Top Gear

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  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 11,688
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    Corky Duke wrote: »
    Thought it was a good episode tonight, the train challenge was entertaining, and Rowan Atkinson was a good guest, he is known for not giving many interviews so to get him on the show was a good move.

    No wonder it was noisy and shaking in the caravans, they were bolted onto track trolleys that the track workers use for moving equipment about.

    They seem to have something about setting caravans on fire, you knew what was gonna happen, but I would of been dissapointed if it hadn't caught fire.

    When Hammond put the chip pan on, you knew that caravan was ashes. What surprised me is that two of them escaped unharmed. I expected the whole train to go up. Maybe the TG guys are going soft in their old age:D:D
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 11,688
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    Not the best of the series so far tonight, but still enjoyable enough, did the job as per. The train challenge was ridiculous, but the tannoy bits and the scum class "carriage" especially made me laugh out loud! Rowan Atkinson was decent value, didn't expect him to go to the top of the board though! It's Simon Cowell's turn in the Kia next week, should be good. :)

    Finding the opening clips with Clarkson's VO a bit OTT now, he used to do it once a series now it's every week, overkill definitely.

    The Radiotimes has Bob Geldof as TSITRPC next week??

    http://www.radiotimes.com/ListingsServlet?event=10&channelId=110&programmeId=201230146&jspLocation=/jsp/prog_details_fullpage.jsp
  • vampirekvampirek Posts: 4,022
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    davie1924 wrote: »
    Yes, I am aware of that, but he wasn't there as the character Mr Bean, he was there as himself. I really don't see the point you are trying to make here.

    I think the point is in order to act as Mr Bean you must have a element of strange in you (although the way he talks is affected by his stuttering). However saying that, it does Rowan a discredit that people remember him as Mr Bean rather than Blackadder, where again on Top Gear showed that intelligence and simple one words could be made funny. Also in his early days as a standup are widely ignored but base the foundation for both characters.

    Excellent guest to have on, he knew his cars, knew the audience and just fitted the format perfectly.

    As for the 'challenge' I think people are looking at it too much and falling to realise they do have a point, why on earth are trains so costly, I get that they work a lot on the stability and comfort side but it is way over priced.

    Also was anyone surprised a caravan was burnt and another one smashed to pieces, all caravans on Top Gear end up like that its one of the running gags.
  • brangdonbrangdon Posts: 14,092
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    Jeremy actually admitted in The Sun that he's very good friends with Rebekah.
    Hence the dig about all the Chipping Norton set being in jail.
  • kazzieconkazziecon Posts: 464
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    Haven't seen the show for a little while but watched this one! I thought the train challenge was amusing until the point when Hammond threw the banana into the "scum class" caravan ... I almost fell off the armchair laughing and continued to chuckle for the rest of the show!! :D:D

    Loved Rowan Atkinson ... did Jeremy Clarkson say that he had not been on the show before? I thought he always did well in the SIARPC challenge???? :confused:
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 11,688
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    All you need to know about Star....Car.

    Warning!!!! For TG super nerds only
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Gear_test_track#Star_in_a_Reasonably_Priced_Car

    Carol Vorderman(mildly moist):eek::eek:
  • stevebrownstevebrown Posts: 1,943
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    vampirek wrote: »
    As for the 'challenge' I think people are looking at it too much and falling to realise they do have a point, why on earth are trains so costly, I get that they work a lot on the stability and comfort side but it is way over priced.
    You say that - I booked tickets last week for mid-August - Gloucester to Gatwick (about 140 miles) - me and 2 kids for £20 total!
  • butterworthbutterworth Posts: 17,872
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    It was OK, but I think they need to have a good think about what they want to be. Are they going to be something like a themed version of Brainiac, or a proper car programme ?

    A lot of it, such as the train challenge, is really best suited to kids from about 5 to 15, as is a lot of their marketing, but the language isn't really. Also, the challenges were always scripted to add a bit of drama but now is obviously much more so than ever before.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,860
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    johnny_t wrote: »
    It was OK, but I think they need to have a good think about what they want to be. Are they going to be something like a themed version of Brainiac, or a proper car programme ?

    A lot of it, such as the train challenge, is really best suited to kids from about 5 to 15, as is a lot of their marketing, but the language isn't really. Also, the challenges were always scripted to add a bit of drama but now is obviously much more so than ever before.

    4-12 even, the trains bit looked interesting to begin with, but went downhill pretty quickly, you could see the "fire" coming a mile off, the only thing that made me think something else would happen was that I thought, no way would they be that unimaginative and predictable, I was wrong :(
  • ScrubberScrubber Posts: 4,106
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    I love the show but i wish everything wasn't as staged as it is.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 7,679
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    vampirek wrote: »
    I think the point is in order to act as Mr Bean you must have a element of strange in you (although the way he talks is affected by his stuttering). However saying that, it does Rowan a discredit that people remember him as Mr Bean rather than Blackadder, where again on Top Gear showed that intelligence and simple one words could be made funny. Also in his early days as a standup are widely ignored but base the foundation for both characters.
    Couldn't agree more! I mentioned him in a conversation with some work colleagues recently and one replied, "Urgh, I can't stand Mr Bean. Don't find that sort of thing funny at all".

    I did want to explain, but felt I'd be wasting my breath.
  • LeehamLeeham Posts: 4,795
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    Jeremy actually admitted in The Sun that he's very good friends with Rebekah.

    Just goes to show you that most if not all of his discriminations are just a pantomime act, I can imagine he is quite a different person off camera

    If you didn't know Clarksons on screen persona is a character, then...well now you do.

    I always thought he did stuff because he knew it would annoy people.
  • Patsey10Patsey10 Posts: 302
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    steveh31 wrote: »
    The nicest sportsmen I have ever seen no snobbery, no full of himself just a genuinely nice guy.

    If only all sportsmen were like Vettel.

    Have just watched Vettel and wholeheartedly agree with you-what a lovely bloke:)
  • shaggy_xshaggy_x Posts: 3,599
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    Scrubber wrote: »
    I love the show but i wish everything wasn't as staged as it is.

    with respect, just about ANY 'factual' (or 'reality') show on TV has a certain amount of script and guidance in it. If it didnt, it would be very very boring to watch.
  • lundavralundavra Posts: 31,790
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    johnny_t wrote: »
    It was OK, but I think they need to have a good think about what they want to be. Are they going to be something like a themed version of Brainiac, or a proper car programme ?

    A lot of it, such as the train challenge, is really best suited to kids from about 5 to 15, as is a lot of their marketing, but the language isn't really. Also, the challenges were always scripted to add a bit of drama but now is obviously much more so than ever before.

    Depends what you mean by a "proper car programme", the petrolheads want 60 minutes of expensive fast cars that they will never be able to afford being driven around in circles to try and wreck the expensive tyres.

    I would like an intelligent discussion about vehicles of all types and driving in general. The much missed Going Places on Radio 4 used to cover all aspects of transports and all types of vehicles - I remember a good serious road test of a real snow blower not a joke one as on Top Gear.

    But Top Gear is just entertainment that fills in an hour and gives a few laughs.
  • ScrubberScrubber Posts: 4,106
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    shaggy_x wrote: »
    with respect, just about ANY 'factual' (or 'reality') show on TV has a certain amount of script and guidance in it. If it didnt, it would be very very boring to watch.

    It would just be nice if SOME of the mishaps and banter weren't scripted.
  • ClarkF1ClarkF1 Posts: 6,587
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    Top Gear was okay.

    Wish they'd sort the editing out. Jeremy's car switched from one track to the other and back in several consecutive shots.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 75
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    I think that the overall issue with the programme is it mixes comedy & fact too much.

    Reading this thread, it is clear some people tune in for the factual side of the programme, such as the fast-car-reviews and road tests, wheras other prefer the comedy challenges such as last night's hilarious (in my opinion) train challenge.

    What the BBC really need to decide is whether it is a factual or comedy programme. Mixing the two clearly doesn't work.

    I believe that the three presenters together doing their challenges works well, as each of them work well as a comparison to each of their individual personalities.

    In which case, a show featuring all of their weird, wacky
    and laughable challenges should be aired seperate to all the factual stuff.

    When TG was on in the 80's, it was purely factual. And half an hour. So why don't they do a purely factual review show, under the name 'Top Gear', that lasts half an hour, and is say broadcast on sunday nights,

    And then have a seperate 'Top Gear: The Challenges' show featuring all the humour on in a primetime slot, say, 8pm tuesdays / wednesdays.

    Then the audience could choose which part to watch and save all of the criticism the current show gets from people who only like certain aspects.
  • mossy2103mossy2103 Posts: 84,307
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    I'd be willing to bet that a purely factual programme, even if it were built around fast cars and supercars, would not have the same energy or feeling and would suffer as a result, both creatively and ratings-wise. Perhaps many people are attracted by both elements anyway.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 906
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    The show is as popular as ever but you lot still moan and groan.
  • MeicYMeicY Posts: 2,585
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    What the BBC really need to decide is whether it is a factual or comedy programme. Mixing the two clearly doesn't work.

    To (ironically and appropriately) paraphrase Blackadder, you couldn't be more wrong if you'd graduated from the University of Wrong with a first class degree in wrongness.

    I merely state the following facts:

    10 years.
    17 series.
    Sold to almost every country on Earth.
    3 international spinoff versions.
    The highest rating TV show on BBC2
    The highest rating TV show on Dave

    And for those of you who wonder what Clarkson is really like outside of his media life, look at his excellent, thoughtful, reserved, entertaining yet accomplished documentaries on the VC, the St Nazaire Raid, Inventions that Changed The World (where he mourns a computer geek who commited suicide because he was homosexual in 1940s/50s Britain) and above all, his iconic, legendary portrait of Brunel that would have made Fred Dibnah proud. THAT's the real Clarkson.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 70
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    MeicY wrote: »
    To (ironically and appropriately) paraphrase Blackadder, you couldn't be more wrong if you'd graduated from the University of Wrong with a first class degree in wrongness.

    I merely state the following facts:

    10 years.
    17 series.
    Sold to almost every country on Earth.
    3 international spinoff versions.
    The highest rating TV show on BBC2
    The highest rating TV show on Dave

    And for those of you who wonder what Clarkson is really like outside of his media life, look at his excellent, thoughtful, reserved, entertaining yet accomplished documentaries on the VC, the St Nazaire Raid, Inventions that Changed The World (where he mourns a computer geek who commited suicide because he was homosexual in 1940s/50s Britain) and above all, his iconic, legendary portrait of Brunel that would have made Fred Dibnah proud. THAT's the real Clarkson.

    Summed up perfectly MeicY :)
  • jonbwfcjonbwfc Posts: 18,050
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    MeicY wrote: »
    And for those of you who wonder what Clarkson is really like outside of his media life, look at his excellent, thoughtful, reserved, entertaining yet accomplished documentaries on the VC, the St Nazaire Raid, Inventions that Changed The World (where he mourns a computer geek who commited suicide because he was homosexual in 1940s/50s Britain)
    Alan Turing, without whome we would not have the computers we have today.

    However I must take issue with the earlier posting saying Rowan Atkinson's stand up career was undervalued. He doesn't do it any more but he was major star when he did do it, in a time that predates BlackAdder and Bean by some years. Not The Nine O'Clock News made him a name but his stand up act made him a star, which got him the BlackAdder lead in the first place. I suspect if you mention to any current stand up comedian Atkinson's 'calling the school register' monologue they'll wax lyrical about it for some time.
  • gomezzgomezz Posts: 44,517
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    As featured in one of the early Secret Policeman's Ball shows available on DVD.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,567
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    Ok it was a bit scripted this week - especially the challenge, but I'm willing to let that slide as we have had decent episode up until this point so it was fun to see them mucking about for one episode (just hope they can continue this balance of factual/cars and entertainment/challenges for the rest of the series and future series). Another decent guest in Rowan and the some nice looking women in the crowd :D - hopefully the balance is maintained and the series continues to be strong...
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