[13x01] June 21st, 2009

[tripbeat]

Originally Posted by spicysaurus

Yes, exactly! You lucky few across the ocean aren't subjected to Jon & Kate every 10 seconds. If we rate TG against all other programs, it's hard to give it less than a 9 even on its worst days.

You are absolutly right about Top Gear being a lonely light in this dark age of television. It plays in its own league so it can only be rated in its own league. If the range of measurement is from 0 to 10 and and someone reduces it to 9 to 10 there is no measure at all.

To explain my background: I'm the MC at the Frankfurt Poetry-Slam where we have exactly the same range. People tend to rate high - but we always try to explain that it does not make any sense to give the first poet 10 points. No matter how good he is. You have to preserve some range.

Giving the show 9 out of ten means it can hardly get any better. Giving it 10 means this is one of the best I've ever watched. There are people in this who say this was one of the best episodes ever. Then its clearly a ten. If not the 10 is pointless. Do they know the thing they call Gaussian bell curve? That's what it's all about. Average show is 5.

[flydiscovery]

Who says Top Gear's excellence has to fit a Guassian distribution? Why not Cauchy–Lorentz or exponential? And who says it centers around 5? I do have to agree it depends on what you compare it to, tv as a whole (and then is it British TV, worldwide tv, just BBC shoes?) versus Top Gear as a whole. Ack, sorry I nerded out there for a moment. Tongue out of cheek now.

There are lies, damned lies, and statistics.

[shellygrrl]

^ Personally, I think you're talking sense.

Originally Posted by kurthest

I guess those people [who rate this 9/10] doesnt look forward to the next episodes then, since they reckon TG cant do better.

Bullshit. If those of us who rated it 9/10 believe it deserves that rating, leave us to it! Feel free to disagree, of course; but please DO NOT tell us how to rate an episode. Subjectivity and all that, you know.

I think the lowest rating I'd give any episode of TG is a 3; and that's for only one: Top Ground Gear Force (you want to talked "forced"? IMO, that was supremely forced.). I've quite a few episodes I'd rate 10/10; but, actually, most of the ones I've seen would all fall somewhere between 6 and 9/10, inclusive.

[swraman]

why is the whole internet flooded with articles claiming that Schumacher is the Stig?

Did they get THAT excited when they saw him that they forgot to watch the rest of the episode or something?

[xecutioner]

loved the episode and the race with steam engine cracked me up heaps

great to see schui again and that lap with the fxx was amazing

cant believe the sound it makes

[syncview]

I'm the STIG, get over it NOW!

[shellygrrl]

Originally Posted by swraman

why is the whole internet flooded with articles claiming that Schumacher is the Stig?

Because the internets can be very naive sometimes.

[Red_Bull]

Originally Posted by tripbeat

You are absolutly right about Top Gear being a lonely light in this dark age of television. It plays in its own league so it can only be rated in its own league. If the range of measurement is from 0 to 10 and and someone reduces it to 9 to 10 there is no measure at all.

To explain my background: I'm the MC at the Frankfurt Poetry-Slam where we have exactly the same range. People tend to rate high - but we always try to explain that it does not make any sense to give the first poet 10 points. No matter how good he is. You have to preserve some range.

Giving the show 9 out of ten means it can hardly get any better. Giving it 10 means this is one of the best I've ever watched. There are people in this who say this was one of the best episodes ever. Then its clearly a ten. If not the 10 is pointless. Do they know the thing they call Gaussian bell curve? That's what it's all about. Average show is 5.

We've been over this debate before. Everyone is rating the episode on different variables. Past episodes, what else is on TV currently, their particular moods and emotions, which way the wind is blowing, etc. I tend to rate episodes based on how well it entertains me for the hour period in which I watch it.

[Cobol74]

I am with Red_BULL on this one - for just on 2 hours on Sunday I was really happy watching TV - that does not happen that often may I tell you; James May & The Moon & U2 spy plane & a top notch TG what do you want for your licence fee? Oh! Look some of you did not pay it - oh dear. ...

[Holiace]

Top Gear almost always impress me in some way. The show has almost never been bad. there might have been one episode or two that were boring as hell but overall, there is a reason why Top Gear is estimated to have about 350 MILLION viewers worldwide.

[moneymouth77]

Was a great episode, although the whole Schumacher thing was rubbish. There's a great comment on this page:

http://motoring.sky.com/news/galleri...-the-stig.aspx

Michael Schumacher was just a guest like they have guests every episode. It was a joke to pretend he was the stig because of the big deal everyone made about it being ben collins. People are silly

[Holiace]

By the time "The Stig" was up on stage I had already figured out that the FXX was not loaned out by Ferrari themselves. I thought that it just had to be a race driver...

And we all know that The Stig is not Schumacher.

[dkril]

If it was 1949 for that challenge, then the train should have won easily. No need to stop four times for water; they could just pick it up on the fly from the water troughs en route .

I wonder if the Schumacher thing is going to be the new Dacia joke -- reveal a new Stig every episode .

Pity that for whatever reasons they couldn't get Schumacher to do a lap in the Liana. Equally, I'd love to see how fast the Stig did a lap in the FXX.

[nameless1]

7/10
I wasnt really impressed by this race...

so who is the stig then?

[Sik02Stang]

ok, all the jokes are over, i have the true answer...the stig is..........Prince Harry!!!

[Sik02Stang]

Originally Posted by dkril

If it was 1949 for that challenge, then the train should have won easily. No need to stop four times for water; they could just pick it up on the fly from the water troughs en route .

I wonder if the Schumacher thing is going to be the new Dacia joke -- reveal a new Stig every episode .

Pity that for whatever reasons they couldn't get Schumacher to do a lap in the Liana. Equally, I'd love to see how fast the Stig did a lap in the FXX.

no, as far as every eppisode, that would just kill the whole joke.

[spicysaurus]

Originally Posted by flydiscovery

Who says Top Gear's excellence has to fit a Guassian distribution? Why not Cauchy–Lorentz or exponential? And who says it centers around 5? I do have to agree it depends on what you compare it to, tv as a whole (and then is it British TV, worldwide tv, just BBC shoes?) versus Top Gear as a whole. Ack, sorry I nerded out there for a moment. Tongue out of cheek now.

There are lies, damned lies, and statistics.

+1 for nerd-dom.

[Stig'sFilipinoCousin]

I think that for the entire season, someone new every episode will be a Stig; running joke.

[Kiskaloo]

Originally Posted by Cobol74

I am with Red_BULL on this one - for just on 2 hours on Sunday I was really happy watching TV - that does not happen that often may I tell you; James May & The Moon & U2 spy plane & a top notch TG what do you want for your licence fee? Oh! Look some of you did not pay it - oh dear. ...

That's okay. Some of us support Top Gear through buying the DVDs and iTunes downloads as well as paying our cable company to carry BBC America (so the cable company pays BBC America for the privilege of carrying them and showing us Top Gear).

It all works out in the end.

[travelrabbit]

Throughout the episode Jeremy reminded me of a traffic cone. I hope it doesn't become the new running gag...
Or maybe one comes dressed as a traffic light in the next episode?

Cheers