How to make "Top Gear" into a very bad show...
 

From a ferrarichat post by AKA see it HERE

The summary:

"Earlier this year, Discovery decided they wanted in on the Top Gear action, starting with 18 repackaged programmes using existing items from TG UK. Accordingly, our pluckly lads spent five days at the Top Gear base recording new studio linkds in a more American-friendly way. Basically, getting Jeremy not to call them fat and stupid. This, however, was a mere entree for Discovery’s main plan: to make thier own version of Top Gear on US soil. Thier own studio, thier own test track, even . . . "

"If Discovery likes the pilot show, a series will follow in 2006. Then Americans can enjoy a weekly shot of Top Gear, just like the rest of the world."

Ian

I'll just keep watching the BBC version, complete with politically incorrect commentary....joys of satellite....

Dennis

Yep, there's a reason this show "works"... It shouldn't be tampered with.

England and the USofA....two countries seperated by a common language.

I've watched it all last season and I like it, but it's got its faults in my opinion. Things I've noted: Each new car is the greatest yet. Makes you wonder if their opinion really means much. The GT-40, then the Carrera GT, then the Enzo, then the Radical, then the Atom. They test a lot of cool cars, probably the biggest reason I like it. They also have a lot of crap intertwined between the car reviews. Thank God for DVR's.

The US version of Top Gear has really been made politically correct. I just watched the UK Bugatti Veyron episode and the comments would never fly on US television but it was fantastic plus they had no commercials. The US already has two similiar shows called Car & Driver Television and Motor Trend Television however they are nowhere near the quality of Top Gear.

I love Top Gear's unpoliticly correct comments. I thin ktis a very distinctive part of the show. Even if they do dig at my own country a bit.

Really, those guys couldn't make a show worse than Car & Driver or Autoweek, talk about a brown nosing thinly veiled commercial. Though I still watched the dumbed down US versions, the BBC ones are so much better. I think the anti American jokes are funny, what fun is life if you can't laugh at yourself? I have a feeling that I'll still be downloading the BBC version once Discovery gets done with it. Also, how will they go about having a US version filmed here, without canceling the BBC version filmed there? Different hosts?

But I gots to know which one to Buy!:)

Yeah that's the main thing. I get sort of disgusted at all of the car shows when they turn into thinly veiled commercials. The attraction of Tob Gear is that they sound like car nuts just like me, complete with irrational biasses, dislikes, predjudices as well as favourites, loves and likes.....and then they say so. They did a number on the PT Cruiser convertible, which in my opinion was right on....they trashed it as being a visible obscenity, which it truly is.....and in my mind if Daimer chrysler can't take the heat...quit building butt ugly cars that give a bad name to donkey dung.

Anyway, enough about the PT Cruiser, as soon as they stop slamming cars they as individual journalists dislike, then the show is just as bad as the rest. I suspect the new Top Gear will ruin the name brand on this side of the ocean as it will focus too much on style and show rather than content, deprecation and just being goofy.

...and that's all I have to say about that....

Dennis (Gump) Kalma

I'm doubtful that they'll be able to pull it off successfully, but we'll see.

The UK isn't as constrained by insurance and litigation and can do and say more interesting stuff than we can get away with here in the states.

the US version is not that great (5th gear). the UK version of the show works because it is incredibly well produced. e.g. it takes a bit of doing to produce the highly entertaining "what kind of wacky race can we stage this week" sequences. the timing and camera work are near perfect, and the editing is outstanding. it takes much more than just a good idea to pull this program off, and the UK boys do it perfectly

5th Gear isn't related to Top Gear, it's a seperate show in the UK that was shown here for a short while. For some reason Top Gear dissolved in '99 or so, supposedly Clarkson's ego got too big, 5th Gear was started by Tiff and some of the former Top Gear people. Top Gear was then brought back to compete. 5th Gear is a good show, more informative and less humor than Top Gear. I like TG better, but 5th Gear still blows away our crappy shows, I was sad to see it go off of the air here.

5th Gear also had a coule of hot chicks doing the driving along with Tiff... I liked that ;)

5th gear is worth it just to watch Tiff drive. He has absolutely phenomenal car control...

Even the Top Gear magazine is better than the US mags. Wouldn't waste my time watching a Car and Driver version on TV. I bet half the reason the US shows suck is they are afraid of being sued here in the Letigious States of America...

Tiff Needell is a driver and gives relevant driver's commentary. Jeremy Clarkson is a wanker and a whiner.

Vicki Butler-Henderson is a motorhead's dream date. Richard Hammond is apparantly the equivalent for those who prefer Top Gear. ;)

Doh! Sorry, I meant Motor Week. Every time they have that douche Dutch Mandel come on, "But wait, there's more", I want to throw a brick through my TV. I especially like the Speed network "test drives", aka commercials. I used to respect Derek Bell, used to. What a joke.

More info on the USA Top Gear, sounds ok.

http://www.finalgear.com/news/2005/12/22/top-gear-usa/#more-226

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How can you not like motor week. Test drives of Buicks and Goss's garage advice on radiator flushes. Who needs TopGear!

Urge to kill, rising.......

Plus if they use one of your questions on the show, they'll send you a free "Motor Week" t-shirt...

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5th gear is made by top gear rejects. Have you actually watched 5g lately? Tiff getting the back end of any car out (oooh, control! I thought a racing drivers job was to go as fast as possible. i.e. not sideways! I guess we know why he never got a top job as a driver then!), There's some annoying a$$ who looks like he dresses all in hemp doing really bad reviews, there's VBH, who for someone who is supposedly "do-able" is doing a very good job in hiding it!, and then there's the one saviour. Jason Plato. At least we know he can drive a bit (see his BTCC and WTCC results of the last few years), and he actually gets the whole point of the show. sarcasm. Out of all the people who watch these shows, probably 1 of them are considering actually buying an F430 or similar based on those reviews.

TG IS ESCAPISM! that's the whole point. It does it with a tongue in cheek attitude. It's effectively saying "if you can drive like the Stig, and have pots of money then take us seriously. otherwise, have a laugh with us. cos that's what we are doing!"

I mean, how can you take a guy seriously who doesn't rate Porsches? they might not be his cup of tea (not very entertaining putting it that way, is it?), or he can take the pi$$ out of his co-presenters who just so happen to own them (slightly better giggle value - especially when he owns an SLK!)

5g takes itself way way way to seriously and misses the point of the format. To compare the US version of TG to it, sadly in my mind means it too misses the point.

I thought they were made by the same production company?

I actually watched a couple episode of 5th gear through cable On Demand tonight. I want that hour of my life back.

Only American television producers could take a great British show and water it down in a rancid piece of **** like 5th gear. Did they have the same people that make PBS cooking shows produce it? BORING, watered down crap. Where are the high speed antics? Where are the jokes about the French? Utter crap.

Back to down loading Top Gear on the net.....

I was away on vacation and didn't see this post till today. Coincidently, over vacation I found out that Discovery is making an American version of Top Gear. Bla!

Talk about pointless. Only America can take something great and turn it into what will be pointless dribble. Did they not learn their lessons with Coupling and The Office? I wish we had the full BBC channel lineup like Commonwealth countries.

Just one question, where do most of you DL your shows? I have only started to do so and can only find a few clips here and there. I would like to find the full UK versions. Help appreciated.

www.finalgear.com

You need to download a bittorrent client to download the files, I use bitlord.
http://www.bitlord.com

Download that and you're good to go.

Thanks much. I can't wait to start DLing.

And sorry Wayne. The UK and US versions of The Office just weren't my "cup of tea" so I shouldn't have commented... I wasn't actually trying to America bash or The Office bash ;)