[12x03] November 16th, 2008

[12x03] November 16th, 2008

  • Total voters
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Hmm,
I liked Mark Wahlburg but that's probably because I'm American and I've seen him in some good films. I thought it was strange that he was there to promote "Max Payne" because it seems to have tanked already in the theaters here. Thanks for pointing out his TG appearance was due to the Brand/Ross mess.
I thought his church comment was priceless. Don't be offended be his attitude, he's always like that. I agree, they should have included some out takes of his lap. I was surprised how slow he was.

Loved the v-8 blender. I knew James would take a big swig of that stuff because I saw him eat bull's penis and rotting shark with Gordon Ramsey. HEY GUYS, DON'T YOU KNOW IT'S DANGEROUS TO EAT RAW BEEF!

Loved the rally car in Finland segment. We need to import some Finnish driving instructors to the States to teach us how to drive in the snow.
I liked the Avantime segment too but even my first thought was to stick a turbo on if they wanted it to go faster.
I enjoyed the ep but agree it did feel a bit dis-jointed.
 
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Good episode this week imo. Really enjoyed James' rallying. Awesome to see him driving like that :cool: Can't wait till his supercar test on the track. Looking forward to maybe some powersliding lol.

Avantime challenge was really good which they took mainly serious this time.
Overall 9.5/10
 
cookiebun said:
HEY GUYS, DON'T YOU KNOW IT'S DANGEROUS TO EAT RAW BEEF!
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I guess you mean pork.

Whats why you eat a good steak (which is beef) a bit... raw/red :mrgreen: but u don't do that with pork meat...
 
Just to clear things up about the Finnish drivers licence test.

Basically there were quite a bit of incorrect things.

First of all, you only need to spend 1 lesson, which equates to about 50 minutes, on a skidpan, and its there only because we actually sometimes have a winter. Also, only 1 driving lesson is in the dark, and that can be done in a simulator (Did it last thursday). Also, its 2 years until you get the final licence, not 3, unless you're a lazy sob. In general, Its not really that strict. Atleast not as strict as they made it out to be. I got my license last week on friday, if im caught speeding twice in the next year, or three times in the next 2 years, I'll have to redo the licence test. Other than that, I basically have a full license already.

Interesting pointer: That skidpan track thing is in Riihim?ki, Finland. I did my skidpan training there about a month ago, on those very same diesel Yaris'. I actually drove that very same car (Number 4). Its the only granite skidpan in Finland, others are mostly steel.

Also, did anyone notice my post in the 12x01 thread about James rallying? I was, infact right about the 190e rallycar, and that James would be driving it in the show!! :D

Also, Voted it 10, but im biased as fuck. For all i care the rest of the show could have been filled with recycled friends episodes, the Finland bit did it for me.:mrgreen:
 
Admittedly, in my thoughts above, I forgot about the James May rally lesson, which was pretty cool. I'd love to learn how to drive like that. Still, I don't know that it was anywhere near enough to lift the rest of the episode up.

I think had they kept the James May rally segment, moved the Toyota chair down to the middle of the episode, dropped the V8 blender completely, shortened the SIARPC by about 2 minutes, and squeezed in a review of a car (a legitimate car, not a powered chair), it would've been a MUCH better episode.
 
Very, what's the term, "bottle episode". A clearing house for old gags and ideas, lots of short stuff, lots of cheap stuff, made to allow budget for the bigger episodes.

But I liked it. Not perfect, no big moments, and Marky Mark was sort of a charisma black hole, but it wasn't bad at all. Mikka Hakkinen's facial expressions alone bump it up to an 8 for me, but it was otherwise a nice, solid, mostly quite entertaining episode. Nothing wrong with that.
 
LoadStar said:
I think had they kept the James May rally segment, moved the Toyota chair down to the middle of the episode, dropped the V8 blender completely, shortened the SIARPC by about 2 minutes, and squeezed in a review of a car (a legitimate car, not a powered chair), it would've been a MUCH better episode.
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That may have bumped it to a 4 for me.
 
Posmo said:
Just to clear things up about the Finnish drivers licence test.

Basically there were quite a bit of incorrect things.

First of all, you only need to spend 1 lesson, which equates to about 50 minutes, on a skidpan, and its there only because we actually sometimes have a winter.
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In Norway we have to do a full day (well, a good couple of hours) at the skidpan... oO
 
I think they havent taken Corsa Golf ar anything to remind everyone of Avantime, which is only one of 3 cars all three presenters like :)
 
ahpadt said:
In Norway we have to do a full day (well, a good couple of hours) at the skidpan... oO
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Well, we did three hours, but there were three of us students, so each one had an hour behind the wheel ;)
 
Not the best episode of the season as I thought it may have been :lol:. James in Finland was the best part... Mika was awesome :)

Richards bit with the chair felt like a filler, I enjoyed the news, couldn't be arsed with the SIARPC. Was expecting that to be decent, but it wasn't.

The Renault film was okay, it had some funny bits in it :lol:.

The V8 Blender was hilarious, though :).
 
LoadStar said:
In Wisconsin, they just take us out in the snow and ice and say "have fun!" :D
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:D

Too right! At 16 I was driving the twisty snow covered roads in Western Wisconsin in a gigantic RWD sedan, and that is why Scandinavians are so good at racing; driving in the snow requires so much concentration, patience and fine adjustments that dry pavement is a breeze after that. Well, that and Scandinavians are just vastly superior. :p

Like the dig Mark Wahlberg gave Tom Cruise and his extortion ring religion. About time someone from the Hollywood set spoke up.
 
9/10

Just a great episode. They brought back some 12x01 comedy. Got a Star that an american knows.

The decision to spend more of the time on the challenges then the SIRPC and the car reviews was brilliant. But the Toyota thing was a bit short, and that wheelchair is just going to fail unless they make it faster.

The finish (finland) thing was good but they used that old time camera too much.

Great job
 
8/10. Definitely a balanced episode for me. A few points:

1. Didn't like the Toyota bit, as some have said already; a car review would have filled that time more effectively. I love the engineering and technology that goes into making these new forms of transport, but it seems out of place, knowing what TG normally reviews.

1a. V8 blender bit was funny. I'm sure it seemed out of place to others because I think the last time they did something remotely similar was back in series 1 or 2 with biodiesel. I'm probably thinking of something completely different; don't flame me for it :cry:

2. MW was a decent guest. Seemed a little forced and he looked half-interested during the interview. Not sure if that's the way he normally is?

3. Loved James's piece in Finland. I appreciate the time and attention to detail that he dedicates to his work. He brings a different and refreshing perspective. Also, I wish I could have the driving skills of a Finnish driver :(. My driving test consisted of parallel parking and driving on a public road at 25mph. Bring Finnish driving tests to the U.S. for today's young drivers - I would bet it would make them better on the road (but not necessarily racing drivers :lol:).

4. Renault film was fun. Despite what others have said, gaining 7 seconds with a car that normally has less-than-sporting intentions is pretty damn good. I liked the fact that they didn't go for all-out power. In addition to their budget not allowing it, I think it would have turned into Fifth Gear when they had their 200mph challenge with a Lotus Esprit. Essentially, throwing all possible power mods at a car to make it faster. Power is definitely not the only answer to going faster. Weight, suspension and brakes can make a big difference.

Also, gaining 50+ HP from changing parts that can (and normally is) done during a routine service? I'll remember that when I take my car in for its yearly service this coming weekend :D.

OK, preparing for massive rebuttals in 3...2...1...:lol:
 
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acabinian said:
OK, preparing for massive rebuttals in 3...2...1...:lol:
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Naah. If people don't agree with what you say, they don't post rebuttals... they just hit the neg button. ;) :D

Regarding Mark Wahlberg - that's mostly the way he is, from what I've seen. He did look uncomfortable, but I don't think he's all that comfortable doing these PR appearances and schmoozing an interviewer. Plus, Top Gear isn't your typical talk show appearance, you have to admit.
 
Super cool, awesome. I don't agree about modifying cars (its more about knowing what to do then having money to spend,) but who cares? This episode, with the Fins and everything, it really felt like a heartfelt old episode where they were still a bit of virgins to the whole thing, i liked that.

Anyways, always love when they can teach something new while being entertaining

-Otto (drunk)
 
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