[11x04] July 13th, 2008

[OldSkoolGP]

Wow! This is the episode I've been waiting for since 10x05 last year!!! I gave it a 10 only because I couldn't vote higher.

Alfa 8C Test: Remember at the end of series 9 Jeremy and party were enchanted by the 8C for it looks! I was so pleased that despite that, Jeremy was able to be honest that the rest of the car was still and Alfa (meaning not very good). It didn't take 10 minutes to explain that and they only used 6. Well done!

News: Great news! I liked the part abour Sarah Jessica Parker because I agree with Jezza. She should be good looking, you sort of expect it, then you really look at her and think, "My god! You could land an SR-71 on her nose!"

Nissan GT-R review: Better than all the other car vs. something races? Well it was certainly more dramatic. Hammond and May getting seperated, Jezza losing the Sat Nav, that stuff kept me engrained, but the best? I struggle with this because I love them all except the Veyron one which I just liked. After watching this I immediately wanted to watch the SLR vs. boat one again, probably because of the inability to get help from the locals via language which I thought was great. My gut feeling at the moment, best race ever. But just barely.

SIARPC: OK, I now accept this 2 guest thing is here to stay, but Mr. Wilman, PLEASE let it die with this series!!! I mean if you think one guest doesn't draw enough attention and you need to have two guests to make SIARPC interesting, just stop doing it! Those newsreaders weren't as bad as expected, but I just don't see how you can take news seriously when it's being delivered to you by hot women.

All in all, best programme of the series. It's a shame that there are only 2 left in this run, hopefully they'll get a 10 show run in the fall.

[Martin]

Overall a very good episode...

1) Loved the visual effects of the Alfa review.

2) The race was really good actually, not over the top and more great cinematics.

3) SIARPC was actually not too bad.

I'm loathe to give 10/10 since that implies perfection, but if I could have it would have been a 9.7 or 9.8 score.

[Ilpav]

ABSOLUTLEY BRILLIANT EPISODE!!!

The 8C review was awesome, the news was OK, the GT-R race was epic, and the SIRAPC was WAY better than the rest of this series, I actually enjoyed watching it.

This episode is perfect apart from a few points lost in the news. So I gave it a 9.8/10 = 10/10.

To everyone involved making this episode, well done!

[MP5A4]

Ah wait, nevermind i get it. lol

and it was better then i was expecting. i was kinda sad cause it seems to be better then the last episode with the AR challenge...
the 8C review is kinda short. actually everythign i skinda short. guess they have to make room for the race.

[TomCat]

9/10

It was good, but like others have said, the race dominated the episode. It was a great race though. Japan is a beautiful country. And the GT-R actually looked good in bright red paint. In pictures red looks horrible on it, but on film it looked very good. I can see why Jeremy was crying about people saying the races are staged. This was obviously a very close race and he wanted full credit for it.

[Nuieve]

How did JC manage to program his GPS to take him to the final destination when he couldn't even find out how to turn it on?

The car always wins. All the races are scripted this way. Overscripiness makes them a bit yawny. This race was short and didn't feature enough variety in locations or situations. Seemed like the same station, the same road all the way. Nothing happened in it too, except that moment when they all got lost synchronously. It would be nice if they could make it so that Hamster got permanently lost for a change... or if JC ctashed the car at the end of it... and spare us one of those 3-min "close" finishes

Overall I feel like the idea of racing grew a long beard.

The car review style is also old... Praise praise praise... dramatic pause... bash bash bash....

Oh, and where did that lonely stuntman go?

7/10

[thejaredhuang]

Originally Posted by Frederic

What's that phone Hammond has? Is it a razr? Looks quite nice!

It looks like a standard issue NTT flip phone. A lot of Japanese companies make it but they all look the same.

Good episode, but I don't find myself being that attached to this series. For some reason each episode doesn't grab me like last season 9 did.

As for races, they always seem like something happens to make the final result close. Japan = Jeremy turning off the GPS, Veyron = May can't fly at night, etc. SLR to Oslo was the only one that had a believable outcome.

The Veryron race was pretty pathetic though, if May could fly at night he would have killed Clarkson by hours.

[jfuh]

WAAAAYY too funny of an episode.
Jeremy eating whole crabs legs shell and all, Hammster not being able to eat anything at all, May being "lost", Jeremy turning off his girlfriend amy accidently only to finally figure out how to turn her back on again, the fold away bikes - Yokohama station, then Jeremy wearing the bandana upside down classic Top gear classic race. I was extremely surprised however that Tokyo wasn't more congested - talk about luck. I've been through that very route that Jeremy took and I encountered absolutely horrid nightmarish traffic jam.
I can't say this episode was perfect but it was far superior to just a 9 - must give the full ten.
Thank you thank you thank you thank you top gear and thank you final gear!

[El Colombo]

The 8C was outstanding,

I was frankly blown away by the car when I first saw it in magazine a while back, but Jeremy's explanation as to how the car itself was art makes plenty of sense. Pity though. It looks like the car could eat anything in it's way. I'd still have one, red or black, though I'd prefer red.

the race was brilliant,

I honestly believe that that was the greatest of all the races I've seen (I haven't gotten around to watching stuff pre-S5, so I can't say if there's anything as good or better than this there.)

and the guests were hot.

Dem be some real sexy women right there. Smart too.

EP Rating: 10/10

[FordGT]

Love it! I gave it a 10. The race was brillaint. Nuff said.

[acabinian]

Originally Posted by Viper007Bond

Hell yes! She's f'ing hot.

I wish we had those kinds of newsreaders here in the States

Great episode, loved the GT-R race. I do agree that there's too much Clarkson car reviews; I always appreciated a May or Hammond review, since they talked about stuff that wasn't about powerrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Hopefully the old luxury barges film next week with Clarkson and May will be good, and that May finally gets some real review TV time

[TopGear_Fan_NY]

The Million Dollar Question is....


DID ANYONE EVEN NOTICE THE ABSENCE OF THE "TOP GEAR STUNT MAN"...


- I bet you didn't since he is a completely useless and pointless character.

[Labcoatguy]

Originally Posted by TopGear_Fan_NY

The Million Dollar Question is....


DID ANYONE EVEN NOTICE THE ABSENCE OF THE "TOP GEAR STUNT MAN"...


- I bet you didn't since he is a completely useless and pointless character.

I only just now realized it when going back over the first episodes of the season. Oh well.

[ChaoZ]

Great episode. The entire race had me in stitches. Somebody who speaks Japanese should translate those phrases from their pocket dictionaries. I bet they're in-jokes or something.

Also, Jeremy's bandana was on upside down for most of the time it was on, and put right side up on the very last leg of the trip while he was in the mountains.

9.5/10, so I rounded up. Bravo.

[skylock]

9.7/10 = 10

Loved it. Got to add visit Japan to my list.

Just a couple of minor minor complaints. I did not like the way the race just sort of ended, but it was a packed show and I do understand time constraints.

I enjoyed the Alfa car review. I even liked the music the Stig was listening to.

The News. How sad do you have to be to try to seek attention by making such a silly complaint?

Liked the signs, esp James' favorite. But where would you find Jeremy's?


I agree with Jeremy about Sarah Jessica Parker, I always thought of Big Bird when I see her.

I liked how they lead into the bullet train race. One of the docs where I work has nitrogen tires. He claims they run much better and I can report he flies around me every week doing about 90.

Anyone else notice how many tall buildings in Toyoko has hellicopter landing pads?

Loved when Jeremy screamed for help when he heard the sat nav lady.

James' shirt? My word. Did he lose a bet?

Those language translators. Useless. Jeremy's way is the way to go. Just sign and point. But you should always learn certain words in the local language for things like bathroom or you will wind up hopping around and pretending to wash your hands while trying to sign it. Also one phrase we always learn is "the brakes do not work" after nearly being killed in a Rental car in Cozumel Mexico.


Did anyone else notice the oil pressure and stuff was in english in the car?

Loved the guy getting on to them for using the phone on the train.

What in the hell does Richard eat?

Jeremy's speed camera solution was brilliant.

I want some of those little crabs.

I loved the gas station attendent.

What was that guy walking away when Jeremy was buying more fish wearing?

Thanks to Jeremy, bf now has a new thing to ask for he knows will probably get now. (not saying what that is)

The train splitting and leaving Richard behind is the kind of things that usually happens to me when I travel. But I just go with it and figure it is all a part of the experience, but then I am never in a race.

I wonder where all the traffic is in Toyoko?

I loved Jeremy's english speaking policeman. Maybe. LOL

I liked the foot race at the end, but I was surprised James seemed to handle it the best. I would have guessed Richard, but maybe he was hungry.

That entrance/exit to the tunnel was amazing.

Ninja Jeremy.




I did not like the star on the right. I may be wrong, but I have a feeling she is a right bitch. And she is apparently a bit stupid because turn right is NOT the same as turn left.

Both Jeremy AND The Stig seemed to be taken with the one on the left. Best choice in my opinion.

I can just see Jeremy laughing for weeks about the lady and her bowl.

Not my favorite episode, but so good in my opinion, it gets a 10.

[BlaRo]

Episode was off to a slow start, but the race is their best since the Norwegian ferry vs. SLR. All the niggling little bits that I'm nitpicking about were nullified by how epic that race was. 10/10 for me, and I'll definitely watch it again.

The news, frankly, sucked. It's starting to feel more scripted than the rest of the show: "JC's Internet bit, May's Good News! bit, Hammond introduces road sign campaign, random politicking".

That said, I agree with everything JC said about the Alfa 8C. I'm sad that it drives like a glorified Mustang and is utter crap, apparently, but I wouldn't give a damn about the pizza-bagel-sized cubbyhole and the airplane carry-on bin when it looks like that. The filming definitely seemed like they were playing with a grab bag full of new shiny effects, though, and I can see how people would complain about the MTV music video style. Whatever, the opening with the subtle coloring was pretty stunning.

Fiona Bruce is a classy dame. Are newsreaders as influential in Britain as they are in America? We've made heroes out of Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw, and Peter Jennings, and an entire generation listened to those three men tell us about the fall of the Berlin Wall, Princess Di's death, etc. I'd imagine if Katie Couric slapped JC's ass the pundits would be set for life afterwards.

Check out that sah-weet Fairlady 300ZX at 32:06! Still manages to look more handsome than the angry, pissed-off GTR. The Japan race definitely reminded me of when I was there, I kept thinking Richard should have just picked up a bento box for lunch or something.

[skylock]

I have read this whole forum and I may have missed it, but who gave the show 1/10?

Viper, could you find out and let me know because even though I know people have different opinions on things, I want to know who it was because they will never hold any credbility with me if they thought that show deserved a ONE.

To the person making the comments about TGSM not being in the show. Exactly where in that show would they have found the 5 min to stick him in? I am sure if they had a 5 min spot, we would have seen him. When he was announced it was expalined he would be an "occassional" preformer. Maybe you do not understand what occassionally means.

And one last comment on the show. I liked the way they slipped in the fact that the races are planned to be close.

[warren]

Originally Posted by Nuieve

The car always wins. All the races are scripted this way. Overscripiness makes them a bit yawny. This race was short and didn't feature enough variety in locations or situations.

It's a 30-minute film, which makes it the second-longest race Top Gear has done, after the North Pole race, and around the same time as the Bugatti race. Any longer than that and they'd have to do another 60-minute show.

Also, the car didn't win in the cross-London race -- it came last.


What you're probably having issues with is how the films are edited. The original races aren't pre-decided, but they have to do a lot of work to produce something that they can present on television. You don't take a crew of twelve, maybe fifteen people to Japan without a lot of planning and ideas about specific things you want to do! The camera people will be filming almost non-stop, which will result in many hours of material. The producers then have to pick out the best few minutes, both in terms of the quality of the filming itself (since they only get one shot at some of the important stuff), and in terms of what the presenters are saying.

Seemed like the same station, the same road all the way.

Unlike the Bugatti race, where Clarkson went through some winding roads in mountains, some tunnels, some straight motorways, another really long tunnel, and a city? Err, that's what they did in the GT-R race, too...

Nothing happened in it too, except that moment when they all got lost synchronously. It would be nice if they could make it so that Hamster got permanently lost for a change... or if JC ctashed the car at the end of it... and spare us one of those 3-min "close" finishes

..... because if Clarkson were to intentionally crash an expensive car that's on loan to the BBC from an auto company, that would meet your demands of not being over-scripted!

Anyways, Clarkson would like to have a word with the likes of you now:
http://www.topgear.com/blogs/planett...on-japan-race/

The car review style is also old... Praise praise praise... dramatic pause... bash bash bash....

You must be a real treat at parties. Come on, mate, they switch things up all the time.

[warren]

Originally Posted by skylock

Liked the signs, esp James' favorite. But where would you find Jeremy's?

I was on the Internet tonight, and I found THIS:
http://flickr.com/photos/baalands/416013729/

They put up signs like these near army training facilities. The troops have to train somewhere.

[JosefCarlin]

Bring the BBC lawyers on and let them sue me, I'll gladly throw myself on the mercy of the jury and plead irresistible compulsion. I will show them this episode and conclude my defense with, "This, lady and gentleman, is why I download Top Gear!" Consistently the best single hour of television ever, this is Art just as much as that Alfa is Art. That race had more drama, humor, beauty, and soul than an entire season of any other show I can think of, except maybe the Simpson's.

Andy and Jeremy need to quit reading all the sniveling dweebs who do nothing but criticize others with talent who actually struggle episode after episode to create great entertainment. They display their efforts on the air for all to see only to have some pick at their nits. I don't know what the budget for this episode was, but every bit of it was on screen. This episode was brilliant and if you disagree with me, then you sir are worse than Hitler.