[16x01] January 23rd, 2011

[16x01] January 23rd, 2011


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The last segment could have been quite good - like someone mentioned, driving some of the older cars/comparisons or whatever. Personally I would have liked it to finish like the end of 15x06. Instead it just felt drawn out, and really served no purpose at all.

Rest of the show was solid, + 1 for Tiff :).
 
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Oh Yeti Cock

Oh Yeti Cock

1vhvtfzc4
 
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5/10 - Solid, but a bit too boring at times for TopGear and nothing that made my 'spine tingle'. Also there was a lot of wasted air time considering it's like one of only 6 episodes or something.

The studio bits were fun, apart from the SIRPC
Atom V8 with May and Tiff: great.
Skoda Yeti ridiculous review: it was very funny and exciting the first time with the Fiesta, it already felt like a repeat with Renault Twingo 133. Why repeat the same joke of a review again? A few jokes made me laugh, but those could be packed into 2 minutes.
Porsche 911: what a waste of time. They took perhaps the most irrelevant version that was neither very new, rare, very exciting or in any way appropriate for the job, and for no good reason made boring things with it that they did many times before. We've seen cars drive on salt lakes fast as well as cars being dropped by a helicopter. Hell, there was that awful TG-wannabe show on Ukrainian TV that dropped an old Moskvitch off a helicopter in the mid 90-s FFS! At least they could wait with all this nonsense till the next gen 911 comes.

In short, in many ways it felt like a copy of Top Gear. TG America do that better. Now I want the real thing.
 
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Just noticed I have the same shoes as John bishop or whoever the star in a reasonably priced car was. Yeti review was hilarious and informative if you look past the jokes and see the substance
 
7/10

I felt it was a pretty decent episode, but nothing special. James May in the Atom was great, but it felt a bit short to me. He didn't actually race it, which was a let down, but seeing Tiff was great I thought. Especially since they didn't let him talk much. :p The news was typical, as was the SIARPC. The Yeti review I was actually very happy with. Like others have said, his little tests appeared outlandish, but when you really stop and consider each test, it really did prove how good the car is. And the fact that the car actually survived was personally gratifying. I hate seeing them destroy stuff for no good reason. Which kinda leads into the 911 segment. The description in the pre-episode discussion sounded much better than the actual film. It wasn't a look back at the 911's past at all, in fact it seemed rather glossed over. Seeing all the generations of 911's lined up in the same room was great, but it was hardly used except for a few visuals. And the races with the VW Bug were totally pointless and a bit of a waste of time. I would much rather have seen Hammond play with some of the older 911's than harp on and on about the Beetle. Poorly executed imo. They just wanted to destroy something, so they came up with a quick segment that allowed them to do so.
 
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8/10 from here.

Ariel Atom: nice work from Tiff Needell in a cameo. Unfortunate that he (nor the other drivers) get a mention in the end credits. And a very surprising track run, although I'm wondering about whether the Atom can take a speed bump.

Skoda Yeti: actually this is the type of test I would have liked to see done with the Dacia Duster, but then some portions turned out to be actually pretty good for a real world run (the fire brigade, the tattoo artist, the driving in a burning building).

John Bishop: skipped to the end, mainly because I have trouble with Liverpudlian accents.

Porsche vs. Beetle: actually, having seen the Mythbusters version of this stunt (not to mention the BMW inspired ad), I thought it was executed rather well.

So -- is the Cool Wall supposed to be next week, then?
 
Overall, I thought it was an enjoyable episode. I wouldn't say it was the best episode of Top Gear, but still a joy.

A nice 8/10 from me.

Bettle heli-drag needs gif.

<-- done... :p
 
<-- done... :p

Overall, I thought it was an enjoyable episode. I wouldn't say it was the best episode of Top Gear, but still a joy.

A nice 8/10 from me.

thats exactly what i though about when i saw it, i KNEW someone on here would do it. if i knew how to do a gif i would have! lol. +1

I gave the show a 9/10. loved it, had a blast the whole time. watching the 911 get beat by a beetle was wonderful and not because i hate 911's but because i knew hammond would get killed by jezza. as far as im concerned this was one of the best in a while.
 
I didn't like this episode at all. The Yeti part was fun but the rest I found pretty boring and the jokes I thought were lame.The star interview was too long and it was so hard to understand the guest. Overall I gave it a 4 because it was a bit boring and for all the sh%^^% people give to TopGear America I found than the latest episodes were far better than this.
 
Poster A: I liked part 1, but hated part 2.
Poster B: I liked part 2, but hated part 1.

Take all the reviews on this forum and all parts of the show were equally enjoyed or disliked.

8/10 for me. The petrol price talk felt a bit out of place, but the rest felt solid.

Always hear Jezza tell guests that Hammerhead looks slow, but that's normal for a fast lap. Bishop looked fast around the Hammerhead and stayed within the lines which made me think it was going to be a very fast lap. But even so, a 1:42?! It's such a massive jump from Tom Cruise that it's hard to believe. Either new Stig is a way better teacher or I suspect changes were made to the Kia's setup.

And if it's the new Stig's teaching ability (which we will find out for sure looking at other celebrity laps this series) then I think TG is all the better for no longer having Collins in the suit.
 
I gave it a 7.

Started of brilliantly with the Atom. Jeremy's Skoda review was a bit over the top, but still entertaining. Uninteresting guest that went for far too long and Richard's Porsche thing just fell flat on it's face
 
7/10 C-

I have to say, having the Ariel Atom, a superbike and Tiff Needell, all made the show better for me. The "most powerful superbike" remark is kind of wrong, since I've seen the BMW rated with horsepowers at the crankshaft of 185, 190, 191 and 193. It probably is the most powerful 1000cc superbike. Both the Hayabusa and the Kawasaki ZX-14 have been rated in the same range or better.

The overuse of Porsches is getting a bit tiring, but what was done was interesting and the suspense buildup during the race was well done (it really seems like a Porsche should only be used if they release a completely new car, or if the Porsche is used as a measure for a car going up against it in a comparison test).

The Yeti review somehow lost its way, though it was nice to see a Skoda on the show. The Yeti review kind of brought things down, which is unusual for a Clarkson review. The rest of the show just wasn't very fluid and lost its flow somehow while going from one segment to the next.

Overall, I liked the content, but it definitely felt like it could have been better.
 
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I really thought this episode was pretty terrible all around. The only thing I liked about it is the V8 Atom.. even though it's basically a go-kart with an oversized engine.
 
^^^ ditto Karoug ... lol
It was going so well until SIARPC (not that that segment was any worse than other SIARPC). The Porsche/Beetle thing though .... :zzz:
 
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What was it like being in the audience, Viper?
 
5/10

first segment was fun to watch then got worse as the show went on. would have been nice to see more of the 308. glad to have it back.
 
Poor Beetle it just never ends well. But Hammond fails again hahaha.

Very impressed with the Yeti though. It is much cheaper than most MPV/SUV.

8/10.
 
I'm so glad they seemed to have finally banished the endless terrible, unfunny scripted jokes/calamities- really felt refreshingly natural for a lot of the show.

Atom V8 was awesome, but its time is still like 5 seconds of what the Caparo T1 managed.

Yeti review was good, wasn't epic but enjoyable all the same.

John Bishop's lap looked quick and was quick- pretty good guest.

911 segment was average. 8/10 overall, good stuff!
 
not the worst episode of top gear but pretty average. yeti review was over the top, but it did make some points.

and sorry, but TGUSA still isnt better than this, Im not really fond of the terribly awkward "Yes, I won, you lost!" parts.
 
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