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We’ve been promised a distinctively Australian version of Top Gear, so far though it resembles a distinctively franchised version of “regular” Top Gear.
As with the British version of the show, they’ve used the beginning of the first episode to tease us with what’s in the season ahead, which should give you a good idea of what kind of show we’re in for. As always, judge for yourself.
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As television readies itself to enter an alternate universe, where Kath and Kim is acted by Americans, and Top Gear is hosted by Australians, the folks at SBS are prepping for one of the biggest launches in their history.
Top Gear Australia will be the first international version of the show, and makes its premiere September 29th. The new series is being referred to as “very Australian” by anyone who’s caught a glimpse. And good or bad, it should be interesting to watch, if for no other reason then to say how it can never stand up to the original…
Just like everyone does with The Office.
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The genre defying antics of the Top Gear team return to BBC Two in just a few weeks on June 22nd. And while I’ve gushed over the series extensively, calling it everything from television nirvana to the most unique and engaging hour on television I couldn’t let this promo for the shows 11th season pass without a mention.
Also, the shows executive producer Andy Wilman recently posted on the Top Gear blog about the upcoming season (including the promise of another race), as well as discussing the various international versions of the show in development.
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Mitchell and Webb poke fun at the maddening world of television news “interactivity”, because really..
What possible reason could there be for you not to email us, certainly ignorance shouldn’t be a bar.
News parody has filled many posts on this site, including Jeremy Clarkson’s commentary on the state of news, Melanie Bellamy with the standing news, Dead Ringers high brow jab at Newsnight, and of course all that Chaser stuff.
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If you thought mash ups were only good for combining The Killers with The Clash, think again! Top Gear has again collided head on with another show for charity. Last year it was Top Gear of the Pops for Red Nose Day, and now we have the comedic train wreck that is Top Ground Gear Force, all in the name of raising money for Sports Relief (over £19 million so far).
Top Gear again shows its amazing range and breadth in this comedy of errors, I can’t think of another show scripted or otherwise that so seamlessly switches one episode to another between comedy, drama, slapstick, visual beauty and adventure the way this show does.
I’ve said it before, but I love the one-off formats and genre transcending content that comes out of British television in the name of charity, its not always great, but at least its kinda fun and inventive (just like that Killers mash up).
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If there is one show that quite deservedly gets a lot of banging on about on this blog, it’s Top Gear, and here I go again.. Tonight at 7:30pm SBS is airing the special North Pole race that I first mentioned back in July when it went to air on BBC Two. While I’m not sure it quite topped the American special in February, from sheer adventure alone, no other episode comes close.
And you’ve still got a few weeks left if you want to apply to host the Australian version of the show, the local production is bound to receive a lot of scrutiny and criticism so lets hope the it’s a little more American Office and a little less Amanda’s.
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As boring as it is to watch fireworks on television, last nights coverage of Sydney’s NYE celebrations did have one saving grace.. they played “No Cars Go” by Arcarde Fire!
I first heard the song when it was used in a promo for Top Gear, and have been totally enamored by it ever since, listen to the song in its entirety below:
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When Top Gear isn’t busy being the most beautifully shot show on television, or keeping us on the edge of our seats, its making us laugh, and this clip from last nights episode falls into that category. In the video, Jeremy takes the worlds smallest production car, the Peel P50 for a test drive through the corridors of the BBC Television Centre in London.
- Thanks for the video Craig.
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At the end of season nine of Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson questioned the direction of the show, and with 8.6 million people watching the final episode earlier this year, its understandable that a show about cars, with as much drama and direction as Lost, might start wondering what kind of show its meant to be.
Top Gear’s Executive Producer Andy Wilman takes an honest look at series nine of the show, and reflects about the upcoming season in a blog post here. He considers the chase for higher ratings “a false dawn, a night with a hooker when you’re drunk”, and he’s right, ratings are bollocks.
The video is from the first episode of the new season, and shows a preview of some of the stuff you’ll see over the next ten weeks. Among others Wilman proudly touts;
The Botswana road movie, a one hour special, is as spectacular as anything we’ve ever done, Amphibious: The Sequel is better than I could have ever dreamed of, the 24 Hour Race is a proper soap opera.
There is nothing on television that comes close to Top Gear, it is the most unique and engaging hour on television, it transcends whatever genre its considered to exist in, and presents cinematography that rivals that of any movie, along with storylines vastly more compelling then most traditionally scripted stuff on television, its simply brilliant.
From Clarkson’s and Wilman’s comments you can see a self awareness about the future of the show, a future that is clearly being coursed by some incredibly talented hands.
Update: As noted in the comments (thanks Marc) the song used in the video is “No Cars Go” by Arcade Fire, the song in its entirety is simply amazing. Take a listen:
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Dreamspaces was a short lived BBC Three documentary series that I fell in love with a few years back, and like every short lived show, it managed to break my heart. I loosely compare it to Top Gear because for someone not that into architecture it had me enthralled in a way I didn’t think a show about buildings (or cars) could, and because of the brilliant production and beautifully shot stories.
Presented by David Adjaye, Justine Frischmann and Charlie Luxton it was part architecture geek out, part travel show, and always showed the emotional connections we have to our surroundings. To this day I still have high on my list of travel destinations places that were visited by the Dreamspaces team, and no segment from the show changed my thinking more then Justine Frischmann’s look at Brazil’s planned capital; Brasilia.
As a long time resident of a planned city myself, I have this show to thank for my heightened appreciation of the design in which I live, and its a credit to the quality of the show (from its opening sequence in the first video, to the story on Brasilia in the second) that the places presented on it have stayed with me as long as they have.
Continue reading ‘Dreamspaces: The ‘Top Gear’ of Architecture.’
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