SetH
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Well the end of Clarkson, Hammond and May doing the studio audience, chat and track stuff.
17 years of epic memories, a very sad day.
Are they really going to fill a whole series with road trips and specials?
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Ian
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Road trips are probably easier to make. More fun at least.
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RichR
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Surprised how emotional JC was at the end. 2/3 decent 2 episode specials a year would be good; back to the ones like the Arctic/North Pole special.
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RichR
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They are all getting on though, in the montage at the end it showed just how much they’ve aged, especially RH.
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Kyle T
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Just got caught up, pretty emotional ending but I think they ended on a high - this season has been great, and right up there with some of the best TG series IMO.
I think GT only 'reviewed' about half a dozen cars over the three series - it was very "specials" focused anyway. Looking forward to seeing what they come up with, but wouldn't mind seeing some of the domestic challenge stuff they used to do, such as <£10k supercars or whatever but appreciate they're running out of content on that front...
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SetH
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quote:
Originally posted by Ian
Road trips are probably easier to make. More fun at least.
Yeah I guess so by removing the audience and assume the track that cuts down on a lot of effort.
I would imagine the road trips are considerable effort though from scouting to preparation, filming and editing. Although time saved by removing the the other elements could then be spent on this.
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SetH
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quote:
Originally posted by RichR
Surprised how emotional JC was at the end. 2/3 decent 2 episode specials a year would be good; back to the ones like the Arctic/North Pole special.
I really hope we would get more than that. I mean we have just had 14 episodes to Top Gears 5? although will top gear be back in the Autumn for another 5 or so?
Some asked JC on his Instgram how much longer GT will go on for and his reply was a, 'few more years at least.' 
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SetH
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quote:
Originally posted by Kyle T
Just got caught up, pretty emotional ending
Want cuddles? x
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RichR
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I just think more than that would kill it. I’ve watched maybe 2 of the new TG series, it really hasn’t made me want to watch it but I think a few really well executed GT specials a year would be better than a dozen half arsed ones.
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Jambo
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Gutting tbh!
I enjoy the specials a lot, but it’s a step away from the journalistic side and I will miss it. Miss it bad. Remember watching Clarkson Unleashed on cars in the early 90’s on VHS. This was the genesis of the Top Gear plan Willman/Clarkson came up with.
I was a kid and that shows how long they have done this for. It’s a good thing that there will be something still, it will be just as good. But the end of an era for sure.
Just a shame TG can’t figure out their own IP and get some decent presenters. Was a big fan of having the two shows: more to watch. But TG has been a car crash from start to finish. (Pun intended)
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SetH
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Agree 100%
I had just warmed to Matt le Blanc and towards the end there seemed to be some chemistry between him and harris and then he's off!
I loved Chris Harris content on You tube and his reviews/opinions are word of god in my eyes. However i don't feel TG works for him.
That rood boy innit blud does not work for me at all, i expect millennials love him as they lap up people such as 'livinglifefast' on you tube where every other word during their features is 'bro'.
I have watched all of the new TG's though for the car content, although it's been painful to watch at times.
To be honest the BBC fuck me off, paying a licence fee to watch what exactly? I hope they cry and kill themselves every time they see the Grand Tour which annihilates and decimates their motoring programme on the level of a supernova.
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Kyle T
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quote:
Originally posted by SetH
quote:
Originally posted by Kyle T
Just got caught up, pretty emotional ending
Want cuddles? x
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Kyle T
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Harris is top drawer to be honest, and you'll probably find posts from me either on this forum or elsewhere in the past slagging him off - but I've warmed to him big time and would say he's tied first with Catchpole for my favourite auto-journalist right now.
At first it seemed TG wanted to caricature him too much, making him a bit of the idiot role that Hammond often got/gets but he doesn't need that - he just needs to be the "tech corner" where the serious reviews can be done. The YT content he's doing for TG right now is properly good, they just need that on the show.
Flintoff/Paddy can fuck right off tbh.
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Fonz
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quote:
Originally posted by SetH
I loved Chris Harris content on You tube and his reviews/opinions are word of god in my eyes. However i don't feel TG works for him.
Seconded.
On YT Chris was his own person, he offered his view without any kind of agenda or forced situation. i respected his opinion as it appeared to be based on facts.
however on TG he was paired against Matt more often than not that it wasn't a natural scenario for his style.
I'm yet to understand Rory's role.
while the "big boys" do battle, he's left with the "joke" segment, a city car or similar. except that his peice was actually useful consumer advice, if made in the wrong way or with the wrong approach.
he was "branded" as the "young" one and given the hot hatch options but is simply younger rather than young (only 5 years between Rory and Chris Harris)
although i agree that the chemistry between Harris and LeBlanc has improved and become more genuine, it was relied on too much to heavily. it appeared forced at the start, trying to copy what was there before with different presenters.
quote:
Originally posted by Jambo
Just a shame TG can’t....get some decent presenters.
I think this is the hardest point for the BBC.
on the one hand they need someone credible, an industry expert who is a natural presenter and reporter, while on the other someone the public are going to like and/or recognise.
Chris Harris completed the former well (certainly in his YT days) and they just needed to bring that approach to TG.
Matt, Flintoff and McGuiness are prime examples of only the former - known but not for reasons that makes TG great.
Hammond and May were unknown back when "new" Top Gear started up, known by the industry yes, but not to the general public, even those petrol heads that read May's articles wouldn't necessarily have put the two together straightaway.
Forget trying to get in a household name, forget trying to keep the show afloat with D-list celebrities known for skills not near cars or reporting and do what was done 20 years ago.
reinvent the format and the programme.
Tiff Needle, VBH, Quentin Wilson all made a great show alongside Jeremy C, but they (the BBC) or rather JC brought back into something different with a new team with May and Hammond.
the BBC need to repeat that process with the current format. Pick out Chris Harris as someone now known and respected in the car industry and find two others who will become not only on-screen mates but off-screen pals too.
and then decide what the format should be.
dont look at the past and say "we want the same as it worked well" - that isn't what happened with "new" TG, gaining a fixed studio and three permanent presenters.
we're twenty years later, you can't flog the same old horse just because you've changed the jockey
[Edited on 17-04-2019 by Fonz]
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Jambo
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Reinvent is key!
When they bought Clarkson out they bought the rights to TG, which was essentially a dumb move. Clarkson/H/M are TG. It was imagined by Clarkson and Willman, but the essence is the cocmoradery (or not).
Trying to take that formula and make it work requires a couple of things. First of all, it needs a decent script writer and so far as I know Richard Porter of Sniff Petrol fame is the writer for Grand Tour (unsurprisingly). Second of all, it needs chemistry. This I thought was actually OK originally with Chris Evans etc, but I felt their mistake was sidelining Chris Harris. This is just proof of why this just didn’t work.
Eventually Chris/Matt managed some good chemistry and it was entertaining... BUT it just always feels like they are trying to fill the gap left by the trio, they needed to sack off every essence of the old TG and keep the same “rules”. Sadly it just felt like a looky looky man copy of the original, which meant it was obviously never going to compete.
Now we have gone down the road of Z-list “celebs” to host with arguably the most credible real-world journo who is absolutely wasted in this environment.
They just need a way to monetise Farrah/Harris and film it pretty. That’s literally all anyone wants. They don’t need or want bants, as this is not their territory.
Just film it and film interesting cars and informative historic pieces.
Job done, before it’s cancelled.
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Jambo
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Still salty about this tbh.
I enjoyed the boating special - very good even without cars! But I am feeling a void where it comes to decent car content.
Forced myself to watch new series of TG, it’s just about watchable with FF and PmG, but it all just feels like they are trying to hard to be the original 3/show.
My fave thing recently has been Collecting Cars podcast, Hoovies Garage and Tavarish with a bit of Jay Emm on cars.
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SetH
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Registered: 15th Jul 01
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quote:
Originally posted by Jambo
Still salty about this tbh.
I enjoyed the boating special - very good even without cars! But I am feeling a void where it comes to decent car content.
Forced myself to watch new series of TG, it’s just about watchable with FF and PmG, but it all just feels like they are trying to hard to be the original 3/show.
My fave thing recently has been Collecting Cars podcast, Hoovies Garage and Tavarish with a bit of Jay Emm on cars.
yeah me too, loved the boating special but where is the next one? it is taking months.
the new TG is much better then it has been in recent years but I agree that they are still trying too hard. Said it before, major fan of chris harris from you tube days without him I am not sure I could watch it. Dare I say with Paddy and Freddy its all a bit 'Northern' 
Love Jay Emm, I think he is fairly local to me. I could see him as a TG presenter, well maybe in an old school way like Quentin and Tiff were.
Smoking Tyre is another one, although I preferred the older format of the one take canyon runs he has had plenty of interested modified metal too (lots of ///M cars!).
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Jambo
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Yesss. Smoking Tire with Matt Farrah was epic, new guy is OK but just not as engaging for some reason. As you said, much better when they used to drive modified stuff, now it’s just recent hatchbacks tbh.
Jay Emm is great because he’s just pure passion, a dose of sense with some fetish thrown in (Alfa/Lotus). You should tap him up SetH and see if he needs some hench co star 
Next Gt has apparently been delayed, Have it on good authority they do the specials as they take around a week to film. So for the planned specials that’s 4 weeks work a year.. the tent/audience was a weekly thing and added around the specials meant a full on year so see why the we’re keen to stop now they are old and loaded
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Ian
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Registered: 28th Aug 99
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quote:
Originally posted by SetH
Dare I say with Paddy and Freddy its all a bit 'Northern'
On that basis I should like it and I don't. Paddy I can watch in the old Peter Kay stuff and also that dating thing and Freddie on sports programs but I've no idea what they're doing presenting a motoring show
Car Throttle buying challenges are normally quite fun, some chemistry between those three although they can fuck off since they cut the roof off a fairly nice Omega.
Tavarish is quite watchable.
Hoovie I don't bother with any more, there's only so many times you can watch the same video acting surprised because you bought a shitter.
That VINwiki mashup with the three of them including Ed Boolean or however you spell it was also fucking cringe central, turned it off. It was like watching a poorly made Top Gear special with worse camera work, worse editing and fewer gags.
There's a guy buys salvage stuff from Copart that Youtube keeps recommending to me but I can't watch him and his cockney tendencies.
Definitely room for more good content on YT, I'm going to have a channel myself at some point and just fuck about with old shit, seems it doesn't need to all be top money stuff so long as there's a purpose to the video and funny stuff happens.
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Jambo
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Agree on the Boleon/Tavarish/Hoovie thing, was proper cheese.
There’s a lot of good stuff on there but a lot of chod also.
I like McGuiness a lot more than I thought I would, as a presenter he’s got it but I do agree that I’m not quite sure why they are on a car show?
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gavin18787
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I found the latest top gear line up quite watchable.
Paddy is the one I find a bit ott though. But then he is the one that makes the other half laugh and then brings the wider audience appeal I suppose.
Stumbled accross Jay emm after he was linked on pistonheads after his video on mclarens hopelessness.
Have subscribed since as I found him very watchable. Seems nice a natural rather then look at me I am a social influencer etc
[Edited on 09-04-2020 by gavin18787]
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