Top Gear (US) - Episode 1.02 - Blind Drift - Review

Last week saw the debut of Top Gear US, and I found it fun but nowhere near as engagingly mad as the UK original series. However, ways to get a show on my good side? Add an Aston Martin and an actor I interviewed once.

This week's episode opens with Tanner taking a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution up into the Sierra Nevadas to race it against a pair of skiers. Once again, it's reminiscent of a previous UK challenge; Richard Hammond raced an Audi RS6 against skiers in the second episode of Series 11. Tanner is definitely the Hammond of the American hosting trio (what with the good looks and the being a sore loser), but his calling his opponents Skittles is nowhere near as funny as Richard's thinking that he speaks French. Watching Tanner handle a car, however, is a beautiful thing (unsurprising being that he did stunt work in two of the Fast & The Furious films), and he's very natural on camera. Not to mention, he wins the challenge, which Hammond didn't do. I'd love to sit down with Tanner and see what makes him tick; he's clearly the most charismatic of the bunch.

Being a James Bond fan, I've had a love affair with Aston Martins for years, so showcasing one on Top Gear automatically makes me a happy girl. Rutledge gets to drive the V8 and V12 Vantage models, and while he isn't too kind to the V8, he does a good job of taking the V12 and showing what makes people fall in love with the Aston Martin line. It's a nice little piece for Aston buffs like myself, but it's missing something that makes it truly memorable. Rutledge seems like he's more comfortable this week, but his metaphors need some work. Speaking of the writing department, someone needs to teach these hosts how to properly introduce The Stig. (And get rid of that needless track map, already!)

The US Top Gear does something the UK version doesn't this episode: the hosts rotate interviewing duties, with Adam giving up the chair to Rutledge for this week's chat with Dominic Monaghan. It's a great interview, if only because one gets the sense that Monaghan could host the show himself if he wanted to. I can say from experience that he really is that funny and outgoing, and he unintentionally makes Rutledge look like a wallflower.

The episode concludes with Tanner being challenged by his two co-hosts to a drifting competition. Maybe we're supposed to think Adam and Rutledge's cheap shots at drifting are funny, but as Tanner points out, drifting is something that takes a lot of practice and skill, so his cohorts end up coming off as more than a little ignorant. When they're bested by Adam's blind friend after just a brief tutorial from Tanner, it's less funny and more like "Well, they deserved it."

Top Gear US is still fun in its second episode, but it's still missing that extra something that would take it to the snappy, snarky level of its UK counterpart. The attempts at getting it there just fall flat; the jokes in the narration just aren't funny, and the banter between the hosts doesn't click yet. Fans of the UK version are used to Jeremy insulting Richard's height or James' wardrobe, but he's honestly funny when he's doing it, and it's an example of a bonhomie between the UK trio that you can feel. When the US boys do it, it's as if they're just taking shots at each other because that's the precedent. They're trying too hard, but all the same, I definitely appreciate that they're putting in the effort. I'd much rather have a Top Gear that tries too hard than a show that doesn't try hard enough.

Looking for more Top Gear US? Full show coverage is available in the Top Gear US category at my site, DigitalAirwaves.net.

Brittany Frederick
DigitalAirwaves.net
Examiner.com