[18x07] March 11th, 2012

[18x07] March 11th, 2012


  • Total voters
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First time I've *ever* given a 10. (Normally, I top out at a 9 because there's always *some* quibble that I can come up with, even for things like the Bolivia Special, but this was, for me, as good as that even *before* they had the surprise at the end--and that was worth a whole extra point in itself!)
 
A very high 9/10 episode, but the Audi joke was dragged out too long (funny the first time, the second time not-so-much) and they should have stuck to only a single SIARPC.

BMW M5 segment was a nice case of bait-and-switch, after the build-up I was expecting the new one to be trashed in the drag race. Nice surprise that, but really, synth engine exhaust noise? :blink:

Skipped Kimi after the first sentence, he really seemed like a fish out of the water. :|

The California is damn sweet, and May was definantly the proper person to drive it. That car alone needs a "scenic driving track", as opposed to a race track, so it can be driven it public - but without having nuisance of other cars and people :lol:

Skipped the "proper" SIARPC as usual.

The Rallycross segment was thoroughly :cool: Can't really pick a fault with it. Epic racing all round, nice people, and looks like the best way to spend an afternoon that money can buy. I wonder if we have something of the sort over here :)
 
they managed to stuff alot of things in there , and it was fantastic, best one of the 18th season. Every segment was unique and a blast to watch . definite 10/10 !
 
Oh... and now what do I have to look forward to each week? :cry:

BMW: I liked this - I don't know what else to say. I'm a fan of Richard, even though he always is complained about. I wonder if the driver of the BMW was all Rich, as they had the interior edited quite dark I think and you couldn't see much at all. Anyway, I thought the driving was most excellent :p After just having experienced some hot laps in a V8 on a track on the weekend, I have a new respect for their awesome driving.

News: A good news and a couple of giggles.

Ferrari: Oooh lucky James. He's the perfect one to do things like this. He's simply wonderful, and I am sure he had one of the most memorable drives of his life.

Rally: This is what I always, always want to see; the three of them together, doing something that they all genuinely enjoy. One of my favourite segments in this series. Loved it. Completely gripping and I want to do it myself now, although I'm not a Gary and I'd be rubbish! I simply loved this segment. BRILLIANT.

Thank you to the boys and all the guys behind the scenes. This series had a couple of bumps along the way, I'm sure we can all admit, but the gems were there and they shone brightly enough for us to put the bad things behind us. Now, I guess I can only say bring on Crash Course and Man Lab to keep me going until S19!
 
Amazing episode..one of my favorites of all time..havent laughed so hard watching it for a while..great fun! :)
 
Great episode!

BMW - Good film, but I was expecting to see more abuse out on the track. Also, they should have shortened either the Kimi or Slash (or both) segment to show it lap the track.

News - Hilarious as always!

Kimi - Watched it for about a minute before I started skimming through it.

Ferrari - Man, that car is gorgeous! Makes a great sound too.

Slash - Got bored a few minutes in, skimmed through the rest...

Rallycross - THAT WAS AWESOME!

End Credits - Wow!


The Audi jokes had me chuckling.

Rallycross was, personally, the best part of the episode.

This was a great season and I can't wait for the boys to be back in the summer!

9/10
 
As a Gary, it felt really weird to have them constantly say "Gary's up my chuff" hahaha

But, overall great episode!
 
Gave it 8/10 mainly thanks to the three of them having genuine fun on a track. SIARPC, as per usual, failed to keep my attention and Kimi is known for his short responses to questions, so why bother? It seems all here enjoyed the racing, and there could have been even more of it if they'd left out one or both SIARPCs.
 
Kimi was good.Like a lot of Finnish drivers he's hard to get a word out of but some of the stuff he comes out with is funny.Not exactly knowing who he was driving for,despite the car sitting right in front of him,was amusing.
Not fan of Slash but thought he was actually interesting.
The Rallycross was good as was James piece in the Ferrari.Not sure I'd want a white Ferrari though,unless I was colour blind.

Jeremy said Kimi made the "Taking a dump" quote about where he was when Schumacher won an award.Didn't Kimi say that to Martin Brundle on the grid at Brazil a few years ago when he disappeared off the grid pre-race and Martin asked him where he went ?
 
10/10. Excellent episode.


Audi bit: I lol'd, but don't drag it into series 19 guys. Stop while it's still funny.

M5: Nice color. Lose the flappy paddles, lose the stupid artificial soundtrack for the genuine article under the hood, and I'd buy one.

Kimi: I like the guy, nice and laid back, honest, but the lap was dull. Put him out there in his race car instead. Won't be any faster but it will be funny and sound great.

'news': I call it news, but there wasn't really any news. Just a bunch of banter between the three. TG Chemistry at it's finest!

Golfing VS Rallycross: Gold star. I've never understood the appeal of golf, but it's pretty universal the look of fun those three had with those dirt cheap cars. Made me wonder how much hilarity would ensue if they entered the 24 Hours of Lemons.

Slash: Usually skip SIARPC because it's dull. Wasn't here.

Fezza bit: FUCKING YES! Nothing irritates me more than watching antique cars rot away in a collection of some sort. Cars like that are meant to be driven. They're meant to be on the road, with the R's up, tires howling, and the driver grinning ear to ear. To see, and to hear, that priceless Ferrari singing it's sweet song warmed the cockles of my heart. And honestly, if it were my car, I would have told James "The back tires are due for replacement anyway...wink wink nudge nudge."

Stewards enquiry: I think Hammond was just trying to maintain control of his car, though honestly, it shouldn't have been an inquiry at all. Rubbin's racin'!
 
A great episode. I had a smile on my face for most of the show.

For those of you American TGUK fans. If you liked the rally cross bit, you should check out the LeMons and ChumpCar series. I've played in 2 of the LeMons races, and have my third coming up in May...which happens to be my first full 24-hour race. Great fun!
 
10/10. Excellent episode.


Audi bit: I lol'd, but don't drag it into series 19 guys. Stop while it's still funny.

M5: Nice color. Lose the flappy paddles, lose the stupid artificial soundtrack for the genuine article under the hood, and I'd buy one.

The M5 coming to the US will have the manual box and I understand that you can disable the fake noise.
 
The M5 coming to the US will have the manual box and I understand that you can disable the fake noise.

Well that's a relief for buyers in the States. What I find odd is that BMW is offering the manual in the last country that it's going to sell in. Outside gearhead circles nobody drives stick over here, whereas the majority still does in Europe.


But hey. Proper gearbox and a proper soundtrack...here's hoping the i-drive can be programmed to lock the engine in batshit bonkers mode 24/7/365.
 
Okay, first the bad. M5 not driven outside the track. No Stig lap. Kimi comes across as a dick. I love Slash but he was a bit too laid back, and the news.... wasn't.

That, ladies and gents, is picking of the tiniest possible nits. Everything else was glorious. The M5 segment itself was straightforward and no-nonsense, which I liked. The news may not have had a lot of car content, but it was still funny. James' film on the Ferrari 250... ohmygawd!!! I LOVED it. It could have been twice as long and I would have still loved it, but I appreciate it even more that it was so short and sweet. AND NOT ON THE TRACK!! Slash..... hey, one of my guitar heroes growing up. I love the fact that he's an Aston man (and he's got a V12 Vantage, that bugger!!). The rallycross was, as so many people have already said on this forum, proper Top Gear.

The ending credits really were a cherry on top of the excellent sundae that was Series 18. Take a bow, lads (and the production crew). You've all done a fine job this go around. Enjoy the time off, and please come back this focused for the next series.
 
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