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Liked it.?
But you're going to give an opinion that you admit is completely uninformed?
I think you [i]may[/i] have misread the tone of my post somewhat.
Have to say I found it boring
Bring back Evans.
I enjoyed it, I think it will get better and people will become more comfortable with it as time goes on but I guess some will insist on disliking it....
I've only watched half of it, just up to crashing the Volvo
And I have to say that, despite preconceptions, it looked decent
Some chemistry developing between the hosts. Remember Hammond and May were relatively unknown at the start of TG. It could be that the 'other two' flourish without Evans. And MleB to be the star that glues it together? Certainly has promise
A lot better filmed than TGT
Matt seems to tie everyone together but can someone just handcuff them all ? The hand movements when talking were annoying but Matts clapping was just unneeded.
Let's hope it develops. Much better without Chris on it.
I enjoyed it more than any Grand Tour episodes that I've seen
It was PGSNDTIBOTV (Perfectly Good Sunday Night Doing The Ironing Brain Off TV) and much better without Evans constantly trying too hard.
I rather enjoyed that. Missed Sabine though, she was the best (only good) thing about the last series.
but I guess some will insist on disliking it....
How will they persist in the face of such awesome telly?
Most importantly - what does kryton57 think?
Tomorrow.
I enjoyed the new top gear.
I don't think one episode (as with both TG and TGT)is indicative of its stride.
Need to give it a full series really.
I thought it was workmanlike and efficient, with the studio bits being a bit awkward. Ultimately pretty dull, and I switched to the Martin Scorsese documentary.
Could it be that it doesn't matter what form these programmes now appear in - they probably can't actually offer anything new or that exciting?
I suppose it doesn't matter as we now have two car programmes running so we can tune in twice a year.
Disposable television.
Chris Harris is annoyingly twitchy.
They work together much better than the last line up. Last nights was a great improvement over old TG and GT.
If they keep that up they might not get a mauling this series.
It was a bit wooden & scripted in the studio, Chris needs to get over hs stage fright. But as Mrs K said, the presentation was a bit more "every day man" for today which is welcome.
I quite enjoyed it.
Keep an eye out for my brother's 60's Guilia GTA Stradale in the next episode (think it'll be there for the opening bit of the Alfa story). He was impressed at how much Chris Harris new about the car when they chatted in rehersals (e.g. fact that roof is riveted on indicates it's a genuine GTA).
I was in the studio for filming too so look out for a bloke in a green Vulpine waterproof 🙂
I don't watch any TV other than from Amazon these days. So it was a novelty to tune in to BBC2. It wasn't actually that bad. My 11 year old enjoyed it, where he walks away from TGT and stopped watching Evans quite quickly. Chris Harris is an odd one, and doesn't look too happy with scripts. Then again neither does James May.
Is the Harris Monkey opening bonnet going to be the new bumping into each other thing?
It is a bit dated they keep crashing into each other.
I think I watched a different show to others on here?
That was terrible.
Chris Harris is awful.
They basically copied the Clarkson/May/Hammond format for a show that was already past it's sell by date and replaced the presenters.
It was painfully scripted and wooden.
Unbelievably, the high mileage race was even more contrived than anything that had been done before.
It is a bit dated they keep crashing into each other.
That's all accidental as no one in their right mind would deliberately go out and damage another vehicle.
Obvz.
It'll grow I'm sure, plenty of chat on R2 this morning about it.. which is its target audience.
The characters will soften on us, no doubt in 5 years we'll have forgotten the odd scripts and accept the simpleton tried and tested format.
But, I quite like MlB. He has a humour I recognise.
I liked Chris. All of them were good but he has a real passion for cars that lacked in May and Hammond.
It seemed to be a nice balance of motoring and TG - which wasn't about cars by the end.
I think it proved nicely that it isn't a big name that makes a programme. Evans was shite!
I used to love Clarkson/Hammond/May Top Gear, but the scripts were getting tired and increasingly contrived with the sense that none of them really wanted to be there. I watched it because I love watching snazzy cars being driven fast and I enjoyed the extended features. The Grand Tour didn't really deliver and I gave up after episode 4.
This new TG series looks like it has removed most of what I dislike and done more of what I like. It's a thumbs up from me. The Star in a Reasonably Fast Car has got promise too.
7.5/10
I wouldn't be watching were it not for Chris Harris. Saying that I only wathced the FXXK bit then fast forwarded right through the rest of the show.
I enjoyed it (only watched part of it up to the Volvo crashing). Chris Harris is ace and along with MlB had a decent sense of humour.
Quote of the show
'Wheel bearings gone' as the Lada pulled off...
Enjoyed that a lot. I think they're starting to get the mix right. Better than GT and the vast majority of a few TG series prior to the big bust-up.
Didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did - that was good! Too much fake laughing and I'm never gonna be a big fan of the challenge thingies but I enjoyed it, I like it that they now have a proper driver on the squad. 🙂
I think it was a decent first episode, I like that they didn't have specifically named segments, it just kind of moved between each without trying too hard, like inventing tacky names such as conversation street or celebrity brain crash!
Works best with just the three main presenters, and I'm really enjoying it. Amazingly, I didn't think it could be rescued after the Chris Evans cluster****.
And that Ferrari... 😯
Nup. Tried to like it, but by the time they got to the goat chucking I'd had enough.
like inventing tacky names such as conversation street or celebrity brain crash!
Or Star in a Reasonably Fast Car.
Tried to watch it last night but just found it painfully scripted and forced. I'm out.
I liked it and the 3 have got good potential
What didn't help with the studio pieces was the editing. The cuts happened too quick or were unnecessary, so went from a joke with every laughing, sudden cut, then audience silent, didn't help with the flow
Could only be better without Chris Evans.
Great filming, looks better than TGT.
As before Top Gear Extra straight after on BBC3 seems to have a lot better studio vibe and the piece on there where Chris Harris instructed the 'celebs' round the track was probably the funniest part of both shows.
I was quite pleasantly surprised, I found it quite watchable.
Matt LeBlanc was very good, as was Chris Harris. Rory's manner got on my nerves a little, he comes across as an excitable puppy, but at least there was no Eddie Jordan and Sabine. The latter, I'm very sad to admit got on my nerves.
There were opportunities missed. Clarkson, May or Hammond would have delivered a stirring monologue about the Kazakhstan steppe, accompanied by picturesque tracking shots of the landscape as the usual nod to the local tourist industry. The fake banter between Rory and the others got on my nerves too.
I think the Guardian summed it up by suggesting that Rory, Matt and Chris hole up in a bar somewhere and get very, very drunk to work on minimising the awkwardness and faux camaraderie.
But it's improved by 73.2% since Chris Evans moved on.
And people are saying this is better than TGT - you need your ruddy heads testing! 😀
Unless the BBC have some cast-iron contracts with broadcasters tied in for the next 5 years, they won't be getting top-price for this when selling it overseas.
the-muffin-man - Member
And people are saying this is better than TGT - you need your ruddy heads testing
Just watched the new Top Gear, and at no point did I find myself wondering wtf i was watching. That puts it instantly ahead of TGT - no Celebrity Brain Crash (seriously, wtf?), no bizarre crap Sauber shed builds, no special forces that had nothing to do with the special forces or their kit. The road trip could easily have happened on either show, but overall i didn't feel the need to blind and deafen myself..... or at least switch it off
...did you stay awake though!
TGT is worse for that too, just completely switch-off to it after a while
I think I preferred it with Evans - at least he was excitable and gave you someone to shout at!
Yep - that was ok.
A much braver attempt at a relaunch than the first attempt that kept too much of the old show both physically and in format.
Agree with a above that Rory is a bit of a puppy dog. I thought it was better for having no Stig too, although that is just a temp thing. Harris teaching the celeb the ropes is better. The car change is also an improvement. Road trip was watchable and only the jetwasher that was a bit pointless.
But its not a global seller - that ship might have sailed.
watched it on iplayer tonight, convert pretty much sums it up. I think it will still sell though.
think I preferred it with Evans - at least he was excitable and gave you someone to shout at!
No, I switched it off, deleted it, and deleted the series link, I couldn't work up the enthusiasm to raise my voice, it was just too embarrassing to watch.
Chris Harris looks really forced. It's like he's been told "OK, you need to ridicule the others" as a kind of clarkson. This won't work! He's a good chap, and just needs to be himself, the show won't suffer if there is no laddish ridicule. They seem to be trying to replace personalities with others trying to be those personalities and it's just...well...shit.
Let them be themselves. It won't get the mass appeal that the last show got anyway so they may as well make it a full on motorist show.
The americans won't buy more than one series of this. It's not entertaining to the masses, may as well swallow it and make it something new.
The americans won't buy more than one series of this. It's not entertaining to the masses, may as well swallow it and make it something new.
Given that USA and Australia have their own presenters, as does Germany. Is it not the format that was sold rather than episodes?
Hmmm. Not sure. It did seem a long hour. I like le Blanc. He has that middle aged confidence and I like his dryness which is accentuated by his voice/accent. Rory needs to rein in his pubescent fervour. Not sure about Harris. He can't help his cock sureness as a decent racing driver. He handled that FXXK like a seasoned Mig pilot. But he is on that short bridge between proficiency and arseholeity.
Will watch again. It'd be nice to have a 10 min review of cars we can all at least hope to own and enjoy.
Given that USA and Australia have their own presenters, as does Germany. Is it not the format that was sold rather than episodes?
Yes, obviously. But don't ruin it for the BBC Brand Strategy experts above 😉
Given that USA and Australia have their own presenters, as does Germany. Is it not the format that was sold rather than episodes?
No its both, or maybe was. Although in US, Top Gear UK is shown on BBC America, dont know whether it is shown elsewhere. In Australia, BBC Knowledge shows it first, then Channel 9. TV rights are very complicated these days.
Will watch again. It'd be nice to have a 10 min review of cars we can all at least hope to own and enjoy.
They do that on the extra show, I think the extra shoe enhances the main show, it's like they are more relaxed on that
I think the extra shoe enhances the main show
Is it Matt LeBlanc or Jake le Peg who presents that?
Y'know the "extra show" thingy, the online BBC 3 thingy..
Do you not think that this will be pushed hard every show? I think soon, maybe even next season, that TG will be pushed to BBC 3 for online only.
IMHO they still haven't had the courage to move it on from the Clarkson era. That is why Evans failed. They're trying to make the Clarkson Top Gear with different faces. I thought Evans was a good choice originally, but I think I was expecting it to become a different show that played to his strengths - "TFI Cars" if you like.
A bit late to the party, but I've finally had chance to watch it.
General impression is it's OK. Nothing mind blowing but watchable.
Except for Chris Harris. What an irritating little know-it-all twerp. Don't know if it's really him, or just a character he or the show is trying to create, but if I were Matt leBlanc I'd probably have punched him at some point during that challenge!
Both Matt and Rory but looked genuinely annoyed and fed up with him a few times already during that piece.
And I don't think that James McAvoy took to him either judging by some of his responses 😕
How many times did he have to insult him with the "you didn't catch that, it was the electronics" line - I counted at least 3 times.
Also, that crash definitely didn't look staged. If it was sureley they would have has a nicely framed external shot rather than the combination of shaky in car footage from both vehicles?
I've taken amazon prime in the last month so am starting to watch GT and without intending to its sort of in parallel to TG. I am not a fan of JC, but I do like Hammond and especially May. I enjoyed GT ep 1 very much. its what TG always wanted to be ( or i wanted it to be). A sort of TV version of Evo magazine, having fun reviewing amazing cars. No lower budget fillers doing daft stuff like destroying a caravan. Ep 2 watched yesterday was less good for me....a big filler with them doing daft stuff running around and shooting guns...oh dear. First episode of TG i liked, not quite the bug budget of GT but still the tv I want, and although i haven't yet warmed to any of the presenters, I don't dislike them either. I'm keen to see what the rest of the series is like.
Watched it last night, thought it was OK, not as good as TGT ep 1 but better than ep 2 which is as far as I got.
That said, I didn't think the last series was half as bad as everyone made out, and I though Evans was OK too.
Chris Harris is probably my favourite out of the new three, quite like his presenting style, watched a couple of his Youtube vids after the last series and they were quite good too.
I quite enjoyed it, nothing too outrageous.
Chris Harris, hmm, I like having someone with some indepth knowledge and technical ability, but he is a bit too much of a smart arse at times.
Matt I like.
Rory is ok, but he's a bit meh.
Hopefully they'll get into a groove and relax a bit then they can develop things a bit.
Rory could well be the new Jason Dawes..... with any luck
Nah he's already lasted one series.
Really enjoying tonight's episode, they seem to be growing into their roles more.
Cock, has it started? I thought it was on at 9.
Enjoying the midwife prog on bbc1...
I'm warming the Harris, I already like MLB.
Ditch the SIAToyota.
Loved the Guila, was surprised because I thought it'd be a pile of 156 in a dress.
Love the Porker, love the challenge so far.
If it ended now I'd give it 8/10, but the boring Tennant bloke is on so it'll get a 7/10 because it's a waste of time.
That was fun - an hour of very easy watching, same stunning photography as always.
I actually prefer it to the Grand Tour.
Enjoyed that - it's really coming together and they're finding their feet. That mammoth mountain bit was ace!
Brilliant, whole family watched tonight lols all round. Now have 8 & 10 year old bugging me to get the Porsche and the Alfa, I can afford nether.
I wonder ...... if the BBC actually pulled a blinder last year; stick the marmite wonder kid in charge (Evans), let everyone aim vitriol at him, let the new guys settle in, let Evans be the fall guy .... let him fall. New guys start second series - everyone loves it. Result! BBC sticks one to Clarkson!
I enjoyed it tonight, it all mostly works now.
What have they done to the track? 1:44 in a GT86, that would be a decent, but not amazing time in the Lacetti.
I know the GT isn't universally loved, but it should be massively faster than the Liana or Lecceti.
Very good. A show about cars stunningly shot without annoying quips, rather than the other way around.
Good wasn't it! Fast forwarded the bloody star bit though.
I actually prefer it to the Grand Tour.
I didn't get on with the Grand Tour - watched the first 2 or 3 but gave up on it.
Like it more than last season and more than the Clarkson era to be honest.
Just good tv without the annoying tossers
Cracking episode!! The Porsche vs Lambo up the mountain was incredible and looked like so much fun! Would love to do something like that. Lucky boys getting to do that for a living.
It's got mr questioning M3 or Giulia though.. always thought it would be the Beemer but not so sure now! Can't afford either one of them mind.
Yet to watch, got it recorded.
Grand tour ep 1 vs TG ep 1..
TG has it by a mile. Feels like it's back to the hayday of clarkson etc..
Just a really good watch.
TGT was fairly painful. Don't know how true the figure is but the top gear series has a smaller budget that a grand tour episode.
I've got a good feeling about TG...!
Didn't enjoy the porker/lambo thing as much as last wek's high miler thing, but a general rhumbs up from me. Good team - Monkey Harris stands out for me.
Agree that it's beginning to feel much more like old Top Gear now, and the presenters appear to be genuinely enjoying it. In comparison, the Grand Tour feels quite stale and you get the impression even the presenters are bored of doing the same gags every week.
I'm liking it so far. Towards the end of the last series of TG it started to get a bit better... mainly as Evans was getting pushing further and further off camera. I've always liked Chris Harris so it's good to see him get a bigger project to work on.
The Grand Tour was... meh, much like the last series of TG. Far too over scripted, and trying too force the jokes today too much, Hammond got right on my nerves, but it did have some good bits, but too many meh/bad bits. Best part I remember was the GT40 documentary that May did. But then he's always been my fav one. Will see how they adjust it for the new series. But for now, TG is better option for me.
But that Lambo- I just squirted something. Gorgeous.
The fastest celeb did a 1:39. Never heard of whoever it was but a quick driver would be in the low 1:30s I reckon.P-Jay - Member
I enjoyed it tonight, it all mostly works now.What have they done to the track? 1:44 in a GT86, that would be a decent, but not amazing time in the Lacetti.
I know the GT isn't universally loved, but it should be massively faster than the Liana or Lecceti.
Great episode and hurray for the Alfa Giulia