Top Gear Australia (2008–2012) User Reviews

Embarrassing

[rkqotsa · 3/10 · 29 September 2008]

Tonight on SBS saw the debut of the local version of the hit U.K motor show Top Gear.

I'm a big fan of Top Gear. I love the antics of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May oh I should mention The Stig as well. I love the fun segments and especially and this is the key here I love the sense of humor of the show. You see the main reason the UK Top Gear is so popular is because of the personalties and the wit of the hosts.

Top Gear Australia has none of that. The hosts of TGA (Charlie Cox, Warren Brown & Steve Pizzati) have no charisma and have the sense of humor of a office manager. Plus they trying too hard to be like Clarkson, Hammond and May with embarrassing results. SBS has put a lot of money into this show and left out the main ingredient on what made the UK version popular. I knew they would do this. I just knew that some suit at the network said 'Hey that car show is popular lets make our own version. It will be great cause it has Aussie cars and content and we will measure in Kilowatts' without sitting down to watch the original.

The U.S have done the right thing and have the UK crew film exclusive content just for them (With a lot of fat jokes I'm guessing). What SBS has done have taken a show and lot of people liked and what they have done is made a piece of junk that no one really asked for in the first place. A disaster.

I can imagine Jeremy Clarkson seeing this show and making fun of it in the latest season of the UK Top Gear (To air in Australia sometime in 2022) A huge thumbs down.

Galling

[melrusty · 4/10 · 6 October 2008]

With great expectation I awaited the arrival of our home grown version of a wonderfully entertaining programme. Lo and behold what we got was a gallingly scripted piece of bile. Sure looking at cars that we can purchase here was interesting, prob more so than the exotic versions tested by the English counterpart, there however ended the enjoyment. Where did they dredge these presenters (well two of them anyway) up from, Charlie COOK, the Jeremy wannabe, without any presence, any semblance of humor, quite frankly he would be better suited to hosting one of those makeup shows gracing our screens mid morning. Steve Pizzati is immensely annoying, and dare I say it, that is prob his most redeeming feature. He constantly clamors for camera time, interrupting the others with feeble attempts at humor, then having the audacity to laugh at the unfunniest of unfunny jokes. Is that whining voice of his natural, surely not. I found Warren to be the most likable of these characters, shark stunt aside. On the face of it he appears to be the only candidate available with an ability to ad-lib. I can only hope that when a pecking order is established within this trio that they can then stop competing with each other. "What were they thinking" is original, and prob should be explored further on the programme. I know it is early days and I sincerely hope that these issues are addressed, if not this show could be destined for the "also rans" bin very quickly, a shame given the lack of a decent motoring show in this country since the halcyon days of "Torque" with Peter Wherret

Proof that the popularity of Top Gear lies in its presenters

[miss_niss · 4/10 · 17 November 2008]

The basic concept of Top Gear is to talk about cars in an entertaining way that attracts even those who know nothing about cars. The hosts are the ones who make the often rather boring car stuff funny and interesting, and it is for this reason that the Australian version fails. Charlie, Steve and Warren are pale imitations of their British counterparts.The ideas are OK, testing utes in a mine for example was a good use of the Australian setting. But the problem is that the presenters just aren't funny. Their jokes feel forced and consistently fall flat. Warren is like that old moustached uncle whose history lessons and bad jokes you try to avoid at Christmas. Charlie tries to be the elitist arrogant version of Jeremy Clarkson but lacks the same biting wit. Steve at least seems to have expertise as a driver and as the youngest, is the most appealing. But he's not that funny either.

The British version succeeds because the banter between the hosts feels natural and the situations (although often set up or scripted) are believable. This is not the case in the Australian version. Take for example tonight's episode where Warren "randomly" stops mid-trip to look in an antique shop. Comically, the other hosts drive off. It didn't look spontaneous, it looked contrived.

Fans of the original will be disappointed.

A Complete Write-Off

[heebie_jeebies · 1/10 · 29 September 2008]

Gad, what an abomination. They hold an open casting call, creating the impression they're actually looking for good presenters, and instead they overlook all presenting ability and go for 3 dreary motoring columnists with all the wit and charm of Peter Lorre and all the dashing good looks of George Formby. Where was the humour? All we got was three ill-at-ease middle aged twits with no personality hooning around on some sand dunes, pretending to enjoy themselves and guffawing hysterically at every whimsical comment. How about Charlie explaining the technical details of a car's transmission by doodling a diagram in the dirt? I mean really, does your average Top Gear fan give a Peter Luck how the car works? And what exactly was the point of the shark stunt, and what did it have to do with cars?? About the only joke I can recall from the entire show was some nauseatingly unfunny quip about Victoria Police "busting a cap in someone's ass", which was followed by a round of self-congratulation and an appeal to the bemused audience for applause. Oh and of course there was the obligatory attempt to imitate some of Clarkson's outspokenness, by taking a cheap and unfunny shot at the government over their luxury car tax.

Maybe if they'd tried to do something a bit different, rather than just imitating all the personality traits of the original hosts, it might not have looked so bad. As it is, they look like really bad Cliff Richard impersonators in an Elvis impersonator's competition. The bloke who plays Richard Hammond, Steve Pizzati, got on my nerves too. I can only imagine how grating that whiny soprano and irritating cackle will be by the end of the series.

I was actually considering auditioning for the James May role when they had the casting call, but I wouldn't have gotten it as I'm way too funny.

I'm sure the BBC execs are sharpening their axe as I type. It's rather amusing that the only original segment was titled What Were They Thinking, as it summed up my reaction to the BBC's decision to commission this steaming pile.

Trying too hard...

[LoveBritishMen · 1 October 2008]

The first thing that sprung to mind within the first couple of minutes while watching this was that the program was trying way to hard to impress Top Gear fans. I mean sure, it is a daunting task to take on the duty and try to outdo the fabulous UK version but please! enough already.

The problem is that nothing was fresh, inventive. There was no new material, no new sets and no new personalities that would've, obviously, added much needed variety to the Australian show. It seems the BBC have tried to fool the public into believing that the great Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond can be easily replaced by a bunch of dull gits and everything would be great. How wrong they were! Where was the Australian wit? The individuality? The humour?! *Yawn* B-O-R-I-N-G. The segments were pathetic and over dramatized and for the love of God, shut Steve Pizzati up! Put us out of our misery BBC and run this down with a Geewiz and bring back the UK Top Gear pronto!

It could have been something

[akarus121 · 2/10 · 6 October 2008]

When Top Gear Australia was announced, my immediate reaction was that it would be great to have something covering the side of motoring that Top Gear UK doesn't. When the first episode aired, it was all I could do to stop myself marching in protest against SBS.

Rather than try to be unique and entertaining, TGA has instead tried to convince us that we're still watching the UK series. Presenters were chosen to be poor replicas of the originals rather than finding truly funny people. They even try to use all the same jokes and catchphrases. It's only a matter before they start ending with "on that bombshell..." The first episode, featuring a review of soft road cars, had real potential. Here was something incredibly Australian, but it was done so badly that I'm almost ashamed to admit it. Then they tried to copy the Stig intro... and failed. Still, I reserved judgment to give them another chance at it with the second episode.

Again there's something very Australian: Ford vs Holden. An ongoing Australian battle. Yet they seemed more interested in drifting than driving. Yes, we know you can drift with them, but try to review something more than just their tarmac performance. The "Best Ute" feature was actually mildly entertaining; watched with the terrible presenters muted and it would have been a good feature.

The problem with this show isn't that there's nothing to review, it's that they're trying too hard to copy a brilliant series with far superior presenters.

NO NO NO NO NO What an abortion! Where's BBC's axe?

[lanimae61 · 1/10 · 9 October 2008]

It's not often one can think of nothing nice to say, but this is one of those times. BBC took a great show with genuine characters and turned it into this no-hoper, tragic wanna-be, poor mongrel cousin. Instead of witty banter, we get the falsetto "please shut the hell up or I will throw myself off the gap" Steve Pasati. Not to be out done, we aimed for the quick witted Jeremy Clarkson and got this annoying pratt (who is more like that awful Tiff Needle from the OTHER motoring show). If he tells us one more time how great a driver he is and how long he has been doing it professionally, I am going to hunt him down and glue his lips to his exhaust pipe and run his motor at 70,000 million revs or until he bursts or the engine flys apart in sympathy, whichever is sooner. Lastly, where the hell did they get the night club bouncer from? The puerile comments are meant to echo those of the British trio, but for the most part is just silly. The tests are boring and the challenges look ridiculous. NEVER try and imitate something like this which relies so heavily on personality. I wonder if the same idiot who thought this was a good idea also sold "Kath and Kim" to the seppos? Whoever it is needs shooting then drawing and quartering then shooting again then burying in a bog to be dug up again in a few gajillion years as peat to then be thrown on a fire and toasted til golden brown. At least then you might have something slightly useful. The worst bit is that if they weren't trying to be someone else, it might have had half a chance. Get new sets, new scripts and new presenters and try it again, better still DON'T! Just watch the British version and chalk this up to a dreadful nightmare.

YUK!

The verdict

[frozen170180 · 6/10 · 29 September 2008]

After just having watched the inaugural episode of Top Gear Australia I must say: It wasn't bad.....for a start. However, it could have been MUCH better: And here's why.

First Point: Why not start with the comparison between the FPV F6 and the HSV GTS (I think it was the GTS) and BLOW us all away??? Ohhhhhh what an opener that could have been!!!!!! And oh what a letdown it was settling for a soft roader comparison instead (I know these cars are popular with us Australians, but so are our TITANIC battles between Ford and Holden)!!!! I feel slightly ripped off having had SBS play scenes from the F6-GTS comparison only to have Cox announce 'what you've all been waiting for' will appear next week (And yes you can bet I'll be watching next week).

Second point: The comparison between the soft roaders....was it a comparison or just 3 dudes having a play? There was no discussion at the end of the comparison between the three hosts as to which car won the day....even if the hosts do end up disagreeing at the end it's still nice to know.

Third Point: The Franchise. Yes Top Gear is borrowed from the UK version, and it needs to follow a certain formula. But there is no way in hell that Charlie Cox, Warren Brown, and Steve Pizzati can be expected to manufacture the sheer charisma that their Top Gear opposites in the UK have. They need to be left alone to create something of their own. Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond have this truly wonderful-to-watch magic style of their own that should not be attempted to be replicated as I saw in Top Gear Aus: Just won't work, the Aussie hosts will just end up looking like clunky fools, and the show will be ridiculed. Charlie Cox should not be billed as Australia's version of Jeremy Clarkson, there can only be one Clarkson. Warren Brown should not be billed as Australia's version of James May, there can only be one May. And Steve Pizzati...I didn't get the feeling the show was trying to manipulate him into being an Aussie Richard Hammond as much as the other two were. I had the fortunate opportunity to see Warren Brown compete in a Peking to Paris drive, recreating a trek that was made at the turn of the 20th century. He was brilliant in that, so I suspect that if allowed, these Australian hosts are capable of coming up with a magic of their own.

Forth point: The test track. The camera angles were bad, I didn't get a feel for how the cars were responding to the turns or get a feeling for just how quick they were racing around the track (The Skyline didn't look as quick as it so obviously was), the track didn't seem long enough, and it all seemed like a bit of a blur.

Fifth point: Weren't you lot hamming it up a bit with the chop up and pasting of footage when you dipped Brown into the sea with those sharks? It was crap! That entire part of the show wasn't as scary as it could have been. I think it's fair to say.....you lot made a meal outta that one :P

Conclusion: Top Gear Australia has a lot of work to be done to it to get it rolling smoothly, mainly camera work on moving car footage around that track, the track itself should be slightly longer, hosts need to be left to develop a personality of their own, but all in all, it passed..only just!

Lots of room for improvement yes, it takes time.

[dunxy · 6/10 · 14 October 2008]

Im glad there is some people sticking up for this show here.

At the same time i am saddened by all the bashing and comparison to TG UK by these "armchair" critics.

Do you have any comprehension if the budget per EP for TG UK? Its either 1 or 2 MILLION UKP per ep! I doubt you will find ANY Australian show with such a budget, especially not on a channel like SBS! On the same note, the amount of footage that ends up on the cutting room floor for TG UK is as astronomical as the budget, its like 100 or 200:1 For those that do not understand that means for every one minute of footage aired there is over 100 minutes shot, this all costs money and is HUGELY relevant to the quality of the show.

To put it simply SBS do not, and most likely never will have the time,money or resources to so what the BBC do for TG UK, so to compare the two is HUGELY unfair.

I agree our Top Gear is not anything flash just yet, but i have seen a lot worse shows on Aussie TV. Im sure given some time for the cast,crew and writers to all get used to the job it will improve, and hopefully some advertising income will increase production values.

I have no doubt the vast majority of the current budget is being spent just to secure the rights to use the name.

Lots of room for improvement yes, but please don't bash it so much and give it a chance. And as hard as it is don's try to put it up against the mega budget UK incarnation, its just not fair.

Too much budget for a show not even worth it

[cupid_shot_you · 6/10 · 17 January 2009]

The presenters are just not funny. The main guy is OK but the other two are just terrible. They they speak they try way to hard to be cool as if they are better than the UK crew. They are horribly wrong. The worst thing about them is that they THINK they are funny. They laugh at the littlest things they do. While the rest of us are sitting there with our pet crickets.

Now on to the show itself, too much budget went into this show you can tell by the way the presenters do the test driving and challenges. Every time they do the doughnut burning those tires it makes me want to weep. Every time they crash a nice new car into something, my heart tightens. They have absolutely no respect for the cars they drive.

AND They almost always use new cars in their challenges which IMO is stupid. 80% of my love for Top Gear IS their old junk challenges. Top Gear Australia is a huge disappointment. Major modifications needed.

My review is based on TG Australia First Season.

POWEEERRRRRRRRRRRR (this time in kilowatts!!)

[mindbender2302 · 7/10 · 22 March 2011]

When reviewing Top Gear USA (TGUSA) I said that watching that show was like chewing gum that's already been chewed and stuck under a bench in the New York Grand Central Station for an year.

What TGUSA lacks in every department, Top Gear Australia (TGA) makes up with wit and chemistry that is only second to that of the Top Gear UK (TGUK) cast.

The first few episodes were a bit shaky with that old guy and the guy with the Village-People-moustache, but after 2 seasons and some reshuffling I think they have come up with a setup that totally has potential.

Unlike in the USA, they actually have "wilderness" and "unexplored land" in Australia, which have been shown to be good sources for driving challenges, and some of the segments were original - like driving a V8 touring car in city streets and driving tiny three wheeled cars into a safari park (ok, TGUK did a similar one too - but the UK cast didn't get surrounded by lions or charged by a mommy-rhino or get crapped on by monkeys with red asses!!!) Also, the seal of approval for the TGA was given by the TGUK in the "Top Gear Ashes" episode...

So, hope for promising future for this show.