Whoever told Evans that those boots were a good idea though wants a talking to.

/stares at Flashy.

Drac, I’m currently wearing a pair of these;

Admit it, you’re hot for me right now. 🙂

(They’re effing awful to look at aren’t they? Hideous, in fact. Spend lots of time running up and down the tracks after Little Miss CFH and these replaced another older pair of Brooks. Fit my running, my thanks to the nice people at Sole Obsession in Salisbury.)

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv-34w8kGPM[/video]

I just turned it off after 3 mins or so!

It’s trying to be like the old topgear, surely it should’ve tried to reinvent itself.
Even chris evans is trying to use language and style of jeremy clarkson.

I’d think I’d rather pay to watch jeremy’s new programme in all honesty.

apart from shouty Evans trying move friday night to Sunday it wasn’t too bad, though I will miss the casual racism, paunch fat git hiding baggy shirts, leather and denim.

I just turned it off after 3 mins or so!

Did I get too much for you?

well sorry to upset the apple cart but tonight’s show was way better than most of the last series of top gear which was getting oh so boring and way too predictable, the banter in the studio of old was cringeworthy at best.

I enjoyed it, the whole Blackpool part was a bit weak but I enjoyed the rest of it, not bad for a first go.

Those of you who turned off after only a few minutes, did you really though? And if so, did you really turn it on to see what it was like, or just to trash it? You must have shorter attention spans than my kids.

It wasn’t too bad. The presenters clearly need time to bed in but on the whole I thought it was a decent enough start. The follow up program on BBC3 Extra Gear is actually very good and in some ways it would make sense for some of that footage to be shoe horned into the main show.

I honestly can’t say I miss Clarkson, his beer gut or his tired cliched ideas.

Big Dave – Member

I honestly can’t say I miss Clarkson, his beer gut or his tired cliched ideas.
I do agree, and I think it’s why there’s more dissapointment with this than there should be, it’s a programme that’s been ripe for a rethink for a while, which clearly this wasn’t.

As I said earlier though, hopefully this develops over the next few eps.

Why did they need to turn over the left overs of the British reliant? It wasn’t like it was in the way. Am I just being over picky?

Watching it now on catchup. First impressions are that they have played it safe, too safe. They are still crashing into eachother FFS.

I rather hoped for a bit of a shake up but they have Chris Evans doing Clarkson impressions and Matt le Blurgh with less on screen charisma than James May. If you watch carefully you can see the splinters coming off him.

It was getting repetative and predictable before the punch up. A couple of new faces and a water splash bring F all to the table.

The only good thing is no Hammond. But at best thats like a cancer patient being told they dont have AIDS.

I quite liked le blanc.

However I’m so disappointed that with all Evans’ talk of 11 months of creativity so little was change. The old format has almost entirely stayed. Depressing.

What will be interesting will be what the original trio do for a format – if we effectively end up with the same show twice. It will be depressing if the originals are more capable of reinvention than a brand new team were.

Yes, yes I like the new series.

I wuz entertained innit.

There wasn’t anything new but it wasn’t as disastrous as it could have been. Some great cars, the presenters just need a bit more time together to get the rapport with each other.

I thought it got better as it went on to be honest. I will probably watch the series and see how it goes.

The Nomad bit was superb… I too want one.

I’m really disappointed that it was exactly the same as the old top gear. I was bored of the last format and was hoping for a change but all that changed is the presenters. Evans was awful. Desperately trying to be clarkson but just came across as shouty and annoying. I warmed a little to Leblanc as the show went on. It does make easy Sunday night watching but I won’t go out my way to watch it if I’m doing something else.

Sabine should have her own show

The woman is so honest it’s hilarious

Well the little golf course that used to run between the runways at Dunsfold must definitely be gone now with the rally cross thing going on.

I liked the Top Gear bit, Sabine’s comments were quite funny. I liked the Nomad bit too, but mainly because the car is just mental. The rest of it seemed a bit like the Chris Evans show with a helper.

Just watched Extra Gear to see what one of the presenters was like as I have a loose connection to one of them. Was ok, but as I’m not actually too bothered about cars this will probably be a bit geeky in future episodes.

The longer it became apparent that this was just a rehash of the old format, the more it felt like it needed a third presenter.

The U.K. V USA thing was completely irrelevant – which to be fair, nearly all the old TG content was irrelevant – but somehow they just got this one completely wrong.

Agreed, Evans was ittitaring throughout. He needs his love of cars to come through rather than just ‘zany ideas’.

The whole show has been crying out for reinvention for years, all they’ve done so far is the worst of the old bits.
Still, fingers crossed for improvement over the coming episodes. LeBlanc shows promise as he warms to it.

James May said, quite correctly, on The Reassembler that ‘the adjustable spanner is the tool of the charlatan’ and that sums up for me why he is irreplaceable. Justify your wages by showing greater imagination in changing the format and for heaven’s sake get the volume levels correct.

You’re right.
And bizzarly The Reassmebler was more cutting edge and creative than this entire episode of TG.

*puts adjustable spanner, duct tape and selection of hammers away*

I didn’t mind the show. What worked for Clarkson et al was very specific though. It was a little tired and I wish they’d got a little more car-ey which it sounds like they are with their Grand Tour.

I’ll probably keep watching but with a download and see when I get around to it attitude as opposed to my 4am* alarm on Monday mornings to download and watch TG before work.

*the sacrifices ex-pats make!

So not managed to watch it yet but from what I’ve read here

Houns – Member
It’ll be good
It’ll be shit
It’s not proper top gear
Clarkson is a nob
Clarkson is god
Evans is a nob
Evans is good
Hitler
Racist
Bike helmets
Ooh Sabine
Why won’t someone think of the children

Houns just about nailed the review summary?

For me Clarkson was terrible in the studio, his interviews cringewirthy. Evans better at that bit already. Evans cannot talk about cars like Clarkson, he cant even deliver the top gear standard line “if you’re looking at this massive spoiler and thinking this car is a handful (pause, prepare lower voice) well you’d be right!”

LeBlanc is brill already.

I preferred Top Gear Extra on iplayer, better presenters, less woody.

Ditch Top Gear, keep Top Gear Extra 🙂

I didn’t manage to see all of it, but I will watch it again as it needs time to settle in.
Remember when the New Top Gear first came back the had Jason Dawe with Clarkson and Hammond, he was replaced by James Maywho was the ‘school boy voice of reason’ of the trio.
I think he’s the hardest one of the three to replace?
And as others have said, why oh why does Chris Evans have to shout?

I used to watch TG even though I have little interest in cars other than as bike transporters.

But the thought of sitting down and watching Evans was too repellent.

Looks like I didn’t miss much.

Exactly my feelings epicyclo, Was entertaining before, but we’ve reached peak Evans a while back.

I was expecting something different entirely to what we got. Very much a continuation of the old one which I’d got pretty tired of.

Glad for the change in presenters though so I’ll give it time.

One word: dire.

The best bit was this comment up there ^

“The only good thing is no Hammond. But at best thats like a cancer patient being told they dont have AIDS”- very good, yes very strong etc (W1A)

Really was Awful. Cannot stand Chris Evans

I love Chris Evans but that was dire. The show was crying out for a reboot and they changed nothing.

What pondo said ^^

I shal tune in next week to see if first show nerves are vanished, but I don’t wish the see Evans in a silly hat as an attempt to amuse the crowd in a faux Clarkson manner. He’s screwed the Beeb there TBH.

Just watched the top gear extra show and thought it was far better than the main bbc2 effort.
I’m no Chris Evans hater but he was annoying and contrived. Matt was actually pretty good and better to watch than expected.

Early days but I can see them getting a spanking online once the show airs today in the US.

I liked it and more importantly my nine year old liked it. TG was always aimed at nine year old humour so they will do fine.

Very strong confident start I thought

Enjoyed it, but do think they could have tried harder with the format ‘changes’. Whispers are that the second show is better.

I really like Evans as a presenter so can cope with the shouting. LeBlanc was good. He may well be just acting, but the dry, self-deprecating persona he is developing these days is easy to warm to.

I too want a Nomad…

Also interesting that half of the few comments in this thread about Schmidt were purely about her appearance. STW demographic full effect.

peak Evans a while back

Circa the Big Breakfast IMHO!

I thought it was pretty good for a first show.

The presenters are gonna take a while to settle in and find their feet – some on here are very quick to judge.

Regarding the scripted format – it’s always been scripted and the last few series before it got axed were pretty painful with the same formulaic stuff, tittering jokes about willies, crotch fizzing and ‘the gays’…