Filed under: Celebrities
Top Gear USA casting audience members for pilot
While Top Gear obsessives in the UK have to wait 21 years for a chance to share the hanger with Clarkson, Hammond and May, those of us in the U.S. have an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of the imported version of everyone's favorite motoring show. One of the scribes at Autofiends came across the application page for audience members to attend the taping of Top Gear USA's pilot episode, and if you're in the Los Angeles area and free this Saturday, July 26th, you can sign up here.
Adam Carolla is in the host seat, accompanied by rally racer and drifter extraordinaire, Tanner Foust, and -- God help us -- "TV construction guru Eric Stromer." According to the site, "Top Gear will feature irreverent humor and camaraderie, epic races, outrageous stunts and challenges, unique celebrity guest participation and eccentric methods of testing cars." Sounds like the proven formula is on its way.
[Source: OCATV via Autofiends]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Victor 5:53PM (7/21/2008)
Signed up...hopefully I can get tix. ;-)
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Dave S 5:57PM (7/21/2008)
This is going to be so LAME. LOL
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Andrew 6:02PM (7/21/2008)
Definitely...It might be fun to be there to watch them crash and burn!
ccdoggy 6:32PM (7/21/2008)
Why ooh why did they choose that Eric guy, this thing is going to be so bad...
Adam corolla seems to sink shows pretty good. we shall see how long this one lasts. I give it a season, tops.
Torrent 6:35PM (7/21/2008)
Top o' the day to ye, lad.
This American Top Gear is Rubbish.
By God! It's as if I'm turning British myself.
Jon55 7:02PM (7/21/2008)
Can I borrow your time machine so I can go into the future and watch the show that hasn't aired yet?
Oh, you haven't seen it yet? And you don't have a time machine either? Huh. So how are you able to judge it?
Greg 6:12PM (7/21/2008)
I haven't seen this reported yet, so I thought I'd mention that Tanner Foust is also the host of Supercars Exposed on the Speed channel.
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Artie Lange 6:15PM (7/21/2008)
When Tanner Foust is the most likable of the three hosts, you know its got serious problems. Wow that Strommer guy look like a giant douchebag.
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Sean Flanagan 6:24PM (7/21/2008)
"and -- God help us -- 'TV construction guru Eric Stromer.'"
You need to listen to the Adam Carolla Show when Stromer is on. You won't be saying "God help us" any longer. Stromer will be a great part of the cast, as his chemistry and banter with Carolla are excellent.
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Artie Lange 6:35PM (7/21/2008)
Any sentence that links "chemistry and banter" with "Carolla" immediately transforms into an oxymoron.
Rocketboy 9:36AM (7/22/2008)
Spoken from someone with a truly unbiased opinion, right Artie? Let me guess, you hate O&A as well?
MajorGeek 6:27PM (7/21/2008)
Added humor to the show, hopefully chemistry. Should be fun to watch, long as they are car buffs and interesting people, it should be cool to watch. Ill give it a shot. If you want to see some seriously uninteresting TV thats still educational, watch DIY network (do it yourself). While its informative, I fast forward through 20 of any 30 minutes due to uninteresting casts trying way too hard.
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Mike 7:20PM (7/21/2008)
Looking at the personalities and skills involved, I think they've got all the prototypes for Clarkson, Hammond, and May.
Stromer (probably the most criticized choice) will have Captain Slow's driving skill and Hamster's dashing good looks.
Foust will drive like Clarkson, and deliver jokes like May (i.e., badly).
Carolla can potentially match Clarkson in the humor content (no one can match the future PM's delivery of jokes), and will be the mid-range driver (Hammond).
It'll be interesting to see how the group get along. Maybe they can bring back a resurgent Tiff to replace someone if needed.
Ken Stamper 7:13PM (7/21/2008)
I think everyone is missing the point when they complain the it "won't be as good as the British one". Maybe it won't. But if it is even decent, wouldn't it be great if the masses of this country started watching this program and actually learning a thing or two about cars? Wouldn't it be great if Carolla talked about how much more fun a car is if you bother to learn how to use a manual trasnmission and it inspired people to actually do so? One thing I don't think most people outside the US realize is that "Top Gear" is mostly watched by average people who think the show is entertaining- Not necessarily car enthusiats. My English girlfriend watches it religiously, and thus knows a bit about cars that the average American 25 year old woman (or man) would not know, despite not really giving a rip about them (although she is quite pround her Fiat Panda is on the cool wall). Give this show a chance. It just might lead to a population that has some knowledge of what makes a car good.
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Corey W. 9:43AM (7/22/2008)
Ken,
With all the other trash on TV, I don't think the "average" person in the US will watch the US version. (IMO)
Lee 7:27PM (7/21/2008)
All they need now are some decent hosts.
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GDUB 7:58PM (7/21/2008)
I totally agree new hosts or just add beer and car juggies and america will be captivated.
Artie Lange 8:03PM (7/21/2008)
Why does NBC think we need an "American" version of Top Gear? Clearly Americans love the show as is (so much so the very idea of an Americanized version has its target demographic cringing). Why not just buy it from BBCA and air it as is and on schedule (unlike the endless two-year-old reruns that make up half of BBCA's nightly line-up)?
Corolla has a face for radio and a voice only a deaf man could tolerate, Stromer looks like every middle-aged LA douchebag desperately trying to be a decade younger than he is (nice embroidered T-shirt), and Foust is a likable if unremarkable unknown.
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Ken Stamper 8:51PM (7/21/2008)
I think they want a demographic other than "Hard Core Car Enthusiasts"
Artie Lange 9:04PM (7/21/2008)
Then why produce a show about...cars? Do they think the comedic genius and proven mainstream draw of Adam Corolla or the irresistible charm of "Eric Stromer" (whoever the f that is) will draw an audience other than car fanatics?