2018 motoring show, 6 episodes. The inevitable plunge into comedy
starts here.
In terms of format it's more of the same: same hosts, same
content in each programme (new sporty car review, guest driving round
the track, outside segment), but also same clichés. Now that the
team's been stable for a series, they've fallen into simplistic
personalities: Rory is the comic relief who gets lost on the track,
Chris is the vaguely sensible one and Matt does wild and wacky things.
Most of the excursions into pure silliness from series 2.24 are gone;
instead, the comedy is wedged into the supposedly serious segments.
There are enjoyable moments, but there doesn't seem to be much vim to
the whole business; it all feels tired rather than enthusiastic
(except when Sabine Schmitz turns up) – ironically, much as the first
season of The Grand Tour felt at times, though that one recovered in
season 2. Looking back on the season there's no specific incident that
comes to mind as particularly fun.
Ratings were slightly down from the last series (which itself was only
on par with 23's collapse after its first episode), and I imagine that
if it weren't for all the merchandising opportunities the series would
have been quietly cancelled a couple of years ago. (All right, the
ratings in earlier years only really took off after the near-death of
one of the presenters.) As it is, LeBlanc has said he's only doing one
more series, and I'm not convinced the show is salvageable without
some much better scriptwriters as well as more interesting hosts.
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