Should TopGear US drop the BSSC segment?

Should TopGear US drop the BSSC segment?

  • Drop it

    Votes: 48 80.0%

  • Keep it

    Votes: 12 20.0%
  • Total voters
    60
Ryotsu

Ryotsu

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Joined
Aug 29, 2011
Messages
156
Location
Poway California
Car(s)
2012 Ford Mustang V6 Performance
To me, TGUS feels really rushed, as compared to TGUK. I think that they could solve that by dropping the guest interview part of the show. I don't know about you, but I usually just skip it. If you like that part of the show, there's nothing I can do to stop you from being wrong, so please vote on it.
 
The problem with BSSC is that none of the three hosts are any good at interviews. I ffwd that segment every time. You can do a lot to save scripted segments in post, or patch with VO, but interviewing is a skill that can't be faked.
 
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The bigger problem is that they don't have "stars" I could give a fuck about. Maybe if they had "stars" instead of some Z-list folks.......
 
They're not going to get "stars" until they're better-established.
 
Some they have had are quite big, besides the Diaz/Cruise/Bean appearances on TGUK, I would say the stars are pretty even.

Issue is the time slot for BSSC is too small, due to TGUS shorter show time. If it was long I believe it would be much better, currently the stars have no time to talk and therefore the entertainment value is down on that segment.
 
ricochet said:
The problem with BSSC is that none of the three hosts are any good at interviews. I ffwd that segment every time. You can do a lot to save scripted segments in post, or patch with VO, but interviewing is a skill that can't be faked.
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This. Of the group, I'd say the only one who's serviceable as an interviewer is Ferrara, but that's mostly because he can usually save an awkward moment with a laugh.

I'd say that the short interview time is a problem, but really I don't know that any of the three could get a good interview going for more than 5 minutes or so. Remember, Jezza was/is a journalist -- interviewing and asking good questions is somewhat second nature to him. None of the TGUS guys come from a background like that.

The other big problem is that the lap narration happens BEFORE the interview -- if you watch TG UK, they usually milk about 5 minutes of material from the moment Clarkson says "So...your lap..." to the posting of the time. I think the interview misses a lot by not having the guest there to comment on his lap as it's happening or for the host to sit there chastising the guest for bad lines, etc. I think splitting it the way they have this year really makes the segment awkward in terms of pacing.
 
The majority of them have been rather boring interviews, but I would hate to drop the segment if nothing more than it has the potential to be as good as the SIARPC segment.
 
I play the interviews from TGUK on first playthrough, but I almost always skip them during replay (and I replay a LOT). There have only been like two or three interviews that were really worth watching again, and if they used that time for the challenges or the track tests, for me at least, that would mean more time of quality entertainment. I just care a lot more about the cars (and the cocking about with cars) than the celebrity interviews. In TopGear US, it is even more of an issue, due to the shorter time allotment.
 
I absolutely HATE SIARPC/BSSC/whatever. The Americans aren't especially good interviewers compared to Clarkson, but the Clarkson interviews are pretty predictable and uninteresting to me. Most of the time the star isn't anyone I know or care about. I do the same as Ryotsu (watch the segment on first view, fast forward every time after that).

Having said that, I voted to keep it because it is a great way to promote Top Gear among viewers who might only tune in to see the hosts of Pawn Stars or a member of their favorite band or (maybe someday) a rising movie star; they watch a little bit of the rest of the show, maybe they get hooked and check it out instead of Bridezillas or whatever. Anything the show can do to build as big a fan base as possible I'm all for because it might mean on day that the show gets a two hour time slot which equates to about an hour and a half of real time, which would be awesome. This way the challenges don't take up the vast majority of viewing time and only leave room for one car review and the BSSC. With more time, they could give us a smoother celeb interview, maybe a news segment, and hopefully more Stig.
 
I think the interview Adam did with the lady from Torchwood was good. Granted she falls into the Z-list category, but it was funny, and the guest was into it (especially since she got the top of the board).

I think (as with the rest of the show) the BSSC segment will get better with time. Once the show gets a little bigger, a few larger stars will come on who know how to move an interview and make it interesting and should propel things forward.

I personally enjoy Adam's interviews more, he has a more Clarkson-esque mockery/ridiculing in his interviews toward the guests, which make me laugh. I think if they let ONE person do the interviews would make the segment better (more practice for 1 person).
 
jmurphy said:
I think the interview Adam did with the lady from Torchwood was good. Granted she falls into the Z-list category, but it was funny, and the guest was into it (especially since she got the top of the board).
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Totally agree; she made the interview interesting, being both beautiful and enjoyable. I will definitely be checking out Torchwood and other things she is in just to see more of her, so from that aspect of it BSSC was a win.

jmurphy said:
I think (as with the rest of the show) the BSSC segment will get better with time. Once the show gets a little bigger, a few larger stars will come on who know how to move an interview and make it interesting and should propel things forward.
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I would really love to see Jason Statham in BSSC. When he plays Jason Statham in the movies (lets not pretend he actually plays a character), he's usually identified with a car. And he's not such a huge star as to be inapproachable for TGUS at this time (being the B movie king and all) so I say when Killer Elite comes out the producers need to try to get him on the show.

jmurphy said:
I personally enjoy Adam's interviews more, he has a more Clarkson-esque mockery/ridiculing in his interviews toward the guests, which make me laugh. I think if they let ONE person do the interviews would make the segment better (more practice for 1 person).
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I agree that Adam seems to be better than Rutledge, but Rutledge had a pretty good interview with Kid Rock. A lot of it is the quality of star; they can be Z list like Arlene Tur as long as they bring a lot of pizzazz to the show like she did. But some of these people who SHOULD be interesting just come off bland (I'm thinking of Bill Engvall here). I think the show definitely needs to stick to one person doing the interviews. I don't much care whether its Rut or Adam (please, not Tanner!), but they should just decide on one and stick to it. I guess I would vote for Rut, just because he seems to get less screen time than Adam and Tanner (this episode not withstanding).
 
bryanbeachboy1970 said:
I absolutely HATE SIARPC/BSSC/whatever. The Americans aren't especially good interviewers compared to Clarkson, but the Clarkson interviews are pretty predictable and uninteresting to me. Most of the time the star isn't anyone I know or care about. I do the same as Ryotsu (watch the segment on first view, fast forward every time after that).

Having said that, I voted to keep it because it is a great way to promote Top Gear among viewers who might only tune in to see the hosts of Pawn Stars or a member of their favorite band or (maybe someday) a rising movie star; they watch a little bit of the rest of the show, maybe they get hooked and check it out instead of Bridezillas or whatever. Anything the show can do to build as big a fan base as possible I'm all for because it might mean on day that the show gets a two hour time slot which equates to about an hour and a half of real time, which would be awesome. This way the challenges don't take up the vast majority of viewing time and only leave room for one car review and the BSSC. With more time, they could give us a smoother celeb interview, maybe a news segment, and hopefully more Stig.
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Yeah, my girlfriend mentioned that aspect to me just tonight. They might need to run the BSSC segment for a while, but I would like to see it go ultimately. The SIARPC too.
 
The question here really is "What makes Top Gear Top Gear?" What, at a minimum, defines an episode of Top Gear as being Top Gear? I think we can agree on some points: at least one review and power lap (except for specials), an interesting feature (a race, Cheap Car Challenge, etc.), the Stig, and SIARPC by any name (if the other TGs had been premiered a few years earlier, you could have added the Cool Wall to the list). All four current Top Gears (and TGRUS when it was on) had those in common. It's what defines the Top Gear Brand. Thus, SIARPC is a necessity.

That being said, I wouldn't be too upset if it was dropped. I'm like everyone else in the fact that I watch SIARPC the first time and skip it on rewatching. It's not that much of a ratings draw on the non-UK TGs, so it doesn't serve that purpose. It's the first thing to get cut.

In another thread, I put out the idea of having a Bull Session instead of the News for the Top Gears that shoot everything ahead of time (in other words, every TG other than UK). I'd be more interested in the boys talking about developments in cars than seeing SIARPC. It'd be a way for each of the guys to be in a comfort zone. Think of how much the News has contributed to the "characters" of Richard and James, and you could see the benefit that could be had.
 
I voted ?drop it? not so much because I don?t enjoy it but I think that in order to make the show look un-rushed they need to focus in on segments that are the most interesting to us the viewers. They could re-fine things like their version of the Stig and give him a stronger character. I don?t believe in the time constrains of a US production show will allow for the full scope of what TGUK does.
So like The Spie said ?What defines an episode of Top Gear as being Top Gear?? I think given the time TGUS will come to a point that it defines itself and what make it Top Gear in the U.S. and not how it can be more like TGUK.
 
It's important to remember, SIARPC / BSSC has the potential to draw viewers to the show if the guests get bigger. With everyone self-promoting on twitter and facebook these days, getting a star on who can tell hundreds of thousands of people to watch a show that he's on can be better than just about any other form of advertising.
 
I say given the 60 minute time slot they should drop it. I'd much rather see power laps then watch people get interviewed by hacks. Now if the intervewer had any talent then I'd say keep it. The stars I don't mind. How many B listers have been on TGUK?
 
hercman said:
I say given the 60 minute time slot they should drop it. I'd much rather see power laps then watch people get interviewed by hacks. Now if the intervewer had any talent then I'd say keep it. The stars I don't mind. How many B listers have been on TGUK?
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45 if you take into account the commercials.
 
The lap itself is not particularly interesting. No matter how well/poorly the guest is driving, there is no real sense of drama from the audience or even as a viewer on TV. Personally I still don't know what the track looks like, as there is nothing overly distinct about it. Doesn't make for a good 20-30 seconds of viewing.

For this reason, I believe this segment would be more entertaining if instead of driving a lap, they drove some kind of obstacle/advanced driving course; perhaps something with a slalom and handbrake turns etc. Call it 'Hollywood Stunt Driver' or something.

The segment should be retained but as with the difference between Season 2 and Season 1, it needs to be punchier, quicker and overall less mundane.

hercman said:
How many B listers have been on TGUK?
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Over the 17 Seasons? Plenty.
 
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To return to my point about the Bull Session, TGAUS did exactly that in its latest episode, and it was very engaging. The subject, namely idiotic speed limits, was something that was resonant to everyone, not just Australians. It was a great example of something that could easily replace SIARPC on the non-UK TGs. Good job, TGAUS. Now let's see the other TGs start doing it.
 
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