Channel 10 - Please Noooooooooooo !

[Buckshot]

I am so glad the CART series is back under way - even though we have roughly a month until Round 2.

I am however extremely disappointed with Channel 10 for changing the commentary team this year. What happened to those 2 American blokes – you know the guys with a clue ?

If I’m not mistaken the babbling and incoherent Jeremy Shaw and his equally incompetent side kick commentate for the European coverage of this series as I think they are the team used on Optusvision.

Channel 10, please, please, please bring back the American commentary for what I feel is the greatest open wheeler series in the world. This new team are really letting the coverage down. Cut to Jeremy before the races for his forecast or opinion or whatever but then please shut him off.

Were any other Aussies miffed about this ?

Cheers Buck.

[Crash Test]

I don't care what Liz says... but Jeremy and the other blokey bore me to tears, Jeremy is a much better writer than a commentator. Then again, he doesn't like Paul, so im not going to hold that against him .

Paul Page and Parker may say "Michael Andretti" a few times, but they have much more exciting tones to their voices, they get really excited, and I'm sure they did a better job at Mexico than the other guys.... there were some cars there with new paint jobs, and we weren't told for a long time who they were..

[Greg Cummins]

Couldn't agree more Buckshot!

If I wanted to hear a bumbling englishman commentating on motorsport, I'd watch a Formula One race.

Channel 10! Bring back the US commentators...please!

[marcus]

I agree that the pommie commentators are not that good..i watched them on every race last year on ESPN instead of channel 10's delayed coverage..now having watched channel 10's coverage this year I was amazed at seeing these guys commentating..I like paul Page and Parker Johnstone and think channel 10 should go back to them or get cromley over there to commentate.

Crommley and Martin Brundle would make a great paring i believe

[Buckshot]

We should all write to Channel 10 about this - maybe if enough of us squawk about it they will change it back ?

[mtpanorama]

I agree with everyone else. Get rid of them , they are so boring.
Buckshot,
Why dont you email this page to chanel 10 and maybe we might get a response
mtpanorama

[Ray Bell]

Channel Ten has usually had to cop whatever commentators come with their feed, and often the Page/Johnstone combo have not been a part of it... was this not just one of those events?

I missed it altogether, unfortunately... got to get my VCR organised soon...

[Buckshot]

I've only been watching the Indy Cars seriously for 2 years now but other than the Indy Gold Coast rounds of 1999 and 2000 I can't recall any other commentators.

I can't tell you how much I hope the yank commentators are back for the next round.

[Crash Test]

Johnstone and Page are commentating at all of the rounds.... did you notice that the Poms were commentating straight over their pit commentary etc? Why they cant take the septic feed in the first place is a bit of a curly one...

[marcus]

I dont know what American network Paul page and Parker Johnstone are on but the brittish guys are from the ESPN network..as i said above I have ESPN on cable Tv and watched these guys all year ...I am only guessing here but maybe they (channel 10) are getting the ESPN coverage straight off Pay Tv for a cheaper price then what the other network (ABC I think ??) are asking and therefore have gone for the cheaper option..but why the ESPN network steal the pit interviews I have no idea..all i can saw is thats what they did all year last year and it gets really annoying when you dont here what the interviewer has asked the driver/team manager.

[Buckshot]

Well they are still doing it to us with these jibbering parrots commentating (or a poor imitation of commentating anyway...)

Monday night their incessant squawking was so bad my friend and I turned the volume off completely while we watched it.

RPM have a new website where they can allegedly be emailed direct. All Aussie CART fans let them know we want the US commentary team back for 2001 !

The email address is :

tv@rpmlive.tv

Cheers Buck.

[Jay]

I prefer the Eurosport Brit commentators to Paul Page and Parker Johnstone. I don't mind the sound of Parker's voice, but Paul Page sounds like a sick pig.

Jeremy can sound excited without sounding stupid. Plus, unlike Paul and Parker, they do not drone on about Michael Andretti, even when he has already retired. I understand that Paul and Parker will inevitably provide and American bias, but they give you the idea that the Cart series consists Michael Andretti vs the world.

While I'll admit that Jeremy Shaw is no Murray Walker, he by no means bores to tears. Although I have never read his comments, he generally gives an unbiased TV commentator (unlike Murray or the American commentators), while sounding excited enough to keep you interested when away from the TV, but not sounding fake, like Paul Page.

[Crash Test]

You Canadian's are all the same

If you wanted to sit there and listen for pro-Mikey comments, of course that's all you are going to hear. Shaw is very anti-Paul. I have last year's Gold Coast race on tape where Shaw was commentating, and the way he summed up the situation was golden... and really didn't show Our Paul off in a very good light..

[Greg Cummins]

Having seen both commentary teams at work, my main criticism of the British duo would be that they just don't know when to shut up and let us see the race. Watching Page/Johnstone last year, some of the most satisfying moments of the coverage were when they would go to an onboard shot and turn the mics off. Great stuff!!

I can't say i really ever picked up obvious bias towards Andretti but i wasn't really keeping tabs. Although, I'd rather hear about Andretti than the fact that the steel works at the Mexican track provided the steel for the Golden Gate Bridge. Sometimes the Brits struggle for relevance, where as i found the U.S. guys pretty insightful and their comments about news off the track to be on the ball.

I have no problem with Jeremy's articles, he's a good writer, just keep that microphone away from him.

[Buckshot]

Just got a reply in my Email from Channel 10 today:

"Thanks for your email. We appreciate your comments.

Ten has a number of agreements with broadcasters in the US. Jeremy Shaw is pat of the Network Ten team and will continue from time to time to call the US races, on his way to joining the Ten team at the Honda Indy 300.

Currently we are now airing the ABC version and will continue to do so for the next few rounds.

Thanks for watching.

Producer"

So hopefully this means we are going back to the American commentary for a few rounds.

[Crash Test]

Yeee haaa!

At Nazareth they did turn it into a bit of a snooze, with such an exciting finish I don't think they were as enthusiastic as they should have been..."Don't worry about Dixon, he'll have to pit to take on more fuel or else he wont make it to the finish"....

[mac]

What is doing!?

These two Poms are terrible. They have no idea what is going on during a race and continuously say stupid things.

Page and Johnstone are much better. (Page gets excited and Johnstone has actually driven the cars on most of the circuits).

I'm sure the Poms are nice blokes, but frankly they suck as commentators.

PS. I think its got something to do with the very unhealthy relationship that Channel 10 has forged with Jeremy Shaw over the last couple of Gold Coast races.