Top Gear thread

[93JC]

"Pro drifter" and "legit" do not belong in the same sentence. Tanner Foust is a boob.

[Mustangfan2003]

Well maybe not, but has some driving skills. 

[The Pirate]

And he also holds a degree in molecular biology. 

[The Pirate]

"Pro drifter" and "legit" do not belong in the same sentence. Tanner Foust is a boob.

He's a legitimate rally race driver.  Boob?  Possibly.  But he's not a hack.

[Vinsanity]

lol. in the Viper ACR lap, you can see that they painted the "Great Park" orange balloon as a jacko lantern

[Madman]

And he also holds a degree in molecular biology.  

Exactly what I'm looking for in a racing driver and a television presenter!  

Okay, this being the first episode, I'm willing to cut these guys some slack.  The beardy one had a couple of clever lines but was mostly just annoying.  Foust can drive, I'll give him that.  But I don't think he has a strong enough personality to carry off the role of lead presenter.  The show needs a Clarksonesque front-man to set the tone.  Overall, it was like watching a cover band perfoming one of your favourite songs; it was okay but you've seen it done better by the original artists.

I have to admit, the choice of presenters is somewhat puzzling.  Due to his driving skills (and despite coming from the dubious "sport" of drifting), I can understand Foust's presence.  Beardy and the New York-sounding guy must both have really good agents.  How else would these two have landed a place on Top Gear, above all the other candidates?  I honestly think I could have done a better job.

A fundamental problem with any American take on Top Gear is the need for commercial interruptions.  Not only do you lose about 20 minutes to companies trying to sell you things you don't want, it also interrupts the "flow" of the show.  A good Top Gear segment tells a story while enticing you with it's visual presentation.  The producers really can't pace the segment and build up to a crescendo when the story is abruptly halted to make room for an ad for the new Dwane "The Rock" Johnson action film, another for Apple laptop computers and a plug for Conan O'Brian's new talk show.

All in all, it's a mixed bag of results and I'm sure it will get better with time.  As it happens, my initial assessment was correct; despite it's shortcomings, it's still better than Motorweek.

[68_427]

THAT MUFFIN TOP IN THE BEGINNING CAN'T UNSEE.


It seemed to me that the hosts' personalities were kind of held back by the script or something.  I think for the challenges and such it should be much better due to the more lax environment.

[Onslaught]

Did any of you notice that the people in the crowd all had big, fake smiles the whole show? I don't know if this was because people smile when they know a tv camera is on them. Or if it's because the makers of the show asked them to all look really happy. But I always find it fake looking when everyone is happy for an hour.

A small thing I know.

[r0tor]

I shall watch the rerun.... no way in Hell I was staying up that late to watch

[Morris Minor]

Exactly what I'm looking for in a racing driver and a television presenter! 

Okay, this being the first episode, I'm willing to cut these guys some slack.  The beardy one had a couple of clever lines but was mostly just annoying.  Foust can drive, I'll give him that.  But I don't think he has a strong enough personality to carry off the role of lead presenter.  The show needs a Clarksonesque front-man to set the tone.  Overall, it was like watching a cover band perfoming one of your favourite songs; it was okay but you've seen it done better by the original artists.

I have to admit, the choice of presenters is somewhat puzzling.  Due to his driving skills (and despite coming from the dubious "sport" of drifting), I can understand Foust's presence.  Beardy and the New York-sounding guy must both have really good agents.  How else would these two have landed a place on Top Gear, above all the other candidates?  I honestly think I could have done a better job.

A fundamental problem with any American take on Top Gear is the need for commercial interruptions.  Not only do you lose about 20 minutes to companies trying to sell you things you don't want, it also interrupts the "flow" of the show.  A good Top Gear segment tells a story while enticing you with it's visual presentation.  The producers really can't pace the segment and build up to a crescendo when the story is abruptly halted to make room for an ad for the new Dwane "The Rock" Johnson action film, another for Apple laptop computers and a plug for Conan O'Brian's new talk show.

All in all, it's a mixed bag of results and I'm sure it will get better with time.  As it happens, my initial assessment was correct; despite it's shortcomings, it's still better than Motorweek.

Carolla would be perfect for the Clarkson role - knows about cars, some track experience, articulate, funny, & non-PC.

Motorweek needs to be taken out back and put out of its misery.

[Byteme]

Well, it was the first show so a bit of arkwardness can be forgiven, IMHO. I expect there is a bit of role defining still going on. It's not reasonable to expect the first show with new presenters to be a glib or polished as a show that's been on what, 10 years or so.  May, Clarkson and Hammond have had years to mold and refine their individual roles, these guys have had 60 minutes. 

Production values and editing looked good (a huge strength of the British original) and it was different enough that it wasn't just a 100% copy of the original with non-British accents. I thought the
pacing was a tad slow because they had to not only introduce, but explain each segment for an assumed first time audience. That will cure itself as the season progresses.

I went into this not knowing a thing about the three presenters so I had no preestablished biases about them.  They did all right IMHO and I expect they will grow into their roles.  If I had one criticizm it's that they  are all about the same age, I think.   Clarkson's about 10 years older ( and 10 inches taller) than Hammond and 3 years older than May and I think those age differences fuel some of the interplay between the three of them.

[SVT666]

Brock Yates might have been good for the Clarksonesque role if he was younger...although he would mention the Cannonball Run every 5 minutes.

[Byteme]

I agree.  Also, the guy that interviewed Buzz Aldrin sucks.  That interview was terrible. 

Have you ever held a conversation with Buzz Aldrin?  I have.  Based on my experience I'd say he is a pretty tough interview; hard to get a long response from. 

[The Pirate]

Have you ever held a conversation with Buzz Aldrin?  I have.  Based on my experience I'd say he is a pretty tough interview; hard to get a long response from. 

That's really interesting, when did you have this opportunity, if you don't mind sharing?  And that certainly adds some perspective to Ferrara's dialogue with him.

[Colonel Cadillac]

Seinfeld would be perfect

[Mustangfan2003]

Have you ever held a conversation with Buzz Aldrin?  I have.  Based on my experience I'd say he is a pretty tough interview; hard to get a long response from. 

Well that was a mistake on the part of the producers, you need to find guest that are good interviewers but I still think that New York guy didn't do a very good job.  Getting Adam on the show would've been a good idea and he would have done a good job at interviewing guest since he has experience doing that on radio and tv.   

[Byteme]

That's really interesting, when did you have this opportunity, if you don't mind sharing?  And that certainly adds some perspective to Ferrara's dialogue with him.

I don't mean to give the impression we are or were pals or on a first name basis. 

He was Grand Marshall at Lakewood Yacht Club's Wooden Keels and Classic Wheels concours a few years back.  He was giving autographs and his tent was next to the Jaguar section of the field (I was a concours entrant) so I walked over during a break before the public flooded him with requests and we chatted briefly about the concours, NASA, the moon.  Maybe 3-5 minutes, nothing deep.  He struck me as a very quiet, introspective person who doesn't gab a lot.

[The Pirate]

I don't mean to give the impression we are or were pals or on a first name basis. 

He was Grand Marshall at Lakewood Yacht Club's Wooden Keels and Classic Wheels concours a few years back.  He was giving autographs and his tent was next to the Jaguar section of the field (I was a concours entrant) so I walked over during a break before the public flooded him with requests and we chatted briefly about the concours, NASA, the moon.  Maybe 3-5 minutes, nothing deep.  He struck me as a very quiet, introspective person who doesn't gab a lot.

That's awesome!  Five minutes and small talk or not, very cool to get the chance to talk with such a significant figure in history. 

[the Teuton]

What do these three guys do when they're not circle jerking on the History Channel?

[The Pirate]

What do these three guys do when they're not circle jerking on the History Channel?

Ferrara acts, currently on Rescue Me.  Rutledge Wood is a NASCAR analyst () for Speed Channel.  Tanner Foust, is a rally driver/drifting competitor.


Anybody else think that Tanner Foust is the Stig?

[the Teuton]

The Stig was brought in because they needed a racing driver. In this series, they have one on staff.

[giant_mtb]

That Viper ACR looked jittery as hell on their track.

[MX793]

Ferrara acts, currently on Rescue Me.  Rutledge Wood is a NASCAR analyst () for Speed Channel.  Tanner Foust, is a rally driver/drifting competitor.


Anybody else think that Tanner Foust is the Stig?

Foust is also a professional stunt-driver for TV and film.  He did stunt work for the Bourne Ultimatum, Iron Man 2, Dukes of Hazzard and a couple of the Fast and Furious movies (Tokyo Drift and the most recent one).

[68_427]

That ACR is harass and bad fast.

[SVT666]

I just watched the Viper vs. Cobra Helicopter segment and it was actually pretty entertaining.  I'll watch the rest tonight.

[TBR]

I actually thought the Viper segment was too contrived. The Lamborghini one was pretty good though. The banter will get better.

[hotrodalex]

I actually like Ferrara the best as a host. Foust is awesome, no doubt. A little quiet, but I'm sure he'll talk up more as it goes on. I wasn't a fan of the big guy with the beard. Seemed kind of awkward. I think all of them were a little scripted, so a little more freedom would be nice (and that may come once the show gets rolling)

edit: actually, Wood is pretty good in the Lambo segment. We'll have to see next episode (and the rest of the season)

[MX793]

The banter seemed forced and scripted.  I'm sure some of the banter on the UK version is scripted as well, but it seems much more genuine.  Hopefully these guys will get better and perhaps improvise more of their lines.  Ferrara, being a comedian, I'm sure can be pretty quick on his feet when it comes to making quips unscripted, and that's really what I think the hosts of the show should be able to do.  Hopefully the others are equally as capable and that will come out as they get more time.

[giant_mtb]

Best line of the episode: "There's no Tupperware in space."

[Rich]

for anyone that hasn't seen it:

http://www.history.com/shows/top-gear/videos?paidlink=1&vid=HIS_SEM_Search&keywords=top%2Bgear%2Busa&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=top%20gear&utm_term=top%20gear%20usa#top-gear-cobra-attack