Top Gear is back

[Ch00]

Restarts Sunday 2nd Feb 2014 on BBC 2 and BBC 2 HD at 8pm

[jambo]

Series record set. No it's not in any way relevant to motoring, but it is fun!

Jambo

Sent without a real keyboard

[DJ123]

Series record set. No it's not in any way relevant to motoring, but it is fun!

Jambo

Sent without a real keyboard



It is purely an entertainment show. The clip online of the new series looks good.

[DJFridge]

It would never get the audience it does if it was still actually a motoring show. Be honest, would any of you watch it if they were doing a straight review of the latest version of the Vauxhall Insignia SE? Of course not, which is why the old cardigan wearing, pipe smoking version gently died.

Personally, I love watching an hour of usually pretty funny stuff, vaguely based around cars. I'm looking forward to tomorrow night

[Mrs DJ Fridge]

Best show on TV by a mile, no pun intended. What can I say I am looking forward to tomorrow night too, spending an hour watching three men on a show that I seem to be unable to get tickets for, we have applied to no avail, may try again, or perhaps just considered too old to get in!

[ClunkintheUK]

I disagree that it's not still a motoring show. I think their p155take reviews are more helpful then the 5th gear proper reviews. Take for example the caravan towing one they did last season with the mini 4x4s. I thought that was excellent at being informative, got a better sense of how much oomph the cars had for towing and controlling a trailer then Tiff Needell talking about this one or that one feeling a little sluggish, or skittish in the corners.

Almost all modern (built 2000 onwards) cars are reliable, albeit with a couple of bits to watch out for. a lot of the purchasing criteria are available online (like mpg, towing capacity in this case, etc) car reviews are about the little indescribable details which you'll only get from a long term test or a "Lets make this do more then it was meant to do" type test.

Most people buy their cars second hand with a thought to "I want a convertible for 2 grand" or something like that, they usually come up with an obvious choice and something you hadn't thought of.

[Wideboy]

it's ****.

[DJFridge]

it's ****.

Best you don't watch it then. I thought it was pretty funny tonight, personally;)

[L3nny]

I used to like old top gear and would still watch a cardigan car reviews. In fact I watch such reviews on YouTube all the time. Top gear has now not only turned into an entertainment show but it's also now a kids show. I still watch it and enjoy it but wish there was a proper motoring show on as well

[Littlepeahead]

I thought it was all just a bit silly and not funny at all. The format feels tired, same overworked jokes, and the challenge now is pretty much the whole show with the 'star' lap is just an advert for whatever film, book or album they want to plug to a huge audience.

[Wideboy]

Best you don't watch it then. I thought it was pretty funny tonight, personally;)

I don't, the last episode i watched was the American trip in the cheap cars they did. I prefer old top gear not the staged idiocy that goes on now.

[Steve_God]

Disappointing... it's gotten far too OTT on the ridiculous staged events that clearly haven't happened

[Skip]

Andy Wilman was on Radio 2 the other day and although I missed it apparently they think up things to do and base it around "Would a 9 year old enjoy this?"

I found last night just a bit too silly and as always I recorded it so I could FFWD through the SIARPC...

[tigersaw]

I found last night just a bit too silly and as always I recorded it so I could FFWD through the SIARPC...

Yup, I cut out all the studio carp as well. Knocks it down to about 30 mins which is about right

[cb1000rsteve]

The ending last night was rubbish. Nova on its side was amusing like, but blowing the cars up was ridiculous

[Biker Biggles]

I thought it was all just a bit silly and not funny at all. The format feels tired, same overworked jokes, and the challenge now is pretty much the whole show with the 'star' lap is just an advert for whatever film, book or album they want to plug to a huge audience.

Agreed.I watched it for about twenty minutes and then got bored with it and turned it off.Did it get any better?I dont really care.Its a tired format been flogged to death.

[SV650S_DUB]

As others have pointed out TopGear is almost all about the spectacle of BIG entertainment. With decent budgets, good humour, tight scripting and capable presenters the show has provided some great laughs and brilliant footage of cars being enjoyed all around the globe.

However it seems the pudding is all too often grossly over egged in recent episodes. Yes we all know it's shot to plot, but there's no attempt to even feign impromptu moments or ad libbed segments. It feels, to me anyway, that the quality of the programme has tailed away markedly over the past few seasons.
I thought last nights programme was a fine example of what the show can do when it's misfiring. The highs aren't so frequent and the lows too commonplace it seems.

[DJ123]

The ending last night was rubbish. Nova on its side was amusing like, but blowing the cars up was ridiculous


without the blowing up cars it was entertaining.

[ClunkintheUK]

I've found in the last couple of series that there is an episode or two of d1cking about on something kinda funny but not really. Like the hovercar last year. I didn't find that particularly funny or informative. but there is usually a special, which they are very good at. The hill climb stuff and vinyl wrap stuff was cool this week, the jokes about moustaches were unoriginal and tedious.

I just rack this episode up as the rubbish they need to put in to fill out their 6 week slot to fit in with other scheduling.

[SvNewbie]

I'm not normally one to jump on the bandwagon and criticize these things, but that episode was crap. I know they are about entertainment and can deal with a few scripted parts. But buying three cheap old hot-hatches and ****ing about does not make a whole hours worth of entertainment.

They didn't even bother to have a stunt driver flip the Nova, just turned it over off camera. In the old days when something was scripted it at least involved so much effort and planning that you were too busy laughing to care.

[CharleyFarley]

I just rack this episode up as the rubbish they need to put in to fill out their 6 week slot to fit in with other scheduling.[/QUOTE]

I REALLY hope your right............last series was the same 2nd show (??) "pants"........ rest of series v. good/watchable.


"Gas it w###a".........

[DarrenSV650S]

It was all just silly stuff. Did they even drive one new car? The silly stuff wasn't even as fun as usual

[pookie]

yep its getting more and more like this lot :)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/content/images/2007/08/01/goodies_3_396x222.jpg

[maviczap]

Just reinforced my views about Nova drivers, what they said is complete fact

[DJFridge]

yep its getting more and more like this lot :)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/content/images/2007/08/01/goodies_3_396x222.jpg

And what was wrong with The Goodies?

[BanannaMan]

BBCA is showing Top Gear shows from 2011. :(

[longeatonlad]

I quite enjoyed it, blatently staged at times. Took me back when Hammond rolled into the car park in the nova lol.

[Sir Trev]

When they go off script every now and then it can be really funny. Remember the house demolition episode? Stood beside the big white mine clearing thingie with the rotating flails Clarkson said "Princess Diana had one of these" and the whole crew started laughing. I love those moments. Playing musical chairs and climbing on to the roof of a moving car was frankly stupid.

[DarrenSV650S]

BBCA is showing Top Gear shows from 2011. :(

Can you get on bbc iplayer out of interest? If not try the Hola Better Internet plug-in for Chrome. That's what I use to get on American netflix :smt003

[Sir Trev]

I've found before that BBC i-Player usually blocks IPs from outside the UK.

[Littlepeahead]

Episode 2. Good for the first 3 minutes talking about the Alfa then it got silly and had to be a race with a quad bike. Boring.

[Tomor]

But the p1!!! Serious machine!!

[DJ123]

But the p1!!! Serious machine!!

Headphones/surround sound & turn it up:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9IWiTpWeiM

[DJFridge]

Headphones? BBC2HD with proper surround sound speakers much better! I was quite impressed with Tom Hiddleston's lap actually, I think that's the wettest I've ever seen the track.

[Mrs DJ Fridge]

That wasn't a lap, that was swimming in a car

[Red Herring]

Jennifer Clarkson.....has a nice ring to it. Not normally a Porsche fan but I'm prepared to make an exception!

[DJFridge]

I suspect he (and indeed Hammond) may well be privy to information about how fast the Porsche is likely to be. I will laugh like a drain if he's wrong though!

[cb1000rsteve]

Can't find a boat quad on eBay yet!! Be handy for you southerns at the mo!!

[L3nny]

Thought that was a brilliant episode. Complete opposite to last week. Two proper car reviews, an interesting celebrity and a piece about military veichles which was 100% fact. More of the same please

[SvNewbie]

Far better than the first episode. Decent hour of entertainment.

[Specialone]

Thought that was a brilliant episode. Complete opposite to last week. Two proper car reviews, an interesting celebrity and a piece about military veichles which was 100% fact. More of the same please

Yep I agree, I've just wrote to father christmas early for a P1 and the quad.

[chris8886]

But the p1!!! Serious machine!!



yep, I really do like Clarkson's reviews of hyper cars such as this one!

Headphones/surround sound & turn it up:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9IWiTpWeiM



wow, that's good!

[Steve_God]

Much better than the first episode!

[pookie]

its was a great episode ..always surprises me what great ideas come from this small island

I reckon top gear should be funded by UK trade and investment! Isnt the P1 tech similar to the new regulations for the 2014 F1 powertrain units ?

The format seems better when the staged "race" doesnt spread itself through the whole episode.

[carelesschucca]

With the guys that say last nights episode was top gear. I really enjoyed it, stupidity and info in just the right amounts.

[Littlepeahead]

I left it on in the background and agree it was a better balance.

[Shawthing]

Foxhound in action!

See my avatar.

[ChrisCurvyS]

I agree - much better episode. Did you know BBC Alba do a Top Gear copy in Gaelic with about 0.1% of the budget?!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03qyv6v/Air_An_Rathad_Series_6_Episode_1/

If you can stand subtitles, might be just what the people who mourn the loss of old Top Gear are looking for - reviews on sensible family hatchbacks, days out with classic car clubs etc.

[Mrs DJ Fridge]

I agree with Andy Willman's comments in the Radio Times, Top Gear is all about accessing our inner 9 year old, I hope I never loose mine.

[BanannaMan]

What's this????
Finally BBC America is broadcasting the 2014 season of Top Gear on Monday nights at 8:30 and again at 11:30!
Awesome!!!
(we watched 2011 last year)


Supermarket sweeps anyone??????

[longeatonlad]

i'd like a p1 please. :)

[missyburd]

Caught up last night, great episode. Not sure about the star,
Jezzer: "tell us about your car history"
Tom: "A Peugeot 106 for 10 years. And I now have a Jag."
Hardly a history! Not exactly a car enthusiast lol. But he fair handled that Kia round that lagoon of a track apart from bottling it on the Hammerhead :shock:

[Red Herring]

.....Not exactly a car enthusiast lol. But he fair handled that Kia round that lagoon of a track apart from bottling it on the Hammerhead :shock:

Hark who talks, it's an Astra now......:D

[missyburd]

Hark who talks, it's an Astra now......:D
Haha just testing ya ;) :mrgreen:

[454697819]

Caught up last night, great episode. Not sure about the star,
Jezzer: "tell us about your car history"
Tom: "A Peugeot 106 for 10 years. And I now have a Jag."
Hardly a history! Not exactly a car enthusiast lol. But he fair handled that Kia round that lagoon of a track apart from bottling it on the Hammerhead :shock:

a free jag at that.

[missyburd]

With a helicopter ride thrown in for good measure, alright for some! And RH, I am most certainly not a car enthusiast, I don't even drive! :D I just happen to know a sexy car when I see one ;)

[Red Herring]

Are we talking about the Jag, the Astra or the Kia now......

[Littlepeahead]

Even though I'm sure it was all fake like everything else, the idea that you should even pretend to kill a dove for entertainment doesn't sit comfortably with me at all.

[squirrel_hunter]

Even though I'm sure it was all fake like everything else, the idea that you should even pretend to kill a dove for entertainment doesn't sit comfortably with me at all.

I know. They should do it for real.

[Mrs DJ Fridge]

What it actually made me think of was the old Not The Nine O'clock News sketch with the Trucking song, where they got different points for everything they ran over. I believe the song went "I like trucking, I like trucking and I like to truck, I like trucking, I like trucking and if you don't like trucking tough luck" I am sure someone can find a link to it.

[carelesschucca]

Hmm

[21QUEST]

I know. They should do it for real.
lol :smt003


And it was okay for Top Gear to pretend blowing up a car with Clarkson in it....ain't we humans a funny bunch... :p

[L3nny]

What it actually made me think of was the old Not The Nine O'clock News sketch with the Trucking song, where they got different points for everything they ran over. I believe the song went "I like trucking, I like trucking and I like to truck, I like trucking, I like trucking and if you don't like trucking tough luck" I am sure someone can find a link to it.

?v=2R5tUc1S3cc

[Specialone]

Thought last nights episode was a bit crap tbh, worse one I've seen in a long time.

[longeatonlad]

agreed, last nights was a bit pants..

[Littlepeahead]

If they'd thrown James Blunt out of a window and in front of a truck for real they'd have done the world a favour.

[Specialone]

I actually like James Blunt, can't stand his music but he's got a great attitude and a good sense of humour, I'd rather they threw clarkson out the window.

[SvNewbie]

They where properly ringing that little Fiesta's neck around that nice road. So much so that I wondered whether they had a tame stunt man doing the driving. Looked fun though.

Other than that it was pretty crap. Having a guy on twice that isn't even remotely interested in cars seems silly.

Bit with Chernobyl was pants, though I did like the concept of trying to maximise fuel consumption. I wondered if there was some reason Hammond couldn't / wouldn't go there though. Related to his crash? Or desire to remain fertile?

[Littlepeahead]

They where properly ringing that little Fiesta's neck around that nice road. So much so that I wondered whether they had a tame stunt man doing the driving. Looked fun though.

They have stuntmen and racing drivers do a lot of the driving for them. It's not just the bits with the Stig. Probably makes the insurance cheaper for the BBC. They just edit in bits of the presenters in the car. The BBC put out a cleverly worded statement when this came to light to say that the presenters are driving in all the clips where you see them driving. But for lots of the footage you cannot identify the driver so that means that for the 'pick up' shots as they are called, it can be a pro.

[rowdy]

While talking to my dad about the program my son come out with "yeh you can get a coach trip to Chernobyl"
Oh how my dad and I proceeded to nearly p!ss our pants with that piece of comedy gold, even went so far as to call him a Pratt.

Then I went on the Internet . . . Apparently you can go on a Chernobyl coach tour . . . I take it back son!

[L3nny]

I remember reading about a girl who visits Chernobyl on her bike 10+ years ago.

Takes you back to the good old days of the internet but an interesting blog none the less

http://www.kiddofspeed.com/

[rowdy]

A little fact about Chernobyl (although taken from Wikipedia so maybe incorrect) apparently it was only as recent as 2012 that restrictions on the movement of some farm animals due to the fallout were lifted in the British isles.

[Littlepeahead]

A little fact about Chernobyl (although taken from Wikipedia so maybe incorrect) apparently it was only as recent as 2012 that restrictions on the movement of some farm animals due to the fallout were lifted in the British isles.

I think it best all animals are kept well away from Fallout. Especially sheep.

[L3nny]

In case anyone was wondering about the tablecloth trick

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9JrTUbtDNU

[Specialone]

Btw, the way they do that on the BMW ad is, they have a clear perspex top separating the cloth from the plates etc, otherwise it can't be done.

[DJFridge]

Btw, the way they do that on the BMW ad is, they have a clear perspex top separating the cloth from the plates etc, otherwise it can't be done.

Darn it, you've ruined it for me now!

[Specialone]

Darn it, you've ruined it for me now!

Here's how...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9JrTUbtDNU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Edit, just realised Lenny had posted the same link.

[L3nny]

Gotta get up early to beat me son

[Rumble bee]

Aprilia's table cloth trick,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Uzc8wrKCrQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

;)

[Teejayexc]

Bngger the tablecloth, I want one of them six wheel drive mercs, frickin' awesome!

[L3nny]

Aprilia's table cloth trick,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Uzc8wrKCrQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

;)

Brilliant

[DJFridge]

"Red and green. Learn the difference!" Excellent piece of advice for cyclists everywhere (although London cyclists seem more prone to colour blindness than others).

[L3nny]

It's really getting boring the whole Porsche vs Mclaren thing, just get on with it.

Also the 135i has traction control, turn it on, especially in that weather!

[Matt-EUC]

You know what they're like. Despite driver aids being designed to make you faster, they think they're slowing you down.

Or something.

[Specialone]

That Porsche was ace...

[chris8886]

"Red and green. Learn the difference!" Excellent piece of advice for cyclists everywhere (although London cyclists seem more prone to colour blindness than others).



from what I see in London, this is all too true!

[Shawthing]

Burma special:
Clarkson now accused of racial slur,


'That is a proud moment, but there's a slope on it',



Until today I was blissfully unaware and believed a slope was a change in level of the terrain!

[DJFridge]

That's a new one on me. I grew up in London in the 70s and 80s, so knew and / or went to school with people from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, France, Germany, China, Thailand, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Poland, Iran and Canada (and that's without thinking too hard, there were probably others) so I thought I'd heard most racial insults, especially if you include all the rude names all those people had for other countries THEY didn't like, but I never heard 'slope' as one.

I miss the days before Twitter when the odd person would have just said "oh Jeremy!" if they thought he'd said something rude and then forgotten all about it and the newspapers weren't quite so desperate to crucify the BBC at every opportunity. These days, two or three people comment and suddenly you've got a bandwagon that everyone wants in on.

For the record I thought it was pretty funny, even the staged bits (my inner 9 year old found the idea of the two of them peeing in Hammond's shower water extremely amusing) and I assumed he ws using the physical and positional definition of slope. I hadn't even noticed there was another person on the bridge.

[Red Herring]

I'd never heard of that term either but a little research reveals it's a slang name for Asians used in America and Australia. Whoever is accusing Clarkson of being a racist has taken the use of the word completely out of context, especially as they then go on to say that one side of the bridge was higher than the other. It just goes to show you can always take offense if you try hard enough, it's just a shame we actually tolerate people who try that hard......

[DJFridge]

It just goes to show you can always take offense if you try hard enough, it's just a shame we actually tolerate people who try that hard......

Very true

[Biker Biggles]

Ive mostly gone off top gear these days as its well past its sell by date,but even cynical old me enjoyed the Burma special.Perhaps they should stick to an annual special program and ditch the weekly drivel?
Oh and I had never heard of the term "slope" as a racial slur either.

[jambo]

Well it turns out that the BBC decided that the slope comment warranted an apology (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-27123434).

Jambo

[PyroUK]

Some people need to get a life.

[Matt-EUC]

Are there really still people who watch telly to find things to be offended by?


F*ck you with every ounce of by being. Just f*ck you. Those people require extreme reconfiguration of their facial features. They need to be strapped into chairs and have their fingernails torn off one by one and then fed to them.

People with that frame of mind are the ones who ruin everything for everyone else.

JUST THINK OF THE CHILDREN!! Oh god, please think of the children.

[Mrs DJ Fridge]

Or just send the children to bed. My kids 13 and 14 year old boys laugh like drains at Top Gear and have done for years, I often go into another room to watch it so that I can hear it over their laughter. Call me old fashioned, but I love it for the light entertainment show it is, I like the magazine too, not as good as Bike, but then what is?

[Red Herring]

Are there really still people who watch telly to find things to be offended by?


F*ck you with every ounce of by being. Just f*ck you. Those people require extreme reconfiguration of their facial features. They need to be strapped into chairs and have their fingernails torn off one by one and then fed to them.

People with that frame of mind are the ones who ruin everything for everyone else.

JUST THINK OF THE CHILDREN!! Oh god, please think of the children.

These people (and you) are as entitled to their opinion as Clarkson is to his. Your reaction is as extreme (if not more so) than theirs and is no more attractive. We are fortunate enough to live in a country where the freedom to express yourself is still pretty free, it's just a shame that the very people who enjoy that freedom are so reluctant to let others do likewise.

Anyway I don't think Clarkson can ever be accused of discrimination, he's quite prepared to insult anybody regardless of who or what they are. If you don't like him don't watch him, it's your choice so keep it to yourself.

[Matt-EUC]

My response was intentionally extreme.

But I also feel that although you say that all are entitled to their own opinions, it doesn't seen to apply to those in the public eye. If they were to say something that somebody somewhere may or may not be offended by it appears they are forced to apologise just in case.

[Red Herring]

But why intentionally extreme? Are these people not allowed to have their view without being subject to threats (however remote they are) of violence towards them?

I don't agree with many views and I to have a dislike for those that are always trying to impose their beliefs on others, but I believe there is a whole world of difference between engaging in discussion with someone to understand or influence their view and threatening them for holding it.

[PyroUK]

Because he is back peddling now

[Matt-EUC]

I'm not back peddling. I made an intentionally extreme comment for comic effect. Clearly it wasn't effective.