[Harbir]

what a terrible episode. It was flat out the worst travel special episode of Top Gear, so so bad that I think it should have been thrown in the trash bin and not been aired.

Its being universally panned on international forums that i have frequented for the last 12-13 years, and not because they have any problems with India or Indians but because they think it neither did justice to India (in both its glory and gore) nor was it spontaneous or full of emotional roller coasters for the cast. THe general view, which I full agree with, is that it all felt too contrived, too faked, too disjointed and directionless. For my own part, I was disappointed for it had none of sense of adventure and struggle that these travel specials have, such as their motorcycle ride across the mountains in vietnam or their drive through desert and swamp in africa. Doomed-to-fail exploit involving the dabbawalas, a train section that didn't work at all, a funny but eventually far too weak hill climb, a pathetic section in delhi, all followed by a mountain drive section that should have been the most awesome thing in the world based what we know from our own experiences, but absolutely wasn't.

It was just a pile of dung. I hated it.

[cranky]

I somehow felt that Jeremy was very restrained (probably was instructed to and somehow that's why the episode was not as funny as other episodes)

I agree completely. The episode was a little scary (night driving on NH8 is scary to the most hardened of us) and outrageously funny in parts specially when the Snob-nosed Delhi Page 3 crowd - who were probably very tempted by the invitations - got a dose of Top Gear. They really deserved it.

Overall though, JC was far less caustic and biting than usual - the pictures said it all, but he kept a lid on it. I'm not sure he needed to, but the fact that he was shows you how thin-skinned we are as a people, and the producers felt that we would be very easily offended and issued specific instructions.

IMO, two thumbs up. We have always known the truth of our country, and in the first five minutes of the show one can see the huge gulf between almost all of our country and the trash that is running it and running away with our money. It is awesome that a show is able to capture and televise it (without overtly alluding to it, I assume for fear of reprisal).

[shankar.balan]

Well said!
However, appreciation of subtlety per se has never been our forte.
We need things tom-tommed about in order to make things absolutely clear to us in general.
The "trash" who are running our country are such a thick skinned bunch of creatures that nothing can change them!
I wish...
But that is another story!

Originally Posted by cranky

I agree completely. The episode was a little scary (night driving on NH8 is scary to the most hardened of us) and outrageously funny in parts specially when the Snob-nosed Delhi Page 3 crowd - who were probably very tempted by the invitations - got a dose of Top Gear. They really deserved it.

Overall though, JC was far less caustic and biting than usual - the pictures said it all, but he kept a lid on it. I'm not sure he needed to, but the fact that he was shows you how thin-skinned we are as a people, and the producers felt that we would be very easily offended and issued specific instructions.

IMO, two thumbs up. We have always known the truth of our country, and in the first five minutes of the show one can see the huge gulf between almost all of our country and the trash that is running it and running away with our money. It is awesome that a show is able to capture and televise it (without overtly alluding to it, I assume for fear of reprisal).

[naveenroy]

Hehe, all this prompts me to download the episode and watch it. But seriously, when he was making fun of everyone in sight, we enjoyed it and now - we call it racist? I mean, seriously?

[tckanth]

Team,
Got a link for the episode on youtube.
I'm not sure if someone else has already posted.

Top Gear S17 E7 - India Special - YouTube

Wishing all of you a very happy new year

[PAVAN KADAM]

Originally Posted by naveenroy

Hehe, all this prompts me to download the episode and watch it. But seriously, when he was making fun of everyone in sight, we enjoyed it and now - we call it racist? I mean, seriously?

Agree to you, Its all in Fun and Entertainment.

Our National Television has worse comments passed in their Daily Soaps. Why single out Top Gear guys.

People who have the spirit to take things in the right context will take it right, rest can be ignored.

[himavanth_m]

Originally Posted by devarshi84

So if Russell Peters Does it, its alright and if Jeremy Clarkson does it, it's wrong?

I remember how he ridiculed the people who made Lada and found it to be funny. We Indian's need to learn to take jokes at times.

Russel Peters is a comedy show. It is not meant to be taken seriously.
However, JC doing this on an auto show is totally unwarranted. I have not yet watched the video, but it is Ok if he makes fun within 'respectable limits' but if he goes overboard, it will not be taken too well.
JC does that with other countries too. When russel peters does it, for any race, it is fun and one does not feel offended. But when JC does it, I do not like it too much as I think he goes overboard. I have seen one on Romania, i did not enjoy his comments

[Patriot_Vishwas]

Originally Posted by cranky

IMO, two thumbs up. We have always known the truth of our country, and in the first five minutes of the show one can see the huge gulf between almost all of our country and the trash that is running it and running away with our money. It is awesome that a show is able to capture and televise it (without overtly alluding to it, I assume for fear of reprisal).

The show is about cars and not "90 minutes with Barkha Dutt"!
He might be telling the truth,but is this the right program to discuss about
1)Why India ranks so low in HDI.
2)Why India's annual tax collection is less than EU's(Re:GDP)
3)Why India has more cell phone users than Toilet users.
4)Why the people of a bankrupt Greece enjoy higher PCI than Indians.
5)Why India still has the highest number of backlogs in courts.
.
.
.
.
IMO,JC should stick to cars and not perform such cheap tricks for TRP's.
Feel free to ridicule me but I still maintain that he has gone overboard.

[Siba555]

Originally Posted by download2live

This is especially with respect to Indians.
He showed what he saw. And what we also see.
But we won't clean up our act and cry foul if someone holds a mirror up our face.

The filthy unhygienic conditions & lack of proper sanitation is a sad reality in India. We all blissfully ignore this & have accepted it as a way of life. But it's shocking spectre for someone from a developed country visiting India & when they highlight this, we feel offended. It hurts our ego as we are basking under the imaginary glory of "an emerging superpower". The "racism" is actually within us, since we conveniently ignore & try to mask the very existence of millions of poor struggling under inhumane conditions in the backyard. It's not a very fashionable topic to tweet or comment online. The truth is, India's image abroad is of a developing nation with one of the highest level of poverty. We might not like Jeremy, but it's not going to stop visitors from developed countries talk about some of the stark experiences from their India visit.

[cranky]

The show is about cars and not "90 minutes with Barkha Dutt"!

I dunno if you've seen the show, if not you should because it is clear from the comments that you haven't yet done so.

He discusses nothing of the sort, in fact he refers to it as a growing superpower and an engine of the world economy in the few words he uses.

However an intelligent viewer can easily catch the subtext. It is television, it is a craft. People will see what they want to see and understand what they want to.

You should see the show. He doesn't at any point berate the country.

That doesn't mean that one still can't get the point.

And from where I see it, Top Gear is not a show about cars. It's a show about journeys. If you think of it as a car show it will limit what you can see in it and get out of it.

[Patriot_Vishwas]

Originally Posted by cranky

I dunno if you've seen the show, if not you should because it is clear from the comments that you haven't yet done so.
I have watched this episode.

He discusses nothing of the sort, in fact he refers to it as a growing superpower and an engine of the world economy in the few words he uses.
Ah,yes!I kinda got the feeling that he will use the above mentioned terms when his kingship,David Cameron addressed a letter to TG.

However an intelligent viewer can easily catch the subtext. It is television, it is a craft. People will see what they want to see and understand what they want to.
Very true,my opinions are mine alone and I do respect your/others' opinions.

You should see the show. He doesn't at any point berate the country.

That doesn't mean that one still can't get the point.

And from where I see it, Top Gear is not a show about cars. It's a show about journeys. If you think of it as a car show it will limit what you can see in it and get out of it.

TG for me,is just a entertaining show about cars....period.
I do get his point but this show is not the right place to point it out..
It's like Gen.Kiyani teaching Socio-economic responsibilities to the Pakistani Aam Aadmi.i.e,it's not that he can't but he shouldn't,given that his mandate does not deal with it.
BTW,Happy New year

[Harbir]

Kaushik_s, attaboy!! You are are exactly right.

[cranky]

Originally Posted by Patriot_Vishwas

I do get his point but this show is not the right place to point it out..

I, for one, am not so sure.

Our roads and vehicles - and for that matter any country's - are illustrative of our general state of mind and the way we function. Just like you can tell a lot about a people from their diet and staples, you can tell a lot about a country and economy by watching how it gets from point A to point B. A look at data will show you this (I work with an organisation that deals with multiple vehicular brands as clients, and deal with very interesting data and patterns that illustrate this very well).

I believe any show about cars is set against the background and circumstances of the environment it is in. The viewing of that environment and the conclusions one can draw out of it was, in this case, left to the viewer - it was never actually pointed out. Compare this with the ep where they actually called a country, a country of thieves.

This episode, OTOH, was simply crafted in a way that a keen viewer would be drawn very quickly to the contrasts. This was done subtly and caught (at least my) attention.

It was heartening to see some of the rich brats getting a taste of bad medicine. I know at least four faces in that crowd personally, and I was laughing my guts out because I know exactly how they are and what they would be feeling at that point.

BTW,Happy New year

And to you too - see you guys on the other side.

[MandarMax]

Saw the India special today. Being a regular TG viewer and knowing what JC and co. are capable of - that is sarcasm, ability to poke fun at everyone, those vulgar jokes and also the way many britishers look at India/Indians - I was expecting much worse. Not sure if the guys really restrained themselves or BBC edited that part out (seems unlikely). Having said that, instead of doing the talking they did their job with cameras, and I think the focus was much more on negative things and reinforcing that "slumdog millionaire" kind of disgusting image - showing dirty slums, beggars, cows, people/dogs peeing, people cooking on roads etc. etc. I am not saying these things don't exist in our country, they are unfortunately a reality but that doesn't necessarily give a real picture about today's India. I think they could also shown some positives like better buildings, roads, bridges etc. which I think they chose not to show. (Wonder if they would or could do the same thing in China, which BTW I agree is miles ahead of us on certain parameters, but still!). Also as an "entertainment program" it did not seem free flowing, most of the incidents seemed far fetched and I'm pretty sure that they were totally staged. A good opportunity wasted by TG I guess!

[kaushik_s]

If one wants to see the positives then he/she'll definitely see it and if one wants to only find the negatives then no matter what, it's very difficult for one to see the other side of the story. As per the script of the show, the whole story of their coming to India was because they think India is the nuvo economic Super-power and they need to do business with India to save their country from bankruptcy. So, point one made that India is no longer just another push-over or a poor state.
Point two, in the Mumbai episode, they showed and talked about the efficiency of the Dabbawalas (which is staggering 99.9996% accuracy according to the show) and they were flabbergasted by that fact. So, that's another positive and an awesome point about perfection (and that too it's not Japan but India).
Point three, they show all high-end cars in the Delhi section and that had all kind of super duper reach cars and they did show the riches in India. And even in Mumbai section they showed Sea-link and good roads of Mumbai. Now as these roads are now part of India's life so are the chaos and proverty too and one can't just ignore it.
Point four - Happy New year guys. Keep revving and let's see and try if we can make our country a better place to live (it is good but a bit better won't harm ).

PS: BTW, I didn't like the episode that much considering how good their special episodes normally are. It was below par and I wish they have done a better show than this one.