Matt LeBlanc announced as Top Gear co-presenter
Discussion
Wacky Racer said:
missingman said:
Good decision IMHO. An even better one would be to drop Evans.
And bring back William Woollard and Chris Goffey...
Some good news,it seems Chris Harris and Sabine Schmidtz have been confirmed as co presenters. Some mention of David Coulthard as an occasional presenter also.
Fl0pp3r said:
Sorry but I'm not having that. I've been of the opinion that Top Gear US is funnier and more entertainig than UK Top Gear for some time now.
Put the american dislikes to one side and watch it again...
(And no, i'm NOT american!!)
I actually agree with this. I thoroughly enjoyed Top Gear USA and thought they were far more natural than the old gits.Put the american dislikes to one side and watch it again...
(And no, i'm NOT american!!)
Edited by Fl0pp3r on Thursday 4th February 18:10
As for Matt, I have nothing against him. I just happen to find Evans the most repulsive personality on TV.
Let's hope they focus on making a show about cars and not about their own egos.
That was the trap that old TG fell into.
Popular, of course, but that's because it was lowest common denominator stuff: stupid antics and conservative 'humour' - and because the general public have little interest in a show about cars.
Ergo, this one will chase ratings - because that's what it'll be judged on - and it'll be fairly bad, probably.
Old TG was good, at first - if you were interested in cars. Latterly, the only thing that got more tedious was the pseudo-liberal Guardianistas frothing about it - find something more important to complain about rather than hounding middle-England's favourites.
That was the trap that old TG fell into.
Popular, of course, but that's because it was lowest common denominator stuff: stupid antics and conservative 'humour' - and because the general public have little interest in a show about cars.
Ergo, this one will chase ratings - because that's what it'll be judged on - and it'll be fairly bad, probably.
Old TG was good, at first - if you were interested in cars. Latterly, the only thing that got more tedious was the pseudo-liberal Guardianistas frothing about it - find something more important to complain about rather than hounding middle-England's favourites.
r11co said:
There's plenty evidence leaking out from production to suggest it has already.
The program has been in production for 5 months and only now is this decision made? There's been very little to suggest he's been working on the project already so this looks like a new appointment with the news released to garner some publicity, and/or to replace someone who was already working on the show who couldn't cut it.....
Exactly. In any other business people would see this as LeBlanc being bought in above Evans. Big Hollywood star is hired late in the day to save show fronted by English Disc Jockey.The program has been in production for 5 months and only now is this decision made? There's been very little to suggest he's been working on the project already so this looks like a new appointment with the news released to garner some publicity, and/or to replace someone who was already working on the show who couldn't cut it.....
suffolk009 said:
Exactly. In any other business people would see this as LeBlanc being bought in above Evans. Big Hollywood star is hired late in the day to save show fronted by English Disc Jockey.
It really does have publicity stunt written all over it. I'm now anticipating the announcement of LeBlanc's chimp sidekick.ETA. Just read this in another thread..
"Chris Evans said of his new TG presenter: “Matt’s a lifelong fellow petrolhead and I’m thrilled he’s joining Top Gear. Acting out our craziest car notions on screen is a dream job and I know we’ll both be debating some epic road trip ideas."
I wouldn't put it past Evans that he pushed for LeBlanc because he liked the idea of cozying up to a big-name celebrity he can call his 'buddy' for the road trips, kinda like what he does with all his other interests (stalking golfers, celebrity chefs and racing drivers).
This has all the hallmarks of Evans indulging himself again all over it.
Edited by r11co on Friday 5th February 09:04
CRB14 said:
I don't have a problem with Americans but tell me the last successful american TV presenter on British TV. It's a different world. If you'd seen the US version of TG you'd know. It's utter garbage.
Unfortunately , I think you are right. The only succesful North American presenters I can think of were all/are on the radio. Alistsair Cooke etc. The fact that htis bloke's claim to fame was that he was in some soap nonsense does not excite. We'll see what happens, at the end of the day, but added to the fact I watch virtually nothing on the BBC , I find it hard to have a positive outlook
Blackpuddin said:
Glad to hear that 'Le Blanc in' doesn't mean 'Harris out'. The big limitation of having a mute Stig behind the wheel has always been that it prevented TG from delivering authoritative spoken reports on properly quick cars. Harris will be able to fix that.
The whole point of the mute Stig was to have an objective benchmark, who co-incidentally could also be figure of fun. The other presenters (while accepting their limitations) were clearly no mugs behind the wheel. Even May can drive properly when he wants to.I think you missed that point.
Despite appearances, very little of what happened on old new Top Gear was by accident.
Edited by r11co on Friday 5th February 09:31
r11co said:
Blackpuddin said:
Glad to hear that 'Le Blanc in' doesn't mean 'Harris out'. The big limitation of having a mute Stig behind the wheel has always been that it prevented TG from delivering authoritative spoken reports on properly quick cars. Harris will be able to fix that.
The whole point of the mute Stig was to have an objective benchmark, who co-incidentally could also be figure of fun. The other presenters (while accepting their limitations) were clearly no mugs behind the wheel. Even May can drive properly when he wants to.I think you missed that point.
Despite appearances, very little of what happened on old new Top Gear was by accident.
Edited by r11co on Friday 5th February 09:31
Edited by MarshPhantom on Friday 5th February 09:54
Hmm interesting choice, LeBlanc is a likeable character and has decent charisma but I'm not sure how this will translate to presenting a show about cars.
I'm not a massive fan of Evan's "LOUD" presenting style though and that could be the fly in the ointment.
IF they can restrain Evans somewhat I am cautiously optimistic, the old formula while good for a time, really had become rather stale so I am looking forward to seeing the new direction they take.
As for the presenters driving I've heard from friends in the business that none of the old 3 were actually very good at driving. OK they may be better than the average driver simply through exposure to all sorts of cars but not what you'd call advanced level, this seems to be born out by the number of times we've seen them spin the cars on camera.
This always struck me as a bit weird as if I were ever in a position to do a car based TV show, I would take proper car control\racing lessons to ensure my standard of driving was up to a level where I wouldn't embarrass myself on International TV.
I'm not a massive fan of Evan's "LOUD" presenting style though and that could be the fly in the ointment.
IF they can restrain Evans somewhat I am cautiously optimistic, the old formula while good for a time, really had become rather stale so I am looking forward to seeing the new direction they take.
As for the presenters driving I've heard from friends in the business that none of the old 3 were actually very good at driving. OK they may be better than the average driver simply through exposure to all sorts of cars but not what you'd call advanced level, this seems to be born out by the number of times we've seen them spin the cars on camera.
This always struck me as a bit weird as if I were ever in a position to do a car based TV show, I would take proper car control\racing lessons to ensure my standard of driving was up to a level where I wouldn't embarrass myself on International TV.
I agree with this. I think Matt would bring a bit of charisma and genuine banter to the show, compared to Evans. After a while of Watching Evans I get bored of him. It is a bit too much, I have watched many programs with him and then I end up changing the channel after a while, I get bored of him. Happened with the One show, Big breakfast, don't forget your toothbrush etc.
Matt Le Blanc is probably the only reason I may watch new Top Gear; in friends he was funny. I thought sexy sabine was going to be in it and Harris; but really don't know what to expect of them on a regular in the car show.
Matt Le Blanc is probably the only reason I may watch new Top Gear; in friends he was funny. I thought sexy sabine was going to be in it and Harris; but really don't know what to expect of them on a regular in the car show.
danllama said:
I think Matt is one of the few Americans that could be popular on TG, due to his popularity as Joey. I feel like he's not had the best time since Friends finished, so I really hope this goes well for him.
Chris Evans on the other hand, still perplexed...
Harris and Matt would be a good duo.
Chris Evans on the other hand, still perplexed...
Harris and Matt would be a good duo.
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