"The Grand Tour" Opera, Arts and Donuts (TV Episode 2016) Poster

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10/10
All is forgiven
billjones-740061 December 2016
Warning: Spoilers
After last week's fiasco I was worried that maybe the guys lost the touch that served them so well at that other show. Well, the third episode was epic. The cars, the locations and the banter were all back. And of course it was filmed beautifully (the only thing good about episode two). The large portion of the show was shot in Italy in two and a half great cars on great roads and on a track. This is what they do well, choose three very different cars and go on an adventure. And while it might have been more interesting if Hammond had driven a more suitable Grand Touring car, his over the top caricature was entertaining. It seemed as though the hosts were genuinely happy to be filming the tent/studio segments from England. The banter there was better than in the previous two episodes and hopefully, as they get more comfortable, it will become a very good segment of the show. I'm glad they did not have a segment with "The American". That and the lame celebrity dying gag are the worst parts of the show. Overall, this was an excellent episode. I read that Amazon may be discussing a five-year deal for The Grand Tour. That is good news - especially if more episodes are like "Opera, Art, and Donuts".
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10/10
Back on track
siamak-mm595 December 2016
that was great to see the trio back to normal(their normal actually not normal normal). seems British air came them of their senses and what the real car show must have looked like. so there was good cars and driving and having fun with cars. let them roam free and the best car show come out eventually. good job for now, and i hope to see more of these stuff n upcoming episodes. a little bit about product placement; the trio made it very intelligent in top gear in their own way but here on GT products looks to be spit at the viewer forcefully as brands like Samsung fly around irrelevantly.make more clever guys, you can do it. this is not just a comedy show this could be a car show praising the magnificence of the cars.
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6/10
Only if they had done a Grand Tour...
mhk768 December 2016
A Grand Tour was a good idea (after horrible Desert Stumble), but it was executed very badly. Now it was way too much about Hammond and his stupid pony car. I bet Americans have made a proper Grand Tourer and with that this episode could have been about something interesting. The Charger should have been left for another episode, episode about petrol head cars. Now it just made Hammond look like a w*nker (ah, the star, the sign of American hypocrisy).

Also the studio is still too scripted. Well, it has always been scripted (in Top Gear), but it didn't feel like it so much. And the dying guest was funny once, not anymore.

So why 6/10 if it was so bad? Because it still entertained me somewhat. And maybe because of the last residue fumes of the opening episode. But now it's time to shape up. Back to the level of the first episode. Only kick out the fat American, or at least make him shut up.
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5/10
Drop the script, do the "BOB" again
galin-243-9055768 December 2016
For me these three guys were best when they made you smile and laugh on the small jokes. It reminds me of something Jeremy said - when the Americans did Fawlty Towers, they got rid of Basil and wondered why it didn't work.

I just watched again Roan Atkinson doing the "BOB" gag - this is what its all about.

2016 is marked as the year of political correctness and Apache helicopters, and i'm sad to see that Grand Tour took the same approach. Forced humor - lets not offend the special snowflakes.

Guys, stop being politically correct - this is why we loved you and this is why every vegetarian hated you.
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4/10
The ideas are running out
mystery_guerilla7 December 2016
Warning: Spoilers
After the first episode where everything worked and I laughed out loud repeatedly, the second episode was a come down. Basically the guys playing a real life computer game, and a brief bit about a seemingly unstoppable Audi car.

The third show was just awful. The very basic of juxtapositions, put old guys in sedate luxury super cars, put 'young' upstart in a loud muscle car and drive somewhere nice. It was lame and the creativity has clearly nose dived. TG was dying before Clarkson got fired. And excluding Ep 1, the death and dearth continues in the Grand Tour.

The few stars i gave are to the nice cars, and the everlasting chemistry between the trio,although even that is starting to be painful to observe. How much longer Clarkson can fit behind a wheel with that massive gut he displayed in Ep 3, and driving fast at 58, I can see a massive coronary in the offing, a bit like the Grand Tour.
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Maybe time is better than crash boom bang
SebastienSpa3 December 2016
Quite honestly, on the first watch this episode didn't have wow effect that episode one and two had.

But on a second glimpse it probably offers the essential recipe behind the trio's being. On top of that this might be the summary of ingredients that a show called "The Grand Tour" needs - grand touring, fooling around and being kids trapped in an adult body.

Anyone who missed the classic moments (from their previous show) that unfold slowly and happen as the three move on might be just right here. If this is what TGT is supposed to be it appears like this is what the fans want it to be - and therefore is just right.

I personally like the idea of experimenting with the format itself but this is just classic material in the way that probably most people expect Clarkson, May and Hammond to move around in. So, maybe this is one for the fans - and they deserve to know that the trio hasn't forgotten its core fan base.

Still, I hope for more experiments - they got the money, they got the production crew, they got the settings, and, of course, they got the cars. So how about a little bit of both worlds? I'm ready!
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3/10
The most lame and boring episode as of yet.
evimchine4 December 2016
By now the fan goggles really are off, and we realize, that this is just a rather boring "car show" with a bit of forced humor and a whole lot of unremarkable nothingness.

Sorry, lads. It was good to try. But it failed. Top Gear was never really was popular because of being a car show. It was a funny and amazing show… in a car world.

But now the fun bits are missing. (Anyone remember them welding cars on top of cars upside down, and having a destruction derby with two drivers per car?) The amazing bits are missing. (Anyone remember the first Africa special? Or the north pole one? Or the Reliant Robing Space Shuttle, ffs??) And we're left with no car show *and* no comedy show.

Rest in peace, "Top Gear blot with another name".
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