[11x03] July 6th, 2008

[vikiradTG2007]

Solid 9. The stars were meh..., but the news seemed much more spontaneous compared to the other two shows in the series. Cheap Alfa Challenge was a thing of brilliance and a source of many laughs, and also the Brooklands review was a really well put-together one and shows the nature of these "cars of two halves", as May once said about super-powerful limousines.

And before anything... OI! JEZZA! You said you weren't going to mention the crash again, you blithering idiot!!!! Nice dig after the blown tire.

[MacGuffin]

Maybe my enthusiasm is somehow damped, because I was burning all previous seasons of Top Gear on DVD over the past weeks and watched every single episode again, before series 11 started.

With them still clearly in mind, I have the feeling they lost some of their originality and things look much more staged and scripted, than before.

I don't know if anybody else notices, but James May is a really bad actor and it shows when he doesn't act spontaneously but has to follow a script and for example only pretends to be very angry and when he is genuine (I noticed it the first time with Top Gear Ground Force).

The acted parts grew more in the past in my opinion. I mean: "Fondue?" If that wasn't scripted, I eat a broom.

[Zorlac]

I havent seen any of the interview segments this season. I just skip right through it. They are all awful, and I dont know who the hell any of those ppl are.

[Frederic]

Originally Posted by jo-jo-action

I love the Episode! solid and fun.
BTW, Oliver spotted!!:
46.05 and following minutes!!

Also: peel P50 spotted in 46:14

[torqueless]

i love the bentley.

amazing. i want it. i want to bathe in it's luxury.

and i wonder how many of those pretty alfas have seen a track day...

and i actually like hammonds calender...

[FatPenguin]

Is that Oliver behind the 75?

[Richmondgal]

Yes it is, and there's also the Peel P50 in there aswell.

[balwinjassal]

I thought last week was good but this weeks episode just blew my mind away. The Alfa special was absolutely incredible.

MacGuffin. It sounds like you have just watched all the old episodes, but I have been doing them every night for the past two years. They are my bed time stories that put me to sleep. I'll admit that season 9 and 10 were not up the glory of the previous seasons, but this summer series has yet to disappoint me.

I really hope this quality of car reviews carries on for the whole series.

[balwinjassal]

And by the way, I've been reading this forum for a year and a half but this is my 1st ever post. Just like to say it's nice to join the TopGear family.

[otispunkmeyer]

awesome

the alfa challenge was just amazing..... rubbing cheese into james engine bay was priceless, and even though JC's roll was completely staged (looked like it was done on a bit of unused infield) the editing made its appearence absolutely hilarious. the whole alfa thing felt very real and unforced which is just how it should be.

i think this week the internet images was that guy with his knob up the tail pipe dressed in a gimp suit.

also the SUN newspaper (or one of them) got a picture of the STIG at silverstone yesterday....he was all in his overalls and helmet so i wonder if TG were there

[VdevoV]

The picture Jeremy Clarkson found on the internet this episode.

Warning! Not family friendly! But hillarious! =)

[awdrifter]

I guess they have to balance out last week's all car ep, this week's ep only got one car review. The Bentley Brookland looks like something too be cruised in, when Clarkson turned the traction control off and tried to do the usually drifts, he just ended up popping a tire.

I usually don't like challenges, and this one is not particularly good. The only good looking Alfa there is May's Coupe.

[jensked]

Meh, a nice episode, but I thought the Alfa challenge was a bit poor.

The driving on the track days was just hopeless and yet they stretched that bit so long. I thought it was the worst of the challenges and that the creativity was a bit gone.

And last time, the police challenge was too short. Maybe if i watch it a second time, i will ike it more.

[Andreyblade]

really fun eps, Alfa's are really kewl, but their build quality, not that much
i really like the Dacia Sandero part ) cuz the car is made in my country, Romania

[controlspecimen]

Originally Posted by YicklePigeon

I also liked that they done something different with the challenges, the track day was quite interesting...but I'm sorry...no wait I'm not sorry, because I really do quite detest Jeremy & Richard bashing into James' car. It was funny a few years ago, but it isn't now and personally I'd have done more than simply unhook Richard's car when they were on the way to the concourse (although just before this I was "telling" James through my PC to unhook Richard's car!) - yes, I was definitely on the side of May.

Y'see, the thing is though this wasn't a case of the White Van Man test or the even older "buy a car for less than £100" test where it didn't matter what the vehicles looked like so long as they worked...or "worked" depending on one's point of view. James probably would have won if they hadn't crashed into him so many times and the cheese incident was just childish and insipid.

It's the same every time "lets play a prank on May!", I didn't like it in the last series with the Africa special and was highly amused in the African special when the cow's head ended up in Hammond's tent (hah! A taste of your own medicine!) - it's a very tired and cheap way to get a laugh.

I agree completely. I did not enjoy them destroying his air conditioning in his Cadillac on the America trip, or the cow's head in Africa. This one was just juvenile, and I just rolled my eyes that they would do that. Put cheese in his engine? Seriously? They didn't do that in the old epic cheap car challenges.

And yes the track segment went on for way too long and the "challenges" were lacking in originality and felt too scripted. I think this show is starting to lose it. Maybe they should start considering killing it before it turns to shit?

[controlspecimen]

Originally Posted by MacGuffin

Maybe my enthusiasm is somehow damped, because I was burning all previous seasons of Top Gear on DVD over the past weeks and watched every single episode again, before series 11 started.

With them still clearly in mind, I have the feeling they lost some of their originality and things look much more staged and scripted, than before.

I don't know if anybody else notices, but James May is a really bad actor and it shows when he doesn't act spontaneously but has to follow a script and for example only pretends to be very angry and when he is genuine (I noticed it the first time with Top Gear Ground Force).

The acted parts grew more in the past in my opinion. I mean: "Fondue?" If that wasn't scripted, I eat a broom.

Yes I have also noticed this. He seemed much happier and didn't get cut off as much in the previous seasons. The show lacks the same upbeat charm that made it great.

[vikiradTG2007]

Originally Posted by Andreyblade

i really like the Dacia Sandero part ) cuz the car is made in my country, Romania

Bine ca ne promoveaza industria auto si pe acolo...

(Translation: It's a good thing that they're promoting our auto industry around there...)

[M355Y]

I expecte the Alfa challenge to be brilliant, but it was too predictable for words. At best lacked sparkle. At worst, very obviously scripted and pretty boring.

The re-hashing of jokes is getting silly now.

* Richard keeps 'accidentally' bumping into the other cars and opening his door into them
* Jezza & Hammond 'spontaniously' decide to sabotage James' car while he's away
- re-arranging letters - best driving roads
- bits of meat in strategic places - Africa
- air conditioning - US
- cheese - Alfa
cows head in tent.....etc etc etc.

I reckon it all comes from the Porsche challenge a few years back when he genuinely caked his pristine engine in oil after having had it all cheaned and polished, and wasn't happy. They thought 'ooh, that was funny, let's make sure it happens every time'


even the other bits are incredibly predictable. Jeremy arrives first in something with racing pretensions. "behold the magificance". James arrives in something sensible. They bicker, then both stop to laugh at Hammond in a daft little coupe/cabrio. Fair enough it's scripted, but for Christs sake don't keep using the same script!

the track day bit was boring and went on far too long. If Jezza really ended up rolling it, why didn't we see it? The bit where the cars were being judged....meh. All in all, weak.

the best recent TGs are where they've come up with a new and genuinely interesting idea. The race across London was really good, for example. These cheap car challenges are getting tedious.

[_HighVoltage_]

This episode was ruined for me by Jeremy's rolled Alfa...FAKE! You can't roll a car while driving fast and make it stand on its side without rolling over!
James is even less involved in the show...which is terrible. The few lines that he had were truly epic - "I may surprise you...I bet you I don't though."

Oh and one more thing - crashing into the back of James' car - funny on the American episode, but not so funny anymore.
Jeremy needs to step down a bit and let Richard and James lead the show for a while.

[Pepto]

The cinematography in the bentley segment was too over the top. But rest of the episode was decent.