The Grand Tour - Episode 1

The Grand Tour Episode 1

Amazon's Original Series, The Grand Tour, hosted by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May, is here and those Prime subscribers finally got what they really deserved; a motoring show featuring three familiar faces in a sequence of driving fast cars, rhetorics, and the usual toilet humor in store for them. I know that motorists really missed those three ever since they left the BBC and Top Gear following last year's incident but with their new show now available for streaming for Amazon customers, this is a clear reminder why everyone should subscribe to Amazon Prime to watch this new show.

In the pilot episode's intro, viewers witness Jeremy Clarkson leaving his mediocre life in the UK, with references to him being fired by the BBC and Top Gear following last year's incident, and then going to California, driving with a modified Ford Mustang on the highway. Alongside Clarkson are Hammond and May, also driving Mustangs, and as they pass through the desert full of cars, they've reached the set to welcome the audience. That's where The Grand Tour begins as within the next twelve episodes, they will travel across the globe with a different location every week. California's their first stop but next week's location is worth guessing so watch for it.

Anyway, in the pilot episode, the trio are driving the Hybrid Hypercar Trio; the McLaren P1, the Porsche 918 Spyder, and the Ferrari LaFerrari (which is deemed unusable in current conditions) around Algarve in Portugal to see which one is the best. With the help of racing driver Jerome d'Ambrosio, it's clear that in the end, the 918 is the best of the three and with Clarkson's wager, he lost his house because if the P1 is slower than the rest, he will let them blow his home off.

Meanwhile, Clarkson introduced the viewers to the undisclosed test track jokingly called the "Ebola-drome" because the track layout looks similar to the Ebola virus and with odd corner names like the "Isn't Straight", "Your Name Here", and "Grandma's House" as well as deadly traps such as an electric fence, animals, and a hidden unexploded bomb. In the track's first outing, Clarkson tries out the brand new BMW M2 and later hands it over to "The American" Mike Skinner, infamous for calling non-American cars "communists".

Cars aside, the gang is buying the show some time with some segments called Conversation Street, where they keep sharing secrets about what's going on around here, and Celebrity Braincrash where guest celebs get themselves "killed" on set. Jeremy Renner, Armie Hammer, and Carol Vorderman got themselves "killed" on the set or so the viewers thought. Whatever that is, let's hope they did this in a fictitious or parodic manner.

So, for a new show, it still harbors the same formula motorists expected from these three during their Top Gear years, and with all the fast cars and toilet humor mashed up into this show, The Grand Tour is the main reason why there are huge loyalists of Clarkson, Hammond, and May elsewhere who will follow them wherever they go. Although this is by no means a vivid contrast compared to today's Top Gear, The Grand Tour really is a step forward for the fans, young and old alike, and let's give Amazon a huge thanks for this exciting new show to get ourselves ready for the weekends.