The real question is WHO GIVES A FUCK! Just enjoy the damn show and don?t go looking for "scripted moments". Why must people keep doing this?
Speaking only for myself, I?m not against ?scripted moments? because I understand most of the show is scripted - it?s not live, after all. I?m sure many (probably most) of my most cherished Top Gear moments were scripted.
But I think they did a much better job of ?hiding? it in the earlier series. And the failure to do that now is actively taking away from my enjoyment.
My favorite special is Vietnam and I harbor no doubts whatsoever that they intentionally went to Hanoi on the train instead of Hai Long. But you could arguably make a point that both trains were (supposedly) on the same platform, just different sides and Vietnamese Romanization is such that Hanoi and Hai Long maybe look a bit similar.
But now they just seem to be playing to the tropes and stereotypes and it seems, at least to my eyes, to be obvious to the point of now being ridiculous. James May is ?Captain No Sense of Direction? so of course they?re going to take the wrong highway out of Rangoon. Nowadays, the original idea would have been to
NOT take the wrong road.
Thats not what i meant. I guess i was asking "what do people thing a 10 is? Its clear that driving across two country's in old trucks through rivers and down mountain roads on the way to build an actual bridge all while teaching you something about Burma and having a blast together isnt a 10, so, what is a 10 for these people? And they cant say "land on the moon" because we all saw what happened when they tried to launch a car rocket! Seriously though...
I score Top Gear episodes like the US education grades students. So a 9 would be an "A", an 8 would be a "B", a 7 a "C", a 6 a "D" and a 5 an "F". Most episodes since Series 12 (IMO, the last great season) have been 7s or 8s. I've never handed out a 5 and this episode is one of a handful that have received a 6.
Under this rating system, a 10 is an "A+" and my ?10?s? are the first episode of Series 12 (IMO, the best episode they ever did), the fourth episode of Series 12 (I seriously wondered whether any of them would make Blackpool) and the Vietnam Special (like the Botswana Special, they looked like they really were three mates sharing a great adventure). And I?m sure all three were scripted up the yahoo, but they didn?t feel it.