With the jury still out, SBS has just flicked the switch on Top Gear Australia - Episode 5. Tonight, the boys give the Audi R8 a run for its money. Charlie says “it looks like a nuclear powered supercar but it’s really practical”. The script writers clearly have a little work to do, as I’m not sure anyone knows what a nuclear powered supercar looks like. Aircraft carrier, yes, supercar no… they haven’t built one yet.
This week’s challenge sounds familiar, with the Top Gear boys entering Hamilton Island’s prestigious Audi Race Week. Their entry is an Audi that they have set about converting into a ‘Nauticar’ - they’ve called it the Audi H2O. Looking eerily like a remake of Clarkson’s channel crossing in an outboard motor equipped HiLux, will it be a winner, or an also ran?
It’s only recently made the headlines in Melbourne, and tonight is the night we get to watch Warren and Steve take a tractor to the streets of Toorak in Melbourne, in the ultimate parody of the ‘Toorak Tractor’.
Steve gets behind the wheel of the BMW 135 Coupé and Shannon Noll is the “Celebrity in a Bog Standard Car.”
When the dust settles, drop in and let us know what you think.
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I think after a rocky start they are onto something good here. The folks at SBS have clearly been out reading sites like this and making changes. Even Charlie is becoming easier to watch, less chest puffing and arm waving.
I’ve heard a rumour that the show is in a little bit of strife with certain ‘groups’ and their tyre frying antics are being investigated to determine their suitability for Australian TV. Now that would be a real shame.
Not sure what the audi HO2 scene was meant to achieve - not a patch on Clarkson crossing the channel.
Backing the tractor into the Saab was obviously staged, but the presenters are pulling the gags off a bit better than before.
A mate of mine was in the studio audience and aside from standing in the one spot for 3 hours he said the presenters are working reasonably well together, a few stuff ups but they are doing ok.
Only episode 5. I think SBS will do okay if they can get the ratings up. Currently it is rating rather poorly by all accounts.
Yeah, the R8 review was brilliant. The H2O was, indeed, a little pointless and lacked what TGUK had with their two attempts at an amphibious car.
I heard that apparently the funding for TG Aus would have to come from Freehand Productions because SBS can’t afford to do a second series, yet they announced that they would do one. Seems like that may affect the shows future. Hopefully thos people you mentioned, davidm, aren’t for real.
I have worked it out.
The show isn’t getting any better, our expectations have been lowered by 5 weeks of crap so the show SEEMS to be better. I think this will become painfully obvious when the new season of the UK show returns.
The big problem with the H2O was that the brits had already done it. And it wasn’t a spectacular disaster.
However am I the only one that finds it coincidental that they have an Audi carboat at Audi race day and there just happens to be an Audi R8? How much do you think they payed for that?
The rest of the episode was quite decient though. The toorak tractor in particular is something uniquely Australian and more on the money. Even if the Saab was probably staged.
Their 4WD trip next episode showes promice and I can’t help but feel that they’re 9/10ths of the way to making it into something special. Let’s hope they’re at least given a decient chance to get the formula right before being canned.
On another note: Shannon Nowle (or however you spell his name) was particularly impressive and could work as a presenter. He’s a proppor car nut, knows what he’s on about and if that particularly impressive lap’s anything to go by boy can he drive.
I don’t even try to remember any of the host name but only referring to them as the Clarkson, Hamster and James May Oz version. I think the leading host has more work to do I watched the show last night and his opening comments for the stig is terrible I am even thinking that the producers let them loose on their own script. “His DNA is maped like mt.panorama?” What an idiotic way to combine Stig and OZ. Why didn’t he just say that the stig sleeps walks in h
R8 - Good
H2O Audi - Might have been good if it hadn’t already been done.
135 - Good
Star - Good
Toorak tractor - OK
News - OK
What were they thinking - Needs work
Camera work on the track - much better.
It’s starting to come together and it is looking a lot more natural. Would like to see a cross to TGUK for a UK v Oz challenge. (Don’t know what but it would be good to see all the fellas go head to head in some kind of race)
Yeah it’s getting SLIGHTLY better but Charlie is still a knob of a presenter. A true indicator on how the the show is progressing is my wife - she loves TGUK, in fact it is one of her favorite shows. However, she flat out refuses to watch the Aussie version as she says all the presenters are cringe worthy and unwatchable. She won’t even let me watch it live now - i have to record it and watch it later. You know what I have to watch instead - Gilmore Girls.
I rest my case……….
Hell…life in your house is tough! Mind you, the mum in the Gilmore girls is hot. My girlfriend makes me watch it sometimes… I no complain.
I’m sorry to say but things didn’t improve. I watched episodes one and two then took a break before watching last nights and the presenters are still awkward with each other and a little bit repetitive. Yes charlie, I get it, the R8 is practical, but what else? Oh it’s practical, and? Uh huh, practical… right. While you’re at it surely there are better things to do with it than circle-work? Maybe not.
I do like the show, or more to the point I want to like it, but I just think it’s going to take a smidge longer before it all falls into place.
Sorry but doughnuts on a runway don’t do it for me. There was some neat footage with the boats in the background but by the end of it frankly I had seen enough of the R8 doing circles. The review was good I guess, but not interesting at all.
It seems Cox now has started a new thing - ranting. He’ll get all excited and aggitated about something and keep talking about it while his arms flail about. This is as annoying as it is scripted.
Who the hell writes these scripts anyway!? Pretty dreadful.
What were they thinking - if you put something there, you need to explain why. Saying a Ford Festiva because it’s boring is not reason enough!!
BMW review was fantastic. Best yet. They actually made a point.
I just wish sometimes they would say they didn’t like a car.
Like a lot of us petrol heads … err sorry, motoring enthusiasts, I really want the Aus version of Top Gear to work. But alas it doesn’t …. well it doesn’t yet.
I rarely watch TV, but if I do then I want to really enjoy it. And I’m currently not. IMHO the scripts seem to have lost something in the tranlation to Ocker, the hosts are not relaxed and seem to be trying too hard. The result is that the show doesn’t flow with the same panache the UK version has.
I too was ready to wipe it However I recently watched a much earlier version of the UK show (where James May had short, almost neat hair and was wearing a suit no less!!!) and I can see that in it’s earlier days, the UK version was far less polished than the current series.
So I guess I am now left hoping that the Aus version will hit the right formula soon. Soon, before it’s wiped out and becomes a “what were they thinking” exercise of it’s own.
Like most of the close to 1 million viewers who tuned in for the first episode of Top Gear Australia, I really wanted this show to be great and offer an better reason to turn the TV on than all the other crap we’re being peddled. Unfortunately, it isn’t.
None of the shows have been much good to date, but this one was really awful. Teeth grindingly awful.
Charlie Cox looked liked he was having as much fun as a man waiting to be taken to the electric chair. The other two hosts looked like they were just depressed at how bad the whole thing has turned out. But then, who could have fun with that arm-waving pompous git of a “rear admiral” at the helm of the show?
SBS, please don’t axe Top Gear Australia. But PLEASE get rid of that git of a man… at least. Then get some decent writers who understand what actually makes the British version of Top Gear so good. At the moment, it seems nobody has a clue!
You’re right Steane - the wife is REALLY hot!!
Replace Charlie with the Mum from Gilmore Girls.
I suspect that could work and work very well.
i’m a fan of TGUK but after watching the local version last night I’m sorry that I can’t say the same about the locel offering. The presenters don’t seem to have a clue about cars or comedy (sic). The BMW 135i test was the first test on this car that I’ve seen where the tester actually liked the car (incl. Wheels & Motor) and not just the engine. And was the part where the tractor backed over the SAAB staged or not? It certainly looked like it.
PLEASE SBS find better talent for your show; or at least get your guys to watch a couple of episodes of the UK show to see how it’s done.TGUK is much more natural and spontaneous.
Gold!
Replace Charlie with the talking cat from Sabrina
Week 1 - 920,000
Week 2 - 674,000
Week 3 - 668,000
Week 4 - 598,000
Week 5 - 435,000
I think I can see a trend forming here!!
Hmmmm…I wonder what OZ top gear would be like with Doug Mulray (or a Doug Mulray type) as host? Witty, funny and entertaining I think - everything OZ Top Gear is not.
I think they should change the name, 2nd Gear seems more appropriate.
Or even better … Neutral
See, that is why you are the crew chief. You are a deeper thinker than me!
Everyone seems to rate Top Gear UK so highly, but really its scripted and has many uncomfortable moments too, it’s just that now its Australians we raise our standards.
There is improvements to be made yes, but come on I’m mostly enjoying the show a lot.
Come on, fess up, you work for SBS right?
In the words of Jeremy Clarkson “ What a load of rubbish”. Well may not have said that about Top Gear Australia, but let me tell you I watched the first night, the formula was to much like the U.K version and they tried to hard.
The following week I went back to the repeat programs on Foxtel, they were at least entertaining.
Finally my last piece of advice to SBS, run the repeats from the U.K with Jeremy Clarkson, then people will return.
Episode 5 - June 8, 2009 was a disgraceful display of aggressive, gratuitous violence. Grown men using increasingly larger guns to shoot vehicles and their ‘dummy’ occupants is not entertaining. Their hoon-like cheering and laughing at the results were sickening. I will never watch this program again.