Autoblog

Here at Autoblog, we make no effort to hide our enthusiasm for the hit BBC series Top Gear. But while our compatriots over in the British Isles get to watch the show on their public television stations, American viewers (comprised mostly of Autoblog readers, of course) have had to make do with the on-again, off-again airing of Top Gear episodes online. For our part, we've done our best to bring you the latest episodes in our weekly night watch video postings.

Fortunately, with the American version of the show speeding into production, NBC is indicating that the show will be available for your viewing pleasure on its website. According to NBC, the episodes – which will be aired weekly in primetime starting sometime this year – will also be available for viewing online each week, along with a special aftermarket segment that's sure to blend the excitement of the annual SEMA show with Top Gear's own unique flavor. Stay tuned for more Top Gear news as NBC brings the show. Thanks for the tip, Adam!

[Source: NBC.com]

When I was a kid there was this terrible car show on television that was sponsored by a certain automaker that shall remain nameless. Every week – that is, every week I could bear to watch it, at least – the hosts would review a car from that company, and guess what? They always liked it! And that's what makes Top Gear such a hit. Because the BBC is publicly-funded, they don't have advertisements. (Notice that downloaded episodes of Top Gear run an actual full hour, instead of the usual "hour-long" shows that run 45 minutes.) Without advertisers, Clarkson and company are free to say what they want about whatever car they're reviewing, and so journalistic integrity remains intact, even as they catapult caravans and play soccer (sorry, "football") with hatchbacks.

With NBC "gearing" up for its own version of the hit car show, reportedly to be called simply "Gear", the fear was that, as the show would be dependent on commercial advertisements, the recently-announced team of co-hosts would be reigned in by the bean-counters regarding what they could and could not say about the cars they'd be reviewing. Thankfully, on a recent episode of his radio talk-show, Adam Carolla revealed that no such limitations would be imposed by NBC on the show's editorial autonomy. You know, this may just work out yet. Thanks for the tip, T Bray!

[Source: FinalGear.com]

We reported yesterday that both NBC's Fall 2008 and Summer 2009 lineups will not include the U.S. version of Top Gear, but that doesn't mean the peacock network isn't keeping the show as a feather in its multicolor plume. There's a section on NBC's website for primetime shows being developed for the 2008-2009 season, and one page is devoted to Top Gear USA. We found its description intriguing. The show is described as three friends performing outrageous challenges and stunts through the "crazy transformations" they make to their cars. Sure, that's one aspect of the show that Clarkson, Mays and Hammond built, but what about the new car reviews that are hilarious, real and informative, as well as featuring the best cinematography on television anywhere in the world? Also, we find it funny that the U.S. cast of hosts, whoever they may be, are described as being "friends". The British hosts are of course BFF, having done the show together for years now, but we doubt the American hosts will have the same rapport right out of the gate. Regardless, if a U.S. version of Top Gear does happen, it won't air anytime soon. Thanks for the tip, Joe!

UPDATE: Here's a great roundup of all the Top Gear USA news to date from Alex Roy.

[Source: NBC]

NBC's dubious attempt to duplicate the unique cachet of Top Gear with a Stateside spinoff has apparently come to a screeching halt. They couldn't even get it together on a cast, so the news doesn't come entirely as a surprise. The newly announced fall lineup doesn't save a seat for "Gear," though room is made in the lineup for that clunker of a retread that is Knight Rider. Seeing how much worse NBC has managed to make the campfest original Knight Rider, we're all better off without a watered-down, sucking-up, entirely neutered iteration of the original. Done before it even started -- we've all been spared by a mild outbreak of sense at a TV network. Thanks for the tip, r4m3n.

[Source: Dark Horizons]

Bionic Woman. Knight Rider. And now....Top Gear? NBC, America's remake network, has ordered a pilot of an Americanized Top Gear. Expect to see all the usual Top Gear conventions, including three presenters; a masked Stig-like driver; a private test track; taping in a hangar before a live audience; and (probably D-List) celebs driving midsize cars. Unfortunately, you won't see the program's British hosts, Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond. And this is where it gets dicey. You see, those guys are the reason Top Gear is what it is. They're clever and witty, and they endear themselves to gearheads with segments like Clarkson's hilarious Peel P50 "review" (it's pasted after the jump). NBC's going to have a hard time finding US hosts who can replicate that vibe without being relentlessly annoying in the process. As BBC remakes go, we truly hope that a US-flavored Top Gear succeeds like The Office, but we're concerned that it might just turn into another Coupling. Thanks to all who sent tips.

[Source: Reuters]