# Top Gear - Bad news, it's official that Discovery is fully Americanizing the show



## brkf (May 26, 2003)

http://www.topgear.com/content/features/stories/2006/01/stories/08/1.html



> The Top Gear telly programme has quietly become a global phenomenon. Recent figures suggested an extraordinary viewership, something in the region of one billion people across the globe.
> 
> This explains why Jeremy gets mobbed on the streets of Dubai, why Richard Hammond is swooned over by housewives in Auckland and why James May will shortly appear on a series of commemorative stamps in Luxembourg. Probably.
> 
> ...


Hopefully, nice folks will continue to make AVIs of the _real_ Top Gear.


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## James (Jun 30, 2004)

The presenters WERE the show.


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## LA525iT (Oct 27, 2003)

Plus, I like hearing about cars that I cant buy here.


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## bmw325 (Dec 19, 2001)

Yeah-- this is totally assinine and stupid. I really don't understand the relunctance of Discovery to just show the original version in the US. I mean, its shown EVERYWHERE else in the freakin' world. Jeez... I guess it'll just have to be BitTorrent for me from now on.


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## Rich_Jenkins (Jul 12, 2003)

robg said:


> Yeah-- this is totally assinine and stupid. I really don't understand the relunctance of Discovery to just show the original version in the US. I mean, its shown EVERYWHERE else in the freakin' world. Jeez... I guess it'll just have to be BitTorrent for me from now on.


Jeremy Clarkson *is* a moron, but in this case :stupid: too.


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## hawk2100n (Sep 19, 2005)

If Discovery does the same thing that they did to the old ones, edit out half of the show, and commercials every 3 minutes (I have TiVo, and the commercials were still annoying) , I will stick to google video for my Top Gear fix. At least they will keep the power laps. It is a great way to rate performance cars.


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## bmw325 (Dec 19, 2001)

hawk2100n said:


> If Discovery does the same thing that they did to the old ones, edit out half of the show, and commercials every 3 minutes (I have TiVo, and the commercials were still annoying) , I will stick to google video for my Top Gear fix.


Well, apparently its not even that anymore. Its going to be a completley different show, shot in the US, with differnet presenters. The only thing it has in common w/ the BBC version is the name.


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## James (Jun 30, 2004)

I'm willing to give the new show a chance. The presenters might be good, it could happen, but it'll never replace the real Top Gear.


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## WAM (Jan 30, 2002)

Hmm... lets see what it turns out like.

Personally, I loved the 'races', hot car versus train, etc. The sequences of Jeremy's car zooming down the autoroutes were brilliant.


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## wwb4 (Dec 29, 2005)

"Top Gear" can never truly be replicated here in the states. I agree the "European Cars"(that we can't get here in the states), and hosts are what truly make the show.


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## brkf (May 26, 2003)

James said:


> I'm willing to give the new show a chance. The presenters might be good, it could happen, but it'll never replace the real Top Gear.


I think it's going to be dumbed down considerably. Top Gear in the UK seems to be for educated, witty people who happen to like cars. Most US cars shows (American Chopper, motorweek, monster garage, rides, pimp my ride) are either milquetoast or insipid soap operas.

Clarkson, agree with him or not, is really funny. He's not an ignorant hot-rod racer or some dumb-ass, bald simian wastoid (take a bow Jesse). He's a guy with a brain and he has opinions that go beyond grunting and waving a flag.

Call me silly but I like it when Clarkson takes potshots americans and germans.


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## Mr. E (Dec 19, 2001)

If the programmers at Discovery channel were smart, they'd show *both* versions: Top Gear USA for the NASCAR crowd (at least, that's what I'm reading between the lines), and the one and only original Top Gear for us Anglophiles to drool over the TVRs, Nobles, etc.

One potentially redeeming feature of a Top Gear USA would be if it where shot in high definition and shown on the Discovery HD Theater channel. :thumbup:


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## wwb4 (Dec 29, 2005)

Mr. E said:


> *............the NASCAR crowd*


:lmao: .......great sounds to me like it's gonna be nothing but trucks.....Ford...Chevy....and Dodge.


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## ___lk___ (Dec 21, 2001)

i'd be shocked if the american version is nearly as good. too many lawyers, too much corporate greed. :tsk:

when i see a rooster taking a crap on the american show, i'll know it has the same ballsy attitude of the original. 

then again, we stole "survivor", didn't we...?


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## HW (Dec 24, 2001)

___lk___ said:


> i'd be shocked if the american version is nearly as good. too many lawyers, too much corporate greed. :tsk:
> 
> when i see a rooster taking a crap on the american show, i'll know it has the same ballsy attitude of the original.
> 
> then again, we stole "survivor", didn't we...?


"american" idol, "millionaire", .... the list goes on.


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## cwsqbm (Aug 4, 2004)

James said:


> The presenters WERE the show.


What's next? An Americanized Monty Python? Stupid Discovery Channel.


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## jrp (Nov 11, 2004)

blueguydotcom said:


> I think it's going to be dumbed down considerably. Top Gear in the UK seems to be for educated, witty people who happen to like cars. Most US cars shows (American Chopper, motorweek, monster garage, rides, pimp my ride) are either milquetoast or insipid soap operas.
> 
> Clarkson, agree with him or not, is really funny. He's not an ignorant hot-rod racer or some dumb-ass, bald simian wastoid (take a bow Jesse). He's a guy with a brain and he has opinions that go beyond grunting and waving a flag.
> 
> Call me silly but I like it when Clarkson takes potshots americans and germans.


:stupid: Well put.


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## wwb4 (Dec 29, 2005)

I think the consensus is that it won't have the same "feeling" as the original Top Gear, nor the appeal. :thumbdwn:


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## bmw325 (Dec 19, 2001)

Doesn't Discovery own BBC-America? Wouldn't it make sense to alteast show the original on that channel?

EDIT: Just found this-- please go here and sumbit your request for Top Gear!!

http://www.bbcamerica.com/about/contactus_suggestion.jsp


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## jrp (Nov 11, 2004)

wwb4 said:


> I think the consensus is that it won't have the same "feeling" as the original Top Gear, nor the appeal. :thumbdwn:


Exactly. They'll soon have Dog, The Bounty Hunter testing SUV's and Rachael Ray testing minivans.


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## WileECoyote (May 7, 2003)

cwsqbm said:


> What's next? An Americanized Monty Python? Stupid Discovery Channel.


There have been similar efforts for that show, but a lot of failures of similar carry-overs, like two failed attempts at Fawlty Towers, one for Coupling, and the like. All in the Family, Sanford and Son, The officeand so on, were imports that have done well.

It's really hit or miss with these things.

I'm willing to give the new series a chance, just so long as I can catch the original on BitTorrent.

I'm still cursing Speed for dropping WRC coverage, and not keeping up with new episodes of Fifth Gear. I do prefer Tiff to Jeremy, but that's because you know he's committed to giving things a fair shake before pronouncing a verdict.


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## James (Jun 30, 2004)

WileECoyote said:


> I'm still cursing Speed for dropping WRC coverage,


They really should rename that channel NASCAR Nation . They used to have all sorts of cool stuff on there. Now...not so much.


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## WAM (Jan 30, 2002)

WileECoyote said:


> I do prefer Tiff to Jeremy, but that's because you know he's committed to giving things a fair shake before pronouncing a verdict.


Reminds me of an old episode of Top Gear. I think it was 1996, Vauxhall (the brit arm of GM) introduced the Vauxhall/Opel Vectra. Jeremy's review of the car took place with him standing beside the car. He refused to drive it and just proceeded to list all the things that made it a really crap car. It was brilliant, I think it took the marketing folks about a year to live that down.


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## bmw325 (Dec 19, 2001)

WAM said:


> Reminds me of an old episode of Top Gear. I think it was 1996, Vauxhall (the brit arm of GM) introduced the Vauxhall/Opel Vectra. Jeremy's review of the car took place with him standing beside the car. He refused to drive it and just proceeded to list all the things that made it a really crap car. It was brilliant, I think it took the marketing folks about a year to live that down.


:rofl: i'd love to see that episode. You gotta love Clarkson.


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## WileECoyote (May 7, 2003)

robg said:


> :rofl: i'd love to see that episode. You gotta love Clarkson.


A-torrenting I will go. I've seen old episodes online, and if I find it, I'll let you know.

I can understand it to a point. Yeah, generally it's pretty funny, but when you've been away from something long enough, you should take an honest look again. I find it highly amusing that Jeremy wrote up a long diatribe online about how he wanted to give back his GT40, but in the show, he chose to drive it on that trip from paris to the track.

Sometimes he comes off as a crochety old wanker. Other times, he's funny beyond belief. Jeremy getting schooled by Sabine on the 'Ring put it all into perspective, for me.


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## bmw325 (Dec 19, 2001)

WileECoyote said:


> A-torrenting I will go. I've seen old episodes online, and if I find it, I'll let you know.
> 
> I can understand it to a point. Yeah, generally it's pretty funny, but when you've been away from something long enough, you should take an honest look again. I find it highly amusing that Jeremy wrote up a long diatribe online about how he wanted to give back his GT40, but in the show, he chose to drive it on that trip from paris to the track.
> 
> Sometimes he comes off as a crochety old wanker. Other times, he's funny beyond belief. Jeremy getting schooled by Sabine on the 'Ring put it all into perspective, for me.


I almost always find him funny-- and there's always atleast a bit of truth in what he says. In fact, I almost always laugh a little (or a lot) when he starts talking. And, sometimes even his crotchety off-the-cuff comments are more insightful than all the articles in American carmags put together. He even admitted in one episode that he's very inconsistent and changes his mind all the time. I view him partly as an automotive journalist, but more as an "automotive comedian".


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## e60lover (Dec 28, 2005)

The accent also makes the show aswell  No accent in the american version. lol.


I will always miss the original Top Gear!!!! :thumbdwn:


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