Will there be a season 2?

Will there be a season 2?


  • Total voters
    94
Who's Onboard for Series 2?

Who's Onboard for Series 2?

Only if they follow in the tradition of proper TG... and replace Boycie in series 2.

Replace Cox first I say!

Anybody else got thoughts on which hosts should stay or go?

:?
 
I talked to Steve last week about the future of Top Gear and he mentioned he was really hoping the show would get a seccond season, so it doesn't look like there has been any definate decisions about a season 2.
 
I hope there will be; it will be great to see how this show progresses.
 
I'm seeing a lot of improvement even over the first three shows.

Think it will be like the original TG - it'll take a couple of series to find there legs and the chemistry. Look at TG S1 vs S3 - just hope the network can stick with it.

Z
 
I think there will be a season 2, and I wouldnt be surprised if SBS is the lynchpin of their TG worldwide rollout of local franchises of TG.

Many outside of Australia may not be aware of this, but SBS is a foreign language, multicultural broadcaster that shows content from all over the world. SBS have the largest foreign language to english subtitle production crew in the world.

Dont be surprised to see SBS become involved with subtitling english language versions of Top Gear Russia and any other localised version of TG from a non-english speaking country.

<fantasy>Who knows maybe cable channels will eventually carry a dedicated 24/7 top gear channel with TG eps from around the world, imagine tguk followed by tgaus, tgusa, tgrussia, tgitaly, tgfrance, tgjapan, tgsouthafrica, tgbrazil etc. Then imagine a top gear world challenge, with a european challenge, americas challenge, asia-pacific challenge as qualifiers for it?</fantasy>
 
That there is ANY doubt about a second series is ridiculous. It took 5 plus years (around 10 really) for TGUK to produce polished entertainment. If only the ABC, rather than the semi privatised SBS, had got the gig. Sadly, the franchising of TG will probably bring about its demise or, at the very least, dilution to farce, accompanied by ever increasing motor manufacturer advertising.
 
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I'll preface (again) what I say with the statement that I hope that series 2 gets the go ahead, but....

While it's all well & good to say that it needs time to build just like TGUK, historically that just doesn't happen on Australian TV. Granted, it's SBS & not the more ruthless main commercial networks, but their budget is tight & the ratings just aren't cutting it compared to what they were hoping for (ep 3 dropped again to 668,000).

Here are a few examples of shows being axed from yesterday's paper:
with Nine's Battlefronts being axed for 20-1 tonight and Seven's Outdoor Room getting the flick (yet again) for another last-minute money-worry news special An Audience With the PM.

Durie is listed in the TV Guide every week but never airs. Also getting the flick is Fringe, the epic new series which wasn't so epic in the ratings, as it slowly died on Wednesdays. It will be replaced by The Mentalist which has just been given a full season order for 22 episodes.

McClouds Daughters (a local drama) has a full series in the can, but they (Nine) have only shown 4 eps & don't look like showing the rest.

And (I think) the biggest problem for TGA is that not only isn't it rating very well (compared to what they were hoping for), but people are openly hostile towards it. Most of the shows that tank and/or get axed have a band of loyal supporters who complain, but everyone else just shrugs their shoulders. I fear that TGA actually has a large group of non-watching, non-supporters who are baying for blood - it's going to be hard for SBS to stand up for, & justify the show. :(

I really, really hope I'm wrong.
 
^ SBS works differently to commercial stations though - they're not solely driven by ratings. SBS management are, I'd suggest, wiser & more forward-looking than their counterparts at Seven, Nine & Ten, and they know it's going take time for TGAu to get where it needs to be.
 
I'm thinking along the same lines as fbc and hoping that SBS are wise enough to not take the quick chop routine favoured by the other commerical networks.
 
Top Gear Australia wins second series

SBS has hit the ?GO? light on pre-production for a second season of Top Gear Australia, despite some viewer criticism of the local hosts.

The broadcaster says a second series will go to air ?as early as possible? in 2009.

The series has rated in the high 600,000s for its second and third weeks, dropping from its premiere of 933,000. By SBS standards, it?s still a solid audience, though about a third behind the UK original.

Meanwhile SBS has been swift to boast that Jeremy Clarkson has given the series a thumbs up.

?Massive congratulations from the Top Gear boys in England on your Australian version. We?re loving it, even though your funny accents make you hard to understand,? said Clarkson.

Clarkson is said to have commented on the chemistry between the three hosts, the set and camera work.

?And Warren the cartoonist, his face underwater was an absolute peach,? said Clarkson.

Aussie viewers haven?t been quite as generous with many dubbing the three hosts as clones of the original. But for SBS having both a local and international series is probably its best case scenario. The Aussie series can fill in the months in between UK episodes, allowing one brand to sit regularly in the 7:30pm Monday timeslot. Other international versions are due in the US, Russia and Germany.

In tonight?s episode Jack Thompson is the ?Celebrity in a Bog Standard Car? while Shannon Noll visits next week.

Press Release:
Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson has given his thumbs up to Top Gear Australia, the first locally produced version of the global motoring entertainment phenomenon, on air Monday nights on SBS.

He contacted Top Gear Australia?s Freehand production team after watching the show to personally give his approval.

?Massive congratulations from the Top Gear boys in England on your Australian version. We?re loving it, even though your funny accents make you hard to understand,? said Clarkson.

After watching the first episode, Clarkson commented on the great chemistry between the three hosts, how good the set looked and the program?s great camera work.

?And Warren the cartoonist, his face underwater was an absolute peach,? said Clarkson.

SBS Director of Television and Online, Matt Campbell said Clarkson?s comments reinforce the network?s confidence in Top Gear Australia being a continuing, long term success for SBS.

?We?ve received the blessing from the Godfather of the Brand! The praise from the Top Gear UK Mother Ship gives SBS and the Freehand production team added enthusiasm as we continue to work on Series One and begin pre-production for Series Two - which will go to air on SBS as early as possible in 2009.?

Tonight Top Gear Australia test the fastest Australian car ever built, pit a satellite navigator against a local Aboriginal tracker. The lads also play lawn bowls with Holden Astras and iconic Australian actor, Jack Thompson is the ?Celebrity in a Bog Standard Car?.

Top Gear Australia Mondays at 7:30pm on SBS.

http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2008/10/top-gear-australia-wins-second-series.html

/thread :)
 
Nice one.

Now that Clarkson has given his official Top Gear Seal of Approval to TGA, it might be time to stop giving the TGA3 such a hard time and let them get on with it ?
 
And here comes the pressure campaign about SBS not doing their duty:

Fraser laments decline of 'multi' in SBS culture

Jewel Topsfield
October 21, 2008

FORMER prime minister Malcolm Fraser, whose government established SBS, has endorsed a statement warning that the public broadcaster was in danger of losing its way, with "mainstream replacing multicultural".

The statement says "big money" was going into the locally produced motoring series Top Gear while coverage of community events and customs had declined.

"Since the introduction of sponsorship and advertising to SBS in the 1990s, the service has steadily become more generalist and less specialist and multicultural," says the statement, which was posted on the Save Our SBS website today.

"English-language lesson programs, greatly valued by new arrivals, have been phased out of the TV schedule. SBS should focus on the special needs of viewers rather than on selling consumers to advertisers."

Others to endorse the statement include author Raimond Gaita, playwright Stephen Sewell, human rights lawyer Julian Burnside, poet Judith Rodriguez and the president of the National Ethnic and Multicultural Broadcasters Council, George Zangalis.

It comes after federal MP Petro Georgiou ? who helped create SBS when working as an adviser for Mr Fraser ? said he was concerned about how SBS' $180 million annual budget was being spent.....
 
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