Top Gear Australia Axed

[daggett]

Local remake of BBC favourite becomes a car wreck.

Officially it's parked but the local version of motoring show Top Gear is headed for the scrapheap.

Channel Nine has reportedly finally put the show out of its misery today after two years of lacklustre ratings and a cool reception by the critics. After originally attracting 1.5 million viewers last season the new series has dropped to around the 400,000 mark in the past two weeks.

Host Steve Pizzati confirmed the news this morning on his Twitter feed.

Channel Nine waves goodbye to Top Gear Australia.

"It's true - as of next week, TGA will be on at the special time of not at all. Sorry to the open-minded people that gave it a go and enjoyed!" Pizzati tweeted.

"We're told the last three episodes will make an appearance in the summer. Or try Blockbuster Video in the BetaMax section."

Rumours had been growing in the industry that the show's future was in doubt. Nine only commissioned four episodes of the current season. Only three have aired so far but a Nine spokeswoman said the final episode would be shown later this year.

The spokeswoman couldn't confirm if the show would continue next year saying a decision hadn't been made yet.

The final episode of last year's series also failed to air despite being filmed and promoted.

The local version of the popular British show began on SBS in 2008 with hosts Pizzati, Charlie Cox and Warren Brown. The first season came under fire from the car industry with a number of manufacturers complaining about damage done to their vehicles during filming.

SBS produced a second season, replacing Cox with musician James Morrison, before Nine secured the rights both versions of the show in 2010.

Nine dropped both Morrison and Brown and replaced them with actor Shane Jacobson and journalist Ewen Page.

From Top Gear Australia axed from Channel 9

[Calaber]

No loss at all. It was a pathetic attempt to duplicate the original and it lacked the personalities or the content to succeed.

[ClairBear]

Local remake of BBC favourite becomes a car wreck.

It was a car wreck from the start, not that I ever watched it as I refused to partake in a pathetic attempt to copy an excellent show.

[tim005]

It's the biggest fail I have ever witnessed. I would rather chop off my knob with a blunt butter knife then watch another season.

[Adds_05]

Top Gear Australia axed

[Troy711]

I'm hardly surprised... I watched the first episode and it was enough for me to hate it.

[RUF-60L]

i wasnt a huge fan of it. but to be fair the last couple of episodes havent been completely sucky, seems they had a bit more of a solid format and werent trying as hard to be an exact copy of the UK version as last season.

but overall, it's hard to get into after watching the UK guys, who work so well together (even though the later episodes are a bit overscripted compared to a couple of seasons ago), plus the accents are part of what makes it funny, listening to ocka aussie accents on tv (in most cases) makes other aussies cringe.

[Grennan]

but overall, it's hard to get into after watching the UK guys, who work so well together (even though the later episodes are a bit overscripted compared to a couple of seasons ago), plus the accents are part of what makes it funny, listening to ocka aussie accents on tv (in most cases) makes other aussies cringe.

Yeah i hear them talk and think...wow do we really sound like that?

[Darren_L]

yeah no great loss, but then again the original UK version is also a piss poor effort for a supposed car show

[304runner]

Ah yeah 1 season and 2 weeks too long in my book..

I played a drinking game one episode where I had to take a shot of Vodka every time that nerdy looking prick would steal a quote form the British version, I got to watch the last half of the show from the Hospital bed

Good riddance TGA

[alpha_au]

One thing that bugged me and made us look even more bogan-ish....

why the F*&$ did they use a clapped out fal-coon ute for the "star in a reasonably priced car"?

Atleast use a new car like UK top gear.

[H4Z4RD]

I watched it occasionally, but yeah it definitely lacked substance. Although I've got nothing against the presenters they dont have the chemistry of TGUK. Its the brittishness of TGUK that makes it funny in the first place!

Still, can't blame TGA for having a bash at it.


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-33.903207,151.141951

[Reaper]

No loss at all. It was a pathetic attempt to duplicate the original and it lacked the personalities or the content to succeed.

The whole thing failed part way thru the first ep when they tried to convince me that a roundabout that is less than 5km from my house is 30 km away. Probably happens in the UK version too but it's UK and I wouldn't know either way

Reaper

[Jonno]

tga was shit, so was 5th gear.
no loss

[ryno_vrx]

i just finished watching the last couple of episodes and i reckon they weren't half bad, better then the last season of top gear uk.

[VK SL 3800]

It was horrible, crap jokes, pathetic acting, lame challenges and they all had really fake laughs and laughed at anything. *runs into another car* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I found Steve increasingly infuriating to listen to.

[bogan_vk]

no loss for me either theres heaps better car shows on channel 31

[calaiss]

It's the biggest fail I have ever witnessed. I would rather chop off my knob with a blunt butter knife then watch another season.

Haha awesome.

Yeah and what was with constantly swapping the hosts? When BBC version is available so easily it made no sense watching this

[TVR-190]

I'd rather watch TGA Than anything else on 9. TBH I Didn't mind it.

The show would of been more popular if they called it anything except Top Gear, Just a shame it was contracted that they had to copy the U.K version to a T.

[TinSnips]

It was never going to be a success - buying the framework from a (very) successful show, that has 17(??? unsure) seasons under its belt and a ludicrous budget, taking its name - and expecting the local market to not assume it to be of the same calibre or content is retarded. A new show, with a new name, would be shown leniency by critics and its audience - but anything named Top Gear is going to struggle in a market that has screened all the UK episodes as well.

I'm all for a good, Australian car show - but for god's sake - don't make it a knock-off of something else.

[ucwepn]

Noooo just wanted to see next weeks as they were gonna trash vn's doing stunts, it was never going to be objective on a commercial network as its sponsored by several car manufacturers and they can't be too critical or channel 9 might lose a commercial customer. put it on ABC get 3 funny hosts and the show will make itself, the auto world is full of comedy.

[DAKSTER]

no loss for me either theres heaps better car shows on channel 31

The original Top Gear succeeded for 2 reasons. Firstly and most importantly, its the personalities. Without all 3 of the hosts, TG UK wouldnt be the same either. They make a perfect team.

Secondly, TG UK is NOT just a car show. Its a toys for boys show. Its all about doing the things you always wanted to do, like drop a 300tonne chimney on a perfectly good car, or turning a Hilux into a boat, or putting pedal to the metal in a Veyron till you run out of road. Or drive a tank..
Mix that up with racing base jumpers down a mountain, or freeclimbers up one, or racing pushbikes across London, or racing a Veyron against a light plane across Europe, and you have something that interests all boys. There isnt one of us who wouldnt want to be living Clarksons life..

All that kind of stuff takes money and the right presenters. TG OZ had neither. No loss.

[Crisis63]

All copies miss the point. It’s not about being a serious car show despite the serious cars. It’s about entertainment. Much like the Footy show isn’t about footy. Unfortunately that’s just not very entertaining either….

[Darren_L]

Secondly, TG UK is NOT just a car show. Its a toys for boys show. Its all about doing the things you always wanted to do, like drop a 300tonne chimney on a perfectly good car, or turning a Hilux into a boat, or putting pedal to the metal in a Veyron till you run out of road. Or drive a tank..
Mix that up with racing base jumpers down a mountain, or freeclimbers up one, or racing pushbikes across London, or racing a Veyron against a light plane across Europe, and you have something that interests all boys. There isnt one of us who wouldnt want to be living Clarksons life..

TG is promoted as a car show, which it fails at. Ok maybe I'm on my own here, but honestly all that stuff you mention bores me. And no I wouldn't want Clarkson's life either.... I'd love the opportunity to drive the cars he gets given the keys too, but I'd be taking the cars to the track, where these cars can really demonstrate what they were entirely designed to do.

I want to see cars pitted against each other in proper performance tests. I'd much rather see a test (for example) between a Veryon vs a Porsche or GTR down the drag strip and then around a circuit.
Ford Mustang vs Camaro, Corvette or HSV/GTO

The TG UK gets some awesome cars to play with and all they do is stuff around with them doing pointless crap. What a waste!

[DAKSTER]

I agree it would be cool to have more than one car on the track at once, but surely lap times that they get from every performance car that goes in there is a reasonable start?

If they pitted one against another, one could win on the merits of its driver rather than the car. All the cars they time are around the same track with the same driver.

As for living Clarksons life, I would. Its all about F.U.N and he has a lot of it. Hes not short of a buck either.

Arent burnouts, donuts, drag racing, and car racing all pointless crap in reality? It doesnt need to have a point to be fun though...