grand tour seamen route

The Grand Tour Fans

The Grand Tour “Seamen” – How we made it

After three seasons of The Grand Tour and 16 years on television together, there aren’t many parts of the world or outrageous challenges left for Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James to conquer. Seamen

However, just in time for Christmas, the boys have regrouped for a feature-length Grand Tour special, which takes them on what is arguably their biggest, and most definitely, their wettest adventure yet.

Through Cambodia and Vietnam, their aquatic road trip involves an 800km journey that starts on the perilous Tonlé Sap Lake, and weaves its way via a series of adventures and calamities down through the Mekong Delta. Seamen

Clarkson’s ride is a recreation of a Vietnam war-era PBR (Patrol Boat River), the famed military vessel seen in Apocalypse Now. Hammond channels his inner Don Johnson by opting for a Miami Vice style speedboat – of the HMS Pornography, as Clarkson christens it.

And May lives out his canal holiday fantasy dream with a classic 1939 wooden river cruiser. Seamen

Packing in a genuinely dangerous finale that brings one of the trio to tears, stomach-churning dinners and a shocking climate change admission from Clarkson, The Grand Tour presents Seamen is a road trip  voyage to remember.

Swapping four wheels for water

Grand Tour exec producer Andy WIlman admits that there were nerves about ditching cars and heading out onto the water for the special episode.

“Boats are a minority hobby, there’s no getting around that, whereas most people drive so they engaged more easily with cars,” said Wilman. “But it’s just one film. We’ll be back with cars next time. It’s just a small diversion to ring the changes. If we try something and it doesn’t quite work, nobody gets hurt, and that’s always our attitude.

“But actually a massive proportion of our audience are not fussed about cars. They watch for the locations, the banter, the adventure, the friendship between those three. And I think those people won’t care at all that they’re in boats. We are ready for criticism and we’re ready to go, ‘Calm down’. But hopefully we’ll surprise people because it’s a good watch.”

And it wasn’t hard to find three different boats that matched up with the presenters own personalities. Seamen

“There’s a James boat, a Jeremy boat, a Hammond boat,” said Wilman.

“James went for a Norfolk Broads, Michael Parkinson type of pleasure boat. It’s a gin and tonic, wearing-a-cravat boat. Because it was a river cruise, James wanted something built for a river. He’s pragmatic like that.

“Hammond expressed his disinterest in boats by being a child and getting a Miami Vice style speedboat that drug dealers have. He didn’t give much thought to the practicalities of his choice.

“And then there’s Jeremy, who is a boating man and has always liked boats. He also loves the Vietnam War so it doesn’t take a genius to put two and two together and realise he’s going to come out on a PBR.”

The climate change message

The Grand Tour boys show no signs of growing up on this adventure – From the title of the episode to Jeremy and James respraying Hammond’s boat with the name ‘Jizzle Drizzle’.

However, there is a message about climate change at the heart of this special. An admission and slight change of heart from the petrolheads.

“It’s our job to make a show for people who like cars, and we are a tiny percent in terms of our influence, is the reality. The climate change people do what they do well. So we get on with our job and they get on with theirs,” explained Wilman.

“But the whole river and lake thing you see on the show is absolutely binary, in front of our eyes. The people couldn’t fish. The Mekong is a lifeline to hundreds of thousands of people and it’s dry, not helped by the fact the Chinese have built a dam which stops water flowing through. The Mekong is being threatened. Does it macke us hypocrites to point that out? I don’t think so, because I don’t think we’ve suddenly become Greta Thunberg.

“But we are in our right to point out that this whole thing is happening in a brutal and binary way. Critics might say, ‘Oh, you’re bothered about the Mekong River but you’re not bothered about driving a Ferrari’. I think our argument would be, ‘It’s not for us to worry about driving Ferraris because governments will decide whether or not people can drive them, and that’s not within our gift.’

“But what we saw in front of our eyes was worth talking about.”

For once – a warm reception

“We’ve had a less-than-warm welcome in some places we have been,” admits Richard Hammond.

It’s fair to say, the reputation of Clarkson, Hammond and May . often precedes them and wherever they travel . these days, they are typically . viewed with suspicion.

However, in Cambodia and Vietnam, . the trio were greeted with open arms and helped out of several tricky spots by the locals.

“In this part of the world, the attitude is so welcoming and friendly. I ended up being towed by a bunch of locals who saw me stuck,” said Hammond.

“People really do muck in and help and see the funny side. If you are at the back of your boat trying to cut the nets out of the prop, people will actually find that funny. They’ll laugh but they’ll still come and help you.”

James May admitted he even formed a special bond with one very helpful local who came to his aid in his hour of need.

“It’s a very hospitable, upbeat part of the world. In that kind of country they end up helping each other out,” said May.

“Especially on the water which is so important to them for their lives and their livelihoods. If you’re a foreigner and you’re being an idiot in a 1939 boat, . they’ll think, ‘Yes but he’s in trouble . so we’ll still get stuck in and help him’,” said May.

“I got a bit of net caught in the prop quite badly and a . local fisherman had the same problem so I went to help him and then he came to help me. I went around one side and he went around the other and we reached underneath and found each other’s hands and it was all very sweet.

“After an hour or two we eventually got both our boats free. The language barrier was complete and utter, but I had this moment of fantastic camaraderie with another man in peril on the sea. I loved it. He is my brother forever now.”

Battling sickness and fly-infested accommodation

It wasn’t all bromances at sea and plain sailing for our adventurers though. Richard Hammond had to battle a nasty infection after he caught cellulitis from open blisters on his heels.

“When it first struck I didn’t know what it was and I just couldn’t walk,” he said.

“The medic checked it out and told me I needed to be on very strong antibiotics quickly because it can creep into organs and turn into sepsis and that’s not good.”

“It felt like hell.”

And Clarkson described their first night on the lake on Cambodia as coming very close to the worst place they’ve ever stayed. Seamen

It was so bad that it will really wind him up if you mention that people believe the presenters don’t really sleep in the places where they film.

“There’s nothing more irritating than people saying, ‘You’re like Bear Grylls, you say you camp out there but you actually go and stay in a hotel’.

“I urge people to go on Google maps and see if they can find a hotel we could have gone to. Neither us nor the crew got a single second of sleep.”

Describing his evening, he said: “It was like sleeping in a fly-infested and extremely noisy oven at 400 degrees; if you filled your oven with every insect in the world, and then got in there with a pile driver and a deranged dog.

“You’d also have to crap your pants for the smell.”

A dangerous and tearful finale

The final stretch of the Seamen special is one of the . most dangerous and emotional sequences the presenters have ever filmed as they head out into open waters in their highly unsuitable vessels.

Filmed across a sea, close to where four people died . on the same day, Hammond was left in tears and May was briefly left stranded on his antique boat.

“If people want to see three TV presenters being . really hurt then this is a good place to go,” said Clarkson.

“My bruises lasted weeks. My boat was full of sharp edges and . I kept being hurled into those. It wasn’t much fun. Very close to where we were, four fishermen died. We weren’t exaggerating, they were big seas, it was scary.

“I can remember the panicky radio calls coming over my walkie-talkie. I was thinking, ’It’s bad but it’s not the end-of-the-world bad’. It was only when I saw the footage, particularly of James’ boat and the camera boats, that I . thought ‘Bloody hell.’ That’s the other thing of course: we can’t just think . about ourselves, there were 50/60 crew out there on small boats that were sinking. Boats were sinking, . I think Hammond may have been crying, and . James was stranded. I thought for once we were actually going to be . rid of James May but no, he survived.”

Hammond added: “At first it was the horrendous monotony of it, . just being bashed and bashed when water smashes against . the hull again and again. The sea water in my eyes – you see me at one point trying to pour bottled . water into my eyes to attempt to get the salt out. That was pretty close to despair.”

Andy Wilman confessed the production team were surprised . by the weather and the treacherous waters, which got “worse and worse and worse” as they filmed.

“Four people down the coast died that day,” said Wilman. “I don’t know any more details but I know it happened on that day. Driving on Death Road in Bolivia was terrifying psychologically, but mathematically you know . that if you stay away from the edge, you’re not going to go over. Whereas with the sea, you haven’t got a clue what it’s going to do, that’s the first thing.

“There’s no parallel with a road trip. It took several hours. It was properly brutal.”

Click here to find more interviews with the trio on this website .

You can also visit us on Facebook , Twiter and Instagram .

This interview on Seamen was first published on BT TV .

• Edit source
• View history

Seamen is the first episode of Season 4 of The Grand Tour and the 39th of the whole series. It aired on the 13th December, 2019.

The episode saw the presenters travel across Vietnam and Cambodia in some boats.

Synopsis [ ]

In the first of a series of feature length Specials, Clarkson, Hammond and May take a one time only break from cars and set out on an epic journey across Cambodia and Vietnam…in boats. This adventure packed voyage sees the hapless trio experience thrills, spills and genuine danger as they try to navigate their way through the world’s most iconic waterway - the Mekong Delta.

The trio bring a variety of boats to their journey. They are listed below.

Gallery [ ]

• 1 Mike Skinner
• 2 Hammond's Rimac Crash

The Grand Tour: Seamen is here - 10 things you need to know

From boats to bicycles, the trio try it all

The Grand Tour is back and, well, there aren’t any cars in it. There’s also only one episode, and Clarkson even addresses climate change without a single joke or raised eyebrow.

Let us explain...

Having bid a tearful farewell to the live studio format which Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May have called home for the past 17 years, the end of series three of The Grand Tour marked a turning point.

This is partly because writing scripts, interviewing guests and testing cars took up a lot of time, but also because today’s audience just isn’t into cars the way it was a decade ago.

Now, it’s all about the adventure; the special, beautifully-shot, hour-plus episodes where the three go in search of a travel documentary, then crash, fall over and generally make a complete hash of it. Only this time, things are a little more grown up. To explain, here are ten things you need to know about the new series of The Grand Tour.

• Looking for more easy viewing? Discover our pick of the best Amazon Prime series .

Watch The Grand Tour presents: Seamen now.

1. The Grand Tour isn't really a series

Much to Clarkson’s disappointment that the new episode isn’t going out on election night, The Grand Tour presents: Seamen (yes, that’s the official name, quiet at the back) hits Amazon Prime Video a day later, on Friday 13 December - which means it is live now.

But don’t be expecting episode two a week later, because instead of eight or 10 shows to sink our teeth into, the new ‘series’ is just two episodes. The first is an adventure through Cambodia and Vietnam, and the second, due out sometime next year, is in Madagascar.

These will be followed by two more adventures, likely towards the end of 2020 and start of 2021.

2. There’s no studio, audience, guest or test track

These episodes are shot entirely on location, with no studio. As for the location of the old tent, May reckons it’s in the attic somewhere

On missing the studio and live audience to chuck insults at, Clarkson said: “It was fun and I liked it, but honestly, because I was the one to research the guests, prepare the questions and the news, and almost always do the car test, there was a lot of work. Now that’s gone away I can actually see the children occasionally.”

May also admits he misses the old days, but now realises the adventure specials are what works best, both for the presenters and their audience. “I do slightly miss the live audience because I like the stimulus of a live performance...but, you know, let’s assume it’s a straight choice - a studio run or specials - I think we are better doing specials because it’s what we do best...we know that’s what the audience likes."

3. There are no cars, either

No, really; this adventure special features no cars at all. Instead it’s all about boats, and Clarkson explains why: “I chose boats simply because the other two hate them. They made me go across Vietnam once on a motorcycle, which I hated, and we’ve done lorries, which I hated, so I thought it was time for some payback, and these two could use a mode of transport they don’t like.”

Although there are no cars, the boats still arrive in the same presenter-chosen format we’re used to. This, of course, means Clarkson opts for a £100,000 replica of the PBR boat used by the US Navy in the Vietnam War, Hammond picks a Miami Vice-style speedboat modestly called Razzle Dazzle, and May goes for a 1930s craft which has more in common with your grandmother’s sideboard than a boat.

May digs a little deeper into why shifting the focus away from cars is no bad thing. “It’s a narrowing audience [who enjoy car reviews] and also that need is being fulfilled by a lot more people these days...YouTube is full of car reviews...so we’re sort of slightly redundant on that side of things.”

Hammond adds: “It would be difficult to do a show just evaluating and reviewing cars now because the current generation aren’t fussed, it’s not their thing.”

The next Grand Tour special in Madagascar does use cars, but May says: “We aren’t reviewing them, we are using them as a means of having an adventure and a laugh.”

4. Clarkson addresses climate change...

On arriving in what is supposed to be the rainy season, The Grand Tour’s 70-plus crew found Cambodia’s Tonle Sap lake had all but tried up, as the river which feeds it - the only one in the world which changes direction - was not flowing as normal.

Clarkson explained: “It’s very difficult to move [The Grand Tour] around, and so we monitored the weather and it should have been pouring with rain, [the lake] should have been five times bigger than it was, and it simply wasn’t. We just had to set off knowing it hadn’t filled up...it was damn near empty.”

Addressing how climate change had likely caused this, Clarkson added: “While it’s very easy to say the Chinese dams are responsible, they’ve only contributed to it. There is no question, and we admitted to it for the first time ever on one of our shows, that there may be such a thing as climate change.”

5. ...and says he is carbon neutral

As well as bringing the climate change debate to The Grand Tour for the first time, Clarkson is also doing his bit back in the UK too, while shooting a new series for Amazon about his Oxfordshire farm.

“I’m completely carbon neutral,” the presenter said proudly. “I’ve a thousand-acre farm and plant hundreds of trees every year and grow crops, so I’ve got no carbon footprint at all. Quite the opposite. [CO2 created by The Grand Tour] is nothing compared to what I’m soaking up with the farm. Nothing.

6. Distance makes the jokes last longer

You could argue the old studio format was running thin on new material, and although the trio will never quite agree on that, May said how being apart injected some life back into their relationship.

“We went quite a long time without seeing each other [after the last series] or even speaking to each other before we made this programme. I was off making my Japan show [Our Man In Japan, also coming to Amazon], Jeremy was on his long holiday in South East Asia, Hammond was working on some other stuff back in England, and I don’t think we even texted each other in that time. So when we finally got back together it was with some horror, obviously, but it also meant we had saved up all our capacity for mocking each other...It gave us a new energy.”

7. Hammond doesn’t crash (much)

He might not have a massive shunt attended by an air ambulance this time around, but Hammond still gets himself into plenty of trouble. Without giving too much away, the episode finale sees the thrio venture out to sea in their completely un-seaworthy vessels, with the finish line 30 miles away.

It’s a harrowing journey Clarkson says took hours and which Hammond ranks “in the top three worst things I’ve ever done,” along with crashing off a Swiss mountain, and having a dragster tyre blow at over 300mph.

Hammond adds: “It was bloody horrible. Because I don’t know anything about boats, I don’t know if my boat should be doing what it was doing...especially when I thought I was going to go over backwards. We were all bloody uncomfortable.”

Asked if he thought they were in real trouble, May admits with humility: “Yeah, I think we were actually. I didn’t realise it as much at the time...But it was, yeah, it was pretty tough. I was just thinking, I must get to the other side...you can see the difference between someone who is really worried and someone who is just pulling a face.”

Clarkson, who has held a boat licence for decades, had an easier time of it, but recognises the dangers of producing a television show like The Grand Tour. “It was really uncomfortable, horrible...I don’t care about James and Richard, but the camera crew and the production teams, they were really quite scared. Those boats were sinking. Four fishermen drowned in that storm right where we were.”

8. It’s a bit more grown up

Shifting away from the studio also brings with it a sense of The Grand Tour growing up. There are no cringe-worthy jokes written to provoke controversy, and the situations the trio haphazardly get themselves into all feel refreshingly genuine.

Clarkson in-particular harks back to his documentary making days, taking the audience aside on a couple of occasions to tell stories related to the journey. It’s the kind of material that would clutter the cutting room floor of a programme governed by a strict 58-minute time slot, but the flexibility of online TV without adverts and schedules gives the show space to breathe, and it benefits as a result.

On adding education into the mix, Clarkson said: “I was interested in my boat’s story and I thought there was a nice couple of little stories in there...I just thought if something is interesting and provides entertainment, I’ll try and put it in...that’s all I’m here to do.”

9. They’re still good mates (sort of)

As much as they like to say they merely tolerate each other, there’s no escaping that their relationship is The Grand Tour’s key ingredient. Despite the lack of cars, Clarkson says: “It’s still us and we still bicker and we still laugh a lot. When the cameras are turned off, the laughter doesn’t really stop...That shines through in the programme and we do have the benefit of having worked together for 17 years, you really can’t mimic that.”

May, unsurprisingly, is less keen to praise their chemistry. “Hate is a strong word, but we do tolerate each other.”

When asked to state a positive aspect of each of his colleagues, May, ever keen to maintain the veil of displeasure, says bluntly: “Jeremy has lost a bit of weight recently, and Richard Hammond hasn’t almost killed himself recently. There you go, those are two positives.”

10. They don’t watch Top Gear

But they still speak fondly of their old show, Clarkson especially: “I wish them all the very best, but I don’t watch it. It was my baby, then it got taken away and they’ve got it now. It’s like if you have a baby and it’s put up for adoption, you hope the baby is brought up very well but you don’t go and look through the curtains every night. That’s really how I feel.”

The Grand Tour presents: Seamen is available on Amazon Prime Video now - read our exclusive interview with James May.

Today's Best Deals

Netflix's latest no. 1 movie is a true crime murder tale

The WatchList: this is what you should be watching this week

Amazon Prime Video's latest number one show is a huge hit

Related reviews and shortlists.

A cinema legend is up for directing Avengers: Secret War

The best Amazon Prime Video series to binge-watch right now

The 46 best NOW TV shows to watch: great Sky series to stream

The 61 best Disney Plus shows to watch: great shows to stream

The 32 best movies On NOW: TV that's worth streaming

The 72 best Netflix shows: from Lupin to House of Usher

• {{tg.name}}
• {{tr.name}}
• Location: United States
• {{language.name}}
• Screening Room

The Grand Tour Presents: Seamen

In the first of a series of feature length Specials, Clarkson, Hammond and May take a one-time-only break from cars and set out on an epic journey across Cambodia and Vietnam...in boats. This adventure-packed voyage sees the hapless trio experience thrills, spills and genuine danger as they try to navigate their way through the world’s most iconic waterway - the Mekong Delta.

Naturally, the bickering trio set sail in three very different types of vessel. Jeremy, ever the diplomat, opts for a PBR (Patrol Boat, River), the famed jet powered Vietnam War fighting boat as seen in Apocalypse Now.   Richard channels his inner Don Johnson by choosing a Miami Vice style speedboat, and Naval Captain Slow brings a touch of canal holiday style to the Mekong, with an 80 year old wooden river cruiser.  Both men and machines face an 800km journey that turns out to be more difficult than anything they have experienced in cars.  Flash storms, crashes, gigantic weed beds and even global warming all conspire to thwart their progress, and the climax of this epic voyage is one of the most dangerous challenges Clarkson, Hammond, May – and their film crew - have ever endured.

Richard Hammond, Jeremy Clarkson, James May

• All Assets (38)
• KEY ART (2)
• EPISODIC PHOTOS (28)
• Gallery Photos (5)
• BTS PHOTOS (2)
• EVENT PHOTOS (0)
• VIDEO ASSETS (1)
• Newest to Oldest
• Oldest to Newest
• Recommended Order
• PRORESHQ2398

Show Description

We use cookies to provide you with a better website experience. Continue browsing if you are ok with this, or click here to review our privacy policy and find out how to manage cookies.

The Grand Tour: Seamen – A review

The new season of  The Grand Tour has begun on Amazon Prime Video. Season 4 looks to be a departure from the previous 3 seasons. During the last episode of the 3rd season, Jeremy Clarkson informed the audience that the trio would be ditching their movable studio tent.

It has taken the first three seasons of the new show for the former Top Gear UK presenters to find what this show on Amazon will be: an excuse for them to travel the world. They did travel in the first three seasons, but the trips were laden with over-the-top gags and just okay jokes. The show lacked the authenticity and chemistry that we all know Jeremy, Richard, and James have when together.

The Mongolia episode of season 3 was the first glimmer of hope for upcoming seasons. Even it had its rough spots in the continued lack of alcohol gag. The environment and what they were trying to accomplish was compelling and enjoyable enough. The team appears to have figured that out for season 4.

Seamen  is the first episode of season 4. The hour and a half long episode follows the trio’s journey from northern Cambodia to Vũng Tàu, Vietnam on the coast of the South China Sea. The episode begins in an area of Cambodia where drought and the Chinese building a hydroelectric dam have all but stopped the flow of a river. It makes the trickle that is the southern portion of the Colorado River look ginormous. Eventually, the group makes their make to Tonlé Sap lake and launches their boats.

Their Rides

Richard has chosen the stereotypical  Miami Vice Scarab. James is in a 1939 wooden craft from Sweden. Jeremy commissioned a Vietnam War-era PBR (Patrol Boat River) to use for the film. Apparently there are no remaining PBRs from the actual Vietnam War.

The rest of the episode they follow rivers through Cambodia. Then the team reaches the Mekong River and travels the rest of the way through Vietnam. There are antics and jokes. They continually bust their others’ balls. But the tone is right for this episode. The team appears in awe of their surroundings. If you told me that I could pick a couple of friends and three boats to transit Cambodia and Vietnam with the support of a production crew, I would jump at the chance just to go see those new places. It would be a terrible film to watch as I get motion sickness immediately on a boat.

I almost turned off the last part of their journey. It started to make me nauseous.

There is no release date for episode 2. It appears that the trio toured Madagascar for the next episode. We can hope it is as good as the first one.

Christopher Tracy

Chris works in marketing by day and writes offroad automotive pieces by night. Chris is the producer/cohost of the Off The Road Again Podcast . A dad trying to get his kids outside more. IG: @overlandingdad.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Attachments The maximum upload file size: 64 MB. You can upload: image , audio , video . Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded. Drop files here

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

7 responses to “The Grand Tour: Seamen – A review”

I didn’t hate it, but I also found it a little boring. There was no appreciable plot arc or sense of progress that is so necessary in a “mission” style episode. Unlike the Bolivia special, I never fully grasped the sense of “we have to go from here to there and there are this set of obstacles.” This episode simply felt like a series of footage of random boat scenes. The chemistry was good, but the progress of the episode was lacking.

Agreed, entirely. Completely directionless. It is and always will be fun to watch the trio together on film but it just didn’t have any real purpose to it.

Good summary. I liked it, but didn’t love it.

The show was lavish, but missing some element.

The adventure was great. The banter was as good as you’d expect.

But, I felt it was clear that none of the three really gave a shit about their boats. On all of their other adventures they each defended and pimped their vehicles. They tried to emulate that here, but it didn’t work for me.

And, having served in the US Navy from 1966 through 1970, I’m really not interested in watching PBR’s

lol. did the PBR at least seem accurate?

Didn’t serve on a PBR. That was really tough duty. I served on a Submarine tender that serviced nuclear subs with Polaris missiles on them.

I enjoyed it. It wasn’t the best adventure they had ever gone on but it was a enjoyable one. I’m glad they stick to what works, are not trying to top the last thing they did and just go have a good time and entertain.

I like the new direction with the show or now movies? Or adventures?

© 2022 Hooniverse [Founded in 2009] Hooniverse is a trademark of Hoonigan used with permission

The Grand Tour

The Grand Tour Presents… Seamen

Information, accessibility.

Copyright © 2024 Apple Inc. All rights reserved.

Internet Service Terms Apple TV & Privacy Cookie Policy Support

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Episode list

The grand tour.

S4.E1 ∙ The Grand Tour Presents: Seamen

S4.E2 ∙ The Grand Tour Presents: A Massive Hunt

S4.E3 ∙ The Grand Tour Presents: Lochdown

S4.E4 ∙ The Grand Tour Presents: Carnage A Trois

Contribute to this page.

• IMDb Answers: Help fill gaps in our data
• Learn more about contributing

More from this title

More to explore.

Recently viewed

Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

US Edition Change

• US election 2024
• US Politics
• UK Politics
• News Videos
• Rugby Union
• Sports Videos
• Photography
• Theatre & Dance
• Culture Videos
• Food & Drink
• Health & Families
• Royal Family
• Electric Vehicles
• Lifestyle Videos
• News & Advice
• Simon Calder
• Inspiration
• City Guides
• Sustainable Travel
• Politics Explained
• News Analysis
• Home & Garden
• Fashion & Beauty
• Travel & Outdoors
• Sports & Fitness
• Sustainable Living
• Climate Videos
• Electric vehicles
• Behind The Headlines
• On The Ground
• Decomplicated
• You Ask The Questions
• Binge Watch
• Travel Smart
• Watch on your TV
• Crosswords & Puzzles
• Most Commented
• Newsletters
• Ask Me Anything
• Virtual Events

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in Please refresh your browser to be logged in

The Grand Tour review, series four: The tension has curdled into outright dislike

With the action unfolding on water, the pace is unusually sedate. there is no chemistry or camaraderie; even the pranks are half-arsed, article bookmarked.

Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails

Sign up to our free breaking news emails, thanks for signing up to the breaking news email.

Here they are again, not so much the three amigos as an explosion of egos, crisscrossing the globe in extravagantly silly transport, offending entire nations and leaving wreckage in their wake. In the new instalment of The Grand Tour (Amazon Prime Video), sniggeringly subtitled “Seamen”, professional blowhard Jeremy Clarkson and his subordinates Richard Hammond and James May travel to southeast Asia where they embark on a race from Siem Reap in Cambodia to Vung Tau in Vietnam. The twist here is that they are travelling not by road but by water – insert your own jokes about wheels falling off here.

Few televisual conceits have weathered so poorly as the “Brits abroad” one, with its waft of colonialism and condescension. Nonetheless, the conviction remains among television executives that it still has legs, especially when merged with a car show. The Grand Tour has now done away with the studio tent in favour of a series of globetrotting specials, the word “special” being open to interpretation in this festival of hubris and testosterone.

The show’s budget is undoubtedly a thing of wonder. As is custom, our hosts each rock up with their vehicle of choice, comparing girth and horsepower like schoolboys at a urinal. As May chugs up in a sedate wooden pleasure boat, and Hammond appears in a flamboyantly painted speedboat straight from Miami Vice, Clarkson – who has the air of a bloated military chief sent to a deserted outpost where he can’t do any more damage – reveals he has blown £100K on a PBR, the navy patrol boat used by American forces during the Vietnam War. “I’ve bought a little bit of history, at vast expense, back to southeast Asia,” he notes, self-importantly.

The 30 best TV shows of the decade

The drill is familiar, both from previous Grand Tours and from the trio’s alma mater, Top Gear . There are stunts, sight gags and the casual mocking of Johnny Foreigner as our hosts peruse markets selling designer knock-offs and sit down to a dinner of stir-fried crickets. Clarkson’s idea of historical context is to compare Jeremy Corbyn to Pol Pot and recommend the film The Killing Fields . Arrogance and imbecility abound, as they smash into tiny fishing boats before blundering off, rarely pausing to inspect the damage. When their engines become clogged with mud and weeds, or as they run aground down narrow canal corridors, local men are drafted in to unclog the pipes and clear up their mess.

With the action unfolding on water as opposed to tarmac, the pace here is unusually sedate. Meanwhile, the bubbling tension between our dramatis personae now seems to have curdled into outright dislike, with May maintaining a conspicuous distance from his co-stars on his modest vessel. There is no chemistry or camaraderie; even the pranks are half-arsed. At no point does anyone look happy in their work. When they hit the South China Sea, where they are met with crashing waves and relentless, painful spray, all three appear positively ashen. The Grand Tour on wheels has its problems, but this one’s dead in the water.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article

Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.

New to The Independent?

Or if you would prefer:

Want an ad-free experience?

Hi {{indy.fullName}}

• My Independent Premium
• Account details
• Help centre

site categories

‘love lies bleeding’ belgium festival screening hit by “homophobic, discriminatory” disruptions , ‘the grand tour’: amazon drops trailer for special featuring jeremy clarkson & co on boats.

By Jake Kanter

Jake Kanter

International Investigations Editor

More Stories By Jake

• YMU Chief Financial Officer Exits Following Agency’s $75M Sale To Permira Credit
• Hannah Waddingham Confronts Photographer Who Asked Her To “Show Leg”: “Don’t Be A Dick”
• ‘Scoop’ Makes Splash In UK: Prince Andrew Film Draws Nearly 2.8M Viewers On Netflix

Amazon has dropped the trailer for a special episode of The Grand Tour , featuring Jeremy Clarkson , James May and Richard Hammond in a boat-based challenge.

The trio of presenters have vacated their cars for the first time and embark on a 500-mile river trip across Vietnam and Cambodia, in an episode titled The Grand Tour presents: Seamen. It premieres on December 13.

The feature-length episode is the first in a sequence of specials the team is making for Amazon Prime Video after they decided last year to ditch The Grand Tour ‘s studio format, set in a tent, and concentrate on a series of adventures.

Although they have parked their cars, the Seamen episode features many familiar format points, from the presenters showcasing the boats they have chosen, to racing challenges, collisions and unfortunate break downs.

For their journey along the Mekong Delta, Clarkson recreates a Vietnam war-era Patrol Boat River, Hammond charters a Miami Vice -style speedboat, while May enjoys a 1939 wooden river cruiser.

Amazon’s director of European originals Georgia Brown said: “We know fans love to see the guys take on these incredible adventures across exotic locations and The Grand Tour presents: Seamen does just that – this feature-length special promises to be a thrilling off-road escapade, full of challenges and jeopardy, climaxing in one of the most dangerous and exciting challenges Jeremy, Richard and James may have ever endured.”

With Seamen launching in December, work is well underway on their second special, which has just finished filming in Madagascar and will premiere next year.

Must Read Stories

How writers are reacting to industrywide cost-cutting: hollywood contraction.

Jonathan Bailey Circles Lead Role In Ramping-Up ‘Jurassic World’ Movie

Armorer sentenced to 18 months in prison for halyna hutchins’ death, robert downey jr’s ‘sympathizer’ roles “america as a whole”: backstage.

Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy.

Read More About:

Deadline is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2024 Deadline Hollywood, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Letterboxd — Your life in film

Forgotten username or password ?

• Start a new list…
• Add all films to a list…
• Add all films to watchlist

Add to your films…

Press Tab to complete, Enter to create

A moderator has locked this field.

Add to lists

Where to watch

The grand tour presents: seamen.

The route begins in Cambodia at Siem Reap and then winds downriver to Tonlé Sap lake, before joining the Mekong Delta and sailing into Vietnam. The final port of call is Vung Tau, in south Vietnam.

Jeremy Clarkson James May Richard Hammond

Producer Producer

Andy Wilman

91 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Will ★★★½

As long as these three are on screen together, it’ll never be boring. 

(Gave it an extra .5 star for all the Apocalypse Now references)

Review by Den_of_geeks ★★★★ 2

The title pretty much tells you what you’re in for

Review by TheSinnohman ★★★½

If I had a nickel for every time Clarkson, Hammond and May went to Vietnam in torrential rain, using a method of transport that constantly pisses off one member of the trio, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.

I really wasn't sold on this special the first time I saw it due to the generally dismal atmosphere and reduced chances for quality moments between the trio, but this time I warmed up to it as that second element was definitely still present throughout. Jeremy's little history and cooking lessons were neat, and the general incompetence of all three at driving their vehicles is both a first for them, and hilarious all the way through.

"What I've done is... there's no other word for it, I've crashed." - Surprisingly Not Richard Hammond, 2019

Review by Geoffrey Broomer ★★★½

The highlights of the later Clarkson / Hammond / May fronted Top Gear, and subsequent Grand Tour, are their travelogue specials. Giving up on the show’s usual format for longer form narratives that see them ignoring automotive talk in favour of bickering against exotic locals. These adventures closely resemble Jerome K. Jerome’s 1889 novel, Three Men in a Boat.

Seamen sees the trio get the closest to that book, right down to the transportation.

My experience with the trio since their transition onto Amazon has been minimal, both for the nature of their exit from the BBC, uncomfortable politics, and the increasingly scripted nature of the humour. I am happy to report that with Seamen, it’s a refreshing reminder of those earlier adventures with spontaneous wit and actually danger, and hopefully a sign of returning glory.

Review by Ben ★★★★★

I was genuinely concerned for poor Richard Hammonds mental health after enduring that God awful ride in his small motorboat with those crazy sea waves!! Poor hamster

Review by dimitri ★★★★

Basically just a sequel to apocalypse now.

Review by Curtis ★★★½

A car show devoid of automobiles; replaced by historical tidbits about Cambodia and Vietnam, the consequences of climate and other changes on extremely sensitive and essential waterways and three British men trying to navigate them in grossly inappropriate vehicles.

This new format should work nicely.

Review by Joshua Jackson ★★★★

“Ghastly little Brummie in his HMS Pornography.”

There are two certainties in life with Clarkson, that he’ll forever mention:

1. He hates Corbin. 

2. He failed his A Levels. 

List: Top Gear Specials and Grand Tour Specials, Ranked

List: 2019, Ranked

Review by Daniel Shillito ★★★★★

Television peaked with this.

Review by Chloe 💖💜💙 ★★★

By far the funniest part was at the end when they all looked fucking dead inside and signed off just like ...alright... see ya 👋🏻

Review by Charlotte Thornton ★★★½

in my straight dude era

Review by Matty G ★★★★★

Brilliant specials are always the best, could watch these three talk about cars all day.

Select your preferred poster

What Was ‘Wrong’ With The Grand Tour Presents: Seamen?

The start of Season 4 of The Grand Tour got off to a rocky start . While a lot of viewers had reacted positively to the on-water special, a larger proportion than usual have reacted negatively. In fact, reviews of a Grand Tour episode have never been so low, with the Independent giving it only 1 star out of 5 , for example.

So what did The Grand Tour do wrong, if anything? In this article, I’m going to dig into the changes that have been made to the show coming from the third season and try and pinpoint what made this first Cambodia / Vietnam special so controversial.

> The Grand Tour Madagascar Special episode release date revealed!

Table of Contents

A Change Of Writers

Originally behind the scripts of Top Gear and more recently The Grand Tour, Richard Porter was absent from the making of Season 4. In fact, he posted on Twitter that apart from the initial idea stage, he wasn’t involved in any of the work for the first time in 17 years.

In the meantime, there's a new Grand Tour special out so maybe watch that. First TG/GT thing in 17 years I've had nothing to do with so I'm sure it's especially good. https://t.co/6yJ4z9jA6C — Richard Porter (@sniffpetrol) December 13, 2019

Thankfully he’s working with Clarkson , Hammond and May on their individual projects, but his time on The Grand Tour looks to be coming to an end. He blames “No script, no cars, not much to do on GT.”

No script, no cars, not much to do on GT. — Richard Porter (@sniffpetrol) December 13, 2019

If you take a look at the replies, again there was a mixed bag with a few wondering if this was the reason the show wasn’t quite up to par as previous episodes.

Ah. That explains quite a bit. — Jane M (@ridesandskis) December 13, 2019

This leads me onto my second point quite nicely, so *boom*, subheading.

Lack Of Story

There’s a magic behind reliving a great rally, or building a car to get back to society , or travelling through Africa to find the source of the River Nile . It feels like an adventure and there’s a defined purpose, and while watching it we almost feel the feeling of getting closer to that end goal that Clarkson, Hammond and May must be longing for.

Seamen’s goal was to simply boat down a river. Not very interesting when you compare it to some of the greatest specials from the past, is it? Plus, the fact that a lot of the water had dried up must have knocked them back a bit, forcing them to quickly change their plans. This formed a quick discussion about climate change, and the last thing we want to hear is Clarkson talking about that . Not because he’s not an incredibly intelligent man, but because the silly, pompous, anti-claimate change act that he uses to make us all laugh was broken. Small niggle, but thought I’d drop it in.

So the presenters eventually get to their boats and make their way down the river towards Vietnam, and I think there’s a clear change that could have been made to remedy what comes next.

Not Just Boats, But Three Boats

I’m fine with boats. I’m here to watch the trio’s chemistry as they joke with each other and work around the issues they encounter no matter what vehicle it involves. Wheels, wings, or hulls, give me anything. But I believe what made the rest of the special not so interesting was the fact that they were on three separate boats.

Their characters were split by bodies of water, and this meant that only when they were close to each other they could they communicate properly. The objective of getting to the end of the river became an individual mission for each of them, only accentuated by the differing performance of the crafts. Clarkson could power ahead, while James May was left behind. Clarkson even said in an interview that Hammond and May were so far behind he was starting to worry.

“But Alex, they’ve done boats before!” I hear you scream. Yes the days of the Toybota aren’t lost on me. But do you remember what happened at the end of the episode where they attempt to cross the channel? They end the episode with each of them on one boat working together. It was truly a brilliant episode and I believe that’s not only down to the fact that what they accomplished was very impressive, but also because they did it as a team.

Seamen was so far from being team orientated and this made it feel weird and disjointed.

They Looked Miserable

Seamen was the most dangerous episode yet , and it showed. From the awful weather to Hammond’s infection and James May’s brush with death, there was one thing after another while filming this special and this must have been difficult to push through. Putting on a smile and laughing to the camera must be difficult when you’re in pain and battling with waves to just get to dry land.

It was obvious it wasn’t the most enjoyable episode to film, so when the end finally came, the trio looked defeated. While Jeremy made a quick joke about Top Gear  which made us laugh, it ended abruptly and didn’t have the triumph that most episodes end on, possibly due to the fact they were so separated by this point.

I’m Picking Hairs

Please don’t take this as me saying it was a bad episode. There are so many good parts to this episode which I’m not including in this article because I’m focussing on the negatives, and I really am picking hairs.

I’m a massive fan of all the work from Clarkson, Hammond and May and watch (and read) their content avidly. Because of this, I do however feel that this wasn’t their best, and due to the backlash the episode is getting, thought I’d explore why.

I think it’s important to identify and make known what we didn’t like about episodes. Only then will they know how to change things in the future to improve. Of course, the same goes for what we loved about the episode, and we’ll get to that soon.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments, even if you loved the episode. What can they improve on, or was it perfectly suited to your tastes? This article was composed from my own tastes and what I’ve seen on social media from you, the fans, but it’s important to remember that these are all opinions and should be treated as such.

Alex Harrington

Honda s2000 revamped for 2020 tokyo auto salon, james may talks about japanese toilets and our man in japan, related articles.

Renee Wilm Spearheads the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Marking a Milestone in Women’s Leadership in F1

Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team: New Era Begins with Extended Aramco Partnership and 2024 Rebranding

You need to drive these roads before you die, richard hammond is officially back, 51 comments.

Very disappointed with the Seamans episode. Jeremy, Richard and James are delightful car guys that drive, test and express opinions on various vehicles, all while experiencing certain, funny antics. Piloting a boat through challenging waters is NOT an appeal to me. Stick with the 4 wheel theme or move on.

I have a whole lot of “f u” for this. As an American, I love the Grand Tour. As a boater that travels, I loved it even more. I watched the “Seaman” episodes several times with different friends and enjoyed it and learned different things each time. I only stumbled across this website looking to view it with a different group of friends. It is a shame it is so hard to access now.

I thought this was an sharing episode and I laughed throughout the whole thing. Was surprised when I read that many people didn’t feel the same way. A few buddies if mine also thought it was hilarious…I keep going back to see if the next episode is out

Amazing* episode

Buck off.. That is an bad review and opinions you have! The series was awesome and I enjoyed it!

Huge fan of top gear, and the grand tour seasons. The episode in Mongolia was truly brilliant. Seeing Jeremy shed a tear on the last episode choked me up.. I was sad it was ending. Very happy to see a season 4 of the grand tour, wasn’t massively impressed by it. I agree with the article written, them not being together changed the dynamic of the show a bit. I don’t know if boats are the best idea for them to go to. More off roading expeditions semi- unscripted, in remote parts of the world is what I think people love seeing. Also you can tell they don’t know much about boats…decredits them. Keep them in the cars!

I watched the special with the usual interest. I think they did the best job given the circumstances. Sure something could have been done better, but this can be said about absolutely everything including the critics reviews. As far as I am concerned, this is the best show on TV, so please keep it going. And if someone is getting bored by it, just quit watching, it’s as simple as that.

Not sure how much I’d trust the “bad” reviews knowing just how much China is committed to online hacking. I’m sure the powers that be are not happy with the exposure of things they are trying to ignore. Like suddenly adding to the China map on their new passports.

I Laughed my ass off. Was funny as hell, doing what they do best, absurd situations. I loved it! Boohoo there was no car in the show, pfff. Keep going guys! I loved it!

I’m a die hard fan of the boys, but it was terrible. For all the reasons you’ve named. disjointed, patronizing, lack of coherency and flow, no focus or overall point, no connection or teamwork/togetherness. Yes, their best work was about S7 of TG, before they became OTT caricatures of themselves, but now there’s simply nothing left. Terrible writing and no creativity. Very sad. As evidenced by going their own way with different shows…..

Where they used to shine was the combination of individual segments brought together by group discussion and jabs interspersed with a group display of insanity involving cars. If they want to do ‘Road Shows’ they might pick up a few pointers from the ‘Road’ movies of Hope and Crosby. Their best bits, off-island, have always been when they picked a destination and stayed somewhat centralized in a specific locale. Even then they might consider reigning themselves in and not be insulting, those moments make even the non-residents cringe. Plenty of fun to be had in new adventures without being an asshole, Clarkson.

I think this is a great direction for the programme. The car shows were good but realistically what percent of people went out and bought million pounds supercars. Its the relationship and camaraderie that makes these 3 unique. The fact they have now actually added an element of education to this series means they will capture additional audience levels.

I think like anything we have to give them time…. this is a major format change for them and they need time to hit their straps. Nothing is instant, remember the first episode of the grand tour? it was pretty poor compared to what they had produced on Top Gear, yet by the end of season two, they had refined it and were going great guns…

Personally I don’t understand what they changed the format SO dramatically but I don’t work in TV production so I cant expect to either!

It was as good as any other. Delivering aged schoolboys dicking around, squandering corporate budgets. It actually had rarely seen element of realism, the look on their faces when they hadn’t slept was genuine.

There’s nothing wrong with this Episode, it was amazing and awesome to watch, you’re just some crybabies who can’t accept that after doing a thing for 17 or more Years it gets boring and maybe they wanna do something else! Get over it, the next Episode is gona be with Cars again

It went from mediocre to awful for me. There was nothing particularly interesting about any of it, and then the taking river boats into the sea? How stupid. And I don’t want to see these guys being just miserable, exhausted, and in pain. Unfortunately, that was the most memorable part.

I’ve enjoyed these guys showmanship and motoring video journalism for decades going back Clarkson’s days on the original Top Gear back in the 1980s. But, truthfully guys, I think it time to seriously consider retirement. It’s best to be remembered for a great original and entertaining format rather than an over thrashed, outdated once was.

I actually thought this was one of the better tours they have done. I love seeing them out of their element, and this definitely did that.

I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

Huh. We enjoyed the episode. I was a bit stunned to see them navigating the China Sea thought; if that was real, it was very irresponsible.

When staying in Vietnam we took the Ferry from Ho Chi Minh to Vung Tau and we crossed the Sea as is needed to get there, aint a biggy, they just made it look more significant.

Terrible episode. No spark, no purpose, no interplay. And their schtick is starting to show its age. I understand the reasoning behind getting rid of the studio format and I still feel it was a mistake. The news segment on the old Top Gear was one of the most consistently enjoyable parts of the show. The Christmas episode on GT where they donned funny sweaters, tried self-propelled skates, and Segue vehicles equipped with tablets video-conferencing with Bob Geldof had me holding my sides in laughter. This had none of that.

I blame the producers for making some very poor decisions up front:

1) Not checking the weather in Cambodia/Vietnam. 2) Not having a backup plan in case nature didn’t cooperate. 3) Not having a backup for their backup plan.

They could have just as easily done a motorbike run along the Mekong, or dune buggies, etc… Add in some hang gliding, or riding burros, or maybe just have the guys source their own non-car transport from point A to point B. Instead, someone got locked onto the “Seamen” title and tried to fill in the huge gaps presented by the conditions.

I could have also done with skipping the entire watch shopping/deodorant extravaganza and concentrated more on them having to camp along the river and maybe pull shenanigans on one another like they did in the trailer park. Or spend longer on Jeremy making pho, a very unexpected point I’d like to have seen more of.

Overall, it seemed like the show never quite fit into it’s own shoes. Like trying to fit a round pillow into a triangular hole and watching it slowly pull itself out over and over again.

The only thing that this episode had in common with other Grand Tour episodes was May acting like a woman. I’ve never seen someone complain so much about trivial things.

Yet here you are complaining about a trival thing.

There were definitely some laughs, but I wasn’t thrilled with the episode overall. My biggest issue was that they didn’t seem to care about their boats at all. When they went shopping to make themselves more comfortable I expected to see them showing off their redecorated cabins, or whatever other alterations, like they do in almost every other special. It wasn’t about boats vs cars vs bikes – by the end of any special they usually have strong feelings about their chosen transport, love it or hate it. This episode – nothing.

There seems a corporate push to squeeze the life out of our beloved entertainers. That unless they are pushed to the brink of uncertainty and danger, entertainment suffers. This is all wrong of course and they’ve mucked it to the point it seems the three have lost interest.

Yes, you are eight, I was looking for something good as usual but this time I felt its pooring even if the idea is good for first time you see the triler, it is lost episod, no challenge not exciting, it is just pooring.

Seamen is about right for these three winners.

So people complain when it’s scripted and complain when it’s not, right.

The problem I feel is shout McHamster, I honestly thought they called him Hamster because he hammed it up. Its like he he uinely believes the His amateur dramatic style slapstick is funny and unnoticeable. In order to fix what’s been broken since around 2012 onwards, Clarkson has to take back the absolute lead frontman and shut this immature Oliver loving crap down.

Season 4 episode 1 was very entertaining. Fans of those three knuckleheads love them because they are fun as individuals and absurdly fun when they’re together. Fans enjoyed the episode and self proclaimed expert critics didn’t because they suck. Seamen was very enjoyable.

The episode was simply quite boring

I would say it was Clarksons hammering of Pol Pot while wearing a Che Guevara t-shirt. Me thinks Jezza needs a history lesson. Wearing a Che shirt is no different than wearing a Pol, Stalin, or a swastika shirt. Same control over people, execute opposition, use fear and power to silence the people. Love the guys, but that was shitty wardrobe.

I loved the episode! As for all the detractors. The golden goose didn’t always lay golden eggs….. it had to take shit every once in a while.

I am very disappointed to get a climate change lesson from Grand Tour. I suspect Amazon had a hand in that. This came very close to making me do the unthinkable; turn off TGT. If anything will lose me as a viewer, it will be something like this. Man made global warming is a hoax. In my line of work I’ve had the opportunity to talk to real, bona fide climate scientists. None believe man is affecting the climate. It is a globalist scheme to gain power and control more people. Please don’t go the politically correct route with the show.

Jeremy’s comment about China diverting the river water while building a dam is probably a more accurate reflection of conditions than “climate change”…

Jeremy’s comment on how China was diverting the river waters while building a dam probably is the most accurate assessment on the conditions, rather than “climate change”…

The Grand Tour was dead in the water even before it was launched. Top Gear fell off over 10 years ago. The jokes and the boorish, obtuse, reactionary attitudes of the ageing presenters were only fit for the most basic of Babyboomer.

This format should have been put out of its misery 15 years ago. It’s become an embarrassment.

If it was boring 15 years ago, why are you still watching it?

Agreed they should have been together more but it keeps becoming more evident that they truly don’t like each other and it is a shame because they are some of the best entertainment of the age no one is funnier when they want to be ,I just hope it isn’t a sign the end is coming

Excellent and balanced critique / observations! Surely accidents and serious ones have sadly happened, but please folks, let’s not push our mortal luck!! Nothing would make us all as miserable as losing one of these guys or any of their crew in filming this fun. It’s a miracle they haven’t been in a serious every day collision on the scary crazy roads they have driven on in the hours they have done that in. Keep it going, not ending.

I’m in the “supremely disappointed” camp, and I think you pretty much nailed the reasons. You addressed my original thought when watching it, which was that it barely had the 3 of them together. In other specials, even when in separate cars, they’re generally near each other, in constant communication, and get out of the cars to help (or harm) one another regularly. Not the case in this episode. The “lack of purpose” is another excellent point. I don’t expect them to ever top the Bolivia special, but even the short TGT “Feed the World” special was fantastic, and the “goal” they set went a long way toward adding interest.

I don’t know what Andy Wilman was thinking when he put this one together. (Then again, I don’t know what anyone was thinking when they killed off the studio segments in favor of 2 specials*. I’d much prefer the usual 1 special+the regular episodes. This special was truly the beginning of the end.)

*I think Amazon was a big influence here, with their data supposedly suggesting most people are fast-forwarding through the studio segments. Maybe I’m just an uber-fan, but I find this extremely hard to believe.

I enjoyed the episode, though I agree it wasn’t the most interesting. I do like the long format. However, what does bug me and what I am seeing more of is their childish antics. Clarkson in particular, acts like a young frat boy who’s never gotten in trouble or had to be responsible for his actions. May and Hamilton are better, but Clarkson comes across as just disrespectful to the people he’s interacting with. That’s the only thing that disappoints me with the GT.

I totally agree with your article! The Team’s best episodes have always been when the adventure felt naturally lighthearted and they were enjoying each other’s company. Is there a rift between the presenters? It has felt to me for a while now that the presenters have drifted apart both figuratively and literally.

It was absolute dribble. They either need to employ new writers from the BBC or give up if that’s all they can muster..I’m a die hard fan of these guys but even I fell asleep watching this.I cannot remember even having a slight smirk never mind a giggle .

No cars No fun

I don’t think the fact that cars were absent really affected anything at all. It was still the boys just messing around, which is what we all love the most. The real problem was that there really wasn’t a…point to their trip? What was the reason for it? Usually when they do these challenges there’s at least a challenge…even if it’s just “Andy Wilman hates boats and doesn’t think you can take one from a to b…prove him wrong” or “Richard Hammond hates boats, therefore we’re going from a to b…in boats.” This time there was nothing, it was just a random drive from random point a to random point b…without much reason as to why. Also, generally they do various challenges throughout the trip that spice it up a bit, this time…nothing. It was just a boat trip from a to b. It just felt kind of…pointless I guess? Not that I didn’t enjoy it. It just ended, and I couldn’t help but thinking “that’s it? What was…the point of that?”

I couldn’t agree more with everything you said. Thank you for articulating the strange feeling I was left with by the end of the episode.

I agree,May looked like he’d rather be elsewhere,it’s the banter between all three I love but it was very thin on the ground

I thought “Seamen” was a pretty good episode. The only negative for me was the dead bird in the egg. I liked Clarkson’s history lessons along the way.

The dead bird in the egg is balut, its a local delicay