Top Gear USA is official

[canlefty]

Originally Posted by lamini

what those guys do cannot be duplicated.

Yep, that's all one really needs to say on this topic. You can't beat the original, and you can't duplicate Clarkson.

[AwesomeBMW]

i'm fairly sure what makes the british version so good would never fly here in america. the cock-o-meter episode comes to mind...

[imported_saturn]

Originally Posted by lamini

He was first approached and declined out of respect for the original show. He was quoted as saying that what those guys do cannot be duplicated.

Not exactly. Leno basically said that he liked the idea, but he didn't want to use the same name because it would end up being a bad imitation of it. He was for an American version of a car show in the same style of Top Gear (basically not a car magazine translated to television like Motorweek), but he didn't have the time, didn't want to turn his hobby into his job, and was concerned about sponsors limiting what could be said in the reviews.

I think everyone is just so keen to say that it shouldn't even be attempted because it won't be as good as the original. We're talking about different continents here people and having a car show that isn't just some dude reading a review from a magazine (i.e. - again, Motorweek) is a great thing. They'll review US spec cars and it might even be entertaining too.

I just flat out don't understand why people think it has to be better than some show from a different country reviewing different cars that it won't be competing with AT ALL. Just let it be what it is and maybe it'll be a half decent show. All this vitriol just seems very elitist and nonsensical to me.

[lamini]

i stand corrected....though my comments werer right along those lines.
cheers,

[Rye]

I'll give it a try and save judgement until then. We may be used to the BBC version, but who knows, maybe it will turn out to be another great show. Some of the shows that have come from across the pond have been big hits over here; hopefully this will be another one.

Those who think Adam Carolla can't drive or doesn't know that much about cars, he does race vintage Datsun's, so he does know how to drive on a track...or at least know how to take racing lines. His knowledge does go a bit beyond just owning them.

I just wonder how restricted they'll be at telling it how it is considering the network relies on advertising. It'd be hard to see a Ford commercial and in turn have the Top Gear guys do a road challenge using some Ford vehicles.

[plien69]

From http://www.popularmechanics.com/auto.../4270253.html:

• The NBC adaptation will follow the BBC format: guest segment, stunt, test drive and, yes, the Stig (casting for that crucial role is still pending).
• The premiere episode will feature a race from Las Vegas to San Francisco, ending in a “mammoth stunt.” (NBC isn’t insisting on copycat stunts or episodes, a la Season One of The Office.)
• Carolla is pushing for an on-air drive of the just-unveiled BMW M1 Homage concept as soon as it’s available, as well as the Aston Martin DBS (though that would be a reprisal of a Clarkson drive).
• Clarkson and Carolla recently met face-to-face, but Carolla promises to focus more on improv than the heavily-prepared Clarkson.
• Officials from Top Gear in England, who are producing the show, along with “everyone involved,” have assured Carolla that he will be able to speak his mind on any car “without fear of reprisal” from advertisers, which he fully plans to do.

[imported_saturn]

Originally Posted by Phiberglass

Top Gear in the US = FAIL

Your post = FAIL.

[Jack in Jax]

My hunch: 98% of all current USA cable & broadcast viewers don't know a thing about nor watch Top Gear. And putting it on NBC will be placing it - rather prominently - before a very different audience than e.g. if it were on Speed or another, more narrowly defined cable channel. So...that being said, TG/USA both needs to be different from TG/UK and is likely to be different.

However, producers don't decide - ultimately - how insulated a show's content is from its advertisers. Advertisers decide that. Complete freedom from advertising pressure? On a legacy network channel? Puh-leeze...

Jack

[larryn]

A picture is truly worth a thousand turds, I guess. :iono:

[edge350]

Originally Posted by saturn

All this vitriol just seems very elitist and nonsensical to me.

Elitist. :smile:
Nice word. Probably the first time in 20 years that it's been used in a discussion of American television (or its critique thereof).

The vitriol is not really THAT hard to understand. It's a great show. Its fans want it to stand as is, rather than have the brand diluted by a knock off.
The criticism wouldn't be as severe if they called it..."Next Gear" or "American Gear" or...whatever. It's name identifies it with the original show with none of the actual character that makes the original show appealing.

[imported_saturn]

Originally Posted by edge350

Elitist. :smile:
Nice word. Probably the first time in 20 years that it's been used in a discussion of American television (or its critique thereof).

The vitriol is not really THAT hard to understand. It's a great show. Its fans want it to stand as is, rather than have the brand diluted by a knock off.
The criticism wouldn't be as severe if they called it..."Next Gear" or "American Gear" or...whatever. It's name identifies it with the original show with none of the actual character that makes the original show appealing.

Interestingly enough, the show isn't supposedly being called "Top Gear", but rather just "Gear".

And I never said it's hard to understand. I said it was nonsensical. Put in other words, it's nonsense for people to feel this way about a television show. It's definitely not shocking as you see this kind of crap on forums all day. Just mention Apple, iPhone, FireFox, and/or Vista and you'll have a bunch of useless people coming in with their trite one liners that are a product of their insecurity of not fitting in for so long clamoring for a day when they and all like minded nerds can assemble together to fight against anything that resembles the "popular" crowd and exclaim in unison, "Vista FTL!1!!1!". What an utterly depressing existence. But I digress.

This show might turn out to be not worth watching. I have no problem with the people saying "I wish Clarkson would host an American version" because he's proven to be entertaining. But to instantly denounce it as not worth trying as to not pollute the brand present only on another continent is ridiculous.

[edge350]

Originally Posted by saturn

...it's nonsense for people to feel this way...

Possibly the silliest statement to post on a message board.

Originally Posted by saturn

...you see this kind of crap on forums all day...you'll have a bunch of useless people coming in with their trite one liners that are a product of their insecurity of not fitting in for so long clamoring for a day when they and all like minded nerds can assemble together....

If you have such trouble tolerating others' opinions, why subject us to yours? Do you understand that the whole purpose of a message board is for like-minded people to get together and share opinions (and the occasional fact)? Your participation here seems hopelessly at odds with your opinion of people who read/post on boards.

Here's a link that you might benefit from reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll

[imported_saturn]

Originally Posted by edge350

Possibly the silliest statement to post on a message board.



If you have such trouble tolerating others' opinions, why subject us to yours? Do you understand that the whole purpose of a message board is for like-minded people to get together and share opinions (and the occasional fact)? Your participation here seems hopelessly at odds with your opinion of people who read/post on boards.

Here's a link that you might benefit from reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll

How about this. You say the criticism wouldn't be so severe if it didn't share a name. Since it's isn't actually sharing a name then what is your explanation of the criticism? Turns out it's people dismissing something for absolutely no intelligent reason without a coherent explanation. I have no problem with other people's opinions as long as they have some semblance of being informed. Otherwise it's just conformist propaganda.

Clearly we're talking about a television show so the stakes are relatively low. But I fundamentally disagree that the whole purpose of a forum should be confined solely to like-minded people. A forum is a place that should foster discussion and not useless, uninformed statements that merely repeat the status quo. That's incredibly dangerous.

And my continuing participation here is based almost entirely on the fact that most people here are not like some of the people within this thread who are casually dismissing a television show just to seem cool. It just so happens this thread is a hot-spot for many from the wrong crowd.

[Terp1]

Does anyone know when the show will air? I'll hold off on forming an opinion until after I see it.

[edge350]

Originally Posted by saturn

You say the criticism wouldn't be so severe if it didn't share a name. Since it's isn't actually sharing a name then what is your explanation of the criticism? Turns out it's people dismissing something for absolutely no intelligent reason without a coherent explanation.

Okay, so it's only HALF the original name. Still, this is NOT difficult to understand:

Originally Posted by edge350

It's a great show. Its fans want it to stand as is, rather than have the brand diluted by a knock off....It's name identifies it with the original show with none of the actual character that makes the original show appealing.

That's a pretty coherent explanation and I think people have articulated their objection to the show clearly throughout this thread. Adam Carolla has a large enough body of work that people can have a presumptive opinion of the show before it airs. I've even seen enough of Tanner Faust to know that I don't like him. You only claim it's incoherent because you don't agree.

Originally Posted by saturn

But I fundamentally disagree that the whole purpose of a forum should be confined solely to like-minded people.

We are like-minded people. We all have an interest in the 1Series. That's the reason we return to this board. Like-minded does NOT equal clones. Like-minded simply means we share a common interest, not common opinions.

Originally Posted by saturn

A forum is a place that should foster discussion and not useless, uninformed statements that merely repeat the status quo.

Discuss, but do it with courtesy. Referring to a "bunch of useless people" as "like-minded nerds" doesn't "foster" an environment for open-minded discussion. That's something Adam Carolla would do. YOU can do better. Unless you're Adam Carolla, in which case, let me be the first to say: YOU SIR, ARE A TOOL. And if you're not Adam Carolla, I'll stop short of calling you a tool, but will admit that I have my suspicions.

Originally Posted by saturn

It just so happens this thread is a hot-spot for many from the wrong crowd.

The right crowd is out there, ADAM, just waiting for you. Go find it.

[edge350]

Here's a small glimpse of what's in store.
I love the title of this: "Carolla - at his best":

"I've had an assful of everybody". Oh yeah, baby, bring it ON!!

More classic Carolla. This time, naked with nunchucks:

Sadly, we'll never see Jeremy Clarkson naked with his genitals straddling the face of a Hitler impersonator.
Britain's loss, those shameless elitists!