[21x01] February 2nd, 2014

[21x01] February 2nd, 2014


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He-he's taping review was pretty accurate. A film that started out ok but slid downhill, with the final segment in particular being a bit cringey.

I'm feeling generous, so I'll go for a 6/10.
 
I didn't bother finishing it. I turned it off right when they started chasing Clarksons GTI with the toy car. I normally like the cheap car challenges, more than the super car reviews but this was just gawd aweful.
 
More giggles than the usual episode (supermarket), but it was pretty average overall. The last part was one of the weakest segments in a while.
 
I thought it was OK. I was expecting worse because I read what people were saying on here before watching it. I fell asleep and missed the ending though... doesn't sound like it is worth going back and watching. I think I sort of liked it because I think those old tin can cars that weigh about 10lbs can be insanely fun to drive.
 
I think it was OK. This episode was more of a silly comedy of three baboons fooling around, scripted or not, and not so much a real car show with facts, new cars and smokey tires. A couple of times I thought "OK, that went too far", but still I found myself laughing through the whole episode. Maybe I'm just a simple person.
 
Glad that the boys are back but please get back to actually testing cars.. The start was good but, everything past the Guest spot was sad.

I guess next week could change the game if JC does a good review of the P1.
 
Gave it a 6, but only because of the good start into the 'TG hot hatch special',
the hazard light switch, and and the proper news section.

Supermarket segment already a bit dull, the quality of the final segment is clearly indicated by the number of explosions.
SIARPC - probably a nice guy, but really boring interview, hardly any car content.

NB:
Surprise fact: TG films are scripted ;-)
Not a regular guardian readear, but this article is 100% negative (like all the salary related articles)
http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/feb/03/top-gear-cars-moustaches-reality
and on that bombshell...
 
I gave it an 8 overall. It's definitely one of their "just for laughs" episodes and as such it was better than most overall. The first two segments of the 80s hot hatches were great. The "don't try this at home" part especially. But the 3rd segment with the completely scripted 'cop chase' was mind numbing. That part was definitely for the 12-year-olds watching I suspect. But again, overall it was still a fun and entertaining episode. But I'm definitely looking forward to more actual substance in the rest of the season hopefully. Especially in the Ukraine trip. When the preview at the opening of this episode mentioned Chernobyl that peaked my interest. Hoping that'll be a proper road trip and not just scripted nonsense.
 
I really hoped for a comparison of 80s and 2014 hot hatches........boy was I wrong. Scripted like hell, had some laughs, the end was so bad I was just surfing the net while having it in background drone...this was an episode for 10 year olds. Only reason it got some points was because I nostalgia'd hard at the trays under rear wheel donuts.
 
I really hoped for a comparison of 80s and 2014 hot hatches........boy was I wrong. Scripted like hell, had some laughs, the end was so bad I was just surfing the net while having it in background drone...this was an episode for 10 year olds. Only reason it got some points was because I nostalgia'd hard at the trays under rear wheel donuts.

That was the best part, the nostalgia trip. It was the only part that felt genuine.

Other than that, they weren't even trying. None of the freshness of other cheap car challenges. They just reveal the mishaps per golden envelope SMS before the challenge even started and then went through the motions to replay it for us. And the last third felt like a bad '80s C-Film (and no, 80s are not always better).
 
This episode would have been way better if they had done an actual car review in it since they probably would've cut out most of the crap from the hatchbacks to fit it in.

I gave it a 6 and honestly I wish I could change that to a 5 as this ep was a complete turd after the SIARPC
 
Gave it a 3. Haven't been this disappointed in a long time. Started off fine (i like the cheap car challenges), i became a bit suspicious when Hammond "flipped" his car so soon. After the guest everything went downhill fast. The supermarket was beyond pointless, ok the guys fooling around on the airfield i didn't mind that much (tells you a lot about the other parts), while the Police Chase was beyond bad.

Hope it picks up...
 
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Pretty much like others said:

It started out decently, then tragically slid downhill. I'd have liked a real comparison between old and new. But if the vynil part was silly, if the supermarket was a bit funny, the moustached police was pure waste of time.
 
This episode was a good example of what's wrong with the show. And also, what's not wrong with it.

It's the same old thing, some people like the silly bits, some people don't. But what's true, is that if they kept the fakery out of the silly bits, it would be a lot more appealing across the board. For example, the wrapping was fine, but the car keys left on the top was clearly fake and as such was annoying.

A lot of people on here seem to think not finding these things entertaining means that you don't have a sense of humour, but the fact is, people fell in love with TG because it was an entertainment show about cars, that managed to be fun, interesting and different. Now, the challenges aren't challenges, they're skits. What used to make them good, was the real sense that a challenge was afoot. That's now been replaced with a choreographed set-piece.

As others have said, the segment idea was great, but the execution was just daft.
 
This episode was a good example of what's wrong with the show. And also, what's not wrong with it.

It's the same old thing, some people like the silly bits, some people don't. But what's true, is that if they kept the fakery out of the silly bits, it would be a lot more appealing across the board. For example, the wrapping was fine, but the car keys left on the top was clearly fake and as such was annoying.

A lot of people on here seem to think not finding these things entertaining means that you don't have a sense of humour, but the fact is, people fell in love with TG because it was an entertainment show about cars, that managed to be fun, interesting and different. Now, the challenges aren't challenges, they're skits. What used to make them good, was the real sense that a challenge was afoot. That's now been replaced with a choreographed set-piece.

As others have said, the segment idea was great, but the execution was just daft.

A perfect analysis of what was wrong with this opener.

If memory serves, the best series of TG in recent years and one that managed to get the balance perfect in my opinion, was S19, topped off with the best special ever in the hunt for the source of the nile.
 
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No new elements here... Started real promising, I was expecting a cool cheap car challenge. The supermarket segment would have been OK if they'd made a serious effort of it instead of slapstick. The last segment was pointless.
Hammond's behaviour around the SIARPC was cringe-worthy, eventhough the rest of that segment was pretty good.
I rate it a 6. Trying not to let my disappointment about not having a good cheap car challenge colour the rating too much.
 
Webmonkey nailed it. Fake stuff is never as good as the real thing, that's why things that are fake are so often exaggerated. A 5 second video of a politician stumbling on a step is infinitely more hilarious than a 5 minute sitcom routine of a character falling down a flight of stairs. Because it's real.
 
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