[20x01] June 30th, 2013

[20x01] June 30th, 2013


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We don't deduct points for the scripting, just the lameness, the jokes that you can see coming from ten miles away and the ones that treat the audience like idiots.
This, and (in my case, at least) when it appears that, scripted or not, they're just mailing it in.
 
I'm on the same page as you for this one. North Island for the nightlife, South for the scenery is what I always got told when I lived there :)

Ta mate :) Yes Auckland and Wellies (Wellington) for the nightlife for sure, My town Christchurch is slowly getting better after the earthquakes 2 years ago.... slowly....

I'm glad someone shares my thoughts on the show. I tend to vote on these polls but steer clear of the comments, as it seems to turn into a weekly meeting of the Top Gear Critics Association every week that the show airs, and quite frankly I've got better things to do. I only really commented cause they came down to my patch of the world for a change.


It was a pretty good episode. 7/10 But this one made me feel just how spoiled I have become with the show. When I saw the car Jeremy picked for the race, I was disappointed. I wanted to see something like the new Ferrari F12 or the new Pagani. But I know that if he chose one of those crazy supercars, I would have wanted to see him chose something more realistic, like the Corolla. That really made me realize how difficult it must be to satisfy their audience.

I guess at the end of the day, I just want them to do what they want to do, rather than what they think the majority of their audience wants.

And your never going to find those cars in New Zealand. Their both left hand drive (you can have one but you can't import one to sell it, you have to keep it) and their price tags put them out of reach for most of our 4.5 million people. :)
 
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And your never going to find those cars in New Zealand. Their both left hand drive (you can have one but you can't import one to sell it, you have to keep it) and their price tags put them out of reach for most of our 4.5 million people. :)

That's not entirely true, I'm not sure if the F12 or the Huayra have made it too new new zealand but I know that they are available in right hand drive and that at least one Aston Martin Vanquish has been sold in New Zealand, a while back I saw an f40 for sale for a million NZD and that must have sold since it's not on the website anymore.
Maybe they're all in Auckland.
 
This, and (in my case, at least) when it appears that, scripted or not, they're just mailing it in.

I think to a certain extent after so many runs we are becoming a bit jaded and their ability to provide surprise and delight has lessened but I do agree they have been going through the motions for some time. Series 18 was a real return to form but they have taken their foot off the gas since.
 
It amuses me that people point out that Top Gear is scripted. Yes. The worlds biggest TV show has writers that decide what whould be said and done.

Also, I loled when JC siad "Arnold Schwarzni66er" instead of Schwarzenegger :lol:
 
As has been said many times before it's not the fact that the scripting exists, it's the quality the many of us are complaining about. Time was when there was a certain amount of intelligence in the planning of the show but these days it seems clearly to be aimed at the lowest common denominator.
 
That's not entirely true, I'm not sure if the F12 or the Huayra have made it too new new zealand but I know that they are available in right hand drive

I stand corrected :bow: they are in Right hand drive.

You can import Left hookers but there are strict rules governing them, e.g. if under 20 years old, be part of a limited production run (20,000 units or less), or be only a two door or convertible. They have to have special permits to be allowed, the car must remain registered to the same person who got the LHD permit for the car for a minimum of four years (i.e. you have to keep it for four years, before you can sell it.)

Here's the rules if your interested, They've changed them again since I last looked. :rolleyes:
http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/f...g-a-left-hand-drive-vehicle.html#requirements
 
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Having read all your replies, all I can say is come on! There is so much junk on television these days that I don't even watch television at all. I couldn't wait till the new Top Gear Episode as I'm sure it will be more entertaining than everything else. Surely it did not disappoint.
The Hammond car review was actually fun to watch, because of his snappy comments. I'm starting to like his humor for some reason.
News was unfortunately too short for a new series episode, could have had loads of more car info, even about things "we" already know, just put in Top Gear Style.
The race was fun. I know it is scripted but what do you excpect? Top Gear can't film these days (even in the remotest of all locations) without being seen. So there needs to be a plan. I laughed, especially as Clarkson trashed the rental car.
No matter how scripted Top Gear is, compared to everything on television today, it beats it, absolutely. Sure, 10 Series ago they were different, but times change. I'm happy they still made a new series. Can't wait for the next one!
 
I was bored by this episode and went back to the interweb. 3/10
 
As has been said many times before it's not the fact that the scripting exists, it's the quality the many of us are complaining about.

Hi MWF :)

Yes, but that is a different discussion. I was talking about the many surprised viewers pointing out that "it had to be scripted" when this or that happend.

The poor quality of the actions within the scripts started many many seasons ago.
 
You can import Left hookers but there are strict rules governing them, e.g. if under 20 years old, be part of a limited production run (20,000 units or less), or be only a two door or convertible. They have to have special permits to be allowed, the car must remain registered to the same person who got the LHD permit for the car for a minimum of four years (i.e. you have to keep it for four years, before you can sell it.)

What does the bodystyle have to do with which side the wheel is on? Seriously, what the hell, NZ?
 
Having read all your replies, all I can say is come on! There is so much junk on television these days that I don't even watch television at all. I couldn't wait till the new Top Gear Episode as I'm sure it will be more entertaining than everything else. Surely it did not disappoint.
No matter how scripted Top Gear is, compared to everything on television today, it beats it, absolutely.

Therein lies the issue a lot of people have. Do we compare TG to "the rest" of television (in which case, it's still better than most of what's airing today), or to itself, in its heyday? What's the proper benchmark? Everyone has their own opinion on it, neither one is any more right or wrong than the other (as is the nature of opinions).

Personally, while I agree it is better than most of today's crap, I think comparing TG to any other show is doing the apples to oranges thing. It's like saying "I'd rather drink Diet Coke than eat mushrooms". Sure, they're both something you consume, but hardly comparable. (one's a tasty drink, the other are slimy pieces or rubber) ;)

In that context, something has been lacking in the last two series (19 and 20...18 was (mostly) pretty good), and in a few of the series before it. You can see the difference if you compare 7 or 10 to 15 or 16. Certainly doesn't mean I'm giving up on the show - they'd have to do entire seasons that were far worse than anything else on TV, before I'd do that.

It is funny, though, reading everyone's comments about this episode. Someone commented a few pages back, that it must be hard to come up with a show that they think will please the masses. The comments here would seem to prove that. "Richard's hatchback review was the best thing on the show" "The hatchback review was boring" "Loved the race" "The race was too scripted". Can't please everyone... :lol:
 
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Well put. That's why I'm rarely in the "Top Gear specific ep" threads. I just couldn't be bothered to write as much as you. So, X 2 ^ :)
 
I've also noticed that this series is the most advertised for yet.
I mean ... That's a sign of doubt more than it's indicative of confidence. And confidence is what the most viewed TV show on the planet should have by its effing 20th series.

I've NEVER been a fan of pre-episode discussions and sneak-peaks, simply because they're the worst spoiler ever, and sometimes they get your hopes up a notch too high, where they should've remained idle for maximum enjoyment, therefore ruining the viewing. And now, I noticed on their YT channel that they're showing previews of EPISODES, actual trailers, not just one or two presenters telling us "they're gonna catch fire".

I'm sorry but something's starting to feel very wrong. I mean apart from the niggles that have started a few series back and are still reluctantly lingering along, this new flashier TG publicity scheme doesn't float my boat.
I've already forgotten what the 1st episode was about for god's sake. That's how unmemorable it was.

:(
 
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The episode was pretty good. Damn that boat looked super uncomfortable and having to endure that for 12 hours (I don't remember exactly), I would have barfed all over the crew within the first hour. Poor James.
 
I've also noticed that this series is the most advertised for yet.
I mean ... That's a sign of doubt more than it's indicative of confidence. And confidence is what the most viewed TV show on the planet should have by its effing 20th series.

I've NEVER been a fan of pre-episode discussions and sneak-peaks, simply because they're the worst spoiler ever, and sometimes they get your hopes up a notch too high, where they should've remained idle for maximum enjoyment, therefore ruining the viewing. And now, I noticed on their YT channel that they're showing previews of EPISODES, actual trailers, not just one or two presenters telling us "they're gonna catch fire".

I'm sorry but something's starting to feel very wrong. I mean apart from the niggles that have started a few series back and are still reluctantly lingering along, this new flashier TG publicity scheme doesn't float my boat.
I've already forgotten what the 1st episode was about for god's sake. That's how unmemorable it was.

:(

I haven't noticed any increased advertising for this series over any of the recent ones. I think this is a bit of an overreaction, to be frank. TG still has 4.5m or so core viewers in the UK which is easily enough to be the most watched show on BBC2. For comparison, the highest rating show in the week ending 23 June was the Monday edition of Airport Live with 2.86m. It is down a bit from the peaks around series 9 and 10, but it's still high and the core audience has been maintained over a very long time. And the show continues to sell well and be much loved abroad.

I think a lot of the jadedness is simply down to the fact that the show has been on for almost 11 years and 155 episodes. Coming up with new ideas is increasingly difficult, so it's inevitable that they're going to have to rehash some old ones. I'm sympathetic over their use of the Corolla because it was a change from the normal supercar, the scripted jokes weren't bad and the boat should have been the star of the show anyway. Some of the scripted stuff over the past few years has been awful, but I didn't think Sunday's was too bad at all. No worse than in some of the "glory years" episodes.
 
Therein lies the issue a lot of people have. Do we compare TG to "the rest" of television (in which case, it's still better than most of what's airing today), or to itself, in its heyday? What's the proper benchmark? Everyone has their own opinion on it, neither one is any more right or wrong than the other (as is the nature of opinions).

Personally, while I agree it is better than most of today's crap, I think comparing TG to any other show is doing the apples to oranges thing. It's like saying "I'd rather drink Diet Coke than eat mushrooms". Sure, they're both something you consume, but hardly comparable. (one's a tasty drink, the other are slimy pieces or rubber) ;)

In that context, something has been lacking in the last two series (19 and 20...18 was (mostly) pretty good), and in a few of the series before it. You can see the difference if you compare 7 or 10 to 15 or 16. Certainly doesn't mean I'm giving up on the show - they'd have to do entire seasons that were far worse than anything else on TV, before I'd do that.

It is funny, though, reading everyone's comments about this episode. Someone commented a few pages back, that it must be hard to come up with a show that they think will please the masses. The comments here would seem to prove that. "Richard's hatchback review was the best thing on the show" "The hatchback review was boring" "Loved the race" "The race was too scripted". Can't please everyone... :lol:

Stop insulting mushrooms! :mad:

You make a valid point though. Just because someone might think that TG is better than most content on TV is no reason to kiss their collective arses. Bar series 18 the standard has been pretty shocking of late, never mind one lacklustre and pointless and one frankly embarrasing special.

Judge it against itself. And if you do then it is pretty poor these days.

Or to paraphrase Clarkson himself. TG is a bit like the Nissan GT-R - technically it's brilliant but every now and then I want it to put its hands down my trousers and have a bit of a rummage.
 
I gave it a 6. Recycled jokes about the ST and the introducing the new car was just blah to me. It was funny the first 2 times, but now it's just rather stale.

I liked the race but it seemed to drag on for too long for my taste. I did feel so bad for James though!!
 
It is funny, though, reading everyone's comments about this episode. Someone commented a few pages back, that it must be hard to come up with a show that they think will please the masses. The comments here would seem to prove that. "Richard's hatchback review was the best thing on the show" "The hatchback review was boring" "Loved the race" "The race was too scripted". Can't please everyone... :lol:

It's really not that hard. The concept of that race was great, but it was utterly ruined by the fact that it was scripted. The idea of reviewing the three hatches was great, but the general idiocy and pointlessness of the review made it boring.
 
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