[01x09] January 16th, 2011

[01x09] January 16th, 2011

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To be honest at first I thought "Oh no, not again a cheap car challenge. Must be the third or fourth one in ONE season". But wow. Best US Episode so far. I had to laugh often and hard. Also the guys had a good chemistry. It's just a bit sad that they didn't show any of the modifying. But still best one so far. I hope the will keep this rate for the last (?) episode of the season and for the hopefully upcoming Seasons!
 
Best episode so far, US OR UK. Absolutely fantastic. The Dodge didn't die due to a sideways battery, the motor seized up. That was obvious - it was smoking and wouldn't crank. The Ford was 2WD...had it been 4WD it would've been possible to keep going. No doubt the 350 was the clear champion here though. Fantastic filmography too. Up till now i would've said Tanner was the weak point besides beign the only one who could really drive, but he came into his own here. Adam is now the weak point IMO.
 
Adam has always been the weak point to me. I gave the episode a 9/10 - the best US episode by far, but still could have been much better. What makes the UK challenges special is the fact that the backup car is a punishment - something horrid, and loathed by all three presenters. This is evidenced by the Beetle, Marina, and the USA bike. For the US producers to provide what was arguably a better vehicle as a punishment... well, that's no punishment at all. Jeremy, Richard, and James all had tremendous incentive to not be the one stuck in the backup; while Adam, Rutledge, and Tanner had none. Also... wasn't this rather short for an epic trip? Most of the UK trips are in the 800-1000 mile range, while I have a suspicion that this one was under 400. It felt so rushed, like a long weekend of trail riding rather than an expedition. If you're going to spend the budget and bring the crew and cars to Alaska, why not make it truly epic, and a 90 or 120 minute special with limited advertising.
 
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Pretty good trip, while it uses the TGUK formula, it definitely has an US feel to it. 9/10.
 
wierdo124 said:
Best episode so far, US OR UK. Absolutely fantastic. The Dodge didn't die due to a sideways battery, the motor seized up. That was obvious - it was smoking and wouldn't crank. The Ford was 2WD...had it been 4WD it would've been possible to keep going. No doubt the 350 was the clear champion here though. Fantastic filmography too. Up till now i would've said Tanner was the weak point besides beign the only one who could really drive, but he came into his own here. Adam is now the weak point IMO.
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The Ford was 4WD, Notice the Front Axle and Hub assembly. Not sure it was working Though.
http://img38.imageshack.**/img38/3352/fordu.jpg

I rate it 9/10 Good fun, I liked it, just wanted some more challenges and wish it could have been longer.
 
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DVD Sales?

DVD Sales?

So, how much money can these guys make on DVD sales when they can release a longer than 42 minute episode?

There is obviously a lot of content that had to be left on the editing room floor. I know that I would be willing to buy it if it had some serious extras.
 
Very funny episode. I think the problem is that it is too short. We need the 90 minutes! Anyway I thought it was a very good challenge and the Toyota was a thing in American pride not about the car itself. I think that is one of the problems of comparing it to TGUK, Brits have other set of values therefore is important to have that into consideration.
 
Great episode, 9/10.

I agree with everybody else in that it felt rushed but I dont see any 90 minute or commercial free episodes coming unless the show becomes a ratings monster.

They were brutal on those trucks and I think each truck made its maker proud. It would have been nice to see more interaction with locals but they did a good job of showing the natural beauty of Alaska.

I look forward to more episodes like this.
 
7/10 -- Best episode of the US show thus far. A couple of points for me:

1. 44 minutes (60 min slot - commercial time) is too short to do this kind of episode properly. Too much time is spent on the ACTUAL challenges and not enough time is left over for tension building, presenter banter, and the philosophical waxing / complaining that happens in-car during the driving sequences.They clearly spent multiple days outdoors, but you only saw 1 night at camp, and everything seemed like it happened in a single day. Bottom line is that these kinds of "special challenges" need to be 90 minutes.

2. Only 1 vehicle made it to the end -- I understand that the idea is to put the cars through the grinder and that you can only control so much of the challenge, but I think there should've been more of an effort made to try and get the vehicles fixed and moving forward. It kills the tension when one of the presenters ends up in the "backup car of shame" so quickly.

3. I get that Adam Ferrara is a comedian / actor by trade, and I really do think he's an asset to the show as a presenter (he's a good counterpoint to Tanner's more info-centric approach and Rutledge's "aww-shucks" attitude), but Christ -- teach the guy to drive off-road before sending him off on a challenge. He basically wrecked the Ford with his inability to manage the trail. It moved the challenge from "toughest truck" to "toughest truck that isn't being driven by a ****."

4. The Toyota Hilux was the "backup car of shame" -- but man, at least MENTION that it's an amazing vehicle. Hell, the UK guys took one of those to the North Pole. It would've amped the stakes to have it out there that the American trucks were competing against a worthy adversary.

5. Lest it be thought I hated this episode, I have to say that the banter between the presenters seemed MUCH more natural than in any of the past episodes. The humor wasn't forced, there were some genuine laughs, and all three presenters seemed to be more of themselves (Tanner was way less uptight, Rutledge was way less of "happy to be here" guy, and Adam was less rehearsed with his comedy). It made the entire thing a lot better to watch.

6. The shooting / direction of the episode was great as well. Beautiful shots of the wilderness.

7. The "customization" of the trucks was properly Top Gear. I don't know any other way to say it, but seeing them rolling down the highway looked like it could've been out of any UK episode. Very well done.

Hopefully the producers and presenters can look critically at the 1st year, and this episode especially, and see exactly what works and what doesn't for a (hopefully) second season of the show. They've got the raw materials for a good program, it's just a matter of getting everyone comfortable and putting it all together next year.

Also, agree on the old-school SUV challenge request. Would LOVE to see an old-school XJ matched up against a Range Rover and a Bronco going through Canada or something.
 
I have to say this episode was a positive surprise to me. I've been following TGUSA and while enjoying it a lot, I never felt it was really something I'd write about to you guys, I'm pretty lazy after all. But this episode really just looked like a ton of fun and I'd love to do the same thing myself. I'm not even a truck person either but obviously they were having a major laugh the whole time.

All three hosts are great in my opinion, in a year or two I can see a truly epic special bringing TGUK and TGUSA together. If the show survives until then ( I can't think of any reason why it shouldn't ) I think we'll be in for some awesome television.

Everyone outside N/A needs to remember our usual motoring related programs aren't worth spitting on. I hope this show catches on with some real fans over here. Not everyone can get into the British humor like a lot of us can.
 
wuud said:
It's just a bit sad that they didn't show any of the modifying.
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Yeah. But I've been feeling the same way about TGUK as well, I can't remember the last time they showed the modification process. I guess it was the first amphibious challenge, besides Clarkson setting a random pile or stuff on fire behind his MX5 in the Middle East challenge. But this episode was rushed quite a bit, so I imagine a lot of stuff got trimmed out. Hopefully they can release lots of deleted scenes when it gets, undoubtedly, released on DVD.
 
I really wanted the Ford to win because in reality, they are built tougher than the other two; the phrase "Built Ford Tough" is not an empty slogan. But like reality, the Ford snapped it's U joints like they always do.

Tanner's Chevy was a 1983; 1986 being the last good year before they got wimpy. And the Dodge...behaved like a new Dodge truck. Just complete garbage, I pity people who were duped into buying them; I know they never will again.
 
Jay said:
I really wanted the Ford to win because in reality, they are built tougher than the other two; the phrase "Built Ford Tough" is not an empty slogan. But like reality, the Ford snapped it's U joints like they always do.

Tanner's Chevy was a 1983; 1986 being the last good year before they got wimpy. And the Dodge...behaved like a new Dodge truck. Just complete garbage, I pity people who were duped into buying them; I know they never will again.
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Honestly, I thought it was going to be a toss up between the Chevy and the Ford. The dodge isn't a great truck, and unless it has the cummin's it really isn't worth much.

It was really unfortunate the way the ford went, I'm pretty sure if Adam had had any off road driver training before hand the outcome could have changed. Those old Chevy's are tough, but so are the Fords.
 
They were taking those trails pretty quickly, with reckless abandon almost, so I'm not surprised someone broke. No doubt they were going for the entertainment factor, thrashing the trucks and trying to get air on some of those bumps and hills. Very few trucks can take that kind of abuse and not suffer for it. I'm impressed the Chevrolet had no problems actually. Even at the end when he backed it into the ice with a good amount of force and was still able to haul ass back out and up the hill. It would be interesting to see a future Hilux vs. Chevy indestructible truck challenge. :p
 
I loved this episode. I meant to give it a 9, but clicked 8.

And I blame Adam for the breaking of the driveshaft, not the truck.
 
chooie said:
Adam has always been the weak point to me. I gave the episode a 9/10 - the best US episode by far, but still could have been much better. What makes the UK challenges special is the fact that the backup car is a punishment - something horrid, and loathed by all three presenters. This is evidenced by the Beetle, Marina, and the USA bike. For the US producers to provide what was arguably a better vehicle as a punishment... well, that's no punishment at all. Jeremy, Richard, and James all had tremendous incentive to not be the one stuck in the backup; while Adam, Rutledge, and Tanner had none. Also... wasn't this rather short for an epic trip? Most of the UK trips are in the 800-1000 mile range, while I have a suspicion that this one was under 400. It felt so rushed, like a long weekend of trail riding rather than an expedition. If you're going to spend the budget and bring the crew and cars to Alaska, why not make it truly epic, and a 90 or 120 minute special with limited advertising.
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yeah, I thought they'd have gone with something smaller than the Hilux...something like the Suzuki that James used in Bolivia.

that being said, I have to say that I've been pleasantly surprised by the episodes so far. Yeah, they've had their 'cringeworthy' moments but hey, so has TG, lol
 
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Number 41 said:
Also, agree on the old-school SUV challenge request. Would LOVE to see an old-school XJ matched up against a Range Rover and a Bronco going through Canada or something.
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I'd love that. Though a better comparison would be a Wagoneer vs Bronco vs Range Rover (the RR was designed in response to the first two).

Adam Ferrara hasn't jived well for me during the series. Rutledge and Foust have improved vastly, but Adam hasn't seemed to improve much at all.
 
This was my favorite episode by far. It had me laughing and enjoying every minute of it. It definitely feels rushed with only 44 minutes. Maybe if the show goes well enough it will get upped to 90 minutes.

I only had a couple of issues with it. I would have loved to hear something like "Scientists say..." about the Hilux. Also, they needed to try and fix the trucks. That is one of the best parts from the UK show. The boys breaking down, getting left, fixing the car, the others debating and waiting to see the car that shows up. It just felt like aww shucks it broke, time to climb in the Hilux.

On the good side, the trucks were awesome. The log cabin was properly UK ridiculous. Scripted or not the banter was great and had me laughing. TGUK has felt very scripted the past couple of years too. I have high hopes for this show in the future.
 
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