Top Gear
History Channel, Please Cancel Top Gear
Unfortunately real Top Gear fans keep having to endure more of what I would called garbage TV, Top Gear US. It’s disappointing that the History Channel has not canceled Top Gear yet and I plead with you History channel, can you please cancel Top Gear?
For most gearheads Top Gear isn’t just a show, it’s an obsession. For those that love the show, and I mean the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) original version, there is no better television show on the planet.
For those that are not familiar, Top Gear features three British auto journalists, Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond. The show is comprised of car reviews, putting stars in a reasonable priced car or on a racetrack, and generally crazy antics in moving vehicles or vehicles with wheels of some sort.
If you were to ask anyone gearhead (or petrolhead as they say in England) about Top Gear, more than likely you will hear, “Top Gear is the greatest show EVER!” I concur!
Fans, like myself, of the one and only good and original Top Gear on the BBC, feel the History channel needs to stop. Please, please CANCEL Top Gear USA! We don’t like it, we don’t want it, and we really, really hate it. We rather have you re-run episodes of the original on the History channel.
Sure, Top Gear USA might be doing good business for the History channel. There is no doubting that. I am sure all of the History channel execs are pleased with their Nielsen ratings.
The thing is, for anyone who has brain that actually functions and that has seen the original Top Gear UK, why would you want to watch Top Gear USA? It lacks, the originality and chutzpah of the BBC version with the three awful American hosts, Adam Ferrara, Tanner Foust and Rutledge Wood.
Tanner Foust, a professional drift car driver, has little in the way of natural camera ability. Most of the time it feels like he is reading from a script, which I am fairly sure he did not write himself. Rutledge Wood, is the fun loving pudgy one out of the bunch. Somehow he just doesn’t work either and it also seems like he reads from scripts which he clearly did not write himself.
Adam Ferrara, while I don’t want to admit it… is actually quite good. (I might be biased, since I firmly believe all people named “Adam” are cool.) He is quick on his feet and is able to carry himself on camera well. No doubt working as a stand-up comic and actor, gives him an edge over the other two hosts. However, he can’t carry the show for the other two and the three lack chemistry.
Top Gear USA just feels like a rehashed version of the original, which is not as good. Most of the episodes give the feeling of Deja-Vu of the BBC original.
I hate to say this, but we Americans have a serious problem of taking good British TV shows, and completely ruining them. Anyone ever heard of The Office? Now Julian Fellowes is creating an American “Downton Abbey” which I am fairly sure will not live up to standards of the original British Downton Abbey.
Besides Top Gear UK has been able to get some pretty impressive American stars on the show. This includes Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Andy Garcia, and even Slash from Guns N’ Roses.
Even with History channel’s success with Top Gear USA, I highly doubt it will continue to grow. Being among the coveted young demographic that History is so keen on, I realized something… most 20-30 year-olds, don’t have cable.
Young people are used to watching TV and movies over the internet on services like Netflix, Hulu, and if necessary ripping shows they like. On top of that cable subscriptions have declined during this horrendous economy. Most young people are part of a generation of CableNevers meaning we have never subscribed to cable.
You can watch Top Gear USA episodes via History channels website. However, even with high speed internet and fast computers, I can say this with certainty, History channel’s online video player doesn’t work.
Due to History channel’s lack of artistic sensibilities, I have deiced that I must boycott watching the channel. (This won’t be hard for me to do, since I am a CableNever.)
What are your thoughts about Top Gear UK and Top Gear US? Do you despise it like I do or think History should make more episodes?
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Totally agree. The UK show is WAY better and much more entertaining and informative. The US show has its moments, but is mostly too scripted and really asinine.
The three UK hosts were journalists before, so they write a lot the script. (At least I assume they do.) I think if they got ride of Tanner Foust and Rutledge Wood the show would be waaay better. I have only seen episodes from the 1st and 2nd seasons. I don’t really care to watch anymore more though and I am totally fine not having the History Channel!
I’ve seen some of all of them, since we have History Channel and I sometimes see the show come on. Tanner isn’t too bad, really, although he’s mainly a one trick pony (need someone to drift your car.. put him in it) on the air. For a guy with such amazing talents behind the wheel, he really gets pigeonholed on Top Gear USA. Rutledge definitely needs to go.
I will say that the newer episodes do have much less of the scripted feel from the three guys, mainly because I think they’re getting used to memorizing lines and/or reading off cue cards and doing so naturally instead of in a robotic way. The show has some imagination and good ideas, but they rarely come off well.
Aaron if you have parental controls with your cable subscription you need to block Top Gear US. It will give you eye cancer!
lol We have basic, non-digital cable (30-odd channels). It comes with our Internet access. lmao Otherwise, we’d not have any type of TV service. I tend to catch shows like Top Gear because I like to turn on the TV while cooking and that’s the type of thing that’s airing when I’m making mid-day prep foods.
I had looked into bundling internet, phone, and cable but it just doesn’t make sense. I really only have time to watch 1-2 TV shows everyday and I prefer spending that time not watching commercials with Netflix or the DVDs we own.
We have a little TV in the kitchen and use it when we clean and cook too, but it is on an antenna. I usually watch the News or PBS. I can even pick-up DC stations with our Terk HDTV Antenna. I was even able to hookup the basement CRT to an antenna upstairs attached to another CRT using a coaxial splitter and the existing coaxial lines in the wall. With the digital switch-over you can pick-up full HD broadcasts OTA too, which is why A/V enthusiasts recommend antennas.
See if you can pick-up any OTA signals easily using TVFool and then post the results to the TVFool forum or another A/V forum where they can give you advice about antenna setups.
Our cable company includes cable TV with all Internet packages. We don’t actually have a land line phone at all and they don’t offer one either. Our choices for high speed Internet are: cable, DSL, 3G or satellite. lol
That’s nice. As they say “If it’s free, it’s for for me!”
I really hope TG USA gets the maul. I hate it with a passion. All three of those guys are shit, not one of them could produce a written review worth reading, and have no journalism accolades like the UK guys do, and lack that elloquent humor of the UK version. I’m going to say it, they’re no-tallent fuckheads that make me ashamed to be an American. I’ll watch Piers Morgan before I watch another episode of TG USA.
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I guess the truth hurts! Thanks for commenting Rick.
They are terrible the UK version is the best I bought a 1992 Range Rover after the brazil episode lol the US hosts suck so much like they’re reading from a TelePrompTer and act they don’t want to be here lol maybe they’re as embarrassed as we are Cancel this garbage BBCAMERICA channel is my go to I would rather watch a Kristen Stewart biography while being raped by a wolverine than watch an entire episode of those rip off douches
Those are strong words my friend, but can’t say I disagree with you.
If you don’t like the US version, just don’t watch it. It is that simple. Clearly History channel has enough people who like it and watch it on a regular basis to keep renewing it for more seasons. I have to say that the first season was pretty awful, but since they have worked out some kinks and gotten rid of that stupid “Star in a Reasonably priced car” segment (it doesnt work on shows built around commercials) it has gotten a lot better. In fact, I enjoyed most of season 3. It is just a top gear tuned towards a more American audience and built to work on American networks.
I too love Top Gear UK far more, but Top Gear USA definitely has a place and is a fun watch more often then not. It isn’t like people who watch the UK version would watch reruns it on History channel anyways, they already downloaded it from TPB each sunday it aired…or watched it on BBC America. My biggest complain about Top Gear USA is that it is on the *HISTORY* Channel.
I don’t watch Top Gear US. It gave me eye cancer!
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QQ, top gear usa is successful enough that an average of 1.7 million people watch it. So the least you can do is keep your whiny “resist to change” comments to yourself.
I will write any articles I want on my own site or publications. FYI you are the one making a “comment” on this site.
The viewing audience of Top Gear BBC is much largely by the way. Over 300+ million global audience if I remember correctly.