How to make Top Shot better?

[ny32182]

I could really care less what anyone's day job is; police/etc are not any more committed to attaining great shooting skills because they carry a gun on the job than they are to developing great driving skills because they drive a car on the job.

My "beef" with the show, which I strongly suspected from the start, confirmed after talking to a small handful of prospective contestants, is that the "competition" aspect of it really isn't, for two reasons:

1) They pick contestants from the application pool based 90% on personality and potential to generate the aforementioned drama, with very little or no regard for shooting skills, and

2) The competitions on the actual show are at least 50% crapshoot due to lack of any real time whatsoever to develop familiarity with the equipment: Example: go shoot this rifle in "competition", but since you didn't get to confirm the zero first, it could really be going anywhere. Pick anyone even moderately competent with the rifle, take one shot, and there it is. Basically anyone could "win" based on the amount of uncertainty there is this aspect.

Being viewed from the perspective of actual shooters, this can obviously be frustrating, but that is because we have more intimate knowledge of the topic that can tell us where they are either screwing up or omitting key information from what is being presented. I bet by the same token, fishermen don't like Deadliest Catch and motorcycle builders don't like West Coast Customs, etc. It is just another show for the mass market (those uninformed on the topic). Same plot, rotate subject matter, and you could produce basically any of the reality shows out there. That said I'm glad it is on the mass market and portraying competition with guns in a positive light.

 

[DAP90]

I said this in the other thread but I’d like to see some challenges use the various weapons in historically accurate ways. If it’s not a historical weapon then in a way appropriate for the purpose of the firearm.

1. Volley fire for black powder muzzle loaders (maybe some creative editing to make the load times watchable)
2. Horse archery would be cool (although that would put a additional skill requirement on the shooters)
3. A house clearing challenge (probably a little too dangerous but I’d still like to see it)
4. A real, team based clays challenge. They do a lot of multiple station rifle challenges. I’d like to see the same thing with thrown clays; and make it some tough throws with doubles or even triples and varied presentations.

I like what they’ve done with the challenges for the most part. Sure, they have their failures but all in all they do a good job.

I don’t like the drama but it’s not going away so I’ll live with it. I like what they’ve done with the individual level of this season. Perform well enough and you don’t have to worry about being popular.

My wife wants to see more female shooters that don’t get voted into elimination in the first two episodes.

It might be neat to have a four team military season.

 

[USAF_Vet]

Yes, we should get rid of this show and put more shows about Nazi's or aliens into the time slot. Or, better yet, other history shows that all of about seven other people on the planet watch.

Let's face it, most of the history related shows on History channel are mundane and boring, like the Military channel. A show like Top Shot brings ratings and interest from a demographic that would otherwise have zero interest in the programming.

New series like Top Shot, or more Adolf Hitler reruns from the mid 90's?

 

[1911fan]

Want to make it better?

Change the channel.

Buncha prima donnas with weapons.

Given the state of television currently, I feel sad and sorry for the society in which I live.

ed

 

[Rembrandt]

I quit watching after last seasons shenanigans....don't know if they made improvements or not.

 

[Michael R.]

sorry about that guys... i think i need to think before i act. sorry about that.

 

[Ole Humpback]

DP, thats what I'm getting at. They are repeating way too much and, even though half the shots are hard for most of us, the shooting with modern high powered recoil reducing technology guns is kinda boring. Lets see some pip the ace at 900yds with "iron sights" or hit a moving target from a moving vehicle or fire a 6-bore double rifle from the hip to stop a charge from a simulated animal.

Nearly anyone can laydown prone & with the instruction they are getting hit a stationary target. And most anyone who has any modicome of motor control should be able to stand still and hit an slowly moving target. These guys are already some of the best shooters on Earth, so lets put them to a REAL test.

I'd pay good money to see anyone pull off Billy Dixon's 1758yd shot. He did it with a 50-90 Sharps that had only buckhorn sights.

 

[Panzercat]

Cut the manufactured drama. More shooting.

Top shot puts the 'emo' in 'elimination'. It's not about who is actually the top shot, it's about who can bs their way through to the final rounds. Until they address that, there's no fix. Watching it is a complete waste of time.

 

[Jon Coppenbarger]

I watched the first two seasons and have not or will not watch it again. what a waste of time.

 

[valnar]

Being the only decent gun show/competition on TV, I am compelled to watch it and wade through the drama. Although the actual time allocated to shooting is small over the hour, what they show (with all the slow motion stuff) is pretty cool.

We on this forum only want to see the guns and shooting. My wife, who also watches it, likes the know the shooters. Note: she doesn't like the drama either, but she needs somebody to root for.

A common complaint about good TV vs bad TV, or good movies vs bad movies, is character development. In a scripted drama, if you don't care about the characters, people will not watch it. We are probably the exception because we can care less about the characters, but that matters with the general population. If they don't have someone they want to win, they won't tune in.

 

[Dnaltrop]

All hail the power of the DVR.

Top shot isn't bad as a 12 minute show.

The drama pulls in the people who can't hold their attention on the tech and skills alone, and of the squirming mass of Brain-rot that is available... Well I guess you could consider it the lesser evil.

Top shot nicely leveraged those idiot singing shows out of the wife's DVR recording lists too.

 

[beatledog7]

Record it to watch while you're cleaning a gun or something. FF through all the drama, watch the shooting, (though that too is overly "dramaticized"), and then erase it.

You can watch an entire episode in about 13 minutes that way. So there you go; you just made Top Shot much better.

 

[Bobson]

Get rid of the yelling screaming idiot that hosts/MC's/runs the show.

Even NASCAR doesn't act that unprofessional.

I don't recall ever having seen Colby scream or yell. He speaks loudly so he's heard over the weapons being used, but not unnecessarily so.

To be totally honest, I love the show, and I absolutely hate almost everything on TV. The only thing I'm ever displeased with is some of the competitors; some seem to be downright awful shots, and not only do they make it on the show, they stick around for half the season. That's only the fault of their teammates for not voting them off. The show itself is excellent.

 

[simonm2211]

i like the show. It's one of the few things I bother to DVR. It would be dull without the personalities; like watching golf or horse racing.

More creativity in shooting scenarios and more history on the weapons would be welcome improvements as well as some historical background on their use.

 

[Dr.Rob]

1. No more rocks. Atl Atls, boomerangs, bolas, whatever OK.. just no more rocks.

2. More shooting challenges like the cannonball chase, that contraption was wicked.

Some of these things are designed to take experienced shooters out of thier comfort zone. So running a 3 gun/IDPA/IPSC or other style might be just 'old hat' for many of them.

Still I'd like to see more events 'like' that, shooting and moving, unknown distances, pop up targets.

 

[GigaBuist]

The manufactured suspense between commercials annoys me, but that's mostly because I hate things being drawn out any longer than need be. I realize it makes for good TV though.

I like the host too. He's got a history with Survivor and I think he understands the job well.

The one thing I really liked about seasons 1 and 2 was nobody was a freaking corknozzle in the house. There was always a bit of conflict between people but this season has Jake acting like a nut. I don't know if he's really that way, playing a part he manufactured, or being told to act that way, but I don't like it. If you've got to bleep every other word in a conversation because somebody's acting like a fool then I don't want to watch. I certainly wouldn't want to sit down with a young kid and expose them to that nonsense.

 

[helitack32f1]

Here is an idea, leave it alone and create a new show. That way, those of us who like it as it is and can handle the dreaded "drama" can continue to enjoy it. This way, the new show can show it's stuff by seeing if it draws more viewers than Top Shot. Which it probably would not because inevitably, it would draw less "regular" television viewers.

There have been many shooting shows in the past, where they remain because they catered to shooters above all else. Simply put, just plain old shooting is nearly as boring as watching golf, and yet appeals to far less people. My six year old daughter, my wife and my 63 year old mother all watch Top Shot. I can't imagine many other shooting formats that would have that kind of appeal to such different age groups, not to mention the feminine persuasion.

 

[antiquus]

+1 Drop it and go back to real history. I'm sure the BBC has something they haven't shown yet. Or you could spend a few bucks making voiceovers of Russian, German, Japanese, Chinese, Israeli, Egyptian, or even (gasp) French war documentaries.

+1 on IPSC/USPCA coverage.

Or just replace it with Ozzie and Harriet reruns. More drama that way.

 

[EddieNFL]

Without the drama, it's not a TV show. I like fishing, but I find nothing more boring than watching fishing on TV.

Same with shooting. If you like watching shooting on TV, fine. Not for me.

Fortunately, we're blessed with multiple channels, however, each time I turn on the idiot box it seems there is a new "reality" show on (I've yet to see one that approached real life). They have even invaded Discovery channel.

I get enough drama at work.

 

[ShawnC]

I say a new format. Start with totally green shooters with no experience, then see who takes to the basic fundamentals the best and watch the cream really rise to the top. That would be a challege worth watching, and could even be, dare I say it, educational.
Then make sure they are constantly arguing during the non shooting time so I can decide who I hate most.

 

[Johannes_Paulsen]

Have fewer people who are adolescents in spirit and more actual adults. (Or, at least, quit using the magic of editing to make adults look like adolescents to create a sense of drama where none rightly exist.)

We always watch the show via On Demand...and always fast-forward past the scenes that aren't on the range. It's a great thirty minute show that way.

I also would rather have a situation where the bottom performers are the ones who are up for the elimination challenge.

Just curious...does anyone actually know the demographics of the people who are watching this show?

 

[parsimonious_instead]

I think Hickok45 could make a really funny spoof of Top Shot... goodness knows he has enough land and guns with which to do it.
Or he could make his own more or less serious version - I think he has enough "pull" at this point to get some high-profile shooters out to his place. Might be fun if he handpicked some local folks, too.

But I've noticed A&E, AMC, Bravo, History and Discovery slowly change their mission from "information" to "entertainment" over the course of the last 15 years or so. (Well, at least AMC has Mad Men and Breaking Bad).
It's apparently the result of supposedly "giving the public what they want." Oh well...

 

[jonmerritt]

Put them in full combat gear and drop them in the middle of Pakistan. But with full training so even the civies have somewhat of a chance like the others. The first loss would be the annoying announcer.

 

[parsimonious_instead]

Put them in full combat gear and drop them in the middle of Pakistan. But with full training so even the civies have somewhat of a chance like the others. The first loss would be the annoying announcer.

I'm sure it would be the host of the show... his glistening teeth will give away his position.

 

[sidheshooter]

The way to make top shot better is to leave it alone, but expand the brand into a "top shot camp". For 1500, you can go hang out at the ranch for a week and shoot all those challenges from any season yourself. I've spent more doing worse things.