Finally, after a really long time, we got to see Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May review cars, make fun of each other and blow sh*t up. To be frank, I really missed their show, that’s one of the few things that I watched online. I don’t watch TV because they show too much stupid stuff on it and because I’m traveling most of the time. So you know how eager I was to see these three on The Grand Tour by Amazon. After The Grand Tour released on 18 November, It broke records of all other shows featured on Amazon Prime.
It had to, especially after Jeremy’s infamous fiasco with the BBC. People, including me wanted a come back from the Trio because clearly, the BBC does not deserve such talented idiots. From Andy’s interview and also from Jeremy’s previous rants about BBC, it seemed like an Organisation too keen on specific methods of working. Working in order and working in non-creative, boring ways. But hello, the world’s changing every millisecond, you need controversy to keep a real car show running. Such shows get ‘usual’ and boring if they follow a fixed pattern of working.A lot of Organisations don’t get that, not one bit. That’s why you see idiotic, pointless, biased, soulless reviews from ex-Top gear’s competitors. They’re so.. yuck and misleading. If a car sucks, you just say it that it sucks and then exaggerate about it. So Clarkson and Andy had to setup their own production company in order to get The Grand Tour done for Amazon. They built all things from scratch and adapted a thought process similar to the one they adopted back in 2002 during the inception of Top Gear. In just one year, they had to get the shoots and post production done, that’s a tough task. I don’t say this, Andy says in the interview below. I watched the first episode of The Grand Tour and to tell you, it is better in almost every possible way. The video, sound, choice of music, humor, it checks all the boxes. I can genuinely call this an upgrade of some sort, not just cosmetic but also in terms of creativity. Imagine how difficult it must’ve been to come up with a new name, hire new people, gather ideas, sync schedules in just one year while being cautious enough with the script to not be sued by BBC. What the boys have come up with is something that’s not at par with the legacy they carried once, but a show that’s a lot more interesting and creative.
The first episode begins with Clarkson’s rainy days with the BBC until he flies to the US (signifying deal with Amazon) and drives a rental Ford Mustang. While he drives, the other two idiots- Hammond and May join along in their Ford Mustangs and then they all drive out to the the desert for their first show. That was an unexpected beginning, but a pretty emotional, inspirational and sensible one. The rest of the show is pretty much like an orientation where the trio display a montage of the upcoming episodes, introduce their tenting idea, show around their new race track and get some celebrities killed. But there was another unexpected thing they did. They got done with unfinished business. A task where the lap times of three crucial hyper cars had to be tested and revealed in Top Gear. Jeremy, May and Hammond drive The McLaren P1, Porsche 918 Spyder and the Ferrari LaFerrari on the same track and have the lap times tested by a racing driver. I won’t reveal the results but I must say, that is a good way to start off by getting done with unfinished business! By looking at the montage, I can only say that the upcoming episodes are going to be different than what you’re used to seeing, but different in a good way. It’s nice to see the boys use some different words but in their own unique styles. That’s another plus point. They’re the same as what they were in Top Gear, screwing about in cars and describing them in the best way possible so that even a new born baby understands complex technical jargon. Not really.
Personally speaking, I don’t watch a lot of TV, I don’t watch too many movies. I’m more of a motorcyclist than a car guy and spend my free time on motorcycle adventures, photographing wildlife or writing. But, I got hooked onto Top Gear a long time ago. In fact, it isn’t Top Gear but it is Jeremy Clarkson, who’s shows I began watching when I was 4 years old. That’s when my father told me who he was. When I started reading, it was mostly car magazine columns of Jeremy that I read, while I neatly cut out a picture of a Ferrari Testarossa. As I grew up, the interest in his car shows expanded, it then moved onto Top Gear where James and Richard joined and blended so well that they completed the incomplete dish of dessert.
I’m sure I won’t stop watching a car show that’s got Jeremy Clarkson in it, doesn’t matter how many producers he punches. It’s quite endangering to find a childlike, naughty, intelligent, fearless and humorous adult to describe cars in the most unusual ways, which only makes him more.. IRREPLACEABLE. I’ve got immense respect for him, it doesn’t matter if he hates something that I love doing and makes fun of it- MOTORCYCLES. I’m also sure about the fact that there are a lot of others out there who watch re-runs of top gear and never get bored of them, same would be for the Amazon Grand Tour series. As of now though, the show's just begun...By: Ssaajan Manoj Jogia