Aussie Top Gear

[AussieRacer]

Originally Posted by aedeau

Go back and watch the first episode of the current top gear, or first series for that matter, it was pretty shit. There was that random fat dude in it and the black Stig with gardening gloves :iono: Given that, I didn't think the first Aussie version tonight was too bad.

Agreed. Did quite a good job. Main thing lacking was laughs which was what attracted female audience. But once we know the hosts better I'm confident the laughs will flow.

[farug55]

yeh. i had a few people as well telling it was sh*t, but i dnt necessarily agree. the old guy i dont like too much, but the other two seems alright and as far as im concerned i will watch it until it starts reminding me of the car show on ch.9. haha

i didn't particularly like the over-explanation of things lyk the porsche pdk.
i think their viewers are enthusiasts, most of whom would be familliar with such common place technology in cars

[takahashi]

Shit I missed it, I guess i have to download it now

[professor]

that was good?? it was sacrilege is what it was. and SBS took off the original from their roster too!

to start with why should our version try to replicate the personalities of the original?? clarkson is what makes or breaks the series and cox is nowhere near as delightfully blunt as he is.

i really hope it was the significant burden of ripping off my favorite TV show for the very first time that was the root cause of that debacle because the only way to go is upwards from that.

[Wraith]

I'll just copy/paste my opinion as posted on all the other car forums I'm a member of :smile:

My O/A impression after episode one = not bad...

Don't like the crew - might just take some time to get used to, especially the big gap tooth guy, trying to immitate James May

Lead guy trying to immitate Clarkson, big fail dude...

As for the show itself, IMHO the content was good, about 50 minutes on cars and 10 minutes of rubbish and nonsense, that the U.K show is known for, the average U.K Top Gear episode will have 10 minutes on cars and the remaining 50 minutes of typical pommy humour garbage...unfortunately you have to put up with this crap content, because they want to attract viewers who arn't neccessarily car enthusiasts

Good to see a big list of cars already on the score board after only one episode and to see the R35 GT-R on top of the pile already

[bfi2906]

Only saw the second half, from where they started with the "soft-roaders" in the snow. I have very mixed feeleings - I sooo want it to be a success, but it was a disappointment (the bit I saw)

Could have been worse, but they clearly need some time together to create a "group persona", and a character of their own.

The host guy (the one trying WAYYYY to hard to be Jeremy Clarkson shat me from the very start). The others were OK.

Driving segements we piss-poor. Track was ordinary, and camera work apalling.

A friend that works in TV tells me it's not uncommon for new shows to have such teething problems, with format, people, scripting, etc, etc. He did make an interesting comment that the UK TopGear is one of the BBC's highest budget productions, and this is SBS - Ummmmm!!!! I guess I should be reasonable in my expectations.

So i'll give it another week or two, but if it doesn't improve significantly, I'm out. It'll just be another piece of ordinary Australian TV - up there with Home & Away, Neighbours and ..... well the list goes on, characterised by poor/over acting, average scripts and little originality.

Fingers crossed for a positive future

[Timbo]

Originally Posted by farug55

i didn't particularly like the over-explanation of things lyk the porsche pdk.
i think their viewers are enthusiasts, most of whom would be familliar with such common place technology in cars

+1 to this... tell me how the car drives.. don't explain how the gear box and direct injection work. But that said, I also agree that first episodes of everything are always bad. Gotta give them at least half a season to settle.

[Yep 135]

Good to see most are giving it a bit of time to get there act together. SBS needs to get onto some of these forums (if they know they exist) and see what reaction they got. Use it as good constructive critisism and as a positive to go into the future. I for one want it to succeed.

[harpoon]

I didn't think it was too bad. The odd cringe-worthy moment from the presenters but reasonable for their first appearance.

AS many have said the test track was woeful. Would have been nice to see cars like the GTR attacking a track rather than a few brief glimpses as it dodged a bloody cone with a cessna taxing along in the bloody background.

[MikeVictor]

It struck me in the 911 test that they went to great lengths to make sure the car was not shown to be travelling at speed on public roads.

I know in advertising you can't show cars screaming along, I wonder if they same rules hold true here?

The camera angles on the test track need to be seriously redone.

[Alpine*]

Overall I thought it was average.

As many have said have a look at the original UK shows and they were woefull! The track was the same as now but there were far fewer cameras on the course and the lap was cut down significantly in what was shown (most from inside the car) on the show.

They need a decent track with GOOD camera coverage. They need to be as gung ho as the pommies when thrashing exotica. Must admit they did flog the RAV on the sand and got some air :w00t: that was good. I recall an episode of late with 5th Gear where they tested some soft roaders on a dirt track and then got one of them bogged down to the axle. IIRC one was damaged to the tune of 11k pounds, now that is full on no pussy stuff. I guess what I am saying here is I hope they have a budget to do it justice, build it and they will come, do a half arsed job and WE won't.

Lets see them race a Veyron from Sydney to Bisbane while the other two go via a Sydney Taxi .

I really want this show to work, relative to any of the previous Aussie made car shows it is already a winner. And as such I'm happy to be patient.

[123D-M]

I downloaded it but turned it off after watching half of it. Went to bed.

Sorry to say I thought it was dreadful. The presenters were cringe-worthy. I will watch the rest of it and I will probably keep watching for a few more episodes but I really hope they improve dramatically or it's not going to make it past the first season.

[TimMc]

Talking about cringe. Whether it's the UK or Oz show I cringe whenever I see someone drive a perfectly good vehicle through salt water. Senseless.

[imported_Dodgy]

Didn't flow like current UK version, but agree that the original TG UK wasn't great. I think BBC even considered scrapping the show early on.

Hopefully the guys will settle in. You need to give it a few weeks I reckon. Not sure I'll warm to CC though.

The test track is piss weak and lame. Should have done much better. There really can be no excuse. Planning could have been better. It will definitely favour handling over speed.

[Blacky]

Originally Posted by aedeau

Go back and watch the first episode of the current top gear, or first series for that matter, it was pretty shit. There was that random fat dude in it and the black Stig with gardening gloves :iono: Given that, I didn't think the first Aussie version tonight was too bad.

I don't think you can use the early UK Top Gears as an excuse.
These guys were pioneers of this type of show and hence the learning curve.
This is a frnachise of the UK version and therefore they should have learnt from the mistakes of the past and this really should be a polished first episode.
Defenitately don't see the need for the Aussie copies of the UK presentors, even down to the captain slow!
The test track was SHIT and the camera work left a lot to be desired.
Oh and what was it with the Porsche doing pedestrian speeds, no burn outs no spins, no drifting nothing, if that was Clarkson he would have thrashed the SHIT out of the thing and then given it to the STIG to wring the next off it on the track.
I think someone is trying ot make the show to PROPER and not show any agressive driving or speeding on the road.

TBH I hated it, my GF was the one that made we watch the whole thing. If it was up to me I would have turned it off within the first 10 min.

[farug55]

heres an interesting read.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sto...rom=public_rss

talks about each episode costing between 200k and 300k and this...

"The show got off to a flying start when it premiered on Monday to more than 930,000 viewers -- the network's highest ratings for a locally produced program."

although i dont think that flying start will last too long

[professor]

and could they not have bagged russell crowe or one of the top gear UK hosts for the very first show to make it more of an event!?! sorry, but who was that dude anyway and why was he showing us his trophy?

[BMWDave]

I finally got around to watching it last night and wasn't so disappointed. The boys have big shoes to fill and you're not going to get the on-screen chemistry that the Hamster, Capt Slow and Jezza have from the word go on the first episode. There are defiintely areas of improvement - camera work at the track being a biggie. I'd quite like to see what the track actually looks like from the air, rather than having us assume we know what the "double apex" corner is or the "question mark".

Also, the presenters, who i'm not familiar with at all, need to be making their own brand of personality. We don't need Cox screaming out for the biggest engines like Clarkson does, etc. Will be interesting to see what they do with Holden v Ford.

Did anyone else notice the Sedona Red 1 coupe in the show's shorts at the start of the show?

Also, lay off the aussie colloquialisms. Can't remember what it was but we don't need every word from the aussie dictionary used in every show. There's only so many cobber, sheila, beauty, mate, crickey, etc I can handle without cringing.

[Carlos]

lets just see how it goes on the follwing episodes, and it would be interesting to see the sedona red 1 series in the show.

[takahashi]

Yup, it is nothing better than Ford vs Holden. The euro cars are better presented by Clarkson, May and Hamster.

[volk613]

Not inspired so far. I will give a chance. They made a mistake with the presenter I think. I think they should not have got Cox he is as Aussie as Prodrive and Walkinshaw. The UK show is a group of intelligent/funny blokes with broader interests who like cars.
Although people need to remember that TG started with different hosts.

[Yep 135]

Second show,
Better
they toned down the 'Australiana' abit which is good. But the fake sound effects on the GT40 when the Stig drove, mmmm.