[23x01] May 29th, 2016 -- First Episode With New Cast

[23x01] May 29th, 2016 -- First Episode With New Cast

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I did join FG to comment on the new show. I watched the old TG as soon as episodes were available, starting about ten years ago. I have to go with the consensus that CE in not a good choice for the main presenter, would be delighted to see Harris take the role next to MLB. On LeBland, sorry, LeBlanc, there's more phrasing and inflection needed to tune his delivery, but I have much more hope for him than Evans. Sabine is a terrific driver, more speed segments with her showing what a car can really do would be great. I was a little taken about at her comment about how she'd turn Rory "pale" with her driving, but that would likely get more reaction in the US, where we've gotten a little too sensitive about incautious speech. And the biggest "Uh-oh" for me was an audience reaction shot, perhaps half way into the show, where everyone looked a little bored. It didn't get much screen time and maybe my own disappointment was shading my reaction to it.

I'll keep watching and hope for the best. I think the old show was getting a little tired, and I could not forgive Clarkson for his arrogance and bullying of the producer, so I am glad he's gone. If that meant losing Hammond and May too, so be it. If Evans dooms the new show, well, there's always some choice older episodes to reminisce with.
 
Widewidget said:
I was a little taken about at her comment about how she'd turn Rory "pale" with her driving, but that would likely get more reaction in the US, where we've gotten a little too sensitive about incautious speech.
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When I first heard it, thought it sounded more like she was trying to find the right words in English rather than any sort of racial insult. However, Chris Ramsey and Rory were both talking about the "chavvy" black BMW, so IDK.
 
Evans was really annoying and childish. i will give it a go next week and see if it is any better
 
[23x01] May 29th, 2016 -- First Episode With New Cast

PaddyFancy said:
A lot of opinion was most influenced by CHM lovers. When The Grand Tour episode 1 is shown, it'll be mostly 10s even if it was a terrible episode, because CHM.
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Let me ask you a few questions:

Do you think that Top Gear "under new management" would ever

- make it a running gag to destroy caravans?

- keep on destroying old cars like the Morris Marina just to piss off its fanboys?

- make politically incorrect jokes about other countries, women, gays, etc. and still be loved?

- ever risk the presenters' lives like they did in the Bolivia Special or let them drive on an active volcano?

- ever have an idea that sounds absolutely stupid (like driving a car to the north pole while having a Gin Tonic) and then go through with it?

- ever leave their comfort zone of race tracks, air fields and other controlled environments to drive into the unknown?

The new Top Gear is a lion in its cage that has its claws removed.

What I saw Sunday night, was 5th Gear in a Top Gear frock and nothing else.
 
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Widewidget said:
I was a little taken about at her comment about how she'd turn Rory "pale" with her driving, but that would likely get more reaction in the US, where we've gotten a little too sensitive about incautious speech.
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Turning someone pale through a fright or scare is a common saying regardless of the ethnicity of the person being referred to. Why would this be odd?
 
Tzarrim said:
Evans manages to make even the introductions annoying as hell, he's terrible throughout the whole episode. Worse, and it actually makes me angry, not mentioning the whole "yup, we're new" just reeks of insecurity. Without Evans it'd be less bad but I can't watch it, didn't even make it to the end.

Also, TALKING about putting laserguns on cars is one thing, actually doing it means you missed the point.
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The laser gun is a bit harsh. I have no doubt Clarkson would have gone for that himself. He's had tanks and people trying to shoot him in a car with lasers. so what we saw was just the next progression.
 
DanielMPS said:
The laser gun is a bit harsh. I have no doubt Clarkson would have gone for that himself. He's had tanks and people trying to shoot him in a car with lasers. so what we saw was just the next progression.
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He would, but he'd present it differently. He'd have a producer in a white coat interrupt his spiel, hand over a card that read out the test; he'd have a segment where he would talk with both of the gunners and Sabine *before* they got into the cars.

And more to the point, he and Sabine would both drive more aggressively (with more WW2 references) to make more "dogfight" style footage instead of a straight up chase.
 
Is someone really surprised that it crash-landed. If anything I'm surprised it wasn't as bad a train wreck as I thought.

- First of all they are trying too hard to court an American audience. Why? There already is a Top Gear over there.
- As much as I like Sabine. She's the wrong one for the job. She's awkward in German and her hideously bad English doesn't help.
- The whole point of Top Gear, since season six at the latest, was that it basically just revolved around CHM. The cars and stunts were just props. The person who would develop any sort of chemistry with an annoying character like Evans hasn't been born yet. And if you have six hosts, then bloody use them.

Basically, what they did, was removing those aspects that worked (CHM) and retained those that had become tired (the whole concept). What they didn't realise beforehand was, that TG was still working despite it's knackered jokes and concept, because of the three blokes, not the other way round.
 
I like Le Blanc, I like his noncholant approach. He should be the main presenter probably.
Overall, it was fine. Just look back the first series of the second evolution of Top Gear. The chemistry needed a LONG time to develop, it was probably around season 3. For a first episode, it wwas okay.
 
Why does everybody thinks Chris Harris is the answer for Top Gear to replace Chris Evans?? Harris is interesting only for car geeks but not for general public. How many car facts can you present before it becomes boring?? There is a reason why Chris Harris youtube subscribers are not even over half a million, there are only 'so many' people interested in cars.
CHM Top gear has 350 million viewers world wide, see the difference??
Chris Harris is not interesting enough with just a car presenter for a program as Top Gear. Case in point, Fifth gear got cancelled and I think Tiff Needell is more car presenter then Chris Harris..

Ohh btw Chris Evans is a disaster....
 
AudiEnthusiast said:
I like Le Blanc, I like his noncholant approach. He should be the main presenter probably.
Overall, it was fine. Just look back the first series of the second evolution of Top Gear. The chemistry needed a LONG time to develop, it was probably around season 3. For a first episode, it wwas okay.
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I thought the first episode James May appeared in (2x01) was pretty good (James reviewed his own Bentley and Jezza made fun of its dampers).
Way better than this New Top Gear crap.
 
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The issue of the previous Top Gear has never been the quality of the presenters. Even Jason Dawe did a better job than Chris Evans and with James May joining, the show gained more and more momentum.

Yes, it took time but they created something new -- and Chris Evans apparently tries to avoid that, hoping they can somehow convince the 350 million viewers to stay with him.

Which they won't, because the 350 million wanted to see CHM bickering, fail and make an idiot of themselves.

I would of course change my mind immediately if Matt LeBlanc decided to pull a prank on Chris Evans and paint one of his Ferraris pink...
 
kurthest said:
I thought the first episode James May appeared in (2x01) was pretty good (James reviewed his own Bentley and Jezza made fun of its dampers).
Way better than this New Top Gear crap.
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Totally agree. S1 did struggle, whether that was Jason's presence or Jeremy and Richard still finding their feet I'm not sure, but even so there was a hint of the chemistry. S2 onwards it was there, not fully developed, but there. This incarnation I can't even see a hint of it :(
 
Bunglejph said:
Turning someone pale through a fright or scare is a common saying regardless of the ethnicity of the person being referred to. Why would this be odd?
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In the USA we've gotten hyper-sensitive to anything that seems racially "questionable". To talk of scaring a black man "pale" would set some off as it makes light (sorry for the pun) of the man's skin color. I don't agree with how far we've gone with this correctness, but among some communities it's an issue.
 
MacGuffin said:
I would of course change my mind immediately if Matt LeBlanc decided to pull a prank on Chris Evans and paint one of his Ferraris pink...
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Pink would still suit that little limp wristed twerp to much me thinks, camo on the other hand.....:mrgreen:
 
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MacGuffin said:
Let me ask you a few questions:

Do you think that Top Gear "under new management" would ever
Click to expand...

- make it a running gag to destroy caravans? NO

- keep on destroying old cars like the Morris Marina just to piss off its fanboys? NO

- make politically incorrect jokes about other countries, women, gays, etc. and still be loved? NO

- ever risk the presenters' lives like they did in the Bolivia Special or let them drive on an active volcano? May be

- ever have an idea that sounds absolutely stupid (like driving a car to the north pole while having a Gin Tonic) and then go through with it? NO

- ever leave their comfort zone of race tracks, air fields and other controlled environments to drive into the unknown? NO



Cheers
 
Or have hillbillies almost kill your presenters. :D
 
Matt LeBlanc: OK.
Sabine: OK.

I didn't like the challenges and couldn't stand Chris Evans' shouting which is extremely irritating. MLB's Ariel video was good, however, I had to repeat some bits to fully understand him; sound editors would solve it if they put some effort into it - I didn't have this problem when MLB was interviewed by JC.

Chris Evans: either his volume should be lowered or he should stop shouting like a promoter and start speaking naturally, which I think is impossible (his radio show is too shouty for me too).
 
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