Just seen it. For once, Steve and I agree on a TV show.
It started with promise (although the theme tune is a bit crap, it's def no Jessica) as the Vulcan is something I've not seen a lot of. I'd rather have seen Hammond in it, as we might have been spared the obvious jokes, but what disappointed me most was the sound. The V12 in that is volatile, but it sounded positively anodyne through the speakers. Not my setup either, I promise you that, it just sounded like they turned the gain down too far. Was it clipping? I don't know. Shame though.
The Zuma jokes went down well with the audience, and I'll admit I'd not seen that clip of him so that's perhaps my loss for not finding it funny. The chatting was the usual, as you'd expect, and it was watchable for sure.
The celeb bit remains deathly unfunny. The Yank driver is just irritating now, he treats the viewer like an idiot, and why should we be excited about a hypercar if he can't be bothered? At least the Stig was just deadpan nothing, you made him what you wanted, Skinner is just a tw*nt.
And the special forces bit. I'm sorry, but wtf was the point? Being raped in the arse whilst May misses the 2ft headshot? Well, comedy gold right there. Fake queen in a high speed chase in an S8? Oh, my sides. In fairness if the segment had been half as long then sure, it actually would've worked well I think as it's a subject ripe for ripping, but for me it was too slapstick. And I say that even bearing in mind the characters involved.
The guy who built his own Merc C9 was superb though, the genuine admiration from the guys came through and it was beautifully handled. The Vulcan was shot with the same grace and dedication, and that's something GT will always excel at I feel.
I'm not sure which GT is the real one now. The TG replica, or the gooning clusterf*ck. I genuinely hope the former, but then can I blame them for trying something a bit different? That's what I wanted, I know, but it seems that they've lost the subtlety that TG could have on occasion. Perhaps having the Beeb holding the reins was a good thing? Roll on Ep3, let's see where it goes!