[20x06] August 4th, 2013

[20x06] August 4th, 2013


  • Total voters
    298
I enjoyed the Range Rover film. Solid review. In terms of news, i'm not in Britain, so i didn't find the whole wumble thing funny. I liked the stamps bit though. I'd have the DB5. I'm excited for the MX5/Spider. Eric Pickles <3. I'd quite like a bus. Just pick people up at a bus stop. I liked the film as well. I LOVE THAT JAG. That boot is awful though. Just get it without the spare wheel. And yeah, the ride is bad, but Jeremy, what'd you expect? I liked that film about Britan's manufacturing, it brings the truth globally. Simply beautiful. Britain, i salute you. What a wonderful way to finish their 20th series! I am so watching this again!
10/10
 
Ok, I just got done watching the show and this is tough because I was so taken with the last segment, it made me proud to be British, and I'm not even British! But, I shall try to gather myself and give the show and the series a fair critique.

Range Rover Sport: It was hypocritical. As much as they have gone on about how it's a footballer's car, and the whole first part of the segment was dedicated to reinforcing that, what would make anyone think that that aspect of the car would change just because it's a new model? It's still going to be bought entirely by footballers. Honestly, I have never seen a Range Rover Sport on the roads in the U.S., but I have seen plenty of the standard one. It's amazing what it can do off-road, the features were impressive and nice to hear about, but driving it around a racetrack? Who cares? It's less likely a buyer will do that then take it off road.

News: You know what? I'm glad I live in a country that doesn't have these traffic "wombles" they keep going on about. If they're as bad as they make out to be, I pity you Brits. And there was a bit too much hero worship of Eric Pickles just because he agrees with Jeremy. Either that, or Jeremy just wanted to make fun of a fat person.

NBFL: Honestly, I didn't care. BUT, I don't live near a lot of cities with buses. I must remind myself that this is a British car show and that people in Britain may be interested in them. And it went along with the whole British Built theme of the show (in case no one else noticed that was the theme for the whole show). I thought it was a waste of a segment, but again, I'm not British. What did British viewers think of it? I'm sure they tell us.

SIARPC: I have a feeling Mark Webber would have been a more exciting guest if Jeremy had been more interested in interviewing him instead of rubbing in how great the Brits were (reinforcing the show's theme?). And as someone who doesn't follow Formula 1, I didn't understand who Mark's teammate was until the end when they started talking about Seb. I also noticed how Jeremy pointed out that Mark is Australian "but he chooses to live in Britain." (More show theme, no doubt.)

F-Type: Best looking car ever? No. I think Jeremy was closer with the Eagle Speedster, not that I think that's correct either. It looks like fun, sounded like a straight 6. I was hoping for a straight 6. Jeremy is right that it is too expensive for what it is, and he has said that before so at least he's consistent on that.

British Built segment: That was just very cool. As I said, if I were British, I'd be proud of that turnout. I did not know that IndyCar ECUs were British, I would have put my money on them being German. I'd love to see the Top Gear US guys do that at some point, but I don't think there's a spot big enough where they could film all the stuff that we make and be able to make anything out.

I gave it an 8/10 with much bias going toward the last segment. Not as good as last week, but nowhere near as bad as the first 4 episodes. If Mr. Andy Wilman does happen to read this or anyone from the TG production staff, can I just say:

James once stated on the show regarding Ferrari, "If you've only got 50 employes and all of them are dedicated to making sure a windscreen wiper on a road car works properly, you haven't got enough left to win the F1 World Championship." The same thing has happened to Top Gear. James and Richard especially have so many other side projects going on all the time that they clearly don't have a lot of time to dedicate to making Top Gear anymore and so we are treated to things like James watching a TV strapped to his chest of two people racing through an abandoned building or Richard doing yet another crash and bash race with touring car drivers. In other words, things that can be filmed in less than half a day. But I don't fault the producers, I fault the presenters for taking on too much. If you want to make Top Gear, commit to making Top Gear. If you half ass the next series and don't give it the attention it deserves (like you did with this series), it will cast a black mark on the show that it will never recover from. And if you can't commit to doing Top Gear the way it deserves to be done, wrap it up. I would much rather keep the memories of all the great shows than suffer through another series as bad as this one was.
 
I did not know that IndyCar ECUs were British, I would have put my money on them being German.

They've been made by McLaren since '08 with the move to spec ECUs. It was done largely due to McLaren's maturity in that particular application (spec ECUs in a series) than any particular technical advantage. The EFI Technology boxes most used before were actually quite a lot better from a component and software standpoint.

Clarkson and co like push the bounds of what is "British made" awfully far at times, but whatever makes 'em happy.
 
Upon further review, I give it a 7 (while acknowledging the final bit was a 10).

Range Rover Sport: Yesterday BBC America showed 06x01, where Jezza reviewed the launch of the original Range Rover Sport by trying to outrun a Challenger 2 tank. Richard re-hashed much the same criticisms Jezza did, but even if the original was not a proper Range Rover, it was a proper Land Rover and showed in that original review that it could operate quite well in very poor terrain conditions. I will concede the review of the new one is a bit more relevant a test of the model compared to running from an MBT. :)

And OldSkoolGP, we have plenty of Range Rover Sports here in the Seattle, but this is an affluent area.

The News: The Snooze. BBC America often cuts out the news for the edited for time re-broadcasts and I hope they choose that option here.

New London Bus: I thought Richard and the BTCC had determined the single-decker was the best new bus for London? Anyway, that test was orders of magnitude better than the review of the final product.

SIARPC: Nice guy, but no Hugh Jackman. Another area BBCA could cut chunks to save time.

Jaguar F-Type: Kind of reminds me of Jezza's review of the XK convertible in 08x02.
 
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Another proper TG episode!

Liked everything especially the ending and the F-type segment.

10/10
 
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Perhaps the weakest show of the series. It was boring and not entertaining. The final bit of British made cars was cool but it was unexciting. The E Type celebration had a lot more heart. this one didn't get me excited. A 7 from my part.
 
That final segment felt very much like a finale not just of the season but for the show. And, to be honest, while I would miss TopGear I would rather see them go out on top than sputter trying to milk the platform for every last pence.

Having said that I went 9/10 with the deduction coming from the bus review of course. The cinematography was outstanding for the F Type and the patriotic bit at the end was quite the showpiece.
 
I've never given a 10/10 before. Today was the first time. Great stuff
 
Great episode. Perhaps I am slow, but why was there no mention of Lotus in the final segment?? We know the F1 cars don't count. Seemed odd to not mention Lotus at all given the current and especially the historical contribution.

-Rod
 
I'm a Russian living in US, and I'll tell you, I appreciate the reminder of how big a powerhouse Britain still is in the modern world. The ending was epic, emotional and what a massive delivery. It felt like I wasn't watching Top Gear, it felt like I was listening to Beethoven. As for the car reviews, I thought they were excellent! The bus review was big fun to watch, Mark Webber openly saying that he wouldn't miss Vettel is priceless, the RR Sport review was also superb.

I know some people from America could care less about SIRPC segment, or the news because it doesn't apply to US and so it doesn't apply to them - well these daft-minded people can go watch Pink Slips. I for one value the opportunity to gain insight into British culture and way of life, whether it's the entertainment, manufacturing base, bicyclists, caravaners or the absurdity of the UK government. I enjoy learning about the world and its various cultures, economies, traditions, humor and so on and so forth.

My least favorite segment of the whole series was the Hovercraft - it had potential to be funny, but it ended up lacking sparkle, and it was entirely predictable. I think the world taxi segment was also a bit crap. Otherwise, I have thoroughly enjoyed series 20 and looking forward to 21.

At the end of the day, Top Gear doesn't need to appeal to teenager half-witted car enthusiasts from US who only care about their silly 0-60 times, but it does a fantastic job of appealing to intellectually curious people who just happen to love cars, automotive industry and social observations, and I think it is the latter that really did strike a chord with me back in 2003.

Many thanks to all those on BBC who put in endless hours working on Top Gear!
 
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At the end of the day, Top Gear doesn't need to appeal to teenager half-witted car enthusiasts from US who only care about their silly 0-60 times, but it does a fantastic job of appealing to intellectual people who just happen to love cars, automotive industry and social observations, and I think it is the latter that really did strike a chord with me back in 2003, as I appreciate the social observations, the satire, the humor and a window into British culture.

Part of the appeal of British culture and its humor comes from its originality, wit, and sarcasm (think:the classic British TV comedies). Top Gear has lost a lot of that over the years. Sure, the jokes and gags were funny at first, but after you repeat them 5+ times, they start to get a little tedious. A great example is Jeremy's constant complaining about the buttons on the steering wheels of Ferraris. He had a point back in 2003, now it's 10 years later and he is still pointing it out as if they had just introduced them and he is seeing them for the first time ever.

For me Top Gear has turned into something like AC/DC...the anticipation of the new season/album is greater than the actual outcome, even though I already know what it's going to be all about.
 
Part of the appeal of British culture and its humor comes from its originality, wit, and sarcasm (think:the classic British TV comedies). Top Gear has lost a lot of that over the years. Sure, the jokes and gags were funny at first, but after you repeat them 5+ times, they start to get a little tedious. A great example is Jeremy's constant complaining about the buttons on the steering wheels of Ferraris. He had a point back in 2003, now it's 10 years later and he is still pointing it out as if they had just introduced them and he is seeing them for the first time ever.

For me Top Gear has turned into something like AC/DC...the anticipation of the new season/album is greater than the actual outcome, even though I already know what it's going to be all about.

I agree to an extent, but the overall message should always remain the same and concise. Thanks to Jeremy's and Tiff's constant complaints helped to drive the point home and now I think we all finally understand the lunacy of having 20 billion buttons on a steering wheel, endless transmission, engine, suspension and gearbox settings, the absurdly stiff suspensions. I for one love the fact that the new steering wheel on the 911 is completely free of buttons unless ordered otherwise.
 
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5/10.

This was the best episode out of this shitty season. The Rover and F-type review were standard TG. News was shit (as usual). SPIRPC was good, Webber is seems like a good guy. The bus bit was lame. Honestly, May pretty much mailed it in this season. Hes my favorite presenter of the 3 and usually look foward to his bits but with this and BBC building thing etc, might has well taken a vacation. The last bit was rather boring. National pride wankery and all that, but it is a British show so I didnt mind. Just wish it was more substantive rather than pure spectacle.

Anyway this is the last episode of the season and good fucking riddance. Horrible season, by FAR the worst in TG history. Glad its over. Hope Season 21 will be worth watching, because season 20 was a waste of my bandwidth.
 
5/10.

This was the best episode out of this shitty season. The Rover and F-type review were standard TG. News was shit (as usual). SPIRPC was good, Webber is seems like a good guy. The bus bit was lame. Honestly, May pretty much mailed it in this season. Hes my favorite presenter of the 3 and usually look foward to his bits but with this and BBC building thing etc, might has well taken a vacation. The last bit was rather boring. National pride wankery and all that, but it is a British show so I didnt mind. Just wish it was more substantive rather than pure spectacle.

Anyway this is the last episode of the season and good fucking riddance. Horrible season, by FAR the worst in TG history. Glad its over. Hope Season 21 will be worth watching, because season 20 was a waste of my bandwidth.

I think Andy Wilman said that episodes 1 and 6 were best, and the rest were lame. As for national pride thing - well it is supposed to be a gentle reminder to British people that they can still be proud of their country and given modern liberal, guilt driven world, reminders such as this one are very useful.
 
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They finished this series with its best episode IMO. RR Sport review was good, news was good, bus review was OK, SIARPC was OK, Jag review was pretty good, and the final segment was just epic (especially the F1 cars driving on the road). 8.5/10.
 
I don't often give episodes a perfect score... but when I do, it's for fantastic episodes like this. The Range Rover Sport segment was thoroughly entertaining. I enjoy off-roading, so seeing it bog through muddy water and tackle tough terrain made me quite giddy. The bus segment bogged things down a bit for me (it was still entertaining, but it dragged on a bit too long). Mark Webber was a pretty entertaining guest, even though I don't watch F1. And I don't think that jiggling the wheel cost him the top time. :p
And then, there was the F-Type. :blink: God, I'm in love. You could tell that Jeremy genuinely loved that thing, too (in some of the sweeping shots and interior shots you can see his smug grin). Some great cinematography, and I liked Clarkson's shopping trip. :D And, finally, there was the last segment...

I usually roll my eyes when the presenters go on a pro-Britain ramble (about how great Britain is, how they're "just better" than other countries, etc)... but, seeing all those vehicles rolling out, it's quite obvious that the UK truly does make a fantastic contribution to the motoring industry.

10/10
 
Solid EP. I loved Mark Webber discreetly bashing 'the finger' and beating his time. The Pro-British segment at the end was cute, I particularly liked seeing that my company pitched in some New Holland T7s for the gathering. The Jag was cool but didn't wow me. Range Rover Sport was flat out cool though.
 
VERY good ep! I must confess I too was one of the people who thought British industry was dead :(

If I could alter just one thing, I would make that first bumper-cam scene with the Jag being longer and with no music. But overall, epic episode! :D
 
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