So what do you guys think of Warren Brown now?

So what do you guys think of Warren Brown now?


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edkwon

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I remember when season 1 started everyone seemed to universally hate Warren Brown, making fun of his lack of car journalism/driving/racing background, that he was a cartoonist by trade, his goatee, his quirky humor and how someone like him was ill-suited to be a TG presenter.

Flash forward to season 2, based on the episode-specific discussions it seems like many of the same ppl who disliked him are now warming up to him. What changed your minds?
 
I've liked him since I saw his Peking to Paris expedition before TGA was even on air.
 
Last season I was pretty ambivalent to whether or not I actually liked any of the presenters. I never did get the whole Charlie Hate thing that a lot of Australians on the forum had going. This season though... it's sort of obvious, now, just how bad Charlie was.

I went into this a bit on the episode 2 thread. Last season TG-Aus pretty much tried to be exactly like TG-UK in every aspect, down to replicating the news segments. However, with only maybe 40-45 minutes of actual show time, versus TG-UK's full hour, the exact same format really didn't work. The Lord of the Studio bit that Jeremy's able to pull off, just really doesn't work quite as well in a smaller time-slot... something US viewers kept complaining about every-time TG-UK got ported over to the US market.

Now though, TG-Aus seems to have worked out it's own pacing and format. James, at least in the first two episodes, seems to be just another one of the guys. Which, to me, works out really well. When I went back and watched Season One again, my favorite parts generally wound up being segments with Warren and Steve... e.g. the Smart Car into a Hearse... and the fight against a Helicopter. My least favorite parts wound up being anything with Charlie. E.g., Holden Versus Ford. Charlie's a good driver, but he was just so dry and emotionless versus Hyper Steve. Charlie never did really seem like he was in league... you know, in cahoots, with Steven and Warren. He always seemed like he was sorta... an outside observer. I keep thinking of TG-Aus's first venture into the aqua-car territory. Charlie just never really meshed with his co-presenters. One of the selling points on TG-UK though is that when May, Hamster, and Clarkson team up... they really mesh and work well together. One of my favorites being the Renault Aventime (sp?) race conversion. Also, when Clarkson teams up with just Hamster, or with just May, the result often works. One of my favorite TG-UK segments of all time was Clarkson and May going over the Malaysian cars... back in what? 2007? Off the top of my head, I'm having trouble thinking of anytime when Charlie and Warren alone teamed up, although I can think of plenty of times when Charlie and Steve teamed up, and when Steve and Warren teamed up.

This second season, with it's modified formatting, so far has had more interaction during the studio segments than monologuing, cases in points being the remake of the Trampoline ad, and the Model T. It's a small shift, but at least in the first two episodes, we seem to be getting more average screen time with each presenter. Aside from James, whose still a bit stiff (and who can blame him, he'll get better with time), Warren and Steve seem to be far more relaxed this go-around.

The end product seems to be Warren winding up more charismatic... despite being a completely and utterly insane individual.
 
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Well I liked him after seeing Peking to Paris, but after talking to him after yesterday's fliming, I like him even more.

I also seem to dislike James after speaking to him after the filming, not that that has anything to do with this thread...

Point is, I liked Warren initially, but even more so now, he's a great presenter and a great personality.
 
For me, it seemed like he was trying to fit in where he didn't belong. I don't think I watched an episode in its entirety because segments with Warren (and also Charlie, but for different reasons) came across as forced and a little awkward. I have to admit that he seems more personable and relaxed, which would naturally come from experience, and so I like him more now.
 
I remember when season 1 started everyone seemed to universally hate Warren Brown, making fun of his lack of car journalism/driving/racing background, that he was a cartoonist by trade, his goatee, his quirky humor and how someone like him was ill-suited to be a TG presenter.

Flash forward to season 2, based on the episode-specific discussions it seems like many of the same ppl who disliked him are now warming up to him. What changed your minds?

I never had a problem with him to begin with. And out of the three, he probably had the most motoring journalism experience. He used to do car rviews for the paper his cartoons appear in. His "Peking To Paris" series demonstrated that he was exactly the sort of person that would be suited to be a TG presenter, which is why his name was being thrown around back when we were all still trying to guess who SBS would get to do the job.
 
I always liked him anyway, but I like him even more this series. I never disliked Charlie, but watching series two makes me realise how ill suited he was to TGA.
 
I remember when season 1 started everyone seemed to universally hate Warren Brown

I seem to recall a lot of people mentioning him as their favourite of the original three, he probably received the least amount of flak. My opinion of him hasn't changed except that he tends to forget the need to steer the conversation towards cars in the celebrity interviews (so far).
 
I've always enjoyed him the most of the three, I'm starting to warm to Steve now too.
 
I've always liked Warren, I especially like him this season.
 
I've pretty much liked him from the beginning as he was a quirky out-of-place guy like our beloved captain slow.. however, season 2 shows massive improvements in the show presenting as well as format (no news works fine for me).
 
+1 for liking Wazza since Peking To Paris

Actually, I liked both Wazza and Steve from the start. When I went to the filiming of 1x04, it was obvious that Warren and Steve were really enjoying themselves, and really seemed to care about what the audience thought - both Waz and Steve went around talking to the audience whilst the filmed segments were being shown on monitors. Charlie seemed quite aloof in comparison, not really all that interested in talking with the audience off-camera. It was almost like he was there because he had to be, not because he wanted to be. I've already crapped on about how getting an audience with Steve after the show was the highlight of my night, so I won't. ;)

I'll have to try for tickets to Season 3, to see if Waz and Steve are still as down to earth in real life ...
 
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Wazza's always been cool, right from the start
Having previous TV experience definitely worked in his favour - and slipped into the role so much more seamlessly than his co-presenters
Have to say though, his drawing of the Maserati in tonights ep was fantastic!!! So detailed for such a (relatively) small sketch...
 
I loved Warren as soon as he brought out the 1920's Fire Truck Siren on the 4WD Challenge.

First ever legitimate laugh out loud moment I got from TGA. Some others were chuckles but that was just so great.
 
I wasn't a fan of Warren's from the first episode and I think he's the weakest link in the show right now, although less noticeable than last season.

It's down to his personality. He's too "big" if that makes sense. He seems to exaggerates his speech and mannerisms, like he's a presenter on a children's show. Whenver he's talking it feels fake and over-rehearsed. It's almost camp. Which is probably what a lot of people like about him, but it irritates me.

It's like that "What were they thinking?" bit. And they got rid of that.
 
Warren is certainly a better interviewer than Charlie.

He can be a little over the top though.
 
So far in this second season, I am really starting to enjoy Top Gear Australia. I never really minded warren or steve but to me, charlie was the weak point of the show. I am glad they got rid of him and brought in James Morrison instead. The reason why I am happy about this is Charlie seemed like a stick in the mud, not really wanting to participate in some of the segments of the show. I'm not going to say that he was not a talented driver, but just the fact that he would rather stand back and watch the other two presenters do everything didn't work IMO. At least now, it seems more like the original with all 3 presenters doing stuff together. I think in this second season, it is getting on par with the UK version.
 
Guess what, I'm another member of the "I saw him on Peking to Paris so I liked him on TGA" group.

I think they should show some more of his cartoons though.
 
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