View From the Phlipside - Top Gear U.S.

My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media.  TV, Radio, the Movies and more.  I love them and I hate them and I always have an opinion.  Call this the View From the Phlipside.

American TV has a long history of borrowing program ideas from other countries or genres.  “All In the Family” is the example of such an adaptation done perfectly.  The basic concept of the the British orginal and the American version is virtually identical.  What made “All In the Family” a winner was that the characters and situations were made uniquely American.  In doing that they created a show that could stand on its own without feeling like a cheap imitation.

So there was both a certain amount of excitement and a certain apprehension when I heard that one of my favorite shows was being brought to the U.S..  “Top Gear” is an amazing international hit that has wracked up awards in both the U.K. and the States.  If you’re not familiar with it’s a show about cars that appeals even to people who aren’t really into cars.  The reason for its success is simple, the interplay between the three presenters (as they are labeled by our British cousins) - Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May (or as they are referred to by the ladies in my family - the tall one, the cute one and the slow one).  They are grown up boys playing with toys and having a great time with it all.

Now there is nothing more American than cars, so a “Top Gear U.S.” would seem an obvious winner.  Based on the first episode which aired last week on the History Channel, not so much.  

And they fail for the same reason that the original version succeeds.  Chemistry among the hosts.  Our guys don’t have it.  They strike me as frat boys with depth neither of personality or knowledge of cars.  I grew up in a car family.  I had to learn to change the oil and the tires before I was allowed to drive my father’s cars.  I know car guys when I see them.  And these three, racing driver Tanner Foust, comedian Adam Ferrara and racing analyst Rutledge Wood, just fall flat.  Add in that the U.S. show slavishly imitates every aspect of the original and this one is a dead loss.  Even their names are wrong.  The ENGLISH guys should be Tanner, Adam and Rutledge, not the Americans.

How bad is it?  NBC took a pass on the show.  If the worst network in America isn’t interested someone should have taken notice.  Call “Top Gear U.S.”  a tow truck and take it straight to the junk yard.

Call that the View From the Phlipside.