As time goes on, I'm less and less impressed with American TV. In fact, there are really only three that I'm consistently watching at the moment. The new season of Dexter is way better than the last two, and being the wookie-suiter I am, The Walking Dead is thoroughly delightful. Now, the third, I'm not as exited about, but I hope it gets better.
Enter Top Gear America.
Now, here's wot I think....
As a HUGE fan of the original show, I'm glad to see the same type of format, music, and overall production quality that the British show enjoys, being brought here to the states. We even have our own Stig! It's just such a great idea for The History Channel to be the ones to pick up this idea as well.
However, I gotta say, the choice of hosts has some issues with me. Well, with Tanner Foust specifically. From what I gather so far, he's to be the primary host, with the other two guys trying to react to him. This doesn't quite work, because although Foust is a great driver and an overall good guy, he just doesn't have much in the way of a TV personality at all.
The other two hosts don't seem too bad, but they don't seem to be gear-heads at all, barely even auto enthusiasts. That, and they need someone to clash with. Someone that can narrate the Stig's laps without making Ben Stein sound like a South American soccer announcer (Goooooal!!!). For example, any of the original hosts, could be narrating a trip to the bathroom at a scrapbooking convention, and make it sound like an action movie that you're on the edge of your seat for. Not so with Mr. Foust.
If I remember correctly, they wanted one of the hosts on the original Top Gear to be a racing driver, but it was impossible to find one that could make intelligent commentary. So, The Stig was born. That way they could have a professional driver on the show without having to suffer through his horribly boring personality. The American show should have taken a page from their book.
Oh well. As a group, the hosts seem to be getting better as the episodes progress, but I'd still like to see someone a bit more exiting. In any case, if you've missed any of this show you can check out full episodes on History's website. But, I can't give them a nod without pointing you to a video from the guys behind the original.
Enter Top Gear America.
Now, here's wot I think....
As a HUGE fan of the original show, I'm glad to see the same type of format, music, and overall production quality that the British show enjoys, being brought here to the states. We even have our own Stig! It's just such a great idea for The History Channel to be the ones to pick up this idea as well.
However, I gotta say, the choice of hosts has some issues with me. Well, with Tanner Foust specifically. From what I gather so far, he's to be the primary host, with the other two guys trying to react to him. This doesn't quite work, because although Foust is a great driver and an overall good guy, he just doesn't have much in the way of a TV personality at all.
The other two hosts don't seem too bad, but they don't seem to be gear-heads at all, barely even auto enthusiasts. That, and they need someone to clash with. Someone that can narrate the Stig's laps without making Ben Stein sound like a South American soccer announcer (Goooooal!!!). For example, any of the original hosts, could be narrating a trip to the bathroom at a scrapbooking convention, and make it sound like an action movie that you're on the edge of your seat for. Not so with Mr. Foust.
If I remember correctly, they wanted one of the hosts on the original Top Gear to be a racing driver, but it was impossible to find one that could make intelligent commentary. So, The Stig was born. That way they could have a professional driver on the show without having to suffer through his horribly boring personality. The American show should have taken a page from their book.
Oh well. As a group, the hosts seem to be getting better as the episodes progress, but I'd still like to see someone a bit more exiting. In any case, if you've missed any of this show you can check out full episodes on History's website. But, I can't give them a nod without pointing you to a video from the guys behind the original.
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