I haven't seen it yet, but I thought I'd share my thoughts on this show while 01x06 is downloading.
I was really skeptical about this show. I thought it was going to be a poorly done shameless rip-off of the best show in the world (BBC Top Gear). And I've ignored it for some weeks. But I recently had some free time, so I watched the first 5 episodes, and I've got to say... I'm impressed.
I'm a Russian born Canadian resident, so I understand the show without subtitles. I think the show is well produced, and the presenters make a decent team. But I kind of wish there was a James May character, it feels like there are 2 Richard Hammonds and 1 Clarkson... But whatever, hopefully they will work out their own style as the series progresses. These first few episodes are pretty much Russian copies of the original show, when I watch the challenges I feel like I've already seen it before... because I have.
I see a lot of potential in this show. Right now the fate of the show is in the hands of the producers. Copying Clarkson is a great way to get they show off the ground, but it only gets you this far. By the second series they must use their own creative juices to come up with original material/challenges to keep the viewers interested. IF they can manage to do that, the show will go on and it will be truly great... It's like the US version of The Office, the first series was a blatant copy of the UK version, minus the British accent. But they really came though by the second series with original plot line and good jokes.
I'm really enjoying the show, but it must really suck for you non-Russian speaking people, because a lot of the speech just doesn't directly translate very well into English. To understand the show, and get a laugh out of it, you really need to understand the Russian language and Russian culture.
But, hey! Russian Top Gear beats No Top Gear, so this should keep you mildly entertained until June 21st comes around.
Ahh, and my download is complete.
p.s. I know you guys are working on dubbing the show, but I hope you keep posting the original Russian subbed releases as well.