Last year, when Amazon snatched up the coveted car threesome of Clarkson, Hammond, and May, there was publicity and promotions everywhere. That’s one of the great things about streaming content. Proceed with caution in watching with younger views, or simply preview the episodes first. Viewers also got to enjoy Clarkson getting a colonic, which resulted in some very funny comments. So we’re pretty much on track to head in the same direction as last year. In this first show alone, there was mild cursing, innuendo, some scatological commentary, and a cheap pot shot at the American response to the World Trade Center 9-11 attacks from Clarkson. Last year’s season got progressively cruder each episode, from “naughty words” to rubber “naughty bits” and a town named F**king (pronounced FOO-king), but they ignored that fact. Yes, and from the looks of it, they will continue to push the envelope. It is nice to see they kept this concept intact. This was an ideal way to fit in a brief sight gag before their commentary last season, and viewers liked seeing what they’d do with it each week. Their Conversation Street is still the same, along with its clever silhouetted intro. Is there anything returning from last year? ‘The Grand Tour’ host Jeremy Clarkson with celebrity Ricky Wilson and David Hasselhoff, who remain alive the entire show. The first show featured two “former talent show judges,” Ricky Wilson from The Voice UK and David Hasselhoff from America’s Got Talent, in their new competition they called Celebrity Face Off–they shortened it to “F Off,” of course. With the Brain Crash gone, they now have actual celebrity guests, but instead of mimicking the familiar formula of one celebrity trying their time around a track, they pit two celebrities with similar occupations against each other in a timed lap. I actually really liked this segment for the first couple of shows-the first one with Jeremy Remmer was pretty hilarious-but the joke got stale and predictable by the end of the season. Second, the Celebrity Brain Crash, in which a celebrity “guest” meets their gruesome demise before making it to the tent, is also nixed. There was no test track driving of a new car in the first episode at all, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be in future episodes. He was a blatant, insulting stereotype to American viewers and an irritating bore to those from everywhere else. He didn’t resonate well with the audience at all.
In addition to the traveling tent no longer traveling, there are two big changes in Season 2, which are both improvements.įirst, driver Mike “The American” Skinner is gone. Also acknowledged was Clarkson’s debilitating bout with pneumonia, another focus of attention between the seasons.īoth Hammond and Clarkson have recovered well, and they even used these incidents as ongoing jokes about keeping anything from happening to James May. Since the tent segments are filmed much later than the trio’s world travels, they are all able to joke about it. The very first episode does, indeed, include Hammond’s near-fatal crash in the Rimac Concept One supercar, and it is intense and frightening.
Will we see Richard Hammond’s heavily publicized crash? There was no shortage of beautiful locations, challenges, high-speed driving, or excitement in the first show. The first episode sent them to gorgeous locations in Switzerland and Croatia, and upcoming shows will take them back to the United States, including Colorado and New York, Spain, Mozambique, and more-and nearly killing themselves in the process. They may have a set “home base,” but they are still heading off all over the world for their adventures this season. Does this static location mean the boys are slowing down?Ībsolutely not. They’ll have to make their way to England if they want to vie for this privilege. What really stinks about this is now those from other parts of the world (like me) hoping to see a live taping of the show in a city near them will no longer have that chance. That almost defeats who purpose of why they created the tent in the first place. The set is still virtually unchanged from last year, which is a good thing, but now the panoramic view from the giant window behind the hosts may be fixed on one location all season long. The tent is now permanently situated in England, near the home of Clarkson in the Cotswolds. There’s still a big tent, but it isn’t touring.
Although the spirit of the show remains the same, there are plenty of changes from its inaugural journey. The Grand Tour officially began its second season December 8, with Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May at the helm. James May, Jeremy Clarkson, and Richard Hammond star in ‘The Grand Tour.’ Image © Amazon