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A Politically Correct Clarkson. Would anyone want to watch that?

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Top Gear US is airing right now! Hopefully someone out there is watching us and can give us an initial impression. I will hopefully watch it soon :)

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I'm half way though the episode. They are trying hard. It's a bit different without the British guys... soo far I'm giving it a thumbs up. The stig-clone and test track segment clone seems awkward since there is no real acknowledgement of the original version.

---------- Post added at 11:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:23 PM ----------

.... okay... it wasn't all that great. some of their upcoming clips look more promising.

The US version has the look down pat, but there was no chemistry between the hosts.
Hopefully that will change with future episodes.

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I thought the second episode was better than the first. Buzz Aldrin looked like he would be a difficult interview subject and Adam's interview technique was awful (at best). Ruttledge did a much better job this week.

I thought the blind guy drifting bit was well done, topped off with the dog peeing in the studio. I also enjoyed the Aston Martin review but the 'English are liars' speedo joke was lame - was that the best the writers could come up with?

While the EVO race was similar to one Richard did in TG UK, this one was *through* the snow. That looked like heaps of fun.

Next week is the moonshining episode (where they buy old cars). I'm looking forward to this as it will hopefully show off the hosts interaction a little better.

I watched the American version last weekend. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't close to the British version. It has potential, and seems to have a budget, but they need to do crazy stuff, not just race Lambos down a runway.

I also watched the British version and they had the best quote I've heard in a long time. "You can't be American, you're nowhere near fat enough."

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I don't think their driving skills matters that much. None of the UK hosts has a background in racing cars. What they can do in a car is learnt from (work) experience, rather than a racing background. There may be some challenges that are best done by Tanner, but by and large top gear challenges don't revolve around the guys being great drivers.

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I am hoping for better things. The British version took time to become what it is.

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Yep, I think this is where you see how poor the Oz and US versions are - the UK guys are just so slick - you *know* it is scripted but it just seems less scripted because of the delivery.

Spoiler: The treatment of the stig was funny, as was James doing yoga

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