[13x06] July 26th, 2009

[nate_bartlet]

Stig Flu huh? guess that must involve a irrational anger at scouts, Michael Schumacher attempts to imitate you and stiffens your muscles so that you give the exact same pose every time.

[pitdog]

Very nice episode. The only instant dinosaurs were fun was the moment when one of those poor ancient creatures was attempting to run after Jeremy's Z4.
ACDC singer - what a great cool feller. And a terrific driver to boot. Top stuff.
Old cars - could be great as a special, as some mentioned before. That girl's face was quite asymmetrical (eyes). But a nice rack was featured on the programme, and that's what counts. I kinda think some of the scenes with her were not that scripted...or were they? "I was doing it to the nearest second." LOL
Overall 9/10.

[ahpadt]

Meh, nothing special. Race wasnt even that interesting. Best part was the auction.

[qutar]

Loved the episode!
The Z4 is great but I wish they did a bit more on the 370z and the dinosaur bit was a first for me so not too bad. The news was fun, more Marina bashing and the Carla Bruni bit was hilarious.
Brian Johnson was an excellent guest, its great too have people who are really interested in cars on the show and I'm not at all biased because I listen to AC/DC
The rally part was great but I was a bit disappointed with the shortness. A challenge of that kind deserves a full episode as a special and it would have been fun to see the boys in some competitive cars, competing from the start with the other drivers and doing their best to win. Well at least we got some great shots of Madisons ti... I mean of James driving

A 9/10 for me.

[Posmo]

How much do I want to own a classic car.....

[nomix]

This got a nine from me.

Loved the Z4 vs. Datsun, well filmed, and nice cars. Even if I didn't like the dinosaur bit, it was at least good CGI, so not all bad.

News were very nice, so were Brian whatshisnameagain. One of the best SIARPC for ages, perhaps even since Parkinson was in Chevy. I generally don't skip the interviews, but lately I've been skipping them when I watch older episodes. This one I won't skip in future, just like Parkinson, Rich Hall and Steve Coogan.

Challenge was lovely. Nice to see James enjoying himself. Loved his Citroën as well.

Must say I agree with the split screen, but I prefer just watching the two laps, as it's more suprising. With this, it's obvious the Datsun is faster, and that makes it a little more boring.

But all in all, I enjoyed this ep.

[Kiskaloo]

Brilliant episode. Solid 9.

Two solid car reviews to start.

Excellent "The News" segment.

Great SIARPC.

The Majorca Rally was both a solid race and a solid challenge. Not the best of either, but still very enjoyable.

One question: Why didn't Primeval have as good CG dinosaurs?

[captain_70s]

Thought this one wass quite good myself.

SIARPC was good, I love AC/DC. And a great lap too.

Classic car rally was cool too, with Hammond's Overheating Lanchester Clarkson ridiculous Midget and James' suprisingly cute Ami.
Still don't like Miss Welch though... Anybody who wears high heels like that on a day to day basis is A: insane and B: quite possibly a prostitute!

(please note there is absoloutely no generalisations or speculations in this segment, everything is based entirley on facts)!

That BWM is an ugly beast though, it actually looks like it has a HUGE nose!

[TomCat]

I actually gave this one a 10, although its probably more like a 9.5.

I loved it because it actually felt like a real show about cars, which is unusual for TG lately. I love that they actually took the cheap car challenge seriously, although Jeremy made a mess of his lap times. The reviews of the Z4 and 370Z were both good, but as usual with TG car reviews, they never leave the track, nor do they stop doing powerslides. Still, it was a good episode. Even the SIARPC segment was interesting.

I did think it was funny that they mentioned the Morris Marina again during the news. It's even more obvious that they're only messing with them for ratings, to make more money, in typical TG sellout style. Shame really.

[Wyvern]

Loved this episode to bits. I genuinely didn't feel there was a weak segment in there, and in a way this surprised me because I thought the dinosaur thing was going to be a bit weak. I realised where they'd got them from when I first read that they were animatronic and not CGI, and I'm probably going to pop down to the O2 to see them later in the summer - but it was a really interesting way to make a point about the cars. Besides, I'm six really, so I love dinosaurs

Brian Johnson... what a BRILLIANT guest! One of the most entertaining SIARPC ever, IMO.

And the challenge was fantastic. Funnily enough, I came *this* close to buying a 1969 Sprite two weeks ago. The bit at the auction was just priceless, and when they were looking at the other rally entrants, I have to admit I was literally squealing with car lust. Loved the choices of co-drivers and Hammond's 'granddad's' car. A very, very solid episode, best of the series so far for me.

[argatoga]

I loved the episode. Though I am not a fan of that rally's rules. Match your first lap? Can't go balls out.

Loved seeing the Spridget beating the Mustang in the corners (the Ford was ridiculously wide). It was also nice seeing another one win (see Season 10(?) where the Frog Eye killed the ricer).

Oh and of course, fucking Brian Johnson.

[flydiscovery]

I think my favorite part had to be the auction bit. It was just so hilariously predictable within their personalities. I just loved Jeremy getting all over excited and spending more than he was supposed to, and then we know that James had been distracted buying that brown Triumph for his girlfriend leaving him with the last of the lot for the race. Richard's antsy ADD "let's get done and go do something fun" was also perfect.

This time though, I think I need to rewatch before I make much of a judgment. I just didn't "get" the dinosaurs but then I was never a little boy so I don't have that bit of the psyche. I was also a little disappointed how late they were to the rally (that explains all the DNS entries).

I like both the Z4 and the 370Z, not that I'd ever want to own either but I like they way they both look. I do still really like the split screen effect. I agree 5th gear's format has distinct advantages, but for Top Gear I think they've done it right. If not done carefully the show can really get bogged down in Stig laps. I like that they aren't trying to do it for every single episode too. A lot of the beautiful cinematography is lost. I think they've kept a good balance with it this series.

I don't understand why Jeremy couldn't talk to his codriver. Codriver clearly had an understanding of Clarkson's favorite word, poweeeeeeeeeeeer.

[Submiqent]

Ahhh, the dinosaurs! They were so incredibly cheesy, I can't believe somebody thought that was a good idea. Borrowing from Spielberg? Lame and throwing dinosaurs at car reviews has no link whatsoever. Clarkson even put in a Chuck Norris joke! If Top Gear will ever jump the shark, it will have started here. Thank god there was a fairly solid pair of car reviews under that tosh.

The challenge lacked an overall point, but was otherwise pretty solid.

5/10 cause of the dinosaurs. Seriously.

[2Billion]

Originally Posted by Submiqent

Ahhh, the dinosaurs! They were so incredibly cheesy, I can't believe somebody thought that was a good idea. Borrowing from Spielberg? Lame and throwing dinosaurs at car reviews has no link whatsoever. Clarkson even put in a Chuck Norris joke! If Top Gear will ever jump the shark, it will have started here. Thank god there was a fairly solid pair of car reviews under that tosh.

The challenge lacked an overall point, but was otherwise pretty solid.

5/10 cause of the dinosaurs. Seriously.

Let's be honest, the dinosaurs are no different from the hawk in one of the Murcielago reviews, or the trick lights in the SL Black, though it's combined with one of Clarkson's famously tortured metaphors in this case. It's just a slightly different way to film a car, something that TG just does in general. I kinda liked it as a one off.

I really enjoyed this episode in general, though the rally bit of the rally didn't have enough tension. I still give it a 9, just because I liked the auction bit so much.

[Spitfire1500]

A bit of a mixed bag today, starting quite poorly and getting better through to a great ending.

Really didnt like the dinosaur bit, cant stand the majority of Jap cars, and surprise surprise the new Z really dosnt do anything for me. Rather disappointed with the Z4 as well, the last generation being such a good looking car, its such a shame that the new one just looks like someone has welded the arse off a 6 series onto a streched out version of the old Z4 front, (and the folding metal roof just spoils the lines whether its up or down...) Not at all keen on the split screen stuff (though I'd prefer that than seeing both of those cars going round the track on their own).

The news, as ever I wish it was longer (what happened to sticking the extended news on the topgear website?)

SIARPC, Ive been quite impressed this series with TG getting a few more interesting guests, and Brian Johnson was one of the best. (shame he wasnt that tenth quicker to get to the top!)

The Classic Car Challenge was really enjoyable.

overall 7/10 if it had had a better car review (or if BMW hadnt completely screwed up the look of the new Z4, would have been a solid 9/10

[oxbcat]

I am trying to watch this episode now. I normally stream the video file to my xbox 360 and watch it on my tv. But it seems with this season, all the RiVER episodes (2,3 and 6) they have a problem. There seems to be a blip where the video goes black when played on the xbox after around 15-16 minutes. Does anybody else seem to have this problem? I am now watching the rest on the pc, but would prefer to watch it on my tv.

[DarkReaper]

Wiedekind has this to say to JC:

[ahpadt]

Originally Posted by ahpadt

Meh, nothing special. Race wasnt even that interesting. Best part was the auction.

Yes, angry idiot negrepping me!

you -never- seem to enjoy it, why do you even bother watching, never mind being on a fan forum

I say that cos TG can be a lot better. They are trying too hard.

[acabinian]

9/10.

Great challenge, nice to see the guys get really involved with it. The auction was the best part of the challenge. at Jeremy bidding too much for that Healey. I agree Maddie was a @*#! at the beginning but she came around toward the end. Lucky James

Nice news segment, at the "physical" threat by the Morris Marina Owners club poster and Bruni's "sadness" at losing her Marina. Good car review at the beginning, having the dinosaurs was def something different to see, nice one-off feature...

[dMa]

Considering that Top Gear's budget was cut and they have to do more with less, i'm happiest with this episode thus far. Keep em comin boys!