genikz

I agree. Adam Carolla is sorely needed.

Ed Hughes

My guess is Faust is doing double duty as the Stig.

Way too scripted, and not very well at that.

I doubt the UK TG will offer any disparaging comments as BBC either owns, licenses or is a partner in the US version.

NJ-GT

Link to the First Episode

http://www.history.com/shows/top-gea...r-cobra-attack

Be your own judge, enjoy.

Rene

The STIG os a perfect role for Foust put him in a helmet & don't allow him to speak. Yes he can drive but he has the personality of a chair. The interview with Buzz Aldrin was painful they also didn't even explain the track & or what the STIG is. I guess they think that all the American viewers have seen the real show.

They should have a disclaimer before the show that its a cheap knockoff like the Rolex you can buy on a Mexican vacation.

A buddy said recently "Tanner Foust puts me to sleep faster than an Ambien with a shot of Patron." I couldn't agree more.

M758

The good parts.

Same storylines
same production videography


The bad
TG USA track is way too bumpy
TG USA hosts are BORNING. Tanner may be able to drive and maybe a "pretty boy", but man he is dull.

The other two guys are... well who are they. Seems like no talent no pernsonality. Maybe they will gel? I will give it a few more chances.

BTW... it was the first TG I fast forward through on DVR.

If Patrick Dempsey were on TG my wife would watch it in hearbeat.

The hard part is we know the show has potential, but good hosts are the key. All these guys are boring with no personality. Let face it Tanner is just not funny.

CCA

Yeah, with all the decent tracks (short ones) available here, was it really necessary to use an airfield like the UK? The cones and plastic jersey barriers looked rather cheesy.

I think a US version could make it, but it will need tweaking and new hosts.

JWERION

I agree with most everyones comments, the show just sucks yet it is a car show that doesn't revolve around NASCAR. I plan to watch it and support it and hope changes are made to make it better (new hosts) hell I will do that job for free. I think my 6' 3 1/2" 265 lb fat *** trying to squeeze into a lambo or Lotus could be very entertaining.
One of the things I like best about the BBC version however is their total honesty about the cars they test, there is no BS pandering to the advertisers and in my opinion this plays a considerable part in their successful formula.

Flying Finn

It sucked.

And I went and watched Top Gear's (the original, UK Top Gear) 1st episode to see how "stiff" that was.

It was stiff alright when compared to today's Top Gear but it was 10 times better than this "Top" gear and not to mention, original.

These three hosts are boring, I really hope they get replaced with personalities but even with that, I'm afraid with US television rules, advertisement etc. it will never be even near the real Top Gear even if they had real personalities as hosts because they can't say what they think, everything has to be PC or someone will get their panties in a bunch.

Potomac-Greg

Agree, although it's "honest" but not necessarily "accurate." They will generally consider anything American to be rubbish, and anything British to be smashing.

docwyte

Well, they do think that TVR's spontaneously combust, so I wouldn't say they think all things british are great. They come down pretty hard on most of the older british leyland made stuff too.

jerome951

I sat down and suffered through the episode last night. Even my wife who somewhat likes TG UK said "this sucks. These guys aren't even remotely funny."

You would think that the producers, who know how TGUK has evolved and what it took to make it successful (particularly the interaction of the hosts) would have spent more time with these 3 before shooting the first episode. Entertainers like Carolla and Leno have the skills of timing and delivery (and voice inflection, too); these 3, not so much...

Since it's a slow time of year for the car enthusiast I'll probably watch another episode. If it were the summer, though, w/ my Tivo full of ALMS, GA, F1, new TGUKs, etc., I wouldn't give this show another thought...

Potomac-Greg

I finally watched, and it's OK. It's a mere shadow of the UKTG, but better than a lot of the dreck out there. The test track has no character and the camera angles were awful.

And who would have guessed that Tony Danza would look so good after all those years? ;-)

Weston

The US version's hosts have no chemistry or wit, and their competitions were lame... The helicopter car chase was downright retarded, and their Lambo drag race is pretty boring when it's just solo runs. And where did they buy their cameras and mounts? Walmart!? I've seen far better image stability from just a cheap Aiptek camera duct-taped to a roll cage.

The shenanigans of 3 crazy Brits is why the UK version is such a hit. As much as it would be nice to have something of our own here, I sure don't see the US trifecta of fail replicating that. I do find it funny that the US Stig is noticeably fatter than the UK Stig though.


That's true of most US TV. Mythbusters couldn't test the security (or lack thereof) of MasterCard and Visa's new RFID cards for the same reason. Even our "news" is advertiser-centric.

Too bad he spent the whole time drifting like a dumbass, standing there awkwardly, making really half-assed analogies, and then crying that he didn't have any tires left.

944CS

If they wanted to make a UK top gear, what they should have done was bring hammond, clarkson, and may over to the US and film the show in the US.

The show might be a breath of fresh air for someone who never saw the UK show, but seriously, what percentage of viewers are watching Top Gear USA who aren't viewers of Top Gear UK?

CCA

FWIW, Clarkson does the same crap, drifting around all the corners. It does "look" cool, but we all know it's the slow way around a track.