[12x08] December 28th, 2008 [Vietnam Special]

[12x08] December 28th, 2008 [Vietnam Special]

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I bet next year Mexico or something like that again with great scenery. I'd say this is pretty good there was some bits there felt a bit over cut and there were repetitive cocking about doing the gift thing. Mind you how often do you get Clarkson sticking his finger into a hole in his vehicle? So not always possible to get funny unscripted stuff.

Wish they'll come and do a Canada special mind you I can't think of what challenge they can have here? Logging with a beater car? Oil sands hauling (wait top gear Australia did something like that didn't they?)? There's the confederation bridge for them to get great shots and for Clarkson to complain about how Britian don't build anything amazing anymore. Mind you again they did that in France and in the RR Phantom review.
 
Epic, beautiful episode of TG.

Even tho there was no cars, no news, no stig, less funnies, it still was an awesome watch, and I don't know why. Left the best for last I'd say.
 
10/10 - but only because of rounding. This episode is probably the one where the trio have been at each other's throats most. Great fun watching them get through their stuff-ups. No denying the great music tracks.

Was really pleased to see May and Clarkson get stuck into the local cuisine. Not all food in the world is as bland as Hammond's interpretation of food.

I completely forgot about commie Stig until I read through the posts here, so didn't expect to see him at all. I don't feel that it detracts from the episode at all really.

Seeing Clarkson on the Vespa, with no motorcycle experience, riding 1000 miles, in Vietnam, gives us all hope that 'normal' people can do it too :) It may be misplaced hope but it's hope nonetheless ;) Great episode!
 
Great Ep. but i still miss the stig... lol Thanks to all the people that work behind the scence here at Final Gear that work to bring all of us up to date video's. Thanks Alot guys!!!!
 
I'm disappointed that we saw at the beginning of the season Stig's Communist Cousin, and that bit wasn't shown. I thought the episode was pretty good. Very entertaining. Vietnam is a beautiful country. Those islands looked especially amazing. The music was also excellent throughout. I was also hoping we'd see how the "bets" from the first few episodes came about. I'd figured it was from this trip, but now we still don't know.
 
Great episode. Fun rolling around in a vat of Nostalgia like that. The whole country really does seem like it lives in a different time. Part of the reason i love seeing things like this is that it reminds me that their are still places were pure politics hasn't seem to have taken hold of the culture, and sure that might just be because the vietnamese have no money for frivolous things, and that in itself may make me sound arrogant, but i get so sick of seeing governments trying to "keep up with the Joneses" and disregarding all of their culture, and everything about who they are and what their made of in the process.


Sure it might seem nightmarish to not know if your going to have enough grain to support your family, but in a way i think thats better then worrying about which teen pregnancies have struck hollywood and how everybody is going to die if Joe Hummer is forced to pay for carbon credits. I quess what i'm saying is seeing people who honestly have much more realistic problems helps put things in perspective. The fact that it was a great show, that was slightly about motoring, and featured my favorite pair of personalities was just a added bonus.

Great job and cheers to the TopGear team.

PS: Pity you can't get great music like that in their more often.
 
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10/10 Simply Brilliant. The scenery, the music, etc
 
I gave it a 10.

Yes, I was a little disappointed that Commie Stig didn't show up despite its presence in the S12 teaser. Despite that, it was just bang on brilliance.

The cinematography, the soundtrack, the crazy suits, the crazy gifts, the Monty Python references, the Vietnamese driving test, Hamster eating Rice Krispies with chopsticks, James falling off his rigged-up outrigger, JC falling off his Vespa...fucking epic. Hey, there was even a Wilman cameo.

I take it the "Yankee bike" blaring "Born in the USA" was this episode's version of the Beetle from the African adventure. Being a Midwestern Yankee, even I had to cringe at that bike. I'd probably kill myself before I would ever want to listen to Bruce Springsteen. I guess that means I have to avoid the Super Bowl halftime show.

Overall, S12 was pretty decent.
 
I gave it a 10. Everything was close enough to perfect that it deserves the top rating. That episode also solidified my desire for 2 wheels.
 
I gave it an 8. Great scenery and nice camaraderie, but the gags are too scripted and overdone, and the stuff like them "accidentally" arriving at Hanoi train station (they had like 2 days left anyway!) and then having to get to that other place. Was just too obvious and silly. And then they argue about whose fault it was for like 5 minutes.

I wish their pranks were more spontaneous. I'm sure there's a lot of funny stuff that happens spontaneously, and we used to see it in "old" Top Gear. Now they've tried to "improve" on those jokes and pranks and so it turns out horribly scripted.

Clarkson's last line grated my ears...
 
"My dongs all soaked now." :mrgreen:
 
the fact that i hate bikes, doesn't make this episode any less good....

a good solid 10!
 
I was wondering about The Stig's communist cousin, why the hell he didn't show up? Though the showed it in the season preview. But still an epic adventure and I had really good laughs watching it, but still missing something and felt someway "too scripted". 7/10, would've given 8/10 but no Stig's cousin :(
 
this is why I haven't given any episode this series 10/10 yet. Because I saved it for this one.

Can't add anything other than that really. Didn't even miss the communist Stig
 
Lovely episode, not perfect but great. I only realised this morning that the Stig's Communist cousin was ommitted from the episode, and now I'm disappointed. I was really looking forward to the Stig intro for that one.
:(

9/10
 
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