I think ive just realised what the problem is

[ykickamoocow]

There was something abit off about the first episdoe which i couldnt put my finger on at first but then i rewatched it and found out.

TGUK is a show which runs for 60 minutes while TGA only runs for around 45 minutes. As a result everything felt quite rushed as they tried to get through as much as their TGUK counterparts.

I think it would have worked alot better if they completely cut the "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" segment which will give them about 7 minutes extra to do other things.

The soft off roaders segment would really have been alot better with a extra 5 minutes and they should have dropped the Maybach segment and have a longer review of the Porsche.

In short i think instead of trying to cram as many segments into the 45 minutes as possible i think it would be better to have fewer segments and have each review/challenge longer and more in depth.

what would have been good

4 minutes - introduction
17 minutes - Off Roaders
9 minutes - Porsche review
3 minutes - What were they thinking Wall
5 minutes - the news
3 minutes - talking about the Lamborghini
5 minutes - Mini Moke with the Sharks

That would be 45 minutes of television and i think it would work alot better because they wouldnt be rushing through their segments.

Does anyone else agree?

[RommieSG]

The thing is, even if it has the Top Gear name on it, comparing it to the UK version is unfair since they don't use a commercial break, and Australia has to utilize such. When they air episodes of the UK version on BBC America, they cut certain elements of the segments out, and sometimes completely cut out the news which doesn't apply to America, so they figure 'why bother'. S10E9 had the ending completely cut as soon as Jeremy crossed the finish line and shed a tear.

[deags]

i thought on ep 1 that the star was the only good part of the show heh. The porsche segment could have been halved.

Star in a supercar is more like it! save time with faster laps.

[RommieSG]

Originally Posted by deags

Star in a supercar is more like it! save time with faster laps.

And hope for higher ratings when they promptly crash the supercar.

[stiggie]

Originally Posted by ykickamoocow

There was something abit off about the first episdoe which i couldnt put my finger on at first but then i rewatched it and found out.

TGUK is a show which runs for 60 minutes while TGA only runs for around 45 minutes. As a result everything felt quite rushed as they tried to get through as much as their TGUK counterparts.

TGA is 55 minutes long. SBS only shows 5 minutes of commercials per hour.

[ykickamoocow]

Originally Posted by stiggie

TGA is 55 minutes long. SBS only shows 5 minutes of commercials per hour.

Thats good to know but i stand by my comment that they tried to do too much in one episode and as a result it didnt work. Both the Porsche review and the Soft Roaders segments could/should have been alot longer and they should have ditched the Maybach segment all together.

[Hidden_Hunter]

I think the problem with the rushed feeling was that they wanted to establish a baseline for the track and introduce things, hopefully the pacing is a bit more sorted out in the next episode (now they don't have to add a couple of cars to the list etc)

[cpd]

Originally Posted by ykickamoocow

4 minutes - introduction
17 minutes - Off Roaders
9 minutes - Porsche review
3 minutes - What were they thinking Wall
5 minutes - the news
3 minutes - talking about the Lamborghini
5 minutes - Mini Moke with the Sharks

Does anyone else agree?

I wonder if they can cut SIARPC. It may be part of the licensing conditions.

01x01 runs for ~55 minutes, which is only 5 minutes shorter than TGUK but it's definitely too packed. Since they've got the TG license they should be using the proven TGUK segment lengths as a template:

* Intro ~1 minute
* News ~4-5 minutes
* Cool Wall ~4-5 minutes
* SIARPC ~10 minutes + lap (usually about 1/2 way through an ep.)
* Power tests ~6-10 minutes + ~1-2 minutes of discussion in the studio & lap
* 'Normal' reviews ~5-10 minutes + ~1-2 minutes of discussion in the studio
* Novelty items ~5-10 minutes
* Big challenges ~15-20 minutes
* Cars in the studio ~ 2-3 minutes (eg the Lexus that parks itself, how to park a Countach, Lambo Reventon), and these are often used as a segueway into a review film.

A quick seek through 01x01 shows the studio stuff (Intro, Lambo, News & SIARPC) are all within the TG 'template'. However the three main films (Soft Roaders, Porsche, Moke) are all 1-2 minutes too short, and the discussions afterward were a bit short as well.

As has been said 100 times already, everything seemed cut short so as much could be packed in as possible. Here's my stretched out version, which I had in mind when writing this post in the episode thread. It's basically the same running order, minus the Moke & the Stupid Wall, and spreading the time gained over the three films + studio discussions.

2 - Introduction, Season preview
9 - Soft Roaders pt 1
3 - Lambo
5 - News
9 - Porsche + ~2 minutes of discussion, segueway into...
7 - Introduce the track & the Stig, Porsche lap, other laps, segueway into...
7 - SIARPC
9 - Soft Roaders pt 2 + ~2 minutes of discussion

* SIARPC is normally in the middle of an episode, but here it needs to go towards the end so it's after the laps, which introduce the track
* Extend the Moke and the Maybach / Stupid Wall segments and use the longer edits in another episode

[drummerjmv]

I agree with one member that there was something off about the first episode of Top Gear Australia but it had nothing to do with the content of the program or with the time spent on various articles.

My problem with TGA, and I swear I'm not alone in this, is that SBS or whoever was responsible for selecting the three presenters really fouled up and I'm being polite here. I'm not just talking from the perspective of someone who'd followed TGUK very keenly for a long time. Clarkson, Hammond and May are wonderful together but the three Numpties that appear on TGA are simply embarassing. Do they really have to refer to Warren as "Wozza" and why call the Subaru a "Subie" for Goodness sake. Oh, and Charlie Cox (his name's plural but he's really just the singular) could take a lesson on the pronunciation of Porsche - it's pronounced Por-sha you clown not Porsh.

I've watched my first and last episode of TGA and so have many of my friends.

[tone76]

Originally Posted by drummerjmv

Do they really have to refer to Warren as "Wozza" and why call the Subaru a "Subie" for Goodness sake.

That's what Aussies say. I know a few Warrens that are 'Wazzas' and I've heard Subarus called 'Subies' or 'Subes' depending on who you talk to. That's no different than the TG3 referring to Lamborghinis as 'Lambos'.

Originally Posted by drummerjmv

Oh, and Charlie Cox (his name's plural but he's really just the singular) could take a lesson on the pronunciation of Porsche -
it's pronounced Por-sha you clown not Porsh.

Now that DID make me cringe. Actually, Charlie Cox made me cringe full stop, but I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt until say 1x05 or so.

Meanwhile, back on topic ...

The Stig/Test Track/SIABSC could have been rolled into one big segment (maybe with an ad break between the test times and the SIABSC) with both the track and the RPC being explained more clearly. I would have like to have seen a mini-review of the Proton, and for Cox, Brown and Pizzati to each have a go at the RPC to work out who has the best time. I know, the TG3 never did this, but I reckon this what would make it so good. We would have learned a bit about the driving talent of the 3 hosts, or lack thereof.

The Moke film could have been expanded upon, giving some background about the Moke and how it came about. It was a great concept, and a good film ... but the execution could have been better.

For what it's worth, I would have saved the expanded Moke/shark film for another episode and used that time to do the track/RPC introductions. It would have felt like a more complete episode even if there was less in it.

[janstett]

I thought the SIARPC interview dragged on far too long.

Also, I don't know if the filmed segments were chopped down to fit into allotted time, but

- The Maybach "review" was so short as to be completely pointless. It has a back seat with headphones in it? Oooh. The lead-up was longer than the review.

- They completely missed the boat on the shark cage segment. All of TG's ludicrous experiments usually have a premise. This one didn't -- did they really think a shark would eat the car? No, instead it became an excuse to collect shark cage footage. Cool, but even my wife was asking what exactly they are trying to prove.

- The hot lap segment was completely botched. No introduction to the course layout, no up-front Stig lap with his lap time, and they rushed to get their first 6 or so cars on the power lap. Wait, you're telling me you ran a GT-R around the ring, it set the fastest lap time, and we didn't see a single frame of it in action?

- Dead cars are lined up in the studio when they haven't done anything yet (or explained what those cars did).

- A little freakish that the set is an exact clone of the UK set.

Overall, despite my complaints, I thought it was OK to good, and it has my attention and I'd vote not to give up on it yet, let these three develop some chemistry. I hope the US version gets off to as good of a start.

The main presenter (still learning their names) isn't quite as bombastic as Clarkson, but let's see where it goes.

[SL65]

Geez, only the first episode has aired so far. I'm not completely surprised that it felt rushed because they were trying to establish a baseline for the program, as HH mentioned.

Wait two or three episodes at least and make more of a judgment as to whether its rushed or not. Its unfair to judge the timing based purely on the first episode. I mean, its not every episode they're going to be introducing the presenters. Or putting 5+ cars around the track. Or doing a mini review of a car (Maybach) to INTRODUCE a TGAU feature (the What Were They Thinking Board).

[Spudgy]

Originally Posted by drummerjmv

it's pronounced Por-sha you clown not Porsh.

Heaven forbid an Aussie on an Australian show should speak like an Aussie. I'd be willing to bet that the vast majority of Australian's pronounce it Porsh. We pronounce other car names differently to other countries as well.

[P5138]

Originally Posted by tone76

That's what Aussies say. I know a few Warrens that are 'Wazzas' and I've heard Subarus called 'Subies' or 'Subes' depending on who you talk to. That's no different than the TG3 referring to Lamborghinis as 'Lambos'.

To add to that argument: Subarus can also be called "Scoobies" and (much less frequently) "Buses" (Subaru backwards is UR A BUS, eh?) and (fairly frequently) "that f'ing fast blue car with gold wheels"

Maybe I'm too much of a Subifile.

But, back on topic, I thought the segment lengths were fine. The actual scripting of the segments however... I really think if they had bothered to set up some sort of basic exposition in the segments everything would work great.

[cpd]

Originally Posted by SL65

Geez, only the first episode has aired so far. I'm not completely surprised that it felt rushed because they were trying to establish a baseline for the program, as HH mentioned.

Wait two or three episodes at least and make more of a judgment as to whether its rushed or not. Its unfair to judge the timing based purely on the first episode. I mean, its not every episode they're going to be introducing the presenters. Or putting 5+ cars around the track. Or doing a mini review of a car (Maybach) to INTRODUCE a TGAU feature (the What Were They Thinking Board).

I agree that collectively, we're being too critical, but we can't help it.

But I disagree about rushing through things to establish a baseline.

I question the need to introduce so many segments in the very first episode. The TGUK Cool Wall made it's debut in 01x05, which is halfway through Series 1. The first group review, more than one presenter appearing in the same film (which was two seater convertibles on the Isle Of Man), wasn't unitl 03x02. The first epic race didn't appear until 04x01, and the first cheap car challenge was 04x03.

Part of what makes Series 3-7 of TGUK so great is that the approach to presentation & episode structure evolved to keep the viewer engaged, even though the core content (cars & cocking about) remained the same. By series 8, the format had stabilised to the point where it was a little disappointing, and verged on becoming stale.

EDIT: Obviously some of these approaches would have been dreamed up over an extended period and only made possible as the budget allowed for it, but I think my argument for not stacking 01x01 is still valid.

[epp_b]

For me, it was the accent.



*duck*

[Sleeperix]

I only think that it is impossible to copy TGUK. The reason for it being as good as it is, is the chemistry between Jeremy, Hamster and Captain slow.
Think TGA would be much better off trying to find some ideas of their own instead of copying everything from TGUK.

But I guess they bought the whole package and have to follow it through.

[drummerjmv]

Well, I hope you guys continue to enjoy the rest of the series because I suspect that there'll only be one.

Me, I'll be very happy avoiding it for as long as it runs.

Regarding the pronunciation of Porsche, might I suggest that the fact that most people mispronounce it doesn't make it right. Similarly, referring to several Australians as Australian's doesn't make that right either.

[aussie_eagle2512]

I believe that the burden being rested on the shoulders of these presenters is unbelieveable. Being burdened with a studio and segment layout that is almost catered directly to the UK presenters (as the show developed with them, rather than the other way around) they also have to try to act out the roles of the UK presenters. Nothing says anywhere these guys are professional actors. I think whoever makes the show should severly even it out as to get the presenters comfortable and the audience comfortable with them. I think they'll work it out in the end. I also think Charlie seems better behind the wheel in a review then as the lead in the studio. I would like to see them make a change that reflects that, with perhaps Warren Brown becoming the lead character or perhaps not having a lead character at all.

[Cobol74]

C'mon series 1 episode 1 - give the guys a break.

I was entertained and I actually liked the show for me obviously it is familiar but also novel. I think that the presenters will slot in no probs too.

So - its OK and I will be acquiring this regularly.