Back in 2015, Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson became notoriously un-busy. Sacked and perhaps deservedly so after an altercation that resulted in the British news media driving the word “fracas” into extinction, Clarkson was out of a job. And in a rare show of solidarity, his co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May followed him out of the BBC.
It was the end of an era for Top Gear. But it was also the start of something glorious, as the three idiots are back with a gleeful new take on the need for speed.
With the backing of Amazon and a veteran crew working behind the scenes, The Grand Tour is essentially Top Gear 2.0 (Except better and not fronted by replacements who have all the charm of rotting fish). Only this time with more dead celebrities, a bigger budget and a really big tent. Thing is, the beauty of Top Gear is that it always made you appreciate cars.
Sure, the antics of Clarkson, Hammond and May resulted in some truly fun segments that would frequently go off the rails but there was an honest chemistry there between the trio. In a studio or on the track, the three idiots had a rapport that helped sell the joy of automobiles. A connection that made supercars a super-art. And the trio have lost none of that chemistry in their new series, which will be around for the next three years and 36 episodes.
If anything, it’s a return to form. Gone are the segments where celebrities arrived to shill their latest movie or album, replaced instead with some quick-paced murder. There’s no Cool Wall, no Stig. Just three blokes who love cars and want to share that passion with their audience. It’s the same but different, a raw new take on the format that’ll have the BBC lawyers fuming most likely.
All that, wrapped up in the most sublime production values possible as cars take the center-stage and glisten with V8 ferocity and enough horse under the hood to be mistaken for an approaching Mongol horde led by Genghis Kahn. And that unmistakable banter between the trio. If this is a taste of things to come over the remainder of the eleven episodes left in the Amazon series, then I’m hungry for more.
Clarkson, Hammond and May may have referred to the three hybrid hypercars that they tested as the holy trinity, but it’s damn good to see this unholy trinity of gear-knobs back in action.
Last Updated: November 18, 2016
Admiral Chief Argonian
November 18, 2016 at 12:13
Yay, finally
Admiral Chief Argonian
November 18, 2016 at 12:14
https://media.giphy.com/media/124xh3wlhObHXy/giphy.gif
Mistake Not...
November 18, 2016 at 12:16
YES!!
Gavin Mannion
November 18, 2016 at 12:25
The first thing I did this morning was to watch this.. I’ve been so excited that I started to worry I’d over hyped it..
I was dead wrong.. The Grand Tour is amazingly good and while the studio section probably needs tweaking still the rest of the show was truly spectacular.
Oh and that opening scene gave me goosebumps… so much awesome emotion in such a typical Top Gear style..erm I mean The Grand Tour style
Greylingad[He Charges!]
November 18, 2016 at 12:38
Is it really that good!?
Gavin Mannion
November 18, 2016 at 13:16
I’m a bit of a rabbid Top Gear fan and was very depressed when it was changed…. but this really filled up the hole for me
Greylingad[He Charges!]
November 18, 2016 at 16:43
That’s good to know! I also sit in the same spectrum wrt the annual Jeremy Clarkson run around, and it’s been missing, for way too long!
Fox1 - Retro
November 18, 2016 at 15:45
So it’s like a grandest of tours then.
cloudzn
November 20, 2016 at 11:08
It’s brilliant, BBC is screwed now
Ottokie
November 18, 2016 at 12:26
Top what now?
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 18, 2016 at 12:33
I love how on Top Gear’s Youtube channel most people are discussing Grand Tour rather than the video
Ottokie
November 18, 2016 at 12:34
I have to go see this xD
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 18, 2016 at 12:39
They’re are doing that or disliking all the Top Gear vids
Greylingad[He Charges!]
November 18, 2016 at 12:36
Good God… Is that the sound of an idiot making his entrance?
I honestly can’t wait to see this!! Blerrie Clarkson..
iusedtobe(a)regular
November 18, 2016 at 12:41
This is fantastic news.
Magoo
November 18, 2016 at 13:55
“Except better and not fronted by replacements who have all the charm of rotting fish”
I mean, they were no replacement, but they have feelings!
Craig Lotter
November 19, 2016 at 08:50
The Grand Tour is fantastic. It’s good to have the three back presenting what is essentially exactly the same show they have always presented! Gorgeous cars and loads of laughs! (One concern then – if you kick off your show driving hypercars that push out over 900 horsepower – well where do you go to from there. Everything else is pretty much going to be a downgrade)
konfab
November 19, 2016 at 19:50
BBC has just taken a BBC, courtesy of Amazon.
Blackhawk
November 21, 2016 at 08:57
I had a silly grin of pure happiness the moment those 3 were united back in those beautiful Mustangs! Loyalty FTW! Yes, some of the studio stuff were questionable, but the normal segments (cars, antics, general silliness!) is really where it’s at. TG is dead, for realz. Long live GT! I’m just sad for Chris Harris. He is a fantastic driver and journalist on cars. I liken him to a much younger and cooler James May.