James May: Notre Homme...

(Flash Review)

It makes sense that between Clarkson and Hammond that James May would be the one to explore Japan from a cultural perspective. Over six episodes and across each island, May explores several cultural activities from artistic to food & drink to Japanese heritage to local manufacturing to picturesque nature to the bizarre. The spectrum goes from simple and cheap restaurants to luxury train rides. His dry wit and quirky charm is entertaining for the duration and he really exposes the viewer to a wide array of what Japan has to offer. A solid combo of information and amusement.

The show is good overall, but it's let down by half-heartedly squatting between two schools of thought aboht what it wants to be and it suffers greatly for it. I want to watch James May spend hours excitedly explaining intricate processes in detail, admiring the delicate craftmanship of woodworking and the technical complexities of engineering; there is a bit of that, but far too often in this series this is cut short - seemingly on the (spurious) assumption that people would rather see James May being forced to perform ridiculous antics and laugh at him he complains about it. Please, drop this for the next series; it's not smart, it's not funny, and it's a waste of James May's talent as a presenter. We get enough bullying of him on The Grand Tour - let him explore things he's passionate about and share them with us. Too much focus on these antics has left the show felt rushed overall - it could have done with another few episodes and much longer segments of the interesting bits.

Despite some occasional indulgences (banter with the crew, sometimes unnecessary), it's a great travelogue. James May brings to it his trademark humour and the odd highbrow reference; his enthusiasm shines through and he's generally a genial, entertaining host. Sometimes I wish he unleashed his geekiness totally unchecked, which doesn't happen here -- however it remains a brilliant show, informative and entertaining, with many laugh-out-loud moments.

Producers and directors are looking too much for 'funny' awkward situations to put James in. Interesting places like the rocket factory and particle collider have only 5-10 minutes of screen time. Italy is known for for its rich history, food, art, exotic cars and science. But no, James has to visit someone who likes to dress up like a Hobbit...

The episodes (especially episode 3) are FILLED with a lot of activities that have 10 -15 minutes of screen time. This makes it a bit dull and without any memorable events. We have already seen that a healthy balance between funny situations and serious activities can be achieved, with the previous season in Japan!

Such a fun new mini series by the one and only James May. Very informative as well just with a lot of James May souse which I love.

Amazon really struck gold by getting Jeremy, Richard ( who will also have their own shows ) and James on board. They are the only reason I subscribed.