The Grand Tour is a British motoring television series for Amazon Video presented by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May and produced by Andy Wilman.
The four agreed to produce the series following their departures from the BBC series Top Gear with an initial agreement of 36 episodes over three years. Episodes are scheduled to be released weekly to those with Amazon Prime accounts in the United Kingdom, United States, Germany, Austria and Japan, beginning November 2016.
Tent segments for series 1 were filmed between 17 July and 11 December 2016. Series 1 premiered on 18 November 2016. In the days following the launch it became Amazon Video's most watched premiere episode. As of December 2016 the show was made available to an additional 195 countries and various territories. Repeats of series 1 began airing on traditional broadcasters in late 2017.
A teaser trailer for series 2 was released on 11 July 2017, featuring a Mercedes AMG GT R, Ripsaw EV-2, McLaren 720S, Bugatti Chiron, Audi TT RS, Rimac Concept One, a Grumman American AA-5 light aircraft and an armoured personnel carrier visiting the Dubai Mall. A second trailer, released on 1 November 2017, featured a Lamborghini Aventador S, Honda NSX, Ariel Nomad and Kia Stinger GT. Series 2 filmed its studio segments on Wednesdays between 25 October and 19 December 2017. The second series premiered on 8 December 2017.
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Format
The intended format was initially for individual television films, using location shooting without studio segments, but after the title reveal it was announced that there will be studio segments shot in large tents at various locations. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos described the deal as being "very, very, very expensive". W. Chump & Sons is the production company for the programme, and Amazon.com is distributing the show.
Studio recording for series 1 began in Johannesburg, South Africa on 17 July 2016. Recording in the United States took place on 25 September 2016 in Southern California, with further recording taking place in Nashville on 21 November 2016. Studio recording in the United Kingdom took place in Whitby on 13 October 2016, with further recordings taking place at Loch Ness in December 2016. Further studio recording took place in Rotterdam on 22 October 2016 and Lapland on 3 November 2016. Stuttgart (Ludwigsburg) was also a filming location. The final studio filming took place in Dubai in December 2016.
For series 2, due to Clarkson's Pneumonia and Hammond's car crash, it was decided that there would no longer be a travelling tent. Instead the tent would be left in one location near Clarkson's home in the Cotswolds as this would be more convenient for the crew to operate. It also would be useful for new features such as Celebrity Face Off.
South America Grand Tour Video
Features
Test track
The show has a dedicated test track called the "Eboladrome", at the former RAF Wroughton. Clarkson states in the first episode that the name is due to its shape resembling the structure of the Ebola virus.
It is designed to "trip cars up", according to Clarkson. Section names include the "Isn't Straight", "Your Name Here", "Old Lady's House", "Substation" and "Field of Sheep". In the first episode, the track was said to have been modified following the discovery of an unexploded Second World War bomb.
Cars were tested by former NASCAR driver Mike Skinner, known as "The American", who considered anything not American, front-engine and V8 powered as "communist". According to the presenters, Amazon insisted the driver be an American, which was why Skinner was hired. While doing a lap, Skinner often made sarcastic remarks about the car and the presenters. In November 2017, it was announced that Skinner would not return for the second series.
Prior to the first episode the Lap board had been pre-populated with ten times from a selection of cars, and the laps themselves were not shown, just the timings. The first car to be shown being driven by Skinner, with an on-screen lap time, was a 2016 BMW M2 recording a time of 1:26.2 seconds. The track is also used for general filming and testing by The Grand Tour, meaning that other vehicles - such as a Ferrari 488 used in episode one - may appear on the track, but are not timed either.
Conversation Street
The trio discuss car news. Running jokes include Hammond "oversharing" intimate personal information, and Clarkson being cut off after asking "Can I talk about...?" before either Hammond or May introduce the next segment; frequently, the subject he attempts to raise is Alfa Romeo and their new cars. The video introduction to the segment shows the men, in silhouette talking animatedly: in each episode the silhouettes change in various ways.
Running gags
The series includes several running gags. During the opening titles of each episode, a camera drone is destroyed. From episode three on, one of the presenters' names is always seen misspelled during the opening. In "Celebrity Brain Crash", celebrity guests are humorously "killed" in an accident while making their way to the tent. After each "death", May asks "Does that mean they're not coming on then?" to which Hammond deadpans "No James, they're not" while bluntly outlining how "dead" the celebrity is. This element of the show reflects the BBC's efforts to stop The Grand Tour from interviewing celebrity guests, as had been the focus of the Top Gear "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" segment. It was announced on 16 November 2017 that "Celebrity Brain Crash" would not be returning and will be replaced for series 2. The segment will be replaced by "Celebrity Face Off".
Episodes
Series 1 (2016-17)
Series 2 (2017-)
Notes
Production
The format of segments in the programme are a result of needing to ensure differentiation from the team's previous work on Top Gear for the BBC. The show is presented from a pair of large tents on a Grand Tour around the world. The presenters sit around a trestle table, with the studio audience seated in front of them. The "Conversation Street" segment allows discussion of current events at the time of filming. Lap times are shown on an electronic scoreboard. A recurring test driver used for lap times is a named NASCAR character, portraying a stereotypical redneck accent and viewpoints, and prone to tangential speech. Any celebrity guests booked for the "Celebrity Brain Crash" segment are shown being "killed off" before they can be interviewed by the presenters.
Naming
The show's title was announced as The Grand Tour on 11 May 2016. The show's logo was unveiled by Clarkson on Twitter on 28 June 2016.
There was speculation that the show could be called Gear Knobs after a trademark application was made for that name by an associated company, but Clarkson stated in October 2015 that this would not be the title. He explained in April 2016 that the word "Gear" could not be used for legal reasons.
A short trailer was released on 8 April 2016 portraying Clarkson, Hammond and May brainstorming for a suitable name for the new series, before ending with the hashtag #TheStillVeryMuchUntitledClarksonHammondMayAmazonPrimeShowComingAutumn2016.
Another short trailer was posted by Clarkson on Facebook, yet again portraying the trio attempting to conjure up a suitable name. But this time, they end up getting distracted and completely forgetting the task at hand. Shortly afterwards, the trailer was released on the Amazon Video UK YouTube channel.
Filming
United Broadcast Facilities (UBF) in The Netherlands won the contract for the outside broadcasting tent segments. Fourteen microphones are used for recording the audience reaction laugh track within the tent. The mobile studio audio setup uses Lawo mixing desks connected via MADI for live sound mixing, recording and talkback intercoms.
In July 2016 following the completion of filming for The Grand Tour an offshore powerboat racing powerboat C-237 belonging to Sunus Racing was stopped in the San Marco basin and impounded by police near to San Zaccaria, Venice, for only having insurance during filming itself, and not afterwards.
Promotion
Following the public naming of the show, Amazon offered new customers a £20 discount for their first year on Amazon Prime during 14-16 May 2016. A trailer announcing the release date of the show as 18 November 2016 was posted on the show's YouTube channel on 15 September 2016. A second, full-length trailer, was released on 6 October 2016. Trailers have used the music "Come with Me Now" by Kongos.
As part of their marketing campaign, Amazon placed crashed Toyota Prius cars at Hackescher Markt in Berlin, in front of London King's Cross railway station, and on the Hollywood Walk of Fame outside the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Sponsorship
In mid-2016 DHL began sponsoring the transport costs of the tent and mobile studio. In June 2016, in connection with the sponsorship deal, the presenters had uploaded videos of themselves attempting to assemble DHL-branded shipping boxes. The first episode stated that "promotional consideration" had been given by the Breitling Jet Team, DHL and Samsung. Eight of the Breitling Jet aircraft took part in the opening sequence flyovers. For episode 2, the list included 5.11 Tactical. A DHL Boeing 757 was featured in the opening sequence of episode 5, the tent was located in Rotterdam, and the DHL logo is featured on part of the crash barrier at the Eboladrome.
Reception
As of November 2016 the show has received positive reviews from critics, with The Guardian saying "Jeremy Clarkson and co leave the BBC in their dust".
Daily Express TV reporter, Neela Debnath commented that the first episode "resembled a Hollywood blockbuster" and added that "[The Grand Tour is] basically Top Gear on steroids". However, BBC Arts Editor, Will Gompertz said of the opening that "there is no irony. It feels uncomfortably hubristic" but once the presenters were in the tent "Normal service has been resumed" and that "It seemed to me that Grand Tour is a TV show that wants to be - and quite possibly should be - a movie" The Independent described The Grand Tour as "the best of Top Gear but with a greater budget" TheWrap reported an estimate by Symphony Advanced Media that the opening weekend viewer count for The Grand Tour was three times the size of the opening weekend of The Man in the High Castle.
Episode 2 was somewhat less favourably received by fans and critics. The Telegraph wrote about the Jordan segment: "[...] a tedious action movie segment suggested that they were in danger of losing the run of themselves slightly and that Amazon's hands-off policy towards the production had potential downsides." Radio Times said that "many of the viewers were disgruntled to say the least, branding the show as dull and not funny."
Richard Hammond was criticised by Stonewall, Peter Tatchell, and Olly Alexander, amongst others, for a comment he made in episode six where he implied that men who eat ice-cream are homosexual. It was later revealed that the comment was an in-joke for the Finnish audience as a reference to a controversial TV commercial that aired in Finland.
The Grand Tour received a nomination in the Original OTT Streamed category at the 2017 Television and Radio Industries Club Awards.
Kevin Yeoman of Screen Rant gave the show a positive review, stating "Fans can rest assured Top Gear hasn't gone anywhere, it's just hiding out at Amazon under a different name." Sonia Saraiya of Variety was also positive of the show, stating "When it comes to the cars, The Grand Tour delivers gearhead porn in spades... Clarkson, Hammond, and May's love for machinery... is still present, pure, and appealing, even with the shift in networks and formats."
Conversely, in April 2017 Brad Anderson of CarScoops stated that he prefers Top Gear to The Grand Tour. According to Anderson, Top Gear had "become even better", whereas the Grand Tour "seemed more scripted, less natural and at stages, forced... attention is often skewed away from the cars as the presenters, namely Clarkson, seemed to chase controversy and headlines". Anderson continues that in-studio segments became repetitive quickly, particularly "Celebrity Brain Crash", also noting that all three hosts seem to spend far too much time needling each other, and test driver Mike Skinner offers no worthwhile commentary.
On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, series 1 of The Grand Tour has a "fresh" rating of 86%, based on 7 reviews, with an average rating of 8.0/10.
Digital Spy was positive of season 2, episode 1, calling it "An understated premiere for a show that feels like it's finding its feet." The Times was also positive, giving the show 4 out of 5 stars, stating "Some parts of the show are flat but mostly it works, the production values remain high and it has clearly been hit with a juggernaut of money." The Daily Telegraph, while not as positive, still approved of the episode, stating "The writing is still rather ropey. Clarkson's suggestion of a new nickname for May - "Dingleberry Handpump" - failed to raise a titter even among the super-fans gathered for the London premiere" but also said that "for each wobble, there are just as many moments when The Grand Tour manages the clever trick Top Gear could pull off at its best: raising a chuckle while sneaking in a bit of serious journalism at the same time." and ultimately gave the episode 3 out of 5 stars. Jeremy Clarkson himself believed that they "hit the ground running with season 2 of the Grand Tour".
Broadcast
Australian free-to-air network Seven Network started broadcast of series one of The Grand Tour in mid-October 2017.
French channel RMC Découverte started its broadcasting of the first series with the namibian episodes on 29 November 2017.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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