Top Gear USA

[flaminio]

Episode 2 was better than Episode 1.

Yes, the car vs. skier has been done before, but seeing that Mitsubishi go blasting through the snow was great fun regardless.

I like that they're showing cars like the A-M that 99.999% of their viewers will never be able to afford -- just like the original.

The blind drifting stuff was OK -- but where was the drifting? They showed Tanner doing some of it, and then it was all burnouts and parking brake sliding. Should've called it something else, and then save the drifting bit for when they're really going to be drifting.

The hosts are clearly green with all this -- as they gain experience the show should get better and better, as long as the production values remain high. As has been said, go back and watch some episodes of the first or second series of Top Gear UK. Some very cringeworthy stuff in there.

Finally, the dog peeing at the end was epic. I don't usually go for the base potty humor, but that had me ROFLing.

 

[MJK]

Episode 3 was better than 2, and MILES better than 1.

Still waiting for the the UK version, but this is better than the Aussie version or 5th Gear with Ben Collins.

 

[Mike-san]

Surfed by the show tonight.....very cringy for me...
I would like to know who makes the decesions regarding Americans always needing an "American" version of something.
If it's good, it's good.
I just assume that the people who would watch the History channel U.S. version are already watchers of the original. I don't think they're going to pull that many new viewers who aren't already watching Top Gear U.K.

 

[poet_x]

I don't think the show is as bad as so many make it out to be. Going back and watching the first season or two of the UK version shows that the US version just needs some time to gel and build some chemistry. While I prefer the UK version, I think the US version could be a very good show as well if given the time to grow and mature.

 

[NSXLVR]

I've tried...and tried...

I'm done :tongue:

I'm currently watching the new season of Top Gear from the UK, and there is honestly, NO comparison

 

[Lucifers Angel]

I agree Top Gear USA sucks. This last top gear episode 3, was a complete rip form a UK episode a couple of seasons ago. Who do they think their target audience is? It's people that watch Top Gear UK, so just repeating the same stuff, with lame hosts is boaring. Just bring back Top Gear UK, and call it a day.

 

[steveny]

Am I the only one who thought it was pretty good for a first episode?

yep because it sucks!

 

[steveny]

Billy has been strangely silent on the Stig question. Things that make you go hmmmmm.

My guess is the Stig is a NASCAR driver.

 

[heySkippy]

Blech. I'm officially done with TG USA for this year. Season Pass deleted, maybe I'll give it another chance next year if it's renewed.

 

[tof]

So far I have seen all five episodes. It made me laugh from time to time but I agree with much of the above criticism.

All in all, the show is slightly more entertaining than Autoweek (the TV version) and 5th Gear. That ain't sayin' much.

A lot of you have already pointed out the biggest problem with the show...it demands to be compared to the fully perfected BBC version. No new show will come close to living up to that standard in the first couple of seasons.

The second biggest problem is the way half the dialogue sounds like it is being read from cue-cards.

But I will continue to watch it and hope that the camera work improves and that Rutledge Wood gets replaced, even if Rutledge's choice of a Roadmaster wagon for the GM Recovery challenge was brilliant. I think Adam Ferrara is fully qualified to fill the Captain Slow roll (Ignorant American version, of course). And Foust works well as a driving geek ala' Richard Hammond. What is needed is a wise old coot who uses a razor wit to complain about everything, who knows next to nothing about how cars actually work, but who can still drive the wheels off anything motorized (except a scooter in Viet Nam.)

 

[chumch]

So far I have seen all five episodes. It made me laugh from time to time but I agree with much of the above criticism.

All in all, the show is slightly more entertaining than Autoweek (the TV version) and 5th Gear. That ain't sayin' much.

A lot of you have already pointed out the biggest problem with the show...it demands to be compared to the fully perfected BBC version. No new show will come close to living up to that standard in the first couple of seasons.

The second biggest problem is the way half the dialogue sounds like it is being read from cue-cards.

But I will continue to watch it and hope that the camera work improves and that Rutledge Wood gets replaced, even if Rutledge's choice of a Roadmaster wagon for the GM Recovery challenge was brilliant. I think Adam Ferrara is fully qualified to fill the Captain Slow roll (Ignorant American version, of course). And Foust works well as a driving geek ala' Richard Hammond. What is needed is a wise old coot who uses a razor wit to complain about everything, who knows next to nothing about how cars actually work, but who can still drive the wheels off anything motorized (except a scooter in Viet Nam.)

At least Rutledge and Foust know cars...Adam Ferrara admitted he knows nothing about them...so evey time Adam is explaining something about a car in an episode, you know that he is reading what was written for him. That part is crap. All 3 of the BBC guys are car guys. That makes a difference.

 

[Gansan]

I think I said in an earlier post that I believe in giving them a chance to get their footing. After seeing five episodes or so, I think they are:

- Recycling too much material from the British version. So many fans already have seen the Brit version and will recognize any recycled parts of their scripts.

- Trying to establish roles for the hosts that are sort of analogs of the British presenters--although they mix things up a bit. They should just find their own path like the American version of The Office.

I think this all confirms for me that I like Best Motoring and 5th Gear more than Top Gear as car shows, although I appreciate the great comedy in the British Top Gear.

 

[Aluminsx]

I was discussing alternative hosts with a buddy of mine and I mentioned that Adam Corolla was courted for the position prior to the start of the show. I think that would have been a good fit because I don't think he knows much about cars and he is pretty funny (dry sense of humor much like the brits). If he is out who would make a good host? How about Jay Leno? He loves cars and prior to dumbing down his stand up by doing the Tonight Show he was very funny. He has more money then God so he could probably do it for free just because he loves cars.

What the American version is lacking, in my opinion, is someone with a quick wit that does not seem to be reading off of cue cards. I don't know how much of the English version is scripted but it sure seems much more spontaneous. Granted they have been doing their show for many years so they have much more experience. Just my two cents.

 

[Gansan]

Actually it turns out Carolla knows a lot about cars. He's been featured in articles from Grassroots Motorsports and he has a blog:

http://www.adamcarolla.com/CarCastBlog/

I bet he would have done a good job, since he has a lot of experience with show hosting.

 

[SaberX]

I think a better presenter for Top Gear US would have been DerekD from Fast Lane Daily. http://www.vodcars.com/fastlanedaily/episode/FLD_20101220/fld-1-000-dollar-nurburgring-challenge-episode-1000 BTW, this video is actually pretty cool and really reminds me of my awesome trip to the Nurburgring this year.

 

[NSXDRYVER]

not to hijack ,but was derekD even wearing a seatbelt on the ring?? i didnt see one. lol

and on topic, us version sucks, rutledge is horrible, he was stupid on nascar,and he's trying to hard to be funny on this show.

 

[NSXLuvr]

Watching the US version is very VERY painful. I can't stand that Rutledge character. Their lines are scripted with a certain delay that makes it painfully obvious that none of these guys are talking spontaneously.

I prefer TG or 5th gear.

 

[robr]

Noticed an episode of this while looking through my Boxee menus, tried it for 5 minutes, could not STAND the personalities. They were cardboard and their jokes were forced and not even funny. Ugh.

 

[docjohn]

dialogue weak,I wish they would try to help us understand the cars they are driving better by comparing the feel to other cars as they go.The race to key largo was more staged looking than the british races.I mean did tanner have to waste time by straephing the donzi...and getting off the moped to touch the monument..I would have just rode the moped into the damn thing.The lambo tracter run should not have had that much time given to it..typical of boardroom decisions which seem funny in a group discussion but if you don't edit just right and spend too much time on it, becomes just too painful to watch...imo

 

[RYU]

I wonder if the producers of TG USA were expecting to cater to an audience who have never seen an episode of TG UK. As someone said earlier.. TG UK was pretty bleh in the first few seasons BUT it didn't have the challenge of trying to follow a better mirror image of a "twin" show before it. Also, no natural chemistry between Foust, Rutledge, and whomever that 3rd guy is --- made watching excruciatingly cringe worthy.

IMO TG USA is better off scrapping the UK format and coming up with something original on their own. The cheap knock-offs ("Big Star in Small Car???" really? shut the front door!) is just not working!

Also, what happened to the cinematography in TG USA? The TG UK productions are sooooo much better from camera angles to special effects to simple editing. TG USA seemed like HD cameras were given to the film students to shoot random footage. There weren't even using filters used on the lenses.

 

[steveny]

I wonder if the producers of TG USA were expecting to cater to an audience who have never seen an episode of TG UK. As someone said earlier.. TG UK was pretty bleh in the first few seasons BUT it didn't have the challenge of trying to follow a better mirror image of a "twin" show before it. Also, no natural chemistry between Foust, Rutledge, and whomever that 3rd guy is --- made watching excruciatingly cringe worthy.

IMO TG USA is better off scrapping the UK format and coming up with something original on their own. The cheap knock-offs ("Big Star in Small Car???" really? shut the front door!) is just not working!

Also, what happened to the cinematography in TG USA? The TG UK productions are sooooo much better from camera angles to special effects to simple editing. TG USA seemed like HD cameras were given to the film students to shoot random footage. There weren't even using filters used on the lenses.

I was thinking the same thing. Is TG US on a station that someone would get with basic TV and TG UK is on a station that someone would only get with premium service? IMO that is the only way TG US will make it. Anyone who has seen TG UK is gonna think TG US SUCKS! But... hey, if they have never seen TG UK and just heard about how good TG UK is and then get TG US on basic cable TG US might just survive.

 

[RYU]

We can argue the merits of how TG UK host aren't real drivers and how it's not really a "car show" anymore but here's the 1hr 16min 2010 X'mas special that reminds us of how the show is just simple fun and entertainment.

I think TG USA has a long way to go...

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[steveny]

There is also an element of TG UK that gives me information that I don't know where as TG US is mostly stuff I already know. If I am going to spend an hour of my time I prefer to come out the other side of the hour a little smarter than I went into it. Kinda a 'oh that's how they think of us in the US' or 'that's how they do it in the UK'.


Sent from renee's iPhone cause I'm too cheap to get my own!

 

[Aluminsx]

We can argue the merits of how TG UK host aren't real drivers and how it's not really a "car show" anymore but here's the 1hr 16min 2010 X'mas special that reminds us of how the show is just simple fun and entertainment.

I think TG USA has a long way to go...

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I started watching this 1 hour and 16 minute Top Gear UK Christmas Special and could not stop. I don't get BBC America because my cable provider does not carry it. The difference between the two shows could not be more extreme. I don't mind the US version because I'm a car guy and like car shows (if Motorweek can entertain me then Top Gear US does not really have to work very hard).

If you did not see the Christmas special it's quite a treat. The guys basically drive from Iraq to Israel in three convertibles. I don't think the US version would be allowed to do such a thing for insurance reasons (God forbid something happens). We could learn a thing or two from the Brits.

Anyway my wife bought me season 11 of the UK Top Gear for Christmas so I have that to look forward to.

 

[Matt Knight]

I was initially dissappointed with Top Gear USA. I had seen a few episodes of the UK version and enjoyed the show.

Last night I watched the "Toughest Truck" episode that was filmed in Alaska and found it to be entertaining.

I'm actually curious to see next week's episode.

Anyone still watching?

Matt