Top Gear US version premiere last night: opinions?
 

I like Tanner, but the other guys are boring...also, the set lighting isn't dramatic, and they need at least one Brit!

The Brit version is a classic and difficult to up.... The camera shots/action shots on the Brit version are much better. I also noticed they were trying to "copy" mannerisms that just didn't seem to pan out. :thumbsdown:

I'm waiting for the show with the red 370z they "parallel park" in the commercial.. :tup::tup:

:iagree:

the brits humor is much better and they actually have personality. a little boring but ill give them another shot, esp of the zzzzz's next week :)

The only thing close to a critisizm in the whole show was that the lambo seat was made for someone 5'5". They need to offer some real opinions/critics of the cars they're reviewing. It seems they don't want to piss off potential sponsors.

only thing i can say i am happy about is that the Z episode is next week and not at the end of the season. In my opinion the original Top Gear the guys seem more like friends which make the conversation smoother and more comedic the way they joke around but for Top Gear America the conversation just seemed to forced and their personalities didnt click like the other guys. Not to mention i think the whole getting chased by the military through a city has already been done. I will still watch the rest of the season but itwill never top the original Top Gear in my opinion unfortunately.

yeah next weeks show should be a good one. just hope they don't make out the car to be good only for drifting..

also did you notice can't recall his name but that last guy who drove the last car up to 180 was shaking in is boots... can't say i blame him i would be to.

these guys were doing this without helmets and in street clothes....
all it would take is one blown tire....

Didn't catch it last night. Going to have to set the dvr. I had been watching the brit version online until the BBC had them pulled off of YouTube.

agree with all the above, but i'm happy to have another car show and will watch them all! :P

Go watch the first top gear UK episode - it sucked much harder than this one - things like chemistry and good shots take time and money - something this show lacks as of now.

I'll watch any show that features cool cars. But I'll have no qualms with criticizing the $hit out of it if it's bad. The new one has a long way to go before it's anything other than a guilty, embarrassing pleasure...just like Battle of the Supercars and Supercars Exposed.

Totally agree with the forced camaraderie. The Brit version has three genuine friends who sometimes hate each others' guts and know each other like the backs of their hands. The three jamokes on TGA were introduced, told they were working together, and then locked in a studio for a while.

I'll be honest though. I laughed when Adam dropped the F-bomb every time he shifted. I'd probably do the same thing in that car :).

Shabs, you speak the truth. The problem for TGA is that American providers don't give you much time to 'make it happen'. It looks like they got one season rather than a pilot though...so that's a plus.

lambo's head room is minimal .... I'm 6 3 in the proper driving position my head would hit the roof .

Lambo vs American

now that is a Kit car...lets see him in a real lambo hahaha

Repost and wrong section

LOL

Just for info, since most people just know the current show; Top Gear started in 1977 originally, on some local BBC channel, then came the proper & v. popular show with Tiff Needell, Vicky Butler, Clarkson, etc., on the national BBC channel.

Clarkson pissed off a lot of the other presenters and they then left the show as a consequence of this (in 1999). The show got cancelled for a couple of years until it picked up again with the current presenters we all know.

The presenters that left the show in 1999 created a new show on Channel5 called Fifth Gear.

when does this show come on? and what channel??

10pm EST Sunday on the History channel. Check your local listings.

Sorry but IMHO, Top Gear is deeply linked to Clarkson / Hammond / May show. The US version is not bad, but it will never have the same taste as the "real" one !

thx bro.

Agreed. I don't like how they're just regurgitating stuff from the original. The helicopter lock segment was neat but done much better in the original TG. I think next week they're going to fill their cars with water to see who drains out first. Thats another direct rip from the original...

At least next week we'll get to see them do a used car challenge and maybe stomp around in a 370z.

Oh, "big star, little car" is a terrible name.

The dialogue was a bit forced and seemed overly rehearsed, where the Brits are very good at making the show appear to be guys spontaneously mucking about with cars and having fun with you along for the ride. We'll see if it improves as they get some practice. US television is for the most part too polite and politically correct to make this sort of thing work.

You can't really complain, because believe it or not, outside of car forums not many people have seen every single episode of every season of Top Gear UK... the US version is just that, a regurgitated version of TG UK for America.

I'd still like to see some original ideas. The average person may not have seen every Top Gear but the huge portion of their initial audience likely has. Every American TG fan likely tuned in only to see the same things being done.

Either way, we'll see how this show pans out over the long run. I still doubt we'll ever get an honest opinion about cars as long as they have car manufacturers as advertisers.

Btw, I just noticed BBC America cuts 10-15 minutes out of TG UK so they can squeeze in commercials. Kind of lame. :p

Very lame, original show is 1 hour commercial free. Which part do they cut out? I only have watched the unedited version.

Don't worry. In a few episodes they'll replace Tanner with Steve Carell.

They chop out little bits here and there. Sometimes they come back from commercial break right into a challenge without the initial setup by the hosts. It's sort of weird seeing that after watching all the seasons in full glory.

Not a fan so far...but it takes time to get the formula right. And Chemistry and shots take time, too. Right now they are trying to duplicate the UK version - and it's just not 100% right for the US market.

As a future (Feb of 2011) 370z owner I have been compiling info and making my mod plan - as I do prior to any car purchase.

I'm excited for next week's episode about "drifting" where they use two 370's.

And BTW - this is a great forum. I've been on good (Swedespeed and Grand Cherokee SRT8) and some bad ( I won't mention.)

The trio seem very uncomfortable and nervous. I think given some time and experience, they should start getting better. Time will tell.

I actually liked it. It seems though if a lot of people from the US has preconceived perceptions of the hosts which makes it difficult to really evaluate the show objectively.

I thought it was entertaining. I'll leave it scheduled on the DVR.

I got to go to the taping of one of the last episodes where they talk about the Panamera they tested. Live the chemistry among the hosts seemed pretty good to me so I'm guessing it gets better.

The lead writer (a Britt) was on set as he is writing the lines and stuff so it should have some of the same flavor. The hosts did say they weren't trying to copy the UK hosts. They have thier own style, I think it's pretty good.

Adam was the funniest and seemed like a total pro. He'd do a lot of stuff in 1 take. But I thinks thats the guy from Rescue Me right? So I guess he has a lot of TV practice.

Rutledge was funny, not as polished as the other 2 but still good. I was surprised for a guy known to be associated with NASCAR he was the biggest import fan. Talked about how his project car was a SOHC Civic and how he liked BISIMOTO stuff...

Tanner is a good guy, decent sence of humor but comes off like the straight man to me. Great driver. I wonder if they saved money and use him as the Stig too lol???

We got to watch some of the Z episode. It's pretty funny, I think you'll find it entertaining. I read in an article Tanner used to be a track day instructor and that plays into that segment.

I liked it for the most part, I still remember all the first couple of seasons with the original Top Gear: much of the appeal with Clarkson/May/Hammond comes from the epic journeys and challenges they did previously. I hope that over time, it will happen to TG USA as it did (somewhat) for TG Australia.

Interestingly, I liked the premier better when I watched it online than when I finally saw it on TV.

One thing that was lacking from the original version is that these host like everything they drove. The best thing about Clarkson is that he hates 90% of what he reviewed, and the other 10% was "epic", or "biblical".

Thats what I was thinking actually. The Stig looked very short, or at least he looked short in the Viper, and the hosts don't seem to be too tall or broad shouldered. Maybe you're right.