A european's thoughts about TGA

Amilo-D

Amilo-D

Active Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2007
Messages
136
Location
Oslo, Norway
Car(s)
1998 Ford Puma 1.7
Now, first off, i only know about Australia from tv/games. And i dont know much about Australian cars other than what few are featured in recent race games. So after watching 3 episodes, i wanted to let my Australian TG fans know what my thoughts are.

Lets see.. A topgear without Clarkson, Hammond or May.. umm hard to swallow. But lets see what we got: An old guy who likes fast cars, a young, trendy short bloke with racing license.. and a tall guy who keeps getting lost. Damn they are funny :lol:

Challenges are so far awesome. Car reviews are a bit hard to relate to since the road and traffic conditions here in Norway are just too different, but the quality is almost up to TG:UK standard.

Star in a bog standard car is very similar to SIARPC. Not really much to watch if u dont know the people.

Overall, its TopGear! And thats frankly saying a lot. It looks, feels and is as fun as the UK version, almost. I'm looking forward to the day Clarkson or Hammond are guests on TGA, or vice versa :D

Peace out!
 
Oh and i must say that the Stig Testing segment needs to improve a bit. They should really introduce us to the Stig a bit better (is he borrowed-UK STIG or Australian Stig) and the track.
I remember how TG showed a map of track along with speedo and G-meter in first few episodes of season 1. Similar stuff here would be nice.
 
They like to take the piss out of the POMS/POHMS and rib them about their total lack of sporting ability. But when push comes to shove they and we are mates, same with Canadians actually.
 
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Cobol74 said:
They like to take the piss out of the POMS/POHMS and rib them about their total lack of sporting ability. But when pish comes to shove they and we are mates, same with Canadians actually.
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we just feel sorry for you that's all :lol:
 
Olympics this year - nuff said.

Well apart from the fact we now only do well at posh sports - thats because the Government sold all the school sports fields off to build bungalows and they upset the teachers so sports teachers who used to do the after school and Sat sports for free no longer do.
 
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Cobol74 said:
Olympics this year - nuff said.
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I love how Aussies can beat the English at sports consistantly for decades (20 years worth of Olympics for example) yet as soon as the Poms manage to beat us once, they declare that they are better than us.:lol:

After the Beijing Olympics a British newspaper actually hired a flatbed truck to drive around in Sydney with a billboard on the back announcing the medal tally. We didn't pull petty stunts like that after any of the five previous Olympics in which we kicked England's arse. :rolleyes:
 
I m really excited to see "other" Top Gear's from around the world. I think that is a great idea. So far the Australian version is good. I mean there are some improvements that need to be made but I m not loosing the faith in their potential just yet. However by the second season I would expect some improvements and would probably be more critical. So far so good, but there are still some things that need to be done.
 
Wow, stay on topic people!


Mr.European - how do you find the in-studio bits. The humour etc ?? Many Aussies don't like it. Find it forced and fake. But what do you (and others from around the globe) think?
 
thats right coming back to the topic,,
also we need to know, how is the quality of sound(and music). and filming, and aussie humer.



and about England, buahahahaha, poor pommies
 
SL65 said:
Wow, stay on topic people!


Mr.European - how do you find the in-studio bits. The humour etc ?? Many Aussies don't like it. Find it forced and fake. But what do you (and others from around the globe) think?
Click to expand...

As a Mr European I'll answer this one :

Agreed, some of Charlie's puns (and especially the lines he uses to announce a commercial) are a bit lame, but it's nothing that really makes me cringe.

He also needs to STOP SHOUTING SO MUCH. HE IS LIKE LOUD HOWARD ON DILBERT.

The car reviews are quite good, giving a nice idea of what cars are like to drive, and the in-studio bits are great. The little cartoons add something to the news, and I really like the "WWTT" board (although they should use 2 pins and hang the damn pictures straight)

with regards to the track/Stig test, only the first ep was pretty bad because aside from the onboard shots, most video looked like it was filmed through binoculars... getting better though.

One little niggle is that when they do a group test, they never really reach a verdict on which car is best. Sure they all say whats positive and negative about every car, but I'd like an overall verdict. Also, the cars they are testing (softroaders and utes) are from very different price ranges so it's hard to compare really...

Star in a reasonably priced car - well I dunno the celebs, much like on regular TG, so I fast forward through these bits.

thats all really
 
Don't be so hard with the guys...
Give them a little bit more time, it's not easy to be compared with Clarkson May and Hammond.
Remember the first Episodes of Top Gear with Clarkson and Hammond, they also needed their time
to get where they are now.
I personally liked the Episodes till now, they are not as good yet as the UK version,
but without a doubt better then everything we have here in germany.

Only thing that really pissed me of was the SIRPC in 01x03, what where they thinking?
That woman is something like the Anti-Car-Christ!

Noodle:
Clarkson also shouts a lot. :blink:

Sorry for my rubbish english. :cry:
 
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Xaromir said:
<snip>
Only thing that really pissed me of was the SIRPC in 01x03, what where they thinking?
That woman is something like the Anti-Car-Christ!
<snip>
Click to expand...

Yeah, I cringed a little when she started spouting the pro-environment stuff, but SBS (the channel broadcasting Top Gear) is a well known haven for environmental socialist comedians whose fall back position is jokes about their experiences when under the influnce of marajuana ..... so, it wasn't too surprising to me.
 
I have the feeling that most of those pro-environment guys don't know that the planet will heal itself
after we are gone, no matter what we do,
it should be more about us, i hope they will invent petrol scented air fresheners,
i will miss that smell... :(
Oil will run out, but that will not be a excuse for small boring ugly cars build with no heart and soul.
I also like to save the whales, killing them all would be very bad since whale tastes GREAT,
and i also like to eat some in 50 years from now.
I think you get the idea.

The main-thing that annoyed me was her opinion on automatic gearboxes and her "look at me" attitude,
in combination with the fact that she drives like a blind 100 years old lady.
Better SIRPC will come, i hope there will be something like a Australian Jimmy Carr.

?dit:
Sorry, i just have to post this..
http://www.10ergang.de/gallery/Sonstiges/neuer_Wunderbaum_die_zweite.JPG
"alter hund" = Old Dog
 
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Xaromir said:
Don't be so hard with the guys...
Remember the first Episodes of Top Gear with Clarkson and Hammond, they also needed their time
to get where they are now.
I personally liked the Episodes till now, they are not as good yet as the UK version,
but without a doubt better then everything we have here in germany.
Click to expand...

I'll second that any time.
Not only is this a fresh start for all of the cast (whose names I'll still need a few more episodes for to finally get down correctly) -
It is meant to a be a localised copy of a never-settling concept of a motoring show. Of a somewhat "british" motoring show, to be precise.

A "strangely british" piece of television, in fact: I presume Clarkson's ranting about all his comedic view-points have had their effect on my perception at some point in time. And I still like it. Nevertheless I'm just as much a fan of the dimmed light that is Captain Slow.

And if you just forget about the expectations that one has grown accustomed to watching the original for a couple of years, then this new show has a whole lot going for it. The nice stuff includes:
- top notch camera work on the reviews and the other 'field trips'
- a good set of lines that pleases my ear - although there is a bit of a gap between what I understand and what the Australians will notice, I'm sure.
- a very good counter-part for James May: Once again some sort of artist (Cartoonist) that knows how to trigger some laughs and introduces a strangely grounded point of view into the team.

- I like the "what were you thinking" thing they came up with. Though I think they shouldn't overuse it. Even good jokes have a potential to dry out, once you stress them too much. They really should work out some alternatives for that one and integrate a concept of when to bring what.

Points of improvement would be:
-Hopefully some better camera-positioning at the test-track:
they are often talking about corners that I just cannot see watching the footage. Lift those cameras up from the ground a bit and focus on the corners. Anything will look fast (and boring) in a straight line!
-Development of a more distinctive character for the main presenters that also will be comprehensible for the people who do not know that much about them.
-the connection of the show's presentation to Australia as a nation and it's culture. That's the way to move away from the overall "Clarkson compatibility evaluation".

As I said above: Even the "original" didn't stand still for too long. There always have been changes to the format between the series. That's par of what made it such a pleasure to watch - maybe we got used to expect the unexpected?
Then again this is a Australian TV-Program that is produced to please not me but the Australian audience. As long as they achieve that - it's all pretty good.

cheers from the
Pacecardriver

PS.:
I wish that we'd have the chance to watch such a great show here in Germany. We may have a whole lot of good cars & roads. But entertainment-wise there's not much quality stuff going on it this particular field of interest.
Also I wander, by the time TG-America launches, whether we will be able to spot a difference in the love of V8-Cars between the two new-world shows. I was a little surprised to here the Aussie-cast go on about those as much. Fast cars don't need a high cylinder count - so is it just a fetish?
 
Xaromir said:
Only thing that really pissed me of was the SIRPC in 01x03, what where they thinking?
That woman is something like the Anti-Car-Christ!
Click to expand...

It's shameless cross-promotion by SBS (a taxpayer-funded station that introduced advert breaks 2 years ago to boost its funding by 20% and has been on a slippery slope ever since). As someone who is clearly not into cars she didn't belong on the show, but I guess they'd have to make the show 10 minutes shorter if they dropped the segment.
After this episode I've decided to tape the episodes and watch them later, at least online watchers are spared the Shannon's Insurance adverts which consist of variations of the same joke that wasn't funny the first time.
 
Insurance ads -- do not talk to me about insurance ads!!!

[youtube]yrKaQRIXPNw[/youtube]

[youtube]8hXyvUkH3LQ[/youtube]

[youtube]uw3MDQigLTE[/youtube]
 
Mh... i can't help me.

Isn't that older guy "Bill" from Kill Bill? And the other is Charlie from Lost. At least he is exactly the same annoying ^^
 
pacecardriver said:
PS.:
I wish that we'd have the chance to watch such a great show here in Germany. We may have a whole lot of good cars & roads. But entertainment-wise there's not much quality stuff going on it this particular field of interest.
Also I wander, by the time TG-America launches, whether we will be able to spot a difference in the love of V8-Cars between the two new-world shows. I was a little surprised to here the Aussie-cast go on about those as much. Fast cars don't need a high cylinder count - so is it just a fetish?
Click to expand...

The ford falcon shown in TGA isn't available in the US and only limited variations of the Holden Commodore are. The v8 commodores and falcons are (were depending who you listen to) are effectively the Golf GTI of Australia, relatively cheap, fun to drive and powerful. They are litterally everywhere which is why they talk about them, on my 45 min trip to uni I see dozens of v8 powered commodores and falcons and pretty much every traffic light you stop at you would see a i6 falcon or v6 commodore.
 
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