[01x02] November 25th, 2016

[01x02] November 25th, 2016


  • Total voters
    170
I only wish that people wouldn't carry their personal issues into this thread.

It seems to me that some welcome the opportunity to "repay" the forum for the abyssmal critics that S23 of Chris Evans' Top Gear recieved. At least when I criticize something, I wrap it into reasons, trying to explain why and do not simply klick on 1 in the poll and write nothing or only "meh" or "that was shit". I can't respect that, sorry.

Of course that is just my humble, subjective observation ;)

And in other peoples humble, subjective opinion, this episode was particularly unfantastic. That includes me.
 
When you only consider our poll, yes. It's basically a question of what you find funny. Let me explain why I think the Jordan film is funny.

I love black humor and politically incorrect jokes. And the Jordan film is full of it: Jeremy being left-handed and shooting himself with bullet casings, Jeremy being stuck in the window while the terrorists "do something" to him and the way James and Richard seem to be incapable of killing him quickly. The way James and Richard kept killing each other on purpose. And I lost it when James accidentally shot the Queen and had to shoot Richard in order to restart. That's the kind of humor I like.

Granted, not all the jokes and punchlines worked. But even Laurel & Hardy or Rowan Atkinson didn't always hit the spot and made many average and not so funny films and sketches. And CHM aren't comedians after all. But all in all it was a nice parody of both time-loop movies and shooter games, where you have to start the level all over, when you get killed. And granted, too, if you never watched such movies and never played such games, you'll have a harder time "getting it".

Well, I'm getting it.

Maybe that's the difference between those who like it and those who don't. No shame involved for either side but seriously: Giving only 1 or 2 points for it is ridiculous and a vast overreaction.
 
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But even Laurel & Hardy or Rowan Atkinson didn't always hit the spot and made many average and not so funny films and sketches.

I think you are on the mark with that comment. The Jordan film had more than a bit of "Johnny English" feel to it in some parts, esp. the closing minutes.

While I am totally chuffed that CHM are back, I am really hoping that the show finds more balance quickly. But then, it took many years for TG to find its groove and even then there were old bangers. Anyone who gives it a very low score and says that they really bollocksed up this ep. (especially only 2 shows in) is being a prat. (IMHO)
 
A bit more "car stuff" would have been welcome. Like if they had an M-B, BMW, and/or Jag in addition to the Audi and raced them to see which got the "queen" to the embassy first. I admit to laughing out loud after James shot "her majesty" in the head.

That probably would've saved it for it me. It was still decent, even funny, but adding some car comparison stuff there would've been better.
 
Beware of intense nitpicking below.

Like the intro music and how it seems we will get a new, location-specific intro every time.

This talking segment isn't really working for me. It feels like I'm watching a recording of a Top Gear Live show where they are playing to a local audience. I get that they are in a way, but this is a TV show not a concert. The talking and the comedy needs to be aimed at the cameras, not the audience. The new format has some problems. the crowd noise is too loud. They face out towards the crowd too, meaning they project and react more to the audience than to each other, reducing the effects of that chemistry that's worth so much money and that means so much to us fans. I am aware, though, that the format is brand new, and they didn't get the chance to gauge audience reactions before they filmed this, as it was shot before the first episode aired.

Excellent review of the Vulcan. Beautifully shot and edited, of course. Great points by Clarkson and a fantastic car.
Oh, god. The American is still talking. I give them a pass on this too since they filmed the episode before the first one aired, no time to react to criticisms. It's weird they let it be on the lap board, considering it isn't road legal.

Agera One:1, plus more crowd-specific humor, but this was pretty funny overall. lol bike mine.

Ok, I really hated the Jordan stuff. First time watching these three I've ever had the urge to turn it off. I thought this was genuinely bad, not just flawed, but actually bad. I fail to understand how this is supposed to be entertaining. There's absolutely no tension, as it's all scripted. And it's really badly scripted. Does anyone believe that Hammond didn't know where Jordan was and wore snow camouflage or that Clarkson meant to say "smoke grenade?" No. The jokes need us to believe that to work. I laughed a couple times, but so many of the jokes were just awkwardly unfunny. Jeremy's being raped now? What the fuck is this supposed to be? Just think how much better this would have been if they actually played this game with fake guns like those used in the Porsche Boxter vs SLK AMG film. They could still script a few jokes as a comedy safety net but have some actual tension, something for us to actually be invested in, some element of jeopardy. That said, I liked a few of the jokes. I particularly like the line "Cry havoc and let slip the dog of understeer."

The spinning part was great. That moment where the guy stepped out of the car and James was genuinely surprised was way funnier and way more exciting than the Jordan stuff, just that little moment.

"And on that terrible disappointment, it's time to end." Operation Desert Stumble is a very accurate title. Still better Chris Evans by a long way, and I'm still very very glad it's back, better luck next time, boys.

Thank you for saving me the effort of having to type out my reply, I agree with you 100%, the Jordon bit was the first time in I don't know how many years I actually hit pause and walked away form the tv to take care of a couple of things around the house.
 
I only wish that people wouldn't carry their personal issues into this thread.

It seems to me that some welcome the opportunity to "repay" the forum for the abyssmal critics that S23 of Chris Evans' Top Gear recieved. At least when I criticize something, I wrap it into reasons, trying to explain why and do not simply klick on 1 in the poll and write nothing or only "meh" or "that was shit". I can't respect that, sorry.

Of course that is just my humble, subjective observation ;)


My mehs are me saying that I simply did not enjoy the episodes and is an honest reflection of my opinion of them. Were there some interesting bits? Sure, but even a broken clock is right twice a day. If I have to write an expanded explanation of why I did not go bonkers for everything I comment on, I won't have much of a life.

I will say that I hoped the break from TG would have given the group time to refresh themselves and their ideas. Maybe it will just take time, but at this point, the trio are about to fizz out in my opinion.
 
That went downhill really quick. I spent part of this ep fast-forwarding.

To elaborate:
  • The Aston Martin Vulcan review was decent, but rather bland.
  • The special forces thing was... terrible. Fast-forwarded after Clarkson's trousers came down.
  • The spinning thing could have been interesting if they bothered to actually give some information instead of just filming some erratic minutes and making James look silly.
  • Last week killing the celebrities on their way to the studio was a funny way to tell the audience there won't be celebrity interview in the new show, but turning it into a running gag is really weak.
From this ep I got the feeling that TGT is just going through the motions of the CHM TG, but doesn't have any emotion to it. To be more blunt, the first two eps transport a distinct feeling of cashing in on past merits.

3/10 and I still feel generous.
 
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That went downhill really quick. I spent part of this ep fast-forwarding.

To elaborate:
  • The Aston Martin Vulcan review was decent, but rather bland.
  • The special forces thing was... terrible. Fast-forwarded after Clarkson's trousers came down.
  • The spinning thing could have been interesting if they bothered to actually give some information instead of just filming some erratic minutes and making James look silly.
  • Last week killing the celebrities on their way to the studio was a funny way to tell the audience there won't be celebrity interview in the new show, but turning it into a running gag is really weak.
From this ep I got the feeling that TGT is just going through the motions of the CHM TG, but doesn't have any emotion to it. To be more blunt, the first two eps transport a distinct feeling of cashing in on past merits.

3/10 and I still feel generous.

Exactly the reasons for my low rating, thanks for saving me the trouble :)
 
Exactly the reasons for my low rating, thanks for saving me the trouble :)

So you skipped most of it, too, and rated it low nevertheless? :p
 
I gather the next ep is is England. Maybe they will be back in their element and revert to targeting their humor to the English instead of trying to target everyone.
 
So you skipped most of it, too, and rated it low nevertheless? :p

Didn't skip anything, the reasons for my dislike were the same, my action were different. But I did consider skipping at one point.

It got so boring that I had to pause it, go do something else for a while before coming back to finish it.
 
This is probably why I get it as well for the points mentioned, also this is the first series so there will be parts that will by series 2 have been dropped and parts added, according to something I read the Celebrities dying is for the whole of the series as this has already been filmed but with time this will no doubt be dropped completely. Conversation Street was good as well basically the news from the old program and as for The American I find his complaining amusing but he can drive and then some. All in all for me the series is a pleasant surprise.
 
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I did not enjoy this at all. There were good bits, I assume, but the Jordan part overshadowed everything else, I don't even remember what the rest of the show was about.

If the Jordan bit is the worst there's going to be, I still think it's all going to be pretty decent. Obviously it was bullshit, but I heh'd a lot of times as the parody was often quite apt.
 
Looks like they may not have fixed the problem of really weak humour being stretched until it gets them into trouble...
 
Prefer Chris Evans' Top Gear to that shite.
 
I'm sorry but the Jordan film was god awful, I let out a few giggles at the start of it but they slowly became a faint smile until the episode was over...
As the Vulcan segment was running I was really hyped for the episode, too bad it didn't follow through.
I'm not sure what the plan is with segment like these, TG fooling around was always centred around something concerning cars ... I mean it almost had no car element to it. Audi S8 was not enough.

Oh and thanks for reinforcing the 'terrorist = arab-looking man' bs just that little bit further, as if the association wasn't ingrained enough in people's heads through several decades of propaganda.
 
The Jordan bit was so boring I actually fell asleep... And if I'm honest I don't really like the new track, it seems unforgiving, very tight and doesn't seem like you can push cars to the limit like Dunsfold.

Other bits were great though, everything in the studio is fun and the Vulcan vid was awesome as well.
 
First time poster, long time reader. I decided to make an account because for the first time that I can remember, I do have a bit of criticism about the show that I must get off my chest.



Now, onto the review. Maybe it's the new studio format, but it did seem this week like it was watching a stand up comedy special. That probably has something to do with addressing the studio audience more than the cameras. As long as they can tone it down a bit, I don't mind.

The Aston Film was very good. I'm a bit surprised that they let it stay on the board, but whatever. New show, new rules.

One thing that did annoy me during Conversation Street (and that's annoyed me a bit about Top Gear in general, in fact) is them seemingly ignoring the existence of Koenigsegg on the show. Doesn't the One:1 has the same power to weight ratio as that Aston? I suppose that's me being a car bore.

Now for the special forces unit. I don't normally mind scripted Top Gear humor (heck, I laughed like crazy during the India Special), but it turns out that I draw the line when there's CGI gunfire and bullet holes. It completely took me out of the moment. It's especially evident when Jeremy was stuck in the window and James was firing at him with the automatic gun. After that, I just was waiting for the segment to end. I realize that they were trying to make fun of/pay homage to action movies, but it just didn't do much for me. Unfortunately, the film made up the majority of the episode.

The dead celebrities bit wasn't quite as funny as it was last week, but I still found it amusing.

The Mercedes C9 interview was good, I just wish it had lasted longer and that they had given a bit more information about the car. Maybe showing some comparison photos between the replica and the real thing.

The spinning bit was very good, again though, I just wish that it lasted a bit longer, with May making an attempt in the driver's seat. Hopefully they make local segments like that a regular.

All in all though, it was disappointing. The CGI just took me out of the Jordan segment completely. Now, I'm not saying they should have used real bullets instead, but it would have been better if they had just up front used paintball or airsoft weapons, or perhaps by blatantly making it look fake by using orange plastic Nerf weapons with computer animation. If it had been a shorter film, it would have been less painful as well, and they could have extended the good films as I had wished for earlier. As it is though, 4/10. I just hope that they won't use CGI in the future. Hopefully my criticism stops it from happening again.
 
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