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Damn... I was hoping you were referring to the American version (on which we share the same sentiments RE the makeover).
I've watched some of TG BBC, but not enough to really have an opinion on it.
Sorry Andy, I thought it was dully predictable, Evans is like nails on a chalkboard, the Reliant stuff was done to death in "Only Fools" in the nineteen eighties, (the fact that I owned one notwithstanding!) and I just couldn't sit through it. Having said that, I couldn't stand Clarkson either. The old show was built round him and his public-school humour, plus the chemistry between him and the other two. It was bearable for the ad libs. It just falls flat with different people, who have yet to build a relationship.
Sorry, I didn't know the US version had had a makeover. You'll get this one on BBC America too, I guess. Matt Le Blanc is really good!
I think they need a bit oftime to get the matey friendship thing going and I would like to see more of the very scary German racing driver woman.
The bit where she made the US Top Gun instructor sick is fantastic!
I wonder if the dual makeovers were intentional or if things just happened that way.
****, I do not think I get to see it until today on BBC America. The content here is handled differently than the European market where it is carried by BBC2.
On a side note, Tiff Nedell announced last week that 5th Gear is officially cancelled.
No idea. How have they changed the US version? New presenters? Format tweaks?
The American version is very different than the BBC concept. It has a different energy - wild and zany rather than informative and light fun.
But before, the US version was part in-studio show with an audience and guests (they'd engage lightly during the episode) and part 'let's watch a clip of what we did in Brazil'. the new show is purely 'what we did in Brazil' - no studio audience or celebrity guest appearances. The same hosts (Adam Fererra, Rutledge Wood, Tanner Faust) and the same guest / unidentified driver (The Stig), and same crazed and bizarre antics.
Still good.
I wonder if it's purely due to time limits on contractual obligations - and just needing to keep a show fresh audience tuned in. Afterall, we're here talking about it now.
"Extra Gear"... WTF is this ****?
I just watched the first episode of the new Top Gear. After all the hype and counter-hype could it be as amazing/appalling as every TV and motor journalist had predicted? In a word, no.
Amazing? No, not amazing, since the format is almost completely unchanged from the Clarkson version, but that WAS an amazingly entertaining format, wasn't it? Should it have changed more? Well, damned if you do and damned if you don't. Had they changed it more no doubt the critics would have said, "What was wrong with the old format?" As it is, they'll probably say, "What was all the hype about? It's the same show." It was the same show, with different presenters, and that's the key.
Appalling? Hell no! It was just as entertaining and I actually like the change of vibe between the Three Stooges and Morecambe and Wise (Google it, my American friends).
Matt Le Blanc hit the road running. It's quite a tough call for an actor to become a presenter, especially in the few moments requiring him not to work to a script, but he is sooo incredibly likeable and, who knew?, clearly a phenomenal driver that he absolutely pulled it off.
Chris Evans isn't everyone's cup of tea, certainly not mine, but he actually annoyed me a lot less than I was expecting, in fact I quite liked him and he anchored the thing as professionally as he's done for a show in years.
There were some great films too. I love Matt in the desert and the Blackpool/Lake District challenge was funny throughout.
All in all, I breathed a sigh of relief that a show that I really love is still as watchable, scratch that, more watchable than ever. The basics survived, the chemistry was great and the cars remained the stars. Nice one, BBC2!
Now, anyone think I'm wrong?
Is anyone old enough to remember the time when Top Gear was about cars?
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