Experiencing Top Gear for the first time
Posted by TX_Sized10-4@reddit | thegrandtour | View on Reddit | 64 comments
I'm in my mid 30s and have been a car guy for most of my life, but I had never watched a single episode of Top Gear. After I got a Prime membership a few years back, I'd seen The Grand Tour get recommended to me periodically and about a month ago, I finally gave it a shot. I absolutely loved it and felt legitimately sad after it was over even though I wasn't nostalgic for the trio in the same way I'm sure most of y'all are.
I wanted more and was able to get my hands on the original BBC version of Top Gear. It's almost funny how awkward season 1 is and it's very apparent that Clarkson and Hammond are more coworkers than friends in the early episodes. Also there's a weird sepia and purple filter over all the car reviews. They just recently added May to the crew and everybody is so young! It's really fun looking at all these old cars that I grew up with and what people thought of them when they were new. Hearing all of the opinions that aged well aaaaannnd the ones that aged like milk (there's a lot of those) is also so enjoyable in hindsight. I'm honestly glad I picked up Top Gear when I did, because knowing what the show turned into and being able to watch the origins of these 3 friends is such an incredibly good time and I don't think it would've sunk its hooks into me if I had just started from season 1 of Top Gear all those years ago. If there's anybody else that's in the same boat as me and has seen The Grand Tour, but not Top Gear, you owe it to yourself to give it a shot from the very beginning!
_TheShapeOfColor_@reddit
Please tell me where I can get MY hands on a copy of all the BBC originals pleeeeease.
TX_Sized10-4@reddit (OP)
đ´ââ ď¸
_TheShapeOfColor_@reddit
Can you DM the details? đ´ââ ď¸
iamabigtree@reddit
If you want the full experience try and find some proper old Top Gear from the 80s and 90s when Clarkson was presenting there. They aren't easy to find.
Graemeski@reddit
I was not even interested in driving them found top gear s9
Now millions years later in playin with my steering wheel games an watching them like itâs a religion
The 3 just have a thing
contentatlast@reddit
I'm jealous you get to experience it all!! Amazing. Enjoy!! âşď¸
BugglyIsAnIdiot@reddit
I've watched every single episode of Top Gear with the trio.
this is more bragging than relevant to the post.
WySLatestWit@reddit
I did the same thing that you did. I had heard of Top Gear over the years, but I didn't have cable at all by 2008 in the US and it just was never something that I thought to give a chance to. When everything blew up with Clarkson and the punch heard 'round the world I took notice and made a deliberate point of watching Grand Tour when it debuted, and I loved it immediately. I watched it all the way through and when the season was over I went back and watched as much Top Gear as I could find.
These days I almost see The Grand Tour as the "finale seasons" of Top Gear that the trio never got a chance to do. "One For The Road" in particular feels less like a finale to Grand Tour and more like the deliberate finale episode of Top Gear. I kind of love it.
TX_Sized10-4@reddit (OP)
Compared to the polish of The Grand Tour, these first few seasons of TG are rough, but charming in their own right. I'm excited to get to the Botswana special so I can see One For The Road "part one". The finale of The Grand Tour was one of the few times of that show where I felt like I was missing some needed context.
WySLatestWit@reddit
Yeah, keep up with it. the Top Gear that most people really, really love started around series 9, which is I think where the first "special" came from as they did the episode in the US. I don't think that was initially intended as a special, but it kind of becomes the prototype of everything that comes after, and then the Botswana special perfects the idea.
Kichigai@reddit
There were some iconic challenges before then that stand out, though. Killing a Hilux, sending Sabine around the NĂźrburgring in a van, amphibious cars, and the Caterham construction challenge.
Guccicles@reddit
Wait till you see the Top Gear specials, truly peak British TV even to this day
likeyournamebutworse@reddit
Early Top Gear is fun, but the last few seasons before the incident were absolute gold. The Grand Tour never quite reached the same level.
sunnydaleubervamp1@reddit
I came to it late, but not before it ended. Being able to binge it and see its evolution is brilliant. Now with Wilman and Porterâs books Iâm revisiting with extra insight.
Beartato4772@reddit
Because you're new just to be clear what you want is NOT "The Original BBC version of Top Gear", you want the 2002 reboot.
TX_Sized10-4@reddit (OP)
That's what I'm referring to, I know there was an older version and an attempted reboot with Clarkson before 2002, but I guess the non-BBC versions of the 2002 serious have a different audio track than the original cuts.
Left-Equipment7137@reddit
Not that easy to find the original, original Top Gear though, although there is some early Clarkson Top Gear on YouTube if you want to see how much it's changed.
(The original Top Gear started in 1977 btw and was strictly a car review show at first.)
sugarplum_nova@reddit
Not watched much of The Grand Tour. But grew up with my dad always having Top Gear on in the house. Youâll love the specials where they travel Vietnam for example.
7ar5un@reddit
I envy you. I wish i could experience tg for the 1st time all over again. Just take it all in, watch all the specials, all the episodes, all the colabs... Its amazing all the places the trio have been. Theres a map floating around somewhere of all the places and theyve been just about everywhere you could be in this world. Truely amazing.
WySLatestWit@reddit
You know what I'm always genuinely baffled by? Based on how popular the shows were, concurrently, and how much crossover I have to assume there was in their audiences I'm genuinely shocked there was never any kind of Top Gear crossover with Mythbusters.
YetiBoney@reddit
Well Richard Hammond and Tory Bellici did a show together called The Great Escapists, but it only lasted one season. Wasnât great, honestly.
WySLatestWit@reddit
Yeah, I heard of that and was kind of excited initially to watch it but all the clips I saw were pretty terrible, and the general consensus online seems to be that it's just not worth watching.
YetiBoney@reddit
Yeah that sums it up. It was fun enough at times, but also super scripted and forced to the point of being awkward at times. Too contrived.
WySLatestWit@reddit
yeah, from what I read it quickly devolved into an entirely scripted fictional "warring sides" storyline and it just sounded super lame. I love Richard - to be honestly I'm not that bit a fan of Tory - but that wasn't the Mythbusters crossover I really wanted. haha.
Overall_Gap_5766@reddit
May and Hyneman would make a great team I suspect
7ar5un@reddit
(Shrug emoji) no idea.
South_Sea_IRP@reddit
How had you never seen the show before? Just out of curiosity lol.
techtornado@reddit
He mustâve never torrented anything ?
TX_Sized10-4@reddit (OP)
Funny you say that, because I'm watching it on a torrent right now lol.
cyanide@reddit
I hope itâs the TGCC torrent with the original soundtrack.
TX_Sized10-4@reddit (OP)
From the US so it wasn't quite as ubiquitous over here and my parents weren't car people and didn't watch it. When I really got into car culture, I was in the military and didn't have access to cable or anything. I think I had a Netflix account and that was about it.
WySLatestWit@reddit
Can confirm what the OP is saying. There were people I knew in the US who watched Top Gear, but it was a "niche interest" kind of show in the United States as far as I could tell. In fact more people probably watched the US version of Top Gear in the states than they did the original BBC show. It wasn't until Jeremy's punching incident that the show seemed to break into the mainstream consciousness of the average American, and then Grand Tour seemed to be very popular from the start.
ucbiker@reddit
No way, Top Gear was pretty mainstream before the punching incident, although ironically it was already after most of the people I knew who got into it by torrenting the early series thought it had sort of jumped the shark.
South_Sea_IRP@reddit
Iâm an American too, Massachusetts. Was on BBC every Sunday night. It was my favorite show when I was probably 10 to 14. Great memories watching that in the 2000s đ
TX_Sized10-4@reddit (OP)
I'm glad you got to experience that as a kid! Knowing how dumb I was, I don't think I would've grasped the British humor at that age though.
South_Sea_IRP@reddit
Itâs a great show, not just as a car show but as a show in general. The chemistry the three guys have is really special, the only other on screen personalities I can think of that would compare would be the three stooges maybe. Really a once in a generation kind of thing.
madein___@reddit
Keep the bbc version for the original soundtrack.
What you get online these days (at least in the US) is generic music that tries to capture the same atmosphere as the original soundtrack.
I'd love to hear the original music again.
cyanide@reddit
Yup. Thereâs a world of difference between the original soundtrack and the generic music. Itâs one of the things that made Top Gear what it was, and itâs not spoken about much.
People donât know what theyâre missing with the generic soundtrack.
reditcyclist@reddit
seeing them land in France after crossing the channel is TV top 5 for me.
CommandSuch5806@reddit
Your in for a treat. You can forward and skip majority of the celebrity interviews if you don't find them entertaining or skip to the celebrity in a reasonably priced car.
I'd recommend watching Grand Tour after the trios final Top Gear episode and watch behind a sofa what happens after on Top Gear. However it does get better when its Chris, Paddy and Flintoff hosting.
FantasticalRose@reddit
They actually had season 1 hidden for years, Because they felt it was too awkward and unpolished. When they lost sway over the BBC and then the BBC published it lol
oneofthosepimps@reddit
Just in case, Pluto tv has a Top Gear channel .
OneBigOne@reddit
So does Samsung TV and Vizio TV.
Jonnythebull@reddit
Watch them on a Sunday night at 8pm đĽš
hardwood1979@reddit
If you're only a couple of series in then you have some of the best TV ever produced infront of you. Enjoy.
TX_Sized10-4@reddit (OP)
Thanks! Watching S2E2 as we speak!
Amphylos@reddit
Give the specials ago. Even better than grand tours.
TX_Sized10-4@reddit (OP)
I will when I get there, but I'm watching them all in order even though I know they're still a long way away.
Amphylos@reddit
Hahaha I get it. It is really fun to watch old top gear with all the humor and crazy stuff.
hardwood1979@reddit
Quite a few series to go before you'll run into the specials. A few of the earlier specials are widely regarded by fans as some of the best work the trio have done together and I believe are what catapulted TopGear into a global hit. I shan't mention which ones, best you watch them without prior expectations.
aD_rektothepast@reddit
I started watching top gear about 9 years ago⌠back then it was just the adventures and challenges. No I rewatch top gear seasons 2-22 and all of grand tour every year. Currently just started series 17. Love every minute of them every year.
WySLatestWit@reddit
I'm just curious, since you watch it every year, aside from budget and technical polish, what are the major differences for you between Top Gear and Grand Tour? I would say for me the major difference is that during The Grand Tour I think it's obvious from star to finish that the trio are all in reality very close friends who have known and worked together for years. Whereas on Top Gear it feels like that "True friends" relationship doesn't start really developing until after Richard had his accident. It took them a surprisingly long time to develop the full chemistry that they brought with them to the very first episode of Grand Tour.
aD_rektothepast@reddit
I believe a lot of the banter and bickering is more genuine in top gear than grand tour.. which Is one of my favorite aspects of the trio as well as the cheap car challenges. Also as Clarkson always said on top gear â this pokey Motoring show on BBC2â or âAmbitious but rubbishâ⌠the grand tour is excellent for what it is on prime⌠but it just couldnât recreate the magic of top gear in my opinion. Also the guest segment is much better on top gear.
WySLatestWit@reddit
I was never really interested in the guest segments, that to me was always the aspect I least paid attention to on either show really. I think some of the banter in the studio can feel very, very scripted I agree with that. I think that was the part of the show they had most trouble producing because they had to be so extremely careful to not cross the legal lines with what was "legally Top Gear."
For me what Grand Tour really did was perfect the "special" format that Top Gear pioneered. Those episodes that were primarily about traveling from one place to another and essentially being a travelogue showcase of cars and places were where Grand Tour absolutely excelled. The Mongolia special for example is, in my opinion, a top contender for best thing the trio has ever done across all their shows; I just think it's that good an episode.
For what it's worth I think Andy Wilman largely agrees with your opinion. He has said on interviews that Grand Tour never quite felt like Top Gear, and a large part of that was because there wasn't the sense of "discovery and invention" that Top Gear had. Grand Tour was largely applying a massive budget to all those ideas they'd pioneered on Top Gear. He actually argued that Clarkson's Farm has a lot more Top Gear spirit specifically because of that sense of finding and inventing what the show is along the way without having a blueprint to follow.
aD_rektothepast@reddit
Yes the specials or adventures are absolutely better on grand tour, they were perfected.⌠my favorite mainly because of the cars and it did have a whiff of top gear about it was the Scotland one in season 3. Yes Mongolia special is one of the best along with the one that starts in Georgia and ends in Azerbaijan.
I never knew he said that about clarksons farm. It is a good show especially season 1 when he starts all his projects around the farm.
WySLatestWit@reddit
I enjoy Clarkson's farm. It's not at all like Top Gear, but I think I understand what Wilman means. It's clear that with each season they're finding whole new aspects of the entire thing to cover, and it does feel like they find something new they want to do every year that they haven't done yet. Most importantly though, they fell into total magic with the cast of that show.
aD_rektothepast@reddit
Also, and it must be Clarkson bringing it out in everyone, but the banter between him and Kaleb is also a highlight.
WySLatestWit@reddit
I think a lot of the banter really does come from Clarkson drawing it out of people. I think when Clarkson likes someone banter is really his primary form of communication, and either you join in or you just think he's an asshole. Luckily farmers on the whole, from my experience, are very used to abrasive personalities and very free with their banter and bickering.
90_CRX_si@reddit
TUBI has a live tv channel that plays Top Gear 24/7. My wife needs the tv on at night for noise so I made a deal to put this channel on when she decides to go to sleep. I can wake up at anytime throughout the night and watch my favorite show off all time.
AplCore@reddit
I came into it around the Bugatti Veyron era when a lot of those clips made their way to YouTube and it was instant addiction.
From there I caught up and kept watching all the way to Clarksonâs fracass where he punched the exec and his contract didnât get renewed. Was sad then when I thought it was over but then the Grand tour came about and they picked up right where they left off and it felt like a retirement arc for the next six seasons which then really hit hard when they ended the Zimbabwe finale in Botswana (especially considering Oliver came from that original Botswana TG special)
Am happy that Clarkson still has the farm show keeping the film crew employed, and Richard is doing the Smallest Cog and Drivetribe YouTube channel with his daughter Izzy which feels like a passing of the torch. James meanwhile has his Gin channel on YouTube and also had his âOur man inâŚâ travel show. Even Ben Collins (the 1st white stig) has a decent YouTube channel these days.
TX_Sized10-4@reddit (OP)
This might be controversial but I'm super excited for next season of TGT with James, Thomas, and... erm, that other guy. Honestly, don't know anything about that third dude, but I'm a huuuuge Throttle House fan and Thomas and James have excellent chemistry. I really think they'll do a good job carrying on the legacy.
AplCore@reddit
Iâll at least give it a chance. I did with the Replacement tog gear crews as well but this one at least seems less⌠âScripted cool guysâ than the Matt Leblanc crew.
I always appreciated the self awareness of the original trio in that they knew that a major part of what made it work was that they never agreed on anything. Their personalities clashing was half the magic.
AlwaysStayHumble@reddit
Search for TGCC V3. You won't be disappointed.
Aromatic-Usual7204@reddit
Canât watch it now with whatâs going on in Britain. 3 rich guys who think they know best based on on ignorance and wealth. WoopâŚ