The first episode of Top Gear Australia just aired. And I could tell it was a flop, within the first 10 minutes. Somehow, they've managed to make the show sound like a boring documentary -- and without David Attenborough's charm.
The presenters just aren't interesting. Charlie Cox, some old guy nobody's ever heard of, has a voice so boring that I've found a new soundtrack for when I have insomnia. Steve Pizzati is some hippy, with all the wank and none of the charm of Richard Hammond. And I don't even see why Warren Brown's on the show. He just fades into the background.
But Top Gear Australia falls into the trap all Australian motoring shows fall into: they're unable to be critical of the cars. The biggest criticism was that one of the 4x4's sent too much power to the front wheels and not enough to the back.
The one possible redeeming factor Top Gear Australia would have had was that the personality for the interview segment could actually have been someone we've heard of. But instead, they got some nobody who was as almost as boring as listening to Charlie Cox's voice for an hour.
It just goes to show that you can take a successful format, but it's no guarantee of a successful show.