity, no doors, failed suspensions... It simply couldn't get down there, so they opted for this bit of scripting and showed us what happens if you roll it down.

I don't think much else was scripted in the bad sense of the term, even if some things were just playing with clich?s.

Great great great great show. I need to find a way to watch it in HD.
 
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Dr_Grip said:
It's like the moon landing! They never left the studio!
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controlspecimen said:
Well, I just looked at this site and clicked around some points marked as a road near where they entered Chile, and the altitude definitely comes up north of 15,000.
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You both quoted my post about how easy the Garmin altimeters are to manipulate, so:
I did not say they lied about the altitude they went to. I just said they could have. Personally I don't think they did, because everyone can look up the actual altitude of their route on a map.
 
turbokompressor said:
PS: bumping James's car-that will never get old, I still laugh at it when I hear the cars crashing...just like that sound in a cartoon, when somebody slips on a banana peal and falls-instant comedy.
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I completely disagree. Imagine a stand-up comedian saying the same joke (funny at first) but every year just changing the names, imagine a band having a hit and release it again every year but with different lyrics or arrangements, imagine every other episode of you fave tv series having almost the same storyline and punchline and so on....


For instance, along the Specials:

The bumping each other (and the subsequent Hammond's "sorry!") has been done over and over, the painted slogan on a car, the car running into a a river perfectly knowing it'll almost sink, the "let's take the piss out of May" was done with grated cheese in one episode and meat in another, the "May and Hammond have a bit of trouble but Clarkson leaves them behind anyway" has been done twice already, the "the car was on its last breath, is it is it not gonna survive?" but then magically reappears on the horizon, the "look what funny/crazy things we're wearing now", the Stig's cousins (USA and Botswana) etc etc etc......
There is a sense of repetition that bores (and dare I say "annoy"?), and that's when some of us start to scrutinize the episodes.
I'm with The Interceptor on that one.
 
I honestly have to say I was a little bit disappointed from this Special. I missed this messing around (like in Vietnam when they bought each other silly presents oder like in Botswana when they put the cow's head in James' car).
I have to say the journey was kinda rough (the Andes, thin air), though, at some parts I was missing the funny parts.
Still my favourite -> Vietnam Special, absolutely stunning videos of the countryside, lots of messing around and jokes and though a tough and interesting trip
 
I honestly have to say I was a little bit disappointed from this Special. I missed this messing around (like in Vietnam when they bought each other silly presents oder like in Botswana when they put the cow's head in James' car).
I have to say the journey was kinda rough (the Andes, thin air), though, at some parts I was missing the funny parts.
Still my favourite -> Vietnam Special, absolutely stunning videos of the countryside, lots of messing around and jokes and though a tough and interesting trip
 
cvector said:
tough ? no. rather ridiculous and sure to get plenty of "how lame was that ?" posts ? you bet.
as i said, they were damned no matter what they did. there was no way they would please everyone.



ideas for future trips go here
http://forums.finalgear.com/top-gear/what-exotic-driving-locations-should-top-gear-film-at-32802/



why do people tend to look back at the past shows with rose coloured glasses ? same reason, its human nature. people feel a need to compare the old to the new and then analyse.
if it gets to the extreme point where someone is analysing everything while watching then they may want to ask themselves why they are doing that, rather than watching it unbiased/with no expectations first and then only analysing their after it(if they must).



meaning people are turning in to cynics. :)



true for some. not true for many as well.
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Why are you picking on me? I didn't initiate it! :cry:
 
Cucciolotto said:
For instance, along the Specials:

The bumping each other (and the subsequent Hammond's "sorry!") has been done over and over, the painted slogan on a car, the car running into a a river perfectly knowing it'll almost sink, the "let's take the piss out of May" was done with grated cheese in one episode and meat in another, the "May and Hammond have a bit of trouble but Clarkson leaves them behind anyway" has been done twice already, the "the car was on its last breath, is it is it not gonna survive?" but then magically reappears on the horizon, the "look what funny/crazy things we're wearing now", the Stig's cousins (USA and Botswana) etc etc etc......
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These things are running gags. I'd say they've not gone out to repeat stuff because they can't think of anything else, or that it's laziness or whatever, but rather it's like having a catch-phrase, or a recurring punchline that pops up in all sorts of situations. It's a bit like when Tim Pope went through a phase of decorating the set with socks for no readily apparent reason in every video he did for The Cure or Compo being repeatedly driven mad with lust by Norah Batty's wrinkled stockings in Last of the Summer Wine.

I'm not saying this is a good or a bad thing, but I do understand how and why it happens and also how it's easy to keep on doing these things when they've gone past their sell-by date (I was involved in sketch-writing for a particular event for many years, and I was guilty of using some gags more than perhaps I should). For me, the only one of the TG running jokes that has got really stale is the 'bumping' thing, and I think they put that one to bed successfully (as long as they don't do it in a blatant 'comedy' way again). They understood how much was too much with the 'are you wearing that for a bet' thing (killing that one off with a simple response of 'no') and I think they're catching on with some of the other ones now.

I don't mind the running gags as long as they try to put a different twist on them and they don't do all of them in all of the big films. And they don't. And hopefully the most annoying of them is going to go away - though I'm not holding my breath because I know how hard it is to let go of something that still amuses you even though your audience may not be laughing as they once did.

(If anyone is interested, our solution has been to take a break for a couple of events - we did a 'best of' last year, took a complete break this year and will come back next year if - and only if - we have some new ideas).
 
narf said:
You can also see a blueish hat/cap above Jeremy's headrest and tell that the Land Cruiser starts moving by going up in the back, like it would if people push up & forwards from the back. Gravity doesn't do that :lmao:
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Keep it up and Andy is going to hire ILM to remove the evidence next time :lol:
 
stokesy1 said:
Totally against them travelling against across Aus.

Even if they were to travel across Australia.. all you would see is sand and road trains. Where on the bolivian trip they had jungle, cities, roads and mountains to tackle. I.e. You couldnt sustain a full special on such a boring environment.

And yes I am Australian.
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Mmmkay. I see where you're coming from. And I tend to agree that deserts are a tad... samey.

However, Micheal Stahl drove a near stock 911 across the Simpson once for Wheels mag and that was interesting even in print. Surely they would want to beat that effort in some sort of Laurence of Australia themed debacle?

And how about that big lump of Australia down the left hand side that hardly anyone uses (me included)?

They could start from maybe Broome and head down the Canning Stock Route to Kalgoorie in an effort to get James a shag. Add a bit of rain and some 'roo damage and you've got yourself an epic road trip.

It's a big country.

:)
 
I think the guy who wrote about the "programme-viewer" contract hit the nail on the head... Articulating why so many of us balked over the turn the show has taken since the car wash fire.

I also agree with the guy who said the show isn't respecting the audience's intelligence anymore.

I think we all felt betrayed when the staged pratfalls came in. I know I did. But now I just realize they are lying to us and roll with it, and hope more of it is organic than isn't. It's kind of like having an elderly parent -- they tell the same stories over and over, sometimes their mind is failing them and they're just full of ISH, but you still love them.

jmsprovan said:
Holy Fuck, have some of you guys never heard of Suspension of Disbelief?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspension_of_disbelief



Top Gear becomes a whole lot more enjoyable When you don't pick every scene apart with a fine-toothed comb.
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The difference is that Top Gear wasn't supposed to be Sci-Fi or Fantasy like Lord of the Rings or Avatar.

Coming up next, I pilot a blue alien with mind control, James takes the One True Ring to a volcano, and Richard cuts off his arm with a light sabre.
 
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Brian said:
Perhaps the danger was just more palpable in the Arctic special. I was all about the suspension of disbelief, not questioning the repetition or predictability of the show, just enjoying it for what it is: entertainment, etc... right up until this episode. It simply was built up to be a return to the glory days, and to me at least, it wasn't.
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Did people forget we were sold a bill of goods in the Arctic Special? They didn't actually go to the North Pole, they went to where the magnetic north pole used to be some time ago, and people make that trip in cars all the time.
 
janstett said:
Did people forget we were sold a bill of goods in the Arctic Special? They didn't actually go to the North Pole, they went to where the magnetic north pole used to be some time ago, and people make that trip in cars all the time.
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Someone used the word 'authentic' earlier and I think that's the crux of this whole issue.

They've gotten worse at faking authenticity.

:)
 
It wasn't too bad.


Shame I'm never going to see those random, unscripted moments ala drive across america special where they got pelted with rocks by the rednecks. Now that was entertainment. And not some "oh my Land Cruiser just fell down the dune" crap.
 
My business Metal Tech 4x4 which you can see the sticker on our cage that was installed in Hammond's FJ40 were down there as vehicle consultants. Mark Hawley and myself Travis Telleria (see ending credits). Mark was apart of the first half in the jungle and the big build up of the 3 trucks. I came down at the beginning of the road of death, did the build and continued on to Chile with the crew while Mark flew home after the big build.

The elevation is true, they did get up to 17,000ft, I wasn't that much further down below at roughly 16,000ft while they filmed up there. It is rough not being acclimatized to the altitude. I was always short of breath, feel like you have a hang over, and a constant runny nose. Just basic movement feels like you are doing a marathon, it was a challenge but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger right?

I can also tell you that there wasn't much scripted during my time down there except for a few bits and pieces. Most of it was on the fly as trucks broke down, getting stuck, etc. It was a great experience to witness this and see some very beautiful scenery along the way. I won't be revealing too much about what happened behind the scenes since we are going to write an article and submit it to a magazine.

The '74 FJ40 did live a rough life, far worse than the other two. It had a lot of bad fixes, mechanical failures, etc from poor maintenance and just the over all use of the vehicle in that area. The Land Cruiser hands down was the 4x4 that most Bolivians drove in La Paz and in the jungle. To purchase one down there they are just as much in the states which is about $5,000. The people do whatever they can to keep them in their families and pass them down because of their reliability. The FJ40 Land Cruiser did fight till the end, as poor of shape as it was in it still ran at 65mph with 35" tires with the stock 1f straight 6cyl motor and 4.11 gears. It had water get into the engine through the carburetor, oil was pumping out the pcv valve into the carb and all around it, oil was in the radiator fluid, and it still started up every time and kept on ticking. It also ran on the front end alone for 600 miles doing highway speeds.
 
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