Thetownend.com

New series starts on Sunday at 9pm on BBC2.

Is that at the same time as that mind numbing dross on the retard cencus channel?

yippie, moved to avoid x-factor I see. Saves arguments!

I wish they'd axe Clarkson and Hammond and make it less about cars.

Yeah, maybe something about toys instead.

James May has his own show, about toys or something.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekLfVmmo9Qw&feature=player_embedded

Sweet. Thought it was due to start soon.

Bumpity bump for tonight

yippee

It shold be awesome tonight its on at 9 instead on 8 isnt it?

I'm guessing it wasn't that awesome? I missed it.

Me too. Towering Inferno was on 5

On HD now too!

it was a good one too!

i can vouch for the, errrr, 'interesting' state of Romania's roads, i was there is '96, my dad runs a charity that took medical supplies, clothes etc etc to a town called Turgu Mures since about '91 and now provides financial aid. the standard of driving was abysmal, the traffic lights seemed to be a suggestion, rather than a directive. (an interesting fact about turgu mures, does anyone remember 'Challenge Annika'? you may remember she went to Romania and built an A+E building next to a hospital? that was Turgu Mures.)

the rural roads were horrific, there were parts that weren't much wider than the minibus we were in, the sheer drops at the edge of the roads were at times immense, it was bloody horrible :P one particular incident i remember VERY well, driving through a small village, the road curved left around a church, we were doing 20/30mph when around the corner came a 38 tonne truck on our side of the road doing 40+, the driver of our minibus slammed on the brakes and threw the van onto the grass bank, it missed us by inches. i ended up in the footwell by the sliding side door as i had taken my seatbelt off so i could take my jumper off at that moment. oops!

Even though I still enjoy it, Top Gear is getting a little too scripted for my liking.  The lorry driver backing in to James May's Sandera was clearly a set up, for example.

Unfortunately, although Top Gear has always been heavily scripted (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-471541/BBC-admit-Top-Gear-caravan-blaze-fake.html), (no problem with that it's entertainment), in the last couple of series it's beginning to show in a really obvious way - almost like they're running out of ideas.

That said though May's prang with the Lamborghini with a local car looked real enough.

Of course its scripted. You'd have to be a total wally not to realise. I still think its a top quality programme whether it is scripted or not.

soapy tit wank @ Hammond's bluetooth

Yeah it's very scripted and tests their acting skills to the limit, especially Hammonds, but i love it. It's the only "car" program worth watching on tv and provides much enjoyment as well.

New series just started now. Yay!!

My sky information says this is 7/7??

It's a two part Christmas special. Second part is on Sunday.

First part in repeated on Christmas Day.

Pussy Energy drink !!!

nice one. Cheers

That reminded me just how amazing New York was/is.

For some reason my freeview tv guide said it was a 1:05 minute programme so I missed the last 10 minutes on the pvr. Will have to watch again on Christmas day.

only just got told it was on. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

i player

the iplayer buffers every minute living where I do. It's crap

Top Gear comes across a bit like Last of the Summer Wine lately. I fully expect Clarkson to be screaming down a hill in bath tub before long. I do still love it though.

I only started watching it about 3 years ago so most of it's still new to me. Some of the clearly scripted stuff is irksome, but overall it's very good. Love that idea of the bathtub, would excpect some rockets or the suchlike on them.

The middle east one on Sunday looks ace.

Have you thought about downloading it. If you're connection's that shit it might take an hour, but you can always do it overnight.

Top Gear rocks... even if it is scripted!

I'll start watching Top Gear again once Clarkson and Hammond have been killed.
I just can't watch those two utter cunts.

I might put them on the 2011 Death Prediction list, if there is going to be one this year?

Explain.  Clarkson and Hammond make the programme and May is the perfect sidekick.  Clarkson's views are often tongue-in-cheek and he is, in my opinion, the best journalist in the last twenty years.  Hammond is the perfect victim for his bullying, and is a decent journo in his own right.

The programme has lost it's grip on reality, with endless trips in cars no one can afford being an odd thing to show during the time of economic downturn.  However, the old format of a factual review of a Rover Metro was far less successful.

I just find them both extremely irritating, especially Clarkson.

I watched the first part last night. It was ok.

I can see why people find Clarkson (and to some extent Hammond) extremely irritating, but for me that's all part of their charm. I find them managable in small doses.

I think they had the format right a couple of years ago when they did serious reviews of a good mix of cars with the odd joke/sketch thrown in here or there. Nowadays it just seems to be all about getting laughs, which for me is wearing a bit thin. For example, the whole knocking out the studio lights and then setting fire to the Christmas tree thing was rather tedious IMO.

*************** DRIVE BY ON THE STIG ***************

What?

The presenters of BBC show Top Gear exacted some kind of a revenge on 'The Stig', firing guns at cardboard cutouts of their former colleague, as the new series of the popular motoring show fronted by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May got underway on Tuesday night

Read more: http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/73156,news-comment,entertainment,top-gear-presenters-shoot-the-stig-in-drive-by-#ixzz191q0B05R

Yeah, I saw it. I just didn't understand the need to post *************** DRIVE BY ON THE STIG ***************.

Because it was fuckin quality so it deserved to be mentioned in stars!?!

I'm looking forward to applying that to the rest of the forum. Come on ****************Charlie Austin*************

Seems to be back tonight, in about 12 minutes time.

I hadn't seen any advertisement for this new series. the cunning little bastards

Amy Williams is fit...

Is it repeated this week?

It should be on iplayer already.

Ah forget it, seems we're Sky Plussing it so I can watch the first episode now whilst there is bugger all on the box!

agreed.

I enjoyed the programe except for the bit where he predictably turned on the mock jingoism during his E-Type eulogy.  I know it was all tongue in cheek (brass bands on rolling hillsides etc.) but he's done the national stereotyping gags so many times now that it's all wearing a bit thin.  Car making, like so many other industries, barely recognises national boundaries anyway.  Yes, the E-Type is British...but so is Tesco.  Move on!

Can't use IPlayer as I don't live in the UK mate.

I used to enjoy it a few years ago, but both Clarkson and Hammond are both totally unwatchable nowadays. I don't know what it is exactly, but they both fucking irritate me.

Wednesday 7pm on BBC3.

I think I know what you mean. Hammond is my main gripe, no idea why just find him irritating sometimes.

I think all 3 of them have almost become characatures of themselves - Clarkson gets more opinionated and extreme every episode, Hammond gets more silly and cutesy (is that a word ? I mean pandering to the sad middle aged women who watch it because of him) and May acts more Nice-but-dim, always the butt of the others jokes.

As long as you dont watch it for serious information on cars and just acknowledge that it is 3 blokes having a bit of a laugh (albeit mostly scripted) and doing silly things in cars, it is still a very good hours TV

Strange how they failed to mention Jezza shagging a member of the production team...

Amy Williams....oh yes!

Those three cunts are taking over the world-James May's this,Richard Hammond's that.Does my head in.

Not such a bad thing.  The cost of motoring would surely go down!  :beers:

I do enjoy top gear but thought last nights programme was shit. Im an old lefty anyway so I should dislike it, but I was watching thinking 'are we actually paying for them to twat around running over cars and have a laugh when I really dont like them?'  Maybe Ive just got too old for it.

I found it a bit boring last night if i'm being honest. It's all become a bit too same old and clearly they are running out of ideas. I'm hoping for better episodes as the series progresses though as normally they start off the series with a bit of a slow one.

I used to love Top Gear, as a car nut, not as someone who enjoys the humour. I still like May, because apart from the bad acting, he comes across as the most natural. It's now over scripted and written to try and be too funny, which is often quite cringey.

I find Hammond and Clarkson have become more annoying than ever. It's a shame, because I think it could be great again if Hammond was shot and Clarkson does what he's good act, not acting, not trying to be funny and talking about cars in an impassioned and frank manner.

It's like someone already said, they're almost parodies of themselves now and the funnier they try to be the harder I find it to watch.

I take it for what it is, an entertainment show, and I enjoy it. Better than most of the crap on TV.

That's a very fair analysis I'd say.  Although I'd just sack Hammond, or ask him to tone it down a bit - shooting is a bit strong for my weak lefty heart to take.

I still like Top Gear, but as somebody said above it is now a bit over scripted. The format is getting a bit stale too. Not enjoying the SITRPC, though this week as an exception as I could listen to Alice Cooper for hours. They kind of have too many "challenges" now too.

I've got no problem with May, Hammond and Clarkson though.

They seem to be running out of ideas. Like.