Top Gear (partially found American pilots to British show; 2005-2008): Difference between revisions
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''Top Gear'' is a British motor vehicle-themed television series that began in the early 2000s. During the height of its popularity, rights to the show's format were sold off to many different interested countries including Russia, Australia, Korea, Italy, France, the United States, and China. Though the American rights were one of the first to be sold off, it was one of the last to be put into full production. '''Two pilots were made''' for this American adaptation, but neither has resurfaced. | |||
== The Discovery Pilot == | == The Discovery Pilot == | ||
[[File:Large.jpg|thumb|300px| A still from the Discovery pilot.]] | [[File:Large.jpg|thumb|300px| A still from the Discovery pilot.]] | ||
In late 2005, the Top Gear rights were sold off to Discovery in order to produce an American version of the popular motoring program | In late 2005, the ''Top Gear'' rights were sold off to Discovery Channel in order to produce an American version of the popular motoring program. This was done by the BBC with minimal input by the original cast and its producers.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100109105355/http://www.topgear.com/content/features/stories/2006/01/stories/08/1.html The Original Top Gear Magazine Article About It] Retrieved 09 Jul '17</ref> The hosts for this version were Bruno Massel, John Littlefield and Johnny "Wildboy" (originally thought to be Jonny Fairplay of ''Survivor'' fame, though this turned out to be false).<ref>[https://forums.finalgear.com/top-gear-2002-2015/top-gear-usa-the-presenters-8921/ Final Gear Forum Trying To Identify The Hosts After The 2006 Top Gear Magazine Article.] Retrieved 09 Jul '17</ref> | ||
The "star in a reasonably-priced car" was Jon Favreau, which is notable for being one of the first times he announced that he would be directing ''Iron Man''.<ref>[http://www.brunomassel.com/photos.html Bruno Massel Photo Page, One Photo With Jon Favreau] Retrieved 09 Jul '17</ref> NHRA racer Bruno Massel's demo reel shows the intro where Bruno announces that it is like the British version with a "better dental plan".<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIr4DsjXlic Bruno Massel Demo Reel] Retrieved 09 Jul '17</ref> There was no audience for this attempt. | |||
The pilot was largely mocked by insiders, as can be seen in the January 2006 issue of "Top Gear Magazine" and as can be heard in a 2016 interview with script editor Richard Porter on the "Smoking Tyre" podcast.<ref>[http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/news/a28083/listen-to-this-former-top-gear-writer-talk-about-working-on-the-show/ Road And Track Article About Richard Porter Interview] Retrieved 09 Jul '17</ref><ref>[http://shoutengine.com/TheSmokingTire/and-on-that-bombshell-richard-porter-15802 Richard Porter Interview] Retrieved 09 Jul '17</ref> Discovery largely buried the pilot, only airing a minimally reshot version using the original hosts (Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May) on the European and British versions of their channels as late as 2008.<ref>[http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=85265 Forum About An Airing] Retrieved 09 Jul '17</ref> There is some footage of the pilot in Bruno Massel's demo reel.<ref>[http://www.brunomassel.com/demo_reel.html Bruno Massel Demo Reel] Retrieved 09 Jul '17</ref> | |||
== The NBC Pilot == | == The NBC Pilot == | ||
[[File:Carollaqa top gear 0608 450op.jpg|thumb|300px|A still from the NBC pilot.]] | [[File:Carollaqa top gear 0608 450op.jpg|thumb|300px|A still from the NBC pilot.]] | ||
Two years after the | Two years after the failure of the Discovery pilot, NBC announced that it had secured the rights to the format in January of that year.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/bbcworldwide/worldwidestories/pressreleases/2008/01_january/top_gear_nbc.shtml BBC Worldwide Press Release] Retrieved 09 Jul '17</ref> Taping of the pilot took place on July 27th, 2008 and had Adam Carolla, Eric Stromer and Tanner Faust as hosts, with David Hasselhoff as the "star in the reasonably-priced car". This attempt had the backing of the cast and crew of the original. | ||
The NBC pilot had a segment where they tested two cars against one another, a challenge which happened in Death Valley, and an introduction for the American cousin of the Stig. Though feedback from those in attendance was largely positive and it was clear that there was a lot of excitement about the project, NBC decided to pass on the project, as their attempt at resurrecting ''Knight Rider'' was unsuccessful. This prompted Jeremy Clarkson to state "...they don't get it...".<ref>[http://jalopnik.com/5016771/top-gear-officially-coming-to-nbc Jalopnik Piece About The NBC Attempt] Retrieved 09 Jul '17</ref><ref>[http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2008/07/top-gear-usa-adam-corolla-and-pilot-studio-audience-spill-the-beans.html Article About Audience Reponse] Retrieved 09 Jul '17</ref><ref>[http://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/27/top-gear-pilot-thats-a-wrap/ Article About The End Of Filming] Retrieved 09 Jul '17</ref><ref>[http://oppositelock.kinja.com/i-was-at-the-top-gear-usa-nbc-pilot-episode-472168008 An Audience Member About The Experience] Retrieved 09 Jul '17</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_yC00WNnxY&spfreload=10 Adam Carolla and Eric Stromer Talking About Filming] Retrieved 09 Jul '17</ref><ref>[http://jalopnik.com/5108040/nbc-cuts-top-gear-usa-due-to-knight-rider-failure Cancellation Article] Retrieved 09 Jul '17</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRCSTez92qc Jeremy Clarkson Saying It] Retrieved 09 Jul '17</ref> | |||
After NBC dropped the pilot, History took up the mantle. Adam Carolla was still interested, but because of his involvement with a different pilot, he was unable to be a part of it.<ref>[http://www.autoblog.com/2010/05/25/adam-carolla-explains-why-hes-not-doing-top-gear-usa/ Adam Carolla On History version] Retrieved 09 Jul '17</ref> Motoring website Jalopnik offered NBC $5000 for a copy of the pilot, but this proved to be unsuccessful.<ref>[http://jalopnik.com/5452084/jalopniks-5000-top-gear-usa-nbc-pilot-episode-challenge Jalopnik Challenge] Retrieved 09 Jul '17</ref> To this day, no footage has leaked and only one photo is available. | |||
== References == | |||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
[[Category:Lost TV]] | [[Category:Lost TV]] | ||
Revision as of 05:11, 15 July 2017
The logo for Top Gear.
Status: Lost
Top Gear is a British motor vehicle-themed television series that began in the early 2000s. During the height of its popularity, rights to the show's format were sold off to many different interested countries including Russia, Australia, Korea, Italy, France, the United States, and China. Though the American rights were one of the first to be sold off, it was one of the last to be put into full production. Two pilots were made for this American adaptation, but neither has resurfaced.
The Discovery Pilot
In late 2005, the Top Gear rights were sold off to Discovery Channel in order to produce an American version of the popular motoring program. This was done by the BBC with minimal input by the original cast and its producers.[1] The hosts for this version were Bruno Massel, John Littlefield and Johnny "Wildboy" (originally thought to be Jonny Fairplay of Survivor fame, though this turned out to be false).[2]
The "star in a reasonably-priced car" was Jon Favreau, which is notable for being one of the first times he announced that he would be directing Iron Man.[3] NHRA racer Bruno Massel's demo reel shows the intro where Bruno announces that it is like the British version with a "better dental plan".[4] There was no audience for this attempt.
The pilot was largely mocked by insiders, as can be seen in the January 2006 issue of "Top Gear Magazine" and as can be heard in a 2016 interview with script editor Richard Porter on the "Smoking Tyre" podcast.[5][6] Discovery largely buried the pilot, only airing a minimally reshot version using the original hosts (Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May) on the European and British versions of their channels as late as 2008.[7] There is some footage of the pilot in Bruno Massel's demo reel.[8]
The NBC Pilot
Two years after the failure of the Discovery pilot, NBC announced that it had secured the rights to the format in January of that year.[9] Taping of the pilot took place on July 27th, 2008 and had Adam Carolla, Eric Stromer and Tanner Faust as hosts, with David Hasselhoff as the "star in the reasonably-priced car". This attempt had the backing of the cast and crew of the original.
The NBC pilot had a segment where they tested two cars against one another, a challenge which happened in Death Valley, and an introduction for the American cousin of the Stig. Though feedback from those in attendance was largely positive and it was clear that there was a lot of excitement about the project, NBC decided to pass on the project, as their attempt at resurrecting Knight Rider was unsuccessful. This prompted Jeremy Clarkson to state "...they don't get it...".[10][11][12][13][14][15][16]
After NBC dropped the pilot, History took up the mantle. Adam Carolla was still interested, but because of his involvement with a different pilot, he was unable to be a part of it.[17] Motoring website Jalopnik offered NBC $5000 for a copy of the pilot, but this proved to be unsuccessful.[18] To this day, no footage has leaked and only one photo is available.
References
- ↑ The Original Top Gear Magazine Article About It Retrieved 09 Jul '17
- ↑ Final Gear Forum Trying To Identify The Hosts After The 2006 Top Gear Magazine Article. Retrieved 09 Jul '17
- ↑ Bruno Massel Photo Page, One Photo With Jon Favreau Retrieved 09 Jul '17
- ↑ Bruno Massel Demo Reel Retrieved 09 Jul '17
- ↑ Road And Track Article About Richard Porter Interview Retrieved 09 Jul '17
- ↑ Richard Porter Interview Retrieved 09 Jul '17
- ↑ Forum About An Airing Retrieved 09 Jul '17
- ↑ Bruno Massel Demo Reel Retrieved 09 Jul '17
- ↑ BBC Worldwide Press Release Retrieved 09 Jul '17
- ↑ Jalopnik Piece About The NBC Attempt Retrieved 09 Jul '17
- ↑ Article About Audience Reponse Retrieved 09 Jul '17
- ↑ Article About The End Of Filming Retrieved 09 Jul '17
- ↑ An Audience Member About The Experience Retrieved 09 Jul '17
- ↑ Adam Carolla and Eric Stromer Talking About Filming Retrieved 09 Jul '17
- ↑ Cancellation Article Retrieved 09 Jul '17
- ↑ Jeremy Clarkson Saying It Retrieved 09 Jul '17
- ↑ Adam Carolla On History version Retrieved 09 Jul '17
- ↑ Jalopnik Challenge Retrieved 09 Jul '17