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Is it just me or is Top Gear on BBC2 just a pale imitation of CH4's excellent Driven?
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It's not just you. It seems to have sobered up a bit recently, with a little less mindless tyre burning and fewer trips to the racetrack, but I'm sure that has nothing to do with my protesting to them about six months ago that the programme was an irresponsible waste of airtime given the importance of its subject matter to millions of people. As for the presenters, well, the new main man is quite sensible (wasn't he on Driven originally?), but there's still room for improvement.
If you feel the same way, drop them a line at info@bbc.co.uk.
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What have they done with Qwinton Wilson. The chap that tested motorcycles with the Rochdale accent was also rather good. The attractive totty with the regular sexual inuendos just does not match up.
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Quintin Wilson seems to have moved into doing adverts for car insurance.
Steve Berry and others can be seen on Top Gear GTI on UK Horizons (satellite). This still has plenty of tyre burning and other useful stuff.
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I met Quent at British Car Auctions Blackbushe a few weeks ago. He was covering the auction of a bunch of stolen recovered grey imports being sold by the Hampshire Constabulary. Smallish crew. Old, non-digital Sony Steadycam. But there was at least a producer girl on the scene. We had a chat but he didn't tell me who he was filming for. So I suggest we all check our TV programme guides, because I'd like to see him on the box as well. (Partly because my wife says Adrian whoeverheis on Top Gear has "lovely eyes".)
HJ
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Good God !!!
Vicki Butler - Henderson is the best thing about Top Gear. She's Gorgeous. There are websites dedicated to her too !!
If you've got Sky, there is Top Gear GTI on UK Horizons which is on for an hour every night ( sometimes ) ! HEAVEN
The truth is that there are far too few shows dedicated to Motoring, compared to Housey DIY shows and it's a subject dear to many people's hearts.
OOOH Vicky !!
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I believe Top Gear is too superficial & trivialised,there is no substance & no authoritiveness since Quentin Wilson left.I appreciate that with limited time & viewing statistics to satisfy,it has to be so.I consider there is a yawning gap for a longer,more in depth , informative motoring programme...HJ has my vote!
Saxton.
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Many of you will know that Quentin Willson came to the media via a publication called
?Buying Cars?. I was also a contributor to the magazine and regard my claim to fame
as having once co-written an article with Quentin!
I was in contact with Quentin a couple of years ago about some Top Gear
programming ideas of a consumer/educational nature. These were rejected on the
basis that they did not have the necessary ?Wow? factor for Top Gear
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Many of you will know that Quentin Willson came to the media via a publication called
?Buying Cars?. I was also a contributor to the magazine and regard my claim to fame
as having once co-written an article with Quentin!
I was in contact with Quentin a couple of years ago about some Top Gear
programming ideas of a consumer/educational nature. These were rejected on the
basis that they did not have the necessary ?Wow? factor for Top Gear
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Typical BBC - nothing but repeats!!!!
Ha Ha. Bring on Les Dawson!!!
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Top Gear has very rarely been an informative motoring programme for the man in the street. Only in recent times has cars which the ordinary punter will ever have contact with been tested and discussed.
Ferraris, lamborghinis, etc and other models which only the rich and famous will ever aspire to have always been the mainstay of this show with only Quintin Wilson having any technical know-how.
Yes marcos, Vicki Butler Henderson is gorgeous but I don't imagine that its motoring on your mind when your'e watching her.
And Tiff Needell blasting round a race circuit telling me that this car tends to over/understeer at 130 mph on a double bend is hardly likely to matter to 99% of us.
Alvin Booth
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The Top Gear 'director' should be advised that fast camera cuts and odd angle shots do not make up for programme content.
Quentin is sorely missed,Tiff is OK, Vicki is most definitely OK (isn't she a former go-cart champion as well?) but the chap who hasn't yet learne that microphones are worked by electricity should be taught that there is no need to shout every comment.
The BBC should watch the German Auto programmes - they are how these things should be done.
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Top gear is not what it was and this started to happen when Clarkson left now Quentin has gone it is not the same. Interesting for some of you to say that it is an imitation of driven which started first though?
At least Tiff Needell is still presenting though. He at least knows what he is talking about rather than the wheels on deals chappie (has he ever smiled?)
Sadly I think that the biggest problem is that it is on the BBC.
Tom
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Both Top Gear and Drivel are terrible IMO. I only watch them because they are the only car shows on TV.
Driven (particularly that Brewer fella) just makes up things to try and sound clever, when comparing the new MB C class to the new A4: "It's down on valves, but there's still plenty of power!"
Jason Plato (that his name?) is quite good though, being a touring car driver at least he knows about driving, if not cars. Brewer is just a piped up used car salesman. They should get people who really work in the trade instead (HJ?).
Top Gear used to have some decent presenters. That Chris Goffey was okay if a bit dull, but at least he wasn't always hooning round some track in a caravan stock race or something daft like that. I agree about that Steve Berry too, he was best of the lot.
I think the thing that really shows how bad they are is how much better some of the *really low budget* shows on satellite/cable are - they actually take the time to talk about the cars rather than just doing crazy camera angles to a Def Leppard soundtrack.
End of rant.
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Phil must be a Northener if he likes Steve Berry but doesn't like Mike Brewer. I've met Mike lots of times. He came from being a very sharp London car dealer (one of the first to import prformance cars from Germany, for example) to the late great Deals on Wheels show. He had more control over this than Driven and will have more control over his forthcoming new show. Anyone looking for real inside information is likely to get it from Mike's new show.
HJ
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Too right HJ, Wigan is the place to be from!
I mean its not like I know Mike Brewer, so he might be knowledgable about cars, it just doesn't come across like that on the show. Thats probably more to do with the program controllers than him though.
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TG went down hill after Clarkie went. Love him or loath him he made the programme what it was. I used to lap up his page in Performance Car before he came to TG. Since TG the only way is down for TG and Clarkson. That abyssmal chat show he hosts(ed) on BBC 2, what dire rubbish. Even his Sunday Times column is a shadow of his cutting edge writing in the 80s. Seve Berry come back all is forgiven, at least there was some 2 wheel content on TV when he was on TG. Vicky is the prog's only saving grace these days, even Tiff seems to have lost the plot -- did you see that rather silly article last Thursday about sports cars....really!!!!
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Count Quentula was not always that objective when it came to diesels, but Vicks is one of the better things on the box since the Dimmock twins. OO
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Most of the motorcycling press thought Steve Berry a bit of an arse. Has he redeemed himself? Does absence make the heart grow fonder?
Mike in Deals on Wheels was excellent and he's still excellent in Driven. The original Driven series had an excellent presenter dynamic which was upset when the chap with the gammy eye defected to TG. Towards the end of the series Jason Plato, Penny Mallory, and Mike Brewer were really gelling together.
Unfortunately, Driven has started to turn a little more sensational from practical. However, the quality of the writing is far superior than TG.
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Allegedly Top Gear is unscripted, which is the excuse they gave when asked if subtitles for the deaf could be added. All due to the lack of time to check out the accuracy of all the technical terms they use on TG. Their words not mine!
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Talking of Deals on Wheels which was brilliant, is there going to be another series does anyone know?
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Check the Channel 4 website:
www.4car.co.uk
Another excellent source of running costs are
www.glass.co.uk
www.fleetnews.co.uk
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