The Grand Tour

[PowerPlant]

I just finished watching the first episode, and it was great to see Clarkson, Hammond and May back together doing their thing...

In terms of production value and content, the show is, obviously, very similar to Top Gear, but it is also clear that they are still figuring things out and definitely trying to push the envelope a bit with the whole "global tour" concept... There is no "designated racing driver" like the Stig, at least not yet (the two test drivers in this episode are Mike Skinner and Jerome d'Ambrosio), while the "Star in a reasonably priced car" segment was omitted from the first episode for some reason, but three apparent future guests are introduced in a rather interesting manner

There was no "challenge" of any sort in this episode either, but a sneak preview at the beginning indicated there certainly will be in the episodes to come... The cars tested were the Porsche 918, McLaren P1 and LaFerrari, as well as the BMW M2.

All in all, this looks like it will provide adequate TV entertainment for the winter, and I'd say BBC have definitely shot themselves in the foot by letting the above mentioned three hosts go (despite the circumstances), and that Top Gear as such will soon become a second tier show.

Any thoughts, opinions?

 

[peter31a]

Not paying more to watch this show. Don't care how much I like the 3 hosts. Same with CBS Star Trek Discovery. Put it on Cable or free on YouTube. I'm not paying for every show I want to watch when I'm already paying through the nose for satellite. I wish them the best and It appears there are enough people willing to pay to watch it but they would have a bigger audience if it was on regular t.v.

[stitchdup]

I found it to just be top gear with a new name, nothing about it seemed to be fresh or surprising. I think you could be wrong about top gear itself though, now they got rid of chris evans I think it will improve a lot

[Rob Hall]

I like it...enjoyed the first episode more than the second.  it has some room for improvement, some of the jokes fell flat and some segments dragged... But the strong elements of Top Gear remain intact...the chemistry of the 3 hosts, the cinematography, the great cars, locations, music.   Looking forward to the next episode..

[unclescott58]

Not paying more to watch this show. Don't care how much I like the 3 hosts. Same with CBS Star Trek Discovery. Put it on Cable or free on YouTube. I'm not paying for every show I want to watch when I'm already paying through the nose for satellite. I wish them the best and It appears there are enough people willing to pay to watch it but they would have a bigger audience if it was on regular t.v.

You hit the nail on the head. I'm a big Star Trek fan, but I'll be passing on Discovery because I'm being forced to pay for it. And I bet I'll still be forced to watch commercials with it too. As far as the new show with the old Top Gear guys. I'd love to watch it, but I don't know where to find it. But, if I have to pay for it, I got better things to spend my money on. I do not watch enough TV to justify paying for any of it. No cable or satellite in my house. I build models and read books instead. And spend my money on that.

R. Scott Aho

 

Edited November 30, 2016 by unclescott58

[Rob Hall]

Where the Grand Tour is is well known, it is on Amazon streaming.  It's free with an Amazon Prime subscription.   

[Modelbuilder Mark]

So I checked it out this past weekend. I agree about the cinematography, and the way they shoot the cars etc, but the stupid jokes about meeting the "stars" then they die etc...not needed. Stick to speaking with stars about cars, and driving cars etc. We already have Prime, but if I did not, I would not buy an extra channel to have this show. 

[Psychographic]

You can watch it on Youtube, but it's a screen in a screen deal (about 1/4 screen) and the voices are distorted.