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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
Well I know that it is scripted, but I feel there is still something that the presenters still seem awkward or something like that while being on camera. I seem to think it's something that coaching would possibly help. Personally I am not so sure about Foust writing his own lines though, but maybe he's funnier than what I've seen him on (when he just seems absolutely serious all of the time and that's it).

My boyfriend thought Ferrara even as a stand-up was not good though. I personally have never seen any of his comedy though so I will not say that I agree or disagree, but we somewhat agree on comedians.

Really I do honestly hope that it continues into another season at least, especially hearing the news that TGAU seems to have gotten the ax from what it sounds like.
 
After two episodes i will say the show has potential and isn't terrible, however Tanner just sucks. He may be a talented driver and knows his stuff about cars, but as a host he is terrible. His presentation is very dry,he has no real personality and everything he says sounds scripted, every time he speaks i feel like i am watching a rerun of motorweek. Ill admit that Wood and the other guy :) may sound somewhat scripted also, but they at least have personality and are entertaining, Tanner just sounds like a salesman selling you the latest new fangled set of brake rotors.
 
It seems to me like the presenters know they've got huge expectations to fill and have clammed up accordingly. The dialogue seemed somewhat nervous and wooden, but none of them seemed annoying or dull enough for me to go watch something else.

The cinematography and editing seem to be a step down from the original. FIX THE SHAKY CAMERAS. The background music is nothing special or interesting, but it would cost a fortune in licensing fees for them to be like the original in that regard. Edits weren't as fast-paced and music video-like as TGUK can be, which is both good (sometimes it can be a distraction in the UK show) and bad (they needed some more distractions this time around, IMHO). Don't just sit there on a shot of the guys doing nothing--cut away to something more interesting or do some post-production trickery to keep things moving. Oh, and have I complained about the in-car cams yet? FIX THEM. OMG. Tighten your mount's bolts better. Get sturdier mounts. Ask if postproduction can keyframe out the movement. Shoot, go to a trackday, find the guys with cameras mounted on their cars, and pick their brains. (Or hire me, haha. Even my in-car cams weren't that shaky.) It is completely distracting to have cameras vibrating while the car's idling and two of the hosts are talking to each other. It also didn't give me any better idea of the speeds they were going than, say, a simple shot of scenery whooshing by.

The content seemed good, although I kind of lost interest during the Viper/Cobra chase. Laser tag doesn't particularly translate well to TV, no matter what kinds of awesomeness it's mounted on. I also get the feeling that TGUK would've done something a bit more perilous and explosive instead, haha. Helicopter vs. C4 'Vette, Evo VIII vs. the military, the Fiesta landing, etc., etc.--when the "cult following" you're trying to woo is used to epic kabooms and over-the-top stunts, go big or go home. The intro about the Viper was well-done, but the laser tag segment seemed to drag a bit. The Evo vs. skiiers chase looks a bit more like what I've come to expect, so I'll probably watch this week's episode when I get a chance.

Star/small car or whatever seemed half-done. Either take the time to get in a full interview or cut this. There were plenty of pauses in the show that they could've cut for extra time for this, IMHO.

Then there's the guy in the white racing suit. Either make him a full-blown character like the original Stig or don't bother. Have him listen to silly things in the car. Introduce him by his quirks. Otherwise he's just an anonymous driver, which could be fine to avoid more OMG STIG drama, but it makes calling him a Stig seem half-done.

That's a good assessment of TGUS, really: half-done. Polish it a tad and it'll be an interesting show.
 
In re Shakycam: I think Rut did a good job explaining why at least one of the cams was that way (Tanner driving his Lambo like a total hoon and wrecking the tires). I think we're going to see a recurrence on Sunday during the Cheap Car Challenge, but this time it can be more easily written off as dramatic license moreso than bad engineering. What they're going to do to that Bonneville borders on car cruelty.

ninjacoco said:
when the "cult following" you're trying to woo is used to epic kabooms and over-the-top stunts, go big or go home.
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I'm wondering if this is another compromise to the budget. Have you noticed that the insurance underwriter gets a credit in the close? I have this feeling that the insurance is following the same pattern as the music licensing, namely expensive as hell, and unlike the music, they have to have insurance. The cost of underwriting the epic kabooms and over-the-top stunts may be too much at this point. The show will need some sort of track record in order to reduce cost. Notice that TGUK really didn't go in for that sort of thing until well into the run, then cut down on them just after Hamster's accident.

Then there's the guy in the white racing suit. Either make him a full-blown character like the original Stig or don't bother. Have him listen to silly things in the car. Introduce him by his quirks. Otherwise he's just an anonymous driver, which could be fine to avoid more OMG STIG drama, but it makes calling him a Stig seem half-done.
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I can give them a little more leeway on Stig at this point. They're still trying to introduce us to Tanner, Adam, and Rut, who have actual faces and personalities. Trying to sell the audience simultaneously on Stiggie is a tough job. Remember that TGUK didn't really start establishing Stig until after White Stig came along, by which time Jeremy and Richard had their "characters" well-grounded and James was well on his way. Right now, StigUS is a work in progress. I'd like to see StigUS develop his own unique quirks. But if he starts behaving like StigUK, we can always blame the Stig Farm for it.
 
Heh. I like hoonery. If they caught the shredded tires on film, they should've stuck 'em in! :p

Now that I think of it, the original series didn't have a lot of the bigger challenges or weirdness about Stig until later, but they did at least do a better job of establishing why the dude doesn't talk. If I looked at TGUS as a standalone series (which it has to be to people who've never seen TGUK), the whole mute professional driver thing seems a tad random.

I know they can't introduce Stig the same way (someone will inevitably ask why there isn't a sock in Tanner's mouth!), but it'd be nice if they'd flesh it out a little.

Good point about insurance/production costs, though. I think I'll end up liking the second episode a bit better. (Evo! Snow! *squee*)
 
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alpha said:
Then the Aston Martin bit. The Vantage is an amazingly beautiful car, it's proportions are spot on, the interior quality is excellent and it's high tech as well. There was not enough beautyshots and an awful amount of bullshit. What was the number one complaint about the V8? It's UNDERPOWERED!? 420 hp? 0-60 in 4,7 sec? 180mph? Slow? Really?
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We're Americans. We live in the Land of the Muscle Car. To us, it's underpowered. Rut didn't say it was slow. He said that the engine didn't have enough HP to overcome the massive weight of the car. And the beauty shots are a waste of time; we don't care how a car looks unless it's mind-explodingly ugly, viz. the Pontiac Aztek.

Also, what was it about all that "BRITS ARE LYING!!!"-nonsense just because the car doesn't drive as fast as the last number written on the speedo?
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Do you actually watch Top Gear? Redneck Rut was aiming that comment toward one person. If you do watch Top Gear, I trust you can figure out who that person is.
 
Wrong thread.... episode #2 is thataway ---->
 
The Spie said:
We're Americans. We live in the Land of the Muscle Car. To us, it's underpowered. Rut didn't say it was slow. He said that the engine didn't have enough HP to overcome the massive weight of the car. And the beauty shots are a waste of time; we don't care how a car looks unless it's mind-explodingly ugly, viz. the Pontiac Aztek.
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That's really sad and I feel for you. Luckily though, I know that not all Americans are that stupid.

Also, V8 Vantage: 257 bhp / ton. Newest Camaro SS: 243 bph / ton. The Camaro weighs a stunning 1751 kilos. Insane for a two-door "sports car".


TomCat - yeah, i saw that now, thanx.
 
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You're comparing the Aston to a Camaro? The fact that the power to weight is that close just made me respect the Chevy that much more.

Also, keep in mind that the Camaro is basically built on a full size car chassis. It was never going to be a tiny little light weight sports car.
 
The Camaro is perceived as an American sports car. That weighs 1790 kilos... Not that Corvettes are that light either, a classic '76 Vette weighs 1677kg. An '07 Vette ZR1 weighs 1508kg. And by comparison, the V8 Vantage 1630kg. But then again, the V8 has a beautiful interior covered in lush leather, where the Corvette is mostly cheap plastic. Americans have a hard time getting the word "premium" into their cars. Not as bad as the awful Japanese cars, but close.
 
As a general rule, you always get what you pay for. There are exceptions, but they're only exceptions. So it all comes down to what you're paying for. The lowest end V8 Vantage, which is the lowest end Aston Martin you can get, is still more expensive than the highest spec of the highest level model of the Corvette, the ZR1. That's a 420hp Aston compared to a 640hp Corvette. So why is the Aston so much more expensive? Because you're not paying for the performance, at least not entirely, you're also paying for a gorgeous interior and a prestigious badge. With the Corvette you're simply paying for the performance. At the end of the day, it's still a Chevrolet, with the interior of a Chevrolet. It's not trying to be something it's not. It's a performance car, first and foremost. Not a luxurious country club cruising garage queen.
 
A car that does 0-60 in 4,7 secs and goes on to a 180mph can hardly be called a "country club cruising garage queen". It's a fast performance car by any standard.
 
Thoughts after watching the first episode:

- Viper Race: Reminded me a lot of the Top Gear Apache vs Lotus race and while enjoyable, it felt like it went on a bit too long. Could have done with more editing.
- Big Star / Small Car: Never been a big fan of the SIARPC segment of the original show so i skipped this completely.
- Lambo's: The Lambo segment was again mostly ok. Didn't really grab me but it was still fun.

The Presenters: Adam is easily the best of the 3 and i personally didn't mind Tanner. Rutledge however is easily the least likeable of the trio. I don't know what it is about the guy but he just comes across as being useless and unfunny. Mostly though i think the trio are trying to hard to live up to the original Top Gear trio. However, i think that given some time they should be able to generate their own version and it just needs that time for the rapport to grow.

Overall: Not bad, i didn't go into it expecting great things and while its not brilliant stuff it was still fun and entertaining. Definately a good template to run with and grow from. I do wish they had a news segment like the original. Other than that i would simply be repeating others, the cam needs fixing and while this is american tv. i could really have done without all the ticker tape stuff running at the bottom of the screen. Even if they are advertising a documentary called "The Real store behind thanksgiving" its still not going to make me think "ooh i really wish i could watch that as well." do it in adverts, not in the program.
/rant over, guess i've been spoiled by the BBC too much.
 
This show is horrible so far ep 1 they try to be funny, not even remotely, there is no chemistry between them, and they are trying to hard to copy the good version the original. I almost fell asleep while watching the lambos. That is a horrible testament to the announcers. I realize that a lot of it is because they are new but I miss the ripping on cars like Jeremy does, and I can't stand Wood what the hell is he supposed to be? Redneck he ain't. funny please... the other two i can see making a good show but Rutledge please just get rid of him.

The viper chase scene was WAY to scripted. if u r going to copy one of the best shows out there copy the good things too.
 
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Let's count how many ways you're wrong...
alpha said:
The Camaro is perceived as an American sports car.
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No, it's perceived as an American muscle car... that costs $35K for an SS version here in the states. This is a classic European's misperception. We don't really go for domestic sports cars here. Luckly, 911s, Italias and the like are available here.
'07 Vette ZR1 weighs 1508kg. And by comparison, the V8 Vantage 1630kg. But then again, the V8 has a beautiful interior covered in lush leather, where the Corvette is mostly cheap plastic.
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A v8 Vantage costs about $20K more than a brand new ZR1. The ZR1 would absolutely wipe the floor with the V12 Vantage, let alone the V8 version. To make a better comparison, the V8 Vantage costs roughly three times what the standard Vette costs. The standard Vette has a much lower mass and about the same power as a Vantage V8? now are you getting why they are calling the Vantage "underpowered"? These days you can get a Cadillacs wagon with 556HP. Hyundai's about to introduce a turbo 4 in the Sonata with about 300hp, fer crissake. The Vantage is supposed to be a sports car, 400 HP in a V8 car that weighs (and costs) that much ain't cutting it.
Americans have a hard time getting the word "premium" into their cars. Not as bad as the awful Japanese cars, but close.
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It's easy to "get premium" (?) into cars if you charge what Europeans charge. Don't get me wrong, I love European cars and most are much superior to American cars, but you can't exactly get a 3 series for the price of a Chevy Malibu.
 
Late to the series, just watched ep1. Painful and cringe worthy, besides the logo and the name they didn't even bother respecting TG. I don't expect much from our tv but they could've at least tried to have *some* production values. The crowd looked bored out of their mind, I doubt they know anything about cars at all.
 
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