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Nowadays although cars feature in the programme it's more an entertainment show.
Just don't take it too seriously!
Exactly!
The program (or programme, if you wish) is totally scripted, and although there are probably some occasional comic situations that take place by chance, almost everything is scripted-out in advance with almost all of the "chance occurrences" not actually taking place by chance.
They all have their roles to play, whether their personas really match the onscreen version or not.
James May has to be the stodgy, old-fashioned "Captain Slow", even if this is not necessarily reality.
Richard Hammond has to be the slightly nutty country boy with impractical ideas.
And, of course, Jeremy Clarkson has to be the wise-talking male fascist, even if he might actually be a hen-pecked slave of his wife. (I suspect however, that he really is as obnoxious as he appears on the show.)
And, in case you never noticed it, whenever a British car is put up against makes from other countries, in almost every case the UK marque is declared to be the best--whether this conforms to reality or not.
I find it to be highly entertaining, but everything that you see should be assumed to be scripted in advance until proven to be otherwise.
P.S.--I did get to see two recent episodes of the US version in the past few weeks. Although it is still a far cry from the UK version, I have to say that the US version has improved markedly. All 3 of the US presenters appear to have developed a better style of delivery, and to have become a bit more likeable. It is especially good that Adam Ferrera (sp?) has decided to stop using his previous Brooklyn-style "You toucha' my car, I breaka' you face" persona.
Last edited by Retriever; 02-24-2012 at 08:17 AM..
Well, if they didn't make it entertaining (scripted or not), it'd be quite dry if all they do is review cars like a Car and Driver article. I saw the episode where they drove from San Francisco to Bonneville and they admitted (especially Clarkson) to FINALLY loving the US cars they drove: Cadillac CTS-V, Corvette ZR1, and Dodge Challenger SRT8.
They got busted by the Reno police for revving their engines to set off car alarms and burning rubber. LoL
They got busted by the Reno police for revving their engines to set off car alarms and burning rubber. LoL
...and since event that made it into the episode after editing, you can be sure that their violations were intentional. They were probably cautioned about high revs and burning rubber, and then set out to do this to an extreme when a police officer AND a camera were near.
Reportedly, Top Gear has the largest production budget per episode of any TV series, so I am sure that they can add a few hundred $$ in bail and fines just to make for more entertaining TV.
As I said, almost everything on this show is scripted, similarly to "professional wrestling". If you believe that everything you see is random or accidental, you would be wrong in almost every case.
I actually like both versions, although I wish the US one would not copy *everything*. I don't really care for their version of the "star in a reasonably priced car."
2/3 of the top gear us hosts don't seem like car guys, especially ferrara. can you picture him reviewing an exotic sports car? maybe he has but the show hasn't been able to keep my attention long enough to find out. even if he did, it wouldn't sound like he knew what he was talking about. the UK hosts all come off as knowledgeable car guys.
the other problem I have with the hosts is their not interesting or funny. even if they had good chemistry I wouldn't care because their not interesting people.
i guess if there wasn't a TGUK, TGUS wouldn't be THAT bad. But, when you have a much better alternative, why bother?
2/3 of the top gear us hosts don't seem like car guys, especially ferrara. can you picture him reviewing an exotic sports car? maybe he has but the show hasn't been able to keep my attention long enough to find out. even if he did, it wouldn't sound like he knew what he was talking about. the UK hosts all come off as knowledgeable car guys.
the other problem I have with the hosts is their not interesting or funny. even if they had good chemistry I wouldn't care because their not interesting people.
i guess if there wasn't a TGUK, TGUS wouldn't be THAT bad. But, when you have a much better alternative, why bother?
I agree. The TGUS guys just aren't all that witty and I don't believe they know half as much about cars and driving as the TGUK guys (even though those guys play it down).
I just watched their homemade RV episode and that was funny as heck -- even my teenage kids were rofl.
i caught the ariel atom part of last night's episode. adam ferrara didn't even know what it was. he obviously has never seen much of TGUK.
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