A Long Time View

[Virge666]

I posted this on another TGA site and welcome your thoughts also. it is a bit of a venting - but this show is really starting grind my gears.

I would love to hear other people thoughts... as I hope it is just me getting old and grumpy.

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It is a funny old world as I have been searching for a TGA site that actually has people enjoying the show. because it is getting to a point where I just cannot handle it anymore.

A bit of background, I have watched Top Gear since Tiff and Jeremy were doing it together. It has been a long, long time. And I REALLY wanted TGA to be good. But quite frankly, it isn't. And it is a mix of things. The main bit begin the hosts, the script and the direction.

Enough has been said about the presenters... Warren is the only one that is watchable. Steve and Charlie shoudl never have been put on TV. They do not have a sense of humour or any presence on the set. Their comedic timing is woeful and you get a feeling of desperation with the jokes. All three of them wave their arms about like they are directing traffic, and they don't know if they are talking to the camera, eachother or the audience. It is just bloody amateur.

The production is fantastic, just amazing and is by far the best part of the show. The only thing lacking is the continuously changing camera locations for the TG test track. This stops us getting a feel on where the car is and what it should look like through corners

BUT . . . by far the thing that kills this show is the direction, the show's soul, it's essense. this is the reason why it is getting such bad reviews. Let me use 3 examples. The Kimberly adventure, the 427 Holden review and last night's Alice to Daintree advernture.

Go home and watch the Kimberly adventure again. how much do they talk about the TRD Hilux. How much do they talk about how it feels to drive the car... how much do they use the car as the single main leading star of the show. Now compare that to the US or African Adventure by the UK counterparts.

The 427 review was by far the worst piece of TV since Glen Ridge read the AUDI press release for the Quattro and called it a review. This review was all about Steve being a cock behind the wheel of the car, it was all about Steve and what he could do. It was NOT about the car. And this is the same with all the reviews... Last night's SL63 was exactly the same - all about Charlie... how Charlie looked behind the wheel, what Charlie thought of Ballet... This is not entertainment.

Last night - I almost hurled something at the TV with the Alice adventure. 6 days of filming the trip and nothing happened. Not a bloody thing. The reason nothing happened is that they were in $160,000 4WD, driving 3000km northwest on roads. The only entertainment you get is what the boys do... whereas with the UK show - it is what the boys do with the cars, there were no challenges, no interaction, just lots of tedious footage of overly scripted "setups"

Now imagine the Alice Adventure again - this time with 20 year old diesel cars from various makers. A couple of challenges along the way - them getting out of places where the cars had broken down... the problems with the dust, the heat. A couple of shots of them at night with some sensational sunsets. The old cars forming a backdrop... Some interaction that comes form the heart and isn't scripted. Some honesty, something that we as viewers actually sit back and say "Wow, I wish I was there".

The cars is what is missing... there are no cars in this show... the show is produced like" Get Away" or "The Great Outdoors", the cars are just props to whatever the 3 presenters can muster or read from the script.

THE SHOW IS ABOUT THE CARS.... NOT THE PRESENTERS.

The aim of the game is to get the Car to be the star and to get the lads to react

I have just watched the first episode of Series 12 in the UK and have laughed my arse off for almost a full hour. TGA has some serious issues if it is to continue on TV, it's ratings are heading south rather quickly and evem though I will be watching the next couple of episodes - the FFWD button is always at the ready.

It is a real pity too... I more than anyone else wanted this to be a success, but the show just doesn't have any fun in it.

Thanks for letting me vent.

 

[Bomber]

I would basically agree except that all three presenters annoy me equally (although Warren is the most natural in front of the camera). The top-down nature of creating a show like Top Gear Australia probably limits it even in the best of circumstances. Rather than being created out a genuine desire to tell car-related stories, vacancies are filled by the most suitable people available at the time.
Whatever inspired Clarkson and Andy Wilman is not inspiring the people in charge of an offshoot, they're merely creating a localised version of an already good show.

I'm at the point where I've over-analysed the show but before TGA aired I read a scanned article about it (cant remember where I found it, uploaded it [page 1] [page 2]), a much different read now that the show has aired. Looks like the focus of the show IS the presenters and not the cars. Maybe Clarkson should have set up TGA...

 

[melbournian]

Interesting read Bomber, thanks for posting it. Now we know why they didn't go for a female presenter on TGA. I agree with Wilman's comments that it would change the dynamic of the show too much. I don't think the article necessarily shows that the focus of TGA is the hosts, I think they were just focusing on the hosts in the article and their importance in creating a successful TG spinoff.

 

[Virge666]

Maybe Clarkson should have set up TGA...

Thanks for the read - I enjoyed that.

I do not think he should have set it up - but he should have talked the through the formula of the show, because the current formula is just plain wrong and it will not work without a huge team of very talented writers behind them - which they do not have.

Think "Good News Week" or "Spicks and Specks" with Germans...

Where-as "Thank God Your Here" is scripted but the script works BECAUSE of the the talent... not because of the scripted jokes.

 

[NooDle]

I really don't get why nobody likes it. It's not TG UK, it's something different, but still quite good (except for the 1st episode, that one was crap).

I haven't yet seen the latest one but the TG Aus challenges were rather good (the ute challenge, the buy a scrapyard car challenge, etc) and I do think they "get" what TG should be about.

yeah, the hosts are sometimes annoying (especially CC) and yes, some of the reviews seem a bit forced, but what the hey, it's still better than a LOT of crap on TV right now. I'd say it's a lot better than 5th gear aswell

It's strange that I like it since I was never really meant to be able to see the show, whereas Aussies in general seem to think it's utter shit.

 

[tone76]

It's strange that I like it since I was never really meant to be able to see the show, whereas Aussies in general seem to think it's utter shit.

Not strange at all. Aussies that are trying to do something better or different to other Aussies have always been beaten down since the beginning of time (or at least since 1788 or so).

Tall Poppy Syndrome ftl.

 

[Lupin_IV]

I really don't get why nobody likes it. It's not TG UK, it's something different, but still quite good (except for the 1st episode, that one was crap).

I haven't yet seen the latest one but the TG Aus challenges were rather good (the ute challenge, the buy a scrapyard car challenge, etc) and I do think they "get" what TG should be about.

yeah, the hosts are sometimes annoying (especially CC) and yes, some of the reviews seem a bit forced, but what the hey, it's still better than a LOT of crap on TV right now. I'd say it's a lot better than 5th gear aswell

It's strange that I like it since I was never really meant to be able to see the show, whereas Aussies in general seem to think it's utter shit.

 

[Virge666]

Not strange at all. Aussies that are trying to do something better or different to other Aussies have always been beaten down since the beginning of time (or at least since 1788 or so).

For it to be tall poppy syndrome - you have to have actual "Tall Poppies".

I think that it is great that people enjoy the show in the current format, I am just trying to find out what people like about the show, because I find the show very strained, and just don't laugh.