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Thread: So did anyone watch the "new" Top Gear?

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    So did anyone watch the "new" Top Gear?

    If so, what did you think?

    Personally, as CE sets my teeth on edge, I didn't and won't be watching it. It died, for me, when (for all his faults) Clarkson, May and Hamster left. What remains is, for me, more of a zombie than a TV show.

    Reviews I've seen, so far, have been ..... a bit unimpressed, sort-of ho-hum. Excellent photography, largely the old format with a few tweaks, and at least one wrong presenter, that being my teeth-edger.

    Or are they wrong?

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    Hexus.Jet TeePee's Avatar
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    Re: So did anyone watch the "new" Top Gear?

    They had a hard act to follow. Just like Top Gear USA, following the UK format was going to be a struggle. US Top Gear is still running, but has shifted to a non-studio challenges only format, that actually isn't as bad as it used to be.
    I wanted a similar adjustment period, but The Chris Evans show failed so spectacularly I can't see any chance of survival. What were they thinking? How could anyone at the BBC watch that and think they had a show?

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    The late but legendary peterb - Onward and Upward peterb's Avatar
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    Re: So did anyone watch the "new" Top Gear?

    I forgot it was on, but stumbled into about 10 minutes in. It seemed very much 'same as same as' although the 'radical' change of a star in a rally car rather than a medium priced family saloon. I wasn't particularly impressed by CE - but then I didn't expect to be.

    I found Matt Leblanc very good on the pieces he did on his own, although there didn't seem to be much chemistry with CE, but I did enjoy his bit in the off-roader.

    I found his inability to pronounce JAG-U-AR (like many Americans, he pronounced it as JAG-WAH) mildly irritating, but perhaps that's just me.

    I suppose the thinking was that they had a winning formula (although that was starting to look tired) so why risk changing or innovating? What that ignores is the part the personalities played in contributi fog to that.

    These are early days, it may settle down and find its feet, but it isn't a programme I'll be actively looking to watch.
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    root Member DanceswithUnix's Avatar
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    Re: So did anyone watch the "new" Top Gear?

    Recorded it, not in a hurry to watch. The old top gear died for me years ago when I just got bored of the constant sillyness and repetition, kind of like the tellytubbies without the charm but added incidental cars. There was an opportunity here to do something new and re-kindle interest in the show.

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    Seething Cauldron of Hatred TheAnimus's Avatar
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    Re: So did anyone watch the "new" Top Gear?

    It's a bit of a train wreck, even the opening bit with the Robins made no sense, what was the competition for? Why convertibles?
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    Pork & Beans Powerup Phage's Avatar
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    Re: So did anyone watch the "new" Top Gear?

    No - for the same reason. CE is like chewing on Aluminium foil
    Society's to blame,
    Or possibly Atari.

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    New Top Gear -your thoughts please

    Sunday 29th was the first New Top Gear

    What did everyone think?

    Did Matt Le B settle into the swing with Chris Evans?

    Did you enjoy it? Or utterly despise it?

    Reviews from major press isn't very positive at the moment.....but I quite enjoyed it.

    I think they're to get brave and step away from the format that's been around for so.long....but the two stars in rally cross cars was very good.

    The reliant rialtos made me laugh a bit.

    The mayor of Blackpool maybe a future star:-)

    The Aeriel Nomad film scene was ok but the format...again...so samey. But....Matt L B made me laugh a lot in that.

    I hope they get brave now and step away from the current route and make their own road

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    Re: So did anyone watch the "new" Top Gear?

    Quote Originally Posted by peterb View Post
    ...

    I suppose the thinking was that they had a winning formula (although that was starting to look tired) so why risk changing or innovating? What that ignores is the part the personalities played in contributi fog to that.

    ....
    That is exactly why I'm curious.

    I mean, I'm not watching the new one come what may, in large part because of CE.

    What interests me, though, is to what degree the undoubted success of TG is due to "formula", and the what degree it's the play-off of the personalities. My suspicion is at least 30/70, maybe even higher towards personalities. If so, minor format tweaks are irrelevant, and the BBC will be very lucky to hit on a group that coalesces the way Ckarkson, May and Hammond did.

    The US experience TeePee mentioned doesn't bode well, using the same basic formula but different personalities often just doesn't cut it. I mean, if they remade Only Fools and Horses with different cast members, would it work? I very much doubt it. One of my favourite all-time shows was Yes Minister (and to a slightly lesser extent, Yes Prime Minister) but I watched some of the remake and barely cracked a smile before giving up on it. That magic element just wasn't there, and the whole thing was just a bit painful.

    On the other hand, sometimes it's clearly formua. Strictly Come Dancing (and who'da thunk that could explode as it has) has been successfully reintetpreted inbhow many countries now?

    Rarely, it seems, do remakes work, but of course, the Clarkson/May/Hammond reinvention of TG is at least 3rd Generation, if not 4th Generation TG before it really hit. Much the same could be said of Doctor Who, yet that manages to reinvent itself with a new cast every few seasons, perfectly successfully.

    I'm confused as to quite what it is that makes reinventions usually so crass, yet sometimes really work.

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    Pork & Beans Powerup Phage's Avatar
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    Re: New Top Gear -your thoughts please

    Pro - Matt Le Blanc + now a female
    Con - Same old stuff, Chris Evans

    C+, Needs more work
    Society's to blame,
    Or possibly Atari.

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    Re: New Top Gear -your thoughts please

    They picked a pathetic hill in the Lake District, Chris Evans minces about like god knows what, it felt like a pantomime and Matt Le Blanc used the word "Sedan" on a UK motoring show.

    All in all, not great.

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    Grumpy and VERY old :( g8ina's Avatar
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    Re: So did anyone watch the "new" Top Gear?

    Ive merged the two threads, it seems a bit daft to have two.
    Cheers, David



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    Re: So did anyone watch the "new" Top Gear?

    Quote Originally Posted by g8ina View Post
    Ive merged the two threads, it seems a bit daft to have two.
    What noob didn't check?


    Oh. Oops.


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    Almost Ex-HEXUS Staff Jonatron's Avatar
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    Re: So did anyone watch the "new" Top Gear?

    Boring and cringeworthy. Will not be watching another episode. If it didn't have Chris Evans, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. But he really did make it unwatchable.

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    Re: So did anyone watch the "new" Top Gear?

    I'm going to be a little more upbeat than most and say 'better than expected'. That doesn't mean good but I had it marked as a likely disaster before I even watched it.

    I thought the new 'star in a reasonably priced car' bit was an improvement over old top gear. The off-road bits of the track require something different from the guests and should result in a bit more spread in the lap times. I also hope they're going to have 2 guests each week and make it a competition between them. You get a direct lap time comparison in the same conditions, more time watching driving fails/terrible past cars and less time discussing their tedious film/book promotions.

    Matt Le Blanc is very American but I think I'd have found it worse if he'd tried to be British - like when British TV presenters go over to the States and start trying to say 'zee' instead of 'zed' when they remember to. I'd rather they embraced it and made some jokes about it than tried to cover it up (although just painting a car in stars and stripes and making it break down a lot places something of an epistemological burden on the word 'joke').

    The challenges were rather contrived; the car reviews were all quite obviously first time efforts with the presenters trying to find their feet. To be honest though, you could level similar complaints about plenty of 'old Top Gear' episodes from their early (and recent) years. The chemistry between presenters and the entertainment value of the challenges is perhaps more reasonable to judge after the first season is complete. With the premise that new presenters had to be found I think they've done what they could - freshen up the weaker points of the old series without completely changing a successful format...and trust to luck that the new presenters can make it work sooner or later.

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    Comfortably Numb directhex's Avatar
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    Re: So did anyone watch the "new" Top Gear?

    Clearly some nerves on that first ep, but flashes of brilliance - especially the joke about catering

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    Re: So did anyone watch the "new" Top Gear?

    Extra Gear was probably better, Rory whathisname was better at presenting than either CE or MleB. Chris HArris was awful infront of the camera though.

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