The success of Top Gear in the UK and elsewhere in the world is owed largely to the chemistry shared between its three famous hosts: Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond. That's why it's so important for the Austrialian version of Top Gear, the first to be launched outside the U.K., to front three personalities capable of carrying the show on their wit, charm and personalities. Oz's own Top Gear hosts were announced today as Charlie Cox, 47, a motorsport commentator for the BBC and ex-race car driver, Warren Brown, a cartoonist and columnist for The Daily Telegraph in his mid-40s, and Steve Pizzati, an advanced driving instructor, freelance auto journalist and driver for Porsche Australia who, in his mid-30s, is the youngest host of the new Top Gear troop. They were the lucky trio plucked from over 4,000 DVD entrants.Being U.S. citizens who are awaiting their own version of Top Gear with trepidation, we can't comment on how well these Aussies will do carrying Clarkson's torch, so if you're Down Under at the moment and have an opinion, leave it in the comments. Regardless, we'll likely be bittorrenting these episodes along with the originals from Britain as soon as they begin airing later this summer. Now, which one do you think is supposed to be Clarkson, and which the Hampster and Captain Slow? Thanks for the tip, Mark!
[Source: News.com.au]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Mbuku Kanyau Mbithuka @ May 28th 2008 11:33AM
We do not need ours. Unless ours Trash everything japanese and European, Just as Jeremy Trashes Corvettes
Aprime @ May 28th 2008 12:19PM
Buuuuuutthurt.
He's like one of the biggest real-life trolls.
ugg.tryptophan @ May 29th 2008 2:51AM
jeremy critiques everything
Pat @ May 28th 2008 11:37AM
We're America - the melting pot, so we don't need "Americans". We should get Tiff Needell, Keichi Tsuchiya, and Adam Carolla. Then, we should hire a non-fat American Stig and have an all out grudge match with the Brit and Aussie Stig's.
Chris @ May 28th 2008 11:38AM
15:1 the already picked out three people but got smacked down the PC police for not be diverse enough. So we will end up with a Top Gear with a couple of men, women, and if they can swing it, a wheel chair bound guy, of various ethnic backgrounds.
oh, and one of the guys will have to talk with a lisp.
FThorn @ May 28th 2008 11:41AM
I wonder if none of them are manly men?
Mbuku Kanyau Mbithuka @ May 28th 2008 11:45AM
These Ausies seem to have eaten a lot of mutton in their day.
Mike S @ May 28th 2008 11:50AM
I'll watch an American version if the advertisers have no say in what the hosts do or say about cars. We do not need a funny version of PBS' Motorweek.....
TriShield @ May 28th 2008 11:53AM
We don't need a silly American knock-off of a series that can't be reproduced or copied.
Many Aussie TG fans I've seen comment online aren't exactly thrilled with this idea just as many Americans aren't.
We need it aired here as-is, unedited, untouched.
Robert112 @ May 28th 2008 2:50PM
It's like trying to make an american monty python.. you just cant.
FThorn @ May 28th 2008 3:10PM
Thanks goodness there was never any other pythons.
CJ @ May 28th 2008 11:54AM
I think the key thing for our show is NOT trying to pick people that match the Brit show, but people that love cars, have a great sense of humor and have a good chemistry together.
James Sonne @ May 28th 2008 11:58AM
They look just like the British Top Gear crew... that's really perverse.
zach @ May 28th 2008 12:01PM
To me, the sole reason the show is so great is because of the hosts' personalities and the interaction between them. If you look at it strictly from a car perspective, its hard to deny that Fifth Gear is the better show. The BBC doesn't seem to realize that without Clarkson/Hammond/May, you're looking at an inherently different show.
Pdexter @ May 28th 2008 12:34PM
Well yeah that's the main part of the show, but the real top gear have been made really professionally and the camera work is out of this world really. Thought when it comes to car reviews, yes fifth gear does it better when it comes to knowing all the numbers and so on and with more down to earth cars i wouldnt lisen too much to Top Gear.
zach @ May 28th 2008 1:16PM
you're right - i forgot to mention the cinematography. it really is exceptional.
Bryan @ May 29th 2008 10:21AM
Fifth Gear is good but I have a hard time sitting through an entire episode unless they are reviewing cars that I'm interested in. Top Gear however can review a tractor and make it interesting. Its all about the original too, anything else just won't work.
Victor @ May 28th 2008 12:01PM
The current iteration of top gear (with Clarkson, Hammond and May) was a show that thrived on a cult of personality. It wasn't car reviews (which quite often were content-less and inapplicable vs. that of Fifth Gear); but rather a show that gained popularity based on the individuals. Of course people will think any derivative is crap. But, if the producers can create good chemistry, I think they can pull it off. (Think US "The Office", which is different, but funny still.)
CJ @ May 28th 2008 12:25PM
I agree. The US version does need to be something different. It can work if the stay away from the corny factor, overly done and useless stunts, and TnA just for TnA's sake.
iSpec @ May 28th 2008 12:18PM
Yeah, but they have cool accents. Makes sense to me.