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[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
dunny said:
Voted a 1

Sucked badly, much worse than the "real" pilot episode shot with Adam Carolla...even if Tanner was in that one too. Sad, sad, sad. I didn't even get through the viper film and I can't watch anymore.
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Where did you see the "real" pilot with Adam Carolla? I remember Jalopnik offering a bounty but never heard anything after that.
 
Right, so here are my thoughts after watching it.

Wood- Great, he's a good guy for the show because he's weird and interesting.
Foust- Acceptable, etc.
Ferrara- MOLEY MOLEY MOLEY MOLEY. (Sorry his giant mole under his eye is very distracting for someone like me who notices little details on people. My boyfriend was also like moley moley moley.) Ferrara is just not interesting enough at the moment I think. He made the interview kind of boring and some parts that he was in seemed boring. My boyfriend says he wasn't good in the stuff he's done in the past so I'm not sure.

I personally think it could be good, but the guys really need to get some acting/speech (speech in the sense of speaking to public audiences) lessons. Or at least some comedy lessons if they are aiming for the right timing of comedy at certain times.

Oh yes, one last thing. I also think Wood should be doing the interviews. I think he would be much more entertaining. That's about it. Yes I was quite late (but I've been busy as I went home for the week and my boyfriend is terribly clingy when I'm around).
 
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Wood for interviews sounds like a good idea. I think he was the most likable of the three. Ferrara just has zilch for on camera presence (at this time).
 
Yeah that's what I figured because he was kind of an actor before TGUSA. Wood has done interviews though (and that's why he's kind of famous right?) so that's why I don't think it's a far-fetched idea.

I think they could all do better if they did get some proper coaching for acting and comedy. I personally don't like talk shows and the like where the people haven't been properly trained (just go on tv and start talking). I think it would be kind of cool if we saw their own personalities through the scripting and I think that the training could help with that.
 
While laying in bed last night watching this yet again it dawned on me that while the shaking camera etc can be fixed, I am not so sure that the chemistry between the guys can be.

It's kind of like the thing between Jezza and Jason in season one, you could see that Jezza was not comfortable.

As I browsed my DVR looking for something else to fall asleep to, little thoughts crept into my mind, a complete replacement of the cast.

My first thought would be to throw Tori, Kari and Grant (Mythbusters) at it, the chemistry is there already.

How about Sean Riley (Worlds biggest fixes), Jamie Hyneman (Mythbusters) and Mike Rowe (just about every good Discovery program) .... Now I know this would never happen, but those 3 guys (and the Mythbuster crew) know how to work a camera, I could stand listening to them and it would mean moving back over to the Discovery Channel who have a lot more $$$$ to throw at the show.

Also, make it a 90 minute or 2 hour show.

There you go, the thoughts of a mad man :D
 
TomCat said:
I was actually thinking about that earlier. Not Matt going to TopGear, but just how good The Smoking Tire is, with an even smaller budget than TGUSA.
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Thanks bro, it would have been cool to be on Top Gear but the good news is I've got something else pretty big in the works, so we may end up skirting US Top Gear entirely and going our own route, again. If it all works out, you guys should be very pleased with the results.
 
janstett said:
Where did you see the "real" pilot with Adam Carolla? I remember Jalopnik offering a bounty but never heard anything after that.
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I was at the taping in LA back a few years ago. I would LOVE to see the final version of that pilot, but even with Jalopnik offering up some cash I don't think it was ever released. My wife and I were on camera a lot, right behind Carolla when he was interviewing the SIARPC.

I did re-watch this episode with an open mind, and while it still is poor I was being a little unfair with rating it a "1". Maybe it will turn out OK. I'll still DVR it and try to watch it. At least it finally made it on TV, despite me being bitter about the original pilot not making it.

If you search the site you can find some details about that pilot. I will say, it was much better than episode #1 of this version. The stig's entrance alone was bad ass. I won't say much because even though it wasn't used we signed a bunch of legal crap and I don't want to get in trouble. Yes I'm a little parnoid about that because I was part of another TV show that DID make it on the air and posted some stuff up on my website about it and got a nasty letter in the mail from the producers threatening lawsuit so.....
 
The more I think about all of this, the more I think of what Top Gear is. What it sounds like is everyone who hated the first episode thinks that Top Gear is about Richard, James, and Jeremy, and because the US hosts are not them, the show sucks.

What has been said in interviews and from what I've seen, Top Gear is about three midlife crisis guys playing around with anything and everything car related they can get their hands on and showing the rest of the world what they found.

I may go so far as to say TG USA and TG Australia are on par with TG UK because (brace yourselves) it's about three guys having fun with cars. Not trying to copy the UK boys, not trying to forge their own way, but hold true to the Top Gear values of cocking about with anything they can.

Flame away.
 
tromoly said:
I may go so far as to say TG USA and TG Australia are on par with TG UK because (brace yourselves) it's about three guys having fun with cars. Not trying to copy the UK boys, not trying to forge their own way, but hold true to the Top Gear values of cocking about with anything they can.
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This is the point of it, not throwing Clarkson, Hammond and May's show in the copier and hitting the 'regionalize' button. If Faust, Wood and Fererra can develop a bit of chemistry, learn to play off each other instead of trying to play a part, for a scripted show and just have fun, it'll do great.

Honestly, compared to UKTG it got off to a rocky start, but we're jaded and spoiled in the sense that we've seen the boys goofing off for 8 years and they've got it down to an artform. Now, compared to other automotive programming on american television, it was brilliant. Overhaulin! "LOOK AT HOW MUCH BONDO WE PUT ON THIS PICKUP!" - Orange County Choppers! Tattoos! "they match my bike's gas tank!" Car TV is a joke in the USA, and here's to USTG changing that.
 
So glad I jumped on this forum. The rest of the internet was pissing me off so bad with their mob mentality flat out bashing of TGUSA. Was it great? no, but it wasn't bad either. I hope TGUSA gets the chance to improve and and I have confidence it will become a great show if given the chance to run a few seasons.
 
what's the go with a rip of a 25fps (edit: and 30fps) show from a 24fps channel. Visually painful to watch...
 
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It reminded me of TGUK Season 1 (there's even a semi portly gent). What worries me is that expectations are so high due to the success of TGUK after 16 seasons that TGUS will fold after just one and never have the chance to get better. It might have been wishful thinking but I thought I could see the chemistry developing even during the first episode. The producers need to come up with a challenge that will push the presenters together and create some shared experience bonds that will kick start their friendship.

What I really don't understand are the folks who say they turned it off after 10 minutes because it was crap. How do you ever find anything new to watch with the bar set that high?
 
I just watched it again on the re-run with a more open mind. It wasn't bad! I like it. It will get better I'm sure. Once the guys settle in it should be great.

Looking forward to tonight's episode. :)

-Eric
 
daprotik said:
Full agreement with Tromoly and NOHC. But one major thing I feel is missing. These three are not friends, TG Australia has started to get better because those three has started to at least act as friends.
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They haven't really had time to become friends.

Worse, I don't see them hanging around together to become friends, in any significant measures of time. If Top Gear US gets renewed, maybe they'll go to some production meetings during the planning stages of season 2 and then come together to do filming (even then, it seems a lot of filming is done with the hosts in isolation).

With Clarkson/Hammond/May, they spend so much time together doing 2 series a year (slowing down now) and especially during the one or two epic travel/challenge epsides per year, not to mention things like going on tour together doing Top Gear Live.

These three aren't likely to spend that kind of time together in their own careers; I assume Wood still does the Nacar thing, Foust is still driving, and I assume Ferrara is playing the Chuckle Hut next Thursday.
 
mooglebunny said:
I think they could all do better if they did get some proper coaching for acting and comedy.
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Ferrar is a stand up comedian, and from what I'v eheard from peoel at the TGUSA tapings, he's really very funny on his own, keeping the crowd entertained.

The problem for this show (and this episode in particualr) was that, like sitcoms based on a stand up comics routine, the comic only has a LITTLE say in the writing, so it's not his/her words, which makes it come off stilted and rough. Happens in sitcoms all the time. Jezza writes pretty much all his own stuff for the show, whereas Ferrara probably wrote about a 10th of his part, and only got to ad lib a little in the bit about the Lambos (where he actually came off as much more charismatic there at the end when they were just talking together).

I have last night's episode recorded and haven't watched it yet. I'm going to reserve judgemetn until more of the season has been aired.
 
I really enjoyed it!

The first episode was infinitely better than I thought it would be.

Ignoring the problems with the camera shake, most of the video was top notch.

Tanner is great in my opinion. It's great to have a pro driver on the team as it differentiates the program from Top Gear UK.

The weak point was the interview. I thought it was some kind of joke. To be honest it was an insult. "You were on the moon? cool. What cars did you have? A Corvette? Wow great story bro now lets see your lap. Go home now". Jesus. By the way, was the Suzuki an auto?

I would like to see a news segment which was quite missing for me.

All in all I really enjoyed it and can't wait for the coming episodes.

Ohh, by the way, did anyone else notice Matt Farah from the smoking tire in the audience?

http://img440.imageshack.**/img440/4808/topgear.jpg

I really think he should be a host on the show.
 
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