[19x01] January 27th, 2013

[19x01] January 27th, 2013

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About as good as I expected. 4

I wonder if Hammond could see the irony of his comment regarding Ferrari in view of what Top Gear has become; "a commercial machine for selling hats and key-rings".
 
Give it an 8!

The TGUK production team just keeps one-upping itself every season; the Pagani segment is just stunningly brilliant.

The Bentley segment is pretty impressive.

Mad Props to Damian Lewis for his romp in the ice but the interview could have been better.

The final segment is just hilariously stupid.

Best line of the show, "Ohhh! The History of Germany. It can't be that big just to say we lost a lot."
 
Great comeback, it is TopGear but new. I think that since they have epic shows we tend to judge the normal very solid shows are boring, but they are not. I watched the show with my sister and she laughed all the way through, specially with Jeremy's car. A 9 from me.
 
8/10. Huayra at a 1:13 is amazing. A stock Bentley (save for the seats) on a rally course was fun. A very slippery track for a SIARPC is quite entertaining. And Jeremy's P45 was something no normal thinking person would ever come up with, let alone try it out on the A3, and the plums it took for that alone make it worth watching. Although the shot down from the bridge appeared to blur out the face, so I'm guessing some credit is due to one of the Top Gear staff for also taking that crazy thing out on the road.

The P45 segment went a bit too long and I think the Huayra film could have used a couple more minutes and made a bit more interesting. And the producers have got to put some limits on the use of the Tron soundtrack. It's good music, don't wear it out.
 
Pagani was great, and generally shot beautifully (though it seems someone in the editing suite got a new plugin). News was good. Bentley film was really great. SIARPC was moderately entertaining. P45 film was dull: "Oh gee, he made note that he's in a suit, and then he's going to go through a car wash. Wonder what's going to happen."

7
 
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Very good until the end, which dragged on far too long. I guess they didn't have enough real footage of anything else so they beat the Dragons joke to death. But everything before that was great--it looks like the time off has treated them well.
 
Bog standard Top Gear episode, so overall not too bad a way to spend an hours time. The Pagani is stunning, the Bentley rally segment was amusing, Damian Lewis equally so (terrible luck with the weather, I was hoping he'd be asked to come back on a slightly better day weatherwise), and the P45 segment went on for too long.

I gave it an 8, though in hindsight I'd probably reduce that to a 7.
 
It started off around a 7, Richard Hammond's bit was a tad boring. James pushed it up a bit with the rallying, Jeremy hit the high notes and pushed it to a 10. The funniest part was him in Dragon's Den!
 
Great they're back, but this show wasn't all that exceptional. I gave it a hesitant 7/10, on the basis I didn't fall asleep and that since they've been gone so long, maybe they need some practice and encouragement.

As others have said, the Pagani was obviously cleverly filmed, with travelling boom cameras (I guess, or Parrots?) capturing some amazing angles, but next time don't let the editors near that blue edge filter. JM (Happy 50th!) was interesting and entertaining in the Bentley, and the news was, well, brief. The SIARPC was a little more entertaining than usual, thanks to the weather, so I watched it.

The Peel reprise (sadly, without FB's bottom this time) was fairly predictable. I did get a giggle at the first glimpse of his Transformer-like creation, but then it all went on a little too long. The head shots of JC and P45 humming by between folks quietly using the library was amusing, but only because it reminded me of the P50 doing much the same in the BBC H.O.

The intro's video montage suggests much better is to come, which begs the question - what will those, who gave this episode 9/10, do then?:think:
 
I gave it a 7, but I honestly think that score is inflated by the elation of finally having new episodes after a one year withdrawal.

The Pagani film was solid. I'm not calling it "great", or "bad." I mean honestly, how many ways can you make a standard "road test" interesting, no matter the car? It was fine. Richard was fine. The car looks great inside and out, but you know what? If I had the money... I'd go for a Zonda over the Huayra. Those turbos kill the noise from that glorious V12.

The news: well, at least they ran through a lot of cars quickly. That's all I'll say about that.

James' Bentley film was the star of the show. Guys... they road tested a car outside of the TG test track! That alone gets bonus points. The rally bit was great too. Lovely (and THIS car manages to make interesting noises despite the turbos).

SIARPC: serviceable, and that's all. Moving on.

Jezza's "P45" film: utter shit. What pains me the most is that it was given a full 20 min (1/3) of the show! If they made this segment less than 10 minutes, and did some studio filler (like they used to), then I wouldn't care so much. But 20 minutes for this pap?! Dammit.

Like I said. I gave it a 7. But The Spie's earlier post was onto something. The episode lacked "joie de vivre" overall. And it's the first episode in over a year. Are the lads getting sick of doing the show? I sure as hell hope not.
 
I gave it a 5/10 and even that's being generous.
-I never thought a Pagani review would be boring but they managed to do it.
-The news was ****ing terrible as it has been the past few seasons. It's even worse this time though since they've been off air nearly a year now and there's been tons of car news but all they talked about was LOLPENISES
-The rally bit was the only thing that saved the episode.
-That P45 segment was so stupid I turned the episode off about 5 minutes into it. I've never turned off a TG episode before, and I've been through season 14.
 
I go against the flow in liking the P45 segment because I have a sense of humour that delights in the absurd; but then, I enjoyed the original Peel segment as well.

The aspect of the Pagani I liked the most was seeing the marvelous quality of the interior: it's so sensuous in the nicest way with it's chromed metal and feast of audible functions it shouts quality, and luxury car makers would do well to emulate this attention to detail and quality instead of opting for plastic switchware.

SIARPC generally leaves me cold because, in my case, I don't know the people interviewed, and unless the person is particularly entertaining (many don't seem to come prepared with anything to say and just appear to wing it) I feel the mood is pulled down by this segment.

A Bentley rally race? The car was interesting; I don't have the interest in rallying that others have so I didn't get as much out of it as some.

The News was bit short, I thought; cut 2-3 minutes elsewhere and have more absurdity here with personality and cocking about would make for better episodes.

Overall, certainly not bad and quite good with the P45; I'll give it a 7 1/2.
 
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[longtime lurker, first time posting]

Gave it an 8. I think the main issue with this episode was the writing. The bits all had great potential somewhat let down by how they were presented.

The Pagani segment was a strong. Hammond's script was good overall, but I would have loved to see even more focus on the many absurd details of the car. one part that annoyed me was Hammond saying he'd just been told what carbotanium is, when it could have just as effectively been re-explained to the viewer without him faking ignorance. Beautifully shot (for a Dunsfold power test), but I really found the shots stylized with blue lines on white to be cheap and outdated looking.

Power Lap lacked build-up of anticipation in the presentation. There wasn't enough of a sense of occasion. Such a record-shattering time should have been an even bigger moment.

The news was just ok. The tractor book thing wasn't that funny. VW names bit was really funny. I would have liked to hear them actually talk a tiny bit about the Corvette instead of just making a tired joke. [Side note, I like Richard's Mr. Toad jacket]

May's Bentley segment was a spectacular idea... but managed to feel flat. It needed to be presented from the start with a better angle; a more pronounced challenge. "Can you go rallying in proper luxurious comfort? To find out, I'll be running a real WRC stage, not in a some yobbo's hot hatch... but in a Bentley." or... "The Bentley Continental has always been a footballers' car, but could it actually be serious racing car despite that?"

The biggest missed opportunity was Clarkson's P45. It should have been epic, but managed to feel stale and forced. Instead of (as many other people have also said) rehashing the Peel P50 review, they should have treated it more like the Hammerhead Eagle Geoff segment. (or like one of May's Toy Stories ideas) It seems like it wasn't possible to show much of the actual build of the P45, but there still should have been some time in the segment spent showing the conception in some way. The viewer needs to feel invested in the success (or folly) of the thing. Especially if they're going to dragged through what feels like a full episode of Dragons Den at the end.

..but then, I'm being picky.
 
Wing Nut said:
The intro's video montage suggests much better is to come, which begs the question - what will those, who gave this episode 9/10, do then?:think:
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Other than get lobotomies and/or vasectomies right now?

British/Columbian said:
I gave it a 7, but I honestly think that score is inflated by the elation of finally having new episodes after a one year withdrawal.
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Since you didn't give it a 9, you fortunately don't qualify for the clip 'n snip I noted above.

The Pagani film was solid. I'm not calling it "great", or "bad."
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The proper word for that isn't "solid", though. It's "mediocre".

Jezza's "P45" film: utter shit. What pains me the most is that it was given a full 20 min (1/3) of the show! If they made this segment less than 10 minutes, and did some studio filler (like they used to), then I wouldn't care so much. But 20 minutes for this pap?! Dammit.
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The problem is that we landed up with this because no one complained when they did the same thing four seasons ago in the intro episode. Instead, everyone lashed out with enthusiastic praise seeing Jezza find not-so-new and unexciting ways to inflict damage on a Reliant Robin. The fact that the majority of people fell over themselves going "LMAO JEEREMY WRECK CAR ELEVENTY-BILLION TIMES LOLDONGS!!!!111!!!11!!1" made them want to try it again. And you may have noticed that said "LOLDONGS" are now in the opening credits.

But The Spie's earlier post was onto something. The episode lacked "joie de vivre" overall. And it's the first episode in over a year. Are the lads getting sick of doing the show? I sure as hell hope not.
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I wasn't going to speculate on that possibility, but there's got to be a reason why they were so unenthusiastic about the first episode back after that extended break, as well as coming off a season like 18 when they firing on all cylinders.

MVA said:
Instead of (as many other people have also said) rehashing the Peel P50 review, they should have treated it more like the Hammerhead Eagle Geoff segment.
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So instead of rehashing a segment that's actually good and well-regarded, you want them to rehash a segment that's the televisual equivalent of Ebola?
 
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LadiesAndGentlemen said:
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But as for the general feeling of dullness, the bit when they showed a high definition shot of the Bentley driving away from behind the grass blades really said it all. It's too calculated, there are way too many people involved, it feels like everything is decided by a bunch of rich kids who graduated from some fancy business school and are trying to win a pissing competition. I miss it when they would just talk shit for an hour and move on with their lives.
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With their big races they usually do the race and get all the interior shots and comments as well as some "outdoor" footage of the car(s) driving, but for most of the really beautiful shots they go back and film some of the bits again. I think on some DVD there was a commentary that they even film drag races three times, once the actual race and two times the start with close ups of tires/exhausts/stuff like that and maybe a camera in between the two cars. Same for the rally bit in this episode I guess. They did it once against the clock and then they went back to film some nice corners and jumps as well after they knew where the car would get some airtime or could do a nice drift. However, it's been like that for ages now... (especially since you can't have High Definition 1000 fps cameras on every corner and jump along the way, just in case)


ASH8 said:
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One thing I never understand is the lack of a fair go with any cars made in Japan, what is it with the British??
They love to drive German and French cars, but rate Japanese poorly....Strange.
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If i remember correctly, Jeremy and Richard like the NSX and Skyline, only Jeremy dislikes the 350Z, the Nissan GTR got a great review, both the old and new MX-5 were well received, the Honda S2000 was/is Jeremy's personal best car of the year for ages, James loved that fake Rolls Royce he tested in Japan right after Jeremy tested the GTR (and got flack for since it's not sold in the UK). If anything, they are usually very cruel full of prejudice towards American cars (don't handle, bad suspension, cheap interior, but once they drive them they usually like them... well sometimes anyway). With Japanese cars they might hold back until they know if the car will be available in the UK. Now you could argue, what's the point of testing a supercar that probably 0.001 % of all viewers could possibly afford, but supercars are (usually) exciting and you just now you never gonna own one anyway. But what's the point of testing some 10 000 ? hatchback or even 70 000 ? sports car from who knows where which is only available in specific regions and not maybe not even very exciting? For a car that's not sold in the UK to be on Top Gear it usually has to be outrageous in some way (preposterously fast / expensive / dangerous).
 
Liked it. I enjoyed even the P45 segment.
 
Huayra; great.
Bentley; entertaining.
SIARPC; good, shame about the weather but entertaining lap as a result.
P45; over long, not funny, a third of the programme on this?

4/10
 
They love to drive German and French cars, but rate Japanese poorly....Strange.
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Anti-Japanese bias? Where? TG loves Japanese cars. They've always adored the Lancer EVO/Impreza WRX, they gave the Nissan GT-R a rave review, highly recommended the Honda Civic/Jazz as everyday cars, loved the Honda S2000, Toyota Land Cruiser, Lexus LFA and the list goes on.


Anyway: Finally got around to watching the entire episode and that first half hour I missed yesterday really makes up for the crappy P-45 film.

Pagani: Solid supercar review. Having read some comments about the overuse of effects, I was almost expecting an iPod-commercial, but I didn't find the flashy bits destracting. They fit the tone of the piece and the look of the car pretty well, and they weren't nearly as annoying as the ones in, say, the Lexus LFA-review.

Plus: The shots of the Huyaaurayuaaaa's dashboard alone were enough to make this a good film. I never thought they could top the beautiful Zonda-interior, but they obviously pulled it off. If I owned that thing, I'd live in it.

Bentley: Probably the best bit of the show. I love these "James gets driven around at insane speed"-films. Hats off to Bentley/VW for letting them do this and *huge* respect to the driver.

News: Not as bad as I feared. "Independant Rear Access" actually had me chuckling.

But I guess by far the best bit to me was the teaser montage. Caroll Shelby tribute epic race? Hot-hatch shootout? Supercar roadtrip (featuring the new Viper :eek:)? Another Africa special? This season looks much more promising to me now. I kinda dread the Multipla-film though ..

All in all: 7/10


S.
 
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