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Title originally 'Fifth Gear - I can't take anymore'
I have set my personal video recorder to record The Gadget Show and Fifth Gear each week. The Gadget Show is excellent - three knowledgeable enthusiastic presenters who are highly entertaining and interesting. Suzi Perry is the no.1 geeks pin up girl whilst John and Jason would be the ideal guys to sit next to in the pub.
And then there is Fifth Gear. Two gurning presenters whose poor presentational style completely collapses when they get someone famous on the show. Vicky Butler Henderson is only really capable of using the show to demonstrate that she can drive faster than her mother and sister and what is the point of Tim Lovejoy? Why not just trim it down to 30 minutes and have Tiff Needell solo showing how to really get the most out of any car on a racetrack. I have not seen this evening's installment - I just can't take anymore.
As Fifth Gear is currently the only motoring programme on terrestrial TV, is anyone out there watching it?
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is anyone out there watching it?
Yes, but only just. It gets worse as the weeks go by. I've only been watching it on the off chance something interesting might eventually happen. If it already has, then I must have blinked and missed it.
Fear not , this was week 9, and if I'm not mistaken, that means only 4 more episodes to go of the current series.
ps, at some point this will either get moved to the current 5th gear thread, or I'll change the main title of this thread if it gets a few replies (as the other thread is nearing 100 replies)
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The name of the show says a lot. Five-speeders are rather old hat now that six-speeders are so common. And some autos have seven.
Past its sell-by date. Well past actually...
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Quite liked the Freelander bit - although Tom Ford is starting to get annoying.
Whilst accepting these programmes are "entertainment", and there is an off-switch, I think there would now be a place for the old-style "motoring" programme in addition to the "driving" programmes.
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I think the presenters have a very high opinion of how entertaining they are. The hard fact is: they're not.
Add zero interesting content and that's what we have.
I had the TV on for some of last night's programme, I felt guilty about wasting electricity.
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Last night's episode is still resident and unwatched on my computer's hard drive - after last week's tedius and somewhat forced programme links, apparently conducted from a table in a Nero cafe, I can't raise the enthusiasm to open the appropriate folder.
Yet I've always been a V B-H fan...:-)
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Lovejoy is just about watchable in the format of the show made for him - Soccer AM. Sky have just started grooming him as a Richard Keys replacement, introducing football matches, and he's terrible at that. I haven't watched 5th Gear, but I can well imagine he's terrible on that too.
Unlikeable personality, lost in front of camera unless he's got Helen Chamberlain to lean on or a 'Soccerette' to leer at, and has the most annoying laugh in the whole world.
And as if that wasn't enough, he's a Chel$ki fan!
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At least Fifth Gear is better than Sky's "Vroom Vroom" - mind you that doesn't say much; "Chucklevision" is better than Vroom Vroom!
Personally, I prefer to watch repeats of Top Gear whilst waiting in eager anticipation for the new series.
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Colin-E
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Turned off after Tiff's so unenthusiastic potter around London in the Alfa, I have nothing against the Alfa though it was clear that Tiff would rather be elsewhere - boringly dull journalism ZZZzzzzzzz
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I switched off before the guy changed the wheel while doing a donut, some hidden internal source (my brain?) told me it was an absolutely pointless exercise. I did endure the motorcycle powered water skiing and was left with only one question - "WHY???".
No doubt next week we will have someone driving a car, standing on their head, working the pedals with their hands, steering with their feet, with feather duster secured somewhere else (remember if some Channel 5 researcher steals this idea - I got there first). I am almost at the point of saying - bring back Car Sumo and Driven. Almost but not quite.
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I prefer vroom vroom! I record fifth gear each week but skip through most of it. I usually watch John Bentley's pieces though as he seems the only presenter on there with a brain. Even though the programme follows the gadget show which I watch every week, the tv still gets turned over when fifth gear starts, unless they manage not to annoy me in the first minute.
The other bloke that sits in the cafe wants shooting, he is useless.
There was a corking repeat of Top Gear on at the weekend - the one with James May falling over and umbrellas turning inside out. Classic.
teabelly
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C'mon everyone there was one moment worth watching, VBH falling ovefr on skis. Very funny. Especially as they showed it in slow mo. The teenage presenter with wierd hair was actually quite good this week with the new Picasso, I acutally fancy one (pIcasso not teenager). And his artwork on the beach wasn't too bad either.
The rest was dross as usual. I wonder if the producers know about this thread?
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I put it on as background whilst I worked on the kitchen, switched over after 2 minutes.
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Xantia HDi.
Buy a Citroen and get to know the local GSF staff better...
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I saw occasional 30 second glimpses.
It gets worse and worser:-)
I think they are aiming at an audience with the outlook of a 20 year old chav ... but a lower IQ..:-(
madf
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Another vote for "a real world" motoring show to complement Top Gear.
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Well, I enjoyed it tonight. I enjoyed the article about selling the M3 Evo. I enjoyed the ML62 thing wow what a machine, I enjoyed the Porsche GT3 test - beautiful photography, even nicer bit of Cose Fan Tute as a soundtrack. Nice car as well. The Merc being run on chip fat was ok as was the MX5 back to back test. fast forward through the rubbish. Enjoyable telly.
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I've tried to "get into" Fifth Gear several times, but it just bores me to tears. I used to like VBH and Tiff in their Top Gear days, and I still admire Tiff's ability to slide a car at seemingly impossible angles, but VBH's constant squealing and giggling makes me want to stick my boot through the TV.
A dreadful programme, IMHO. Prefer Top Gear, even if it is somewhat irreverent. At least it's entertaining.
Cheers
DP
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I'm half watching Fifth Gear while working (playing) on the PC.
I can't believe what a load of junk it is.
Or is it terribly clever and very funny, but it is going right over my head?
Nope, it is for the most part silly and childish.
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Also have it on whilst typing this (and trying to find a holiday for next year!) - did they really just do a review of a chefs knife just because it's got a Porsche stamp on it? Whatever next a review of some Ducatti luggage? Tiff can't use DSG launch control either - as shown by his dry road flying start in the TT.
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did they really just do a review of a chefs knife just because it's got a Porsche stamp on it?
They've been doing similar each week. A couple of weeks ago it was a Lamborghini branded coffee machine and Lamborghini coffee to go in it.
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Never watched 5th Gear for ages (say 2 years) - last night switched over at half way through the programme - I see what you mean about dire!!
Needless to say I will not be setting it up to record it next week.
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I thought this week's show was much better. 2/10 instead of the usual 0/10, a huge improvement.
Perhaps it's just because my expectations are lower now? Or maybe because I saw a bit of the show on youtube where VBH beats the old Merc estate with a baseball bat, and anything is better than that?
The whole show is still a waste of electricity though
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But what about that plank of a presenter who co-host the programme! Why do they have such non-entities fronting such programmes? I did catch him, accidently I should add, at the weekend on some magazine/cooking programme. Yuck!
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Agree, it's utterly dreadful. The 'bloke' presenter (sorry, forget his name) reminds me of the classroom 'smart' alec continually making un-funny cracks whose only constitiuency are the even dumber . Poor old VBH seems to have turned into a face-pulling sqeaky girly, with a crush on LaTiff. Talk about missing an opportunity, what with TG being off-air, 5thG could have got a bit of market share, but instead manages to fill it's hour with about 5 minutes of vaguely relevant, interesting stuff & 45mins (exc. ad breaks) of chav-amusing nonsense. Only my severe addiction to any car related stuff has got me tuning in at all, a bit like the old adage about sex - even when it's pretty bad, it's pretty good. (will I get censored for that?)
~woodbines
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Becasue I doubted my prior judgement (that it was a 101% waste of space), I watched 5 minutes last nite.
My judgement was wrong. It's not a 101% waste of space and time, it's about 20%.
Makes I'm a Celebrity look good.:-(
madf
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sorry 20% should of course read 200%
madf
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I actually enjoy it (one eye on the telly, the other eyes playing with the kids), but then I'm easy to please when I'm in front of a telly. The alternative for me is watching Polish soap operas with my wife, M Jak Miloscz or Zlotopolski every Monday night - they go on forever. Dire.
Vicky's slip of the tongue was quite funny - "I've been banged around enough on this show".
There was a time when she could do no wrong on this forum, but now she seems to nark everyone off. She was never the kind off girl for whom you'd crawl over broken glass just to poke matches in her faeces but I don't think she's any worse than she was.
I think Lovejoy is ok but I enjoy his column (oooer) in Nuts Magazine too.
It's all such easy, harmless watching to start off the week.
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The alternative for me is watching Polish soap operas with my wife, M Jak Miloscz or Zlotopolski every >>Monday night - they go on forever.
Yeah, it?s almost 8 or 9 years now. Nothing compared to American ?The Bold And Beautiful? with about 4000 episodes or so, though. Ah, BBD? that would be ?every Sunday? instead of ?Monday? I guess. No, I don?t watch this crap.
Anyway, back to Fifth Gear. That was the best episode I?ve ever seen. Not only because of that:
images4.fotosik.pl/267/f2a679ea05ab670fmed.jpg
But also because of that:
images4.fotosik.pl/267/96c504b41e5c6c91med.jpg
That:
images4.fotosik.pl/267/0d46cc73828e3aa6med.jpg
And that:
images2.fotosik.pl/312/03878a9a5fc4bb15med.jpg
It's all such easy, harmless watching to start off the week.
Yes, it really is, indeed.
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Free enterprise is the basis of western economy.
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It must have been dire as no comments.
At least they got rid of the non-entity in the Ace cafe. - Well I'm guessing that as I gave up and went back to watching the snooker.
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Accidentally saw this. It's better than it was, but not much.
VB proved that a Panda 100 was slower than a Ferrari (no, you don't say!)
Tom Ford drove a Cee'd and was quite impressed (as was I - look quite a good little car)
Tiff drove the R8 in Vegas - yawn.
Thay also crashed two X reg Focii (like mine- sob) into each other. One had had a dodgy accident repair. It had passed an MOT yet crumpled to a huge extent compared the unmolested model. In fact the crash tests have long been one of the best features of 5th Gear, IMO
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New 5th gear series>>
Wow!
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Top gear did a crash test on a Renault Megane proving how safe it was if anyone can remember?
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Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)
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Back in 2003:
tinyurl.com/255fqn
Still rather be in a Mercedes or similar if, by any chance, I was in the same situation....:-)
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Well, compared to the 3 stooges , I mean, TopGear, I almost enjoyed 5thG.
The chaviness quotient immediately reduced by absence of , erm..,sorry, can't remember
his name, a few more roadtests & not-really-silly-by-TG-standards 'scenarios' where the car
is adjunct to the presenter being put in wacky/glamorous scenarios. Anchor presenter apparently in love with LeTiff,
and he in perma-chuckle mode , a 'sensible' one buying a wacked-out write-off , whilst the last scampers
around the Smoke looking like one fat hairy biker taking snapshots of pop stars.
I blame on Blur's Britain & the ADHD generation, innit.
Now, where's that cat-o-nine gone.
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And Plato failed to do 200mph on the Autobahn in a crazy Brabus CLS - he only managed 191mph in the second car after he broke the first one.
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Gurning. That's all I could see VBH being useful for. Focus crash "geezer" redefining what is annoying about 5th Gear. Tom Ford actually quite good, although the pap-premise of his bit was a bit rubbish. Plato bit just stupid, nice to see him talking to a camera and not holding the wheel while doing 130mph on the autobahn.
Only decent bit was Tiff, he's wasted on this show.
Struggled to watch most of it, even the police! camera! action! stuff is better.
The missing ace cafe bloke was Tim Lovejoy who did some good stuff I thought last year, and interesting that they've ditched Jon Bentley too.
-- Biggedy biggedy bong
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>>interesting that they've ditched Jon Bentley too.>>
He's been working on The Gadget Show - toss up between VBH and Suzi Perry as co-presenter?
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toss up between VBH and Suzi Perry
Nah, you didn't just say that...
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>>between VBH and Suzi Perry as co-presenter?
Not a difficult choice that one ;-)
But would Suzi ditch Jason Bradbury for Tiff or Racing Jason....!
-- Biggedy biggedy bong
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Suzi Perry........mmmmm, I've just gone weak at the knees
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Suzi Perry........mmmmm I've just gone weak at the knees
In leather............................................................
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Suzi Perry........mmmmm I've just gone weak at the knees
Don't really get this Suzi Perry thing. Lovely personality and all that but.............hmmmmm.
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Now if they could put 5G on in place of adverts and adverts on in place of 5G - then I needn't turn volume on at all - in fact not turn TV on -but need some use from TV licence.
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and interesting that they've ditched Jon Bentley too.
Isn't he the equivalent of Andy Wilman on TG - producer/editor or something, who occasionally does camera bits too?
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Yes I think 5th gear is a very poor relative of Top Gear myself. However the one high point was Tiff Needels test of the Audi R8, other than that - pants really.
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As it hasn't got 'Dim Lovetoy' in it any more I'm all in favour. What was the idea of having a presenter who said himself 'I don't know much about cars' on a motoring program?
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I thought it was better than the last series. Mabye they realised the show was failing when only 3 people watched it.
It's good that they seem to have gotten rid of Tim Lovejoy.
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I thought it was better than the last series.
Lets face it, it could have hardly been any worse.
But yes, definately better.
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