Top Gear?

['CHARD]

Execrable lame attempt by idiot Chris Evans and charmless Matt leBlanc to basically take over where Mr Punchy and Co. left off.

 

It's your TV tax that's being squirted around to fund this lacklustre crap.  It's like watching a car crash in slo-mo.

 

The studio audience have all the enthusiasm of hostages.

 

I'm not bothering to link to it, anyone with taste and discernment will be able to avoid this tepid dog foulage.

Edited June 17, 2016 by 'CHARD

[newbryford]

Top Gear, Oh Dear.

[Dan Griffin]

Not good at all, it was like watching a bad play where the actors are desperatly trying to be the people they are immitating. Bring back clarkson

[Tony Davis]

It's popular abroad though, and earns lots of revenue.

 

On a memorable visit to an heritage railway in the US as we arrived the radio announcer on the station they had on was talking about a shooting that had taken place in a local cinema, someone with the hump and a semi-automatic decided to take it out on the people in the audience. My wife mentioned it to the ticket seller who said, oh, it's nothing and you're from England, we would much rather talk about Top Gear!

 

I told him I wasn't a viewer, the conversation then seemed to be over

[4630]

.

Edited November 12, 2016 by 4630

[Andy Y]

I can foresee it'll get a lot of negative reaction from anyone who enjoyed what has gone before. I know much of what we were used ti was scripted and staged but this incarnation serves to show how well it was done before. Chris Evans was just shouty and irritating with Matt Leblanc possessing as much natural charm as a used car salesman.

[Peter Kazmierczak]

I don't watch fashion shows.

[Ceptic]

 Rather akin to watching present day BBC News / BBC Newsnight, as opposed to what was broadcast  a couple of a few years ago. 

Edited May 29, 2016 by Ceptic

[jjb1970]

They did the one thing that was always going to be problematic - making a facsimile copy of Clarkson era Top Gear with new faces. Personally I thought it committed perhaps the most terrible of things in entertainment, it was boring and didn't engage me at all. Some of the set pieces were very nicely shot as you'd expect but that was about the only positive thing. Even the wonderful Sabine was wasted, she strikes me as being funnier, more likeable and all around more entertaining (at least in a TG context) than either Matt Leblanc or Chris Evans yet she had a bit part to support the two egos. A more fundamental problem is that it was apparent in the last series that they'd pretty much run out of ideas for the challenges and races and it was all feeling a bit tired, basically relying on the chemistry and entertainment value of the presenters. Now they are still out of ideas but the presenters are wooden and pretty turgid. Which is hardly positive. Not sure I'll keep watching.

[trisonic]

I suspect that the USA version of Top Gear is still worse.....

 

Best, Pete.

[BlackRat]

I didn't bother watching.

[Griffin Road]

Top Gear, Oh Dear.

With you on that one Mick . I give it a go though - it canny get get much worse !

 

Mike b

[owentherail]

I gave up when Matt the blank was introduced.... Only wasted 3 mins of my life on it.

[Kris]

I suspect that the USA version of Top Gear is still worse.....

 

Best, Pete.

 

 

No the USA version is much better, unfortunately that probably says a lot about the new series 

[jjb1970]

A quick straw poll of my house hold is:

 

Me - thought it was dire

My wife - said it was boring and went to the kitchen to do some ironing as it was more interesting than watching TG

My sister-in-law - said it was boring and went to read a book

My 7 year old daughter - disappeared to her bed room as it was boring

My 8 year old boy - liked it and liked Matt Leblanc

 

So in fairness one person liked it, 1 out of 5 isn't great but it could've been worse.

[The Fatadder]

Evans seemed to be (badly) imitating clarkson for most of the show, and sounded flat and dull for any voiceovers. The audience appeared bored (I don't blame them). As for the interaction between Evans and Leblanc, very poor. Evans just seemed to want to shout over the latter.

 

A shame they didn't just go for some unknowns, as the challenges wernt bad.

 

My wife fell asleep half way through after complaing about Evans for the first half...

[Arthur]

 

Yes, I cannot believe that they just tried to mimmick the old formula, that was just never going to work. The only chance of success they had was to develop their own winning format.

 

Evans as irritating as I feared he might be but surprised at the lacklustre LeBlanc, I expected more. At times I wondered if his heart was in it.

 

Not a very promising start, can't see it lasting.

[Neil]

I can foresee it'll get a lot of negative reaction from anyone who enjoyed what has gone before. I know much of what we were used ti was scripted and staged but this incarnation serves to show how well it was done before. Chris Evans was just shouty and irritating with Matt Leblanc possessing as much natural charm as a used car salesman.

 

Chris Evans was shouty and irritating, I wondered if it was the manifestation of nerves at the obvious comparisons that will be made. I suspect that Matt Leblanc could be witty and charming with the right person to perform against. One of the better things about the previous three was that they seemed at ease in the show and with each other. However I suspect that after all that has happened a reinstated Clarkson might now come over as a petulant thuggish oaf rather than an irreverent wit.

[ClikC]

I'm watching it on iPlayer right now. This is the most cringe inducing thing I've ever watched. To be fair, Chris Evans has always been cringe inducting, but I fear I may develop a neck injury if I cringe any harder.

 

Seriously, stop trying to be Jeremey.

 

I can only assume they haven't spent any money on the set, or new ideas, because everything they have done is rubbish, and so it didn't pass the cost-benefit analysis.

 

The show: 0.0000000000001 / 10

 

Being far worse than I though it could possibly be: 15 / 10.

 

So well done for that.

Edited May 29, 2016 by ClikC

[darren01]

Well that was a non event.

[rob D2]

To be honest if you got that excited about a car show in the first place ,

Take a step back, and give yourself a slap

[RJS1977]

Never mind Clarkson, bring back William Woollard & co!

[Huw Griffiths]

I can foresee it'll get a lot of negative reaction from anyone who enjoyed what has gone before. I know much of what we were used ti was scripted and staged but this incarnation serves to show how well it was done before. Chris Evans was just shouty and irritating with Matt Leblanc possessing as much natural charm as a used car salesman.

 

I don't know - he didn't seem a bit like that character the late, great, George Cole used to play in Minder.

 

He didn't even seem much like Mike Brewer, Quentin Willson or Dominic Littlewood.

 

 

They did the one thing that was always going to be problematic - making a facsimile copy of Clarkson era Top Gear with new faces.

 

... Some of the set pieces were very nicely shot as you'd expect but that was about the only positive thing. Even the wonderful Sabine was wasted, she strikes me as being funnier, more likeable and all around more entertaining (at least in a TG context) than either Matt Leblanc or Chris Evans yet she had a bit part to support the two egos.

 

After the Clarkson era, it was always going to be difficult for any new version to be accepted by the existing fanbase. However, a number of us had started to tire of some of the more offensive stuff in the old version. It doesn't matter to some of us that messrs. Clarkson, May and Hammond are very capable journalists - it doesn't even matter that all 3 of them are capable of getting people to look at issues from a completely new perspective - none of this matters to some of us, because some of their antics (and some of the more offensive "jokes") were starting to render their version of the programme unwatchable.

 

This might sound unfashionable, but I'm willing to give the new version (and the new team) time to "bed in". After all, it's not as if there's any snooker on the "free to air" channels at the moment.

 

 

Turning to TopGear, the location photography was always a strong point - that doesn't seem to have changed. I would, however, have liked to have seen and heard more of the other presenters. I was really looking forward to seeing Sabine Schmitz on the programme - and, as for the other guys, I never even got chance to find out who they are. I hope that, in time, the "online extra" programme also finds its way onto the standard "free to air" TV channels - after all, the amazing "superfast broadband" that the government and various internet phone companies keep going on about isn't available to everyone in the UK.

 

 

Yes, I cannot believe that they just tried to mimmick the old formula, that was just never going to work. The only chance of success they had was to develop their own winning format.

 

Evans as irritating as I feared he might be but surprised at the lacklustre LeBlanc, I expected more. At times I wondered if his heart was in it.

 

Not a very promising start, can't see it lasting.

 

How long it lasts might depend on how well the new programme (and team) "beds in". For all I know, the first programme (even the first few) might be more about trying to convince some people that it's still basically the same concept as the previous decade or so.

 

Personally, I suspect that programmes towards the end of this series might be a much better guide to the future of this show.

 

 

Chris Evans was shouty and irritating, I wondered if it was the manifestation of nerves at the obvious comparisons that will be made. I suspect that Matt Leblanc could be witty and charming with the right person to perform against. One of the better things about the previous three was that they seemed at ease in the show and with each other. However I suspect that after all that has happened a reinstated Clarkson might now come over as a petulant thuggish oaf rather than an irreverent wit.

 

I did notice that Chris Evans made a point of saying that there wouldn't be any on-air comments about catering ...

 

 

And on that bombshell ...

[Arthur]

 

I'd have more faith in the show surviving a weak start if the format was new, viewers might get to like it as they become more familiar with it. If they continue with the faux Clarkson/Hammond/May format they will just alienate those who liked the old trio without winning any new converts.

 

Been in two other forums, both car related, and on both it's a unanimous thumbs down. Exactly the same comments as on here.

[russ p]

I stopped watching top gear many year ago when they destroyed a 2200 princess by filling the interior with water for no specific reason.

But is there not an opening for a show about modern motoring which I know nothing about. The REAL top gear with William Woolard and Chris Goffey and others actually gave the viewer information about cars that were current at the time.

When clarkson first started his reviews were quite funny but he built his whole reputation on repeating a lot of the good bad and ugly section then current in car magazine.