"Top Gear in America not dead"

BBC.UK said: Watching Top Gear on a Sunday evening is one thing, but if you want the full experience, come and join Jeremy, Richard and James in our low-rent studio while they actually record the show. You'll get to watch all the latest films before they're shown on telly, see the full unedited celebrity interview taking place and marvel at just how short Richard Hammond actually is. A recording of Top Gear tends to start at around 2pm on the Wednesday before the show airs. Recording takes all afternoon, and people normally get to go home at around 7pm. If you'd like to get tickets for the show, you can apply on the Applause Store website. Tickets to Top Gear are always free. You should never pay for tickets. So, please don't encourage the sale of tickets by buying them at online auctions or 'days out' sites. It's worth remembering we can't allow you into the studio if you're under 18 years of age. We also ask that groups of people coming to the recordings have a roughly 50/50 male/female split. This is so we don't end up with a bunch of ugly male car geeks ruining everyone's Sunday night. Please bear in mind, the recording takes a long time, and as there isn't anywhere for the audience to sit, you'll be standing for the duration.

These guys tend to work all week as Automotive Reporters and "Field Shooting" with a pretty large staff and shoot the "Studio Shoot". Like all production you are a couple weeks between wrap and air then on wednesday between 2pm and 7pm they shoot in studio and air it Sunday at 9pm like our talk shows get done.

IF there is going to be a US/North American version of Top Gear it needs to be on a Cable Channel, it will need to have a comedic presence but I don't think a comedian will work (Carolla being the only variant in my mind)

I have spent a lot of time thinking about this and I would rather see the producers bring in two veteran magazine reporters/testers that are videogenic and a former racer like Sarah Fischer or a crossover guy who has done many different types of events... (Robby Gordon?). Bring in two stars per show with three cars (new car/new truck/old car). Trucks are a different entity in North America than in Europe and should be shown for the good the bad and the ugly they bring to the table.

A dedicated lot, PREFERABLY a decommissioned auto manufacturing plant, should be used for testing and studio shooting (NUMMI Plant? )

Listening to Carrola's radio stuff, he has no problem skewering manufacturers even when they pay his bills. And while us car guys tend to like TG UK, a lot of their stuff won't work in the mainstream here like it does in the UK due to too much locally slanted content (radio celebs, local government, etc) and reviews of cars we don't get here.

It can work here as well as The Office works here, even though the personalities and writing is different from the original.

Apexcarver wrote:

DrBoost wrote: I don't know. I think Tim Allen would ruin it for me. I don't think he's as much a car guy as he is a small block cheby guy. I see him doing is tired "oohhgg-oohhgg" on everything with a bow-tie on the front, no matter what. Adam Carrola, yes, Jay Leno, yes, Tim Allen, past his prime.

Have you ever heard of Saleen/Allen Speedlabs? but you might confuse the television personality with what hes actually done.

Have you ever seen this guy on TV. His Home Improvement bit is all he ever does. I dont' think he'll be able to control himself and start grunting every other comment. Then the show will die a quick but horrible death.

Actually, I think that maybe they need to go out and get little known radio personalities, or auto-columnists to do it. Somebody funny... And unknown. Get a P.J. O'Rourke--somebody who is a self professed car guy who actually knows nothing about cars--and is famous if you know who he is, but the vast majority of people have never heard of him. I think that having a Leno would ruin it because he already has a personality. Carolla might work because he hasn't had a big audience since the Man Show.

Were Clarkson, Hammond, or May really known in the UK before Top Gear?

Clarkson and May were in print, Hammond was on another TV show.

O'Rourke for the win!

Well, that opinion is based on his writing anyway. I don't know how funny he is on TV. But it's something I'd like to find out.

Hammond was a not a TV soap startm he was a radio personality. Read his book. If you haven't guessed, I am a big Hammond fan. His book is great but even as a guy who doesn't have kids yet, this impresses me;

wikipedia said: On 22 July 2007, during severe flooding, Hammond left his Porsche 911 - in which he had been stuck in traffic for 13 hours - to run home for his daughter's birthday. He ran 16 miles (26 km) in two-and-a-half hours (from 3am to 5:30 am), arriving home before his daughter woke up

..becuase he promised her he would be home for her birthday. That is a man with his priorities right.

...and if you watch the first season of Top Gear, there was no May. They had another guy, Jason Dawe. Nice guy but not the nerd May is. May had actually presented on the boring first format that Clarkson revised to the current setup.

For all the hassle the word gives Clarkson, he understands TV. This whole setup was his idea. Without an alpha male as good as Clarkson, you can't do what they do here. Corolla might pull it off, but you can't have another aplha male in that group. Allen is too much of a dominant personality to work, Titus might, Leno would be a great guest, but not what a show like this would need. Besides, I heard he has a job right now. That soap star/Sears saleman guy I think would work. O'Rouke was on the GM special they did on 20/20 not to long ago, he would also be a great guest, but you need someone who is crazy enough to pull the stunts they pull. I don't O'Rouke would drive a semi through a brick wall.

But we are also basing this on not having seen anything. It all matters how those guys get along.

I dont know, after watching what Jay Leno did to the "Star in our Reasonably Priced Car" bit on his NBC show, I couldn't imagine a successful Top Gear spin off in the U.S.

For those that don't know he had a 5 minute bit called "The Green Car Challenge (powered by Ford)" where the "stars" were ushered from the interview chair into a Ford Focus plug in car and told to go as fast as they could around a little painted track in a parking lot where confetti and crap was shot at the car as it made two laps around the course. Needless to say its painful to watch, the "stars" dont get instruction, they dont know what is going on, it was really awkward to watch. Tim Allen does have the best time though.

My point is that anything made in the U.S. is still going to be crucified as being not as good as the original. Plus with sponser concerns and American T.V. political correctness, at best you would be getting 50% of the original Top Gear spirit in a U.S. produced show. I personally dont like Adam Corolla because I think he is not funny, charasmatic, or a particularly insightful car guy. To have him be the backbone of a top gear spinoff in the U.S. seems like a producer going "what famous person that likes cars and is recognizeable can we stick on this show?" It needs to be different somehow, or else everyone will say its not as good as the original. The cast is going to be as important as the writting for the show, and turning to the first three car guy faces that the public will recognize is going to come of as a top gear sham, and not a success.

The only way an American Top Gear could succeed would be to refuse any sponsorship from car manufacturers and be brave enough ignore the inevitable protests from the companies, UAW and others.

The idea may not be dead, but maybe it should be.

EP3CivicSi wrote: I dont know, after watching what Jay Leno did to the "Star in our Reasonably Priced Car" bit on his NBC show, I couldn't imagine a successful Top Gear spin off in the U.S. For those that don't know he had a 5 minute bit called "The Green Car Challenge (powered by Ford)" where the "stars" were ushered from the interview chair into a Ford Focus plug in car and told to go as fast as they could around a little painted track in a parking lot where confetti and crap was shot at the car as it made two laps around the course. Needless to say its painful to watch, the "stars" dont get instruction, they dont know what is going on, it was really awkward to watch. Tim Allen does have the best time though.

Thats what did it for me. The track was a joke, the obstacles were redicilous, and some of the "Stars" didnt take it seriously... Like when Rush went out and hit Al Gore, stopped, reversed and did it again, thats when i just turned off the tv and havent paid attention since...

People want TGA to be anything but America. It'll never have a chance.

My picks for hosts would be:

Jerry Seinfeld - a leader, Porsche nut, and quick witted.

Jesse James - Actually very funny, might not have the best screen presence but is not afraid of doing the big challenges. Good when it comes to practical jokes.

Jason Priestly - Yeah I admit it, I'm a closet 90210 fan. But he does have real race credentials and can be the eye candy for 'da womens.

Titus for me is too over the top, Corrola could fit in somewhere, Leno would never do it unless he could whore the hell out of it. Tim Allen - don't know there.

Mental wrote: For all the hassle the word gives Clarkson, he understands TV. This whole setup was his idea. Without an alpha male as good as Clarkson, you can't do what they do here.

You have an excellent point. While May and Hammond are essential to the show, Jeremy Clarkson IS Top Gear.

To get a good dynamic, they need to hire someone who's willing and able to take the show and run with it. Then they need to let that person pick his own co-stars. People he knows he can work well with, and who can provide the right amount of banter/animosity towards each other.

Marty, I would interchange JP with Sarah Fisher in my pics, I like your Jesse James pick but he seems a little overused in the past 10 years.

3Door4G wrote: O'Rourke for the win! Well, that opinion is based on his writing anyway. I don't know how funny he is on TV. But it's something I'd like to find out.

He occasionally shows up on NPR's "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" and is a funny, quick wit when he's there. He might do well on television too, depending on how heavily he's scripted vs. how much he's allowed to run on his own.

Marty! wrote: Jesse James - Actually very funny, might not have the best screen presence but is not afraid of doing the big challenges. Good when it comes to practical jokes.

I was very put off by Monster Garage, but it turns out that he's pretty good when not under Thom Beers's thumb. Watch Jessie in metal church his series of metal shaping tutorials. He'd be a good host.

Marty! wrote: Leno would never do it unless he could whore the hell out of it.

Jay doesn't want to participate. He knows that the network and the sponsors would destroy it. In March of 2008 he said:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/driving/features/article3638037.ece

Jay Leno said: So someone calls me from the network and is clearly not a car person. He says: “You like cars, right?” I say yes. “Like, all kinds of cars?” Well, yes. I like all kinds of cars. Why? “Well, the network has bought the TV show . . . um . . . High Gear? Top Gear? Top Gear! Top Gear, yes. We know you like to build cars.” I ask: what’s the plan for the show? “Well, like, one week you build a car that flies and the next week you make a car that goes under water.” So I said: you know you can’t build these things in a week. In my mind I can just see Jeremy lambasting Americans for what they did to his show. So I think: I’ve got to run away from this as quickly as I can. So I tell him that, as much as I like the show, I try not to make my hobby my job. I like the show just the way it is. Jeremy and the guys are extremely talented, so maybe it would be an idea to do an American show similar to Top Gear but not with the same name, because I think it would be impossible to recreate or live up to the standards of the British show. [....] But with Top Gear I have such respect for the original show, I feel if they asked me to do it I would be a pale imitation of Jeremy. It would have to be something completely different, coming from a different angle. But when you see something that’s sort of perfect as it is, it’s difficult. Are you outright stealing, trying to imitate? What are you doing? I would prefer to do a different show rather than try to copy something that works so well already.

DrBoost wrote: Have you ever seen this guy on TV. His Home Improvement bit is all he ever does. I dont' think he'll be able to control himself and start grunting every other comment. Then the show will die a quick but horrible death

http://www.thejaylenoshow.com/video/clips/tim-allen-racing/1164175/

I dont really think it would be that bad.. He actually has racing experience and seems to "get it". I'd imagine a lot of the home improvement stuff was put on for the show and watered down so the general populous would be into it.

Conan O' Brien, PJ O' Rourke, and...I'm drawing a blank. Too bad PLN is no longer with us.

Tommy Kendall? Boris Said?

I know being a great writer doesn't mean that someone would make a successful TV personality, but I think Peter Egan would be a welcome addition to an American-ized Top Gear.

Marty! wrote: My picks for hosts would be: Jerry Seinfeld - a leader, Porsche nut, and quick witted. Jesse James - Actually very funny, might not have the best screen presence but is not afraid of doing the big challenges. Good when it comes to practical jokes. Jason Priestly - Yeah I admit it, I'm a closet 90210 fan. But he does have real race credentials and can be the eye candy for 'da womens. Titus for me is too over the top, Corrola could fit in somewhere, Leno would never do it unless he could whore the hell out of it. Tim Allen - don't know there.

(even though we've discussed this ad nauseum in the past)

Jesse and Priestly are good left-field picks.

John Brown is right, though--this show cannot work w/ sponsors. I wonder if the Big 3 would be content advertising everywhere else but TG on a network.

HBO would indeed be a great solution. Problem is--the show is already perfect. Very hard to improve or even compare to it.

Plus--the mainstream American TV audience is too retarded to appreciate a show this brilliant.

Oh man, Peter Egan needs his own show. Period.

You know what I just thought of, I don't want Top Gear America.

Jay Leno is right. Even so much as borrowing the name sets it up to compare to the original. Start fresh. Use TG as a base for inspiration, but make it American. You're right, it would need sponsors. But what if those sponsors where GRM, SCCA, and NASA? What if they did challenges like, "Buy a car for less then 1k, and then compete in the One Lap of America"? I think it could work. But the biggest issue would getting people to watch it. Because a lot of people can't tear themselves away from TG, convinced it's the best show ever.

GI_Drewsifer wrote: Because a lot of people can't tear themselves away from TG, because it's the best show ever.

Fixed!

Seriously though, you're right. I'd love a Top-Gear inspired TV show, but not specifically an American Top Gear. Comparisons to the original will be inescapable.

GI_Drewsifer wrote: ... Because a lot of people can't tear themselves away from TG, convinced it's the best show ever.

We only think that becuase it is the best show ever

Mental wrote:

GI_Drewsifer wrote: ... Because a lot of people can't tear themselves away from TG, convinced it's the best show ever.

We only think that becuase it is the best show ever

Without straying to far off topic, TG, while a show I love to watch, it is not the best show ever. By anyways. Entertainment wise they cater to the image that the show is wild and unpredictable, when in reality it is just really well scripted. Information wise they are horribly biased and purposefully mangle the truth whenever it is convenient for them. And before you all get your noses in a snit, I really do love TG, but I think a properly done American car show could blow it out of the water.