Clarkson, Hammond and May have successfully made the jump from the BBC to Amazon with their new show The Grand Tour. It quickly became one of Amazon’s most viewed shows and wowed fans all over the world.

But amidst all of its success and glory, there have been a few sections of the show that came across some negativity. In this article, we’re going to discuss them.

Celebrity Brain Crash

Since moving to The Grand Tour, the boys and production company have had to be very careful to make sure the new format isn’t copying Top Gear’s old format in any way. It even went as far as their legal team worrying if James could or couldn’t say ‘c**k’. So to make sure they weren’t putting themselves in a bad situation and following the legal conditions set by the BBC, Celebrity Brain Crash was devised.

This skit involved a celebrity being killed off in some manner before making it to the tent, resulting in James May asking, “does that mean he’s not coming on then?”

A lot of viewers, although finding it funny the first time, seemed to get tired of it after it had been repeated a few times.

Please stop the celebrity brain crash segment 🙁 — Chad Burchill (@SPUNJ) January 27, 2017

https://twitter.com/jonporty/status/806598178325876745

The American

Carrying on with the legal conditions set by the BBC, they of course couldn’t involve the Stig. They instead used ‘The American’ to set the lap times for each car to be put on the lap time board. Mike Skinner, a NASCAR driver from the states, has been appointed to sit under the helmet, but every time he’s on-screen, seems to complain about the cars not being good enough or not being like an old american muscle car, and after hearing a communist joke from Jeremy too many times, viewers got annoyed.

The American on The Grand Tour does my head in — Charlie (@Charliepfc97) February 12, 2017

https://twitter.com/Knigge/status/830131316293251073

Scripted

Did The Grand Tour feel very scripted to you? It’s no secret that Top Gear used to be scripted too, but The Grand Tour seemed to go a little over the top – at some points feeling slightly like a comedy routine that had been practiced over and over again to a mirror. Especially ‘Conversation Street’, which felt a little forced and a bit like the joke book had been opened a few too many times. It’s not just me that thought this either. I’d much rather watch the natural bickering the trio produces than them read jokes off a script.

The new season of #TopGear is better than The Grand Tour. TGT was way too scripted & they tried to much. Was cringe to watch sometimes. ???? — Ali (@Ali_Givenchy) March 19, 2017

People saying the new Top Gear is too scripted and forced, did they not watch the Grand Tour? #TopGear — Jack Hart (@JackofHarts94) March 12, 2017

Please don’t misunderstand this article – I loved The Grand Tour. It’s great to see Clarkson, Hammond and May back on their feet with the support of a major company, but with every new venture there are creases that need to be ironed out. Don’t get me wrong, I’m being extremely pernickety, but I and a lot of other viewers have noticed there are things that could definitely be improved.

Let me know if you disagree, or if there are any other changes you’d like to be made in the comments below!