Un-official GTPlanet BBC Topgear UK ThreadTV

[Dano20]

Does this mean top gear will be till 9:00 or 9:20

 

[Wardy 944]

does this mean top gear will be till 9:00 or 9:20

9:20

 

[Danny]

Spoiler

An actual race would have been nice. So staged it hurts.

 

[The Stig Farmer]

Sadly...

 

[Wiegert]

Spoiler

An actual race would have been nice. So staged it hurts.

Spoiler

My attention was elsewhere for much of the race, but it looked like they threw away what could have been a decent race for a few old 'jokes'.

EDIT: BAC and Ferrari tests were alright. The rest was pretty forgettable.

 

[Crumpet]

The F12 segment was the best, even though it was somewhere in Scotland, not Hertfordshire as stated.

 

[mattythedog]

Good beginning test, good road test at the end, the middle was pretty awful. I almost contemplated turning over halfway through the cab "race".

 

[dhandeh]

Worst episode for a very long time.

 

[lbsf1]

"reasonable" episode. Bad compared to most other episodes however still better than most other programs on tv.

The BAC section was good as well as the tv centre race, the F12 section was reasonable however the taxi section was pretty awful and very cliche.

 

[Danny]

I don't understand how they can get all these talented BTCC drivers on a whim and then do something that's not really a race.

Again.

 

[The Stig Farmer]

The good outweighed the bad. "Meh" episode.

 

[lbsf1]

I don't understand how they can get all these talented BTCC drivers on a whim and then do something that's not really a race.

Again.

Probably because they all watch top gear and will jump at any opportunity to mess around crashing cars and not having to worry about the bill. 💡💡

Who wouldn't want to do that.

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

They moved Pitlochry to Hertfordshire? When did this happen, and why wasn't I informed?

 

[TyrrellRacing]

I liked the taxi race.

 

[e30 freek]

I missed the show tonight, whens it showing on iplayer?

 

[Joey D]

Seemed pretty lackluster. The Ferrari shoot was pretty cool from a cinematic perspective and whatever road that was looks like it would be awesome to drive. Other than that the only thing that really stood out was that I found out about Ron Howard's new movie. I'm not really into F1, but any movie about racing is a must see and Howard is a really good director.

 

[shmogt]

I hope so bad they actually test the new ferrari and zonda like they were saying. This year is hyper car heaven with all big manufacturers having a new crazy car. If they don't test them I'll be so disappointed.

 

[Samus]

More mediocrity. The taxi race was clearly choreographed and the race inside the BBC building seemed pointless featuring neither a car nor a TG presenter, so why would I care who won? Guest was ok and Ferrari part ok, if a little rushed. Overall poor.

I only watch these days in the hope a good episode turns up but it's getting rarer.

 

[McLaren]

Echoing others, the BAC & the Ferrari were the only enjoyable parts of this episode. The BBC "race" was...err, not bad, I guess? It seemed like a random filler.
The taxi race was just dumb. Way, way too scripted. Past races of this nature, at least the destruction was somewhat impromptu with the drivers causing the ruckus. But, the building, the limo, & the Mercedes jump was just way too much. Terrible.

As schmogt said though, that would be an interesting race, but I would rather see Hammond in the new 918 for it be a real test of the best "hybrid" supercar.

 

[-Fred-]

The only good part about the taxi race honestly was seeing that big Town Car sideways. Because sideways limos are cool to see.

I really liked the editing on the BAC and F12 featurettes, top notch visuals and sounds. Speaking of the F12, it really reminded me in certain angles of a much bigger and wider GT86/FR-S/BRZ, especially from the back. The proportions, while exaggerated, seemed very similar.

 

[shmogt]

Lol oh the limo getting T-boned and just exploding was pretty cool. I actually liked the race they did with the bike vs people but it's true it had no car so what was the point?

 

[CarBastard]

I enjoyed it a lot, it had all the ingredients of a good TG episode from the old days.

Atrack test of a really fast car, a news segment that had somewhat informed opinions about F1 and that discussed the latest batch of hyper-cars, a "Bash it all! Starring: Rich Hammond and the BTCC Orchestra" segment, a celebrity that actualy gave a crap about cars, a weird parkour race (my least favourite part of the episode but I wouldn't call it bad) and a "Marvelous scenery+marvelous car" conclusion segment.

I disliked though that they didn't discuss the Veneno which is part of the Geneva triangle (LaFerrari/P1/Veneno). As interesting as that Zonda is, I would absolutely drool my laptop if I could see the Veneno being thrashed.

Quite pleased with the episode but not blown away so far. Here's hoping this season will deliver at least one unforgettable episode.

 

[Lizard]

Anyone else find it funny that James says Dacia as it is spelled? They started advertising in the uk recently and in the adverts it is said Dacha.

Overall for me a meh episode. Good at the start and end. The tv center race was meh and the taxi race was awful.

 

[Robin]

Gosh this episode was a sea of mediocrity apart from the BAC and to some extent the Ferrari bit (I call bull, where in Hertfordshire looks like that?!). Also the video editors are clearly running out of ideas and are getting too fancy jazzing up what is in essence a car going along a road or sitting in a garage for the millionth time.

The rest was either bland or boring, the BBC race I wasn't interested in at all and also the Taxi segment could have been much better than a track race, they should have done different challenges and tests with them. The news was pretty good this time round discussing the Le Ferrari etc, they need to make that segment happen!

I keep looking at the Astra and thinking how much did Vauxhall pay?! Should have been light blue like all the previous cars.

Robin.

 

[Pezzarinho17]

Very mediocre episode, saved only by Ron Howard and another view of the Rush trailer! The Stig was in top form in the BAC Mono though, it looked very edgy and twitchy under braking AND acceleration!

I struggle to understand Jeremy's issue with the Ferrari asking a lot of the driver. He kept mentioning the F1 similarities brought to the road car and the power harnessed from the engine (again, because it is easier to compare it to a current F1 engine than anything else). Of course it is a handful, but giving negative press on a car for trying to put the owner behind the wheel without too much traction control getting in the way or trying to put them into a coffin. They then get other cars which carry similar power but tame it down and they are boring!!!

I wonder if his main issue was that he couldn't stamp on the loud pedal and keep it down through infinite corners?

 

[Danny]

I keep looking at the Astra and thinking how much did Vauxhall pay?! Should have been light blue like all the previous cars.

Raben.

Whatchoo talkin' bout Willis?

 

[Liquid]

Gosh this episode was a sea of mediocrity

Quite.

Also the video editors are clearly running out of ideas and are getting too fancy jazzing up what is in essence a car going along a road or sitting in a garage for the millionth time.

Agreed. I don't want a demonstration of Paint Shop Pro 6 or MS GIF Creator, I just want to see the car in question.

the BBC race I wasn't interested in at all

I didn't see the point in it. It highlighted the swing from an entertaining car show to a car-themed entertainment show. However, I'd like to watch the entire race from the OBC of the bike.

The news is just as embarrassing and has been for years now. They're not comedians, so I don't see why they try. James and Jeremy have written good columns before now; they should stick to those if they want to be funny, because they actually write funny things as themselves, and not their TV characters.

the Taxi segment could have been much better than a track race, they should have done different challenges and tests with them.

Definitely agree, and even if they were going to do just a race, why not do a fair one instead of a predetermined one? Making two or three of them 'accidentally' retire is just so contrived and makes my skin crawl.

Was nice to see Anthony Reid getting some work though. The limo was surprisingly effective until its 'retirement'.

The news was pretty good this time round discussing the Le Ferrari etc, they need to make that segment happen!

Already mentioned the news. They're not comics and should stop trying to be so.

I keep looking at the Astra and thinking how much did Vauxhall pay?!

It's rubbish. As Car Throttle pointed out, the reasonably priced car isn't that reasonably priced.

Ho hum.

 

[Samus]

I was surprised that they changed it so quickly this time. The Liana was there for seven long series, 65 times submitted. The Lacetti was then there for seven, much shorter series and 57 laps submitted including . The Cee'd was only on for five short series and 41 laps were submitted.

 

[Danny]

I was surprised that they changed it so quickly this time.

The C'eed is about to go into it's second generation. Maybe that influenced it.

 

[Wiegert]

Anyone else find it funny that James says Dacia as it is spelled? They started advertising in the uk recently and in the adverts it is said Dacha.

It's like how we in the UK pronounce Nissan differently to those in Japan, or the US for that matter.

"Datch-a" is how it would sound in Romanian, while we either say it as it's spelt, "Dah-cia". Or how James pronounces it, which is probably how of the majority people have come to know it as before the Dacia adverts appeared.

The rest was either bland or boring, the BBC race I wasn't interested in at all and also the Taxi segment could have been much better than a track race, they should have done different challenges and tests with them.

A race was expected, fixed or otherwise. A range of challenges on the other hand would have been far more interesting.

What I also expected was for more taxis to be included, given that they showed a brief shot of a street in Hong Kong filled with Toyota Crown Comforts, Nissan Cedrics passing through Tokyo and what looked like a Hyundai Accent somewhere in the Middle East.

I didn't see the point in it. It highlighted the swing from an entertaining car show to a car-themed entertainment show. However, I'd like to watch the entire race from the OBC of the bike.

It felt like they wanted to throw something together quickly to mark the BBC leaving Television Centre, and that was the best they could come up with. The shift you mentioned stood out more than the actual race.

The news is just as embarrassing and has been for years now. They're not comedians, so I don't see why they try. James and Jeremy have written good columns before now; they should stick to those if they want to be funny, because they actually write funny things as themselves, and not their TV characters.

There's at least one episode each season where the news doesn't make me cringe or wish Hammond would shut up for the duration of it.

The last episode was one of them, and while they normally fail to act funny without coming across as a trio of fools, it's quite nice to see the news without it being undermined by the usual levels of nonsense.

The C'eed is about to go into it's second generation. Maybe that influenced it.

I touched on that a few weeks back.

Production of the first gen Cee'd didn't last as long as the previous two RPCs. I guess that when the second gen Cee'd rolled out last year, they wanted something a little more up-to-date. While forgetting that a RPC should actually be priced as such instead of costing many thousands more than any previous car they've used, or a number of other current options that they could have chosen instead.