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  #1  
Old 03-22-2018, 08:12 PM
Brucebubs Brucebubs is offline
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Default Top Gear ... not the same?

OK, I'm going to come right out and say it.
I preferred Top Gear with the Clarkson, Hammond and May line-up.



The Chris Evans, Matt LeBlanc follow up series wasn't the same... and they knew it.



The latest Matt LeBlanc, Chris Harris and Rory Reid series is an improvement but somethings still missing.



How are you finding it?
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  #2  
Old 03-22-2018, 08:31 PM
1neeto 1neeto is offline
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Haven’t watched the latest lineup. But I bet it’s better than the Grand Tour disaster.
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Old 03-22-2018, 09:12 PM
Russell G Russell G is offline
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Bruce, I'm with you 100% !
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Old 03-23-2018, 02:36 AM
Silurian Silurian is offline
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I think LeBlanc is doing a decent job. Harris really grates with me for some reason.

Of course, the chemistry isn't the same as Clarkson et al. But even then I sometimes felt as though they were going through the motions. To be honest I think the format is showing it's age.

Last edited by Silurian; 03-23-2018 at 02:37 AM. Reason: Spelling
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Old 03-23-2018, 03:46 AM
Ozzy the dog Ozzy the dog is offline
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Watched the first two series but haven't bothered with the latest. They don't seem to gel and they seem to be trying too hard.
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Old 03-23-2018, 04:03 AM
Silly Moustache Silly Moustache is offline
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I haven't bothered with the latest but was unable to sleep one night last week and watched the latest crew.

The programme was always about about grown men acting out adolescent fantasies but I'm afraid the current package simply doesn't work.

....and I hate to see sill big cars burning tyres.

Clarkson, Hammond, and May was a very successful team, and it seems obvious that the BBC have not been able to recreate it.

Clarkson has been writing motoring columns for two newspapers,and is about to chair a quiz programme on ITV (Independent TV) in the UK. James May and Richard Hammond don't seem to be doing too much apart from the amazon show - I know nothing of this.
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Old 03-25-2018, 09:52 PM
ManyMartinMan ManyMartinMan is offline
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You don’t mess with success. The new crew is a mess.
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Old 03-25-2018, 10:53 PM
Brucebubs Brucebubs is offline
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I think the appeal of Clarkson, Hammond and May was the way in which they were prepared to make themselves look like totally incapable, ham-listed, bumbling idiots at almost everything yet they could somehow put that all aside when they did their outstanding car reviews.
They could make fun of themselves and they were funny to watch as they did it.
That's missing now ... gone.
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  #9  
Old 03-25-2018, 11:41 PM
Seagull S6 Seagull S6 is offline
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The original Top Gear was our last chance at truly entertaining car shows. With that gone, I don't have a reason to watch TV anymore now. The current stuff just seems to be written by mentally lacking people for mentally lacking people.

One of the worst I think is/was Orange County Choppers. A continuing soap opera with chopper building just kinda thrown in. They might as well be manufacturing cat toys.

Last edited by Kerbie; 03-26-2018 at 02:23 AM. Reason: Inappropriate
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Old 03-26-2018, 04:37 AM
Silly Moustache Silly Moustache is offline
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Of course, I juast twigged, with the absence of Clarkson, Hammond and May, what the show now lacks is a truly British sense of humour, and ridiculousness. Their interaction was purely British, and that cannot be replaced.

LeBlanc is OK I suppose but, well he's not in the same league is he?

The programme was originally made for a British audience but the BBC made a great deal of money selling it abroad, which is fine, and as long as they can resell it , they'll make it, but it doesn't resonate with me.
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  #11  
Old 03-26-2018, 10:53 AM
HodgdonExtreme HodgdonExtreme is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Silly Moustache View Post
...truly British sense of humour, and ridiculousness. Their interaction was purely British, and that cannot be replaced.
Absolutely!

The original lineup was a fabulous blend of automotive porn and Brit humour. The newer incarnations are just lame.

No Brit humour (basically zero humor at all), but lots and lots of automotive porn and hardcore track thrashing can be seen on "Best Motoring International". If you're a car guy, you'll love this show.
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Old 03-26-2018, 12:12 PM
Long Jon Long Jon is offline
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I have never ever seen this “Top Gear” ,,, when’s it on ?
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  #13  
Old 03-26-2018, 01:05 PM
1neeto 1neeto is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Silly Moustache View Post
Of course, I juast twigged, with the absence of Clarkson, Hammond and May, what the show now lacks is a truly British sense of humour, and ridiculousness. Their interaction was purely British, and that cannot be replaced.



LeBlanc is OK I suppose but, well he's not in the same league is he?



The programme was originally made for a British audience but the BBC made a great deal of money selling it abroad, which is fine, and as long as they can resell it , they'll make it, but it doesn't resonate with me.


Their chemistry can only go so far without smart writing and production team. Amazon picked them up and gave the show a ridiculous amount of a production budget, and if you watch The Grand Tour, you’ll see how badly written it is. It’s almost like they’re trying to be funny by not being funny at all, and heavily scripting everything taking away the apparent spontaneity of their Top Gear antics. It’s a complete high budget disaster if you ask me.
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  #14  
Old 03-30-2018, 10:59 AM
Johnny K Johnny K is offline
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I'm not hating it. Ditching Chris Evans was a good thing. To me the show is now more like a cross between old Top Gear and Fifth Gear. My wife says it's like watching wrong sounding Muppets. I did enjoy the recent episode where they went to Japan.
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  #15  
Old 04-02-2018, 09:22 AM
Thumbwrapper Thumbwrapper is offline
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This is a tragedy. The Clarkson-Hammond-May Top Gear was my favorite automotive show ever, it had everything. Those three personalities and the writers who obviously knew how to write for them is what made the show. They could have driven and reviewed Ford Fiestas and I bet it would have still been an entertaining show.

I thought GT was/is not bad but nowhere near the original TP. The newer TP variations without the original trio have, IMO, been a disaster and only slightly more entertaining than watching paint dry.
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