Top Gear TV Show

[conekiller13]

Top Gear UK is also a huge magazine................

As far as qualifications of the hosts go though.........Hammond was a D.J. and James May was/is a musician. I think having people that are not "in the industry" is paramount to getting people outside the industry to like it. Definitely though it's Top Gears honesty and Strong opinions that make it entertaining..............oh and the amazing cinematography..........oh and amazing places to drive through Europe.................oh and all the kick ass cars that We dont get here............

Here's an old UK article:
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday January 15 2008 13:12 GMT

NBC has ordered a pilot of Top Gear as BBC Worldwide continues to push local adaptations of the popular motoring format.

BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, is set to produce the pilot for NBC with an all-US presenting team.

Casting for four presenters and a racing driver is already under way and NBC plans to announce the commission at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Saturday.

Filming is expected to take place in Los Angeles where producers have found a racetrack and a hangar similar to the set-up in the British show. In the UK, Top Gear is filmed at an aerodrome in Surrey.

US industry title Hollywood Reporter said that BBC Worldwide considered using UK hosts Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond, but Clarkson was reluctant to spend extended periods of time in the US.

NBC has yet to confirm a transmission date for the pilot, but it is likely to air in March.

Top Gear is also set to air in Australia later this year after a deal between the BBC and local channel SBS in November last year.

Sydney-based Freehand Productions is due to produce eight episodes of Top Gear for the state-owned network.

The production is the first by Freehand since BBC Worldwide bought a minority stake in the company in January last year.

BBC Worldwide is looking to roll out localised versions of drama, comedy and entertainment programmes and has so far had success with Strictly Come Dancing, which is internationally known as Dancing with the Stars.

The BBC commercial division has opened production offices in Los Angeles and Mumbai, and plans to have eight international offices or joint ventures by March this year.

In the US, BBC Worldwide recently produced entertainment format Clash of the Choirs for NBC, as well as Dancing with the Stars for the ABC network.

Top Gear is a consistent ratings winner for BBC2, pulling in around 8 million viewers in its regular Sunday night slot. International audiences for the show are estimated at around 350 million viewers.

The show has been running on BBC2 since 1977 and relaunched with great success in 2002.

Each episode of Top Gear includes features such as "Star in a reasonably priced car" and "Power laps".

[conekiller13]

Just found this July article from the L.A. Times

'Top Gear USA': Adam Corolla and pilot studio audience spill the beans
Worst-kept secret No. 749. Although not yet formally announced, NBC reportedly is creating an American version of the BBC's popular "Top Gear" automotive TV show. Last week, a pilot was shot in front of a studio audience and many audience members, who each signed nondisclosure statements, along with the host, comedian Adam Corolla, are spilling the beans on the cast and format all over the auto blogosphere.

They’ve just unplugged the last light and thrown the remaining paper coffee cups into the trash after filming "Top Gear USA: The Pilot." The presenting team are Carolla (providing the jokes), racing driver Tanner Foust and "TV construction guru" Eric Stromer, who should raise a female pulse or two.

Following the format from the successful BBC series, NBC’s version even has the "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" segment. Every week, a different celebrity will drive the same vehicle (in this case, a Kia Rio) on the same test track and have their times posted on a board. For the pilot episode, the star was none other than David Hasselhoff. By all accounts, he delivered a great interview and his name will be at the top of the leader board for at least one week.

So, who would you like to see driving the reasonably priced car in an attempt to wrest the Hoff from his top spot? I think Frankie Muniz from "Malcolm in the Middle" should be a contender, because he’s already competed in the Pro-Celebrity Race at the Long Beach Grand Prix. So has "Grey’s Anatomy" star Patrick Dempsey. I’m sure you could come up with some others.

-- Colin Ryan

Photos: NBC, Kia

04:53 PM PT, Jul 31 2008 in Television | Permalink

[conekiller13]

Of course ..........you have to remember this makes the second attempt at Top Gear U.S.A.:


Top Gear USA

Posted December 22nd, 2005 at 18:11 PST by Viper007Bond in Top Gear America
As many of you may know, Top Gear aired for a while on the Discovery channel here in America. It was just normal UK episodes, but with refilmed studio bits featuring less America bashing, the use of things like “gasoline” rather than “petrol”, etc. Many of you also know that episodes stopped airing on Discovery earlier this year.

Rumors had been flying about as to why, but the most popular one was that Discovery had decided to start from scratch and do an entirely American version of Top Gear. Well, this turned out to be just the case. In the last Top Gear magazine, many new juicy details were revealed about the upcoming show.

Here is the article for those who don’t get the magazine (thanks to zenkidori for the transcription):

The Top Gear telly programme has quietly become a global phenomenon. Recent figures suggested an extraordinary viewership, something in the region of one billon people across the globe. This explains why Jeremy gets mobbed on the streets of Dubai, why Richard Hammond is swooned over by housewives in Auckland and why James May will shortly appear on a series of commemorative stamps in Luxembourg. Probably. Only one country has been strangely resistant to the charms of three blokes cocking about in an old aircraft hangar - the United States of America.

Untill now. Earlier this year, Discovery decided they wanted in on the Top Gear action, starting with 18 repackaged programmes using existing items from TG UK. Accordingly, our pluckly lads spent five days at the Top Gear base recording new studio linkds in a more American-friendly way. Basically, getting Jeremy not to call them fat and stupid. This, however, was a mere entree for Discovery’s main plan: to make thier own version of Top Gear on US soil. Thier own studio, thier own test track, even - since our boys were too busy and anyway James May doesn’y like places that don’t server a decent cup of tea - thier own presenters.

That’s why earlier this eyar a brand new TG USA production team assembleddeep in the Mojave desert to create a pilot show for thier version of Britain’s favourite almost-BAFTA-winning car programmer. And, liker thier idea of what constitues a decent cup of coffee, the American take on Top Gear wasn’t entirely the same as ours. Instead of a shabby hangar and a track built around arifield taxiways, they got a pit garage and a proper circuit. Instead of filling the studio with 200 grunting Subaru drivers, they did without an audience. And instead of The Tall One, The Short One and The Other Oen, they hired three rather different American presenters. Bruno, a professional drag racer with casual tales of crashing at 230mph. John, the super keen jock, blessed with quaint ’sir and m’am’ good manners that only Americans can do. And, Johnny, a former reality show winner with a nice line in wierd humor.

Fortunatly some reference points remained, including Star In A Reasonably Priced Car. But, to set the power laps, there could be no substitue - the Stig was flown to the US and stunned everyone with his blistering pace as he hammered the CLS55, Charger, and Mustang round the circuit.

After two days’ shooting, the show that popped out of the other end was something familiar and yet rather different. For one thing, filming in sunshine gives the show a glossy feel a million miles from another drizzle sodden canter down a runway in Surrey. And shouting “Bring on the Stig” just sounds cooler in an American accent.

If Discovery likes the pilot show, a series will follow in 2006. Then Americans can enjoy a weekly shot of Top Gear, just like the rest of the world.

[Bladerider]

Originally Posted by jannes_z-28

BBC gets more money for selling Top Gear abroad than from their own government budget. Top Gear is one of BBC's great incomes. In todays TV-world all big companies sell "formats" so if some company in the States is going to make a US-version of Top Gear they will have to pay BBC royalty. The market for TV-show formats is huge. Survivor was a Swedish format and that production company has made huge money on royalties over the years.

What a load of bollox !!!

You are sooooooo far wrong its insane !!!

Top Gears entire turnover for a year is less than £10million including all merchandising !!

The BBC's TOTAL commercial sector comes to about £1 Billion

And the Licence fee from all us lucky brits who get to pay £140 a year to watch TV comes in at over £3 BILLION !!!

The whole point of Top Gear is Clarkson, you either love him or hate him, but it seems he's more liked than loathed !! And the BBC isnt totally impartial, they dont just "tell it like its is" in fact they often pick out the silliest little thing and blow them out of proportion for humour value.

All that said and done I think Jeremy's great, I have followed him from long before he did any of the TV stuff and he was just a motoring journo over 20 years ago. A couple of people I know know him quite well and say he can be extremely funny but also extremely arrogant if its not something thats benefitting him personally.

In all the times I have worked at the BBC he's the guy I would have most liked to bump into but I never have, ironically Im better friends with Dale Winton than I am with and "car" type people, although I have been on Fifth Gear a few times if any of you guys know what that is, Tom Ford and Tiff Needell are a really good laugh !!

J.

[conekiller13]

Hmmmm...........fifth gear. I've seen that. Kinda the generic version. Although Tiff can drive.

[rwhite692]

My only hope is that BBC America continues to air the original UK show, so I can watch that, instead.

Top Gear is a unique show and it's the three hosts (four if you count the stig) and their personalities, that make the show what it is. I can't see an "americanized" version ever making it.

PC correctness and liability concerns will prevent any real, honest evaluations of any vehicles. They will have nothing but praise for everything that they drive. "I wish it had bigger cup holders..." will likely be the most harsh criticism to be heard...