The Grand Tour didn't start off all that strong. It tried to copy a similar formula that was found within Top Gear soon after the trio had left the reigns of the ever alienating and changing BBC. With this came Amazon's attempt to rake in the leftover audience that would be happy to follow the three presenters off into a new home. Though Amazon didn't really think of one thing: so few people would be interested in signing up for Amazon Prime/Prime Video just for one show that would see a relatively thin release schedule. When the show launched, it was rather lackluster for the most part. It had the odd moment, a few laughs here and there. But it felt too tame. It was clear that Amazon wanted the trio but didn't want to splurge out on the production budget to match the same atmosphere. Reviews of the first few seasons of The Grand Tour were really mixed, and naturally a lot of people that did follow them over to Amazon just lost interest as the years went by and the boredom ensued. The reality being Amazon's Prime Video just wasn't worth the monthly fee. And The Grand Tour wasn't enough to keep them interested. The show pivoted, fortunately. And this was done with specials. The show would change its routine entirely and ignore the more Top Gear oriented approach of having a tent with a live audience, split between engaging topics with people about the auto industry and the fun side of things that ultimately gave Top Gear its name.
This pivot was much needed, though. And it took The Grand Tour more into what people wanted. But at this point it was pretty much too late. Amazon would only go on to fund a few of these specials at a time, and they'd take a considerable amount of time to create. Mixed with the high cost of production and the difficulty of getting filming permits in more central locations, the trio would spend most of their time during these specials in really remote locations. Remember the Top Gear episode where they raced across Japan to see who would be faster, the car or the Shinkansen? There was nothing remotely similar to replace it. These specials had our trio roaming through vast and beautiful landscapes, in the middle of nowhere pulling off simple but challenging ideas; often enough this was a task to get from A to B with limited customised vehicles through difficult terrain. I can't say I found much interest in the earlier specials. They felt empty despite their long runtimes. Often void of direction and really just three people mostly just driving in the middle of nowhere. Rarely did challenge interfere, rarely did something unexpected take place that wasn't beyond scripted. And it's with this that I only felt that the last three specials of The Grand Tour had finally started to find its footing. A little too late as the show came to an end. Once and for all, the three are finally giving up the cars together to pursue different things. Without the big cash giant like the BBC or Amazon to continue funding their adventures.
It was if the show had taken years to finally understand what it could be. Finally starting to open up to the more fun adventure side of things. Not directly copying Top Gear, but also finding a way to take the three through various locations and find ways to interact within that space using vehicles. Though the three are now aged, with their own interests to pursue a little more. Particularly as James May hosts other shows for Amazon, and Jeremy Clarkson works on his farm in the Cotswolds. And even with this, it's still sad to witness the end of that era for them. The three finally saying goodbye to those great adventures together. The decades spent bringing entertainment and travel to the world now over. With this also comes the realisation that there's nothing quite like it out there. Nothing that can fill that gap.
The Grand Tour Finale
The finale has our trio back in Africa. A frequent destination for the specials. Though this time they're choosing simple cars and heading across the nation to stop exactly where the show once started off from. It's a symbolic ending given it goes back to 2007, which wasn't the start of the show for Top Gear nor did The Grand Tour exist yet. But a good place for them to retrace their steps. It's a special that has a runtime of two hours in length, so it's quite a long episode and I wouldn't say it's all that full of action either. But it's certainly one that is more of an emotional ride. Showcasing the group as they come to terms with the show's gradual end and the reflection over their careers together. Though there is one part of the episode in which they have to cross an incredibly long manmade lake by putting their cars on custom boats, to which the water is riddled with crocodiles. Jeremy of course having a bar on his boat. James having the loudest boat imaginable, and Richard suffering as his boat begins to sink. Though I think the highlight for me was the fact that somewhat the roles had been reversed for once. May no longer the slow one, endlessly suffering issues and breaking down and getting left behind.
Instead, in some historic feat, May ends up pulling through quite easily. And there's still some help given to each other along the way to pull them through it. Not the usual challenge in which there's endless mockery and leaving them behind. The awareness that they wanted to pull through together and at the same pace was felt. And I quite liked it for that. A little bit of a change from the Top Gear and The Grand Tour's usual structure. Even if it was filled with more nostalgia and definitely more scripted in some ways. Particularly in how the group seemingly stumble across their old cars from that previous special, still sitting there and all fixed up after all these years. That didn't seem so believable, but hey, it still added to the depth of the final goodbye they wanted to offer. I don't think in terms of events the show had much I really disliked. It all felt like it was spectacular and grand. Taking us on a big adventure through vast and beautiful landscapes within Africa, really showcasing the incredible nature it has to offer. Of course a few moments where it shows the negatives as well, such as the density of smoke from coal mining in certain regions. Though it didn't feel too forced into the show, rather part of it as they drove through the area.
One thing I didn't like though, and this was found within most episodes of The Grand Tour: the colour grading is rarely natural. It's clear that there's added colour and saturation into the image. Sometimes it's really off-putting and you can tell the editor wanted to push a stronger vibrance to the natural landscapes, where in actuality they would've been a bit more flat. It's evident on the faces of people that appear in the shot. Sometimes more orange than in actuality. That contrast and saturation sometimes a bit too glaring to be enjoyable to look at. As if the show needed to look more cinematic and expensive somehow, and the best way they could do it was to colour grade it to no end. Top Gear sometimes did this, but it was more for dramatic effect and not always present. But hey, that's the only thing I can say that I didn't like. A good send-off in the end. And nothing will come close to filling the void that's now present in this style of filmmaking.