TOPGEAR USA version premiered last night

[iani1.1]

well if they didnt emulated how the uk wouldve been then it would be just like any other show on horsepower tv lol.

also tanner is just like rhys millen. everyone hates both of them just because. lol i know i do.

after watching it, its just like any tv show about cars nothing special about it. if they have a segment where they blow things up, get arrested or build/modify a car then blow it while they get arrested then itll be top gear. but its still too early to tell. but i did enjoy it

also have you guys seen the first season of top gear? it was pretty horrible

[speedjunkie]

I'm just not good at watching something on my laptop. I get enough eye strain during the day. I know we get BBC America at home, so maybe I'll check it out if I get a chance.

I guess at least since I haven't seen the "original" version, it was good I didn't have anything to compare it to. I'm not some homer that lumps it in the automatic suckpile because it isn't TGUK. I will say, however, Sunday nights? Opposite Sunday Night Football? I guess they figure car guys don't watch football.

I didn't know you had to watch it on your computer haha. It's on right now on channel 109 on Comcast haha.

But um, I don't watch football, and neither do Zico or Simon. We either work on the cars or play COD or MOH lol. Or we'll watch F1 or some other car-oriented show, like Top Gear UK haha.

I agree about Tanner...no doubt he's an above average driver (just the fact he gets paid to race proves that), but he's a douche waffle and I hate hearing whatever retarded abomination will roll out of his dilapidated pie hole next.

I have no clue who the other guys are (Adam "Ferara" or whatever rang a faint bell) but they were just as stoic and script-bound as Tanner.

I always feel there is this fine line when attempting to duplicate a TV show, weather it's a reincarnation of a old show or like the USA TopGear, it just felt like they were trying to emulate the original hosts of the UK TG too much.

I don't see why you guys hate Tanner, or Rhys Millen for that matter lol. They're definitely both talented at what they do, and while I've never seen Rhys do a show I don't think he'd be too bad at it, and I think Tanner did alright too. I thought he was kinda funny. Not sidesplitting by any means, but decently funny for the first episode.

What you guys have to remember is ALOT of shows suck in the first season, not just car shows but sitcoms too. Simpsons wasn't great for the first several seasons, neither was Seinfeld and I'm a HUGE Seinfeld fan. You have to let the guys settle into their roles and get comfortable with themselves and each other. It did feel like they were forcing the chemistry that the UK guys have though and it just wasn't working.

[Justin]

Some say: the cinematography looks lots like Top Gear UK, and that they didn't crack any Stig jokes. All we know is that someone is finally trying to make a less crappy car show in the US.

I just watched the first episode OnDemand and I'll agree its far from perfect. They're all stiff and Tanner is the worst offender of the bunch, but that got better as the show progressed. They actually began to behave like normal humans once they got out of the studio (the Lamborghini part was a good example of this). I'm hoping they find a groove, as the show won't make it as is. That said, the camera work is really good and unlike anything they're doing in the US at the moment, even if the style is stolen directly from Top Gear UK. I just happy they're trying to make a US based show that in a different format than anything made here now. I'll be curious to see if they can get away with being as negative about some cars as the Top Gear UK guys are. The honesty and directness of the presenters is one of the best parts of the show.

[speedjunkie]

^Well said.

[mOOsE]

I also think they need to take some jabs at the UK guys. The American show is certainly the elephant in the room so it would be best to simply acknowledge it and play it off as a competition. I know Jeremy would.

[speedjunkie]

That's a great idea haha. I have a feeling Jeremy WILL lol.

[Justin]

Seems like a good opportunity to make bad teeth jokes.

[Huzer]

I didn't know you had to watch it on your computer haha. It's on right now on channel 109 on Comcast haha.

Well, to be fair, I never really looked too hard for it. I only mentioned watching on a computer because it seemed the episodes were posted online before they aired on TV.

[erod550]

Just watched it on Streetfire (thanks Chris). It wasn't bad I thought. Just like any other car show some of their comparisons were pretty lame, like the standing mile thing and how big of a deal they made out of going a couple mph faster. The lap times tell a much better story of which car is actually faster regardless of straight line acceleration and who has the most balls to keep accelerating before you have to brake. Tanner does seem like kind of a douche but I can't say I hated him. Never seen him in anything else though. I'll probably watch again.

[Operator]

Just realized, they had a Corba chasing a Viper.......... Aren't they one in the same (the reptiles, not the machines).

[Operator]

Just finished watching it. All in all, not bad. If anything, for some reason I felt awkward, knowing they were mimicking TGUK. But in all honesty, there are tons of shows/movies the US has converted from England so it's really nothing new.

[PXRdriFT]

I just finished it. I thought it was ok. I'm not going to take it off auto-record.

[MazdaTom]

I will say, however, Sunday nights? Opposite Sunday Night Football? I guess they figure car guys don't watch football.

It would be interesting to know of those that have cable/sat (and therefore CAN watch TGUS on a TV) also have a DVR. I mean, who watches football live anymore? I guess those at the game. I just watched Mythbusters last night and that aired on Wednesday. I know when I watch football, I usually start an hour late.

My point is, I don't think scheduling conflicts these days are what they were 10+ years ago. If you don't/can't DVR a show, it'll be available on the network's website usually within hours of the original airing.

But TGUS- yeah, it did kinda suck. I'm going to give them a chance though. I'll keep watching.

[erod550]

I mean, who watches football live anymore? I guess those at the game. I just watched Mythbusters last night and that aired on Wednesday. I know when I watch football, I usually start an hour late.

I have 4 DVRs in the house and I almost never watch anything live, but I can't watch sports taped. It's just not the same to me if I know the outcome has already been decided, even if I don't know what the outcome was. I guess can see starting an hour late and then fast forwarding through commercials and catching up. I do that sometimes with baseball games. But with football I go to my brother-in-law's house and watch 7 games at once in his mancave. Helps with keeping track of your fantasy players.

[chickenwafer]

You know, I watched the entire episode in On-Demand and it was pretty good. Like others have said, not as "polished" as Top Gear UK, but not terrible. IMHO, compared to the other car shows that are currently running like Muscle Car, HorsepowerTV, Trucks!, and the like, it's MUCH better (although the shows Rides on HD Theatre is pretty sweet).

That being said, I still hate Tanner