[24x02] March 12th, 2017 - Lamborghini vs Porsche

[24x02] March 12th, 2017 - Lamborghini vs Porsche

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  • Total voters
    75

alpha

Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2004
Messages
94
Location
Tromsø, Norway
Car(s)
Porsche 911 (991) Carrera 4 GTS
Second episode of the new crew, Matt, Rory and Chris is back.

What did you think?
 
I gave it an eight, I thought it was a little better than the first show. The only thing that stood out a bit is the "star" usage, I still think it's a little awkward to have them sitting there for longer than their specific segment. Small nit in an otherwise enjoyable episode.

OCD award goes to the stroboscopic effect of the Lambo wheels, I could watch that for while...
 
I am going with a 7.

I have to say I dont like the how they are doing the "star" segment and could do with out Chris in the car telling how them how to drive the track.
 
Again surprisingly watchable. As a superficial car show. Skip the guests. Rory has the awkward overly excited affliction, similar to that of a little brother who is allowed to hang out with big bro and friends.
 
A solid episode, better than the first and definitely showing signs of settling down into something perfectly watchable. Reid is by far the weakest of the three leads, but he was very sidelined last night. I notice that we've lost both 'Tunnight, on Top Gear..' and 'Some say...' now.

If they keep on like this, it will at least be a reasonable car show to plug the gaps between Grand Tours...
 
Who would've thought that I'd enjoy the new BBC Top Gear more than Grand Tour? They are putting "car" back in "car entertainment".

The Alfa review was one of the best reviews of both shows in a long time and Harris style feels fresh and entertaining. You could feel the genuine excitement he has for this car through the screen. At first I thought that the drifting through the cutout wall segment was a bit too long, and was pointless destruction. But you could feel the genuine concern for the car when he broke the windshield, he feels the cars' pain like his own skin, which is a welcome contrast to CHM's complete disregard towards destruction of perfectly drivable vehicles. And the payoff was excellent - even I started applauding when Chris went through.

I'm not sure about Reid's 'character' - I think they are forcing his "Hammondness" too hamfistedly and artificially. I'd say that he should be "just a bloke" until he forms his own character, rather than acting to fill a certain role.

Finally, the stig. I think that removing the "Some say" jokes is a good idea to distance themselves from looking like CHM copycats. Also, some fresh camera angles for the lap!

10 looking like a hobo :D But this idea about doing the news with the guest is a rather interesting, and certainly beats the mess that was in the last season. On the one hand, it's much more entertaining than a random actor pushing his latest movie in SIARPC, but at the same time, this is heavily dependent on the guest being interesting and likeable, which Tennant was. Let's see how this develops, because this feels fresh and I want it to be good. They could start by tightening the segment - we don't need to see the star do a lap twice, and we don't need it split with the main feature between.

Holy fuck Las Vegas cinematography is amazing. And it was a wise idea to get an actor as a presenter. The main feature was exciting and featured lots of interesting challenges.

Overall I'd rate this episode 8/10, and it really feels fresh, genuine and exciting. Top Gear's back on the menu!
 
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At first I thought that the drifting through the cutout wall segment was a bit too long, and was pointless destruction. But you could feel the genuine concern for the car when he broke the windshield, he feels the cars' pain like his own skin, which is a welcome contrast to CHM's complete disregard towards destruction of perfectly drivable vehicles. And the payoff was excellent - even I started applauding when Chris went through.

while I agree with your other assessments, especially Reid's retarded "Hammondness" , you mustve watched some other version of TG regarding CHris and guilia. He didnt really give a crap about the window. He stopped the car and didnt even look at the window. He immediately said, Im gonna try it again and went towards the back of the car and towardss the props, looking at how to do it. I wouldve felt devastated ruining such an amazing car,immediately check the damage,whether the metal is also bent etc... but he sure didnt at all. He was only slightly pissed/disappointed it didnt go according to plan.

And that snow race was a bit too obviously scripted, how each presenter just happened to spin or get stuck so theyd change places and a few miles later again the same thing. eh...
 
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I caught myself actually loving this. The Guilia review was epic, and it made me want one, I even checked out their price list and availability at my local dealership. Good job Chris! And, again this episode something happened that wasn't scripted! Chris crashing into Matts Mercedes taxi was the first time, now he breaks the windscreen of the Alfa and that CLEARLY wasn't scripted or planned at all. Let the boys loose, see what happens. Great stuff.

Guest segment was better this week. The guest gelled better into the conversation and it made more sense. Lap was still a bit too long, but it's getting there. The practice session with Chris makes sense if it's real. If they show Chris getting angry and scared for his life every week that segment will soon be skip-worthy.

The Porsche vs Lambo bit was mostly ok. They seriously need to make sure they pronounce the brand names correctly. There is no such thing as a Porsch! Also happy to see it win, it was well deserved. The start was very good, with hints at the hangover movies, and the cinematography was brilliant. Their arguments for super/not super car wasn't 100% credible so the bickering isn't natural yet, but it will get there. Unfortunately things got silly at the end when they drove around on the mountain. The race was over when Chris got stuck. He's fast, but cant make up 30 minutes of rescue. Also, they didn't talk about what tires they changed to, and the second part in the sunshine was probably another day all together. If it can't be done properly, either don't do it or explain why it's crap. Don't try to get away with shit like this thinking the audience is too stupid to notice.
 
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Another solid episode although it seems that Chris Harris is now the main presenter who is most comfortable in the role. Matt seems a bit lost sometimes when British stuff is being discussed. Why didn't they include Rory in the Super car challenge? He had little to do in this episode. The cinematography was superb. This series of TG is turning out to be better than the recent TGT one.
 
I'm getting sick and tired of Alfa Romeo's [Rant over]

Otherwise the episode was pleasant to watch.
 
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8/10. Really good. They're distancing themselves from the CHM era tropes which was the biggest mistake from series one (aside from the shouting that is), dropping the catchphrases and replacing them with nothing, for the time being. Nothing is better than a grating and unconvincing repetition. In time they will find their own. I find myself liking all of them, especially Matt, his equable and nonchalant demeanor (stopping nicely short of slacker) is the opposite of Clarkson's highly-strung histrionics (which make no mistake, I love too, but it's *his* trademark) which is helping create something new. Chris is completely at home. Rory I guess comes with the lesser known credentials and I guess he might feel that he has some proving to do, but he's doing fine.

Loved the Giuilia segment. The 911/Lambo challenge was tremendous. Tennant a good choice of guest.

Yep, it's coming good. Thank f**k for that!
 
Only a 6 out of 10 this week.
The Alfa review was going great; and then it was spoiled by Rory doing the "Bring on the Wall" nonsense.
The celebrity spot really dragged it down, despite David Tennant's best efforts. I think it would be better if it was just Harris interviewing the star and then getting on with the lap, rather than trying to include them in the banter between the three hosts.
The "Fall" part of the four seasons challenge was the highlight of the show for me.
 
Their arguments for super/not super car wasn't 100% credible so the bickering isn't natural yet, but it will get there. Unfortunately things got silly at the end when they drove around on the mountain. The race was over when Chris got stuck. He's fast, but cant make up 30 minutes of rescue. Also, they didn't talk about what tires they changed to, and the second part in the sunshine was probably another day all together. If it can't be done properly, either don't do it or explain why it's crap. Don't try to get away with shit like this thinking the audience is too stupid to notice.

Yeah, I second this. I still think it's better for them to just string together the shots they want WITHOUT PRETENDING IT'S SOME "REAL" RACE/STORY! They can make some narrative out of it, but just don't *pretend*. Like I said here or on topgear.com last week; "we're not morons".

I also felt it was a little more stilted and unnatural in some of the studio delivery this week. Overall 7/10.
 
Epic choice of filming locations. Anyone know which road the Alfa was tested on, and also which roads were used in the Porsche/Lambo segment from Death Valley to Mammoth?
 
I'm wondering if that was the EVO triangle that Chris used to test the Alfa, if it wasn't it was somewhere like Scotland, Wales or Yorkshire. Wall bit was silly but it's nice to see an Alfa drift and it looks like a good car. Still not sure if the damage was intentional, the car could've been a prototype destined for the crusher.

Tenant was much better than thingy last week, seemed to engage more.

Supercar challenge was good up to the snow race, it was impressive to see those cars in the snow but the race was pointless.
 
Good episode!
But did anybody else notice when Matt talked about getting the Lambo back from Harris, he said that Harris had gotten hummus on the rev-needle (jokingly so, I know). It just kinda annoyed me a bit since the Lambo has a digital instrument cluster :p
 
Solid episode except for the celebrity, that guy sucked and the whole segment was awful. The Alfa review was brilliant.
 
Quite enjoyed this one, other than the guest segments. I pretty much skipped them entirely, as many other do. Hear that, BBC? ;)

Thought that downhill in neutral challenge was cool, though...43 seconds? Really? Anyway, I agree with LeBlanc that the Porsche is a bland supercar. (or super car) But these days, everything is developing a sort of same-ishness to it, and even non-supercars are getting edgy/angry, so in a way, the soft-looking Porsches kinda stand out again. (but are still bland)
 
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