Visually stunning, and great to see the three stooges still clearly having a ball, and enjoying each others' company, but the show overall fell a bit flat for me.
It was too long. More importantly, the timing, once impeccable, was gone. The 'hyper-car' section went on way too long; the M2 bit was too short, and thin, and lacked any real conviction. It missed the 'filler' bits of TG like the news, to vary the pace. All in all, it relied far too much on slo-mo spinning wheels and rising spoilers, drifting thru' corners and close ups of exhausts. I suspect that JC has been effectively given absolute directorial authority, and without a restraining hand on his shoulder he's made the show he wants to make: a full-bore car programme.
Thing is, it was always the creative tension between JC and the BBC that resulted in TG. It never was a full-bore car show. It was a mates having a laugh show. That's what made it a family show, and a worldwide hit.
TGT will doubtless delight petrolheads. Whether petrolheads are a big enough demographic to do the Sky/Premiership Trojan Horse thing for Amazon Prime remains to be seen. Even making all due allowances for 'first show syndrome', I suspect the truth is - not that the True Believers will ever admit it - that the Grand Tour we just saw is the only Grand Tour we will ever see: an attempt to 'do a Top Gear' that's turned out better than TG as it had become (during the long period when JC had palpably become bored with the whole thing), better than TG in its re-launched format (which entirely lacked the 'mates' vibe that drove the entire enterprise), but not a patch on TG as it once was.
It was OK. But it wasn't great, even as a car show. And as a family show, well, it wasn't one. TG is dead. It's a shame, but nothing lasts for ever. And I have real doubts about TGT lasting the advertised three years. I really don't see this cracking the market for Amazon Prime the way the Premiership did for Sky, and I suspect that when Amazon bosses review the numbers after series 1, they'll start wondering about the wisdom of throwing a great deal of good money after bad. We shall see.
