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Top Gear New Series |OT| No Longer Starring Chris Evans

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Flo_Evans

Member
hmm not sure I like the GT86 as the "reasonably priced car" (I own a BRZ...) It seems like it will produce much more variance in the times. IDK if that will be good or bad. Good they killed the stupid rally cross section though.

Over all though much better with these 3 than the mega cast. Harris being mean seems a bit forced, Rory's twin go jokes are falling a bit flat, Matts dude bro is wearing a bit thin but big improvement.
 

blanky

Member

Man... that's cruel. The previous one was just picking up steam and getting somewhere, i thoroughly enjoyed TG:USA more than the pre-The Grand Tour Top Gear towards the end.

Overall though this new series is much much better. I'm curious if they're going to make their mark with the series still though, so far it's a winning formula but nothing that I feel is their own yet.
 

CSJ

Member
Man... that's cruel. The previous one was just picking up steam and getting somewhere, i thoroughly enjoyed TG:USA more than the pre-The Grand Tour Top Gear towards the end.

Overall though this new series is much much better. I'm curious if they're going to make their mark with the series still though, so far it's a winning formula but nothing that I feel is their own yet.

Yeah the hosts were starting to get into the groove and work better together.
 

AlphaSnake

...and that, kids, was the first time I sucked a dick for crack
It may have the been the weakest episode so far, but it was still damn good. Its problems were that Tamsin's segment went on too long because the Aston Martin film was too short. There were some missed opportunities there: a drag race, a passenger challenge, etc. to lengthen that segment. Otherwise, fantastic segments.


Tom Ford? Wtf. So bring in an old Top Gear (mag) and Fifth Gear presenter who wasn't really any good on screen? BBC America is on crack. Also, Fichtner has a haunting look and I never liked him, tbh.

Tanner was the man. American TG worked because of him.
 

LoveCake

Member

AWSIeeT.gif


What is the point in changing the USA hosts as well?
 
Embarrassing? I thought it was great. Yeah it was staged but there was a genuine sense of thrill with the two of them ragging a Golf round the NB.

Yeah it was a little bit weaker than the last two (that really held the bar high), but still really enjoyable.

I had a smile from ear to ear watching that.
The embarrassment for me was the focus on the price of the cars they were passing. I think that was the wrong stat to concentrate on. The Golf is hardly a cheap car, yet cheap cars showing up at the Ring to annihilate supercars is a regular sight. It started off okay - 'hey that was a GT4!' - I think it would have been a more natural sequence if it had continued in that manner. LeBlanc saying 'by the way you passed a million quid's worth of cars' back in the studio would've been enough to make that point.

Plus, I really don't think Sabine overtaking a bunch of fast cars on the Ring was a meaningful illustration of the Golf's abilities. The sequence was missing any real sense of perspective - the random cars out on track were a poor substitute for a proper benchmark or reference point. It just demonstrated that Sabine is a fearless driver at her home track, and that there are many fast cars out there being driven tentatively (and even if some were being driven well/hard, we'll never know).
 

DBT85

Member
Just caught up with the episode, loved the GTI piece. If I wanted a review of what its actually like on the road, the last place I'd expect to get it is on Top Gear.

As they said at the end, it's an expensive hot hatch with no back seat.

Feel nice to look forward to a car show again. It's been a while.
 

terrible

Banned
I got excited then got bummed out. After the first season and a half, Foust, Rutt and Adam started to find there groove. They had some amazing challenges.

Yeah that sucks. At least before this announcement I had some hope that the old crew would come back eventually but this kills that chance. They were pretty entertaining over the last few seasons.
 
Who is the guy that is a prick to everyone, including the guests? I wish he would tone it down he is killing the show.

Chris Harris. I'm not a fan of the shtick either, it's just not funny. They've tried him as the car anorak, now they're pushing the grumpy tutor angle. Just doesn't work in the way they want it to. He's a great presenter, he's a great driver and his enthusiasm for cars s a joy to watch. Just stick with that. I don't want any echo's of the old 3, just keep doing what they're doing.
 

Number45

Member
Aston part was filmed in my country and they never mentioned that :(
(Montenegro)
It was implied by using the Casino Royale soundtrack - I noticed, if that helps!

Chris Harris. I'm not a fan of the shtick either, it's just not funny. They've tried him as the car anorak, now they're pushing the grumpy tutor angle. Just doesn't work in the way they want it to. He's a great presenter, he's a great driver and his enthusiasm for cars s a joy to watch. Just stick with that. I don't want any echo's of the old 3, just keep doing what they're doing.
What makes this worse is that I'm pretty sure he's not a dick, it's just something that they want to do to offer something a little different. You're right though, it doesn't work.

Wasn't as keen with the flow of this episode as the first two, but this is the first time that I felt Matt was relaxed as the host. Now if only they can tone down the industrial machinery segments - I like them being woven into the car parts (naming them as he drives past, occasionally) but the long segments aren't funny at all and feel really forced.
 

kharma45

Member
Chris Harris. I'm not a fan of the shtick either, it's just not funny. They've tried him as the car anorak, now they're pushing the grumpy tutor angle. Just doesn't work in the way they want it to. He's a great presenter, he's a great driver and his enthusiasm for cars s a joy to watch. Just stick with that. I don't want any echo's of the old 3, just keep doing what they're doing.

Agreed. Just let Chris be Chris. He doesn't have to play a part.
 
I thought the "Matt is obsessed with industrial/farming equipment" schtick was a bit shitty but this week's was actually quite fun, Matt's face when the Volvo was getting chewed up was great.

Tamsin Greig was the best guest by far, she made the episode more watchable and was fun to listen to as opposed to the usual guest segments (on old Top Gear too) where you generally fast forward to get to the lap itself.

And of course, more Sabine is always a good thing.
 
I really enjoyed this episode, it was funny.

Loved the Pac-Man bit.
The middle-east film was great.
Loved the bike bit towards the end.
The comedy is getting better
The chemistry between the three is certainly getting a lot better.

It was some good shit.

The guest bit definitely needs some tweaking though, it's just so awkward.
 

LoveCake

Member
I really enjoyed this episode, it was funny.

Loved the Pac-Man bit.
The middle-east film was great.
Loved the bike bit towards the end.
The comedy is getting better
The chemistry between the three is certainly getting a lot better.

It was some good shit.

The guest bit definitely needs some tweaking though, it's just so awkward.

Yes, I agree tonight's was good, the thing is as I have mentioned before though, the show working well depends on the cars they have on the show, the original trio could make it all work with a boring/boring cars though, I know in time it (may work as well as before) but is there time? nobody is going to make a poor show when they have a Bugatti Chiron.

The guest segment is way too long, but again it depends on who the guest is.
 

MilkyJoe

Member
Didn't really like this episode, studio banter was not good.
The Bugatti was great, as expected, and I enjoyed the race to Oman. The rest didn't really hold my attention.
 

LoveCake

Member
That Bugatti Chiron really is something else, I have always loved cars and I have a pretty big scale model car collection but the Bugatti's are next level, I believe that there will be an 'Edition' that will end up going 300mph 'road legal spec'.

I hope that Chris Harris has another go in the Chiron where he can go wild, there MUST be a test with the Bugatti Chiron Vs Koenigsegg Regera.
 

Scotch

Member
Matt watching a video of some construction vehicle in the back of the Bentley had me laughing pretty hard.

The car films are all really good. As good as they've been in years imo. It's the studio stuff that still feels stiff, though. None of the three have the interview skills of Clarkson, and it's not helping that the celebrities stick around longer. I hope they try something else next season.
 

DBT85

Member
Thoroughly enjoyed the latest ep and it seems that Harris has ditched the faux outrage while tutoring which is great.

They could still do with using the celebs a bit more, evne if just general chatting.

Also, The Stig is Harris, right?
 
Thoroughly enjoyed the latest ep and it seems that Harris has ditched the faux outrage while tutoring which is great.

They could still do with using the celebs a bit more, evne if just general chatting.

Also, The Stig is Harris, right?
I heard one reason The Stig exists is if some manufacturer (cough,Ferrari,cough) insists that they use their own driver, all they have to do is kit him out in a white racing suit and matching helmet and no one's the wiser.
 

AlphaSnake

...and that, kids, was the first time I sucked a dick for crack
I heard one reason The Stig exists is if some manufacturer (cough,Ferrari,cough) insists that they use their own driver, all they have to do is kit him out in a white racing suit and matching helmet and no one's the wiser.

Ben Collins would've covered that in his book, if true. The only instance of it was Schumacher, which was an obvious setup.

Otherwise, no, it's not Harris. While Harris is a good driver, he's not an absolute professional. Also, Harris is short and The Stig looks to be a good bit taller.
 
Ben Collins would've covered that in his book, if true. The only instance of it was Schumacher, which was an obvious setup.

Otherwise, no, it's not Harris. While Harris is a good driver, he's not an absolute professional. Also, Harris is short and The Stig looks to be a good bit taller.
Ha, moral of the story the is don't believe everything on the internet I suppose.

Anybody else get the feeling while watching The Stig's teenage cousins, that they were watching a Grand Turismo replay.
 
Ok this new Top Gear is much much much better than last year! Very happy with this if I am honest!

It's good. I'm genuinely looking forward to each episode now.

I can see there being some very good chemistry emerging from the three.

Rory and his love of hot hatches is awesome too.
 

DBT85

Member
I heard one reason The Stig exists is if some manufacturer (cough,Ferrari,cough) insists that they use their own driver, all they have to do is kit him out in a white racing suit and matching helmet and no one's the wiser.

There is huge marketing involved with the Stig, that is why it still exists. People buying Stig soap for their dads at Christmas and shit.

Otherwise, no, it's not Harris. While Harris is a good driver, he's not an absolute professional. Also, Harris is short and The Stig looks to be a good bit taller.

Ahh ok, I didn't think the stick looked that big though which is why I thought it might be Harris.
 

Mascot

Member
I'm loving this new series so far. Matt has really grown as a host (and I'm not just talking about his waistline amirite?) and the chemistry between him, Rory and Chris is developing nicely. Chris is a little bit hammy am-dram at times, but I'm sure he'll improve.

Matt is superb though. He's warm, funny, and I find myself trusting his opinions. He's absolutely perfect as the anchor in this show, something I never thought would be possible at the start of last season.
 

mclem

Member
Ratings up a little - in the 2.5M ballpark for overnights. That's... not too bad, well down on the highs of five years ago, of course, but very healthy ratings in the context of how BBC2 usually rates.

The big worry as it stands is whether this is actual stability, or just a bit of a bounce, if it's actual stability that stays around this level until the series ends, the BBC ought to be happy (whether they are or not depends on their expectations, of course!)
 
Like everyone else here, I'm going for, without too loudly 'oh this is actually quite good now'. It's clearly grown, and it'll continue to. Yes still lots of things I can point at that are awkward, but it's a fun entertaining show. Pacman last week was a great example - it's a clever idea, that looks great, and had fun presenter-relationships in there.

As long as international sales remain solid and The Stig soap-on-a-rope sells as a lazy Fathers Day present... should be fine. I hope so, anyway. I'm genuinely looking forward to it each week, caring a bit more than I did GT as this has more capacity to surprise me.
 

Number45

Member
That race was some of the best TG I've seen in quite some time, old or new. Looked intense as fuck, and absolutely terrifying.
 
Best episode so far.

I'm not sure of the order of filming, but the chemistry is improving week on week. Still think Rory could be used more though.

If the show continues in this vein overall though, then I can see lots of people who were turned off tuning back in.

I loved The Grand Tour too, but does anyone else feel that the cinematography in this is better this year?

Stunning throughout.
 

mclem

Member
That race was some of the best TG I've seen in quite some time, old or new. Looked intense as fuck, and absolutely terrifying.

I like the idea of an ongoing Schmidt vs. Harris saga, too. Gives an avenue for TG to cover various niche autosports, has a fun continuity aspect, and really lets the production side shine.
 

AlphaSnake

...and that, kids, was the first time I sucked a dick for crack
Damn, this is actually shaping up to be one of the best TG seasons ever. Wtf.

Jordan berating Harris and then LeBlanc had me in stitches. Hahahaha.
 
I gave this new series a shot and all I can say is that this is much better than series 23 ever was.

I do like the Joey/Chris Harris bromance like other gaffers were saying. Unfortunately I do feel like they should utilize Rory more often as he feels like an afterthought, and the studio/celebrity bits are bad to be honest. The car segments are great and I am definitely going to watch the new episodes and future series from now on.

Also, is there no more news? That was one of my favorite segments on the old Top Gear, but I guess that’s just reserved for Conversation Street in The Grand Tour now.
 
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