halopub

Do they really take home that much, though? With the traveling studio and Amazon's technical requirements (e.g. 4K), the production costs must be considerable. I'm sure the trio do very, very well with their regular salary and production stakes but I'd be surprised if it were anywhere near the $15-30 million US that Dave Letterman and Jay Leno used to bring home. Now those two have crazy car collections. I'd have to do some digging but I remember reading somewhere that Jeremy drives practical cars for everyday use like the school run. I agree! Plus they got Roger Daltrey and Wilko Johnson to make cameos. I've only seen one i3 on the road and don't like the look of it. From the pictures, the solid color ones aren't as bad. I don't have the mojo to pull off the flashy i8 hybrid but the i3's particular kind of dorkiness offends the design fan in me. Don't get me wrong, features like the responsibly-sourced interior and regenerative braking are excellent inclusions but I'm never going to get past that boxy exterior. I wonder how their hybrid sedans compare performance-wise.

Part of it was probably to purposely toe the line for comedic effect but the word is also pronounced differently in German, with a 'foo.' I also liked Jeremy's easy-to-understand analogies. In business terms, it's about a) being the market/segment leader, b) group influence on individuals to conform to brand choice and c) switching costs. Those quilted interiors in the Bentley were pretty sweet. I did not get the exterior at all, though. The baby Range Rover, Evoque, seems like it's more suburban-friendly and practical than other RR models for typical road use. I vaguely remember James testing it in Death Valley and thinking I'd like all the extra blind spot cameras and traction options. I don't drive off road but this area has sometimes slippery roads, continual construction plus a lot of human hazards to avoid. The Acura SUVs are the more common model around here but I can see the appeal of a compact luxury crossover that can handle crazy roads when it needs to.

Jeremy said in a watch along that a road trip across is coming up. Also, they filmed some segments at The Dubai Mall that weren't included in the season finale.

I don't listen to Sirius, but apparently Craig has a radio show starting in a couple weeks.

A real budget car challenge - not an 8000 GBP one - would be fantastic. And those histories truly are compelling for a wide swath of their audience. I've seen people throwing around a couple of F1 names. I'd rather they skip national stereotypes but I could go for fake subtitles, even for English-speaking drivers. I'd like to see them bring back super low cost segments like grannies doing donuts and badass handbrake parking.

Sorry, yup - I meant to specify Thursday nights. Amazon uses Central European time instead of Greenwich Mean for the midnight global drop. I wonder if the short time frame also pushed them to revert to old ideas and a lack of fresh thinking. They've mentioned how they had to start up the production company from scratch and were stressed when Amazon gave them a fall start date. Agreed! The guys usually have the mic open - maybe the camera people can quietly keep rolling for some b-roll while they're setting up main shots. The guys must do stupid, hilarious shit while they're waiting.

I love Michel but I wouldn't want to see him with Paul. Too bad we can't just have an entirely new duo with Michel and someone else. It'd be worth paying whatever pay or play clause Paul might have in his contract.

I understand where you're coming from. I think they know that 1) they have to allow for more spontaneous moments in their scripted adventures and 2) once they get immediate feedback, to drop pre-planned weekly segments like Brain Crash. Now that they'll be filming all the remote pieces for the fall, I think fans have a small window to express what they want. I think the show runners need to remember how entertaining the trio are when they're just goofing off without a script. How many of us watched them put together DHL boxes? Or find them funnier in the behind-the-scenes clips? The show's better when the three aren't aren't forced into simple, one-note characters that don't fit. I would also appreciate a helluva lot less artillery. I get that the Royal armed forces would like opportunities to show what they can do but there were too many segments with the guys shooting guns. For those in the US, the episode's available 6:01 PM EST. I've been doing my first watches while cleaning up dinner. It takes Amazon an hour or so, though, before Richard Porter's snarky trivia is added.

Edited to add: Extended trailer Season finale: Trailer

There's a 360 video of Jeremy doing a test lap around the set. Since they used stunt drivers for other sequences this season, it's nice to see Jeremy doing his own driving.

Heh. They wouldn't be considered oversized here. I think if we're talking luxury SUVs that start over $50K US, the Mercedes and BMW models are probably the more common ones here. Under $50K, there are an awful lot of Lexus and Acura crossovers. I think those who want to be driven might still go for the Cadillac Escalade. Apparently the Nürnberg ring /Nürburgring is not an uncommon navigation error. I think it's why the race track in Nuremberg is actually called Noris instead. As for the rally/trial jokes, Nazi-era Nuremberg is not ignored but also isn't emphasized in World History classes stateside so over here it's actually a relatively erudite pun. Still dark humor, though.

Judging by the establishing shots, this one was in the New York Tri-State area. The past two seasons have been filmed there but they throw in the occasional Toronto episode. Besides the general architecture, there are sometimes hints in the b-roll, with the restaurant names or things like the Toronto streetcar.

The proposed streaming service between BBC and ITV is Britbox and is supposed to include Eastenders. Presumably, like Acorn, the streaming service will be available on different devices, including smart TVs and various TV sticks. I always thought it was weird ITV put Jeremy Kyle on US daytime syndication.

Not a groundbreaking episode, but it was just the right amount of juvenile silliness to help unwind after a stressful day. Did I see the Bentley's lights flash when it caught air? I take it from their brief behind-the-scenes clip that the film crew damaged one of the their SUVs at the limestone quarry.

While the trio have new season planning on the brain, I'd like to add to my wishlist: a genuine budget car challenge without a bizarro, scripted ending the three competing against each other in old micro cars a segment that brings in some of the entertaining behind-the-scenes staff people, like one-armed sound man Kiff McManus

Amazon's marketers are really spending a ridiculous amount of money ferrying those giant heads of the trio around the world. If you're in the UK, Amazon is running a contest this week to let you place one of the sculptures in your garden for two weeks. In case you haven't seen it in the Finnish episode thread, this was apparently a planned reference to entertain the audience with a local joke. Of course, it didn't translate at all to the show's wider audience.

I can see the intersection of anglophiles and trekkies but CSI Miami is pretty ridiculous. I know that AMC has the TV rights to the series, they run BBCA and probably reap half the advertising sales, but c'mon! The channel's identity is meaningless if only a handful of hours a week have British roots. I know she probably has a number of assets to manage, including streaming services and US-based BBC productions like Dancing with the Stars, but I'd really like to see BBC Worldwide exec Ann Sarnoff put some of her attention back on BBC America's programming. How much more fun and appealing would BBCA be if say, the folks behind BBCA's Anglophenia managed the channel's schedule? (blog, YT channel) There has to be a better way for the channel to acquire affordable shows, build a modest following of eyeballs and then monetize that audience. I'm not feeling particularly optimistic about the upcoming joint venture between BBC Worldwide and ITV to stream shows in the US. It'll be interesting to see, though, what of their current programming will actually be available and new to the US market. Their deep back catalog of dramas, at least, are already streaming on Netflix, Prime, Acorn and even PBS Passport.

I'm quoting The Grand Tour's social accounts on the episode title, not editorializing. Next to last episode for the season: Trailer

I don't know that it was that old but for his purposes Clarkson was lucky to find and purchase an unlisted property. I respect how much emphasis the UK places on homes of historical interest but I wouldn't want to attempt to renovate a graded dwelling.

I don't really pay that much attention to the times, either. With all of the character's negativity, though, I find the segments to be jarring and it breaks up the rhythm of the show. He has hated on all but one of the cars. An interesting idea. They could even do the subtitles with an English-speaking driver like they did with the Chelsea players. I've heard people throwing around a lot of names like Jensen Button and Nico Rosberg. I like how Tanner Foust gets along with James. Skinner can drive and the show presumably could just ask him to portray a more well-rounded character. The few interviews I've seen with him, Skinner's chipper, thoughtful about his past team rivalries and appreciative that racing has provided him with his wine drinking, golfing lifestyle. I didn't notice any issues on that point. Maybe you can check how your speakers are equalized?

I didn't think it was their best example of a trip where they just mess around. It wasn't the worst, either, but was aimless and veered into bonkers territory without building into it. But I did bust a gut when James put the blue towel on his steering wheel. And now his unbridled glee during the Namibia throw, filmed roughly six months later, makes even more sense. The Scots seem to really appreciate the Scottish/English discussion; loved the Tikka Masala and other Scottish trivia; the tent view was gorgeous; Skinner's driving was impressive; the cranky production car guys made me laugh; and Jeremy managed to both build up women and demean one.

Which arm have you broken? Trailer Media sighting: Paris-Normandie, December 4, 2015 (french) Clarkson tweet, November 30, 2015 Brain crash spoiler, The Press and Journal The time Clarkson destroyed a Maserati Biturbo on Top Gear

If you watch the brief behind-the-scenes clips from this episode, they seem like they are in pretty good moods despite the sunburns. Same for the recent X-Box Live interview - they bicker a bit but get along. I think they did reference how they were genuinely miserable from the unexpected cold in Namibia, though.

Wasn't the dog not naturally quiet, though? I thought they mentioned that she greeted every dog she encountered on walks. Also, wasn't Loretta the hound who visited the elementary school with Norma Rae but got too overexcited?

Yay! I'm so glad Jeremy mentioned that there is a budget car challenge next week. Alfa did not think through the name of the Giulia. Quadriformaggio jokes, funny. The Quadsplitaudio, as it is in X-Ray, funny. Quadripleggio...oh boy...a branding headache. Heh. Jeremy's cheeky look after the Top Gear joke made me laugh. RIP Glenn Frey. I know they probably forgot he died with the crazy shitload of other entertainment icons that passed in the year since him but that joke hurt a bit. I'm getting tired of these fake fights between the Americans and Brits. It wasn't funny in the first episode, either. I'm sympathetic to James on his development rant. Cars have to excel in conditions other than the Nürburgring. Didn't the Cadillac CTS-V from a couple years back, though, not only record a fast track speed but get rave reviews? I remember the TV commercial boasting about it. I get that the trio are mourning the heyday of classic American car design, but that top five sales list is unfair to those so-called "foreign" car companies. Cars like the Accord are designed for Americans, assembled Stateside and with a high percentage (70%?) of domestically manufactured parts, supporting US jobs across the chain. I remember a study from awhile ago where the American brands were well behind on domestically manufactured cars/parts. (Let's please, please not go back to the '80s when people thought it was okay to blame & beat to death a random person because a popular car isn't marketed by The Big Three.) As for Detroit, Chrysler still builds cars and engines there. And if one includes all brands, the US produces the second largest number of vehicles annually, more than 12 million.