I thought it was ok... can't say much more.
Matt did a little better than i expected, and the show has kept the same theme so i can imagine there will be some entertaining segments going forward that will make it worth watching.
I just don't get why Evans is so different on the radio to TV though, i can deal with him on the radio in the mornings, i find him quite entertaining, but on top gear and previously on TFI Friday he's so loud and hypo. He's just annoying.
I do sort of agree.Originally Posted by Andy3536
I always enjoyed TFI Friday, yet found his Radio 1 show very annoying.
When he took over Radio 2 from Sir Terry, I listened, he was better, but it wasnt Sir Terry, so I stopped.
I get the same feeling about Top Gear, it isnt Clarkson.
It just proved that without May, Hammond and Clarkson the show is barely watchable - those 3 could do a show about ANYTHING and I'd probably enjoy watching it.
It was embarrassing to watch the new TG, It felt like a unrehearsed comic relief special where nobody really knew what they were doing, but it's alright because it's for charity.
CE was bad in the studio and almost as bad in the films, MLB was worse in the studio but had a good swing at the features (as expected). I'm glad they managed to keep all that expensive filming equipment as the set pieces were nicely filmed.
The Viper/'Vette concept was annoying - and felt like a rip-off. "We need to find out which is better, so we've stuck lasers on them". Why? They didn't even race them. They could have somehow have it make sense in the older series but now it's just like "well, Old TG got away with being ludicrous so we'll try it"..
I was expecting a 6-host show as they built up in the press releases, there were 2 hosts and a guest driver (Sabine). Jordan and the other 2 guys nowhere to be seen..
The Rally cross was not too bad, but the TG Test Track is too well established to just get taken out. It was cringeworthy having the uninterested audience vote on "who has the best car"
Extra Gear was pretty good, they had a good piece with Sabine and actually did car news. And had more interesting guests.
Sadly, I'll have to keep watching it, just in case it gets better.
Shame, can't wait to see what Amazon can do.
Caught it on iPlayer yesterday. It wasn't good, but I think there were some highlights and most of the negatives have scope for being improved (if they have the editorial nouse to do so).
- CE looked really nervous, which he expresses in hyperactivity. The sort of thing that can be easily addressed with time and/or coaching. If they dare. If they don't though.. super annoying.
- MlB was great in the filmed segments - his script writer is good and he stuck to it. His studio work was what seems awkward to us Brits but was actually quite normal US-style. Either we'll get used to it or he'll adapt to the British host syle, so no concern either way.
- Going straight in on the Top Gun shooty was poor IMHO - too gimmicky too soon.
- Star(s) in a r.. whatever. Jesse is awesome but otherwise I'm going to continue to watch on iPlayer and skip this section, which is kind of what I did in the old show anyway.
- I'm plotting my way to Ariel Nomad ownership.
Matt L B referencing the paparazzi and the bloke on the powered parachute thing.... made me laugh hard.. real venom in that
Mentioning a Sedan is ok... we need some extra lingo so we know he's not reading it ALL from cards
Actually that bit kind of annoyed me, I always thought the purpose of that bit was a "star" in a "reasonably priced" car.
That mini thing isn't reasonably priced, it's not even a reasonable car!
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And CE had the cheek to call it British. To me that segment was just to have a low performance production car that anyone can drive, to show off the skill rather than the machine. Being reasonably priced was secondary.
I don't by any stretch prefer the new format of the SIARC, the mud section makes it too unpredictable when before you just had snow or rain to worry about. But in itself it was alright if it wasn't replacing something more tried-and-tested (and accepted).
I strongly hated it virtuo, because it felt of product placement for an abomination of a car.
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But at least we now finally have an answer to the question 'what on earth that car should be used for'.
it's not a reasonably priced car chaps... It's a rallycross car.
I think it's quite well suited to being driven through crap by people with no idea.
my £0.02
Me too... definitely... like as we speak I'm looking it up... and crying a little bit
The problem I had was the commentary. The whole segment was pure cringe and it's the one part I don't currently see any way that CE can get more comfortable with quickly. Hes a car nut but he's simply not as knowledgeable as Clarkson when it comes to actually racing. He's also hopeless at building a decent rapport... but perhaps that was just because of that American fellow on the sofa.
Overall I thought the show was OK. It was about as entertaining as the first season of the 'new' top gear with Clarkson and Hammond before May was brought. Has potential and I'll certainly give it time but I forsee the hosts changing quite a bit across series before they find a good balance.
I'm about half-way through, no urgency to finish it - though I'm sure at some point I will.
As I expected, it was just a bit... cold. I wasn't a huge fan of the old TG, especially later on as it became increasingly ridiculous and scripted, but you had to admit that the three of them worked well together.
The big question for me was what they did to regenerate it. I expected them to bring it back down to earth, make it more of a car review show and work their way up from there. Instead it seemed to be primarily about echoing what had gone on before, with a bucketload of audience participation. And maybe it's just me, but I really couldn't give a toss about what the audience think. Nor am I particularly interested in the celebrity interviews.
So it's not dead, but I can't imagine it grabbing my attention long-term.
It was a bit surprising to see it given that it's due for replacement with something entirely different. The perfect choice would have been a Subaru Impreza. Not the sporty WRX STI model, the standard four wheel drive 114 horsepower hatchback.
The second half is definitely better. Less Chris Evans in it. The Aerial Nomad segment that Matt LeBlanc presented alone is the best part of the show.
But this misses the whole point.
You give someone a cheap car and make them race it, it takes a lot of skill with little luck (weather excluded) to get round the track, it's repeatable.
The new one misses this.
I will say actually I did like Matt's segments, not wishing to brag too much, but having driven the tiz n test pass, it was lovely to see the Nomad do it. I'd love to do that drive again. I think Matt could turn out to do a really good job. CE, less so.
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TBH, the rally cross car was actually the one aspect i thought was improved ...
I just thought the format of getting a celeb to drive a slow boring car was a bit old. I was thinking before it started, it would be great to do away with it and put the celebs in an Atom on the track...
It's a piece of entertainment and i just think the rally cross idea has more legs and will prove to be more entertaining than a Suzuki Liana (or whatever it was) and an Astra.
Time will tell though, and it does still have the problem that Evans is talking......
I did that too - shame the configurator only lets you play with wheel/paint choices so I can't see how much my ideal spec would actually cost. Perhaps that's a good thing..
Something that immediately struck me was in the first segment, he said something about how rubbish the viper engine was because it was old fashioned and didn't use modern tech (he didn't say turbo charging, but it was implied).. old school engine love is HUGE for petrol heads, and he seemed wide of the mark with those kind of comments.Hes a car nut but he's simply not as knowledgeable as Clarkson when it comes to actually racing. He's also hopeless at building a decent rapport... but perhaps that was just because of that American fellow on the sofa.
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