Im glad there is some people sticking up for this show here.
At the same time i am saddened by all the bashing and comparison to TG UK by these "armchair" critics.
Do you have any comprehension if the budget per EP for TG UK? Its either 1 or 2 MILLION UKP per ep! I doubt you will find ANY Australian show with such a budget, especially not on a channel like SBS! On the same note, the amount of footage that ends up on the cutting room floor for TG UK is as astronomical as the budget, its like 100 or 200:1 For those that do not understand that means for every one minute of footage aired there is over 100 minutes shot, this all costs money and is HUGELY relevant to the quality of the show.
To put it simply SBS do not, and most likely never will have the time,money or resources to so what the BBC do for TG UK, so to compare the two is HUGELY unfair.
I agree our Top Gear is not anything flash just yet, but i have seen a lot worse shows on Aussie TV. Im sure given some time for the cast,crew and writers to all get used to the job it will improve, and hopefully some advertising income will increase production values.
I have no doubt the vast majority of the current budget is being spent just to secure the rights to use the name.
Lots of room for improvement yes, but please don't bash it so much and give it a chance. And as hard as it is don's try to put it up against the mega budget UK incarnation, its just not fair.