Going through an old Top Gear rewatch and
Posted by bassmastashadez@reddit | thegrandtour | View on Reddit | 5 comments
James’s introduction is genuinely fantastic. The first series was an interesting watch and Jason Dawe had some things going for him as a presenter. But literally from James’s first feature about his Bentley you can see he was the final piece of the puzzle. Instantly better chemistry with Jeremy than Dawe ever seemed to have as well. I know they worked together previously but it’s just amazing how quickly it clicked.
existential_chaos@reddit
He really was. Whenever I watch compilations of TG and Jason Dawes is in bits of it, it becomes obvious just how much he didn’t really work with the other two (or IDK maybe I’m just biased now because we had James for so long)
bassmastashadez@reddit (OP)
Yeah! Even through the latter half of series 1 you could see Jeremy and Richard starting to click with the Cool Wall. And then James just slotted straight in within seconds of being on the show.
JauntyGiraffe@reddit
Dawe belonged on old old Top Gear with Tiff, Vicki, etc. Literally a pokey motoring show on BBC2. Fifth Gear inherited those vibes.
James joining created the Top Gear we know, the greatest show...in the world. Is there even a comparable show anywhere else in media?
lingenfelter22@reddit
I didn't mind Dawe but a big part of his bit on the show was sales advice. That's fine but also very localized and wouldn't really suit the show as it grew not just to be entertainment rather than consumer advice, but also to be so popular internationally.
Dawe was interesting for what he was, however car buying advice does not have much value as reruns.
SubjectiveAssertive@reddit
I don't think the show was ever intended to be re-run, it's why series 1 is never on Dave. It was originally still a consumer advice show but moved away from that quickly.