BBC Top Gear Thread 2021/2022

[Dr Doofenshmirtz]

Another really good episode.
The Baja attempt just goes to show how tricky that event must be to enter unless you really know what you're doing! A non-functioning GPS is pretty much unforgivable, I mean you get the apprentice could check that and then check it again. Unprotected power steering pipework...really?
I didn't like any of the cars in the average family car review piece...such ugly styling on modern stuff.
Megan piece was good. I mean that car was I guess a Renaultsport project that has been given the green light for production. Good for Renaultsport for doing that and Renault for giving them the chance!
The Star piece was good...that bloke can certainly drive! Funny watching the Woman being all shouty and annoying thinking she did well...oh dear!

[chrispmartha]

Dr Doofenshmirtz said:

Another really good episode.
The Baja attempt just goes to show how tricky that event must be to enter unless you really know what you're doing! A non-functioning GPS is pretty much unforgivable, I mean you get the apprentice could check that and then check it again. Unprotected power steering pipework...really?
I didn't like any of the cars in the average family car review piece...such ugly styling on modern stuff.
Megan piece was good. I mean that car was I guess a Renaultsport project that has been given the green light for production. Good for Renaultsport for doing that and Renault for giving them the chance!
The Star piece was good...that bloke can certainly drive! Funny watching the Woman being all shouty and annoying thinking she did well...oh dear!

‘The woman’ how dare she enjoy herself.

https://youtu.be/LS37SNYjg8w

[ChocolateFrog]

I didn't really get the GPS thing. If a motorcyclist can navigate the Dakar using a road book when not even on a road then surely a dedicated navigator can use a map, while on an actually path.

I bet most of us could have got further with an Arial Nomad and cheap Android phone.

[ChocolateFrog]

BeastieBoy73 said:

ChocolateFrog said:

Watched the Diaz and Cruise episode earlier too, showed how far the show has fallen from it's peak pulling power days.

Wasn’t the Jonathan Ross Chat Show on a forced hiatus at the time leaving Top Gear the only other place the BBC had for high profile celebs to come on and promote movies?

Possibly, but it was still a brand genuine A listers wanted to be associated with back then. I never know who the guests are these days.

[chrispmartha]

ChocolateFrog said:

BeastieBoy73 said:

ChocolateFrog said:

Watched the Diaz and Cruise episode earlier too, showed how far the show has fallen from it's peak pulling power days.

Wasn’t the Jonathan Ross Chat Show on a forced hiatus at the time leaving Top Gear the only other place the BBC had for high profile celebs to come on and promote movies?

Possibly, but it was still a brand genuine A listers wanted to be associated with back then. I never know who the guests are these days.

Emilia Fox is one of the biggest TV actresses in the country at the moment she’s not really a ‘z’ lister and is certainly on a par in ‘celebrity’ terms as a lot of the guests they used to have on.

I did fast forward that section though as I have always found it quite boring

[p1stonhead]

chrispmartha said:

ChocolateFrog said:

BeastieBoy73 said:

ChocolateFrog said:

Watched the Diaz and Cruise episode earlier too, showed how far the show has fallen from it's peak pulling power days.

Wasn’t the Jonathan Ross Chat Show on a forced hiatus at the time leaving Top Gear the only other place the BBC had for high profile celebs to come on and promote movies?

Possibly, but it was still a brand genuine A listers wanted to be associated with back then. I never know who the guests are these days.

Emilia Fox is one of the biggest TV actresses in the country at the moment she’s not really a ‘z’ lister and is certainly on a par in ‘celebrity’ terms as a lot of the guests they used to have on.

I did fast forward that section though as I have always found it quite boring

I’ve never heard of here unless you mean Emilia Clarke?

[chrispmartha]

p1stonhead said:

chrispmartha said:

ChocolateFrog said:

BeastieBoy73 said:

ChocolateFrog said:

Watched the Diaz and Cruise episode earlier too, showed how far the show has fallen from it's peak pulling power days.

Wasn’t the Jonathan Ross Chat Show on a forced hiatus at the time leaving Top Gear the only other place the BBC had for high profile celebs to come on and promote movies?

Possibly, but it was still a brand genuine A listers wanted to be associated with back then. I never know who the guests are these days.

Emilia Fox is one of the biggest TV actresses in the country at the moment she’s not really a ‘z’ lister and is certainly on a par in ‘celebrity’ terms as a lot of the guests they used to have on.

I did fast forward that section though as I have always found it quite boring

I’ve never heard of here unless you mean Emilia Clarke?

With all due respect you not hearing of her isn't a barometer of whether she is well known.

For instance, I've no idea who Emilia Clarke is, but that means nothing.

[anonymous-user]

I hadn't heard of them, but it seems she is one of my favorite films, the Pianist.

[Europa1]

p1stonhead said:

I’ve never heard of here unless you mean Emilia Clarke?

I think he meant Emilia Fox, as she was the one on Top Gear last night. You may not have heard of her, but as she is one of the stars of a weekly prime time drama on BBC1 (that more mainstream channel that Top Gear is supposed to be moving to), plenty have.

[DonkeyApple]

ChocolateFrog said:

Possibly, but it was still a brand genuine A listers wanted to be associated with back then. I never know who the guests are these days.

Possibly because we are getting old!

I don’t know who manynof them are, despite the majority being provincial.

However, Emelia Fox is the daughter of Edward Fox and was married to the son of Richard Harris so her existence is generally known because of her familial connection to two famous English actors. On top of that she has been a competent TV actor for over 20 years.

Laurence is the son of James Fox another old English actor and is arguably only really known for being in an Inspector Morse spin-off and being married to Billie Piper at some point.

My guess is that not many people would have known who he was as he is honestly mainly famous for being related to actual famous people but quite a few more will have known who she was as she actually has a proper career and for some years has been the lead in a quite large BBC show.

Not that this justifies the strange need to have a parochial commercial break on the domestic airing and as others have oft mooted I would prefer that secondary sales advertising slot to be filled on the BBC with something more high brow such as short explanations of how things work like turbos, gearboxes things like that. Just 7 mins of nerd indulgence.

[chrispmartha]

DonkeyApple said:

I would prefer that secondary sales advertising slot to be filled on the BBC with something more high brow such as short explanations of how things work like turbos, gearboxes things like that. Just 7 mins of nerd indulgence.

Sounds absolutely riveting ;-)

[DoubleD]

Jazzy Jag said:

DoubleD said:

Jazzy Jag said:

Over £70k for a Renault Megane?

Why the F would you buy a 2 seat 5 door car?

Well the car guy got it and he thought that the price was ok.

I didn't see him get his wallet out and buy one, though.

Hes hardly going to buy every car that he thinks is good though is he!

[DonkeyApple]

chrispmartha said:

DonkeyApple said:

I would prefer that secondary sales advertising slot to be filled on the BBC with something more high brow such as short explanations of how things work like turbos, gearboxes things like that. Just 7 mins of nerd indulgence.

Sounds absolutely riveting ;-)

The important benefit would be that it would reverse the awful trend of men going to make the tea during the ad break and get women back in the kitchen.

[768]

DonkeyApple said:

Laurence is the son of James Fox another old English actor and is arguably only really known for being in an Inspector Morse spin-off and being married to Billie Piper at some point.

My guess is that not many people would have known who he was as he is honestly mainly famous for being related to actual famous people but quite a few more will have known who she was as she actually has a proper career and for some years has been the lead in a quite large BBC show.

He was a lead in Lewis, which pulled in one or two viewers. 11 million for the pilot apparently. I've seen him pop up in a lot of secondary stuff - Bear Grylls, Gogglebox, etc. And Question Time.

That he and Emilia are related is the sort of useless stuff my family are always talking about. Have another - Crispin Blunt is uncle to Emily Blunt.

[Mammasaid]

768 said:

He was a lead in Lewis, which pulled in one or two viewers. 11 million for the pilot apparently. I've seen him pop up in a lot of secondary stuff - Bear Grylls, Gogglebox, etc. And Question Time.

That he and Emilia are related is the sort of useless stuff my family are always talking about. Have another - Crispin Blunt is uncle to Emily Blunt.

At the risk of completely derailing the thread, Daisy Ridley is Arnold Ridley's great-niece.

[bristolbaron]

I enjoyed the Baja bit, probably more so as they were unsuccessful. I was expecting a ‘we were 4 hours behind, but came back to finish on the podium’ type story. The fact they showed the piece as unfinished instead of canning it was great.
No idea who the SIARFC celebs were, but they were okay. There’s a lot of air time wasted now though, with the bollard thing too.
I still can’t work out how BMW think that grille is a good idea - does anyone like it?

[ChocolateFrog]

It's hideous.

I never went in for the Bangle era cars look terrible mantra. Yes the E65, especially from the rear was no looker but it had to follow 2 of the best looking full size saloons ever made.

I think even the most ardent Bangle hater would like to see him return, the current BMW design trend is hideously hilarious. It'll be a sad day when they ruin the M2, currently their best looking car I think.

[C70R]

PositronicRay said:

I enjoyed it.

Freddie F is carp at voice overs and Chris H should stop the forced laughter.

Couldn't agree more about the latter part. BBC should really consider sending him on some kind of acting course.

The forced laughter, the inability to look co-presenters in the eye while delivering lines. He's an ok host, but there's most to hosting an entertainment show than talking and driving while looking at the road.

[bristolbaron]

ChocolateFrog said:

It's hideous.

I never went in for the Bangle era cars look terrible mantra. Yes the E65, especially from the rear was no looker but it had to follow 2 of the best looking full size saloons ever made.

I think even the most ardent Bangle hater would like to see him return, the current BMW design trend is hideously hilarious. It'll be a sad day when they ruin the M2, currently their best looking car I think.

I’ll hand in my PH card for not knowing what you meant by Bangle Era before googling, but the current styling could do with an Eternal Flame..

[NGRhodes]

That Buggy was not ready for the Baja 1000 (poor preparation or bad luck), I suspect the way Chris reacted to the smoke that there had been a failure of some kind off camera (possibly when the practice Buggy was different ?). Such shame as let down what could of been an excellent feature (especially as the kind that avoids an excessive amount of scripted sillyness - I'm happy for messing about, being put in daft situations, but not the horrid shoe-horned in jokes).
I enjoyed the comparison between the Meringue and the sports cars - gave a good sense of perspective between the different types of car in the limitations of the test scenarios. What I felt was odd was Chris was very chatty giving good feedback on the Meringue whilst hooning in the first part, but when it came to the drag and track sections he seemed to become far more passive about comparatives.
I do enjoy the little bit of sillyness that is the Jaguar through the bollards as they don't drag out for too long - quite topical it was only Saturday night that I watched Deathwatch with Lawrence Fox in - so for the first time in ages I knew who one of the stars was - but still skipped over the interview straight to the laps.