[14x07] January 3rd, 2010

[Dr_Grip]

You're kidding right? There's no possible way that anyone could convince themselves that those shots were somehow faked. Ever heard of a 'local camera crew'? It's not like the BBC are the only people with broadcast quality camera gear and that no one else in the world can frame a basic tracking shot...

I stand corrected about Barbados. Anyways, i want to remind you that FinalGear, other than most of the rest of the internet, is a place were people talk politely and friendly to each other, so please tone your language down a bit.
And i still think that HK looks like a bad greenscreen job. If they shot it on location and made it look like one, even more kudos to the crew

 

[Dr.Kamiya]

It's pretty obvious they spent more money the two big reviews in this 'cheap episode' than perhaps all of 1-5 combined, and it kinda shows. Remember when Wilman blogged about the budget cuts and how each upcoming series was likely to have one less episode, or perhaps a rotten egg. Looks like they did season 14 the other way around. Five mediocre episodes and two brilliant ones.

 

[asianthology012c]

late to the game, but i thoroughly enjoyed the last episode of this season. this was really close to back in the day what top gear would be to me and it was brilliant.

the LF-A review was fantastic, using lots of comic style effects - to me, helped in reflecting some of the lunacy around the car, since it took so long to be made, and when the dashboard was reviewed to public on a separate youtube video from japan... the whole package worked very well.

the Vauxhall review wasn't bad either, but i was expecting just a little bit more from james about the car. although, having given a small talk about road signs was quite good too, since these might as well be something you take for granted and not a lot of people know about the history behind it.

SIARPC - no comment, since i do not know enough about foreign stars and that even though jc gave a brief description about who he is, i had no interest in seaside steve. sorry.

lastly, the most debated BMW X6 review, i would think that this was really what top gear used to be like in season 5-7, where it would take a bit of time and use different things to describe the car giving a sort of thorough but funny review of the car.
and as for the issues in regard to the filming of the different locations, i would say that it was filmed during Top Gear live sessions in different parts of the world - probably except for barbados and that in regards to hong kong, i don't think you can fake a license plate - even though it is possible (and that hong kong still uses the british format for license plates - damn not strong enough of a point) but yeah, i don't think that it is necessairly filmed in front of a green/blue screen. no matter how good using the green/blue screen is, there will always somehow be a glitch that is clear to the naked eye so i don't think it would be done using this method.

overall, fantastic episode, and this is what top gear is all about.

 

[turbokompressor]

^ you are aware they gave away cheap plastic trophies with intentional spelling errors on the badge in earlier seaons, yes?

yes,I am but I never laughed this hard at Top Gear before; that is why I emphasized the brilliance of the sequence.
Salut!

 

[4G92Lancer]

...please tone your language down a bit.

Language? What language? Put it this way, there's as much offensive language in my post is there is greenscreen in Top Gear. That is to say, NONE.

And i still think that HK looks like a bad greenscreen job. If they shot it on location and made it look like one, even more kudos to the crew

Good grief. I think your Tin Foil hat may need adjusting...

 

[Quadrax]

Anyways, i want to remind you that FinalGear, other than most of the rest of the internet, is a place were people talk politely and friendly to each other

You can't go far on this forum without coming across thinly disguised sarcastic insults, disregard for other peoples opinions and patronising use of emoticons.

 

[tone76]

Lexus LF-A review was a solid Hammond review ruined by ridiculous over-production. Or perhaps it was a commentary on the car itself? Either way, it was distracting to the point of making this film unwatchable.

News was going well until the word 'penis' cropped up. But the bits before they had to resort to willy jokes was classic TG news.

The X6 review was pretty good, and was nicely done to make it look more expensive than it actually was. However, I did find myself comparing it with TGA's X6 review. Oddly enough, whilst Clarkson did a good job, Warren Brown did quite a decent job when he reviewed it too. Even though Wazza was probably taking the X6 a little too seriously compared to Clarkson - who gave it the ridicule it deserved - but there you go.

Awards were good (as usual), May's Vauxhall film was very good, and I quite enjoyed the road sign stuff. Maybe a tad long.

The race around the studio felt very Top Gear Australia, it reminded me of the gopher race between Morrison and Pizzati in 2x05 where the winner got to review the GTHO. Oddly enough, I don't think Hammond's crash was staged - usually when he crashes, it's very real ... so why would 14x07 be any different?

Seasick Steve was the highlight of this episode. I'm going to have to buy at least one of his CDs and/or DVDs soon, he's an amazing musician and seems like a top bloke.

7/10 ... one of the better episodes of Series 14, but that's faint praise.

Andy ... if you're reading this, TAKE A BREAK!! You and everyone at TG do a fantastic job, but the spark has been gone for most of Series 14. You're not getting any younger, and if I didn't know any better, I'd suggest that there is a real risk of burnout ... and, if I can be so bold as to speak for other TG fans, that would be a tragedy. Both you and TG deserve better than that.

You can't go far on this forum without coming across thinly disguised sarcastic insults, disregard for other peoples opinions and patronising use of emoticons.

Consider it stolen.

 

[Quadrax]

News was going well until the word 'penis' cropped up. But the bits before they had to resort to willy jokes was classic TG news.

Jokes about a gentlemans area are champagne comedy!

My favourite scene from this season was this.....

[YOUTUBE]mV1LWhNpTJU[/YOUTUBE]

Oh, wait...

 

[soupdragon]

And i still think that HK looks like a bad greenscreen job. If they shot it on location and made it look like one, even more kudos to the crew

It could have been filmed by one of the BBC news crews that are based around the world whilst he was there for Top Gear Live... Just been watching the BBC News channel and a news reporter from somewhere in the USA looked like she was stood infront of a green screen. Only giveaway was that she walked through a door. (She opened it first, obviously...)

 

[Cobol74]

You can't go far on this forum without coming across thinly disguised sarcastic insults, disregard for other peoples opinions and patronising use of emoticons.

Thank F*** for that!

 

[shellygrrl]

That Lexus is soooo wicked, but it's a shame it's 350,000 pounds.

I don't know if it's worth that much, who else thinks so?

I agree with you. It's not worth the price, especially when it has similarities to supercars that cost half as much (e.g., Ferrari 599) and are much more interesting (at least to me).

As i said, i think some of the "i went to..."-segments were filmed with deliberately sloopy greenscreen technique.

I never got that sense. Ever.

 

[pink piranhas]

Wow, it?s like they read my mind about the changes I wanted to see. Old school with polish. It did what I hope an ep will do, transport me to TG magic land for an hour.

The LF-A review was classic with a twist- I thought the graphics were a little over the top at times, but I liked the idea- it added artistic interest to the facts and figures. It?s a win win- the petrolheads get the specs, the rest of us get a visual and aural treat, boy did that car sound great. And actually, so did Richard. Informative and gently witty while making the case that although there?s a lot of cool stuff on the car, it?s an expensive miss.

The BMW review was my favorite because Jeremy was poking fun at it, and rightfully so, it?s really a stupid car for people who don?t know any better. I thought the ?globetrotting? bit was clever (and probably cost effective too, as it would have been pretty easy to set up, I think) in showing that it did nothing well and linking this lack with the excesses of the past few years. It really was Jeremy does Jon Stewart, and his frustration and even sadness at what car design has stooped to was evident. I think this is Jeremy at his best.

SIARPC had me concerned- Seasick Steve ?!? What the heck does being seasick have to do with cars, but actually he was quite engaging in his own way and I?m now looking for his music, since I like blues guitar. I particularly enjoyed his take on cars in the US- they?re only 50 bucks and you drive ?em till they quit and then buy another 50 buck one. It?s fitting that he?s the last to drive the Lacetti, it?s probably not worth more than 50 bucks now.

James? review was well done (beautiful country, wow) the car was one that people might actually want and be able to buy and I did enjoy learning about the creation of standardized road signs, but I think it could have done with a little tighter editing, it was too long.

When James made a comment about finding women in glasses attractive, I was like, jeez, where the hell was someone like you when I was in junior high? It would have saved me a lot of pain and agony with those damned contact lenses?

In general the guys seemed to be at ease and having fun. Yes, some of the studio stuff was a bit silly, but it was well done so it was enjoyable. And of course the Veyron had to be the car of the decade, it?s just a stunning engineering feat, sadly not to be repeated anytime soon. The Lambo as car of the year? I think that was a sly joke. It has a stripe.

I?d suggest the whole crew goes and take a long rest, but if they can produce something like this show after working their butts off for the first six shows, well, keep churning ?em out. No rest for the wicked.:lol:

I have to give this one a 9 so as to leave room for the exceptional special. Or not, I?m still trying to figure out some sort of rational system, whatever. Rational is overrated.

 

[GoP-Demon]

Ok can someone explain to me why so many cars always get a sunny test by the top gear hosts and then when it comes to the test lap it is just wet?

 

[Symbotic]

Srsly?

I think it may be because they do the filming and the lap on different days.

 

[shellygrrl]

^ Yep. Track/road tests are done well in advance. Laps are, I think, done on studio filming days.

 

[OldSkoolGP]

9/10. Second best episode of the series next to the South America trip. This show was funnier than any other show this series and more entertaining to watch save the afforementioned trip. And it was all those things WITHOUT a huge budget or a group car challenge based on some ridiculous premise with gimmicks like dropping pianos on cars. Yes it's fiunny, but it serves no purpose other than to be spiteful.

And yet, once again, more crazy special effects with the LFA film. Why? Can't the presenter and the car convey the needed excitement on their own? I have gotten so sick and tired of this idea of having to outglitz and outglam everything that's come before.

Seriously, Mr. Wilman. You're not in Hollywood and you're not making a movie like Avatar. It's a car show, and just because someone comes up with a new special effect doesn't mean you have to use it! I watched 07x02 tonight for fun. I love Richard's British Racing Green piece, and the Audi RS4 piece is wonderful too. They have the only 3 things you need to make a great film:

1) Great backdrop and camera shots
2) Complimentary soundtrack
3) Great, informational commentary with a witty remark or two

You don't need animated dinosaurs, you don't need to go to five different countries to do a car review. Why is it so hard to understand that the films that we as fans love the best are the ones that require the least dressing up? The commie car film, Richard's Aussie car review, the 10K pound supercar challenge, the 1000 mile trip films, it's music, backdrop, commentary. That's all you need!

Flash and glamour aren't going to win over more fans. Christ, how many more do you need? 500,000,000 isn't enough? All that stuff is going to do is anger and drive away existing fans. Even the most junior engineer will tell you the simplest solution is always the best. Please, Mr. Wilman. Keep series 15 simple. It'll still be a great car show.

 

[shellygrrl]

You don't need animated dinosaurs, you don't need to go to five different countries to do a car review.

You are aware that those five different countries were places Jeremy went to throughout 2009, right?

* Australia and Hong Kong for TG Live.
* Spain to film parts of the Duel DVD.
* Val Thorens to film the RWD challenge in 13x05.
* Barbados for the annual Easter holiday with his family.

You may not "need" the stuff. You may not like the stuff. But, IMO, there's nothing inherently wrong with it, either.

Why is it so hard to understand that the films that we as fans love the best are the ones that require the least dressing up?

Some of us actually liked the comic book effects in the Lexus film (myself included), not to mention the cinematography and stunning visuals are something TG has been noted for since, pretty much, day one (read: 2002). It's not to say those of us into that sort of thing don't like the simple films (I also liked virtually everything you listed); but what the hell is wrong with a little dressing-up?

 

[Wilbert]

They most likely filmed the X6 review when they went on the world tour in 2008/2009

Tour dates-

London
Earls Court - 30 Oct ? 01 Nov 2008

Birmingham
NEC - 13?16 Nov 2008

Dublin
RDS Simmonscourt - 27?30 Nov 2008

Jo?burg
Coca-Cola Dome ? 29 Jan ? 01 Feb 2009

Sydney
06?09 Feb 2009

Auckland
12?15 Feb 2009

Hong Kong
19?22 Feb 2009

 

[MacinSam]

Quite a good back-to-basics one, although I'm halfway through Jeremy's review and he's already gone to three countries, so I'm anticipating some screaming since they should've run out of money by then.

Now (four) five! And May's pretty angry now.

 

[Mr. Nice]

I agree with you. It's not worth the price, especially when it has similarities to supercars that cost half as much (e.g., Ferrari 599) and are much more interesting (at least to me).

The car mentioned, the Nissan GTR, really makes a lot of cars irrelevant, that is, if you only consider performance. The LF-A will have its place, mostly for nerdy guys with lots of money who love cars and are completely entranced by the fact that Toyota built the A-pillars on a rotary carbon fiber loom, of which, two exist. They will also be mesmerized by the attention to detail on every little bit of the car, which outshines the other manufacturers.

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7guGINaeRqA[/YOUTUBE]

The idea that Lexus has a lack of heritage is silly, because a Lexus is a Toyota with a different badge. As much as the 599 will be about $30,000 cheaper, if I had the money, I'd rather have the Lexus.

So, similarities? Yes, if you consider the fact that it's a car, and the performance numbers. No, if you consider everything else.