The Top Gear Thread [Mixed Reviews]: Matt LeBlanc quits Top Gear

Death's Head wrote:

Ad7 wrote:It could do without the USA V UK nonsense too, nobody cares.

That viper was strawberry floating pornographic

I think they should make more of the UK vs US for the first series, a different challenge each week. Don't get all the Sabine love though, didn't see her adding anything to last night's episode, could have been anyone competent driving that car.

I think it was the little cut to's they did as she was amusing wth her reactions and comments as she was just being her which is a bit funny as aposed to Chris who is a cock.

It looked a bit like Top Gear and sounded a bit like Top Gear. Evans was trying too hard while LeBlanc seemed both stagey and unsure if he should even be there.

It was passable, vaguely familiar, but ultimately merely adequate.

5/10. Needs to be a little less self conscious and stop trying so hard - that kind of thing will get tired very quickly.

Errkal wrote:

Death's Head wrote:

Ad7 wrote:It could do without the USA V UK nonsense too, nobody cares.

That viper was strawberry floating pornographic

I think they should make more of the UK vs US for the first series, a different challenge each week. Don't get all the Sabine love though, didn't see her adding anything to last night's episode, could have been anyone competent driving that car.

I think it was the little cut to's they did as she was amusing wth her reactions and comments as she was just being her which is a bit funny as aposed to Chris who is a cock.

Didn't find her funny at all. Was very little on the show at all that was funny. The Reliant part was pointless. Why drive to Blackpool in Reliants decked out in your country's flag? Even the US section was pointless. A shoot out with 2 cars and then only take one of them round the Top Gear track.

On the plus side though, none of the boring repetitive registration jokes, vandalising parts of James May's car, writing the word "Penis" or making maps in the shape of a penis.

Ratings were surprisingly low considering it was a highly publicised premier.

The relaunch of BBC Two's Top Gear was seen by an average of 4.4 million viewers, overnight figures show.

New host Chris Evans said earlier in the week he would be "disappointed" with anything fewer than five million viewers for the show's first episode.

The final Top Gear featuring former host Jeremy Clarkson attracted 5.3 million viewers last June.

But the new show was still the most watched programme in its 20:00 time slot, attracting 22.8% of the audience.

Its nearest rival was the British Soap Awards on ITV, which were seen by an average of 3.9 million viewers.

Memento Mori wrote:Ratings were surprisingly low considering it was a highly publicised premier.

The relaunch of BBC Two's Top Gear was seen by an average of 4.4 million viewers, overnight figures show.

New host Chris Evans said earlier in the week he would be "disappointed" with anything fewer than five million viewers for the show's first episode.

The final Top Gear featuring former host Jeremy Clarkson attracted 5.3 million viewers last June.

But the new show was still the most watched programme in its 20:00 time slot, attracting 22.8% of the audience.

Its nearest rival was the British Soap Awards on ITV, which were seen by an average of 3.9 million viewers.

It was the most watched show in its time slot. Plus a bank holiday may have meant a lot of the target audience (young men) were out enjoying themselves.

Thought it was perfectly okay. Chris Evans was shouting a lot, which I think he was doing naturally to try and fill the enormous hanger they were filming in. He doesn't appear to have any chemistry with Matt LeBlanc (neither of their faults really) either, so I hope they end up utilising the whole cast of presenters better - especially the younger ones, because they're the ones they should be working on as a long term replacement for the old trio. The highlight for me was Matt, who was surprisingly great during his solo segment.

I think there will be some growing pains, but hopefully it follows the same pattern as The Daily Show did last year. After Jon Stewart left and Trevor Noah started, it was basically the same show but with a new presenter, then over time it become Trevor's show and instead of his impression of Stewart's.

WTF only 2 mins into the repeat and Chris Evans is annoying as strawberry float the jokes about catering forced laughter. "Matt get's chased" the way he said chased was his bad Clarkson impression he just sounded like a prat saying it like that.

Please tell me it's not just the two of them as the main hosts. You need more than that to form some on screen chemistry and camaraderie. Like a lot of BBC shows, feels like a show made by committee.

Matt LeBlanc was much better than Chris Evans, however having just seen Extra Gear I enjoyed that much more as Chris Harris is pretty cool.

bigcheez2k3 wrote:Matt LeBlanc was much better than Chris Evans, however having just seen Extra Gear I enjoyed that much more as Chris Harris is pretty cool.

Just saw it too, thought it was much better than last night, Harris should definitely be the 3rd main host, there's a bit of an honest prick about him which the main show needs.

You certainly feel the show hasn't played its full hand yet, so its hard to judge the new show as a whole quite yet, but certainly as a opening ep, I would compare it to the reveal of the Wii U. After all the speculation, the message was just a bit confusing. What is this show going to be serving us up week on week? Celebrity guest host with Chris? A revolving line-up? Are they introducing people one by one?

I mean Eddie Jordan was not even shown in this episode, isn't that just ultra confusing after all the hype of the new hosts? I feel an opening five mibutes that just set out the stall of the programme and the new line up would really have helped. The whole 'business as usual' opening just didn't stack up.

DML wrote:You certainly feel the show hasn't played its full hand yet, so its hard to judge the new show as a whole quite yet, but certainly as a opening ep, I would compare it to the reveal of the Wii U. After all the speculation, the message was just a bit confusing. What is this show going to be serving us up week on week? Celebrity guest host with Chris? A revolving line-up? Are they introducing people one by one?

I mean Eddie Jordan was not even shown in this episode, isn't that just ultra confusing after all the hype of the new hosts? I feel an opening five mibutes that just set out the stall of the programme and the new line up would really have helped. The whole 'business as usual' opening just didn't stack up.

I think that for these 6 episodes it's going to be Evans and Matt hosting with the rest of the team just doing pre-recorded videos. Hopefully next series they will change that and give Harris a more prominent role and fix any other issues. I feel they have all the right ingredients but it' just needs some fine tuning.

I don't know, if ratings drop to say 3 million or less then I think this iteration will get canned. I think Clarkson, Hammond and May made the right decision as the show needs a major overhaul, probably on the same scale as between old Top Gear and the current show.

captain red dog wrote:I think Clarkson, Hammond and May made the right decision as the show needs a major overhaul, probably on the same scale as between old Top Gear and the current show.

Decision? Clarkson was fired and Hammond and May followed him because there was big money involved

captain red dog wrote:I don't know, if ratings drop to say 3 million or less then I think this iteration will get canned. I think Clarkson, Hammond and May made the right decision as the show needs a major overhaul, probably on the same scale as between old Top Gear and the current show.

This show is never ever ever getting canned for a long, long, long time. They might reboot it again if it goes that badly, but the prospect of Top Gear getting cancelled when it's the BBCs biggest earner in a time of austerity is virtually zero. Which makes this relaunch particularly interesting, because they have to make it work.

Skippy wrote:

captain red dog wrote:I think Clarkson, Hammond and May made the right decision as the show needs a major overhaul, probably on the same scale as between old Top Gear and the current show.

Decision? Clarkson was fired and Hammond and May followed him because there was big money involved

I think Clarkson wanted out, his behaviour for the last year or so of his contract looked like a man trying to get sacked.

When I say I think TG will get canned if ratings drop low enough, what I mean is that it will get put on haitus for a few years until it is politically convenient to temp Clarkson, May and Hammond back.

DML wrote:

captain red dog wrote:I don't know, if ratings drop to say 3 million or less then I think this iteration will get canned. I think Clarkson, Hammond and May made the right decision as the show needs a major overhaul, probably on the same scale as between old Top Gear and the current show.

This show is never ever ever getting canned for a long, long, long time. They might reboot it again if it goes that badly, but the prospect of Top Gear getting cancelled when it's the BBCs biggest earner in a time of austerity is virtually zero. Which makes this relaunch particularly interesting, because they have to make it work.

If the rating drop hugely surly it will quickly become not their biggest earner and so be canned?

Just because it was a big earner doesn't mean they will keep it alive if it is tanking surly ?

The worry has to be that a less-than-successful launch will mean the Beeb keep meddling. And the more they meddle, the less likely it is that the show will find its feet.

I would rather they meddled at this point, they should have taken more time off air and come up with a new format and "rebooted" the show.

Well I wasn't that keen on the first episode, Couldn't warm to Chris, Matt was good but not a presentor however the Camera work wa yet again fantastic.

Seems the writers are still trying to keep to the same format when they should have changed it