It’s happened again and again. A wildly popular show in Britain is such a hit, the Americans want to get in on the action.
Logic would dictate they simply air the show in it’s current form. But when has logic ever played into the entertainment industry? No, the American way is to take an idea and completely remake it, usually spending more money than necessary
‘Top Gear‘ is a British Classic. I’m not even that big of a fan of cars and I love it. The thing I love most about it is that particular brand of British Humor that you can’t find anywhere in the world. It’s been airing, albeit in a bastardized edited form, on BBC America for the last year. It’s been a huge hit.
Now, it’s time for it to get Americanized.
America is filled with the corpses of failed Britain to America conversions. To name just a few, Coupling, The Office (American version is ok), Doctor Who (1996 telemovie, nuff said), Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, The Weakest Link, Big Brother (American BB is a snore compared to the rest of the world).
So, it’s very clear that we don’t usually get it right. This does not bold well for the new, better ‘American Top Gear’ to be hosted by smarmy smart ass Adam Corolla. The best feature of the new show being touted is it’s larger budget.
I give it 4 episodes. Simply put, the American Top Gear will suck.
I may be wrong. But you can pry my pirated, uncensored BBC copies of ‘Top Gear‘ from my cold dead hands.
About jonathan
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Anglotopia was founded by Jonathan and Jackie Thomas for people who love Britain - whether it's British TV, Culture, History or Travel - we cover it all. Anglotopia was started to get us back to the UK for a trip and it did that in 2009. Now, the goal is for Anglotopia to make our dreams of traveling to the UK whenever we want a reality.
Big Brother is from the Netherlands
The USA and UK aired their first episodes in the same year. 2000
And all Big Brothers are boring.
I would have loved to have been a part of the Top Gear show, but with Adam at the helm. I am afraid you are right. The thing about Jeremy is that he is a car guy of sorts and Adam is not. At least, not to my knowledge.
I will watch it, but I will go home to momma on this one and watch the BBC version, which will always be the better version. Typical, Americans think that throwing more money at the issue will solve it. I love the sets or lack there of and Top Gear will not bow to corporate pressure and will speak their mind about the cars. I am sure the American version sponsored by GMC will bow to corporate pressure on a weekly basis.
Jonathan, another fine example of this is Life on Mars. The American copy definitely lacks something!
The American Top Gear lasted approximately 5 minutes at our home. Top Gear without Jeremy, James and Richard just isn’t a Top Gear worth watching. We are staying true to the Original.
As an American… the British versions of any tv show are MUCH better than the American version.