Third time’s a charm. Episode 3 is without a doubt, the best Grand Tour episode so far.
With the home advantage at play, the travelling tent was set up in the presenter’s hometown of Yorkshire, where Jeremy, Richard and James would be broadcasting their adventures for the week.
The adventures started off with embarking on their own, somewhat skewed version of the traditional Grand Tour, which further justified the naming of the series.
The New York Times describes the traditional Grand Tour as follows:
“Three hundred years ago, wealthy young Englishmen began taking a post-Oxbridge trek through France and Italy in search of art, culture and the roots of Western civilization”
These three wealthy Englishmen chose their cars and set out to explore Italy. An Aston Martin, Rolls Royce and a Dodge Challenger were the cars of choice, and I am sure it comes as no surprise who chose each car. The contrast between cars allowed for a wide variety of commentary and the perfect set-up for banter.
The tour started in Sienna and made its way up to Venice, with multiple stops along the way, each adding another reason to pay attention or laugh and if you got distracted, rest assured that the exaggerated sound of the Dodge Challenger Hellcat would snap you out of it.
The talking bit of the show occurs during “Conversation Street” which is usually done mid-adventure before any results are given, it seems they have purposefully chosen the most ridiculous names for their show segments to show how obviously they are avoiding being sued by Top Gear. “Conversation Street” is basically where the trio sit around a table discussing the latest in motoring news and then make fun of it.
(Be sure to check out Jeremy’s fancy footwear in the “Conversation Street” silhouette of this episode)
It finally feels as though they are on their feet and have found their own place in the series world. The first two episodes were a little messy, with forced humour, showing off their budget and for a car show, very little focus on cars. This episode brings it all together with the banter you want, exciting cars and some wonderful scenery.
The episode was explosive. No, literally.
Oh, and the celebrity died again.
Check out The Grand Tour Trailer.
Every week it gets better. I was a HUGE Top Gear fan, and when the guys left, I stopped watching. The Grand Tour is epic. First episode was a little “trial and error”, but it was good overall. Second episode was hilarious, and third was just plain brilliant!