914's on Top Gear US. Options

[johannes]

I went on the IMBD site ..and yes the producers are to people calling the shoot, So if they have no clue that's what you will see.

Real soon here I will be starting to shoot a show about a shop here in my area, and it will feature a 914 conversion.
So please be on a look out,I will PM some of you guys for your help. I hope to show some of the nice work that has been done here.
I'm doing the treatment now and will be shooting a pilot when it's done.

BTW I would like to talk with some of you guys that work on these cars for a living as well.

Sounds great !!! ... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/first.gif)

[brilliantrot]

Can't wait to see what you come up with.

[oldschool]

Can't wait to see what you come up with.

I may be calling you to do some driving.... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif)

[r_towle]

Funny, I watched the program last night really late on mute while my wife slept.
I had the sub titles on.
It was actually funny if I read the jokes with a british accent.

I think they should add a brit as one of the hosts.

Rich

[brilliantrot]

I may be calling you to do some driving.... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif)

Possess heavy right foot, will travel. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/first.gif)

[vwsamba]

Oh.

This POS show is making even "Chasing Classic Cars" look good, and I used to bag on THAT show until this one came along.

I will say, Tanner at least acknowledges the 914 is a great handling car, so he must know something.

If you want to see how to REALLY flip a car for a good profit, watch "Wheeler Dealers." Mike doesn't always make a profit, but at least he always puts a hlaf way decent car back on the road in solid driver condition.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) but at least with "chasing cars" his dumbfoolery is extremely funny because he is always trying to be so serious and this makes for great stories to tell friends. There is nothing so far on TG US i want to tell anyone about as when you try to be funny you are'nt. I really like paul tracey on "battle of the supercars" though and am surprised he was not chosen as his hard nose no BS style is entertaining and that should be the most important thing.

[KaptKaos]

Is the American Top gear really as bad as I have just read over the last few pages?? What a shame, it's an excellent 'Entertainment' program over here in the UK... Top Gear started off as a car show and in all honesty it isn't anymore - it's an entertainment show with cars thrown in.. It's still good over here as the presenters are just right, (although the lesser two newbies (Hammond and May) have set off on their own accord doing various other programs, some of which are really really good)) It is a really funny watch and I live about 20k from where it's filmed so sometimes see the cars about on the country roads round here..

Shame yours is so bad as it's a great show (I blame the shows producers for selling the idea anyway - we don't have a Jay Leno car show wannabe over here...)

EDIT - Oh and by the way as said before, if Clarkson had the opportunity to get his hands on a 914 he would slate it until the cows came home, he hates Porsches and the worst car (in all the presenters eyes) is the VW beetle, so the 914 would be burned at the stake!!

Um.... Rod. Just so you know, some of us (i.e. thousands) watch Top Gear on Sunday evenings just like you do. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) Thank God for the interwebs.

Many of us have been fans for years, witnessing James May's first episode (season 2 in this version of Top Gear), the launch of the black stig, the rise of the white stig, numerous references to Keira Knightly, traversing the English Channel (multiple attempts) and Hammond's rocket car fiasco. Who doesn't remember Oliver?

BTW: Jezza makes the show. His no-holds-barred approach and honesty make the show fun. If he doesn't like a car, he doesn't like it, so what? That doesn't mean everyone should think like he does. God forbid, we'd all be wearing triple denim enables on Clarkson Island. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif)

[KaptKaos]

Figured I should add this too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMuO-8S_0Wg

My embed-fu is weak.

[johannes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMuO-8S_0Wg


(IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

...

[dflesburg]

So perhaps it wasn't the guys on the show that couldn't get the Lambo's to go much faster than my '03 cobra convertable... Maybe the boss (producer) wouldn't let them.

Why do they have to gay everything up and TV and make straight white guys look so stupid and lame?

Jackwagons!

[Richard Casto]

Watched the show last night. I am glad they didn't rip on the 914 and Tanner gave it some Kudos. Its a shame they didn't try to address the 1st/Reverse shift issue. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) I got a kick out of watching them test drive it in traffic with the large trucks!

Richard

[SGB]

OK.

You could be watching Dancing with Biggest Loser. C'mon, at least it occaisionally mentions cars. I'm going down with the ship probably.

The Clarkson Island bit is pretty funny. Brits got self-depreciation humor down. Americans are too hung up to laugh about ourselves.

As a straight white guy, I can verify that I usually look pretty stupid. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[RFoulds]

Watched 3 Hours of real Top Gear last night. Even the lame episodes, like the homemade caravans episode last night, are funny in their own way.
Clever British humor. Hammond wakes up, shoos the sheep out of his caravan. Total of 30 seconds of camera time for the gag, and its funny aftermath.

The American version of this would have taken 5 minutes of camera time, as the host tells us what is happening, we see it over and over, then they tell us why it was funny, then after commercial break, they recap it for us in case we forgot how funny they are.

THAT is the biggest entertainment difference. And its how you fill time when you have a limited budget.

The CAR difference is even bigger. When given a chance to buy a cheap used car, the Brit version selects: 944 S2, 350Z, Capri, MGB, Austin, etc. interesting cars.
US version selects, old Lexus, Buick wagon, and a POS Pontiac.

In my past life as a TV executive, I was often asked to replicate a successful program on a fraction of the budget. If you make smart decisions, you can pull it off to a degree.
The US version is obviously a cheap, sttripped down version of the original. The budget for the entire season is probably less than one episode of the Real Thing. They would have been better off to use that small budget to create an entirely new concept, and do it well.

[oldschool]

Watched 3 Hours of real Top Gear last night. Even the lame episodes, like the homemade caravans episode last night, are funny in their own way.
Clever British humor. Hammond wakes up, shoos the sheep out of his caravan. Total of 30 seconds of camera time for the gag, and its funny aftermath.

The American version of this would have taken 5 minutes of camera time, as the host tells us what is happening, we see it over and over, then they tell us why it was funny, then after commercial break, they recap it for us in case we forgot how funny they are.

THAT is the biggest entertainment difference. And its how you fill time when you have a limited budget.

The CAR difference is even bigger. When given a chance to buy a cheap used car, the Brit version selects: 944 S2, 350Z, Capri, MGB, Austin, etc. interesting cars.
US version selects, old Lexus, Buick wagon, and a POS Pontiac.

In my past life as a TV executive, I was often asked to replicate a successful program on a fraction of the budget. If you make smart decisions, you can pull it off to a degree.
The US version is obviously a cheap, sttripped down version of the original. The budget for the entire season is probably less than one episode of the Real Thing. They would have been better off to use that small budget to create an entirely new concept, and do it well.

I was about to say you should be on the writing team. Now I know why (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif)
can I pick your brain (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

[EdwardBlume]

People fall in love (TV wise) with people. Why else would my sweet kind loving wife watch American Choppers?

[RFoulds]

I was about to say you should be on the writing team. Now I know why (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif)
can I pick your brain (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

Surely. PM me for e-mail.

[poorsche914]

... The American version of this would have taken 5 minutes of camera time, as the host tells us what is happening, we see it over and over, then they tell us why it was funny, then after commercial break, they recap it for us in case we forgot how funny they are....

That is why I hate watching TV nowadays. There are so many shows on History, Discover, etc that could easily be a 30 minute show but they stretch it out to an hour. The rehashing of information and repetition of clips gets annoying. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

[dw914er]

Is the American Top gear really as bad as I have just read over the last few pages?? What a shame, it's an excellent 'Entertainment' program over here in the UK... Top Gear started off as a car show and in all honesty it isn't anymore - it's an entertainment show with cars thrown in.. It's still good over here as the presenters are just right, (although the lesser two newbies (Hammond and May) have set off on their own accord doing various other programs, some of which are really really good)) It is a really funny watch and I live about 20k from where it's filmed so sometimes see the cars about on the country roads round here..

Shame yours is so bad as it's a great show (I blame the shows producers for selling the idea anyway - we don't have a Jay Leno car show wannabe over here...)

EDIT - Oh and by the way as said before, if Clarkson had the opportunity to get his hands on a 914 he would slate it until the cows came home, he hates Porsches and the worst car (in all the presenters eyes) is the VW beetle, so the 914 would be burned at the stake!!

I think there are three things that makes the UK show better, and the US a flop

1) The UK presenters, while they entertain, are still automotive journalists. They do know some good tidbits of cars, and while none may be a race and stunt driver like Tanner, they hold their own

2) The Chemistry. They have reached a good position where they can interact and present an onscreen charm. This is not easy; it's just organic. I think the English tradition of humour makes it even more difficult to replicate, since, well, the English are better at those jokes. (I did live in London btw, this isn't some generic stereotype, but just an observance between our two cultures.)

3) Production. The BBC pays alot of money for their show, and it shows. While the do recoup the costs of syndicating it internationally, it's still well done. The US version attempts it, trying to do interesting cinematography, but yet, fails. They use wide angle shots when they shouldn't, they overexpose car footage scene, and the result is a hog bodge of poorly done work. The themes for the shows only bury's i.

I think they could get better though, after all, Top Gear UK ran for a long time before they hit their good stride. I think the issue is the producers need to really take a look at the show and see what can make this work beyond relying on the name of "Top Gear." While the US, like Australia, want a Top Gear geared towards our market, bringing the name alone won't suffice.

[LvSteveH]

Just a quick update on the car.

It came into Renegade as a conversion candidate from a local Las Vegas guy maybe two months ago. It was already orange, so obviously the episode was shot sometime before that. Interestingly no one mentioned the Top Gear connection. It wasn't the best starting point for a conversion, so it was put up for sale on Ebay where it was a no sale. The owner ended up selling it to a friend after we got the shifting sorted.

No one bothered to fix the shifting problems prior to us seeing it, it wasn't driver error. There were three main shifting issues. The shifter itself was rotating making it feel like a tail shifter. So it was welded. Then after shift bushings and proper adjustment all the gears were present and accounted for.

Had Tanner spent $240 to have the shifting fixed instead of installing the new steering wheel and shift knob he would have been in much better shape.

Not surprisingly it will also need a clutch soon thanks to all those 2nd gear starts.

[patssle]

So is there any video of the Top Gear 914?