To your girlfriend's delight, the season premiere of the History Channel's Top Gear is tonight at 9pm (8c). Tanner, Rut and Adam are all back for Season Three which starts with an episode called "Big Rigs." Predictably, the three learn to drive big rigs and have to transport "tons of precious (and explosive) cargo across Michigan after only a few hours practice." Surely one would need more than "a few hours practice" in order for OSHA and the DOT to let this one happen, right?
Will you be watching? My DVR is set. (Though when I get to it is a different story.)
cruiserhead1 says:
04:51 PM, 02/14/12
I hate TopGear USA. There's about 10 minutes for car guys and the rest of it is pandering to the lowest common denominator.
Tanner is a driver, Rut is the "regular guy"... but what is Adam? He's like the annoying, dufus that tags along because they have no confidence in making a real car show.
e90_m3 says:
05:09 PM, 02/14/12
Why can't they arrange it such that TGUSA is on when TGUK is on break? TGUSA fares better when we're starved of the original series.
200kmiletaco says:
07:29 PM, 02/14/12
Ewww. That was awful. Huge step down from previous years
bonzjr says:
07:49 PM, 02/14/12
So wait...
... they're already run out of ideas?
Even if not an exact replica, this sounds a lot like the first episode of Season 12 of the REAL (UK) Top Gear where the pasty trio snagged tractor trailers (or lorries using their terminology) and drove them on a few tracks/courses with odd bits of cargo, interesting challenges, etc.
I'll take original and funny over contrived copy. Meh.
tanktaco says:
08:53 PM, 02/14/12
I liked Top Shot.
blueguydotcom says:
10:35 PM, 02/14/12
Couple funny lines. But TGUK has been quite good the past two weeks.
bassrockerx says:
10:36 PM, 02/14/12
i watched the espisode and loved every minute of it. at the begining of the first season i was sceptical that the hosts would build a good chemestry but the begining of season two was awesome these guys have awesome chemestry and are a laugh to watch together! it is so funny watching tanner fail and the rutledge's trailer catching on fire was hilarious. the best part was when they got to the very end and the fireworks were STILL going!
agnh says:
09:47 AM, 02/15/12
@bonzjr
I think one of TGUSA's biggest obstacles is that whatever "challenge" they do, it will inevitably seem like a ripoff of something TGUK has done, simply because TGUK has been on for so damn long. It doesn't necessarily make it a bad thing, and it could be worse. At least they don't do the Stig's "some say...."
cjasis says:
01:29 PM, 02/15/12
I honestly thought the series was getting better at the end of last season but found this first episode to be pretty bad. Not funny, a clear rip off of another challenge arleady done at the original Top Gear and seemingly very staged.
I'll surely still DVR next week's episode but this doesn't bode well.
transpower says:
07:47 AM, 02/16/12
The BBC version works because it follows Dr. Eric Berne's tri-partite ego states: Parent, Adult, and Child. Jeremy is the Parent, James is the Adult, and Richard is the Child. I don't see that in the American version, so it's not as interesting....