New Top Gear UK
 

I was surprised I didn't see a post yet.
I did only watch the first hour and had mixed feelings.
I liked Matt LeBlanc but not Chris Evans....he seemed to animated and trying too hard.

I was listening to the podcast of Every Day Driver and agree that as this was the first episode of the new cast we need to be patient and let them make some changes.

Any thoughts?

haven't seen it
how's Chris Harris?

I have been told Chris Harris was on the Extra Gear after the show....didn't see the full episode yet.

People hate change. Clarkson, May,and Hammond brought magic to the show. They have an unmatched chemistry.

I don't see this lasting very long. Especially Evans.

Evans is a complete tool. I've thought so for years, and this just reinforced my opinion.

My take...

The show was broken into "Top Gear" for the first 60 minutes which was hosted by Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc with a cameo by Sabine Shultz. Here they had the same goofy challenges and writing straight out of the Clarkson, Hammond, May edition. This was kind of off-putting as it sounded like Evans was trying to sound like the old cast. The reality is that they need to let Evans and the rest of the new cast find their own voices.

Immediately following was "Extra Gear" (with Rory Reid, Chris Harris, and more Sabine). This was another 30 minutes of stuff that didn't make the main show. Extra Gear was where it was at. The show seemed fresh, young, and more for gearheads than its' bigger brother which played like a sit-com or variety show.

For both shows the editing was poor at best. It killed the continuity and hurt the "story telling" aspect of the shows. This needs a fix hasta pronto.

Also, the cast seemed to have very little chemistry. Seeing as this is their first show and none of them likely knew each other before the episode that is understandable. Rory and Sabine seemed to work the best together.

Jalopnik or Autoblog (don't remember which) wrote it up like this (paraphrasing) "CHM had years of relative obscurity to get the show dialed-in before the huge audiences started showing up. The new cast has a spolight on day one. That might not be fair, but it is what it is."

Chris Evans had very little charisma.

Matt LeBlanc's delivery took a little while to grow comfortable with, but in the end I really appreciated his smooth narrating, and real world charm. By the end of the show he easily shined above Evans.

Chris Harris was Chris Harris from his web series. He was relegated to "Extra Gear". They need a lot more of him on the main show. His segment was a couch interview and a strangely cut-off run with the Ariel Nomad on the track. He very well could end up hosting alongside of LeBlanc and Rory or Tiff Nedell when the show replaces Evans.

Rory Reid and Sabine Schmidt were really the surprises of the show. Both were warm, had a headful of knowledge and spoke their minds. I'm going to be very happy to have much more of them around. I actually think Rory should eventually become part of the main cast as he is such a natural in front of the studio audience and during the interview sections. The crowd responded more to him than Evans when either attempted to hype them up.

Sabine may be the best driver on the show (even slightly ahead of Harris). She is fun and is currently an active race driver (not just a Ring taxi drivetr). I want to see Sabine vs. Harris vs. the Stig.

All in all, it looked like a work in progress. The cinematography is beautiful as ever. The car choices were spot on. The guests were hit and miss. The hosts have potentially huge potential. Evans is the wildcard. That editing needs a fix, now. Not too shabby, we'll see how it plays out.

Doubt you have seen a post because it didn't get watched.


Evans has a horrible image to many. Sabine and Leblanc are worth watching but.... Evans ruins it.

Hoping to ignore it till it goes away. Thought that the old crew was going to get something going but not sure what if anything is going on with them.

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http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=11909489011

Top Gear was on the air for years before C/H/M. The show debut in 1977 with Clarkson coming on as a writer in 1988 but not a presenter until 2002 (along with Hammond & May). Even if this version isn't a hit, don't hold your breath about the show "going away".

If all you're wanting is Clarkson then you're best of forgetting about any other car show and plugging yourself into "The Grand Tour".

I also came away last night wishing I'd fast forwarded through to the Extra Gear segment. What a waste of time the LeBlanc/Evans segments were.

The SIARCC portion was particularly bad. Evans kept trying to hype things up. "OMG THE WATER PIT!" Audience: "...yay?"

Should have gotten Rowen Atkinson, Leblanc and Sabine.

https://45.media.tumblr.com/d826048a...ri36o1_500.gif

Its not so much Clarkson I want to see or hear from. Im more a James May fan. I watch all his other series and if truth be told I really would prefer man lab to any of the shows, but I will most likely watch the grand tour. That was the one I was referring to, just didnt have the info on it, thanks for the link.

If Im honest I cant quite figure out BBC series run lengths so you might be right. Kind of like the way that SNL has gone on for all these years through various dry spells.