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It was all a bit forced and scripted, as is always the case with the show.
Early days, but the trio didn't appear to have any chemistry at all. Flintoff and McGuinness are just too similar to each other, and even to Harris, in a show where, at its best, much of the amusement came from the interplay between the very different 'characters' the presenters are playing.
Too much play fighting, especially at the end
Did I read somewhere Freddie is a flat-earther?
A lot better than I’d feared. Definitely should have shown the Ferrari lap since it’s the fast road car ever to go round.
I don't watch the links or the trips, so not much there for me.
Yep, odd there was no footage of the laps. For me it was more or less an Ethopia special with a car test shoehorned in. They did mention a guest for next week, so that might help but it all felt like a show that the last 3, would've made - perhaps barring the 'left in' bits but that's in the editing rather than the presenters.
Still it was better than the other show last night where a bunch of new hopefuls with questionable talent were trying to replace the last lot who fell out of favour.
Did I read somewhere Freddie is a flat-earther?
I think it was (humorously) discussed on this Podcast.
RM.
Certainly a lot more scope for the laddish behaviour and mickey taking. Those 3 seemed to gel better than the previous lot.
Could have been worse. What happened to the Stig though? Want to see laps.
Won't suit those that want William Woodard and co, but then they've been out of luck for over a decade anyway.
Won’t suit those that want William Woodard and co, but then they’ve been out of luck for over a decade anyway.
Dunno, I remember the episode where Angela Rippon stripped off to her undies and sat on Chris Goffey's head.
TBH that was far better than I expected it to be.
I dont mind the ladish behaviour, whilst it was a little forced at times (I dont think Freddie will ever be a natural TV presenter!) it was an improvement on the dying days on Clarkson / May etc.
Needs Steve Berry to make a cameo to complete the Northern trilogy 😉
Stig's lap in the Ferrari now up on the Top Gear You Tube channel. Looks a right handful, but got to admire the way he (she?) is nonchalantly flicking through the gears half way round corners.
I thought it was quite humorous ..and a million % better than the last series already ..
It's probably going to come up a little bit short in terms of two of the presenters not being very skilled drivers ..
I kind of enjoyed it. Think Paddy is a natural presenter, and will only get better at the role. But can’t help but think the ‘banter’ (probably manufactured) seemed to verge on the edge of bullying. I found it uncomfortable, and more so that it seemed to stereotype the northern lads (I’m from Bolton btw). What I liked about Clarkson et al is that they took the piss out of each other in equal measure, here though it’s just taking the piss out of Chris....maybe it’s just me
Thought it was good, Deffo as good as recent TGT stuff anyway. Liked the 'northern bants' between PM and FF. Just hope they dont make Harris the butt of all the jokes as he deserves much more credit than that, the only true motoring journalist and a hell of a driver too!
On a side note that import Mk2 looked a right bargain 😀
Only 1/2 way through as I’m watching with my lad and he had to go to bed but it seems pretty good so far. Ok the banter looks a little forced at times but it is the first of the series and Clarkson, May and Hammond were probably a bit awkward to start with. A lot better than I’d expected and shows hope for the future. It’s not been a car program for a long time, it’s car based entertainment but bringing in CH has given it a bit of that back and that’s to be applauded.
I will miss Matt LeBlanc as I thought he and Chris had a pretty good chemistry by the last series and they were pretty enjoyable together. I won’t, however, miss Rory as he was just painful to watch in front of the camera. I’m not looking forward to the return of Sabine but that’s probably just me.
All considered it’s a thumbs up from me. It certainly could have been worse.
Works for me 🙂
Speeder..you are not alone regarding Sabine ..I think that the "girl beats boy" England v Germany angle has pretty much run its course ..besides which she is extremely irritating ( notwithstanding the fact that she is a very good driver ) ..but obviously the production team think otherwise ..
I caught a bit of it & it looked like a low rent version of Jackass.
Parts of it were alright, other bits had me thinking I was watching a lads show from the 90's/2000's.
Enjoyed it.
A lot better than the last lot.
Generally finding it entertaining, but anyone else feeling just a little uncomfortable with the "banter" aimed at Chris Harris ? Flintoff especially seems to be crossing a line I thought.
Shame really as I think there is a fair bit of potential for these three.
Maybe it's just karma for him getting to do all the interesting stuff with Matt on the previous series' & Rory Reid pretty much having to do all the wonky segments by himself?
For me, last nights "humour" was straight out of an '80's playground. A pastiche of TG's past, no film of the Dallara lap and Flintoff appears to struggle to read an autocue - I'm out.
Yes, I very much felt that too, (bullying) and had a separate thread on this closed.
Before it was someone commented that it wasn't real, only telly, but seeing that behavior on screen being carried out by celebs normalises it, which is very wrong IMHO.
someone commented that it wasn’t real, only telly
In telly land it’s called ‘factual entertainment’ so it’s supposed to be ‘real’ but then it’s also supposed to be entertaining .
Yes, I very much felt that too, (bullying) and had a separate thread on this closed.
Because it was already being discussed here.
Loved last night’s even the staged bit with the water melon.
Generally finding it entertaining, but anyone else feeling just a little uncomfortable with the “banter” aimed at Chris Harris ? Flintoff especially seems to be crossing a line I thought.
Absolutely. Spoiled what was a decent episode, I thought. Flintoff is an arsehole, frankly, and isn't as competent or entertaining as McGuinness. They need to swap him out at the end of the season.
While him rolling over/destroying the hearse was funny, again I reckon there will be plenty of production folk pissed off with him over that. A bit too close to the uncontrolled risk side of things.
I’d have to agree. Watched it twice now and don’t really like the humour/northern bants slant on it. I agree re the way Flintoff and Paddy are behaving with regards Chris Harris doesn’t sit right as I watch it with my 8 year old.
At least old top gear there appeared to be an even level of mickey taking between them even if Clarkson was clearly the ‘boss’
Not sure I will continue as don’t really want the boy watching it.
I will admit that I felt uncomfortable at times last night. McGuiness and Harris seem fine, but Flintoff is obviously finding it hard and is resorting to "sports club banter with the lad"s. Which is looking very dated and makes him to be an idiot. I do realise that some of it is staged, but perhaps a little more thought should go into the staging.
Yep, this isn't just banter, it's got a nasty edge to it. add in the chauvinistic way that it's always 3 blokes (actually 4 because the script clearly denotes the stig as a man*) and sabine is only used whenever there is a 'adversarial' character required. Same tired old scripts. very staged, I keep hoping for a good one but I'm pretty much done with it.
*some say he's....
Have to admit that the bit with the melon was uncomfortable viewing for me.
If it was scripted, Harris is a great actor for conveying the impression of being genuinely upset but trying to hide it for the cameras.
If it wasn't scripted, and Harris was upset by it - don't you think Harris would have dealt with it before it was aired? I can't imagine they have no say in what is broadcast.
It is getting very close to the knuckle for a pre-watershed show that has a big folling with kids.
If it was scripted, Harris is a great actor for conveying the impression of being genuinely upset but trying to hide it for the cameras.
Really he just stood with his head looking down it was more Eastenders than Royal Shakespeare.
Clarkson should have thrown a melon, not a punch...
add in the chauvinistic way that it’s always 3 blokes (actually 4 because the script clearly denotes the stig as a man*)
Is that not OK sometimes. Loose women - not many male presenters. Woman's' hour on R4 - always female presenters. Is a show aimed at men, presented by men sometimes ok too?
Aye, Flintoff is coming across as a reet **** arsehole. What was the carry on with him nutting Harris in the episode a week ago? Looked intentional even though they tried to dress it up as an accident..
McGuinness is genuinely funny and a good presenter. Flintoff is just a big daft dickhead, he talked about his “dickhead phase” when driving the Boxster but he doesn’t seem to realise he is still in it.
Harris is great. Genuinely excited and passionate about cars and motorsport. Loved his comments about being “chassis enthusiast”. Hard to watch him get bullied on prime time telly after following him for many years through Evo and then his YouTube channel. His review of the M135i 6 years ago sealed my decision to get one. He’s a proper road tester journo.
Agree about putting the jag on its lid.. very dodgy indeed. They didn’t really show a proper shot of it which is telling..
I enjoyed it, I enjoyed the banter. I imagine Freddie was like that when he played cricket, he was like that on sky one.
So are we saying the bullying would be OK if Harris could hold his own?
If you let me drive fancy cars, travel the world and paid me you could take all the piss out of me you wanted. But I agree, I think Harris has earned his place now.
I don’t think it’s about holding his own with the banter as such, more the physical stuff. He’s a 40 odd year old professional in his field getting picked up and tossed about by a lanky halfwit.
Gave it a go, but it's just shit, same-old rehashed cobblers.
If you let me drive fancy cars, travel the world and paid me you could take all the piss out of me you wanted.
There was always pisstaking and pranks in the Clarkson/May/Hammond era, but I can't remember anything physical like Harris getting manhandled like that, and even the 'banter' seems to have a slightly nasty edge to it. As others have said, when viewers start getting uncomfortable watching the interplay, it's not working.
McGuinness is great, though. TBH, McGuinness, Harris and Rory would have worked well for me.
This will probably get me flamed, but I'd love to see Flintoff replaced by Olivia Coleman: a proper petrolhead, sharp as a very sharp thing (well able to put & keep "the lads" in their place) and ratings royalty to boot. Would also mean it's 3 very different personas, rather than 2 northern "lads" Vs one techie geek.
Yeah, I know it would be slated by the kind of viewer who'd struggle to accept a woman in more than a token "Sabine" role, but I reckon a couple of episodes would sort that out. And the yanks wouldn't need sub-titles for her pieces to camera.
YMMV of course...
You won't get flamed by me.
Enjoyed that.
First episode was great. Last 2 have gone downhill, agree with everyone, freddy is crap at reading and it was so 80s playground, bullying the geek. Im out!
McGuinness is great, though.
He's enough of a professional to keep his bullying behaviour off camera.
maccruiskeen - tongue in cheek remark or you know something we don't?
Not a fan myself, was always going to be a difficult act to follow the Clarkson, Hammond and May version of the show.
I wasn't the biggest fan of that show either, preffered 5th Gear myself. But at least with Clarkson and co they had a mixture of larking about in expensive cars whilst also being knowledgable, witty and whilst scripted, not wooden.
Even McGuinness to me is too scripted, Freddie is woeful. It would be like having me discuss cricket (I've played it twice at school). Or me presenting a car programme (I know where the petrol goes and passed my driving test)
Not really liking it thus far.
The show was getting tired with Clarkson, Hammond and May, so I might be in a minority when I thought the new cast and format gave it a new lease of life. It became more of a car show again which gave it some genuine substance between the gags and general silliness (which Top Gear once had).
All they've done now is cast 2 new guys who know nothing about cars, creating a parody of Clarkson era shows, less funny, less knowledgeable, and following the same tired format.
Agree with what's been said so far. McGuiness is OK. Flintoff is a bit of a bully and full of himself. Harris is the best thing on there but brought down to the level of the other two with cheap gags and scripted 'banter'. It's a dying show.
maccruiskeen – tongue in cheek remark or you know something we don’t?
Don't talk to him about his hair. Even if its your job to.
Clarkson, May and Hammond were 3 witty friends playing exaggerated versions of themselves. The current lot are 3 men playing exaggerated (diminished?) versions of Clarkson, May and Hammond.
but I’d love to see Flintoff replaced by Olivia Coleman
where do I sign, although Olivia is actually funny rather than having to rely on a script so may be wasted.
Clarkson, May and Hammond were 3 witty friends playing exaggerated versions of themselves. The current lot are 3 men playing exaggerated (diminished?) versions of Clarkson, May and Hammond.
they're all playing the same role - the one that the format demands. Clarkson Clegg and Foggy were just the first people tasked with doing it. We knew it was all scripted when they were doing it but we can't pretend its not scripted when you stand anyone else in their place - Its the Format are what make tv shows marketable so the producers/commissioners can't deviate from it.
"Format, format, format. Repetition, repetition, repetition." as someone said at a BBC conference recently. And thats always the first question - can we turn this thing into a format?
(the second question is "can we put 'My big fat' in the title?")
The format could work and has done recently, to me its about the people.
Who would have thought a wealthy ex-politician would be interesting to watch doing railway journeys, or watching three men in a boat would be good, or even watching two middle aged men eat in restraunts would be funny (The Trip). For me, its the mix of the format (including scenery) and the people. If the people aren't knowledgable, irksome and bullying, then unless they are aiming squarely at teens/twenty's market, then it won't work.
He’s enough of a professional to keep his bullying behaviour off camera
maccruiskeen – tongue in cheek remark or you know something we don’t?
Bloke at work's son works at Chester Racecourse and was serving drinks etc. to him in one of the posh stands. He didn't have a nice thing to say about his behavior. Thinks rather too much of himself, and too little of other people apparently.
The format could work and has done recently, to me its about the people.
its exhaustible though - and thats not the people thing. A lot of it revolves around reviewing (gushing about) top and cars filmed from a Russian Arm with a stirring sound track. Long before the bants got tiring there seemed to just not be enough cars to gush about. It can seem like they can give quite a lot a screen time to a car they've already talked about but which is now without a radio and so cost more and the result is infinitesimally different and a bit uncomfortable.
Its a shame because for the first time in a long time there are some genuinely interesting topics in motoring but TG would have to evolve quite radically to be the right platform for them. It could make room for an interesting item in the format - but it just seems to be the wrong format now.
its exhaustible though
It was exhausted when Clarkson was there.
Like you say, there's plenty of scope to add genuinely interesting topics, and they can still do all the funny and stupid shit in between.
There was a time it had a decent balance, they obviously seen that the stupid shit sold to the audience, so they gradually over time took out all the fundamental ingredients and left it with little other than a bunch of middle aged men taking the piss out of each other for an hour. Which can be funny enough, but after several dozen episodes of the same jokes, so obviously scripted...
Less "nastyness" from Freddie. I wonder if there had been a spot of re-editting after the negative publicity of recent weeks.
I thought the Matra looked ace and it was a shame to knock it about, but I found an article about the previous owner and it had been crashed previously and patched up, then flogged on for a couple of grand.
Nice to see somebody stick the boot into the vulgar SUV market too. That Roller was terrible, like the Bullingdon Club on wheels.
I felt the way they handled the sensitive situation was great. It would have been easy not to show the piece at all, but the Ghurkas worked hard, and deserved to be shown. The end was especially fitting.
I got tired of Flintoff this week, he's not engaging enough for continual watching in my book.
Yeah, I liked the way that they handled the issue with Brunei & the article about the Rolls Royce was pretty good. You could really feel the disdain that Chris Harris had for it.
The Borneo/Brunei trip was a bit crap & very similar to the other jungle trip they did years ago.
Weirdly, this series seems to have got worse as it' gone on. I was quite optimistic after the first couple of episodes but as mentioned by plenty above, there is a bit too much bullying and awkward bantz.....
Paddy & Freddy are pretty awkward & not very good when having to talk to camera & there were points in yesterday's interview with Bob Mortimer that were painful; with stilted laughter & Freddie looking around like he didn't really want to be there.
It's a shame that Matt le Blanc left. They were all into their stride during the last series & it kinda looks like back to square one now.
I rather enjoyed it. The Borneo trip was entertaining and as precutduck said, the Gurkhas were as much the stars of that segment as Flintoff and McGuinness so it had to be shown. Painting the cars in rainbow colours and airing the episode over pride month was a decent idea too.
It was very refreshing to see Harris being allowed to give his honest opinion on the Rolls. He's absolutely right, it is utterly hideous and clumsily chintzy from the outside. It will be bought by people with immense wealth, but no taste.
I tried to watch last nights episode, but it was beyond pants.
Dear BBC
The international cash cow that was Top Gear is dead. Move on.
We have watched the first two episodes and quite liked them - we were properly laughing at the electric shock race in the second episode.
Its mildly entertaining, but its also bindun before. Theres too much glossing over stuff and overly contrived stuff going on. I want "believe" the presenters fully (although Chris Harris is pretty convincing).
I do wonder if this series is just running the meter to the final "phut" and then the lights go out?
I'm still enjoying it but getting a bit tired of the overseas challenges where the cars are totally inappropriate. Would have enjoyed see the Mantra in some kind of "super-rare cheapo sports cars as everyday runners on our roads" kinda thing much more. Kudos for the way they handled the political stuff though.
I also really liked Chris putting the boot in the the Roller. I can only imagine how Rory Reid would have been spaffing over it.
It was very refreshing to see Harris being allowed to give his honest opinion on the Rolls. He’s absolutely right, it is utterly hideous and clumsily chintzy from the outside. It will be bought by people with immense wealth, but no taste.
Yep, exactly the people it's aimed at so a perfectly designed car. These things are status symbols..its irrelevant that us 'erberts don't like them because we can't afford them, that's the point. I bet its lovely inside though and drives like a dream.
I'm not sure I like the look of any of the big SUV's....it's kind of hard to make such a huge boxy thing look attractive. The RR looks a bit less gopping than the offerings from Maserati, Lambo and the others...but only a little bit. But then I don't think RR has ever made an attractive car ever...they all have presence and an air about them, but I've never thought of them as being nice looking cars.
But TG is crap. Clarkson and the gang thrashed the format to within an inch of its life and got out/were kicked out at just the right time. The new TG stands zero chance of being half as popular. Nothing is new and fresh, just all a re-hash of what's been done before and not as well done as it was done before. I can't stand Paddy McGuinness anyway so was always onto a non-starter for me anyway, and though the three of them are putting on the lad act, for me they're not gelling as well as Clarkson, May and Hammond did...all feels a bit forced and awkward - might change over time if the show lasts long enough but as the BBC is becoming more and more ultra PC I'm not sure a programme like TG has a future full stop. The BBC is now way too political to even have a show about planet killing cars and expensive things only a small percentage of us can afford. One to record and scan through in 10 minutes.
We have watched the first two episodes and quite liked them – we were properly laughing at the electric shock race in the second episode.
Is that the one where Harris 'bullied' Paddy but let's not mention that one.
I'm finding it very hard to watch two guys talk about stuff which you feel they ordinarily have no interest in.
Flintoff singing the praises of British Leyland for example. It doesn't work at all.
Chris Harris was great.
BBC is becoming more and more ultra PC
How can you be too PC?
How can you be too PC
I would have thought that was fairly obvious..
Flintoff singing the praises of British Leyland for example. It doesn’t work at all.
It wouldn't for anyone they were shit.
This week's was excellent. Some sillyness but then some great sensible sections, even Harris was watchable.
Yep, I thought it was pretty good too. Probably the best so far.
Freddie’s less pleasant behaviour seems to have been cut out and the bit on the Lotus 79 was very good. I knew that it was a Ground Effect car, but I didn’t know how it sealed itself to the track surface.
Bring on the next series.
The Harris buying tips bit is ace.
Did no one else notice Flintoff dropped the nut on Harris a couple of weeks ago? I thought it was karmic when the hurses storage door hit Flintoff in the forehead.
Wow!
Loved the Formula off-road.
Lotus 79 film was the best thing they've done for a long time. Genuinely interesting. Awesome car, loved the fact the engineer hung out of the back of a Renault 4 van to assess the best design.
Lotus 79 film was the best thing they’ve done for a long time. Genuinely interesting. Awesome car, loved the fact the engineer hung out of the back of a Renault 4 van to assess the best design.
^This. Fascinating technical insight into ground effect.
I also liked the Icelandic off road..they also explained Freddies role in the show prior to showing the footage ..in as much that he has no fear and will tackle anything ..or put another way ..he is as thick as a brick and is daft enough to get himself hurt..which is pretty much spot on.
Not a bad effort for their first series ..