[24x01] March 5th, 2017 - the old track is back!

[24x01] March 5th, 2017 - the old track is back!


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I did genuinely burst out laughing at that point :lol:

Yeah - in my first post on this forum (which seems to have been lost in the bottom drawer of the moderators' broom cupboard) I mentioned exactly that... I really hope they stop pretending that the scripted bits aren't scripted - but on that runaway taxi at least they did a good job of it - surprising enough that it's actually quite funny, and *almost* convinces you it was a "real accident". Waaayyyyy better than any scripted rubbish on Grand Tour!
 
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but on that runaway taxi at least they did a good job of it - surprising enough that it's actually quite funny, and *almost* convinces you it was a "real accident". Waaayyyyy better than any scripted rubbish on Grand Tour!
I have to agree. I figured early on that the taxi breaking loose would be a giggle, but harking back to previous TGs and TGTs, I was ready to be disappointed at the unconvincing manner it got set loose. Then while I was distracted with the refuelling, it was bumped off the blocks ....! :D
 
To be short, a nice surprise.

The feeling of curiosity and anticipation I used to have when I was waiting for the next ep and which I've lost in the last few years seems to might have come back.
 
The studio looks fantastic, I love Matt, never liked Chris and the token black guy adds nothing.
 
Never watched any of the last series, purely because I felt the format would not work with Chris Evans. I toyed with the idea of watching or not watching the first episode of this series, but decided to give it a go. I'm glad I did, because there was energy there between the three. I still don't think LeBlanc is a good enough presenter to carry the torch, but he's happy enough to be there at least.

The worst thing - canned laughter. No need for it. If it's funny, people will laugh.
 
Canned laughter is inevitable on programs like this, they don't just film 1 take and be done with it they film it many, many times until they get it right and the audience isn't going to react the same to a joke on take 6 as take 1. You may also have them use laughs from other takes in order to seamlessly cut from 1 take to another take so that they get the best delivery in the final edit. It doesn't matter if it's Top Gear, The Grand Tour or QI they all do it.
 
I lasted maybe a third into the first episode of last season before I turned off and decided to never watch another episode again. However, this episode received so much praise on FG IRC and various other places that I decided to give it a shot. Glad I did.

I was rooting for the V70, of course. :D I've had several Volvo wagons and would have one again. I do wonder why they chose a Bi-Fuel version. I can't see Kazakhstan having much in the way of a CNG infrastructure and if I recall correctly, it has a tiny petrol tank. Of course, it could have received a donor tailgate at some point but that's unlikely. Unlike some contemporary German competitors, these don't have rust problems. Especially the plastic tailgate. :p

I also thought "GT86" to myself the instant they started building up to the reveal of the Reasonably Fast Car. Good choice.
 
I do wonder why they chose a Bi-Fuel version. I can't see Kazakhstan having much in the way of a CNG infrastructure

Seems like they do, actually.
 
There was always one irritating laugh that seemed to be in every CHM episode. It was almost like the Wilhelm scream.
 
Very nice, actually. And I do think studio segments were alright.
What's more important, it seems that the hosts are developing certain personalities each. LeBlanc is just your ordinary middle-aged man, kinda tranquil-ish Clarkson. Rory's a good but competitive guy. But Chris Harris really made the show for me. Actually, sometimes I thought we've got ourselves new Captain OCD. Of course Chris isn't by any means slow, but his rant, mock as it is, about continuity errors, his teaching skills and the reference to the BTCC history are really good. Definitely want more of that.
 
Just a thought of what I think this whole 'chemistry' business... but it seems much better on Extra Gear between Chris and Rory. Says to me they're feeling the pressure of either big show time or having scripts handed to them?
 
Gave it a ten, because it was the best car show episode in some years. Love the new studio architecture, good fxxh review, gt86 segments were good, mcavoy was almost ok, but omfg how good is the Kazakhstan and high mileage cars piece. And I'm looking to go to baikonur to see the cosmodrome btw, so I could be not completely objective on this.
 
Canned laughter is inevitable on programs like this, they don't just film 1 take and be done with it they film it many, many times until they get it right and the audience isn't going to react the same to a joke on take 6 as take 1. You may also have them use laughs from other takes in order to seamlessly cut from 1 take to another take so that they get the best delivery in the final edit. It doesn't matter if it's Top Gear, The Grand Tour or QI they all do it.

One of the biggest mistakes of my life was taking my wife to a studio recording of a radio show... she utterly hated the re-recording of jokes we'd already heard two or three times - so much so that she now despises the comedian we went to see and I'm banned from ever watching/listening/reading anything of his again! (Seriously...)
 
solid ep. Its nice to see these guys actually have a connection. they seem to like each other. wasn't expecting much. quite pleased.
 
7/10 for me. Agreed 100% with "even though the dialogue is a bit wooden." I'd call it a bit more than "a bit" wooden. Very obviously scripted attempts to create "chemistry." I truly doubt that these three guys will ever have the kind of chemistry that CHM have had, but that remains to be seen. It's just that CHM actually have quite a bit in common in their backgrounds, whereas these guys seemingly couldn't have less in common with each other. I just hope that they build some kind of real chemistry, and get to the point where they aren't obviously reading scripts for their "jokes."

Otherwise, it wasn't the complete horror show of EvansGear. And I was very happy to see that Sabine and Eddie were long-gone. Nothing against them except for their lack of skill in reading awful scripts, but we are far better off without them. But that's really my judgement of the episode -- no awful shouting Evans, no awful destruction of the test track, no awful half-hour-long SIARPC shoutfest, and less inept reading of awful scripts. They're off to a good start.
 
Just aired on BBC Canada and I gave it 8/10. Might have even been closer to 8.5ish. Far more entertaining than anything that came out of the show last series.

What was the original running time? With commercials, it ran for 75 minutes. And I didn't see any guest star segment. The show opened with the Ferrari segment, then it went into the cheap car challenge which seemed to take up the rest of the show. I did step away for a minute or two so I thought I might have missed it but I didn't see any guest star listed in the closing credits either.
 
Just aired on BBC Canada and I gave it 8/10. Might have even been closer to 8.5ish. Far more entertaining than anything that came out of the show last series.

What was the original running time? With commercials, it ran for 75 minutes. And I didn't see any guest star segment. The show opened with the Ferrari segment, then it went into the cheap car challenge which seemed to take up the rest of the show. I did step away for a minute or two so I thought I might have missed it but I didn't see any guest star listed in the closing credits either.

The version I watched is 1:02:27, James McAvoy was the celeb guest.
 
I didn't see any guest star listed in the closing credits either.
That's weird. You'd think they'd at least acknowledge it. Many viewers are aware that those airings are edited anyway.
 
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