[19x03] February 10th, 2013

[19x03] February 10th, 2013


  • Total voters
    278
I now no longer feel bad about my crappy ratings for the last two episodes, this confirmed it, they were a bit naff.

This on the other hand, fantastic! Bits about cars, interesting cars! A guest who I like, a nice little bit about Shelby, James May on a bicycle (and it didn't feel scripted), a little bit of tension and finally some chemistry. 9/10 best in ages.

Only one niggle, that repeated use of a two second shot of the side of the Mustang during the race. They must have used it about ten times or more. :lol:
 
Better than the last two shows, but still something missing.

GT-86 Review: That wasn't bad. Going into the technical aspects of oversteer and understeer was good, talking in detail about the car was good. It ended abruptly, though. I suppose 5 minutes is all the longer that review can be because that car only does one thing. I can never unsee Jeremy smiling the way he did.

News: Yeah, neither here nor there.

Shelby vs. Train race: The car choice was surprising. However, I don't think it was so much Jeremy finding the most powerful car he could for under 35,000 pounds. It didn't feel like he chose it at all. Why would he pick a car to drive 800 miles that he doesn't like? (To be fair, I don't really like the Shelby, it's a bit rediculous compared to the rest of the range.) It can't just be to mention the power and do a short history of Caroll Shelby (although that was a delightful surprise). They overplayed the lack of drama, and that dragged things down. They've said before the races are designed to be close, and it's not good television if they aren't, so you know at some point it would close up and make the finish dramatic. So them going on for 10 minutes about how it was in the bag was boring.

SIARPC: Uh, why haven't I heard of her before? She is cute! And she loves cars. Do Scottish people appreciate a girl like that? And did anyone else notice how slumped Jeremy was sitting in his chair during that? Legs all stretched out? He just looked uninterested.

I dunno, I want to like it and give it a 9 or 10, I really do. And yet I can't bring myself to do it. I just can't help thinking that last week's Top Gear America was better. 8 again.
 
Last edited:
Great episode.
Amy is cute as a button and I love her accent although I didn't understand a word she said ;)
The race was fun and good to see Jezza pay tribute to the late Shelby.

All in all a solid 9 from me.
 
Not a bad Episode I gave it an 8. Car review was good, the guest was cute and a petrol head :mrgreen:, and race was not to bad.
 
Great episode.
Awesome SIARPC.
Why can't there be more girls like this?
 
Compared to the previous two, I feel this episode brought TGUK back down to the earth a little.

The cars driven are "in reach" by many. The Toyoburu segment was good and even made me want one a little bit.

Regarding the race, I was 100% sure the car (Jeremy) would lose simply because he would be driving an American car. As usual, the episode ended with a USA-bashing fest. Not that I disagree much :)
 
I had one genuine laugh out loud moment...

"Peel"

:lol: :lol: :lol:
 
I liked this one a lot. As old as the presenters have gotten, they are no less crafty - James and the bicycle took me completely by surprise.
 
The Epic Races are always great, imo. They are so much more focused than the road trips where all sorts of stupid distractions pop up. This was just Jeremy behind the wheel of a crazy powerful car trying to drive as fast as he can for as long as he can, while facing all the problems of the real world. Excellent television.

And the rest of the episode was great too. 9/10
 
At last, an episode (this series) that didn't have me wishing it would end early.

A half decent review of a proper car (although I would like to see them review cars on public roads), a guest who is genuinely interested in cars (and not just there to plug a half-arsed film) and a really good race.
I thought the race was every bit as engrossing as the first one they did, although maybe not quite as epic as the race to Oslo (which has always been my favourite). There actually seemed to be a little more "chemistry" in the whole episode and they didn't seem to be playing caricatures of themselves as much as they have been recently.

Why can't it be more like this every week? 7/10
 
When Jeremy smiled during the GT-86 bit I wanted to turn off the TV and go hide. Good gawd that man needs some dental work!

Other than that I liked the episode. The tropes about the Mustang got a bit idiotic though.
 
That was a good solid episode. 8/10

I want one of those Toyobarus!


- - - Updated - - -

When Jeremy smiled during the GT-86 bit I wanted to turn off the TV and go hide. Good gawd that man needs some dental work!

Other than that I liked the episode. The tropes about the Mustang got a bit idiotic though.
Yes! That smile was disturbing and went on for too long. I got very uncomfortable and had to look away!
 
Best one of the series so far but that's not saying much. I found it so annoying at the end how they showed ten minutes of close-up shots of the car and the train going fast. They did that too with the race to Mexico. We get it, they're racing. Gave it a 5 just because the cinematography is becoming obnoxious.
 
I think the "race" was still pretty much staged and filmed in parts and was probably not really a race. How is it that James May is slower riding a bike on the street than Richard running through crowds in what looked like cowboy boots?
 
I think the "race" was still pretty much staged and filmed in parts and was probably not really a race. How is it that James May is slower riding a bike on the street than Richard running through crowds in what looked like cowboy boots?

Simple. Richard is very fit and is a keen runner, has been for years. James, while he does use a folding bicycle around his bit of London, is not so fit.

Another thing to consider is something James said about these things ages ago: The results are true, but what you see isn't necessarily real. They do the race in real time to get the result (in this case, 1-Richard; 2-James; 3-Jeremy), but then go back to get coverage shots in order to tell the story better, so they would've had to return to certain spots to get footage of Richard running through the streets, or James cycling. This may be why you're thinking it was "staged".

Anyhoo.

So. Much. Fucking. Better. This is Top Gear.
 
New guy

New guy

Man the Guest on the show was adorable, and loved the Scottish accent. Solid show, though they seemed to run out of steam during the news segment. Oh and hello everyone!
 
Clarksons smile was the scariest thing ever. Other than that and the fact he lost (nooooo), solid Episode. 9/10
 
Top