NBC's fall lineup is out and American Top Gear (ATG) is too. According to Dark Horizons.com, the pilot for the American version of the British car show didn't light the suits' hair on fire (if only). The decision denies the entire autoblogosphere the chance to say "I told you so" to episodes containing neither the spirit nor the veracity of the original. (It also means that Dan Neil got pissed off at me for outing him for no reason and I needn't have fallen down on the job.) The show's death is probably one of those Murder on the Orient Express deals, where manufacturers (we're not really comfortable with this show), NBC ad execs (we're not really comfortable with this show) and suits (we're not really comfortable with this show) conspired to strangle the program in its crib. On the other hand, ATG may have been, as Dan Neil suggested off-camera, pre-castrated. And then tested with an audience who liked it about as much as every other car show NBC's ever-produced– only less. The move is yet another blow to the beloved franchise. Back in Old Blighty, TG's next season of has been delayed indefinitely. Our only hope for home-grown mass media motor-oriented mayhem now lies where an American Top Gear should have started in the first place: on PBS or a non-commercial cable network.
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Thank Jebus!
Wait, maybe that does suck…now I’m stuck (still) w/”Motorweek,” America’s “most popular” television automotive series.
I’m trying to envisage the Top Gear element of a PBS fund raising show… Call now or the Winnebago gets blown-up!
I’m trying to envisage the Top Gear element of a PBS fund raising show… Call now or the Winnebago gets blown-up!
Call now or the Winnebage stays in one piece would probably generate more donations, but I like how you think.
What a thought – ATG on PBS. Talk about pre-castrated…
“It’s FABULOUS! This hybrid’s got plenty of places to put your granola bars!”
“This week, we measure tailpipe emission of a Prius vs. a Brahma bull.”
“Hypermiling showdown: diesel vs. pedal car.”
In the US, only HBO or Showtime could do this right. HBO needs something to replace The Sopranos as a single good-enough reason to subscribe. Hmm….
Isn’t there a whole channel for this stuff?
But, let’s face it, ATG could hardly have the mass appeal of [insert name of prime time game show here].
I would like to add these here Interwebs as the best possible medium for Top Gear. I would pay to watch it. And advertisers, not of the sensitive automotive types, but of the “I am targeting 18-49 y/o males” types would pay.
if you want mass appeal:
buy your audience. that’s what the prime time ‘game shows’ do. they let their audience live vicariously through the show’s participants… – thus, they tune into the mindless drivvel in large numbers…
top gear could do the same thing:
audience voting, car give aways, etc…
three lucky winners a week. one on site audience member, two tv audience members… – obviously you’d need to have some sort of ‘text’ in to qualify, etc…
give away 3 cars each week… – either from what was tested that week, or let each winner choose (or something like that)… – cap the msrp at 50k, PLUS give enough cash to allow for taxes to be paid and vehicle operation for 3 years… – or something similar that would work…
Wait, maybe that does suck…now I’m stuck (still) w/”Motorweek,” America’s “most popular” television automotive series. – Sammy Hagar
I recently caught MotorWeek’s Dodge Journey review. John Davis gushed superlatives concluding it is, ” a well-rounded and well-priced entry into the expanding crossover utility segment.”
Davis is clearly easier to please than TTAC, which held a similar car in very poor regard. I can’t remember a critical MotorWeek review. The cars they test are all wonderful!
Gardiner Westbound: I can’t remember a critical MotorWeek review. The cars they test are all wonderful!
And don’t forget, they are all “reasonably priced”. That line frequently caused me to gag in disbelief.
Not that TG is a lot more informative, just more entertaining.
Gardiner Westbound:
I recently caught MotorWeek’s Dodge Journey review. John Davis gushed superlatives concluding it is, ” a well-rounded and well-priced entry into the expanding crossover utility segment.”
Davis is clearly easier to please than TTAC, which held a similar car in very poor regard. I can’t remember a critical MotorWeek review. The cars they test are all wonderful!
Just goes to show you that even total independence from ad revenue doesn’t guarantee a show with editorial balls.
I agree with EEGeek: HBO would probably be the best home for ATG, especially if they got the right people from the original involved.
As far as i know this season of TG is not delayed, it’s coming later this summer. The season after Hammonds little accident was delayed indefinitely until he recovered and could start working again.
TomAnderson: HBO would probably be the best home for ATG, especially if they got the right people from the original involved.
I would like to see James Gandolfini as Jeremy Clarkson and Steve Van Zandt as Richard Hammond.
TomAnderson: HBO would probably be the best home for ATG, especially if they got the right people from the original involved.
If HBO picks it up, I would like to see James Gandolfini as Jeremy Clarkson and Steve Van Zandt as Richard Hammond.
Good riddance. US TG would have been the Porsche Cayenne of motoring TV.
MotorWeek is border line infomercial. Totally biased, supported by, and influenced by their advertisers. I’m fairly sure they have never said anything really bad about anything they have ever reviewed.
The folks over at FinalGear suspect that the show is not, in fact, dead, based on Carolla being a loudmouth. So I would take both the above story and FinalGear’s reporting with some salt. If it comes out, I’ll watch. The first one. Then I’ll take it from there. If it is pre-cancelled, well, it happens.
I was curious to see it as I’m a fan of Carolla’s radio show, but I wasn’t all that optimistic. I’ll take my downloads from finalgear.com or watch on BBC America, thanks.
As for Motorweek… Good lord it’s just horrible. I would rather watch a TV show where I was forced to watch random people clip their toenails.
What NBC was trying to make wasn’t Top Gear, it was an awful, soul-less Yankee ripoff.
As Clarkson pointed out in his Callaway Corvette review, his show is watched the world over, except in the US where we have to “remake” everything to somehow suite our “tastes”.
There is absolutely no need or reason to “remake” this show for the United States, Clarkson, Hammond and May should be aired untouched and unedited in the US just as they are everywhere else.
I hope Top Gear with all it’s wit and veracity makes it big in the US outside of Discovery and BBC America. I like the idea of putting it on HBO or Showtime, it would fit there the best and the audiences of both networks would probably give it the chance it deserves.
Drop the name “Top Gear” and go with “Driving Idol”. Allow average people to compete in driving skill competitions to win a performance car. Mimic the other Idol – just replace the token craptastic vocalists with token atrocious drivers (DUI’s, vehicular manslaughter = Welcome). DO NOT discriminate.
Get it all on film. America loves a trainwreck.
First thought: So close to having a fantastic show but with cars we North Americans can relate to…
Second thought: Hmm… a blessing in disguise?
Final thought: Do we really want another 60 minutes of manufacturer-friendly consumer-targeted product showcase? Just like adding water to whiskey, diluting a worldwide success (TG) would simply ruin a perfectly good product. Network television is not a medium that rewards (journalistic) excellence, but rather serves run-of-the-mill inoffensive programming to the masses. If I wanted that I’d be watching Driving Television or MotorWeak (intentional spelling error), not leaving my computer on overnight to download a show from the UK.
I don’t think the US has a big enough audience for a Top Gear style show to be network material. Maybe on the Speed Channel or something, but not on the networks. The vast majority of ‘mericans just don’t care that much about cars.
Why would the networks bother to spend money producing commercials that they were going to run for free anyway?
Apparently a British accent would be too much for delicate Americans to understand anyway.
Wait – is Robert “Free Market” Farago a member of his local PBS affiliate? That’s awesome!
akatsuki: Apparently a British accent would be too much for delicate Americans to understand anyway.
It amazes me when someone wants to slam US and says something so dim that instead of insulting the intended nationality (which unfortunately seems to be a tolerated pastime here) they immediately discredit by their own ignorance anything else they possibly could say in the future even if they accidently happened to be right (as unlikely as it may be in this case).
You do understand that no other country has more immigrant groups, languages and accents than US, right? I guess not. I would invite you to visit my city (SF Bay Area), but with your xenophobia the diversity here could scare you to death.
veefiddy:
Wait – is Robert “Free Market” Farago a member of his local PBS affiliate? That’s awesome!
Nope. As you may know, PBS receives federal funding. As in my tax dollars.
FYI I watch ALL the news nets; Fox infuriates me just as much as MSNBC. But I can NOT stand what passes for automotive journalism on the box. I know EXACTLY why Elvis shot Robert Goulet– well, a TV image of the singer, anyway.
akatsuki: Apparently a British accent would be too much for delicate Americans to understand anyway.
hwyhobo: …wants to slam US…so dim…insulting…xenophobia
American media executives have a long history of demanding the reworking of non-American-accented English language programming to make them ‘accessible’ to US audiences.
If you peruse the credits of many documentary-type shows on the Discovery Channel, History Channel and such, you’ll see that they were originally produced by the BBC, ITV, sometimes Australian or New Zealand production crews, but were repackaged with an American voiceover for US cable.
When ‘Mad Max’ was first released in the US, the minor Aussie characters were overdubbed with American voices. Occasionally you’ll see on US TV an interview with a heavily-accented English speaker (Scottish, Irish or cockney for example) featuring subtitles.
Perhaps not British accents alone, but the British humor and cultural references of shows like UK Top Gear are perceived, by the people who run American TV channels, as too foreign for the parochial expectations of an American mass audience. Not everyplace in the US is as cosmopolitan as the Bay Area.
Not everyplace in the US is as cosmopolitan as the Bay Area
And this differs from parochial little towns in the UK how?
Is this a car-related board, or is it just a pretext for venting petty hatreds?
tech98> I have a terrible time with non-american accents. Then again I wear two hearing aides. I really would prefer to have a PASSING chance of understanding the audio if you don’t mind, thanks.
Looks to me like they just couldn’t take Robert’s heat.
‘I don’t think the US has a big enough audience for a Top Gear style show to be network material. Maybe on the Speed Channel or something, but not on the networks. The vast majority of ‘mericans just don’t care that much about cars.’
Have to disagree with you mate. In the UK, Top Gear is a favourite with both genders and all ages. My 9 year old daughter is a massive fan but the only car she’s interested in is Barbie & Ken’s 1/12th scale Ferrari. The appeal of Top Gear is in the mix of presenters, the anarchic stunts and the belief that every car, every celeb and any politician is not above lampooning and criticism. As soon as you introduce ‘political correctness’, or become dictated by manufacturer & commercial interests then you tear out the very soul of the show. Other car shows just seem to consist of a couple of overly perfect presenters reading from a script of 0-60 times and manufacturer’s blag. Top Gear tells it as it is and you can sometimes imagine the show’s producer grimacing and yelling in Clarkson’s earpiece ‘cos the guy is a total maverick. It’ll be back!