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As many car nuts know, Top Gear, the most successful car show in the world, has come to America. We’ve gotten our own spinoff show, airing this Fall on the History Channel. While some have applauded the fact that Americans will now get more of the show we love, others have completely written it off as a sub-standard copycat show that could never be as good as the original, before seeing even a single frame of film. Well, I just had to see for myself. Top Gear USA just started taping their in-studio segments today at an airport hangar in Irvine, CA, and whaddya know? The whole TST crew took a little road trip in the Raptor to see how it’s going to turn out. Hit the jump for a preview of what Top Gear USA has in store for us.

Being part of a studio audience is nothing like seeing a show fully edited together and complete. It seems to take forever, especially on the first day of shooting, before the crew is comfortable with the flow of moving props and people and cameras around. The set is quite a bit smaller than the British show, but several cars were on display inside, including a Dodge Viper ACR in a great white/black/red color combination, a Chevy Camaro SS, a Porsche Panamera Turbo, and the same Aston Martin V12 Vantage that I had the pleasure of piloting a few weeks back. These cars were there to start off the “power lap” board with a few preliminary times, which I won’t give away here. The “Celebrity Lap Times” board is being re-used from the defunct NBC pilot, and because the track at El Toro is the same for the new show as it was for the pilot, Adam Carolla and David Hasslehof’s times are still on there. We’ll ignore the fact that the Hoff’s time is completely made up because he was wasted on shoot day and couldn’t actually complete a lap in the car while drunk. True story. Despite its smaller size, the overall feel is the same as the British show, and yours truly, recognized by a bunch of the crew members, scored a sweet-ass viewpoint from the top of the bridge, a raised structure behind the main stage and facing out into the cameras.

On to the action. We first got a little speech from the show’s producer and writer, Richard Porter, who is also the primary writer for the British show. He asked us to remember that the first two seasons of British Top Gear were, to quote him directly, “Total shit,” and that it took a while to really get the rhythm together, so to please be patient and recognize that you can’t make miracles overnight. He also reminded us that US Top Gear isn’t replacing the British show, just adding more of what we love, and assured us that when we saw some of the films, we would be convinced.

Fortunately, they did actually show two of the completed segments to the studio audience, and true to Richard’s word, we weren’t disappointed. The first segment featured host/drifter/friend Tanner Foust racing two extreme skiiers to the other side of Mammoth Mountain, CA. In a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. We know that on the British show, Richard Hammond raced a skiier, so feel free to call out a repeat performance, but with a closed road, Tanner’s incredible skills behind the wheel, and very very deep powder to push the car through, the segment proved both entertaining and exciting, and I can honestly say that Top Gear’s editors do much more for Tanner’s hosting abilities than anyone on SPEED ever has. Plus, the quality of the shots, music selection, voiceovers, and all the post-production work we’ve come to expect from the British version is right there.

The second segment was a contest between Tanner and the two other hosts, Rutledge Wood and Adam Ferrara. In fact, it was a drifting contest, filmed at Willow Springs’s skidpad area with two Nissan 370Z’s. At first, this seems like a no-brainer, since Tanner literally does this for a living. But there was a catch: Tanner wouldn’t be driving. Instead, the producers turn Tanner into a literal seeing-eye dog for a blind driver. A blind driver who had driven a car exactly one time, and never a stick. Tanner, after the taping, told me that this segment was “the most terrified I’ve ever been in a car, and probably the most in danger as well.” The segment proves to be hilarious, as not only can you see and feel the sheer terror in Tanner’s face (he gets carsick as a passenger, even with a good driver), you also learn that host Adam Ferrarra apparently cannot drive for shit. Hardcore car junkies will call this a big problem, but lets be honest: watching people try to drive fast who can’t drive fast is pretty damn funny. The highlight of the whole segment, however, was something that could never be scripted: the behavior of a dog. Brian, the blind driver, was invited out to the studio and called up on stage after watching the segment, and with cameras rolling, his seeing eye dog let go a good 40-second piss right on the Top Gear logo’ed carpet at Adam’s feet. The whole place went batshit, and moments like that, totally unscripted greatness, are what make shows like Top Gear great.

There was also a Power Lap segment with Rutledge testing the Aston Martin V12 Vantage, as well as a “Big Star in a Little Car” segment, but we didn’t get to see the Aston bit and I’ve agreed not to divulge information about celebrity guests.

Now, on to the hosts themselves. I have to admit, I was skeptical about Rutledge Wood for no reason besides he’s worked in NASCAR broadcasting and he isn’t me. Tanner’s been a friend for years now, and his hosting abilities are really improving, though he still needs to loosen up a bit in front of a live audience. This being the first taping of a show with a lot of pressure, I’d be nervous as hell too. I’ve known about Adam’s comedy for a few years, and it was a great call having a stand-up comic on the show. He’s quick, sharp, and funny as shit, and has a great comeback for everything thrown at him.

Don’t start asking “Who’s James, Who’s Richard, and Who’s Jeremy” because this dynamic of hosts doesn’t really work that way. They haven’t set out to replicate individual characters from the British show, which was tried on the NBC pilot and would never work out. Instead, they have created a new ensemble with a new dynamic that works well when put into its own context. Rutledge is the friendly, funny southerner who’s always loved cars and racing, and self-deprecates frequently about his poor fashion sense and taste. Fortunately, in this episode at least, NASCAR has been left out of the equation entirely. Adam is endlessly witty, the high-strung New Yorker (accent included), and has way more confidence than he should with his ability to drive. And Tanner is the softer spoken, wheel-man pretty boy with the laid back California attitude.

I’ll admit, this morning upon walking into the studio, I was pretty skeptical, though I had an open mind and high hopes. I have to say that, after seeing the quality of the segments, the fun, American style of the hosts, and the blend of cars and comedy in this episode, I’m now confident that, though Top Gear USA will probably never be quite the runaway success as the original, it’s going to be a really fun show to watch, and for the 80% of Americans that have never heard of Top Gear, will be the best car show they have ever seen on TV. So bloggers, fans, and critics, cut these guys some slack. They have worked very hard making a uniquely American version of a uniquely British show, and in my opinion, are on their way to success with it. They have funny hosts that love cars, and they have production value to back it up. You’ll never please the purists, but for everyone else, look forward to some quality programming this fall on the History Channel.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 13th, 2010 at 8:25 pm and is filed under News, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.