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TV review: Horrifying crash was first and last bit of reality in new Grand Tour special

The Grand Tour Presents: A Scandi Flick.
The Grand Tour Presents: A Scandi Flick.

There’s a sequence in the new Grand Tour special A Scandi Flick (Amazon Prime) where real life punctures all the scripted silliness and one of the presenters gets involved in a serious car crash.

To avoid spoiling the surprise for you, I won’t say who it is, but the smash looks genuinely dangerous and I’m surprised a broken rib was all he suffered.

The accident was a rare moment of reality in what was otherwise just a sequence of premeditated moments.”

The accident was a rare moment of reality in what was otherwise just a sequence of premeditated moments that were designed and shot to give the illusion of danger and spontaneity without actually being dangerous or spontaneous.

Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May have built their careers on creating road trips that are riddled with cock-ups and chaos, so it was refreshing to witness a moment that wasn’t plotted by producers months ago.

The Grand Tour: A Scandi Flick.

Watching the aftermath – all wobbly cameras, panicked emergency workers and shocked faces on the cast and crew – made the rest of the programme’s hijinks look extra contrived.

The trio’s road trip across the northern reaches of Scandinavia was utterly ravishing to look at – few programmes on TV make our planet look as drop-dead gorgeous as The Grand Tour – but the majority of it was as devoid of life as the wintry wilderness they were driving through.

The crash actually worked against the rest of the show because it made the fake bits stand out a mile.”

The crash, which came 20 minutes in, actually worked against the rest of the show because it made the fake bits stand out a mile.

When James’s car crashed through the ice on a frozen lake and started to sink, I might have thought it was real were it not for the distinct lack of urgency from the crew.

Tedium sets in pretty fast and the only thing that kept me watching was the faintly sadistic yearning to see something go wrong again for real.


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