Some serious thoughts about Top Gear's 13th season

[matskulainen]

A mediocre TG is way better than almost any other TV.

 

[ntbmelb]

TG is about cars, but to me its also about the lads, 3 ballsy blokes given the chance to cock about and make it look damn good and a whole lot of fun.

I cant wait until November.

 

[BlaRo]

The thing is though, we end up complaining about this every series, ever since Series 8 or 9 or so. Maybe we're just more familiar with nostalgia: whenever there's a series of something we tend to look back at the archives and declare how infinitely better they are. I think the problem is the waiting: if Series 13 is considered to be a shitty season, we'll simply go back to Series 3 or 4 which we claim to be better, simply because it's easier than waiting for whatever comes next. I'm sure that the instant gratification has some parts in why we think everything new sucks, and why we always hold it up against the mirror of the past.

It's pretty psychological, but it's just a theory for me.

 

[spicysaurus]

I've really enjoyed this season, just as I've really enjoyed all of them. Frankly, I think they hit their stride in Season 4 and it hasn't gone downhill since. This was a tightly-budgeted season and they did a phenomenal job pulling it off. There are no segments I dislike, no types of races or challenges I find boring, no jokes I don't at least grin about. Parts of it are scripted, as they always have been, but a lot of comedy is scripted and is still plenty funny. If this season suffered it was only from being too short.

I challenge you to go rewatch season 7 or 5 or something and come back and tell me this one isn't on par.

 

[avusilvia]

I think that TG has lost its "passion" because the industry has lost its "passion." Onc the auto industry gets a hold of itself TG should return to the old days. They havent tested much cause there really isnt that much top test and review. I also agree the TG should take a 12 month break, starve the audiences, kill off any band wagon fans, and get their creative juices flowing.

 

[Wade]

Wasn't it right before S10 or 11 (maybe even earlier) that either Andy or Jeremy blogged about Top Gear changing? That it would be less car-centric and more mainstream?

 

[Porsche Liebhaber]

Top Gear has lost its soul.
Am I alone on this?

Of course not, i started to feel that since the 9th season

 

[hardcoreep]

I think this year has been thin for cars, and they did say the budget has been reduced.

 

[freeferrarisdonotexist]

I agree with those who think they should take a bit of a break, think up some new ideas and come back.

Or they could just ask us , most of us have some decent ideas. For example, a classic Clarkson car review and a James/Richard motorcycle cheap-bike challenge (except the budget would be ?500, it's too easy to find a nice bike for ?1500), or motorcycle tour. Add Jezza to this if his enjoyment of riding was genuine.

And of course bring back the old-style review for all three presenters. If there aren't any new cars, just test older ones. People would complain that they can't go buy the older cars but they couldn't really buy the Ferraris either could they?

 

[Richmondgal]

Just to put in my two cents into this mix.

It's obvious that people think that TG has got no soul anymore, while others think they still have it but need a break and others thinking this was their best season yet or something like it. Which is fine, because everyone has different tastes and needs and even though TG cannot entertain everyone's needs all the time, we can still say that we're still watching it after 13 series and 7 years and 100+ episodes on the Beeb. I don't think the boys or Andy expected it to be this big or this enduring. And I think it's good that British TV can produce stuff that no one would ever think of and have a fanbase this loyal.

However...yes, I do agree that it's not their best series ever (their best stuff will always be in Series 10), but it's a see saw of getting it right for the audience, fans, politics and eco-mentalists. And yes, as said before, not everyone will be pleased for the final result. But hey, at least you watched it.

I really don't know what the solution is to get it back to where it was pre-season 9, possibly an extended break like they did in Series 10, but they're all occupied more than ever (TG Live, other TV projects, personal stuff etc.). So I really don't know what to suggest for an improvement. But I should suggest that they start listening to us for once and maybe they can learn from our ideas and suggestions. They could come handy and they have (I think) in the past.

Is it November yet?

 

[feistl]

I tend to agree with a lot of the comments in this thread.

I think part of the problem is the show has become so big, that there is so much pressure to make "brilliant" episodes, its caused the show to become too "Comercial".

I feel in love with the show, as it was a couple of mates bumming around in dream cars, and just happen to be making a TV show.

I would love to see TG become much much less scripted (even if its not outright funny, i think being more relaxed and honest would make the "funny" parts really funny. Think back to the petrol warning device with the hammer a few seasons back. Obviously the scripted called for Jeremy to hit it with the hammer, but the noise it started making and the jokes that followed were unscripted and natural.

I want the show to go back to 3 mates enjoying speed and power (doesnt have to be cars either). Purhaps expand into boat racing, motorbikes (like the vietnam special), hell even forklift racing..... Just mix it up a little.

I think SIRPC has run its course... it now feels like they are just promoting the guests.... If it must continue, get entertaining guests who just want to talk random crap (think Jimmy Carr).

Its hard to come up with fresh ideas... but i just think its time to mix it up a little. Go back to what comes naturally

 

[the Interceptor]

I've been thinking about an analogy I can come up with to explain to you guys what I meant to say with my opening post. And I think I found one...

Think restaurant. Think steak. A good steak ... very good actually. Now, what differentiates a good steak from the best steak you ever had? Meat quality - sure! Preparation - obviously! But in the end, the work of the cook decides whether a steak is just good or simply brilliant. With his work, he can make a mediocre piece of meat or a stunning piece of art. Same meat, same spices, same pan, same butter. Just small differences in timing, flavoring and technique distinguish the end result by a margin that leaves you either disappointed or stunned.

Same thing goes for making Top Gear. It's not budget. It's not cars. It's not the guys. All the ingredients are there, as they have been before. But the production was not perfect. Segments were not cut and pasted perfectly. Things were left out, other things were added that shouldn't have been there. In the past, it was hard to notice such things at all, because they simply were aligned perfectly. So because the standard of production was so very high (which is high praise), some little things falling out of shape became so obvious.

That might sound nit-picky, but just like at the restauant, it's small factors that make a huge difference in the end. I found the small bits and pieces of this series' production not to be in the perfect order they could have been in, which is why it left me a bit unsatisfied. The bitter thing is that I know they can do better. They have the potential for that, as they have proven in previous series. But they were not able to unleash it for an unknown reason.

 

[pitdog]

This latest season was great, but I also noticed a subtle change... I think it could be due to the multitude of stuff the guys do, other than the show itself. They just have not enough time to do it all. I kind get the impression that the shows were created with the very minimum time they require, 2-3 seconds less and it would be ruined
I hope they sort things out a bit and loosen up a bit with other enterprises, focusing more on the show itself.
And I could be wrong, who knows....

 

[Matt2000]

Maybe (read that, maybe) they focused a bit too much on challenges. They had to I suppose to make up for the lack of cars to drive. In past seasons they've had challenged maybe every few episodes, with reviews and 3 way tours in between (think of Iceland, the greatest road or the Brera/RX8/TT episode).

Also this season didn't have a 'driving holiday' in it. Not that it was lacking in my opinion.

 

[MXM]

These talks are resurfacing after every season, nothing new. I'm not saying they're baseless, TG was definitely more oriented towards more hardcore car fans in the past. But in that sense, this season was not the worst.

I do dislike challenges now, though. Races in particular. For me this idea is sucked dry, and it's used in pretty much every episode. Some of them are funny, almost none of them are original anymore.

 

[ivan5815]

"Mind you, as Francis Bacon once said there is no excellent beauty (Top Gear) that hath not some strangeness (not too funny remarks(sometimes), scripted, setting fire ) in the proportion." as quoted from the man himself (Jeremy Clarkson in the Alfa Romeo 8C review).

 

[ozgirl]

I see exactly where Herr Interceptor is coming from. I've felt it too, for the last 3-4 seaons in fact, that increasingly they seem merely to be going through the motions. I had the same feeling watching "Crystal Skull" last Saturday - all the elements were there it just didn't feel like a proper, pukka Indiana Jones movie and at the end I was disappointed.

There have been some real highlights this series - the race in 13x01, Ken Block, the Classic Cars (Ms Welch excepted) and the final piece in 13x07 which utterly blew my mind and reminded me that TG can still surprise and delight as well as delivering a huge helping of pathos.

The industry they have as their raison d'etre is in a huge state of flux right now for all sorts of reasons, their budget has been reduced, and there are fewer exciting cars on the horizon for them to get excited about. And they're all getting older and we can't expect them to keep topping their previous efforts every series.

My take on it is that they should gradually get back towards to TG of old, without becoming merely a car show a la Fifth Gear. Those who have latched onto it because it's popular will get bored as they always do (Big Brother anyone) and those who've always been fans will remain. I think it's high time they returned to making the show they want to make, rather than the show they think people want them to make.

Rather well said, that man with the head tilt , except i have always hated Big Brother with the white hot intensity of 1,000 suns...

Seriously, while Vietnam, Botswana, Polar & co are great, it's just not possible for them to produce 6-10 of those a season, even with all the money in the world. Gourmet icecream (or whatever your favourite) is lovely, but if you ate nothing but, even that would begin to pall. We need the "meat n three veg" episodes to make us appreciate the "icing on the cake" when it comes along. I love Aston Martins, but if they were in every episode even i might get bored no
I have read a lot of posts since i joined FG, and find it ironic that what one person lambasts TG for the next person lauds! The latest AM film is a case in point, while lots of us adored it, many thought it was pointless, as Heathrow said guess that makes it art. Each series seems to polarise a number of people too.
As a self-confessed Jamesaholic, i do think, the longer i've watched the more he has come into his own, plus it has given him the clout to do all his other great series.
I lead a pretty boring life TBH, and TG is one of my little rays of sunshine, so even the "worst" episode in a series is pretty damn Ben & Jerry's to me!

So, to finish the menu of metaphors, i'll just sit back & wait for November, knowing that some weeks will be sirloin and others stew, but all of it will at times surprise, delight, irritate, move and nourish me.

PS wrote this before reading Interceptor's latest post, see? We both come up with food analogies!

 

[MWF]

Actually Big Brother was simply a metaphor for what happens when the great unwashed jump on a bandwagon and then gradually get bored and drift off.

To use a slightly different analogy it's rather like oppostition fans singing at Chelsea supporters "Where were you when you were shit?" in reference to the lack of support they had before Amramovich's money, although in TG's case it would be more like "Where were you 'fore Hammond crashed?".

I've always said that was the turning point. When Hammond came back they had 10 shows of material for 6 shows and all the expensive films ie challenges etc stayed and the cheaper stuff ie car reviews got dropped. At the same time all those who tuned in just to see the crash liked what they saw and a large number stayed. Sadly that gave vastly distorted audience figures for a BBC2 show, and they have stuck with that formula ever since rather than revert back to what TG was before in order to retain those viewers.

If they did that ie included more car reviews and some more serious stuff instead of coming up with something silly/funny every episode then they'd have enough material for 2 x 10 episode runs like they used to, but that would mean more budget for ultimately fewer viewers and therefore could never be allowed to happen.

Ergo if you don't like TG in its current form then blame Hammond's shitty driving!!!

Driving God my arse!!!

(Last two sentences typed with tongue firmly in cheek, naturally.)

 

[stac3]

A mediocre TG is way better than almost any other TV.

+1

 

[BlaRo]

A mediocre TG is way better than almost any other TV.

This is why it's hard-pressed for me to criticize any episode of TG. No matter how atrocious an episode could be, it's still Top Gear, and therefore it's still awesome.