[TV] Top Gear - Season 14

[Al Weyman]

Thats being silly, no comparison at all. I dont go out to deliberately smash up my car they do if for effect.

[garcon]

I might be wrong, and I know most of the show is scripted etc, but I'd heard Clarkson didn't actually intend to put it in the ditch.

A bit like Al not actually intending to break his race car every weekend.

[Al Weyman]

I dont break it every weekend! I did the last 7 races and finished every one and got 2nd in class in the championship. Even if they didnt smash it deliberately they certainly grafittied it.

[Craig]

Bit like all those old cars racing round the track then... they should be kept in showroom condition too, surely?

[garcon]

Originally Posted by Al Weyman

I dont break it every weekend! I did the last 7 races and finished every one and got 2nd in class in the championship. Even if they didnt smash it deliberately they certainly grafittied it.

Fair play Al, glad your luck's improved!

Looking at the way the paint came off when he binned it I don't think the grafitti was permanent. The car was probably a barely road legal shed anyway...

[Al Weyman]

Probably, its just that I really like that model of BMW so maybe a touch sensitive. :-)

[Craig]

Ah well, at least it was still being driven by an old school BMW driver... just as it would have been when it was new. I'm sure it's not the first time that it's been in a ditch

[Hepatic]

Originally Posted by safc_fan89

The easiest way to instantly improve the program would be to remove Richard Hammond from it. He adds nothing to the show any more. Clarkson is Clarkson, James May is the most interesting of the three, and Hammond just acts like a child all the time, and is about as unfunny as is possible.

Except all the female viewers. No Hamster would mean no cute ladies in the audience to ogle while Clarkson drivels on with an interview

[Tim Falce]

Originally Posted by Al Weyman

No, putting that fine and increasingly rare old 6 series in the ditch after daubing it with silly pictures was not funny at all.

Well it's only an old BM so it doesn't count.

[Steven Humphrey]

I actually thought this episode was better than the last one, when they smashed up the Clio and had Mr Madonna as a guest. The Noble was fantastic & JB was a good guest. I quite liked the art gallery thing in the whole but some sequences were just silly & pointless (the radio interviews & the ditch incident). I'm looking forward to the South America special but as a series, I think it has run it's course unless a serious revamp is on the cards.

And for the record-I'm with Al. No need to wilfully damage good cars for entertainment (and absolutely no comparison to historic racing)

[garcon]

You just reminded me. Occasionally there are people in the world of celebrity that I haven't seen interviewed but tend to think will more than likely come across as a bit of a .

Guy Ritchie is one of those people. And I was right.

[jab]

Interesting article here by Andy Wilman in response to the criticisms about the recent past. It seems that it's not just certain viewers that are bored of the cocking about

[Craig]

What is the Bonneville incident he keeps mentioning in that article? I was out of the country for best part of a year and think it must have been during that time?

[Al Weyman]

They had a crack at a land speed record didnt they?

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by jab

Interesting article here by Andy Wilman in response to the criticisms about the recent past. It seems that it's not just certain viewers that are bored of the cocking about

I think rather than just letting the comedy flow naturally, they have tried to force it too much this year to their detriment.

Also just a lot of the different segments they have filmed I haven't really liked anyways.

[Flaming_Wuzzle]

Originally Posted by Craig

What is the Bonneville incident he keeps mentioning in that article? I was out of the country for best part of a year and think it must have been during that time?

I'm assuming that was the San Francisco-Utah muscle car review thing they did in series 12.

[jab]

Originally Posted by mountainstar

I think rather than just letting the comedy flow naturally, they have tried to force it too much this year to their detriment.

I think that's what it is, and I think that's what Andy is acknowledging too. I'm not going to go all "it's not like the good old days" but it does seem that they have gone down the route of trying to appeal to the lowest common denominator with the humour in order to try and appeal to a wider audience, i.e. dumbing down. It's not as "clever" as it used to be - it does seem a bit forced, e.g. the "accidental" destruction, . And I think they're low on ideas too - the Twingo test was a rehashed version of the Fiesta test; the airport vehicles race was another random vehicles race as done with the buses, MPVs and motorhomes; the art exhibition had elements of the feature with the cars as art from just after Hammond's crash; and so on. It gets quite predictable - you can pretty much guess what's going to happen next when Jeremy on the voiceover says "but...". The original stuff has been good - OK, so the Romanian trip was sort of based on the best driving road, but it was very good, and the Lancia feature was great. They just need some fresh ideas. Maybe some time off needed - only do a (longer?) autumn/winter series next year, perhaps?

But these things are understandable when you've got a cult (sort of) show that has become very popular and, re: the lack of ideas, has been around so long. The Simpsons went the same way - it's dire now. But people still watch. What I fear is that if it does try and go back to its roots, the ratings will decrease as the more mainstream viewers disappear, which will give the BBC an excuse to cancel it, essentially a catch 22 situation

[redshoes]

Who is the reviewer 'Monk' that Andy Wilman's blog refers to?

I agree the Lancia feature was good. As they acknowledge in the blog that was mainly a couple of car enthusiasts just enthusing about great cars - no silly stunts, no exploding caravans, no falling pianos, and all the better for it. Shame that those sort of articles seem to be in minority now.

I found the whole Andy Wilman quite strange. He acknowledges that the show is perhaps past it's best and that the stunts have got too silly and too repetitive but then goes on to say that they have no intention of changing and will continue on in the same direction. I just don't get that attitude.

[jab]

Originally Posted by redshoes

Who is the reviewer 'Monk' that Andy Wilman's blog refers to?

Some self-righteous bloke who always whinges in the comments sections of the blog entries

Originally Posted by redshoes

I found the whole Andy Wilman quite strange. He acknowledges that the show is perhaps past it's best and that the stunts have got too silly and too repetitive but then goes on to say that they have no intention of changing and will continue on in the same direction. I just don't get that attitude.

I don't think he said they have no intention of changing. He's not saying they won't do anything - he said that just because there is whinging doesn't mean they will change. I think he was just saying that they're not going to just do what the whingers say they should do, which is fair enough. You can see this in his comments on the electric car piece - I think what Andy is implying is that it was a good idea (and I agree) but it was spoiled a bit by it being too forced and predictable, whereas some are saying it was a bad idea full stop

I think he's got it spot on - that this series hasn't been their best, that the characters of the TG3 are overplayed, and that it feels a bit dull and predictable because that's the way TV shows go when they've been around for so long

[Cougar]

Read the comments on the blog ... further down "Monk" starts speaking..

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by jab

I think that's what it is, and I think that's what Andy is acknowledging too. I'm not going to go all "it's not like the good old days" but it does seem that they have gone down the route of trying to appeal to the lowest common denominator with the humour in order to try and appeal to a wider audience, i.e. dumbing down. It's not as "clever" as it used to be - it does seem a bit forced, e.g. the "accidental" destruction, . And I think they're low on ideas too - the Twingo test was a rehashed version of the Fiesta test; the airport vehicles race was another random vehicles race as done with the buses, MPVs and motorhomes; the art exhibition had elements of the feature with the cars as art from just after Hammond's crash; and so on. It gets quite predictable - you can pretty much guess what's going to happen next when Jeremy on the voiceover says "but...". The original stuff has been good - OK, so the Romanian trip was sort of based on the best driving road, but it was very good, and the Lancia feature was great. They just need some fresh ideas. Maybe some time off needed - only do a (longer?) autumn/winter series next year, perhaps?

But these things are understandable when you've got a cult (sort of) show that has become very popular and, re: the lack of ideas, has been around so long. The Simpsons went the same way - it's dire now. But people still watch. What I fear is that if it does try and go back to its roots, the ratings will decrease as the more mainstream viewers disappear, which will give the BBC an excuse to cancel it, essentially a catch 22 situation

Actually I think that is why sometimes, in any situation, it's good to bring new creative people in. I think there are a lot of great things they can do.

Season 12 and 13 I thought were pretty good, but this season I think the workload they have elsewhere is becoming evident and hurting the show. All of them have books coming out this year, their own separate tv shows or DVDs, their own weekly newspaper and magazine columns, Top Gear Live and other minutae. That is one hell of a workload.

Being a former workaholic, I can tell the signs and it is evident in all 3 of them this season.

Actually I thought the electric car deal wasn't that bad.

[jab]

Originally Posted by mountainstar

Actually I think that is why sometimes, in any situation, it's good to bring new creative people in. I think there are a lot of great things they can do.

Writers, yes. Presenters, no. Bringing in a new presenter or 3 would just be jumping the shark

TG without any of the TG3 wouldn't be TG

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by jab

Writers, yes. Presenters, no. Bringing in a new presenter or 3 would just be jumping the shark

TG without any of the TG3 wouldn't be TG

That's what I meant, writers, but also possibly directors and producers as well.

[Al Weyman]

They spoilt the electric car feature by making the thing so hugely square and ugly. With a bit mre thought and the money (ours) they were spending on the project could they not have produced something that actually looked half decent and worked. Is Andy Wileman Dave Wileman's son and did he race once with us in ModProds?

[redshoes]

Originally Posted by jab

I don't think he said they have no intention of changing. He's not saying they won't do anything - he said that just because there is whinging doesn't mean they will change. I think he was just saying that they're not going to just do what the whingers say they should do, which is fair enough.

He acknowledges that the whingers actually do have a point and even accepts that some of what they say is true but refuses to do anything about it - "However, although we understand the complaints, it doesn’t necessarily mean we’re going to do anything about them."

The electric car article had the germs of a good idea but all too quickly descended Tom & Jerry meets the Keystone Cops. If there was a point to the article beyond the arsing about then it was lost.

I've said this before, if you look back at most of the earlier stunts and challenges they actually had a point to them. The Audi vs mountain climbers challenge for example was a clever way of highlighting the Audi's handling capability. These days they seem to be doing silly stunts just for the sake of it.