Hey,
Top Gear Australia premiered last night on SBS. Anyone watch it? What were your thoughts?

was basically a clone of Top Gear UK…...would have like them to add a bit of a unique feel.

even the characters resembled the UK counterparts.

Warren = May, Charlie = Jeremy and Steve = Hammond

i did however like charlies jump off the sand dune.

and i’m looking forward to the ford vs holden next week

I watched it.

I really want to like it. I really do. But it doesn’t seem as though they followed the dribble that was in their audition pack – specifically that they were looking for new talent, not an “Australian James May, Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson”.

It seems they have pidgeon-holed them into the same moulds: Captain slow, young guy that talks about xboxes etc, and a knowledgeable supercar lover who cracks jokes about porches not being a prius and environmental lovers should get over it.

I am going to give it time though…. I really REALLY want to like it!

I was disapointed, I found it boring, dull to say the least, no spark…. maybe they need time to settle in.

Fact is we are really bad at doing motoring shows in Australia, I have no idea why. It may have something to do with our dull sense of humour…

They couldn’t even insult each other in a funny way. Something I thought Aussies did really well, at least me and my mates do really well…

Maybe they should take a few tokes first…;-)

I cannot decide if I like it or not,
the tendency for the conversation to get really nasal when there was any excitement was a turn off for me, but I am sure that they will have that pointed out to them and it will improve.

There is only one Jeremy Clarkson and try as you might you’ll never find an Aussie clone.

It would be better to find 3 guys with good chemistry that love fast cars and don’t care about the enviroment when it comes to burning rubber and hydrocarbons.

I though that they tried to cram too much into one hour . As it was the first show I think maybe they needed to set the series up rather than trying to jump in with a full show. The fast laps with 3-4 cars rather than one was an example of what I mean. Will certainly give it more time though.

Damn – missed it. The problem is it’s always going to be compared to the UK one, and it’s a tough ask to come close the Brit trio. I heard Jay Leno turned down the position for the US version because he said he just wouldn’t be able to match the Brits.

BTW, I emailed BBC the other day suggesting a challenge between long drive champion and supercar. I hope they consider it.

There is only one Jeremy Clarkson and try as you might you’ll never find an Aussie clone.

better still. just bring them over

My wife says I'm obsessive compulsive. I say cant be that bad,there's
about 800 of us where I go every Saturday...


http://www.golflink.com.au/...

they tried too hard, and what was the go with all the yelling. i was disappointed. hope it gets better.

cheers sb

they tried too hard,iP>

You got it in one.
When people try to copy a good formula, unless they have a genuine personality and talent, it never works. And when they try to copy they’re not being themselves anyway.

Watched it, thankfully had recorded it to watch later, even more thankful the fast-forward button worked!

Not impressed!

Bit like a cover-band thing, the originals are always so much better so why bother?

someone let their ego get in the way of common sense for that, they should put Top Gear Australia on their what where they thinking board

I lasted about 3 minutes – then got out the DVD’s and watched re-runs of the real Top Gear.

They needed to make it totally different – 3 different people with 3 separate and distinct personalities – not 3 clones of the originals. Now I’ll have to find something else to watch on Mondays!

Watched it.
Shite…

Like a $10 Rolex, a cheesy copy. We even get a Stig clone.

I missed it, but from what I understand they have to follow the UK versions concept! Meaning the studio and the different segments will either be the same or a variation of the same! I was told they even had a Stig!

I agree it should be totally different but they bought the formula or concept and thats what they have to make!

Unless it changes this I think it could be doomed because it will always be compared to the UK version. Its like Newstopia on SBS tonight. Its quite a good show, but a complete rip off of a UK show, but as thats not been shown over here, Newstopia is a success and is in its third series!

It was a bit of a let down, I’ve watched each and every episode of Top Gear UK that’s gone to air (the UK version, not the trimmed down and edited SBS aired version) so I was coming into this with high standards expected.

The editing for the pre-filmed stuff was very much like the current UK version, and as far as I was concerned, up to scratch. The show itself was let down by a couple of things that, given time, will improve.

1. The main host, Charlie Cox, is a douchebag (I’m not even going to mention Steve…). I don’t mean Jeremy Clarkson type douchebag, I mean genuine douchebag. Why does he have to yell everything? He also can’t do an interview to save himself, which shoots down any chance of star in a reasonably priced car being any good. Speaking of which…

2. Star in a reasonably priced car should be exactly that. A Proton? No. Then there’s the track, it has nothing going for it and how short does it need to be? The UK circuit works because it has a good set of corners that test a cars handling, along with a nice set of straights in between to sort out acceleration, top speed and braking. The Australian one is way too short for my liking. And then there’s the editing of that whole section… I want to see the car on the track, racing, not a close up of the car with no shot of it’s behavior on the road.

3. Testing the other cars on the track was disgusting. One, maybe two cars per episode. Max. The GTR on it’s own deserves a full episode, let alone the others. And wtf at the limo? No thanks guy’s, the leaderboard is for cars, not shitboxes.

So what saved the show? Well, Warren is good, his previous experience shines through and his ability to go with the flow more than the other two is good. You can also sense that had it not been carrying the Top Gear name, far less people would have given it a chance, it’ll remain on our screens for a while at least just for that fact.

When you compare it to the first UK episode from their revamp of the show, it’s not far off, so there’s hope for it yet. Just get Charlie some help soon, or a bullet, either way it’ll be an improvement.

I’ve watched each and every episode of Top Gear UK that’s gone to air (the UK version, not the trimmed down and edited SBS aired version)

wink wink, nudge nudge

So what saved the show? Well, Warren is good, his previous experience shines through and his ability to go with the flow more than the other two is good.

Absolutely. As a self-confessed ABC addict, I have generally always liked his work. I don’t get the Daily Telegraph up here, so naturally my only real exposure to his cartoon work was his appearance on Insiders’ Talking Pictures a little while ago.

I’ve watched each and every episode of Top Gear UK that’s gone to air (the UK version, not the trimmed down and edited SBS aired version)

wink wink, nudge nudge

Yeah, I know the place, I’ve been a visitor to those shores for many a year.