I'm still baffled...

not a single person that responded to this thread has provided any concrete examples as to why this is supposedly a quality show, rather many of you have taken shots at me for voicing an opinion in order to hide the fact that you don't have any examples.

I find TGUS dull, awkward, and disappointing

I've seen something that, in my opinion, is not very good, especially when compared to the original

the majority of you just seem butt-hurt that yet another person decided to voice a negative opinion on TGUS

I'm out.

My own rebuttal to those points, above:
1) We don't provide any examples because this is entertainment, and therefore subjective. Your 'examples' are merely your own opinion and have as much weight as mine. Opinions are not concrete examples. If you wish me to spell it out, then I will say "I think TGUS is a quality show because the things that bother bgrams7 do not bother me, and I find other things that bgrams7 has not stated his opinion on to be either pleasant or at least not annoying enough to detract from my opinion that this is a quality show.

2) I find TGUS fresh, reasonably cohesive (and getting better at that every episode), and exhilarating. I look forward to it each week so that I may live out my fantasy of being an average guy with kids, a dog and a mortgage who gets to drive exotic cars and do fun, off the wall challenges with cars that are not so exotic.

3) I see something that at first tried to be like the original and failed at it. Thankfully, that something has focused itself on being its own thing and not a knockoff of the original, and I think its doing a damn good job of that.

4) We're 'butt-hurt' that someone has voiced a negative opinion on TGUS and done so in a way that is only negative, not constructive (the only thing you clearly say is wrong with the show is the hosts; this is/are your 'concrete examples'?). Clearly the producers have listened to the fans (and I doubt America has as many fans of TGUK as you might think. Anyone have numbers on that?) and made changes. Did they listen to you and follow your advice? Probably not, but they can't please everyone; they have to make a show that can attract as wide an audience as possible and since the viewership numbers seem to be on the rise, they seem to be having some success.

5) So you post once, saying you don't like the show and basically calling us idiots for liking the show ("I'm still baffled as to how any of you think that Top Gear America is actually a good show."). You lambast us for not posting concrete reasons for liking the show (and only offer up the hosts as your single concrete reason). And then when we take offense for having a different opinion, you take offense that we took offense, implying that your POV has more merit than ours. Goodbye - ASS!

And why did I bother to type all of this when he probably won't read it?! Jesus, I need to work on my stubborn streak.
 
I'm still baffled...
As to how any of you think that Top Gear America is actually a good show.
...and I'm still baffled as to how so many people on every forum site out there on various topics can think that their personal opinions are indisputable facts. How do such people end up with such tunnel vision that they think all of the universe revolves around each of them?

What is the point of your thread other than to troll? Will some argument really change your opinion? Did you think that you missed something while watching TGUS?
 
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(and I doubt America has as many fans of TGUK as you might think. Anyone have numbers on that?)

I'd like to know too.

It seems like it does because the US fanbase online -- for example, those of us from the US who post here (Final Gear itself is US-based!), those who "Like" the show's Facebook page and are active there, and any who comment on the TG website (not taking "cross-pollination" into account) -- is fairly big. But there are also fans online who don't post here, or on Facebook, or on topgear.com, and I wouldn't be surprised if there are plenty of fans who aren't active online at all.

The worldwide audience for the mothership is about 350 million by last count. About 6 million (on average) of that is UK-based. So how many of the remaining 344 million viewers worldwide are US-based?
 
Whenever I talk about the show, I usually get blank stares. I even had a friend of mine tell me that Top Gear was lame British comedy. He was unaware that it was a car show, which just happens to have some humorous bits.
 
In regards to the epic amounts of hate against TG US: all I have to say is that season one of TG UK wasn't the best either. By season three of TG UK it was pretty much well sorted. I am seeing a similar sort of phenomenon going on here quite frankly. Season one of TG US was really bad, but ever subsequent episode in season two has been a noticeable improvement on the previous episode. I'm not giving up faith just yet. That is all, my 2c.
 
Whenever I talk about the show, I usually get blank stares. I even had a friend of mine tell me that Top Gear was lame British comedy. He was unaware that it was a car show, which just happens to have some faked humorous bits.

Fixed that for you.
 
I keep watching hoping for it to improve but it's quite rubbish thus far. Wish the real TG would have a longer series!
 
I keep watching hoping for it to improve but it's quite rubbish thus far. Wish the real TG would have a longer series!

I've enjoyed it, but I'm ready for something other than cheap car challenges. But I also agree that TGUK needs to get back to a 10 episode series r/t 6. Six just isn't enough.
 
Haven't watched more than 5 minutes straight from this show....can't believe people enjoy it.

I like Tanner as a race car driver but he's a nerd. The other two are terrible.
 
Haven't watched more than 5 minutes straight from this show

Well dude, try watching more than 5 minutes. Hard to have an informed opinion when you watch 1/8 of a show. And when you figure that some of that first 5 minutes is intro and credits, you're really only watching 4 minutes and change.
 
I'd like to know too.

It seems like it does because the US fanbase online -- for example, those of us from the US who post here (Final Gear itself is US-based!), those who "Like" the show's Facebook page and are active there, and any who comment on the TG website (not taking "cross-pollination" into account) -- is fairly big. But there are also fans online who don't post here, or on Facebook, or on topgear.com, and I wouldn't be surprised if there are plenty of fans who aren't active online at all.

The worldwide audience for the mothership is about 350 million by last count. About 6 million (on average) of that is UK-based. So how many of the remaining 344 million viewers worldwide are US-based?

Here's something that may give an idea: http://entertainment.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978636923 The article is about the 60 Minutes segment. That segment drew almost 16 million viewers, one of the highest rated in recent memory. So there may be more fans out there than I expected. But if anyone has more firm numbers, I'd love to see them.
 
In regards to the epic amounts of hate against TG US: all I have to say is that season one of TG UK wasn't the best either. By season three of TG UK it was pretty much well sorted. I am seeing a similar sort of phenomenon going on here quite frankly. Season one of TG US was really bad, but ever subsequent episode in season two has been a noticeable improvement on the previous episode. I'm not giving up faith just yet. That is all, my 2c.

Okay, I don't get why people continue to dredge up comparisons between TGUSA S1 and TGUK S1. It almost reeks of a desperate grasping at straws to try to prove that "Hey look, the original that many people covet also was shitty, so STFU!!!" type of comparison. To me, TGUK S1 is light years better than TGUSA S1. Sure, it's the revamp of the "original" series with a new look, a bare set with about the general population of a Virgin's Anonymous and had some fat, blithering idiot whom is unceremoniously dumped in S2 for some shaggy tramp, but the show looked like it was well polished from the get go. It just needed to grow.

Compare to TGUSA, S1 was, and still is, a mess. Hosts that have mingling problems, recycled challenges from the UK version only dumbed down and bastardized to the point of losing the original feel of why the challenges were made in the first place, the "stripping" away of SIARPC and News.......I mean come on, when the most memorable moment on TGUSA S1 is a dog pissing on the logo, something is wrong.
 
Okay, I don't get why people continue to dredge up comparisons between TGUSA S1 and TGUK S1. It almost reeks of a desperate grasping at straws to try to prove that "Hey look, the original that many people covet also was shitty, so STFU!!!" type of comparison.

I agree with you 100%. I guess they fail to realize that this a spin-off show and it should do better because they would have learned from the experiences of the original. It is that comparison that is holding the show back from greatness because the audience is not holding them to a higher standard.
 
I download the entire episodes and skip around. Just feels like they directly copy from TGUK but when it comes from these guys, it isn't the same. I'll just stick to watching TGUK from previous seasons.
 
Okay, I don't get why people continue to dredge up comparisons between TGUSA S1 and TGUK S1. Sure, it's the revamp of the "original" series with a new look, a bare set with about the general population of a Virgin's Anonymous and had some fat, blithering idiot whom is unceremoniously dumped in S2 for some shaggy tramp, but the show looked like it was well polished from the get go. It just needed to grow.

And that is exactly why we compare it. Clarkson and Willman weren't setting out to simply relaunch the original series, they were looking to revamp it as you said. And it took some time to find what they were looking for. Its the same thing with TGUS. America and Britain are NOT the same countries, definitely not the same market, so TGUS has to grow as well. Simple as that. The majority of us here just feel like TGUS is getting there quicker, probably because they have to in order to survive. And well polished? I don't get that feel at all; Clarkson was smooth enough, but Hammond acted a bit awkward and Jason Dawes was just out of place. The production values weren't any better than they were with TGUS. And it was pretty much just a review show, nice in its place but not Top Gear as we know it.

I agree with you 100%. I guess they fail to realize that this a spin-off show and it should do better because they would have learned from the experiences of the original. It is that comparison that is holding the show back from greatness because the audience is not holding them to a higher standard.

Experience only counts so far. If experience was all it took, the TGAustralia and TGRussia would be going great guns by now, as well as TGUS. But TGAustralia is barely limping into its 4th series, and TGRussia has failed. So there must be more to it than mere experience, right?

As for holding them to a higher standard, we are; the show is responding with some great episodes. But greatness takes time and we seem to have the patience that you two lack. Part of the reason we compare the two shows at the same point in development is that series 1 was dull as dirt, series 2 was remarkable only for the addition of May, but by series 3, TGUK was firing on all cylinders. TGUS on the other hand had some missteps its first series, but they produced several good episodes (and yeah, some segments were out right ripoffs of the original; you don't hear TGUK complaining about it). And series 2 has been excellent, if a little heavy on challenges; Imagine what series 3 will be like.

I for one can live with the death of SIARPC (I've never liked that segment on any TG). As for the news, well, it would be nice to see that again, but I imagine that since TGUS is trying to avoid controversy they'll stay away from a segment that is largely a soapbox for Clarkson to promote his 'agenda'.
 
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This whole thread is full of bashing and rants and I've yet to see one suggestion on how would you people improve the show, if you hate it so much. Saying something is "utter garbage" and yet saying nothing specific about what makes it "garbage" is really easy and makes you sound like a troll.

Personally I enjoy TGUS, yes, it doesn't feel as special as TGUK, but it still beats most, if not all, car shows out there.

:lock:?
 
This whole thread is full of bashing and rants and I've yet to see one suggestion on how would you people improve the show, if you hate it so much. Saying something is "utter garbage" and yet saying nothing specific about what makes it "garbage" is really easy and makes you sound like a troll.

That's because the only TGUS they'd accept would be one that's hosted by Clarkson, Hammond, and May, with GMs and Fords pasted in place of Vauxhalls and...well, Fords.

I don't think we should lock this bitch just yet. I want to see if anyone comes up with any constructive ideas that aren't direct copies of TGUK (which is the other main thing they bitch about, of course).
 
That's because the only TGUS they'd accept would be one that's hosted by Clarkson, Hammond, and May, with GMs and Fords pasted in place of Vauxhalls and...well, Fords.

I don't think we should lock this bitch just yet. I want to see if anyone comes up with any constructive ideas that aren't direct copies of TGUK (which is the other main thing they bitch about, of course).

Because of course, they want Top Gear without the Top Gear. :blink:
 
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