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jelly · Mar 13, 2017

I think the on the road segments are pretty good so far.

The bunch still aren't in the groove which is expected but there is some genuine fun there. Matt is good when he just lets it flow instead of trying to be too randomly descriptive which doesn't work for him, keep it simple, the passion and excitement is there without going for the thesaurus.

Harris really annoys me. I don't know if it's an act or trying too hard but he comes across as knowledgeable which is fine but more or less a prick. He talks down and insults, not a fun way, just really obnoxious. He might not realise. In the studio, stop man handling guests. Maybe keep quiet more and let the episode breathe.

Overall, better than last series so far. I want the Stig back though.

CrayToes · Mar 13, 2017

Really enjoyed that first episode. Comfortably better than most, if not all, of The Grand Tour. The three of them have decent chemistry and are all likeable and passionate in their own way. The studio segments need some work though. The new celeb setup is weak and potentially awkward.

Chris R · Mar 13, 2017

Did the Ferrari FXXK set a lap at Daytona? Enjoyed this episode a bunch. Much better weekly episode than what the GT had in it's first season.

the_milkybar_kid · Mar 13, 2017

Again, best Top Gear has been in years. Cars at the fore, incredible cinematography, blokes with genuine enthusiasm. Spot on.

mclem · Mar 13, 2017

2.75M. Down a little compared to last week (2.79M), but really not down much; that's probably not too bad, on the whole; you'll generally expect a dropoff after a premiere, and one that small is encouraging. They do need to consolidate over the series, though, and try and get a stable rating in a similar ballpark; one of the problems last year was the continual slow bleed of viewers.

We should also be getting the +7 numbers for the first episode soonish.

Edit: Just as a frame of reference, the Evans series' overnights:

29th May: 4.3 (Can't find this to 2.d.p)
5th Jun: 2.81
12th Jun: 2.37
19th Jun :2.34
26th Jun: 2.68
3rd Jul: 1.92

Now, there's a caveat here, that I believe a number of those episodes were up against significant things on the other channels - football matches and the like (I think Ep5 noticeably wasn't, and there's a clear uptick there), but I think it's fair to say that only losing 40k from opening episode to second episode is a huge success.

Sidewinder · Mar 13, 2017

Really enjoyed both episodes of the new Top Gear Season, the celebs section is too long though, I don't rally care about that stuff most of the time really, but the driving sections are top notch!!

The team is slowly growing on me.

mclem · Mar 13, 2017

Sidewinder said:
The celebs section is too long though

I think it perhaps depends a bit on how comfortable the celebs to act in a more presentery way; McAvoy came across as a bit nervous and subdued, whereas Tennant was very, very comfortable, and I found the second episodes' celeb bits much more appealing in comparison.

danowat · Mar 13, 2017

I like the show, I like Matt, I sorta like Rory, but I don't like Chris Harris very much, he just has a strange delivery, and it just feels a bit odd.

Also, the celeb parts feel weird, it almost feels like they've done some really heavy editing of those parts.

Kicks the shit out of the Grand Tour though!

KimonoNoNo · Mar 13, 2017

The BBC insurance department had some work to do last night.

Fallout-NL · Mar 13, 2017

danowat said:
I like the show, I like Matt, I sorta like Rory, but I don't like Chris Harris very much, he just has a strange delivery, and it just feels a bit odd.

Also, the celeb parts feel weird, it almost feels like they've done some really heavy editing of those parts.

Kicks the shit out of the Grand Tour though!

Harris did seem to be much better when he was on his own. Though I still like seeing him getting his dues on a show like this. I'm sure it'll get better.

EdwardTivrusky · Mar 13, 2017

I'm really enjoying this new reborn Top Gear. Sundays are shaping up quite nicely with Robot Wars followed by Top Gear. I've no real issues with anyone left on the show if i'm honest, pretty happy with it all so far.

HariKari · Mar 13, 2017

Loving the new season so far. Really wish they did the four seasons challenge with 3 cars.

KimonoNoNo · Mar 13, 2017

Fallout-NL said:
Harris did seem to be much better when he was on his own. Though I still like seeing him getting his dues on a show like this. I'm sure it'll get better.

I think the writers are trying to have him be a rather grumpy sod in the studio; a kind of mix of Clarkson and May.

OnkelC · Mar 13, 2017

Watched Ep. 1 yesterday and liked it quite a bit. It's good to have two decent car shows.

the_milkybar_kid · Mar 13, 2017

KimonoNoNo said:
I think the writers are trying to have him be a rather grumpy sod in the studio; a kind of mix of Clarkson and May.

Yeah, they had him down as the anorak last week which felt really forced. Same with mentoring the celebrities, just dial it back. He's a really interesting and charasmatic guy on his own merit, they don't need to shoehorn a personality on him. I find his enthusiasm for the cars is utterly captivating.

CrayToes · Mar 13, 2017

Yeah, Harris is knowledgeable and passionate enough to contribute without having an over the top personality forced upon him. Rory and Matt are already naturals though. They just need to dial back the awkwardly forced studio banter.

mclem · Mar 13, 2017

mclem said:
We should also be getting the +7 numbers for the first episode soonish.

3.77M. Assuming the loss of viewers and timeshifting trends remain roughly similar episode-to-episode, the third episode of this series should be higher than the third episode of Evans' series. Be interesting to find out if that's the case.

Also of note: Topped the BBC2 chart for that week.

It's hard to be certain what the Beeb's goals are, but if I were in their position, I'd be cautiously happy with that.

Breakage · Mar 13, 2017

The show would work better if they just put their own stamp on things instead of trying to emulate the "old" Top Gear which is what I feel they are still trying to do. I think they'd be better off replacing Le Blanc with an unknown [motoring] buff. Evey time I see him I think "it's that actor guy from Friends". His presence makes the show feel even more contrived and less "British".

Big Takeover · Mar 13, 2017

I lol'd. You did too.

AlphaSnake · Mar 13, 2017

Breakage said:
The show would work better if they just put their own stamp on things instead of trying to emulate the "old" Top Gear which is what I feel they are still trying to do. I think they'd be better off replacing Le Blanc with an unknown [motoring] buff. Evey time I see him I think "it's that actor guy from Friends". His presence makes the show feel even more contrived and less "British".

Wrong.gif

Big Takeover said:
I lol'd. You did too.

I burst into laughter. I also loved it when Matt entered Darwin and vocalized that little banjo bit. Matt's on fire. Also, Tenant was solid as the celeb. I like how they mix the stars into the entirety of the show. It gives the show proper flow without shoehorning.

This is leagues better than Grand Tour, already. The downhill race was frighteningly awesome!

Cindres · Mar 13, 2017

Big Takeover said:
I lol'd. You did too.

Loved that moment.

Another great episode, definite enjoying this season much more than i did The Grand Tour.

I really think even when the banter is obviously forced in this it's still better than when Hammond/May/Clarkson do it. Plus i find all 3 in Top Gear to be genuinely likeable.

mclem · Mar 13, 2017

Cindres said:
I really think even when the banter is obviously forced in this it's still better than when Hammond/May/Clarkson do it. Plus i find all 3 in Top Gear to be genuinely likeable.

It was interesting watching Extra Gear (and on that note, I really haven't yet warmed to the main Extra Gear host), with the extended segment on the making of the powerslide scene. It showed up a reasonable amount of the artifice of what we saw (the obsession with yelling "BRING ON THE WALL" was somewhat staged), but conversely it also showed a chunk of chummy camaraderie that didn't appear in the final film. That's a good sign for future chemistry.

(One thing that was significant was how that highlighted the passage of time in the original film, too. I thought it was kind of odd that it was suddenly night for the finale, but in the behind the scenes there was a clear darkening of the sky for each attempt - particularly the third - which I guess was compensated for by the main broadcast cameras)

KimonoNoNo · Mar 13, 2017

mclem said:
It was interesting watching Extra Gear (and on that note, I really haven't yet warmed to the main Extra Gear host), with the extended segment on the making of the powerslide scene. It showed up a reasonable amount of the artifice of what we saw (the obsession with yelling "BRING ON THE WALL" was somewhat staged), but conversely it also showed a chunk of chummy camaraderie that didn't appear in the final film. That's a good sign for future chemistry.

(One thing that was significant was how that highlighted the passage of time in the original film, too. I thought it was kind of odd that it was suddenly night for the finale, but in the behind the scenes there was a clear darkening of the sky for each attempt - particularly the third - which I guess was compensated for by the main broadcast cameras)

I assumed the "BRING ON THE WALL" catchphrase was from that awfull Hole In The Wall gameshow.

mclem · Mar 13, 2017

KimonoNoNo said:
I assumed the "BRING ON THE WALL" catchphrase was from that awfull Hole In The Wall gameshow.

Well, yes, which did make me wonder if that's actually a cultural touchstone that, well, works any more.

enzo_gt · Mar 14, 2017

News, Star-In-A-No-Longer-Reasonably-Priced-Car and banter are still, by far, the worst they've ever been, but the challenges, road tests and general reviewing are fantastic and legitimately enjoyable. Never thought I'd stick through the rebooted Top Gear, but I definitely will.

Chris Harris is carrying most of the show on his back TBH, and he initially seemed to me like the person who was the least Top-Gear-ish back last season when they had the massive cast. But he's somehow got both the most charm and knowledge to offer, but that also might be because they're leaning on him pretty heavy in terms of segments. Still don't think Matt is bad, but he's edging closer and closer to dad jokes with every consecutive episode.

The Lambo's wheels look super ugly when stationary but great in motion.

EDIT: TopGear.com has additional footage of Chris Harris' FXX K test. Just, a beast.

DBT85 · Mar 16, 2017

Loved the second episode. They used Tennant a bit more which was good.

Matt still seems so much more relaxed in the pre recorded segments.

They could still do with toning down what seems like fake rage from Chris while instructing people though.

People said "why not both" when TGT was announced. I'll just take Top Gear please. I didn't think they could make me enjoy the show like I used to, but I really really do.

Acidote · Mar 16, 2017

I just watched the first and second episodes. I'm surprised I liked it after that trainwreck that were for me the episodes I watched last year. I'm glad how this in turning out with not one but two shows haha

milanbaros · Mar 18, 2017

Just finished watching 2nd episode. The show has improved so much from the last series.

Some of the banter and Harris's rage felt fake but less so than on The Grand Tour.

The celeb section and news should be separate because every point has to tie back to the celeb in some way and it gets awkward.

kharma45 · Mar 19, 2017

This is good. Again.

kharma45 · Mar 19, 2017

‪If this is what Top Gear are putting out now what the hell did the Grand Tour spend all their money on?! ‬

Gr1mLock · Mar 19, 2017

I like Harris and LeBlanc. Not feeling the rest of the crew.

Button · Mar 19, 2017

A lot better than Grand Tour.

Maintenance · Mar 19, 2017

Much, much better than last season. A huge improvement, there is still room for fine tuning but the foundation is there.

LoveCake · Mar 19, 2017

The Aston v Merc was good, as was Sabine but (I know old TG was scripted) but really was she beating all those super-cars whilst they were going as fast as they could, because it didn't look like they were going as fast as they could, hmm not sure about the muck spreader either :/

SpinningBirdKick · Mar 19, 2017

Proof that any programme can be improved just by removing Chris Evans from it.

TheSeks · Mar 19, 2017

Big Takeover said:
https://abload.de/img/tgh6s16.gif

I lol'd. You did too.

OMG Matt's face. This makes me kinda want to check out Top Gear now.

Trokil · Mar 19, 2017

B1G_A1AN said:
The Aston v Merc was good, as was Sabine but (I know old TG was scripted) but really was she beating all those super-cars whilst they were going as fast as they could, because it didn't look like they were going as fast as they could, hmm not sure about the muck spreader either :/

Well, she knows the Nürburgring better than pretty much anyone and not everybody wants to go full power with their car, because there are a LOT of accidents on the Ring every year.

This is only part of 2016

So I can believe that. Of course she would not pass them on a straight line, but she knows the brake points just so much better she would pass them eventually, so they let here where there was space, which is proper etiquette on a track.

Also check this out

LoveCake · Mar 19, 2017

Trokil said:
Well, she knows the Nürburgring better than pretty much anyone and not everybody wants to go full power with their car, because there are a LOT of accidents on the Ring every year.

This is only part of 2016

So I can believe that. Of course she would not pass them on a straight line, but she knows the brake points just so much better she would pass them eventually, so they let here where there was space, which is proper etiquette on a track.

Also check this out

I did actually watch that last video earlier on today as it was on my watch list, Sabine is the best there is no doubt, but the Ooo look it's a 911 and it's a Corvette seemed to me to be a set-up, now contrast that to when Sabine was driving the Transit van, the track was a live track with real normal people on it, I don't doubt that Sabine in that Golf could beat most of those cars on the track against normal people, but this doesn't appear to be how this was filmed.

In a Van

The numbers seem to be down and people on Twitter were going crazy over this being staged, and I agree, the thing is as I said above Sabine could do it anyway without it being set-up, I could be wrong and it could have been a live track and they were real normal drivers, but the way it was filmed and edited it didn't seem like it.

I am not a 'hater' I loved the original TG and watch GT on Amazon and I have said in that thread here on GAF that GT isn't all that and it has issues, and I have posted my views on TG in the thread on here also, and when parts have been good I have said so, this is for both shows and when parts have been not to my liking I have said so, by way of constrictive criticism.

TG should know what they are going to get picked upon by the haters and try and do something about it.

tomwhite2004 · Mar 19, 2017

This episode erroded a lot of the good will that the first couple had built imho. Back to a load of forced filler content for at least half the show, so much of the guest stuff just seemed like a complete waste of time.
And I alone in thinking Matt Leblanc has about as much charisma as a breeze block? The guy is simply awful.

Saiyar · Mar 19, 2017

B1G_A1AN said:
I did actually watch that last video earlier on today as it was on my watch list, Sabine is the best there is no doubt, but the Ooo look it's a 911 and it's a Corvette seemed to me to be a set-up, now contrast that to when Sabine was driving the Transit van, the track was a live track with real normal people on it, I don't doubt that Sabine in that Golf could beat most of those cars on the track against normal people, but this doesn't appear to be how this was filmed.

In a Van

The numbers seem to be down and people on Twitter were going crazy over this being staged, and I agree, the thing is as I said above Sabine could do it anyway without it being set-up, I could be wrong and it could have been a live track and they were real normal drivers, but the way it was filmed and edited it didn't seem like it.

I am not a 'hater' I loved the original TG and watch GT on Amazon and I have said in that thread here on GAF that GT isn't all that and it has issues, and I have posted my views on TG in the thread on here also, and when parts have been good I have said so, this is for both shows and when parts have been not to my liking I have said so, by way of constrictive criticism.

TG should know what they are going to get picked upon by the haters and try and do something about it.

No need to stage it. The clubsport S is just as quick round the ring as most of the cars they passed. Even the fastest car they passed, the GTR, is only 20 seconds quicker in one lap.

sam777 · Mar 19, 2017

kharma45 said:
‪If this is what Top Gear are putting out now what the hell did the Grand Tour spend all their money on?! ‬

Travelling :/

Ash_69 · Mar 19, 2017

Mercedes vs Aston segment was brilliant. Top gear at its finest.

mclem · Mar 20, 2017

kharma45 said:
‪If this is what Top Gear are putting out now what the hell did the Grand Tour spend all their money on?! ‬

One thing that struck me during this episode is there's a - for want of a better word - sincerity with new TG that hasn't really been present in what I've seen of GT. I'm trying to think of a way to articulate it better, it's that I feel it respects the audience.

DBT85 · Mar 20, 2017

Saiyar said:
No need to stage it. The clubsport S is just as quick round the ring as most of the cars they passed. Even the fastest car they passed, the GTR, is only 20 seconds quicker in one lap.

And even then, that's only in the hands of someone who knows how to do it.

TTG · Mar 20, 2017

Watching the second episode now, it took like 4 viewings to get through the first one and this Alfa review isn't faring better. I think I've seen too much Top Gear for it to be effective. Qualitatively it's fine, but it's the same(inevitably stale for me) formula and the hosts don't have the same magic. Last years of Clarkson/May/Hammond Top Gear had their own problems, but writing and interaction from the hosts wasn't it.

I've watched Chris Harris on his own channel in years past plenty and he wasn't this boring, it must be because he's just doing a very Top Gear style review. A familiar narrative about Alfas, surprisingly competent, have an orgasm while driving, here comes the M3... I've been watching this for a decade at least. Clarkson could still carry all of that because he can carry anything: here's one of his last reviews to prove it, just him on a road in a car, but Harris needs to find his own voice. Drifting through a hole in foam at the end doesn't solve it, at least not in the another host rooting for you to fail, then coming to your side as you overcome adversity with some surging music wrapper.

I've been loving Motortrend videos for a while now and it's because they're doing their own, much more car nerdy, thing and are getting better and better at it.

Let's see how the rest of this episode turns out.

EDIT: also, now that I'm comparing them back to back, old Top Gear cinematography wipes the floor with the new team.

sk3 · Mar 20, 2017

My favorite aspect is how Chris and Matt can both actually drive. Even in just today's episode there were several in-car shots where you can see the scenery whipping by as they commentate and drive at the same time. You get the feeling they are actually pushing the car and reviewing its capabilities in earnest.

You'd never see that with the old crew, they only talk to the camera when they are driving in a straight line. And judging by hammond's "learning to drift" segment, they can't do much else.

mclem · Mar 20, 2017

I thought that was the weakest episode so far, but I think that might be partially down to the pacing - I didn't warm to the final film and so it dragged the episode down in my recollection. Perhaps reordering to put the Aston film there would have made a difference?

However, the lineup is getting better and better, I'm hoping this can persist. I wonder if there's any chance of us getting a dedicated roadtrip special at some point? It might be too much like CHM, but I'd love to see the gang interplaying over an entire episode. I'm always going to fear that Matt'll be done with it sooner rather than later (although I think he's contracted to one more series after this one, IIRC?)

Betta Lines · Mar 20, 2017

Disappointing third episode, after two really solid efforts. The DB11 piece was okay, but it all went downhill from there. The Golf sequence was embarrassing, a shame because it was an ideal opportunity to feature Sabine again. Calling out the price of cars as they let you by... who thought that was a good idea? The whole thing felt contrived and meaningless.

the_milkybar_kid · Mar 20, 2017

Betta Lines said:
Disappointing third episode, after two really solid efforts. The DB11 piece was okay, but it all went downhill from there. The Golf sequence was embarrassing, a shame because it was an ideal opportunity to feature Sabine again. Calling out the price of cars as they let you by... who thought that was a good idea? The whole thing felt contrived and meaningless.

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.

MilkyJoe · Mar 20, 2017

Betta Lines said:
Disappointing third episode, after two really solid efforts. The DB11 piece was okay, but it all went downhill from there. The Golf sequence was embarrassing, a shame because it was an ideal opportunity to feature Sabine again. Calling out the price of cars as they let you by... who thought that was a good idea? The whole thing felt contrived and meaningless.

I had a smile from ear to ear watching that.

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