Has anyone watched the new Optima TV series?

[Msracing89]

I don't know. I think they missed the mark a bit here. Bret, you were there as we were, and two shots for of Meire Mustang on the whole episode. He won the event. There was a whole session of the Meire Mustang and the Cortex Mustang chasing each other on the road course....no video of that made it.

I am ok with minimal footage of our car (although it was the only Mopar there) but you have to give some time to the guys that actually win the events!

Attending the events is a great time though. Highly recommended.

[SSLance]

Originally Posted by bret

Has anyone watched the new TV series "Optima's search for the Ultimate Street Car" on Friday nights on MAV TV?

Opinions?

I thought the first show was very well done, the producing was very high quality, great actions shots, frankly a lot better than I expected. I also enjoyed the stories and the leading up to what was to come in later episodes.

The quality of the production in the second show was there as well, the guys and gals that put these shows together know what they are doing it is apparent. I was left wanting for a bit more of the on track action though. Maybe a little less talking and a little more action... I don't mind spending some time talking about the different types of cars participating and their drivers...but show some video of the same said cars pounding the pavement.

I've thought about this though relating it to my personal experience. I LOVE to go back and watch the videos from my GoPro after my runs. Our local SCCA board has a section where all of the drivers post their videos and I love watching the rest of them and dissecting them as well. People outside of racing that I share the videos with though, they lose interest pretty quickly... For them it's just cars going around cones in a parking lot. I'm sure this is a fine line the producers of the show have to walk and smarter people than me are going to have to figure out how much on track action to show and how much of the other stuff...in order to keep eyes on the product.

[Flash68]

Comcast is evil.

[bret]

I am encouraging honest opinions here...we learn more from the criticism than the accolades.
Also looking for comments about being able to get MAV. Or really any opinion at all. There are no wrong answers.

[wiedemab]

I've asked our local cable provider, but still no MAV here either

[SSLance]

Bret, I really wanted to see a full lap all the way around Laguna Sega in (or of from the chase car camera) one of the high end built cars (ie: Shipka, Maier, you) as well as one of an ordinary everyday hotrod that was out there too like the Fairmont. I'd like to see that on ALL of the upcoming tracks.

A couple of comparable cars running together for a while on the road course would be even better, that way the viewers have a better idea of how one car is doing in different spots on the track than the other.

Imagine a camera set up in the same spot for Speed Stop runs that captures the 1st and 2nd place finishers in that event. Have them replay both runs side by side on a split screen to show just where the one driver beat the other in that event and how close they actually are to one another. Or show a car that has just an awful run on the Speed Stop, and then show the car again if the driver cleans it up and has a real good run.

That's what I want to see, not just who won...but how did they do it...

Video of the everyday Hot Rods on the courses is just as good as the high end cars, show the peeps that these events really are fun for every type of car and driver.

I realize that it is a tall order to capture all of that video as it's happening then to go back after the fact and try to sort it all out and make sense of it...but with the production value shown so far, I have no doubt those in charge can do this if they are just steered in that direction (assuming others want to see the same that I'd like to see).

[NOPANTS68]

I thought the show overall was decent. Reynolds had a lot of comentary that I think could have been left on the editing room floor- one part was even repeated towards the end of the show. His voice is a bit to stomach for an hour, but he's extremely knowledgable about the sport and the people in it. I liked the K&N segement because it showed the company's interest in the event and their customers. I also like the little segments about the Chevelle and its build. Like I said- it's a pilot. Some needs polish, but overall I thought it was worth watching.

[mike343sharpstk]

Saw the first one only, I enjoyed it OK from an introductory standpoint.
For the average enthusiast, some specifics on how some of the cars were changed, especially the more mildly modified cars that work very well.
If the idea is to get car owners to participate and purchase parts and services, then show them that you don't need to spend piles of cash to join in and get started.

Viewers who are newly introduced to 'Pro Touring' would want to know how well some of the older muscle cars work.
- Does a mild modification to something like an average 2nd gen Camaro or Fox mustang beat a new mustang on an autoX?
- Any cars out there that are faster than anyone thought?
- Why doesn't the high dollar exotic stuff just flat-out win all the events?

A segment on how to prepare to compete would be good too. With a new car, stock seat belts are fine. I noticed on many of the muscle cars it's common to use a harness bar, or roll bar if it's not fully caged. Info like that would be good if the goal is to get more participation.

[markss28]

I was get disappointed in the show. Very little shots or discussion of the details of any of the cars. More footage of ppl than of the rides. Really no content. The producers need to story board and not just shoot from the hip. If I catch the next one I'll watch it but the last one was boring.

Best show right now and I don't care if it's scripted or not is (street outlaws).

[chetly]

***disclaimer, my views are my views and not the views of my friends***


I was excited to watch it, had a group of 12 over to the house to watch it and BBQ. One of those friend being Mike Maier, his wife Brianne and both of their kids. We were all excited to watch it. One of my other friends is a video editor for a major online search engine.

I was not impressed, frankly I would have turned it off if I didn't have everyone over to watch it. The editing was poor, the video content was poor and it seemed like more of an infomercial for Optima Batteries, K&N Filters and Detroit Speed. It would have been nice to have all the commentary from Chad as a voice over with more footage of the track.

Mike was the Wilwood Brakes entry for the event and not a mention of him or the car. I was there all weekend helping him, the camera was in his face a lot but nothing. They had a grainy off color shot of him and Cortex in the opening credits but no on track showing. A lot of awesome cars there that sounded amazing and you would have thought there would have been some camera shots of some of these cars hauling ass up the front stretch.

They only showed the results from the autocross. What happened to the results of the start stop challenge, and the road course? Hell, who had the best poker hand? Not a mention of any of it. But, they had two segments worth on the Chevelle that was the K&N entry, and what was that when they went to the K&N factory, was that a commercial or part of the show?

Brian Houbaugh had more coverage in acommercial than any of the winners had on the entire show.

If I were a sponsor of a car hoping for some air time I'd be extremely upset. I hope the other shows get better or this will go down as a flop and no one is going to promote how much fun they had or how many laps they ran because there isn't a chance their cars will be seen.

I'm done rambling now.