Top Gear U.S. Series!

I think Fifth Gear with Tiff Needell and Jason Plato is the better show for you. They drive the same cars, but the show is 10 times more boring.

 

The show just needs time to develope. Give it time. Besides, what else was on TV?

'nuff said...

 

real top gear reruns which 3 or 4 times on will still be more entertaining than this will ever be...

there is no reason for this show to exist considering real TG can be brought over and broadcast.

these hosts are not the future of the franchise considering the total lack of anything intelligent, honest, witty, or compelling about any of them.

Leno(instead of going back to tonight show), Carolla(gets the younger smart ass crowd), and a Tommy Kendall or similar as the hosts would have given this a real shot. If NBC would have kept it they would have had a great primetime shot with this and those guys on board.

To me this is the equivalent to the cheap knockoff Rolex.

 

"and here is the stig"


It was said as drab, boring and dull as these words look, typed here.

 

I have watched the first episodes of Top Gear UK, Top Gear Australia I, Top Gear Russia, Top Gear Australia II and Top Gear USA. Here is how they shake out, for me anyway...



Chemistry

By far the best chemistry between hosts on a first episode goes to Top Gear Australia II. Unlike any group of hosts before the Aussie II boys felt like lifelong frienemies right off the bat. 2nd place would go to the Top Gear Australia I team, who had the luxury of Charlie Cox as lead host, allowing Steve and Warren to hate on Charlie as is correct, because Cox is LAME.

The worst chemistry between hosts on a first episode goes to Top Gear Russia. The hosts spent most of the first episode having no clue who the other host was and trying to position themselves as the top dog.



Cinematography

Best cinematography for a first episode comes from Top Gear Australia II. Their stuff looks exactly like Top Gear UK's latest.

Second place goes to Top Gear USA, which looks like Top Gear UK around series 3 or 4.

Worst cinematography goes to Top Gear Russia, but we can let that slide, as they were filming the show with what looks like WWII film technology.



Supercar Review

Best supercar review for a first episode goes to Top Gear UK with Pagani Zonda C12 S vs Lamborghini Murcielago. Exactly what a Top Gear supercar review should be, it still ranks among the all time best pieces of supercar cinema.

... and then, there is a huge gap.

Second place goes to Top Gear USA for 2010 Lambroghinis. The result is as expected. Rutledge let the SV down, but then, Captain Slow would have done the same thing.

The other shows don't even compare. The Aussies had the Maybach 57 for I and the Morgan Aero SS for II. Russia had the Boxster S.



Host Challenge

Top Gear Australia II wins this with Outback Sailing, simply because no other Top Gear series has included a host challenge in the first episode.




Overall I feel that Top Gear USA's first episode slots into a solid 3rd place behind the Aussie II and the Brits. Yes, I do think that, as first episodes go, Australia II beats UK. Go back and watch that first episode of UK. It is slow, ponderous and flat. The cinematography is very Autoweek with locked off cameras and TV news composition.

The USA hosts don't seem that bad to me. Of course I'm meeting Rutledge and Adam for the first time here, and not really meeting Adam at all. I know Tanner Faust from bits and pieces of stuff I've seen him do, mostly in movie Making Of documentaries. I've only seen one Supercars Exposed and one Battle Of The... yeah, I couldn't finish that show and it was Paul Tracy's fault.

I have a feeling that Tanner will relax and not try so hard. I think Rutledge has the potential to be the best of the three, mostly because Adam said maybe 10 words the whole show.

The USA crew is never going to be the UK crew, who have been together now for 7 years. But I do think that what we have is a very solid start, with potential for improvement. Yeah, the Aussies blew the roof off the place with their second attempt at a first episode, but they've managed to ruin it by showing three episodes and then disappearing from the schedule for weeks.

I'll be watching Top Gear USA next weekend, as it is now the best motoring show this country makes and the third best Top Gear... so far.

 

I feel they shouldn't have tried to make the show such a straight knock off of the UK version with the way Tanner introduced "The Stig" and such, he seemed like he was trying way to hard to actually BE Jeremy Clarkson. If they'd made the show more of like an addition or extension to the UK version it'd probably have appealed to me more. I may tune in from time to time if they have a car on there I like but only for the car itself. I can understand TG is the most watched TV shows around the world and they'd want to try and tap into that market in the US sinec alot of people get The History Channel and not BBC but try and make it a NEW show for people to come to love. Just my .02 cents

 

real top gear reruns which 3 or 4 times on will still be more entertaining than this will ever be...

there is no reason for this show to exist considering real TG can be brought over and broadcast.

these hosts are not the future of the franchise considering the total lack of anything intelligent, honest, witty, or compelling about any of them.

Leno(instead of going back to tonight show), Carolla(gets the younger smart ass crowd), and a Tommy Kendall or similar as the hosts would have given this a real shot. If NBC would have kept it they would have had a great primetime shot with this and those guys on board.

To me this is the equivalent to the cheap knockoff Rolex.

 

Again, I totally agree. It's about ENTERTAINMENT, not the stature of the guest.

What they should have had is some hot shot Pop star kid who thinks he's cool that he drives his Lambo through Beverly Hills at 30MPH take that economy car, burn rubber, spin out, and just make a fool of himself trashing the car with his lack of skills on a track. That would have been fun. Watching an old ex astronaunt pudder around a track ISN'T!

They film this in Southern California and the first star they can get for the premiere show is an ASTRONAUT? What the heck are they thinking.

 

Yes.

I don't rate "holding a drift through a single corner" very high on my list of requirements for an entertaining TV personality.

 

Actually I think that is a great idea! Leno, Allen, and Tanner. I find both Leno and Allen entertaining and they're car guys. Better than the current hosts at least. I don't mind Tanner at all, he can drive and I have seen him host other car shows. Tanner's not the most entertaining but Leno and Allen would make up for it.

I can't speak for Leno or Allen's driving skills but I assume they aren't that bad.

I don't know why they would do this show with no name hosts...

 

Fixed

 

Lol! I never was too much of a Seinfeld fan. Don't really find him that funny. Plus I think one guy out of the 3 not being a tv personality works. Doesn't Seinfeld only like Porsches anyway?

Who are we kidding? They probably don't have the budget for these big names.

 

Can you imagine this with Seinfeld as a host or even just doing a segment?

It would have been the highest rated show in its time slot.

 

wasnt too bad for a 1st episode. its a complete copy of the uk show which is the way to go. just hope they give real driving impressions of the cars and get to criticize without worrying about advertisers.

btw, i bet the stig is paul tracy.

 

I bet it's Urotrash.

 

The only thing I liked about the show was the filming, our the visual look when it comes to the cars, which is exactly the same as the UK version. Just mute the show until the cars come out. Hopefully their chemistry will start gelling

 

I watched it fully expecting to hate it, but in reality it wasn't that bad at all.

 

Tim Allen was teammates with Steve Saleen and Bob Bondurant in the SCCA World Challenge cars.

 

id say leno Allen.... and i would throw in an odd ball like nick cage... he is a car guy... but most important to me is he is eccentric. you don't want 3 of the same guys on there... besides cage knows a TON about art etc... and could bring an interesting perspective on things. Plus... he could probably use the money

As far as there driving skills... i don't care that they can't lap with the best of them... the stig can do that... thats what he is there for. This isn't a show about showboating the best cars in the world haussed by the best drivers... they have that show already... its called F1... and many think its boring.

its a television show... its supposed to be entertaining. Top gear uk isn't popular because it the best factual program and most strict scientific testing... its because it is entertaining and has the passion of the automobile at heart...

how many times have they ended the show with... "the best car here... is the worst car here" and leading off with "we won the award for best factual program" basically... even these guys don't take there own "pokey motoring show" seriously... and thank god... otherwise we would have american top dog ****.

 

nicely presented feedback!

 

At least it was better than any american car show to date, and much better than Top Gear Australia. It still has a way to go before being as good as Top Gear UK, but that show took a LONG time to get where it is today. If you look at the original seasons it's a much different show now. It'll take a few years to evolve and find it's "niche".

 

I was thinking the same thing and hoping it was, but according to his tweets, he is not.

 

Watched the second episode on DVR last night, and it's still not clicking for me.

The cars were great -- Aston Martin V8/V12 Vantages, Mitsu Evo, etc. I think the problem is that these three guys just aren't funny. They've got the car review part down as well as anybody, and the production was really good -- especially the Evo on the ski slope. But it still felt kind of forced.

Also it's probably time to stop explaining the show and just get on with it.

 

I hate how they introduce the stig.

 

agreed...


also... i hate the overall tone of each of the hosts... they are all presenting... which is not engaging.