Anybody catch this show on CBS hosted by Robin Leach and Jenson Button? Mostly fluff, but it was at least watchable. I think it's absolutely necessary to expose F1 to as many Americans as possible. A 90 minute show on broadcast TV is a great opportunity - and they blew it big time. It was mostly fluff, which was to be expected, but they noted that F1 really needs a successful American F1 driver before F1 will be successful in the US. So they did a 5 minute segment on a 14 y.o. kid who moved all the way to Italy "chasing his dream" to be an F1 driver, and they only said his name once, and I didn't catch it. Did anyone catch his name? I would love to find more info on this kid, but they didn't once say what the hell he was doing in Italy!!!!!!! He kept saying, "moving to Italy was a step I needed to take" but they never elaborated!!!!!!! Frustrating. And no mention of Scott Speed!
I saw it. The show was embarassing. Silly music, silly interviews, silly content. The 14 y.o is in the BMW program, but I missed his name too. The only worthwhile part was the inside tour of the McLaren facility. Between the USGP and this stupid show, I've wasted 4 hours of my life that I'll never get back. :-(
I think the kid's last name was Crawford. I agree that the music chosen for the show was kind of strange. I also think Mario Andretti gave some false statements regarding the costs of Formula 1 cars. But I think exposure is better than no exposure. It was a welcome suprise to be able to watch a show on F1 on CBS though. I found the show entertaining but like others mentioned didn't really learn anything new.
Considering the bile the media shoves down the throats of Americans (and American's eat up) on a daily basis, I dont know how this show could be considered subpar. There was a bit of something for everyone, the technical, the lifestyle, the up and comers, the glamour, etc. They covered a lot of ground in an hour and a half show. Better than nothing in light of what happened at Indy last week. BHW
My gripe isn't really with the show itself or the idea that they have to "dumb it down and fluff it up" for the US TV audience... My gripe is that they spent 5 minutes talking about a potential US formula one driver, and they gave very little information about what he was actually doing in Italy to advance his career. Also, not mentioning SS was a pretty glaring omission, IMO. (4,000th post. Cool. )
I came away with the impression that we'll be seeing more of these shows and this kid in Italy will be an ongoing story. At the time, I was also thinking what's he doing there to advance his career other than just living there and learning the language? He's got to be in a top line Karting or F-3 type ladder series but they never mentioned it. Shrug. What they kept coming back to was selling the glamour, the lifestyle, the electricity which in itelf wasnt all bad. I'm packaging my magazine along the same lines and believe it will catch on. BHW
I thought it was a good show for the US market. Too bad Indy happened. They need more shows like this one with more driver profiles, all in all at the very least they are showing something. When was the last time you saw Speed TV spend an hour and a half on F1 except for a race, to promote it? Good for CBS, now if they'd only show the post race interviews!
but wait!!..my favorite line "what happens in the grotto...stays in the grotto.." x 15 times yeah..they really did dumb it down for the US audience
In that show, there was a good deal of footage from the Ferraris displayed at Monument Circle in Indy. I even saw yours trulys "Why Red" 328 in the background of one of the shots!
