First in the series with Matt LeBlanc, Chris Harris and Rory Reid, featuing Sabine Schmitz, (Officer) Ken Block and The Stig, and guest Rob Brydon as the Star in a Reasonably Fast Car.
Honestly its still hard to get used to watching something Top Gear without the old trio but the old trio seem to be faultering and I don't believe that on screen the chemistry is as good as it used to be. Least Matt, Rory and Chris aren't acting like total dicks to each other half-assing their idea of entertaining the audience. It was a decent start and some entertainment was had, but nothing in this episode at least that made me cringe. Shame about Bonneville being flooded out. Can't prepare for weather in that case.
This was awful. And I really dont see any faultering chemistry with GT. Its the same or better even. The material perhaps sometimes recycled but Grand tour episodes keep me smiling the entire duration. Top Gear not even close, f*ck thats lame keeps popping up. Le Blanc is fine but Chris is a lone wolf, he doesnt do group reviews well, the other guy is fine but all in all its just ...barely average.
I liked it quite a lot but I think they're still not quite nailing the tone and missing a lot of opportunities to build tension rather than just having a bunch of flashy quick cuts and then the laps are over and what are their times guys! Matt I think still has potential but his reviews are a little generic sometimes.
Not great but not terrible either, mainly because MLB made me chuckle a couple of times. The overall atmosphere (especially in the studio) still seems very flat and it all comes across as the three of them sticking closely to a script at all times.
As I posted in the other non-episode thread, V8s meh, Ken Block meh, chain-car interesting. Not a great start, I thought - back to all the old (boring) tropes.
GT40 and Hennessey made Extra Gear more interesting for me.
Even though I liked the cars they've chosen, it still is too much trying to copy the style of Clarkson, Hammond and May. They lack ideas of their own. And in contrast to CHM, their chemistry isn't natural, it feels artificial, scripted even. Scripted chemistry never works.
This new Top Gear feels like watching "The Pink Panther" - but with Steve Martin instead of Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau: It just doesn't work.