[03x07] February 22, 2019 - Well Aged Scotch

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93Flareside

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Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May tour the most beautiful parts of Scotland in three old Italian cars which they believe to be future classics. Also in this show, Clarkson is at the Eboladrome to test the new BMW M5 sports saloon against the comfort-orientated Alpina B5.
 
I was wondering when will someone say "back to the studio" ?. Good episode with lovely scenery & mountains, apart from clarkson birthday. Great review from the M5 but why would there be option of fragrance?
 
Nice episode, apart from James' birthday speech.
  • Conversation Street is by now something I look forward to. Hammond's deliberately cringeworthy introduction and the silly graphics alone are worth it.
  • M5 vs. B5: Well, nothing new here, but solid film.
  • Deep-fried spaghetti with chips. ?
  • They actually went to a place I've been! A few years ago I stood at the Flora MacDonald statue too. Sadly, without a gorgeous car.
8/10 from me.
 
This episode was really good.
Loved the M5/Alpina review. It felt like the old school reviews they did on TG. Except Dunsfold was more prettier than this test track.
Conversation Street was average.
The Scotland film however, despite of some tiny cringe moments (like hammond cooking, and the overall birthday party could be be shorter and finally some sound editing that was done at some parts in the episode) it was a really, really good segment.
The scenery, the cars, absolutely gorgeous.
At the end that "Back to the Studio", hit me right in the feels :-(

A gave it a solid 7/10
 
I think they're finally getting into the groove now.

9/10 from me.
 
Fantastic episode imho, I actually gave it a 10 because why not. Everything I want in a car show, with barely any of the cringe elements some of late TG and TGT is plagued by (Hammond's cooking and James's speech were borderline, but by far not as bad as some other examples). Scotland cinematography has actually made me want to go on a roadtrip immediately.
 
The accidental "back to the studio" from Clarkson at the end alone is worth 9/10 from me. Just goes to show how deep Top Gear was, and is, in Jeremy's mind.

The rest of the episode was no slouch though. Three quirky Italian cars, stunning Scottish roads and scenery and a reasonable balance of scripted fun (Hammond frying everything in the kitchen was funny) and genuine laughs.

The M5 vs B5 review was the usual business, although I would've rather seen a drag race between those two instead of the M5 vs AMG GT.
 
Somewhat average overall for me, but the scenery sure was amazing! And as many others have mentioned, "back to the studio" was nice.

There have been plenty of great looking Lancias...but is that one of them? 'One of the prettiest cars ever made'? Can't agree with him there. (but I suppose everyone will say I'm wrong, haha)
 
Solid 9 for me.

No needless car destruction (Hammond's roof was perfectly justified :D), no stupid car modification, Jeremy actually taking care of his car!

A bit of juvenile humor, but not too much. Even the pointless drifting challenge was fine by me (no destruction on purpose, and James actually handling the car sideways!).

The birthday speech should have been cut, but the deep-fried spaghetti had me laughing.

The bit where James and Clarkson were using quotes from each other was just amazing. That his a proper way to fight about who's car is best.
 
(Hammond frying everything in the kitchen was funny)

I actually would try deep-fried spaghetti bolognese...

I've enjoyed deep-fried cakes of Indonesian noodles in Dutch railway stations and crispy noodle "nests" in Vietnamese and Chinese dishes in the past. I think the bolognese taste in there could be quite nice!
 
There have been plenty of great looking Lancias...but is that one of them? 'One of the prettiest cars ever made'? Can't agree with him there. (but I suppose everyone will say I'm wrong, haha)

I used to think that was an ugly car even while it was on sale when I was a kid. Especially the way the bootlid slopes down from the edges above the rear lights.
 
Did no-one else think it was slightly odd they didn't make any comment about driving three models from the same parent manufacturer in the same era...?
 
Can't say I loved it that much.
Above average 7/10 is what it felt like.
The bit about Wilman's text message is how you subtly make a joke about the scripted nature of the show. Much funnier than their hideously patronising segment on the subject.
The drifting bit could've been short and sweet if they'd just taken turns popping those things onto their rear tyres as intended and edited it into a quick compilation to show their reactions...
The birthday party could've been a heartwarming film where they show spontaneous interactions with the guests, some laughter... Missed opportunity for some maturity.
The SHIT/PENIS acronym business stopped being funny a few moons ago.

The thing that disappoints me most on TGT is something I mentioned in my comment on the previous episode's thread: track choices.
The track they chose for the aerial shots over that nice road was so monotonous only 30 seconds of it should've been used at most. Instead, they played it from the 49:30 mark through the 51:45 mark. I swear I turned the volume down halfway through. Couldn't focus on the beauty of the landscape at all.
Two examples from TG I can immediately think of that trump this would be the bit with the CLK Black bit in Wales where they played Einaudi's Giorni Dispari and the bit where Jeremy tested the XK in Yorkshire to Lisa Gerrard's glorious singing.
 
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