Clarkson: Sadly Clarkson, Hammond and May are not the same anymore...

notTheSpecialOne

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Whilst reading reviews of S1E4 of the Grand Tour and baffled by all the different reviews I stumbled upon one comment that rings true to the current situation of the show. And it's quite unfortunate but:

CLARKSON, HAMMOND & MAY ARE NOT THE SAME ANYMORE


I loved the old TG. And I looked forward to the Grand Tour through a veneer of optimism and anticipation keeping in mind all the crazy, cheap challenges they've had on TG and seeing them step up the game now with higher video quality and more $$ to perhaps go on longer trips, build more crazy things, but still keep within the realistic realm of the old TG. But those days are seem to be gone. In reference to Episode 4 and the eco cars, they've distanced themselves from the viewer. They skipped the explanation as to what base car they got and why and then show a bit of them building those things themselves (as in police car challenge, stretch limos etc). Not only that but they show up in absurd cars. Unrealistic. Pushing it too hard without any results. This does seem to be targeted for a typical American audience of unrealistic TV - and I am an American myself but the magnetism to the old TG was there because the show was 'different' than what I'm used to here in the US.

So what's the problem?

Exactly that: Clarkson, Hammond & May are simply different.

They've gotten 'some' money from Amazon and they feel like they have to live up to everyone's expectations. They've entered a new realm of TV production and they left their old selves behind.

The trio dynamic...is gone.

Clarkson seems heavily scripted now. He speaks to the audience and the camera (in the tent) as a professor clearly enunciating each word, clearly and oddly.

Hammond is either going through a midlife crisis or he's just oddly excited to be an employee of an American corporation. He's as shouty as Chris Evans on the revamped TG. He tries to bark loud like a small dog and I'm sorry Hammond but it's not working. It's disrupting the dynamic of the trio.

And May. May is simply absent! He looks sluggish, slow and as if he doesn't want to be there at all. The only lines he delivers are heavily scripted and short. One can easily tell that he's been told to say that at that particular time. No spontaneity. Perhaps May realized that all of this is too much, too 'not themselves' and too much trying to sell an expensive show. And I would understand him 100%.


The solution.

Come on boys. Be yourselves. Disregard the fact that Bezos gave you all $$ and you feel like you must shine. Go back to your roots and realize that you've shone when you were humble, idiots on a small car show that blew up worldwide. That was the formula that worked. Please remember that. Clarkson was always pushing it - but within the boundaries of realism. The eco car with dead meat and bones was just stupid. I felt insulted by that. Hammond. Slow down. I really like Hammond on old TG. He was bold, quick-witted and always had something funny to say and it felt unscripted - an many times it was not - as I read in one of the TG books. May was a gentleman. And he still is. That's why he doesn't fit the new Grand Tour show and feels as if his presence there is forced.

Do something cheap. Think of your everyday user. A $1000 car and do something with it that we all can do. Don't put a ton of steak on your car. That's unrealistic, stupid, and nothing that any of us would do. Have you guys ran out of ideas? Do contact me and I'll give you a ton that will bring you a step closer to your real audience.

The only reason why this show is so highly rated on Amazon is because most likely those people have never seen TG before. And it's a novelty item. And will be fun for a while. But then it will get boring. What kept old TG in place was the trio. And the trio has changed. I won't even mention the American, the celebrity or news segments - that's irrelevant. The show is those 3. You could tell them to recite a poem in the dark and it would be amazing - given that it was the original three, not the new threesome that tries to 'sell' themselves. (remember them reading an excerpt from the book once on old TG?)

And on that bombshell - old TG may be dead, but even worse, I think the trio is gone as well...
 
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