Forums: Waiting for Godot:

I recently changed cable providers and my new one carries BBC America, so I've caught two episodes of this 'Top Gear' show you blokes are always on about.

I think I've got it figured out.

There's some kind of theme and they pick three cars fitting that theme.

The semi-annoying guy who is apparently the star talks a lot and makes fun of the other two.

The short guy loves his car and has fun.

The big, hairy guy always gets the wrong car, can't start it, can't drive it and won't admit it.

Then a celebrity I've never heard of comes on and drives a family sedan around a test track.

Then a mystery driver guy, called The Stig, shows up and drives a car around the test track.

Yes?

No?

sounds exciting

That's pretty much the format.
The reason the show works imho is the byplay between the hosts. There's an arrogant tosser, a cool kid and a foppish english gent and all three of them are passionate about cars. We are definitely not "car" people, but my wife even likes the show.

We're into the second season of TopGear Australia here, and it's rubbish. It's exactly the same format with an Australian slant, but the hosts just don't have the same interaction. Kind of like a shit cover band doing a classic song. They hit the notes but the music ain't the same.

Originally posted by: Nat
a foppish english gent

Wait. Which one is that?

the big hairy guy that always gets the wrong car.

I think that about sums it up - but it's as funny as anything sometimes

OMG OMG OMG IT's a metal box with wheels! Here's another one, this one goes faster than the first metal box?! OMG OMG OMG!!

Yer top gear appeals to car lovers and non car lovers, some series are classic and I have very little interest in the latest car.

It's got a nappy little mortor isn't it?

I reckon oy'd drive me nickers down in 'at bonarooo!

Pants!

Tossa.

It's important to realise that it's not a show about cars, it's a show about three blokes mucking about that happens to involve cars quite a lot. It's entertainment, not consumer advice (Fifth Gear does better at the latter but sucks at the former).

So, either you buy into the three-guys-larking-around-in-cars schtick and enjoy it for what it is, or you don't. It's not always funny, but it does have its moments and I think for me, part of the enjoyment is thinking "christ, what a great job that'd be" as they powerslide another £200K car around the test track...

Fifth Gear is dire.

Originally posted by: Nat
a cool kid

???? he's a dwarf having a mid life crisis

Originally posted by: sakri
OMG OMG OMG IT's a metal box with wheels! Here's another one, this one goes faster than the first metal box?! OMG OMG OMG!!

you just don't get it do you?

some of them are carbon fibre boxes

Watching a new one. They are trying to make cars that can make it across the English Channel.

The big hairy guy can't get his boat to work.

Thats actually a very funny one. Its the second attempt at the same task, the first was arguably funnier.

There's alot of subtleties to the show. Its meant to be "consumer advice" but its patently not. They always review cars that 99.999999% of their views could not afford. Jeremy Clarkson completely polarizes people, alot of people love him alot destest him. He will say/do the completely inappropriate thing 100% of the time, but somehow he gets away with it.

Originally posted by: swampy

Originally posted by: Nat
a cool kid

???? he's a dwarf having a mid life crisis

and yet so many women seem to fancy him. Some sort of confused maternal instinct, I'm guessing.

Originally posted by: mclarkson
Watching a new one. They are trying to make cars that can make it across the English Channel.

The big hairy guy can't get his boat to work.

That is a good one and yes I agree with jamiec that part 1 was funnier.

The scripted banter gets tiresome after awhile, but it took three series' for it to really start to irritate me. However, I still watch it.

I think the new series (first two only aired) is one of the funniest for a while.

The Vietnam episode was a masterpiece of light entertainment.

The thing I like about the 'car' aspect of TG, is that it's aspirational - and why not?

Fifth Gear honestly sucks warty ass - I would like to stab 'Jonny' in his talentless, shit-driving-ability-having, gormless, floppy face. HARD!! Tiff and Jason are the only aspects of the show that I can tolerate...oh and the competitions.

The problem for me, is that I have watched every single one of the 'new format' TG (all 13 series) and it is such that I can see the 'joins' a lot more clearly, which kind of spoiled series 11 and 12. This series seems to be doing a better job of covering up the scripted mishaps (excluding the un-funny dumping of coal at the side of the train tack in Ep1).

My name is Paul and I'm a Caroholic. I'm addicted to Carohol.

Originally posted by: Phantom
The problem for me, is that I have watched every single one of the 'new format' TG (all 13 series) and it is such that I can see the 'joins' a lot more clearly, which kind of spoiled series 11 and 12. This series seems to be doing a better job of covering up the scripted mishaps (excluding the un-funny dumping of coal at the side of the train tack in Ep1).

What, did you miss the 'Clarkson crashing into the conveniently flimsy shed' moment in the last one? Don't get me wrong, I LOLled, but it seems that most of those things are either directly scripted or at least, very carefully set up to produce a particular outcome.

Originally posted by: Stickman

Originally posted by: Phantom
The problem for me, is that I have watched every single one of the 'new format' TG (all 13 series) and it is such that I can see the 'joins' a lot more clearly, which kind of spoiled series 11 and 12. This series seems to be doing a better job of covering up the scripted mishaps (excluding the un-funny dumping of coal at the side of the train tack in Ep1).

What, did you miss the 'Clarkson crashing into the conveniently flimsy shed' moment in the last one? Don't get me wrong, I LOLled, but it seems that most of those things are either directly scripted or at least, very carefully set up to produce a particular outcome.

The last one was flaky, but not as bad as some in the past. I will happily suspend my disbelief in favour of accepting a few scripted mishaps for laughs, but some things are just not funny at all.

There were enough seemingly genuine LOLs in Ep2, to forgive the bad ones.

For example, Clarkson steaming towards the tents was supposed to be 'hey, he is over-cooking it', but it ended up being bigger than was 'scripted' and you could tell the genuine grinning reaction of the arse-pinch inside the car.