Topgear USA

[aporschaguy]

Did anyone else catch this??? Wow it was bad. Frankly the show copied everything the UK version did but has NON of the charisma etc etc. I don't think it will ever be as good as Clarkson, Hamond and May. You can't build what they came to naturally.

Though I knew the US version would never have as much character as those English Asses...

[hoffman912]

Tanner Foust is the most uninteresting man alive... they need to replace him quickly to make top gear us work. the others may have a chance, as i could see them potentially grow and gain character and confidence as time goes on. that was so bad though, they may not have time. no charisma, no character, no chemistry. they need to also quit being so technical and just get on with it.. in one word -fail.

[CurtEgerer]

I went in expecting a train wreck. It was good enough that I didn't fall asleep. The reviews I've read say it starts coming together nicely in Episode 3. Hopefully, it will develop its own identity. Trying to clone the original will not work.

I've talked to Tanner a few times. He's a true gearhead, unassuming and a very quick driver.

[hoffman912]

good to hear Curt. i agree, you cant copy chemistry, you have to develop your own. I look forward to it getting better as they grow and get comfortable with everything. the show itself was good (camera, writing, bits etc), just the personalities were dry and kept loosing my attention. I have no doubts that tanner knows what he's doing (he seems very sharp and his driving is great), but some people just dont make good tv personalities.

[JohnT]

Clarkson, Hammond, and May have intelligence and intelligent opinions that they are willing to express outrageously. They have university degrees and are successful away from Top Gear in their on environment. The three Americans don't appear to me to have enough combined intellect to solve math problems that May or Hammond can do in their heads.

Why does the American program have to poach The Stig? Are there really no Americans who can drive? And testing Lamborghinis! Get a life, it's already been done.

I couldn't watch the entire show (fortunately the Eagles-Giants game was available as a distraction). Hopefully Curt is correct and the show gets better. Perhaps they'll get Mike Rowe, Adam Savage, and Jamie Hyneman to Emcee, or why not Leno, or Seinfild????? There are intelligent car enthusiasts in this country.

Otherwise I'll simply watch reruns of the original Top Gear. I never seem to tire of the truck test, or every time that Hammond runs into May while coming to a stop, or.... , or....

Well you get it.

johnt

[Flieger]

I expected it to be bad and it exceeded those expectations. Tanner Faust was the best host, since he actually has driving experience. The "comedian" was not funny and was a terrible interviewer. He had Buzz Aldrin and all he did was ask how fast he went in the "can" (an insult to the Saturn V) and then listed the cars he had. The stupid Viper vs. Cobra video game challenge? They just melded two or three Top Gear UK challenges together. The Lamborghinis never turned a corner until the Stig did the Superleggera lap at the end and they used the cars' speedos for the top speed? No GPS?

I expected them to do more car reviews like the UK version.

The track was nicer than the UK version.

The worst part is that in Episode 2 they are going to show Tanner Faust drifting on Mulholland. That is not good. The video has already been around the internet once and now there will likely be more drifters up there at night and then more cops during the day.

Who writes the lines? They sucked. No emotion, no funny, the music (Wagner) was terrible, no power like the UK version. It is much better cinematigraphically. Episode 2: Rutlige and Adam try to beat Tanner at drifting by cheating. Wow, they even give away the stupid staged gags.

[Fritter]

I think we need to give them a bit more time to let everything sink in. And any new car enthusiast show is a good thing.

But I will admit it was a bit flat. I disagree with Harry, I think Tanner is the best one of the three, he can actually drive and is a true enthusiast. The other two are kinda dopey.

They may have made a casting mistake....should have gotten at least one better known, car enthusiast, comedian type to put a little spice in the mix.

[Jeff Trask]

Tanner can drive, but he's a bore. They are all a bunch of dopes. I hope it gets better, but frankly I'm waiting for Hammond, May and Clarkson to start making fun of the American version of their show.

[Jim Garfield]

I thought that it was embarrassingly bad, it could (hopefully) get better, but I'm not optimistic. They seemed to copy the English version in every respect, except that the presenters seemed dull beyond belief.

[naparsei]

Top Gear has 15 seasons behind it. Of course there's chemistry and a "smoothness" to it that the US program lacks. It will either find it, or not. I thought it was worth watching - it's better than most TV, just not as good as Top Gear UK. But what could you expect?