Top Gear (UK) - General Discussion

[Danny Franks]

Just throwing presenters at it isn't going to make the show work again. This is going to end up being embarrassing for the BBC.

[b2H]

We have no plans to watch in this household. Will crash, burn and never be heard from again.....

[Athena]

Top Gear exec producer has quit a midst speculation that Chris Evans is a "control freak". Report notes that the new season premiere will be May 22, being pushed back two weeks and the series has been cut down to six episodes.

[halopub]

Eh. New BBC trailer is up. I'm already finding not-Captain-America grating but at least the soundtrack's solid.

 

ETA: Also, James apparently has a new Beebs show where he assembles some of old stuff. It looks pleasantly drowsy and will run Mon-Wed next week.

Edited March 31, 2016 by halopub

[ProfCrash]

Do we have an air date for the Amazon show? I am not watching the BBC version because, well, it looks like the cast is awful.

[b2H]

Not sure if there's a date yet, but there's a lot of controversy surrounding the replacement show on BBC.  Apparently, the lead guy is making a lot of noise and a lot of problems for production - he's wrecked cars, criticized his associate presenters.  It's a big mess at BBC.

 

Last I heard the Amazon show was slated for the fall, but now the BBC show is threatening to live stream on Netflix. 

 

Like you, I still won't watch that mess.

[Athena]

The Amazon show does not even have a name yet which is why we have not requested a forum for it. Though, we can get one created and rename it later.

 

Yes, the BBC original show is getting a lot of reports of it being a trainwreck. Chris Evans the main presenter has been known to have a bit of an ego and was one of the most highly paid radio presenters in BBC history. Not that surprised he would clash with Matt Leblanc or get very pissy about cars since he was with James May the one time he was on the show. I am definitely not watching now with all this drama.

[ProfCrash]

Chris Evans had bad press from day one. I have no idea who he is and have never seen him in anything but nothing that I read made me want to watch the show. Adding Matt to the presenters did nothing to excite me.

[emma675]

Jeremy tweeted recently that the Amazon show is scheduled to be released this fall, so we've got a bit of a wait. Like many others, I'm waiting for that one and will not be watching the BBC show.

[Danny Franks]

Hardly a surprise that Evans is the one who seems to be causing the difficulties. He's always had a huge ego, with little I could ever see to justify it, and I'd put money on him wanting to staff the show with all his pals. Someone like Matt LeBlanc, who is more famous, funnier and definitely better looking than him? Oh yeah, bet that one went down like a lead balloon.

 

While I never thought this show had a hope in hell of succeeding, frostiness between the presenters is a sure death knell. Top Gear worked primarily because the three guys loved hanging around, messing about and torturing the hell out of each other. That was what made people watch. The cars were just the vehicle (if you'll excuse the pun) for it.

[biakbiak]

While I never thought this show had a hope in hell of succeeding, frostiness between the presenters is a sure death knell. Top Gear worked primarily because the three guys loved hanging around, messing about and torturing the hell out of each other. That was what made people watch. The cars were just the vehicle (if you'll excuse the pun) for it.

I have mentioned before my boyfriend knows everything about cars and I know nothing, neither of us watched for the cars it was for the three! I get that what Jeremy did was wrong and should have had consequences but it just seems BBC really didn't get what made the show work.

Edited April 18, 2016 by biakbiak

[ProfCrash]

Hardly a surprise that Evans is the one who seems to be causing the difficulties. He's always had a huge ego, with little I could ever see to justify it, and I'd put money on him wanting to staff the show with all his pals. Someone like Matt LeBlanc, who is more famous, funnier and definitely better looking than him? Oh yeah, bet that one went down like a lead balloon.

 

While I never thought this show had a hope in hell of succeeding, frostiness between the presenters is a sure death knell. Top Gear worked primarily because the three guys loved hanging around, messing about and torturing the hell out of each other. That was what made people watch. The cars were just the vehicle (if you'll excuse the pun) for it.

 

 

I have mentioned before my boyfriend knows everything about cars and I know nothing, neither of us watched for the cars it was for the three! I get that what Jeremy did was wrong and should have had consequences but it just seems BBC really didn't get what made the show work.

Exactly. I tended to fast forward through the car tests and the like because I could care less about the cars. I don't share the political views of the presenters and found myself cringing from time to time but that was fine. For the most part, I rolled my eyes and said "whatever." I hear that same rhetoric at the office on a daily basis. There are folks who believe as they do and there are others who disagree with them. I never felt like they were trying to force a political agenda on me more that they said things that I disagreed with in their conversations on the show. I never had a problem with their getting into trouble for their over the top insensitive comments and I got the sense that they never had a problem with the fact that they got in trouble for their over the top comments.

 

I loved how the three interacted. It was clear that they loved each other, were shocked that they were making the money they were playing with cars, and enjoyed their travels and insane tasks. More often then not they were very kind and it was clear that they enjoyed their host country. Yes, they made jokes but they also pointed out the beauty were they saw it, the kindness of the locals, and laughed at their own idiocy. Their chemistry is what made the show. Not the cars.

 

US Top Gear never won me over because I didn't like the presenters, well mainly the dude from NY who was such a stereotype. They didn't seem to gel and the various bits felt forced and not natural. I watched a season and the occasional show here or there but I couldn't stick with it. Heck, I think Tanner would have done nicely on the UK Top Gear. He loves cars, is fun and seems to get on well with many different folks. He had appeared often enough on the UK versions and gotten along fine with the three presenters that he was known by the audience and I think they would have embraced him.

[Athena]

Clarkson uploaded a video on Facebook of the three of them trying to come up with names for the new show.

[ProfCrash]

LOL great video. I love the cards parked outside the buidling

[Popples]

Apparently Chris Evans thinks Jeremy Clarkson is trying to make Top Gear fail, but Clarkson denies it because he still gets paid every time a new series is commissioned.

[Athena]

I did like how Clarkson said that in a way, this allowed the guys to splinter off and force them to reinvent the show to hopefully greater entertainment for us all.

The article also says that they will have a name within the week and they are off to film their Christmas special. Ahh progress.

[Athena]

Amazon show to be called "The Grand Tour"

We will request the new forum today.

[Kromm]

36 minutes ago, Athena said:

Amazon show to be called "The Grand Tour"

We will request the new forum today.

Well they certainly wound up with an Anglo-centric title. So Anglo-centric I bet most people elsewhere won't even get WHY it is so. 

To put it in a nutshell, a Grand Tour is historically (17th, 18th and 19th century) what the aristocratic British toffs went on--literally a touring trip around Europe--when they reached young adulthood. Sounds relatively educational, right? Not really. It was more more like a year long Spring Break, but only for rich people. 

Edited May 11, 2016 by Kromm

[emma675]

I don't care what they call it, as long as they hurry up and air it!

[b2H]

If you look at some of post-colonial America, the well-off did this too.

Today, we would probably call it taking a year off before starting college or the same prior to looking for a full-time job.

Matters not - bring it on, as was stated above.

[Lisin]

Posting this here just in case people don't read the announcement. Grand Tour forum has been created! Please move over there to talk about GT!

[Popples]

Chris Evans prepares for death of his career due to troubled Top Gear.

[Joe]

Little late in the day to be thinking about that, isn't it?

[Athena]

The Guardian had an article about Top Gear surviving without Clarkson where it tracks the show from its beginning in the 1970s and its recreations in the 1980s and 2000s.  It notes that the brand is worth £50 million and BBC2 could not afford to take the break because of its worth internationally. The author was not a fan of the show so there is a lot of questioning on what made it popular.

Quote

"The surprising thing,” Lynch-Robinson says, “was that we almost had as big a female audience as the male. It was a massive female audience, and no one could really work that out, but I always thought the honesty of them being silly was a big part of that. Also, we did a lot of cock jokes but we never did boobs and Page 3, it was never that, it was never girls with their boobs out. It was very much about three blokes enjoying each other’s company.”

Quote

Yet what really ignited Top Gear’s popularity, setting it on course to become the most watched factual programme in the world in 2013, was not Clarkson’s personality; rather, Hammond nearly killing himself in 2006. 

[Kromm]

Lynch-Robinson isn't that smart. He's worked out correctly that it has to do with them being irreverent, but thinking it has to actually do with cocks and boobs seems to say he doesn't totally get it.

The Brits love their blokey-blokes, it's true. But I think they love them from both sides. They not only love seeing them, they love seeing them be fools too. 

Clarkson himself would no doubt cringe at the comparison, given that America is one of his biggest targets for mockery, but really it came down to him being kind of a version of Donald Trump. A widening oafish aging opinionated white guy with a big mouth, speaking as if he had no filter, and people responding to the irreverence of that. The more of a fool Clarkson made May took his place as the kind of fuddy-duddy favorite target, and Hammond as the young(er) whipersnapper there to give the old guys a contrast (albeit a minimal one, since he was still white and male and English).  And people reacted to it... because it WAS (and likely still is) funny. 

So yeah Clarkson was essential. It just seems silly to deny it, no matter what people think of his actual conduct.  Top Gear was a big brand before him, sure, and Hammond's accident likely gave it a really intense news cycle that brought it a lot more attention, but Clarkson's oafishness and how he played off the other two cemented the viewership.  In theory you could have replaced the other two and Clarkson might have had to found other hooks to trample over other co-hosts, but likely he would have managed if he'd really had to.  Fortunately for all of them, he doesn't even have to try to. And it's not like May's old fart routine or Hammond's gushy little guy acts aren't amusing too. They just wouldn't have been enough without Clarkson and how his oafish ways drew eyeballs.

[Athena]

Out of morbid curiosity, I watched the first episode. As expected, it was boring and Chris Evans did look like he was trying really hard. I don't necessarily believe the rivalry rumours, but it seems to me that Matt is not bothered by Chris in this first ep. Can't say the same for Evans. I think he's trying to look like he gets along with Leblanc when he probably doesn't care for him at all. Their dynamic felt forced and while Leblanc has a lot more charisma to work with, he sounded outright grumpy through a lot of the challenges. It's not a good angle or shtick to keep up since he and Evans do not have the previous hosts' chemistry or sense of humor.

I was hoping for more Sabine, but it's clear they will only bring her when Matt is unavailable. The first ep was all about the two men doing challenges. Neither of them are enough for me to be entertained during the challenges.

Clarkson has a lot of issues, but something I did appreciate about him was that he actually had some really thoughtful and insightful car reviews when doing the challenges. Even if he was to say the experience was fun or how the experience in the car reminded him of a memory. I remember one review where he talked about driving with a rotisserie chicken to his Mum's when his Dad was sick and how after a few hours, the chicken was still warm when he got there. This did not happen all the time, but there was sincerity. Not getting that here yet, but I may have to watch a couple more episodes down the line to get that kind of thing from Evans or Leblanc. I don't know. The guys goofed around a lot, but I never doubted that they didn't enjoy each other's company.

It was great to see the Stig again ("We got custody!"), but he really is the only thing I will miss from this "old" show. Bring on GT.

[Kromm]

I haven't seen the first episode yet, but the online opinions/hate are even more viscous than I'd thought. Wow. 

[Kromm]

Wow, it starts bad and gets worse.

Even from the credits.  They're SO effing generic. Then... some lame jokes, and their first cars being American, and their remote being in the US... wow, a horrible choice. Even as a US fan I know the show can't even SEEM, for even a moment, like it's now become a US production, so they should have held back on US cars, and any US locations, for a bit.

Evans is trying... but at the same time he almost seems to have given up... already. In the taped segments he seems game enough, but maybe when he got back home he saw those tapes and despaired. Because while he's engaged in them, he's also not very entertaining.  Versus in the studio, where he just seems sad.

Doubly lame keeping the Lap Time board from the old show.  It was too direct a reminder of the old show. I mean you knew Stig was going to be there... but the Lap Times?  Come on.

And Joey, er... Matt?  I dunno. I'm trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. His problem is that while he's slick, nothing really sounds spontaneous. Also, it stopped being funny a few minutes in with Matt pretending he'd never heard of ANY place in the UK.  And a drive to Blackpool being a challenge?  Come. On. No matter how weird or lame the car was, it's neither exotic, nor HARD outside of a car breaking down.

Star In A Still Fairly Reasonably Priced (Rally) Car.  Hmm. A flashier car and off road sections? Not saving this being a repeated segment. And... Gordon Ramsay and... The Lamest Version of Lex Luthor. Ugh.

Matt was okay in a solo segment in the desert away from Evans and the studio.  Rehearsed and scripted, but at least charismatic.

Overall... "lame" is how most of this felt.

Edited May 31, 2016 by Kromm

[biakbiak]

3 out of 5 Americans thought based on the intro that Chris Evans was Toby Jones. We then tapped out at minute 5!

[Kromm]

Why was it distinctly better than the main show? I mean it actually talked about cars and stuff, had a host who seemed to know what he was talking about, and he even did remotes, just like the main show folks...

[ProfCrash]

I caught bits and pieces of the episode. I saw Matt's American painted whatever breakdown twice and then Matt racing someone on a motorcycle so I can see that the format wasn't changed much. I did not get the impression that there was much chemistry between Matt and Evans but they hardly know each other so maybe that will change as the season progresses. I might find it to listen to today while at work but I didn't see anything in my quick looks that made me think I wanted to watch it and my husband was wondering how long it would be before they find new presenters.

[ProfCrash]

I can see where Hammond's accident made people take a look at the show and then they decided that they liked it and continued watching. I remember going back and looking for what happened with the accident and Hammond's return and being impressed with how well the show handled it. The three of them are a in a very different place politically then I am and they have their moments where they are offensive but they have other moments where they are very darn good. Hammond's accident was one of those moments.

And while they have their moments that are so totally not politically correct and offensive, they are not all that frequent and some of them have been, well, manufactured. There was one incident that was filmed but not aired because they realized what Clarkson had said (I believe it was the n***** episode where he was singing a song) and someone released the video long after the fact. I watched the video and it was not totally clear what he said but I could see how people would think he used an offensive word. Yes the joke about needing to use a toilet in India was in poor taste but I don't think it deserved the uproar that it did.

They were three white dudes who seemed to bemoan the loss of the Empire and British dominance and who preferred a more conservative government. Most of the show focused on their passionate love of cars and all things fast. I understand firing Clarkson, he hit a man after 10,000 warnings for other things. Then again, I saw the episode that led to the guy being hit and I could understand why a Producer would be decked after the idiocy that they put the presenters through with that episode. OK, so you still don't hit the dude and Clarkson really had crossed a line and he had to be let go but the current crop of presenters is not going to keep anyone watching the show.

A total revamp might have been a better move.

[ProfCrash]

OK: The intro was awful.

The local Indian restaurant appearance? What? The catering joke was ok.

Top Gun? Evans is awful at the voice over. It just doesn't flow. The Top Gun cross over was unnecessary. I tend to fast forward through the pure car things and the desire to watch Evans discuss a car was simply not there. So I fast forward.

The trip to Black Pool: Why make the first challenge thing with cheap, three wheel, Reliants? And then it is 250 miles and they are both acting like it is awful. Seriously? What a stupid challenge. It is cold so send them out in convertibles, send them to drive 250 miles in cheap cars, and end up with one on a tow truck. Really? Just awful. "Come on baby, we are going to make it." uggghhh

Stars in an Off Road Vehicle: I love Gordon Ramsey so I am always going to enjoy it. Love the cars he owns and the proof of a new car that no one had evidence of. It was a fun segment. Not sure what I think about the off road course. So people need to learn to drive quickly, which most people don't know how to do, and off road? Not a good change, it wasn't really needed either. And Evans cannot not narrate the lap very well. Clearly the audience was not into it. Jessie was a good sport about every thing.

I get that it takes a while for new hosts to take a while to get the feel for a new show but I am struggling with Chris Evans. He feels so forced and loud. I don't buy that he actually enjoys cars.

I suspect that Jeremy, Richard, and James are laughing their ass off and the execs at BBC are preying for some massive improvement.

Hey my Fitbit just beeped. I need to go for a walk. So I am taking off.

[ProfCrash]

Back from my quick walk. Hey, I need to get my steps in and I want my 250 minimum an hour...

The Nomad segment was fun. Pretty well done.

Chris Evans is awful as a narrator.

Return of the challenge: Yeah,cold, rainy and at the beach looks awful. The Mayor was bleech. Just use the dude in the white lab coat. The speed test was boring. The lack of chemistry between the Matt and Chris is evident. I remember when they brought James on the show. He was not buddy buddy with Jeremy and Richard but they liked him and he liked them and they found their comfort zone really fast. The tug of war was stupid. What the hell was the point of pulling ice cream vans?

OK, so the challenge segment was stupid. Crap cars to start with, boring jeeps at Blackpool, and not fun challenges. They are clearly missing something.

Matt is doing fine but Chris is really bad.

And the stupid challenge continues. Crappy cars, with helpers driving up a mountain. The tapping, which was always allowed and done with humor, because something different in this series.

So not something that I will seek out at home but something I will listen to at work with the occasional glance to see if it is improving.

[Athena]

1 hour ago, ProfCrash said:

Stars in an Off Road Vehicle: I love Gordon Ramsey so I am always going to enjoy it. Love the cars he owns and the proof of a new car that no one had evidence of. It was a fun segment. Not sure what I think about the off road course. So people need to learn to drive quickly, which most people don't know how to do, and off road? Not a good change, it wasn't really needed either. And Evans cannot not narrate the lap very well. Clearly the audience was not into it. Jessie was a good sport about every thing.]

Yeah, Evans is a shit narrator. I actually got some second hand embarrassment because he said a couple of "jokes" during the narration and you heard nothing from the studio audience or the noises were very subdued. I actually felt for him during those studio segments because he's not good in this kind of format.

I enjoyed Ramsay and Eisenberg because they were both nice and good about everything, but everything else in that segment was boring even the new "off road" bit. Like mud, yay?

Another thing that I felt missing was the cinematography. The filming has always been cinematic or close to cinematic in the challenges and reviews. Aside from the Nomad challenge, a lot of the stuff was standard and not really up to previous TG fare.

The show felt like a pilot and I wish they would have revamped it completely. Aside from missing the trio, the show is feeling the absence of former exec producer Andy Wilman, Clarkson's friend and business partner. Wilman invented the Stig and was responsible for a lot of the tone and creative decisions on the show.

[emma675]

Could someone refresh my memory? What was the episode and the situation that led to Clarkson punching that producer?

[Kromm]

4 hours ago, emma675 said:

Could someone refresh my memory? What was the episode and the situation that led to Clarkson punching that producer?

They were filming in Yorkshire, but it had little to nothing to do with anything that aired on any episode of the show.  Unless you mean "episode" in the more generic sense not relating to a timed interval of TV. It was just a random day, Clarkson and the other hosts had gone to a pub and gotten drunk, and when they got back to their hotel, the bearer of the bad news that the hotel had closed their kitchen and had no hot food was the producer he punched. Clarkson apparently ranted at him for 3/4 of an hour, screamed that he was "a lazy Irish {nasty word for female genitalia}", and then got so worked up he punched him. Because Clarkson is not only a drunk, he's a racist.

[halopub]

On 5/30/2016 at 10:53 AM, Athena said:

------

I was hoping for more Sabine, but it's clear they will only bring her when Matt is unavailable. The first ep was all about the two men doing challenges. Neither of them are enough for me to be entertained during the challenges.

-------

Clarkson has a lot of issues, but something I did appreciate about him was that he actually had some really thoughtful and insightful car reviews when doing the challenges. Even if he was to say the experience was fun or how the experience in the car reminded him of a memory. I remember one review where he talked about driving with a rotisserie chicken to his Mum's when his Dad was sick and how after a few hours, the chicken was still warm when he got there. This did not happen all the time, but there was sincerity. Not getting that here yet, but I may have to watch a couple more episodes down the line to get that kind of thing from Evans or Leblanc. I don't know. The guys goofed around a lot, but I never doubted that they didn't enjoy each other's company.

------

It was great to see the Stig again ("We got custody!"), but he really is the only thing I will miss from this "old" show. Bring on GT.

I only half watched the aftershow but you should check out the last couple of minutes. The perky host went to Germany, where they filmed at Sabine's racing garage and "Canadian" cowboy ranch. I loved her farm animal pets and she looked so vivacious compared to her brief appearance in front of the studio audience.

That story he told of driving to see his father on his deathbed was so heartfelt and given the car model's relative availability, I've always sided with Clarkson on the license plate matter. I've long wondered how much of what we see on screen is Clarkson the character and Clarkson the person. He's implied recently that we only get bits of his real self on TV. For all his intentional TV buffoonery, Clarkson's also a gifted and thoughtful writer with highly educated references. Plus he knows how to deliver effective narration.

Ok, that Spy Hunter/Knight Rider bit with Stig driving the trailer made me laugh. I don't know if Matt wrote his Ariel narration or if he's just delivering other people's lines but I see promise there.

[Kromm]

1 hour ago, halopub said:

I only half watched the aftershow but you should check out the last couple of minutes

That's a shame, since the Aftershow, which supposedly is only existent to supplement the main show, was actually far better done than the main show.  THAT host really knew what he was talking about with cars, unlike Evans. He's doing his own remote segments and interviews, not just analyzing things seen on the main show, and probably doing them better.  

I even made a topic to talk about the Aftershow: 

I also made this other topic to talk specifically about the idea of what (if anything) can be done to repair the show (keeping in mind how early in the process it is):

Edited June 1, 2016 by Kromm

[Kromm]

Yeah, it's only 1 episode into the new version, and talking about fixing it might be premature.  But... lets spitball it anyway.  I'm sure as the weeks go on we will have more and more material to reference, but lets start the talk now.

[phantom]

I loved the old Top Gear so my expectations going into the new series were low. Honestly, I didn't think it was that bad. Chris Evans (I'm an American so he's new to me - what's his background?) definitely was forcing some of the bits when he was trying to enthuse the crowd, but it was overall better than I expected given the controversy and criticism. It's not going to be the same show and I did appreciate them making some changes to the celebrity lap circuit. Apparently they have cut "the news" segment entirely - is that what the Extra Gear show is intended for? Bottom line for me is that I had a few laughs and saw Blackpool & the Top Gun training center. I LOVE Sabine - we need way more of her.

[phantom]

I wasn't expecting to like Extra Gear at all, but it was a pleasant surprise. Loved the interview with Sabine about her first (illegal) trip around the Nuremburg circuit and the tour of the new celebrity rally lap.

[Quilt Fairy]

Much better than the actual show.

[Quilt Fairy]

Did the original crew take all the experienced sound people with them? I couldn't understand anything Chris was saying when he was in a car, with a top on or not. Or in the studio, come to think of it. Thank heaven for closed-captioning.  Don't know how well known he is in the UK but he didn't make a great first impression: small, squarish head on a smallish body, slicked back red-ish hair and unattractive square glasses. Wearing a t-shirt, worn jeans and boots. Totally forgettable. I can see the enthusiasm, but they need to package it better. He also needs to stop trying to be Jeremy lite. LeBlanc? Eh. Not a Friends fan, never thought any of that crew had much talent or personality. If they were going to bring in an American (if even for this one episode) they should have brought in on of the US Top Gear people. Or Jay Leno - except I doubt he would have done it.

I was confused about the first airing being 2 hours long and the later being 1 1/2, so I recorded both and managed to see Extra Gear, which was not repeated later.  That was totally the show I was expecting to see as a replacement.

Edited June 1, 2016 by Quilt Fairy

[Athena]

1 hour ago, phantom said:

I loved the old Top Gear so my expectations going into the new series were low. Honestly, I didn't think it was that bad. Chris Evans (I'm an American so he's new to me - what's his background?) definitely was forcing some of the bits when he was trying to enthuse the crowd, but it was overall better than I expected given the controversy and criticism.

Chris Evans started as a radio host where he did a lot of celebrity interviews, then went onto producing and TV hosting. He's primarily done music shows. I'm not a big fan of his style, but he seemed nervous even though he's been hosting for years. I think having Leblanc there really showcased how Evans has less charisma on TV. Another thing to consider that Evans was the highest paid radio personality in the UK and he is extremely rich, about £55 million net worth. Both the hosts are costing the BBC a lot of money.

[halopub]

As I mentioned on the main Top Gear thread, I enjoyed that segment with Sabine. I didn't really understand the Canadian West theme for her home but between that, her pets and the racing garage, it was great having some insight into her colorful personality. I still love that segment she did way back when racing the van around Nürburgring.

The show's tone reminded me a bit of the BBC's softer news programming like Click or The Travel Show. I was entertained by Chris Harris' low level crankiness. Rory was too perky for my tastes, but not by much and I can't really fault his enthusiasm at the new gig. I'd be just as psyched on set as he was.

Who else thinks the segment producers have flocked to work with these two and LeBlanc? I bet they are actually fun to partner with.

It's too bad the Brits only get this online and given its popularity on iPlayer, I hope the powers that be start broadcasting it on their TV screens.

[halopub]

Start with the aftershow and add segments with Sabine, LeBlanc.

• Subtract the rally car?
• Make sure the hosts have plenty of room to go off script and keep the conversation natural
• Change up the music supervision

[Quilt Fairy]

Does anyone think LeBlanc adds anything to the mix? (If it can be said to be a mix with only 2 hosts.) I find him bland and unremarkable. Is he supposed to have some kind of car enthusiast background? Is the too tight leather jacket he wears supposed to imply he's hip in a Brando-ish kind of way?

I watched the little snippets of Grand Tour that are on Amazon (nothing about the show, just about them trying to come up with a name) and as much as I am over Clarkson, the 3 of them together have an undeniable chemistry as well as the confidence that comes from years on the most widely watched show in the world.

[Kromm]

2 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Does anyone think LeBlanc adds anything to the mix? (If it can be said to be a mix with only 2 hosts.) I find him bland and unremarkable. Is he supposed to have some kind of car enthusiast background? Is the too tight leather jacket he wears supposed to imply he's hip in a Brando-ish kind of way?

That's a tricky question. I think he's totally unsuited to this kind of television. That said, he was the better of the pair. His smarmy charm was slick and occasionally actually amusing, albeit totally not right, or enough, for this show. Also, it all seemed scripted. 

This is versus Evans, who was just shouty, annoying and in his own was even less spontaneous than LeBlanc. And this is from a radio guy, who should have spontaneity down pat. 

Does that mean somehow you keep LeJoey and ditch Evans?  No. Really they both need to go. But if you HAD to keep one, LeBlanc's main sin, besides not being as spontaneous enough, and relying on far too many "I am not British and don't know even basic things about the UK, like knowing the name of big towns/cities that aren't London" jokes, is that he IS in fact not British. 

I'm not being facetious here. I think while Grand Tour, despite the very British hosts and show name, will have to be a little more international (including America) to live up to it's new home. But conversely, Top Gear, has to cleave to it's core home audience. LeBlanc is very popular in the UK for many reasons--not only Friends but Episodes, but he's already eating away at that popularity there with stuff like the Cenotaph incident. 

Oh did anyone else see the irony that the Extra Gear host was about twice as good at his job than either of the main show hosts?

[ProfCrash]

You cannot find it on YouTube so this is not something that someone in the US can watch. That sucks