What did we think? Cringe-worthy? Slight awkward? Hopeful that it might get better?
I got 10 minutes in then i had too switch over i just cant stand chris evans but i did try to give it a go.
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Sorry, canāt stand Chris Evans, so couldnāt even give it 10 mins.
Havenāt seen it since itās not available where i live, but i am actually actually curious how Chris Harris did? I somehow still canāt image him in a show like top gear which is or was more of a scripted entertainment show. I found Harris to be a reliable source of detailed and objective informations about the car heās reviewing.
Note that the scripted entertainment part primarily applies to the second iteration of TG. Before that it was just your dreary old motoring program. With much glorious Chris Goffey awesomeness and Woollarding.
I canāt stand Evans either, and his references to the controversy last yearā¦what was he thinking? Guests part was messy to say the least and I didnāt like his commentary either. But, Matt LeBlanc gets a thumbs up from me.
I just finished watching the whole episode.
I canāt stand Evans shouty voice. Whenever he was talking/shouting i had to put volume down as it was too loud.
Sure the old Clarkson Top Gear was scripted, no doubt, this one is too. But you could feel and notice it a lot - the Reliant breaking down, with Evans having that big stupid grin trying to act super surprisedā¦ sure. It also felt super disjointed - missing big segments and being chopped together.
Star in a rallye cross car? Sure, go ahead. Skipped that entire section.
Ariel Nomad section was great! I really like LeBlanc.
And the last sectionā¦ wellā¦ it fell with Evans. Very cringeworthy.
I tried to give it a chance - but so far it failed. Evans is trying really hard to imitate Clarkson and alternates between a Clarksontryhard and a Hammonhyperactive - with the occasional Captain Slow moments. It felt weird not having āThe Newsā and not having a third person. And where were the 6421 other presenters they showed us? Sabine Schmitz, Chris Harris, Rory Reid etc. ?! Oh they were on Extra Gearā¦
They should kick Evans out, put LeBlanc on the main spot and add Harris and Schmitz to it. There was no proper chemistry around in this episode when those two appeared, there was no enjoyable banter, no 100% enjoyable section in this episode.
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Iāll have to watch this when it comes on in the US. Iām rather glad with the direction the American Top Gear took. At first it was largely mimicking the British Top Gear, but it fell into itās own element. Iāll try to keep an open mind with this new one, but Iām not sure about losing the old gang.
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37 seconds into the episode Iāve done something I thought I couldnāt do to a Top Gear episode. I shut it down and went āmeh, imma go to sleep now, and watch this when I got absolutely nothing better to doā. And I watched all of TG USA and I think itās pretty good.
That bit you mention about the Reliant - it was almost more deliberate than you suggest. The car that was used as a base for Mattās car had been for sale for about 18 months, and I had seen a few posts across British car groups online of people who knew the car and had seen it. They were unrelated posts, but all declared how much of an utter shed it was for the price, hence the length of time it was for sale. Also explains how it couldnāt go 5 minutes without overheating.
The first episode this season was meh. It could definitely be improved, like Chris Evans being overly ecstatic and bring back the āStar in a Reasonably Priced Carā segment and get rid of the āStar in a Rallycross Carā segment. With that being said, I want to watch at least a couple of more episodes before I make my judgement.
As most of you, I find Evans loud and annoying. Also, I didnāt like his comments about the old top gear, specially the āwe got custodyā part.
I was surprised by LeBlanc, I was expecting way less from him. But he wasnāt perfect either, good in videos, boiled-potato in the studio.
Iāll just better wait for The Grand Tourā¦
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Normal TG was utter crap, couldnāt even finish the show.
On the other hand, the extras show, extra gear, with harris and reid was really very good. As it would, having chris harris on it. Also, evans had a brief appearance on that, and as it was unscripted and spontaneous I could start seing why someone might like him, he should use that on the show, and not his attempt at mimicking clarkson.
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I see it getting canned after 2 seasons. Iād say 1 but I feel like theyāve pumped so much money into it that theyāll be reluctant to just cut their losses and shut it down.
Next year marks the 40th anniversary of Top Gear.
Havenāt watched it, but it sounds like weāll have to see if the show finds its own stride. And whether Chris can wield the baton that got passed to him. Tough act to follow.
Worse than top gear usa Chris Evans BLOWS, fire him and replace him.
Not here in Aus yet. Sorry without the trio it will be crap thatās what made TG. The way the hostās acted towards each other canāt be replicated. TG Aus tried and failed and TG America wisely did their own thing. BBC how foolish can you be. TG fans will watch one maybe two episodes and never watch again. TG wasnāt about cars, it was about 3 poms taking the piss out of each other.
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Exactly. Iāve seen a good chunk of the older Top Gear US, and I never understood why it got all the hate it did until Iād seen a couple episodes of TG UK. Well, without having seen the new TG UK (Iām an American, and I donāt watch TV anymore because itās full of crappy ārealityā TV shows) I can honestly say, from all of this going on hereā¦
Turnabout is fair play, and payback sucks, doesnāt it?
The old TG US was cringe-worthy for the first season or so, because they were obviously trying to use the old TG UK formula and failed to realize it wonāt work here. Weāre Americans. Dry British humor isnāt as appreciated here. So TG US realized it needed to adapt. Less of the talk show, more challenges. Action action action, get rid of the acting, and show us challenges. And it worked.
So now, TG UK had to replace their cast for obvious reasons, and theyāre trying to use the same old formula. Except now thereās no chemistry between the characters. From what it sounds like, theyāve got one guy who sounds like they hired him from the dark-side of the YouTube lets-play community, who only knows how to scream at the camera while babbling gibberish, and two ānormalā people trying to decide how they fit into this.
I see four possible outcomes.
1: TG UK adapts, whether by firing the obnoxious moron and getting a replacement (or telling him to tone it down/ muting his microphone/ adjusting sound levels), TG UK fans complain itās just not the same and it sucks, and they stop watching it. New fans show up and they think itās āokay, but not great.ā TG UK dies off after two or three seasons on its own terms, a polite ending to a good show.
2: TG UK adapts, as above. TG UK fans complain that itās not the same and that it sucks, and they stop watching it. New fans show up and they think itās crap. TG UK dies off within the season due to incredibly low ratings.
3: TG UK sticks with their plan. TG UK fans complain that it feels forced and that the new guy sucks, and they stop watching it. Obnoxious babbling baboon drives off any new fans who think it might be an interesting car show. TG UK dies within one season.
4: TG UK sticks with the plan, but sacks the babbling baboon first. TG UK fans complain that itās not the original three, but this new team might hold out, so they keep watching. New fans show up, and find the show isnāt all that bad in the end. TG UKās fate is uncertain, but likely to continue.
There are, of course, other possiblities, but I feel itās cheating to mention every single one I can think of. After all, if I predict everything possible, I will be right. Iāve also tried to avoid being overly vague about my predictions. After all, if I simply said āTG UK is doomed!ā without saying what the doom is, Iād be right the instant they cancelled the show.
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He can, but only as a dildo.
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