It’s taken the baton from Clarkson, May and Hammond and run directly to Last of the Summer Wine, complete with accents and a cast of stupid men way past their best.
It is supposed to be mindless fun. So I struggle to understand those complaining about it being mindless fun. I think they're entirely missing the point.
Both episodes so far have had multiple laugh out loud moments, and the cinematography / editing is superb as always. I just don't understand the hate for it. It's far, far better than Grand Tour which is the epitome of stale.
I've been enjoying the new series, and even my wife is enjoying it too. However I'm starting to see outright bullying of the little guy by the two big famous ones, which seems rather unedifying; the banter towards and about Hammond in the past did at least come across as banter, whereas lately it is becoming decidedly unfunny and really schoolboyish in a bad way in this trio.
------------------------------------------------------------------------- G8PMA on hf digimodes mainly and 6/4/2 vhf ssb Building a Zenith CH750 STOL (slowly)...
This is the first series of Top Gear that I've ever just lost interest in. I like Chris Harris, he's always been really good on it. Freddy Flintoff seems to do a decent job but I find Paddy McGuinness really difficult to watch. He also seems to be a bad influence on Flintoff as well. I stopped watching after that awkward episode that all the bullying accusations came out of it.
I do hope they get a replacement for Paddy McGuinness for the next series.
Chris Harris is good - I like his style, & agreed with him on his views on both the Model 3 and that Rolls Royce barge. But the other two are irritating in the extreme.
This is the first series of Top Gear that I've had any interest in watching since the departure of Clarkson, May and Hammond. There again, I am both a northerner and from the right side of the Pennines.