[14x03] November 29th, 2009

[14x03] November 29th, 2009


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solid 8/10
lol'd hard at the whole caravanning bit, but I wish there was more Lambo and less James being stupid and holding up an entire airport

the whole Lancia segment was just class though, can't wait to watch that in HD. And the sounds! :heart:
 
A few links about the lancia bit for your reading pleasure.

Write up from the integrale owner:
http://www.auto-journals.com/journals/Lancia?model=Integrale&journal=43

Not so positive report from the builder of the Hawk, not a happy man:
http://www.stratossupersite.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=7683

However the question has to be asked: Why send a tired car to a program which is known to hammer cars and rip them apart at the slightest oppertunity? I thought it came across fairly well to be honest, and that lap looked a riot!
 
8/10. I still miss those "buy cheap cars and run'em to the ground" episodes and the fake sense that the show is not scripted.

Anyway, it was indeed without a doubt better than 14x02. :)
 
Another weak episode.

Recycled jokes (Jesus, Morris Marina), not enough features, uninteresting topics. The flying caravan bit was original and funny for a few minutes, but it just went on for far too long. The Lambo was thrown in almost as an afterthought. I don't wanna see that thing creeping around country lanes, it belongs on the test track and deserves its own test or a comparison with a 4WD-Gallardo or a Ferrari/Porsche.

Lancia - Again: Too long a piece, they could have easily cut it down to under 5 minutes. All they did for the first segment was repeat two obvious points over and over again - we understand that Lancias are beautiful but unreliable.. now get on with it!

Plus: No meaningful references to today's car-world. Not a single real test of a new, interesting model, no lap-time of a new car. Even if they would have done the Stratos-lap more seriously: What do I care about a badly made kit-car's lap-time?
The "news" were repetitive as well: I mean, we know that speed-cameras suck and that JC thinks they're the work of the devil. Why not instead tell us something about new, exciting cars that have been announced?

IMO the show is lacking someone to keep the sillyness and repetitiveness in check and the features short. Because, as someone in this thread already pointed out: A joke doesn't get better if you repeat it over and over again.

Just look at some of the older shows: They had more and shorter films but overall the entertainment-value was much higher, the show was funnier, seemed more spontaneous and they even managed to squeeze some real-world-advice in there. Where are reviews like Golf R32 vs BMW 130i, Porsche GT3 RS vs Ferrari 360 CS, Focus RS vs. M?gane R26R or TG-presenters' moms testing MPVs?

very well said! + reps
 
I criticized the last episode but this one was much better. The Lancia segment was great. Jeremy and Richard in the Stratos, grinning from ear to ear to the engine sound is genuine car enthusiast stuff.
 
The whole blimp thing was just a bit of a waste of time. I really can't think of anything worthwhile to say about it. If you boil it down, all it was James drifting around for about 10 minutes, then drifting into airspace, then drifting around again without any significant repercussions from drifting into said airspace. Will Episode 5 feature James in a large inflatable Morris Marina driting around the English Channel for 15 minutes?

The Gallardo didn't make any sense either. Did this car, as cool as it is, need any more than a studio introduction? Try and count how many Lamborghinis have featured in Top Gear, and what you have learned from seeing this one, other than it has a stripe and is does not have power going to the front wheels?

The Lancia part was actually pretty good. Repeating the piano joke and the racing a Marina joke, not so much.

You know how the Simpsons used to be awesome, and everyone used to watch it, then they started showing episodes where Bart gets a horse that has an earring? Now it's just a show that you happen to watch when it's on, rather than stay at home for, because the plots are so ridiculously stupid and overdone? I suppose it's sort of hard to stop a show that is so immensely popular like Top Gear is, and they aren't exactly going to start tinkering with it considering the audience they attract.

It's sort of like in the Extras, where Ricky Gervais' character looks out into the audience, and sees people sitting there with catchphrase shirts on. Top Gear's sort of becoming that with the pianos, the "Oh Cock" and "That's not Gone Well" being assigned macro keys in Word rather than any clever scripting.
 
Or, maybe, "get in a Mercedes and hope your child is a girl." It works - I was at school with a Mercedes, and I'm not talking about the teachers' car park.


Boys' names just don't work so well on cars, and I can't think of any off the top of my head. Just don't mention Geoff.
Well, Jaguar was my try for a boys' name. Just never give birth in a prius... And I think Giulia shouldn't be the car to be born in. You should be named Giulia for things that happened nine months before that in it...


Ironlord said:
should put together my dream garage at some stage. Just on what we're discussing here, it'd have seven Lancias in it (Fulvia Coupe, Stratos, Monte Carlo, Gamma Coupe, Beta Coupe, Integrale, Thema 8.32) and four Citro?ns (DS, GS - probably a Birotor, SM, CX).

Ideas for the rest? I would say "no Peugeots" but I'd be lying - there'd be a 205 GTI in there, and a 604 for a laugh. And a Talbot Tagora for an even bigger laugh.

No 205 GTI for me. Had one. Overrated. Would replace it with a Renault 5 Alpine Turbo. That one was much more fun! Add a Peugeot 504 for the real laugh. And a Citroen Mehari or a Renault Rodeo for trips to the beach in summertime. There should allways be a car in your dream garage you can drive without doors and windscreen. Indeed I used a Rodeo as my only transport for a year. And despite not being too warm in the winter it was quite good on snow.
 
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It's sort of like in the Extras, where Ricky Gervais' character looks out into the audience, and sees people sitting there with catchphrase shirts on. Top Gear's sort of becoming that with the pianos, the "Oh Cock" and "That's not Gone Well" being assigned macro keys in Word rather than any clever scripting.

My thoughts exactly. Also those regular "several hours later" etc jokes are very, very old.
 
Easy 10 for me. Don't care about recycled jokes or lack of features - there were freaking Lancias for God's sake! And in glorious HD!
 
Also the kit car bit was pretty good, but they ought to have given it a proper lap without the Stig spinning the damn thing.

I doubt the handling is anywhere near the original, it surely looked bad. More likely it's closer to the tuned people carrier made by JC&co being build by a man in shed and all. It's not the original, therefore it doesn't deserve anything but the last place.
 
Easy 10 for me. Don't care about recycled jokes or lack of features - there were freaking Lancias for God's sake! And in glorious HD!

What is that car in your sig?

I thought this was a solid episode. I absolutly LOVE it when they go all retro and talk about cool cars from the past, and the Lancias are just that; cool. The noise of the Stratos and some of the others was spine tingling, and the spoiler coming out of the boot was chavtastic!! I want that in my life.

This is what we need more of IMO. Not the steaming pile of smeg that was last weeks episode.
 
No 205 GTI for me. Had one. Overrated. Would replace it with a Renault 5 Alpine Turbo.

5 turbo? Horrible looking and unreliable :p.

I doubt the handling is anywhere near the original, it surely looked bad. More likely it's closer to the tuned people carrier made by JC&co being build by a man in shed and all. It's not the original, therefore it doesn't deserve anything but the last place.

See my links above for the builders point of view.
 
Just look at some of the older shows: They had more and shorter films but overall the entertainment-value was much higher, the show was funnier, seemed more spontaneous and they even managed to squeeze some real-world-advice in there. Where are reviews like Golf R32 vs BMW 130i, Porsche GT3 RS vs Ferrari 360 CS, Focus RS vs. M?gane R26R or TG-presenters' moms testing MPVs?
Absolutely right! The films these days are usually far too long and not enough is featured in their new shortened schedule. I thought Andy said last year they were moving away from the long, two-part films towards more shorter pieces? What happened to that? I can only think that their reduced budget leads them to film longer individual films because the marginal cost of making a planned film longer is pretty low compared to the high fixed cost of planning and setting up a completely different shoot.
 
See my links above for the builders point of view.

Ah thanks, didn't see that. After reading that I still think it only deserved being last because it's not a real Lancia.

Absolutely right! The films these days are usually far too long and not enough is featured in their new shortened schedule. I thought Andy said last year they were moving away from the long, two-part films towards more shorter pieces? What happened to that? I can only think that their reduced budget leads them to film longer individual films because the marginal cost of making a planned film longer is pretty low compared to the high fixed cost of planning and setting up a completely different shoot.

I think it's all down to money. Imo, they've managed to keep it good with their cut budget so far.
 
Brilliant compared to last week, really enjoyed the whole Lancia segment, I had wondered why they'd never done an Integrale or Stratos review before on TG.
This episode felt more like a car show again, last week was 99.9% entertainment only.

8/10
 
Yes, you know the rule "No TG article in any paper without mentioning 'the incident'" (that's what they called it at the Cheltenham Literary Festival:))

:lol: But for the authors of the < 5% of articles and interviews that don't mention The Crash, I salute them!

Maximum respect to James.

In the modern H&S world the idea that a TV presenter would be allowed to fly an experimental aircraft solo while still presenting to camera says a lot for his true skills.

Exactly. :nod:
 
A few links about the lancia bit for your reading pleasure.

Write up from the integrale owner:
http://www.auto-journals.com/journals/Lancia?model=Integrale&journal=43

Not so positive report from the builder of the Hawk, not a happy man:
http://www.stratossupersite.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=7683

However the question has to be asked: Why send a tired car to a program which is known to hammer cars and rip them apart at the slightest oppertunity? I thought it came across fairly well to be honest, and that lap looked a riot!

Those were interesting. It seems that over all people with good cars come out of "the Top Gear experience" with a very positive feeling but those without just end up pissed. It's almost as if the Hawk guy had never seen Top Gear. Exactly what did he expect? The Integral guy was cute. I'm glad they treated his car well.

Maximum respect to James.

In the modern H&S world the idea that a TV presenter would be allowed to fly an experimental aircraft solo while still presenting to camera says a lot for his true skills.

I'm not entirely convinced he was alone (the camera view was VERY tight around his face), but don't feel it would detract from the film if he hadn't been. Can the people with actual HD access tell if that in-cabin footage was from the lipstick cams (SD) or if there was a cameraman (HD)? I'm just curious and not really savvy enough to sort it out myself.
 
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