[01x01] November 21st, 2010

[01x01] November 21st, 2010

  • 10

    Votes: 10 1.8%

  • 9

    Votes: 14 2.5%

  • 8

    Votes: 71 12.5%

  • 7

    Votes: 145 25.4%

  • 6

    Votes: 122 21.4%

  • 5

    Votes: 71 12.5%

  • 4

    Votes: 47 8.2%

  • 3

    Votes: 33 5.8%

  • 2

    Votes: 28 4.9%

  • 1

    Votes: 29 5.1%
  • Total voters
    570
I gotta say: it was pretty bad. The worst part was that the whole time I felt that if they had stuck with Adam Carolla instead of either Foust or that Routledge guy (both sucked) the show would be much less stiff, stale, boring, etc. Carolla can interview people. He's brash, loud, opinionated, quick, and loves cars (sound familiar?), and I'm certain he and Ferrera (sp?) would create a good foundation for the chemistry of the guests and the fluidity of the show.

I had to keep reminding myself that some people haven't seen a helicopter trying to get missile lock on a car. But even so, it was bad. Commentary on the car was yawn-inducing and banter between those two was uncomfortable. 3/10

SIARPC was shaping up to be pretty good. An interesting guest who seemed comfortable discussing cars and space...but wasn't given a chance. I gotta put the blame on Ferrera, though (who I think is shaping up to be a decent enough host), he didn't offer a single syllable of commentary on Buzz's cars! 2/10

Lambo segment was pretty decent, but as someone said earlier, they didn't really do anything. "This is what I have, here are some stats." Repeat. Repeat. Give us something that I can't find in a magazine. For example, I was watching an episode of TG today where JC was reviewing a TVR and -- as they all usually do -- he just sits and shows you quirky things that the car has (door "handle", ashtray, startup procedure, etc). I also think, either, a drag race or a lap is more interesting for the viewer than a standing mile. 6/10

Thought the camera work was fine. Thought the cinematography was good. Noticed that the music was lacking, but understand that it's not possible for it to be as good as TG at the moment.

5/10
 
I'm optimistic but it was ok for me. I was really excited with the teaser Lambo's a while back. I was kinda disappointed all they did with them was a straight line speed comparo. I was hoping for some canyons; or auto-x; or road course. Better yet, all 3.
 
To be honnest I thought it was more of a car show than the british version. Not quite as entertaining to the mainstream audience but realy good driving from foust and awesome cars made up for it. It shits all over top gear aus n russia.. for that mater but its still deffintly not what british top gear is today. Im from Aus n i enjoyed it alot. prehaps thats just me being more into cool driving and fast cars rather than the entertainment side of top gear that the british version seems to deliver. reminded me of top gear of old, great ideas of thrashing supercars..just still a little bit clunky on the hosting, interviewing and directing sides of things :)
 
I thought it felt a bit shallow in the beginning, studio shots especially felt stiff and not very real. But the race at the end was touching. And the quality of the filming overall was really nice, a lot of effort was put into this and it shows. Of course, there are cultural differences so it just can't feel the same. I have to say I was surprised at how much I liked the Australian version. Overall an ok start for an entirely new show I think, and deciding to start off with 10 episodes is really ambitious, I like the effort.
 
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Watch the show and look away when the 3 are together and going back and forth. Their voices, except for Adam's, are far too similar. There is so little difference their voices its hard to tell them apart. They should have kept Carrolla and lost the fat guy.

Not surprisingly the camera work is horrendous, reminiscent of the first few season of the UK original.

I do like the test track though.
 
I watched it and I loved it.

Yes some bits resembled the UK trio but halfway in you can see their US counterparts go right ahead to give their own personal feel to the show. I think the Lambo comparison was great in that unlike TG UK there was less messing around and more car facts. Lots of car facts! I didn't know 3 Lambos could be so dissimilar :p And the sore loser drama was some gritty fun even if it was scripted.

I could even say that it improved on the original show a bit (the focusing on technical facts for instance, and the personalised reviews of the various sports cars' handling). Big Star Small Car segment was also more short and sweet than the Clarkson version, which I skipped half the time.

All in all, everything I expected from the US evolution of Top Gear, and much much more future potential. Love the helicopter chase - Clarkson may have done that before but just look at the AH-1 swooping over the suburban landscape like an eagle. Epic!

--

The only issues were some shaky/unviewable camera shots but that added to the realism. Ever made your own car or motorcycle videos? Sometimes the shaking and the misplaced perspectives add to the immersion and sense of speed.

I have just one suggestion/criticism - for the power laps, mayhaps the minimap display should be placed on the top right hand corner of the screen, where there is no action. I wanted to see more of the track and the cars, but the map, while useful, always obscured the lower right hand side of the car from the frontal flyby perspectives.
 
5/10 for me. The problem with rating the first episode out is there's nothing to compare against except the UK and AU shows and on that scale, this is a 5/10.

Some tips for the Top Gear America producers/writers/hosts:

- Be more honest with your audience. You talked to those at the taping about how this isn't a Top Gear UK substitute, but rather just more Top Gear. Talk to your TV audience about that. Be self-aware, it's okay. You've been asked to fill some big shoes.

- You need to start differentiating yourselves from TG UK. Those across the pond tend to focus on precision and get a bit anal. Even Clarkson gets really anal and stupid at times. e.g. He trashes leaf springs as being old-world technology. Well show us how much fun that old world technology is. Bring out a ZR1 with some fresh rubber and don't stop until you see steel belt.

- Ditch a segment and add to your big star, small car segment. Especially in the early going the chemistry among the hosts will be a bit rough. Bringing in a celebrity and drawing out stories from them will help ease the burden on the hosts. I'm sure Buzz Aldrin of all people has some great insight and stories about some of his old cars. Have him share those stories. Find a '51 Chevy and go for a drive with Aldrin while he tells a couple stories.

- "Big Star, Small Car", crap segment title. The UK title is perfectly fine even for American audiences. That "reasonably" in the title explains more about the segment than the whole title you're using right now. I'm not saying you have to use the UK title if you're worried about perceptions of copying too much from the UK (which, hey, you are), but find a better title.

- Star in a reasonably priced car is the worst segment on the UK show. You can make it your best and thus separate yourself from your UK counterpart. You just had the second man on the moon on your program. This is not a weak or timid Hollywood star. This is a man who, even at his age, has balls of solid rock. Put him in the Viper and do a few burnouts or doughnuts. Show that even at his age cars are still fun and him having fun. Show all your stars _having_fun_ with their cars. That's all it'd take to make the segment work and beat the UK show in at least one area.
 
The Spie said:
Coke had Pepsi's formula in 1985. They created New Coke, which actually tasted pretty good. But Coke didn't sell it properly (which is an understatement for the ages). They couldn't overcome customer perception that something special was being taken away and therefore couldn't appreciate what was being sold to the public.
Click to expand...

I'm being a nerd, but New Coke was actually the formula for either Tab or Diet Coke with the artificial sweetener removed and sugar or HFCS added.

Being even further nerdier that was probably the point where sugar (sucrose) was removed from the Coca Cola formula and HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) added (in the US). Remember how "classic Coke" didn't taste the same as Coke before the New Coke fiasco but nobody could put their finger on it? There's an underground of soda nerds seeking out Coca Cola made with sugar because it tastes better.

For those nerds:
(1) Coke imported from Mexico, hit up your local Mexican bodega
(2) Coke bottled in Allentown, PA or Cleveland, OH
(3) Kosher for Passover Coke with the yellow bottle cap

;)
 
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The Stig needs to set a lap time in the reasonably priced car
 
As was said earlier they need an older guy with some life experience under his belt to make it more interesting in the lead role. Dump Rutledge get carolla. Tanner does have the personality of an Ant but I think his awesome driving skills will bring something entertaining to the table in future challenges. I don't think this should be compared to series 1 but without knowing the budget maybe not series15 either. If the budget was the same it should of been close, if it was much less then it's understandable that it's lower quality. I think we all want to see it succeed so watch it live, DVr it and watch it on history website and if we all do these things, history will see a big following and give it s bigger budget to work with.
 
TGA Won't Make It

TGA Won't Make It

What the show needs at least one host with a background in both automotive journalism and interviewing people (i.e. Clarkson) but what it has are three dweebs of dubious ability. Top Gear America will not be around long, the fat guy is terrible, dark and moody guy is, well, too dark and moody and needs to express himself better, which leaves Tanner Foust to carry the load. Tanner Foust is a light weight, the show is doomed.

I did like the track.
 
You hit the nail on the head about the TGUK hosts being from an automotive journalism background. Read up on May and see why he got fired from editing a big UK automotive magazine.

While Top Gear is "scripted", I don't know how much of the actual talking is scripted. I think the situations are scripted, but much of the actual talk is ad libed. The UK hosts are journalists first who happen to be car nuts and have a wicked sense of humor to top things off with. Journalists' stock in trade is words, and they know how to use them in an entertaining manner. Our TGUS hosts aren't journalists. They are actors and drivers with no background in coming up with their own words. That's why it seems so dry and boring during the interviews and voiceover descriptions.

Also, I would have liked to see them do a 3 or 4 minute "biography" about who The Stig is. Maybe show pictures of a baby Stig (complete with little racing suit and helmet) being born out of a stack of tires, his feral upbringing in the back of a repair shop. His first drives, smoking the tires of his Big Wheel, stuff like that. Build up the character in a humorous way. Instead, they just said "he drives cars, you'll never hear his voice, and never see his face". All the while never cracking a smile. Come on guys!
 
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Polygon said:
No question, he's incredible when it comes to car control. It's a shame he's got the personality of a pet rock.
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I agree but he can play the straight man. Ever see Tiff Needel and Clarkson on screen together?

If Tanner has a real personality then he needs to let it show. I suspect what we see is all there is, but maybe he's super-uptight or has OCD or something the other guys can harp on.
 
gtrietsc said:
So, I finally watched it tonight. I really want to like this show, but they need to fix:

- Music. Hire the guy(s) that score the UK version. Having the right music, especially borrowing from movie scores, helps so much with setting the mood for a scene. I miss it terribly.
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The BBC has a special arrangement with the RIAA (the people who control the music industry) and they get to use real music for a very low cost (this is also why music gets replaced when they offer a DVD outside the UK or when the original is aired outside the UK). Everybody else has to pay through the nose to license music, it's really prohibitive and adds a lot to production costs and that's why on most shows you see generic or public domain music. The early Simpsons years were loaded with public domain music.

Personally I feel that in today's environment, shows should get to use music for free IF they post the music they used on iTunes where people can buy it. The RIAA is incredibly stubborn and thick -- hearing a good song on a TV show is free advertising and generates awareness of the music.
 
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That American Girl said:
To be fair to Top Gear USA, the 'first' episode of Top Gear was actually the first episode of the NEW Top Gear. Jeremy had been doing the show for years, and even though James didn't come into play until Season 2...he was part of the old Top Gear.

Top Gear Season 1 Episode 1 was for Jeremy at least, merely a continuation of a show he had worked on and honed his skills on for quite some time.
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Arguably not. Old Top Gear was nothing like the new. Jeremy did have experience on camera, which might be what you're saying, but the format of the show was a reboot in his, and Wilman's, image.

I do believe Jeremy started his annual home video/dvd releases around '99 when he was fired from old Top Gear, although the first one or two were not much more than an assemblage of video clips.
 
I thought it was OK. Not going to be too critical at this point because I know that I'm biased because I've watched TG UK for so long.

Some random thoughts...

1. They really can't do anything about the commercial breaks in the midst of a segment because those breaks are network scheduled. So, unless you want shorter segments the segment breaks will continue.

2. The lack of music score is probably due to licensing fees. This is a niche show on a cable network in its first season so I doubt the music budget is very high.

3. I noticed that their color grading isn't consistent. For example, when Rutledge was driving the SV, the exterior shots were had desaturated grade applied. However, the interior shots were closer to full color saturation. The difference makes the shots look to be from different segments. This grading inconsistency is present in the other parts of the show also but the SV segment is the most pronounced.
 
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K5ING said:
You hit the nail on the head about the TGUK hosts being from an automotive journalism background. Read up on May and see why he got fired from editing a big UK automotive magazine.

While Top Gear is "scripted", I don't know how much of the actual talking is scripted. I think the situations are scripted, but much of the actual talk is ad libed. The UK hosts are journalists first who happen to be car nuts and have a wicked sense of humor to top things off with. Journalists' stock in trade is words, and they know how to use them in an entertaining manner. Our TGUS hosts aren't journalists. They are actors and drivers with no background in coming up with their own words. That's why it seems so dry and boring during the interviews and voiceover descriptions.
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You remind me of this from Stephen Fry, I think it was in the Awesome Thread
[video=youtube;J7E-aoXLZGY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7E-aoXLZGY[/video]
 
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Mally Dangerous said:
1. They really can't do anything about the commercial breaks in the midst of a segment because those breaks are network scheduled. So, unless you want shorter segments the segment breaks will continue.
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Sorry, no. Even if the timing of the breaks during the hour are set, they can work around them. And the Viper segment is certainly not one to argue it couldnt be shorter... :(

Mally Dangerous said:
2. The lack of music score is probably due to licensing fees. This is a niche show on a cable network in its first season so I doubt the music budget is very high.
Click to expand...

Agree here. As someone else said, they should work out a deal to credit songs used in the show - can't tell you how much music I have been turned on to from TGUK over the years.
 
Iv'e seen a lot of pilots of shows that later turned out to be favorites for a lot of people, and invariably, the first episodes suck, even on some of our favorite stuff. Chemistry is rarely in existence in the first episodes of anything.

That said, it's obviousl the TG UK producers had a hand in it, and it's also obvious they don't have the budget yet. I'm still kind of shocked at how many people think it's an American company doing a cheap rip-off of a UK show, instead of that UK production company expanding into other markets...

Since this show is not taking over for TG UK, not replacing TG UK, and not interfering with it's budget and the like, then there's no reason to hate on it, and all the more reason to give it a chance as the season(s) progress. I agree they need to get rid of the camera shakes, and settle on a single frame rate, work on finding ways of getting music rights, and do a better job on the interviews. And maybe do some news.

All in all, not a horrible start. Oh, and I saw some TG whil eI was over in Scotland. I recall commercial brakes in the middle of segments there (and it's obvious where they are when watching my copies of the show on DVD). So I'm not sure where that criticism comes from other than too any kids here torrenting the show without realizing it that's not exactly how it always airs.
 
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