BBC Top Gear [It's back!]

[Andreas¹]

Have a clicky here -> Yes, Top Gear is (almost) back! - BBC Top Gear and discuss what you think about the upcoming series (no dates set yet). Personally I got really excited for it after watching those pictures. The "get-a-car-and-meet-up-for-some-challenges" segments have always been my favorites and they are making a big comeback this year it seems. :msuh: The car reviews are usually not the best part of the show in my opinion but there are quite a few interesting cars coming up there too; Porsche Cayman GTS, Mercedes AMG GT, Lamborghini Huracán, Corvette Stingray and Lexus RC F just to mention a few.

 

Also, for those of you who saw the Patagonia special, what were your feelings about it? I actually liked the first part better, the second had a way too serious vibe going on. I don't know, I would've liked to see more of the actual cars, this felt more like a series of clips of them just sort of driving. Now that I think about it, maybe that's what most of the specials are like but this seemed more obvious to me for some reason, not sure. Also, conspiracies or no?

[The Compensator]

Ohohooo yes, new TG.

 

I have seen the Patagonia special. Quite liked it.

Didn't cry like apparently everyone when Clarkson was talking about his father and why he chose the 928 because of that, though. I just wanted to see the end and some footage from the attacks, they've done it well - not too dramatic or something like that. Just right. Also shows how big the TG crew is. 31 people. :eek:

What I didn't like about it was the fact that in some scenes it was way too much obvious it had been staged. The segment where they were going through some woods n poop just because why the hell not? Let's go circles and get stuck in mud just right next to a road!

 

Another interesting thing in my opinion was how much their cars are usually unreliable and how often they get destroyed in random accidents. Or are they also staged? :phil: 99% time they don't show anything about the reporting that had to be done.

 

As for the cars, I agree. However, we should not forget that it is an entertainment show with cars. Not a car show. It's what it is and I very often wish it wasn't set up like this. I guess this why the car tests suck so much these days, because most of the time Clarkson is going sideways around an airport. I'm sure they get the cars for a few days, so why not film the cars on public roads?

 

P.S. I have not seen all the specials, but my favorite was the second? American special with the GT3, SLS and ZR1. That one was basically all about cars.

[Ryzza5]

Funny thing is for such a big special, it's format was pretty similar to a lot of recent TG USA episodes. Yes parts were obviously staged (where were all the support vehicles hiding each time they got stuck?) and the ending was a bit of a low. I'm sure British people wouldn't go around hurling [physical] stones at someone driving a German car with a H939-WW2 plate. Then again you guys did have that mob in London the other year for some reason I can't recall :lol:

 

Did anyone get a bit of a 'The Crew' vibe from some of the scenes though? The roads, scenery, off-road parts, and even the dirt spec vehicle customisation towards the end.

[Andreas¹]

Didn't cry like apparently everyone when Clarkson was talking about his father and why he chose the 928 because of that, though.

I almost cried during that part to be honest. xD

I just wanted to see the end and some footage from the attacks, they've done it well - not too dramatic or something like that. Just right. Also shows how big the TG crew is. 31 people. :eek:

What I didn't like about it was the fact that in some scenes it was way too much obvious it had been staged. The segment where they were going through some woods n poop just because why the hell not? Let's go circles and get stuck in mud just right next to a road!

The level of extreme in protests really shocked me. I had no idea it was that big a deal even after reading the articles on their website about the whole ordeal. Maybe I'm being stupid but I feel sad for the cars that had to be left behind.

 

Yeah it is very staged but on the other hand it wouldn't be very entertainmentworthy if everything went to plan all the time. If anything it made for more entertainment than they though when they realized how good the Lotus actually worked off road. Also, TG without the lunacy wouldn't really be TG and that's still what people tune in for. I don't feel like they have overdone the stagedness any more than they have previously.

Another interesting thing in my opinion was how much their cars are usually unreliable and how often they get destroyed in random accidents. Or are they also staged? :phil: 99% time they don't show anything about the reporting that had to be done.

Most of them probably are. All of the cars will be owned by the BBC so there really won't be any need for any paper work and frankly any car they buy is pretty much doomed anyway (except Oliver and the cars they used in that Mallorca rally). I was kinda sad for the Lotus and Mustang when I saw them as I knew they wouldn't survive the episode, though admittedly they died in a different way than I expected.

 

There have been occasions where have actually gotten in to real accidents, such as on the Romanian road trip where James got in to an accident with a local. Filling out paperwork makes for very boring TV anyway so only makes sense they never talk about it. :p

As for the cars, I agree. However, we should not forget that it is an entertainment show with cars. Not a car show. It's what it is and I very often wish it wasn't set up like this. I guess this why the car tests suck so much these days, because most of the time Clarkson is going sideways around an airport. I'm sure they get the cars for a few days, so why not film the cars on public roads?

In my mind though it used to be more of a car show than it is now or am I wrong? The specials though have always, to me, focused less on the cars and more on the scenery for obvious reasons but it just felt more obvious to me in this episode for some reason. We didn't even get to know their budget or what their cars cost.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by "these days". To be fair on them, they mostly do test performance cars and a track is the only place you will be able to tell what the car is really like. They have done reviews on normal roads as well though, Peugeot iOn vs. Nissan Leaf, Ferrari F12, Aston Martin V12 Vantage and Mercedes C63 AMG Black are the ones that come to mind straight away. Even if they get to keep the cars for a few days at a time I doubt they have that kind of budget time-wise for actually filming the segments. That is, unless it's necessary such as with the Tesla Roadster that just kept breaking down. The Zenvo also went back and forth quite a few times.

P.S. I have not seen all the specials, but my favorite was the second? American special with the GT3, SLS and ZR1. That one was basically all about cars.

I think you're mixing them up. :p The second US road trip was with the Dodge Challenger, Cadillac CTS-V and Corvette ZR1. The third was with the Porsche 911 GT3, Mercedes SLS and Ferrari 458. One of the question on the last TG survey was about which was your favorite TG special and I had a really hard time choosing. There was a few I was stuck between, mainly the Burma, second Africa, Middle East and Bolivia ones. Can't remember which one I actually voted for. xD

[T1M]

10 episodes in this series, finally a decent length! Although I hope this isn't the only series this year :/

[Ryzza5]

Well it kinda makes up for no series last June/July

 

[Andreas¹]

10 episodes in this series, finally a decent length! Although I hope this isn't the only series this year :/

 

Oooh has 10 episodes been confirmed or did it say so somewhere in that article? If so, awesomesauce :panic:

[T1M]

Andy Willman (producer) said so in an article in the latest TG mag :)

[hassan1995]

So when's it starting? I mean I've been waiting for long. :lol:

[Guest MrLolololXD]

Only 10 episodes??? How long is a normal Top Gear season? Or should I say short

[Ryzza5]

Usually a year would consist of 2 seasons with 10 + 6 episodes. Then they started doing the bigger specials and other big-budget stuff which reduced the episode count. Probably in response to all the criticism they got on the show running out of ideas and being less spontaneous.

[Andreas¹]

Usually a year would consist of 2 seasons with 10 + 6 episodes. Then they started doing the bigger specials and other big-budget stuff which reduced the episode count. Probably in response to all the criticism they got on the show running out of ideas and being less spontaneous.

 

2007 was the last yaer where a season had 10 episodes? All of the later years have consisted of 2 seasons of about 6 + 7 episodes, one in the winter and one in the summer, depending on which one one sees as "starting" the year. The Olympics came round and messed up the whole schedule back in 2012.

[The Compensator]

The level of extreme in protests really shocked me. I had no idea it was that big a deal even after reading the articles on their website about the whole ordeal. Maybe I'm being stupid but I feel sad for the cars that had to be left behind.

 

I knew they were big, but still the amount of rocks thrown and the damage kinda surprised me. I wonder what the Argentinian pricks did with the poor cars.

 

Yeah it is very staged but on the other hand it wouldn't be very entertainmentworthy if everything went to plan all the time. If anything it made for more entertainment than they though when they realized how good the Lotus actually worked off road. Also, TG without the lunacy wouldn't really be TG and that's still what people tune in for. I don't feel like they have overdone the stagedness any more than they have previously.

 

I'd say it was too obvious, not overdone. They should've 'hidden' it more.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by "these days". To be fair on them, they mostly do test performance cars and a track is the only place you will be able to tell what the car is really like. They have done reviews on normal roads as well though, Peugeot iOn vs. Nissan Leaf, Ferrari F12, Aston Martin V12 Vantage and Mercedes C63 AMG Black are the ones that come to mind straight away. Even if they get to keep the cars for a few days at a time I doubt they have that kind of budget time-wise for actually filming the segments. That is, unless it's necessary such as with the Tesla Roadster that just kept breaking down. The Zenvo also went back and forth quite a few times.

 

The main gripe IMHO is that the reviews are the same because of the fact they they do the test at the airport most of the time (I think Hammond went to Silverstone with a Range Romney). Even a supercar needs to be usable on the street.

 

I think you're mixing them up. :p The second US road trip was with the Dodge Challenger, Cadillac CTS-V and Corvette ZR1. The third was with the Porsche 911 GT3, Mercedes SLS and Ferrari 458. One of the question on the last TG survey was about which was your favorite TG special and I had a really hard time choosing. There was a few I was stuck between, mainly the Burma, second Africa, Middle East and Bolivia ones. Can't remember which one I actually voted for. xD

 

Yeah, I meant the third one. Thanks for the correction. :p

 

Yes, Top Gear is (almost) back! - BBC Top Gear

[Andreas¹]

Announcing… An Evening With Top Gear! - BBC Top Gear :

Not long to go until the brand new series of quite possibly the greatest motoring show ever to be broadcast on BBC Two. And what better way to find out what’s coming up than in the very presence of Messrs Clarkson, Hammond and May?

 

Yes, for the first time ever, on Sunday 18 January the three presenters will be appearing in front of a small live audience in London, dispensing wisdom and previewing what we’ve been up to since you last saw us.

 

Best of all, the entire event will be broadcast globally on TopGear.com, the Top Gear YouTube channel and our Facebook and Twitter accounts at 21:00 GMT on Sunday 18 January.

 

Fancy coming along? Based in the UK? We also have ten pairs of tickets to the event to give away! Head this way to find out how to enter (and also the terms and conditions).

 

In the meantime we'd like you, fans of Top Gear across the world, to send in questions for Jeremy, Richard and James. If you could ask them absolutely anything, what would it be? Pop your best efforts in the handy space below and we'll keep our eyes peeled for our favourite submissions. You never know, we could end up using your question on the evening itself.

 

Alternatively, you can send in your questions via VIDEO to [email protected]. Be creative, tell us (or show us) where in the world you are. And trendy social media types – use the hashtag #EveningWithTG to send in your questions*

I'll try watching it, if I remember and depending on where I am. :duck:

 

Also, first episode on the 25th January. :D

[TIMELESS]

Well it kinda makes up for no series last June/July

 

 

"predictable"

 

 

Remember when Top Gear was about cars? I miss that. The Ayrton Senna episode was brilliant, possibly the last really good episode.

 

Watched the Christmas special, it was better than some of the others. The ending was brilliant though, when Top Gear does serious it's always good.

[Ryzza5]

Sounds interesting, Andreaz. Hopefully there's a complete recording to watch online the next day.

[Andreas¹]

 

They claim it's a preview (it isn't) but fun to watch nonetheless. :)

[Camel]

They should make a full Top Gear Lego episode!

[Ryzza5]

I thought Richard said that standing on LEGO was the most painful thing in the world.... I expected more screaming :lol:

[Andreas¹]

They should make a full Top Gear Lego episode!

 

The intro at least!

 

 

Proper trailer for those of you who can watch it. I can't, because the video is blocked here in Sweden. :D Please describe what happens in vivid detail.

[Tob-Racer]

9 days... Can't wait ! :drool:

[Andreas¹]

So can you watch that trailer? I was thinking maybe they blocked it from everyone except the UK but maybe they just hate us. :hmmm:

[Ryzza5]

Can't watch it either. Even tried a UK proxy

[Tob-Racer]

Yea I can. I'm in the UK. But I can try with a Proxy VPN if you want ;)

[The Compensator]

Tried a UK and US proxy and it didn't work.