• The development of any software program, including, but not limited to, training a machine learning or artificial intelligence (AI) system, is prohibited using the contents and materials on this website.

[15x04] July 18th, 2010

[15x04] July 18th, 2010

  • 10

    Votes: 49 12.3%

  • 9

    Votes: 89 22.3%

  • 8

    Votes: 104 26.0%

  • 7

    Votes: 70 17.5%

  • 6

    Votes: 34 8.5%

  • 5

    Votes: 18 4.5%

  • 4

    Votes: 15 3.8%

  • 3

    Votes: 13 3.3%

  • 2

    Votes: 4 1.0%

  • 1

    Votes: 4 1.0%
  • Total voters
    400
hughJ said:
There seems to be such a massive delta between the smart/mature car enthusiast-related content that they used to produce (and are still sometimes capable of producing), and the Top Ground Gear Force stuff that they've been injecting into the show for the past few years. It's like two completely separate shows in terms of tone and intelligence. If it's gotten to the point where they feel they need to warn their viewers on their website that a segment is going to be "silly" (ie. dumb), you would think that'd be a hint it's time to just pick a direction for the show and go with it.
Click to expand...
Completely agree! Every once in a while they have a blog post saying how impressed they were at themselves for making a good film without stupid penis jokes or breaking things, but then they seem to forget about it the next week. That said this season has been noticeably more mature than some of the crap they were peddling in recent years.
 
I gave it a high 8. Very solid episode.

I would have liked more unscripted comedy though. There's a difference between setting up for likely failure (the car's design, wetsuits, etc.) and actually scripting failure (the fire).
 
Last edited:
Well I think I've figured a way to make watching Top Gear bearable again. The real car reviews are still good. I'll watch the news, the power laps and the star bits, but as soon as there's some stupid contrived challenge that doesn't involve real cars, I skip those bits. This makes the show far less tedious and far more enjoyable. Saves me around 20 minutes to do something more worthwhile as well.
 
Quite a solid episode, Tiff sums the episode up perfectly via twitter:

tiff_tv: Just watched the Top Gear boys cocking about in home made devices. It's what they do best and you just have to laugh. Great stuff!

Indeed Tiff! 8/10 score.
 
The first caravan holiday was terrible, so I was worried. This was actually quite enjoyable, and another solid hour of television. Is series 15 just the solid series?

On a side note, yeah, there are scripts, TG has changed, blah blah blah good old days, we get it, you've been saying it for four years already.
 
hughJ said:
There seems to be such a massive delta between the smart/mature car enthusiast-related content that they used to produce (and are still sometimes capable of producing), and the Top Ground Gear Force stuff that they've been injecting into the show for the past few years.
Click to expand...

"Mature car enthusist content".... like what, having Darth Vader and a Dalek go around the track? A stripped-out Jaguar that fired rockets at a stand-up cut-out of the transport minister.... then driving it off the end of an aircraft carrier? Having a Volvo jump over caravans? Doing Olympic-style long-jumps with old cars? Driving a Rolls-Royce into a pool?

Top Gear has always done immature segments. It's been a part of the show since the beginning. Why does it come as a surprise to anybody at this point that they're setting fire to caravans, building nutty contraptions and doing wild exaggerations and caricatures of both themselves and the auto industry around them?

They've also always done more sober, informational/interesting segments, and that hasn't changed either. Most of the volcano segment wasn't meant to be "funny"... same with last year's Lancia, road sign, and Race To The North films.

About the only thing that's changed is that they do 14 episodes a year now vs. 19, so they don't review workaday cars on the TV show anymore. They have the magazine and web site for that nowadays, if you're really interested in knowing about the latest mid-range Vauxhall hatchback, or if you want to find out whether a car is a good deal or not.
 
that was a solid 8. i loved the fact that they admitted that the wedding thing was crap! lol. solid classic TG.

as far as the script thing, well, its always been scripted hasnt it? we, as fans, should really try and look past that. on a side note, i kinda dislike when they bring in hollywood stars who dont really watch the show. i like when they bring in people that are car people who watch the show because it really makes them push harder in the car and it always give jeremy a good interview. anyways, i enjoyed this epp, we are getting a great series IMHO. last series was just a bad run. it happens to everyone
 
i must say something for everyone to consider here and its something that the long time fans have been saying to the skeptics on here for a long time now. this is a show about car guys driving cars and talking about them. they do crazy stuff and act like idiots and i can now say first hand that this is what speaks to the everyday person. My brothers GF watched her first 2 eppisodes last weekend, i showed her the Africa special and the one with the R8 vs richards Porsche and she said she like the show because they brought it down to her level. she said she could understand what they were saying to her. it wasnt to smart, it was nice to see the fun they were having. she is now a fan after just 2 eppisodes. to me, that speaks a ton towards the relevence of this show. i feel that(as we have said on here a million times) if you want serious and factual then watch fifth gear but if you want to have fun and learn a few stupid facts about how NOT to build an RV (caravan) then watch Top Gear.
 
I liked the episode as much for the things that were left out as I did for what was aired.

No flipping the Robin. No attempt at the end to throw some random numbers on a scoreboard and justify the "challenge". Yes, there were some predictable moments, but Top Gear has always had predictable moments. How many pianos have they dropped on Marinas? How many times has Hammond run into James' car? (Although when James got cross at Richard for doing it in Bolivia he seemed to forget that he was the one who started it in the first place, during the original Cheap Car Challenge in Series 4.)

A solid 8 from me.
 
warren said:
"Mature car enthusist content".... like what, having Darth Vader and a Dalek go around the track? A stripped-out Jaguar that fired rockets at a stand-up cut-out of the transport minister.... then driving it off the end of an aircraft carrier? Having a Volvo jump over caravans? Doing Olympic-style long-jumps with old cars? Driving a Rolls-Royce into a pool?
Click to expand...

Dumb, throw away gags are fine when they're of dumb, throw away gag lengths. What they are doing now is attempting to be a comedy troop doing 15-20 minute long sketches. If you can't see the difference between series 3 through 7, and then series 8 and most after that, I can't help you.
 
Kiskaloo said:
I know I'm being generous (I really should be picking "8" for this series), but this has been the best series since 12 so I'm feeling generous.
Click to expand...

I don't blame you for your generosity, and I agree so far. :)

Buffy_09 said:
As an aside, did anyone else notice that shirt that Richard was wearing was very similar to one he wore in Series 4/5?
Click to expand...

Where? In studio or...? Because I'm pretty sure he's not worn that shirt during Series 4 or 5. (The jacket, on the other hand, yes.)

fusen said:
The sort of people that enjoy those parts and think they are hysterical are in the same group as the sun and daily mail readers on why this country is filled with so many idiots in my view.
Click to expand...

frankiess said:
All of you giving 9/10 and 10/10 are idiots.
Click to expand...

And you're so much better than the rest of us? I don't see anyone who's rated this episode high call anyone who hated it an idiot.

You're entitled to not like an episode. But you don't need to insult those who don't share your opinion. It just makes YOU look like an idiot.

2Billion said:
The first caravan holiday was terrible, so I was worried. This was actually quite enjoyable, and another solid hour of television. Is series 15 just the solid series?
Click to expand...

I'm thinking so. :nod:
 
Last edited:
Amie0403 said:
I've been waiting for the motorhome episode since I saw the pictures in Top Gear magazine. It was good to start with, but seemed very scripted after a while... especially with the fire and everything. As soon as they pulled onto the cliff, I asumed at least one car would end up at the bottom of it. :/
Click to expand...

This basically. Still great to watch tho. 7/10
 
I had a really lengthy post finished up, than for some reason it insisted I wasn't logged in, so your getting a much shorter, and frustrated response.

The lot of you need to lighten up, I've always preferred to lurk here but the constant complaining finally got the better of me. Please everyone understand this.

you are not the majority of their fanbase, the group here, who are proper car enthusiasts, more than likely don't even add up to a meaningful portion of the viewers

What I mean by that is, they have to pander to the crowd that wants the crashes. But what's puzzling is you're complaining about the r8 vs 911 review because it was an obvious choice to put them up against one another? I'm sorry last week I recall everyone whining they didn't use the mustang because it was the obvious competing muscle car. Those here complaining and rating it 5 and below don't even know what in the hell it is they want.

And oddly enough it seems to be unanimous across the board, great first 45, weak last 15, so that must mean what was a solid 8-9 goes down to a 4? for the last 15 minutes? If they hadn't of done that, and had a score chart at the end, you'd all cry as well. You got a proper car review, and up until the last portion, their reactions seemed genuine and unscripted during the first portion of the motor homes.

I'm not sure what got everyone else in such a pissy mood, but I enjoy the episode, not their finest, but a good solid episode that had better content than any other program I've watched this month. If you're truly that fed up, quit watching, that simple, you act as if you're being force to endure this program, or that top gear for whatever reason owes you the exact segments you, who I will remind you again are the minority in terms of viewership, even though the majority of you cant even decide what you want in the program.

Relax and realize it's a television show
 
Solid episode again. Great review, interesting star, and I enjoyed the motorhome challenge. The challenge covered all of the aspects of the cars they built: drivability and livability (sleeping, changing, and eating). So what if Dick's caught fire or Jezz's fell off a cliff. I thought it was funny. It would have been interesting to see an aerial shot of Hammond's set up.
 
The convertible review is good. The challenge is not bad, while I know it's scripted, it's not too obvious (except for the fire and Jeremy's caravan tipping over).
 
warren said:
\

Top Gear has always done immature segments. It's been a part of the show since the beginning. Why does it come as a surprise to anybody at this point that they're setting fire to caravans, building nutty contraptions and doing wild exaggerations and caricatures of both themselves and the auto industry around them?
Click to expand...

THANK YOU!
 
hughJ said:
Dumb, throw away gags are fine when they're of dumb, throw away gag lengths. What they are doing now is attempting to be a comedy troop doing 15-20 minute long sketches. If you can't see the difference between series 3 through 7, and then series 8 and most after that, I can't help you.
Click to expand...

Dude, it's been 4 years since Series 8. If it's so awful you can always not watch it, apparently it's not going to be changing - 4 years! - so you're not going to like it again. I mean, there are lots of series' I've seen where I thought they got worse after a certain season. Did I sit and complain on message boards four years later? No! I stopped watching them.

Yeah, there have obviously been bad episodes and some series' are overall worse than others, but I felt as you do that there was a change that I hated after series 7, I wouldn't be watching it every week, because after four years it's got to sink in that it's never going to be the "good old days" you yearn for.
 
starfox07 said:
Better than I thought it would be.
Click to expand...

This!

I found it mildly amusing (sure the fire was over the top - but at least they didn't throw petrol bombs at it and get a Mars water bomber to dump a load on it), and enjoyed it MUCH more than last week. That is not to say it is my favourite episode ever, but they have done much, MUCH worse. 8, probably closer to 7, but I felt I short changed last weeks :p
 
Last edited:
Solid episode, but nothing too memorable. 7/10
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top