I agree on the whole with many of the disappointed viewers here. I didn't expect much of the show, but I did expect better than what was delivered.
The simple fact is that TGAU hasn't got any money. The Age had an article recently about it. SBS is allowed only 5 minutes of advertising in that hour. At the rate of $30,000 per ad slot, they can hope to recoup only $300,000.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/enter...1221935644983.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap4
Now, that's $300,000 (133,000GBP or $238,000USD) to pay for the Top Gear license, editors, director, camera crew, sound engineers, presenters, pay for use of the track, the 'hangar', pay the executives salary, the receptionist, the advertising staff, etc etc etc etc and try and make a profit (they are now a commercial station, after all).
TGUK costs multi-million pounds per episode. This show will
never be able to compete at that level, and all the time in the world won't make any difference at all. They simply can't afford it.
That said, my opinions of the presenters were a little different to most. I didn't mind Charlie. I liked Warren .. but I f**king *HATED* Steve. He needs to calm down, he was like the energizer bunny on Red Bull after snorting a kilo of speed, grinning like a mad man and generally pissing me off.
I agree that the show felt laboured, like they were trying too hard, and were unnatural. Charlie's driving position shows it, he drives like an old man, elbows out, clutching at the top of the wheel. That stuff will improve with time.
The lack of cameras, the poor sound quality, etc.. those are all financial constraints. That won't improve at all.
For those who are too lazy to read The Age article, the following quote may be interesting
SBS has much riding on the success of the eight episodes of Top Gear Australia. While media reports that the network is investing $11million in the franchise appear overblown (television head Matt Campbell says it is "a ridiculous claim ... that's more than our annual drama budget"), a more realistic figure puts the cost at between $200,000 and $300,000 an episode.
But even at that price, SBS will struggle to cover its budget. It is understood that it sold the full inventory of advertising spots on Top Gear Australia at a commercially realistic rate of $30,000 a spot. With a cap of five minutes of advertising per hour, SBS can expect to recoup $300,000 per episode.