This is a tease. You know, a preview of things to come. We're hoping that it will be enough to keep you on the hook for now, as Inside Line isn't quite ready to cough up what we learned during our trip to the studio taping of America's version of Top Gear.
But we do have some photos to share. Yes, we promised the History Channel that our tease wouldn't divulge what actually happens on the show just yet. That comes later in a real story closer to the show's launch on November 21.
That's November 21, a Sunday, at 10 p.m. on the History Channel. Right after Ice Road Truckers and just before you switch over to the Speed Channel to watch 16 straight hours recapping the just-concluded 2010 NASCAR season. Don't miss the results of Jamie MacMurray's prostate exam at 3 a.m.!
So here's your first glimpse. Not from some cheap cell phone camera in the audience, but up-close stuff, behind-the-scenes. Stuff shot by Inside Line's own Kurt Niebuhr using a real SLR camera. Enjoy.
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stevesls6 says:
04:35 PM, 11/02/2010
I am not expecting much of this because as others have stated in the UK they are more liberal than the US. I think this is gonna be a very dumbed down version of the show. I saw a sneek peak of the show on FB and wasn't impressed with the people they chose as the hosts. Tanner might be a good driver but his personality is dry as toast...no matter how funny he tries to be it doesn't work.....no ofense buddy but don't give up on driving. Ruthlege should stick to Nascar.....hillbillies don't drive Ferraris, Lambos, Porsches....ect. If this was Super Chevy magazine show I think Ruthlege would be the guy. I am sure he can relate to the Nascar crowd but people that watch TG are a little more world class. As for the other guy???? Adam Ferrera...good luck. Don't know much about you but I hope your personality is better than the other two.
roscoe108 says:
04:39 AM, 11/02/2010
@chuckdaly:
They won't be able to bash their sponsors because they will be 'owned' by their sponsors, just like BBC is 'owned' by the British government.
mrcrispy says:
02:03 PM, 11/01/2010
What makes TG great is they are totally un-PC and not afraid to speak their mind on any subject. That kind of tv is unimaginable in the US. Remakes of British shows for yanks are dumbed down, overproduced garbage - e.g. Kitchen Nightmares.
The objective of tv here is to grab ratings, the objective in BBC is to make good tv. TG USA will be a show pandering to whatever sponsor they want to please, try to cover all the bases, forced humor and edginess, and the whims of some network exec. Do you really think it can have any objectivity or credibility.
Can anyone seriously imagine a US show will have the balls to expose the hypocrisy in Katerina like TG did. Or comment on how global warming, traffic tickets, speed cameras etc are hogwash. Or make fun of redneck hicks. TG is not afraid to bash, and more often than not its their own govt.
Try even a whiff of that here and -
1) viewers will get offended and outraged because we in the US just don't do intelligent tv
2) gets yanked off air for fear of offending said viewers (or more likely never approved at all)
chuckdaly says:
03:31 PM, 10/31/2010
The BBC is government owned. The History Channel is not, so how badly can they really bash their sponsors?
blkmercman says:
02:23 PM, 10/31/2010
"The Top Gear studio set is contained within one of the more modestly sized hangars left behind by the marines"
Ahem....not to be a stickler....but marines should be Marines.
Good job and carry on.
gearhead1977 says:
07:52 AM, 10/28/2010
I'll give it a chance, but my expectations aren't high. Love the original, American bashing and all.
mj85 says:
05:13 PM, 10/27/2010
Who really cares if the UK show is biased against American cars? To be fair, our cars are less expensive and a lot of them end up looking cheap in comparison. And the show is based in the UK...
I'm sure the US version will spend enough time ripping on the electrical systems in British cars to more than make up for it. I'm just hoping the US version doesn't end up being all muscle cars all the time - and I'm sure the majority of the cars they have on the show will have automatic transmission because that's what Americans buy (and anyone else saddened by this needs to check out C&D's Save the Manuals campaign).
But back to the whole thing about bias: the idea about the show being non-biased is due to the presenters and not the BBC. The difference is that the BBC is not funded by advertisements like our television, so there is no bias from one brand to another based on the show's sponsorship. The hosts rip on American cars because they're English, not because they're being paid to.
fredthecarguy says:
03:24 PM, 10/27/2010
They only reason I watch the UK show is to see them run the super cars on the test track. The rest is garbage
agnh says:
09:59 PM, 10/26/2010
It's good to see that "American Stig" went on a diet!
Seriously, though, I just don't know if I'll be able to stomach Foust. I can barely watch Supercars Exposed. Perhaps he should have just been hired as American Stig, but I don't think his ego could handle the anonimity.
blueguydotcom says:
08:54 PM, 10/26/2010
@sugarlandtx - newsflash - most of us don't care if there's anti-american bias; we care if the show is entertaining.