10/10, Exceptional. The whole episode was superbly executed, even though I still dislike the celebrity formula. I'm willing to overlook it because it seemed to be kept to a minimum this episode and the guest wasn't bad. It still feels odd with them sitting there between segments and the interviews don't flow very well.
My notes:
-Cinematography seems to be the best it has ever been. Super visually pleasing, and not crazy over-done special-effects/graphics that plagued the end of old top gear. Any chance of going back to those old school shaded corner filters? Those felt strangely nice.
-Chiron review was excellent. I feel like I wanted slightly more technical information about the car. I understand it is in development though. This was a text book top gear car preview/review, a pleasure to watch.
- The Pacman game was pretty cool, but it feels like it would be too difficult to genuinely play and compete. Similar games like this but more realistic with genuine competition would be better. It would just be that much cooler if the games were more realistic that the hosts/contestants could compete in for an unscripted finish. Otherwise I love small cars competing in like games.
-The fast sweeping drone shots during the celebrity hot lap were really cool. Added a super cool touch. More drone footage like that.
-Sabine is great, I am really happy to see she is still a part of the show. A regular segment of her would be great. Maybe segments of her talking about how to drive various sections of the ring? One segment per few corners?
-3 small hatches racing around the test track was excellent! I don't think we've seen very many head to head races around the track like that. I think the tiny cars racing around the test track should be investigated further for more segments in the future. Stig's teenage cousins were also great.
-The Harris vs Joey race was also text book top gear. Super fun to watch. I would have liked more information about all the vehicles however. I was disappointed Chris didn't talk more about the Chiron as he drove it and road-tripped it. Was it a comfortable car to drive all that time? It is a bugatti after-all. Curious if there was anything annoying about it. The pictures and the shots of the car were amazing, but hoped to hear a little more about the experience, mixed in with the race storyline. More technical/educational info mixed in with the storylines would be great.
This formula is a real winner. The show is still new and finding its legs, but what a foundation to build on. The hosts are feeling more familiar and developing their characters on the show nicely. I am hoping that Top Gear gets more involved in Motorsport. I would really love to see more segments about popular races and storylines of various teams/cars.