Clarkson on TopGear America being 'canned'

[Redliner]

Originally Posted by Shawn

It's okay guys, there's always Top Gear Russia.

Exactly what I was thinking!

[Madkap]

NBC and their focus group passed on what is the most popular show in the UK and the most pirated television programs... in the world. I think you can cut Jeremy some slack when he says that the viewers don't get it. I'm fairly certain we can assume he meant the networks and the focus group. One has to suppose that at least part of the reason NBC pulled the plug had something to do with how poorly TG Australia turned out. They have their three presenters, all playing their defined rolls. They have a dead-on replica of the TG set. They have a track and they have a Stig. What they don't have is Jezza, May and Hammond and it shows. Personally, I think Top Gear is a bit like Fawlty Towers. You can try (and they have, disasterously) to recast it for American audiences, but you have to ask, is the entertainment value based on the formula of a sitcom in a small hotel or is it the people you've placed in those situations. Same thing here. It's determining whether Top Gear a car show that happens to be entertaining (formula) or if it's an entertaining show that happens to have cars (cast). Personally, I find Top Gear without Jeremy, James and Richard a lot like Fawlty Towers without John Cleese. And that's a very sad discovery.

[GRtak]

I am willing to bet their "focus group" was actually an overflow audience that was lined up to see "The Tonight Show" or some other show. You can't just pick a group of peeps to watch a show that have no interest in the subject of the show. Would anyone here be interested in a cooking show? I doubt it, and most peeps just don't get Top Gear, even gear heads, but I know I like it.

[Kiskaloo]

You might be on to something, Madkap.

While "The Office" seems to have done okay when "translated" into a US-specific format, "Coupling" didn't (even though I find the UK version brilliant).

I very slowly kind of warmed to Top Gear Australia over the entire season, but it certainly lacks the chemistry of the UK version - though I freely admit all the series those three have worked together has certainly helped bring that about.

[Stefano1337]

by 'they' he surely didn't mean 'you americans' but the people who where going to make the show, which isn't really suprising, i was sure from the beginning that even if it's going to be made, it'd be shit. There never was a show on american television that was remotely like top gear, and now there never will be, and you don't have to cry about it, because it wouldn't work anyway. It's just not a concept that would work on private television, remember, the bbc doesn't really care too much how much money top gear makes, and any american broadcaster would care about nothing else, which is bound to ruin the concept.

[markryder]

Thank God. Top Gear australia has done enough ass raping of the top gear name and concept.

[desertgeek]

Originally Posted by Kiskaloo

You might be on to something, Madkap.

While "The Office" seems to have done okay when "translated" into a US-specific format, "Coupling" didn't (even though I find the UK version brilliant).

You're both right on this one. Some shows when taken from the UK to the States just work right with little to no change. Coupling was a show that they tried to carry over with no change (except for the actors) and it bombed horribly. But most people can relate to The Office in some odd way.

Someone mentioned money as a factor and I don't think we can doubt for a second that it's played a role (if indeed TGUS is dead). We all know it costs a ton to do TG per show, let alone for an entire year.

But not just because the economy has gone to crap. A typical US television show on network TV puts out 22 episodes a year. If they tried to put out 22 TG US episodes a year, the cost would probably be twice the amount of any other show.

Though there are arguments to go the a British model.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR111...&cs=1&nid=2562

[starfox07]

I want to know what the "focus group" was.

[airmenair]

Originally Posted by starfox07

I want to know what the "focus group" was.

Al Gore.

[Spectre]

Originally Posted by Stefano1337

by 'they' he surely didn't mean 'you americans' but the people who where going to make the show, which isn't really suprising, i was sure from the beginning that even if it's going to be made, it'd be shit. There never was a show on american television that was remotely like top gear, and now there never will be, and you don't have to cry about it, because it wouldn't work anyway. It's just not a concept that would work on private television, remember, the bbc doesn't really care too much how much money top gear makes, and any american broadcaster would care about nothing else, which is bound to ruin the concept.

You forget public television (which tries to not make a profit) and the US cable channels.

[Topgearfanatic]

They should have shown a Koenigsegg review then and have them explain how its green because it runs on biofuel!

[watisdis]

Originally Posted by starfox07

I want to know what the "focus group" was.

Me too. Focus groups suck for no other reason than the general public often have terrible tastes. Like someone else mentioned, I too warmed up to TG Australia. No one can ever duplicate the original TG, but so what? These shows still ended up better than most of the crap that gets produced every year. I want my TG America

[Kiskaloo]

Cable television shows have to generate advertising revenue on the cable systems that buy them to justify their continued existence no less then "over-the-air" television shows do for the "broadcast" networks.

And while it is true PBS shows do not have advertising in the traditional sense, many are underwritten at least in part by corporate sponsors.

As someone noted in the other thread in the Top Gear America forum, much of what makes the UK Top Gear show so popular and enjoyable is the repertoire that JC, RH and JM have built over eleven series together and was not something that just happened when Episode 01 of Series Two first aired (at least IMO).

I'm still lukewarm on Top Gear Australia because that repertoire is not there (yet - hopefully it will happen) and it remains to be seen how the new "lead host" fits in with Series Two.

[Bosch]

I posted this reply to the "American's don't get Top Gear" comment..

We do get it, we just didn't like who they got to do it.. At least in my circle of friends it was Adam Corolla that was not really liked or wanted to do the show..

[E34lover]

Honestly, we all new this would happen. Hell, I didn't even want a TG America. I think BBCA should catch up to the current season of TG and then show new episodes the day after it airs in the UK.

[sleeping]

Originally Posted by watisdis

Me too. Focus groups suck for no other reason than the general public often have terrible tastes. Like someone else mentioned, I too warmed up to TG Australia. No one can ever duplicate the original TG, but so what? These shows still ended up better than most of the crap that gets produced every year. I want my TG America

the point isn't that we can't see TG in a timely manner, we can always download/steal it. The point is it would be really cool to see cars we could actually buy and hear the presenters examine them. The Manaro might be a cool car, but the GTO deserves a different take. Even if the underpinnings are sound I'd love to hear someone tell GM what's up and relay our dissatisfaction with their limpwristed efforts.

Especially when the american auto industry is falling apart we need an obnoxiously right winged blowhard to voice tell the auto industry what's up.



NEWSFLASH if you stop building crap cars we might buy them.

I do agree though that without public support (like TG has with the BBC) it would be hard to have an american TG.

[Icedvovo]

Originally Posted by sleeping

SNIP
Especially when the american auto industry is falling apart we need an obnoxiously right winged blowhard to voice tell the auto industry what's up.

NEWSFLASH if you stop building crap cars we might buy them.

I didn't realize how deluded they were over there. This is from the latest issue of Popular Science. Ford actually believe 21MPG is worthy of a banner headline. Scary stuff.

[anthrax]

From 4:00 to 5:25: Jeremy and Hammond in the same pose. Dunno if it was on purpose or not....

[jeremysg]

Originally Posted by Icedvovo

I didn't realize how deluded they were over there. This is from the latest issue of Popular Science. Ford actually believe 21MPG is worthy of a banner headline. Scary stuff.

well, considering a quick googling says that the f-150 typically had a mere 14mpg, i too would advertise the next model having better mpg.

sure, its nothing like how GM has been advertising.. i think its "20 cars with 30mpg or better" or such.

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Originally Posted by Icedvovo

I didn't realize how deluded they were over there. This is from the latest issue of Popular Science. Ford actually believe 21MPG is worthy of a banner headline. Scary stuff.

21MPG is quite good fuel economy for that class of vehicle, what's your gripe? Do you expect trucks with big engines and towing capacities to get 50mpg?