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[17x07] December 28th, 2011 [India Special]

[17x07] December 28th, 2011 [India Special]

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MWF said:
Do change the bloody record. That's the same "Fuck off and watch Fifth Gear then" argument propounded by blinkered fanbois time and time again and frankly, MacGuffin I'd have expected better of you.
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That wasn't addressed to the likes of you.

It was addressed to those blood and tears prophets, who see the end of the world coming each time that TG delivers a mediocre episode.

And if it was all about the feedback: The first 3 pages of this thread already delivered the point.
 
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Thank you for the clarification. I don't see an end to Top Gear (although I rather suspect it has just a couple more years in it, maybe a little more) but I do find it frustrating when I know what great stuff they are capable of making and then they churn out something like this.
 
They are entitled to have good and bad days... like we all have.
 
Yes, but the India special indicates a bad two weeks and that was just the duration of the actual trip never mind the planning prior and the editing after.
 
MWF said:
Yes, but the India special indicates a bad two weeks and that was just the duration of the actual trip never mind the planning prior and the editing after.
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A couple of years ago Mr. Wilman said that they were having trouble coming up with new ideas. Part of the reason that I filled the ideas thread with ideas of a more car-based nature was due to this. Unfortunately, it looks as though they really need to get new ideas for clever scripts and jokes that actually cause people to laugh instead of cringe. I may be mistaken, but I doubt they'll be able to get that from a website.

In my opinion, Top Gear could really use some fresh blood, someone who knows their ass from a hole in the ground when it comes to what's funny and what isn't.
 
OK so that rules out Pedrocas and NoNeedForAChestWig.
 
6/10.

It was my least favorite special. Of course certain aspects of the show are scripted. That's obvious. But these scenes were a bit too transparent.
 
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MWF said:
Yes, but the India special indicates a bad two weeks and that was just the duration of the actual trip never mind the planning prior and the editing after.
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As perhaps suggested before, I bet that the Top Gear team were banking on at least one of the cars breaking down en route which would have inserted a degree of "natural jeopardy" into the proceedings. However this idea was completely screwed by good old British cars not missing a beat whilst journeying through the (relative) wilds of India, and any thoughts of scripted gags interspersed with natural spontaneity (which would have worked MUCH better) were essentially shot to pieces as a consequence.

Indeed it's very easy to conceive that 'incidents' such as the front of the Mini being ripped off were thrown in as desperate last minute inclusions in order to sonehow demonstrate that they had suffered for their pains as opposed to just having a relatively cosy trip through India, but at the same time this enforced artifice came over as ever less convincing and more of the act of desperation it happened to be at the time. Perhaps if they had spent more time visiting buildings and genuinely interesting people along the way then they could have used that as filler instead; in essence letting their real personalities shine as a genuine substitute for things not going wrong.

If anyone wants to see more of the 'real' India then try to watch the 2 part "John Sergeant on Tracks of Empire" series being shown on BBC Four in the UK; Part 2 is being shown tonight (Tuesday) at 11pm though Part 1 should be repeated again at some point.
 
this was my least-favorite Top Gear episode (Special, or not).
Not sure why I feel this way, but their antics just didn't make me laugh much, and i laugh at pretty much ANYTHING!

Hopefully Series 18 will have some gems like Series 17 had!
Some really great quotes in the "Hatchbacks in Monaco" episode. =P
 
The Spie said:
Rationality did win this time. The opposing argument was "India was atrocious because their plans fell through and they reshot everything on the fly." Tell me how rational that was.
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Considering all the stories you get about how dealing with Indian bureaucracy makes you feel like you're trying to nail a pudding to a barn door, it sounds completely probable to me.
 
Comedy Stig said:
As perhaps suggested before, I bet that the Top Gear team were banking on at least one of the cars breaking down en route which would have inserted a degree of "natural jeopardy" into the proceedings. However this idea was completely screwed by good old British cars not missing a beat whilst journeying through the (relative) wilds of India, and any thoughts of scripted gags interspersed with natural spontaneity (which would have worked MUCH better) were essentially shot to pieces as a consequence.
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They could have scripted a breakdown, and we probably wouldn't have guessed. I mean a proper mechanical breakdown, as opposed to just crashing into things.

Or, alternatively, they could have used this reliability to introduce a subplot where the guys decide to sabotage each others cars, as Jeremy's loose cannon of a brain forgets about the "Promote Britain" idea and takes its natural course of making Hammond and May's lives hell. It could have worked.

You're definitely right on the buildings. I've only ever been to India once, but there are enough interesting places even on the Mumbai-Delhi route.
 
I was entertained, and I enjoyed it, but as far as the specials go, this would be at the bottom of the pile. However, I've seen worse.
 
skylock said:
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gee, if us Australians were as sensitive as the indians, we'd be a republic over what Jeremy says about us. indian govt were probably just using it to take heat off themselves. i was watching i think series 13 and what they say about germany was way worse too.
 
Clarkson's and Wilman's reaction to the internet criticism:

http://transmission.blogs.topgear.c...ore-from-jeremy-and-andy-wilman-on-series-18/

I think they are making it too easy with explaining the bad reactions on india / the good ones on 18x01...

The Problem with India was NOT that it wasn't about cars, it JUST WAS NOT THAT GOOD. For example, I really liked when they tried to put on the banner while the train was on the move, despite it having nothing to do with cars...
 
Geez.. the special was pretty awful, but some of those Indian officials really need to grow a sense of humor.

And BTW: When the first newsreader did his thing, I thought the video was a satirical piece. You couldn't get more stereotypically Indian if you tried ... :D


i was watching i think series 13 and what they say about germany was way worse too.
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Hmm.. let's see: Lederhosen, The Scorpions and buying David Hasselhoff-albums ... we probably deserve it ... ;)



S.
 
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