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Fifth Gear and other shows

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AMGfan

· AMGfan
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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
Anybody watching...I download off finalgear.com all the Top Gear and Fifth Gear episodes from there.

I have really grown to really like Fifth Gear. It doesn't try to out duel Top Gear and I like that...I like the presenters (Vicki gets me laughing at her facial expressions though) and Tiff and Jason are great together on the shoot-outs (not sure of status of Plato though since I haven't seen him yet this season - season 20). I especially like the group review of a car portion of the show.

I stopped watching Top Gear US...really tough to watch...the lack of a driver with any skill other than Tanner Foust is annoying to me for some reason. The Car Show is tolerable except for Corolla's opening schtick and the lack of any real drivers on there...I thought that would it would be better.

I actually watched the remaining Top Gear Australia episodes...so so...better than Top Gear US but that isn't saying much. I just wish both TG's would stop trying to match each stunt done on TGUK...they are begging for unfair comparisons then.

The car show that I actually liked and produced here was Supercar Showdown which had Tanner Foust as a presenter...it isn't in production anymore but I liked the episodes and showed some driving. If they could repackage that show and add better videography...I think it would go over well. Maybe make it a monthly show...

Well...I guess I hope Top Gear UK and Fifth Gear never goes out of production or I will have to live through the wild ride that is called Motorweek.
 
mcduck

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#2 ·
Top Gear UK and Fifth Gear are definitely the best car programs by far. I gave The Car Show a shot and like it to a degree. It's good for an American car show, but definitely not nearly the level of the big two. The US version of Top Gear is one of the worst car show's ever.
 
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T

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#6 ·
AMGfan said:
I am sure TGUK had same issues with chemistry at the start...but given the ADD attention span in the US audience and the networks frugality, I doubt that TG US has long to live without immediate changes.
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I agree the hosts need time to get comfortable with each other, and TGUK has been on for something like 18 years. I watched 2-3 episodes of TGUS but it was almost painful to watch. Most car shows including the ones on Spike on Saturday mornings are filled with lame jokes and skits that 5 year old kids would find immature, TGUS is no different.
 
mcduck

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#7 · (Edited by Moderator)
AMGfan said:
I am sure TGUK had same issues with chemistry at the start...but given the ADD attention span in the US audience and the networks frugality, I doubt that TG US has long to live without immediate changes.
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But that's the point... the Top Gear franchise has already gone through a developent period and have grown into a worldwide sensation. It should not be hard to take that experience and auto enthusiast entertainment knowledge to create a spin-off show in the US. Yet they somehow completely screwed it up. Top Gear US does not get the same time to work through issues as it is modeling on existing, very successful formula. An episode or two, I get... but into to two seasons it should not be the major sucktastic show it is. Hell, the Car Show got it together quickly and, in true learning fashion, already updated their format to be more car focused and less kitchy (cut show to 30mins and booted Jon Salley off the show). That happened mid-first season.

I think TG US would have probably been more tolerated and less criticized if it had not been a TG branded show. But it is and now they have to face the fact that most people hate it because it is so massively inferior to its pregenitor.
 
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AMGfan

· AMGfan
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Discussion Starter · #8 · (Edited by Moderator)
I'd be ok with a lineup change AND more cars...for a car show TGUS is lacking in that department. I like the stunts on TGUK because of the chemistry and persona of the presenters...TGUS presenters just make the stunts more tedious.

Also the producers of TGUS must think the US audience has the sophistication of turd. I feel stupid just watching it...
 
T

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#9 ·
Top gear USA is bad. Tanner is fine, but they should have gotten Jay Leno and someone else...maybe Adam Carrera?
That would be a kicakss combo.

Also check out The Car Show.

I enjoyed it alot.
The only problem is that it started out an hour show, but mid season they cut it to 30 mins. Not sure if theyll do a second season. You can find the car show on a torrent site. I think its what USA top gear should have been.
But yeah, usa top gear is pretty bad. Keep tanner tho.
 
mcduck

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#10 ·
trancemynd said:
Top gear USA is bad. Tanner is fine, but they should have gotten Jay Leno and someone else...maybe Adam Carrera?
That would be a kicakss combo.

Also check out The Car Show.

I enjoyed it alot.
The only problem is that it started out an hour show, but mid season they cut it to 30 mins. Not sure if theyll do a second season. You can find the car show on a torrent site. I think its what USA top gear should have been.
But yeah, usa top gear is pretty bad. Keep tanner tho.
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The claim was the cut to 30 mins eliminated fluff segments and focused the car more directly on car stuff. I hope that's true. The other possibility was poor viewership and that cut is prelude to cancelation. after the first episode or two, I started to like The Car Show more. It'll probably never be as good as TG UK or Fifth Gear, but it is about the best attempt I've seen at a similar US-based show of this sort.
 
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pdisme

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#11 ·
I really enjoy Fifth Gear. Tiff has decades of actual race experience and, since I race, I really enjoy seeing how he handles a car and what his thoughts are. Top Gear, with the exception of Stig, feels like mostly drifting, drag racing and comedy and I come away feeling like I just wasted an hour of my time. I will make one exception; I really enjoy the UK's stars in a reasonably priced car segment. I get a kick out of them putting novices behind the wheel of the same car and having them compete for time; some of the stars do well and some are hilariously bad.
 
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