Willman said:
From what I can work out, the main complaints are that there?s too much cocking about for the car lovers
It's not really a case of that, I hate it when people view Top Gear as a stat-fest for people interested in cars, stupidity for the Gary boys, and Hammond for the bored girlfriend watching it with you. I've never met anyone who thinks that's the case, not even close.
I think, if you consider the tastes of the Final Gear folk and the TG diehards, they?d probably say we?ve only done a couple of memorable films in the last year or so ? Bonneville Flats,
That was rubbish, you drove some non-spectacular cars up to something pretty mundane for a TV show like 170mph, and interspersed them with some shots of "thick yanks".
That was rubbish, I know old cheap cars made under those conditions will be rubbish, I don't need you to stage the steering wheel or whatever it was falling off to illustrate that.
Yes, that was good, because I got to see a bit of a brand new car, and a lot of Japan filmed well, which is what an awful lot of people think you should be using your budget for.
However, although we understand the complaints, it doesn?t necessarily mean we?re going to do anything about them.
Well that means you either don't understand, or don't care. Either way, thanks for that. God forbid you try to give people what they want, just go and piss your budget up the wall however you see fit, and people can like it or lump it, eh?
I miss the three mates who mooch along ? there were flashes of it in the Lancia film
Agreed, generally you don't have to dress an episode up by setting it in America or wherever else - the rainy comparison of the 911, 6-Series and Aston on the Isle Of Man was fun. We got to see some cars driven properly against each other, and also the people who want to see someone acting about how cold and wet they are got their fix too. I think an umbrella even blew down a hill at one point, bonus. Seriously, the latter can go with the former, but recently it's been almost totally the latter. I think the first time I got properly annoyed at that sort of thing is when you set a car wash on fire. Was that the same episode where you staged the tearing-down/burning of some tents at a camp site? I can't remember, and that's the point.
Rewatch the Cheap Porsches or the Shit Italian Supercars film, and you?ll see what I mean.
I have, and I agree.
But ironically, that does mean trying new things to the last, even if they screw up, because, well, it means you never stopped trying.
That?s the way it is with content
Those two quotes seem to contradict each other. I realise I might have taken them slightly out of context, but I don't think I've been too cynical. You can't say
"Hey man, we're still trying and pushing the boundaries!" in one breath, and then
"Look, I know how to make programmes, there's a formula and it'll not change in the near future. So just put up with it, you'll not get anything better any time soon, OK?" in the next.
The sad thing is you're probably right. Even sadder is that you don't care and actually seem a bit aggrieved that people have dared to say
"Erm, we really like Top Gear, you seem to be getting a bit carried away with the caricature-type stuff, though...".
To summarise my view: Jeremy/Hammond/James reviewing Alfas whilst talking about how they're pretty but traditionally break down within 2 milliseconds is good. Talking about how Lamborghinis MUST be mad in order to be a Lamborghini is good. Driving a mad little car around the BBC TV Centre for a while is good. But turning the whole thing into something only a 12 year-old could watch without thinking
"This is a bit much..." is... a bit much.