top gear has been going downhill for the past few years. However, whenever I said that, the typical retort from the newbies to the show was, "well, watch fifth gear then

." I swear some people take things too seriously, you would think they had a hand in the production *smh* .
I see someone mentioned the hosts age, and I don't think that has much to do with it, rather, I think the show itself is a bit long in the tooth, as there's just so many things these guys can do without seeming overly repetitive/ monotonous. I mean there's just so many car vs public transport, vehicle conversions, helicopter/ plane/ jet vs car, shows they can do. The sad thing though, is I get the feeling like their best work is behind them, and really haven't seen anything in their newer seasons which tells me otherwise

.
Anyway, thus far I don't think this season has been particularly good:
Ep 1: I liked James' bit with the Bentley, but that was mainly because that's something you'll very seldom see

Jeremy's mini car thing was better the first time around with the Peel, and as much as I think the new Pagani is a cool hypercar, I still think Richard did a much better job on the road with the Zonda roadster, through the mountains and tunnels, in France
Ep 2: With the exception of the Miami to New Orleans episode, I don't think I enjoyed or can even remember that well, any of their trips to the U.S. Anyway, this looks like it's going to be another forgettable one
Ep 3: Car vs ____ episode; just like the American trip, while not terrible, I don't think I'll remember it. The Toyota segment was nice, but in a strange twist of events, I think the SIARPC was probably the better part of this episode, but that's probably because I thought the girl was cute and found her accent adorable
Ep: 4 Probably the worst of the season for me, mainly because it reminded me of the brief period when fifth gear tried to mimic top gear's comedic format, and failed miserably

For me, too many scenes came across as too phony and forced. The fact that most of the episode felt like an extended Kia commercial, didn't help too much either

Hamilton is a boss on that track though, and he still maintained that "I don't give a firetruck, I'm having fun" vibe, that he had the last time he was there
I believe Ep 5 is about some pension vehicles, and the new Range Rover, so I don't have too much faith for this one

However, I think the Nile special Ep 6-7 has the potential to redeem an otherwise dreary season.