Top Gear (UK) - General Discussion

[Matt K]

From what I read before today it seemed like May and Hammond weren't interested in continuing without Clarkson (hence it currently being on hiatus). 

 

As for Chris Evans at thought it was talking about the American actor (i.e. Captain America) which seemed odd to me but an interesting prospect.  Sad to see that bubble burst.

[biakbiak]

Trying to replace one of the presenters just seems like the BBC are missing the point about why people watch the show in the first place. No one who is an avid car enthusiast is going to list Top Gear as informative or educational, because it's barely about the cars at all. It's about these three men and their love (and hate) of cars.

Yeah my boyfriend is an avid car enthusiast and he knows nearly everything they talk about before they even mention it including the release and specs of every ridiculous high-end car even if it's only released in the UK. I don't give a crap about a car's, haven't owned one in a decade, more of a hassle in SF than a carshare service, the reason we both enjoy and watch the show is because of the relationship between the three, I sometimes don't watch if one of them is missing.

Yes, it's possible I could like the new person/people but that seems unlikely. Not to say I don't understand the reason he needed to be let go.

[Matt K]

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/03/25/bbc-will-not-renew-jeremy-clarksons-contract

 

This also discusses how May and Hammond were asked to continue without Clarkson but refused.

 

@biakbiak:  I completely agree.  I know very little about cars (heck I drive Clarkson's most hated car, a Prius) but what attracted me to the show was Clarkson, May and Hammond.  It's why I didn't bother with the US version or the Australian version when they had a week of that on BBCA.  

 

As mentioned on the All Episode thread, Clarkson on the show really just comes off as a over the top personality.  I don't agree with his views but I can't take him seriously.  Him being the ass of the group is what works in my opinion.  And while the show should have edited out the problematic remarks he's made, I don't think he should have been on probation over them.  As for this incident, being on probation sounds right.  But everything else seemed like him just saying stupid stuff, which is his role on the show.  

[ennui]

We shall see what happens but there was no way to keep Clarkson. He physically and verbally abused a person. He had to be separated from the conflict. That is simply unacceptable behavior and Clarkson should know it. He is used to getting away with all of his crap and probably figured that he would get away with it again. Perhaps he will learn that if he wants a hot meal and it is not served by catering he can go to a restaurant or order take out instead of hitting someone.

Perhaps a drive-through?  ;) 

Maybe they don't have drive-through fast food outside the US?

[ProfCrash]

I love the show and the chemistry between the presenters. I don't agree with their politics and could care less about the cars. I wonder what the show will look like with a different cast but I don't think that they should have kept Clarkson. His behavior was abusive and it sure felt like there more popular the show was, the more Clarkson was willing to say and do things expecting to get away with them.

 

I don't want to lose the show but there is a real difference between being a political pain in the ass making un PC comments that upset folks and hitting someone and verbally abusing them. I doubt this was the first time he behaved like this but that it was the first time that it became publicly known but that is a gut call.

[Matt K]

I don't want to lose the show but there is a real difference between being a political pain in the ass making un PC comments that upset folks and hitting someone and verbally abusing them. I doubt this was the first time he behaved like this but that it was the first time that it became publicly known but that is a gut call.

See I think that this might be the first time he was actually physically abusive.  Considering how much crap he's gotten over the years I would think something would have come out if this wasn't the first time (that said, I would be surprised if this was the first time he yelled or was mean to staffers).  I agree he should have been punished for this but not necessarily fired for it (as ostensibly a first time offence).

 

The real issue is that BBC made such a big deal over the language issue which honestly who's all that surprised that they said some awful shit.  BBC should have just made sure that stuff didn't get to air.  In the US for broadcast shows there is technically Standards and Practices to prevent this type of stuff from going to air.  If that's the case in the UK as well then that's where the buck should stop for the language issue.

 

The issue is that Top Gear is top rated programing because of Clarkson, May and Hammond so the choice is to either edit the program for language and make it clear that violence is not tolerated again (which since Clarkson seemed apologetic would hopefully be the end of it, they could have also sent him to some Rage control classes) or end the program.  I just don't get why BBC made the language issues the hill they would die on.  Just play it up as Clarkson being a complete ass (which he is) and leave that language on the cutting room floor.  I feel some of what he's said is terrible but if it gets edited out then I don't see the big deal.  Clarkson's whole shtick is that he's an ass who says terrible things.  

[ennui]

I agree he should have been punished for this but not necessarily fired for it (as ostensibly a first time offence).

Perhaps they asked Jeremy to apologize and he refused. Perhaps they offered anger-management rehab and he refused. I doubt we'll ever know all the details.

There's a tweet going around that James May said he quit the show, but it's a fake.

Edited March 25, 2015 by ennui

[Matt K]

Perhaps they asked Jeremy to apologize and he refused. Perhaps they offered anger-management rehab and he refused. I doubt we'll ever know all the details.

As per the article Clarkson apologized, based on what I read it seemed to happen before the BBC took any action. 

[Danny Franks]

No they couldn't really let Jeremy stay, after what's happened (though I do agree that they might not have been in this position at all if the BBC had taken a more responsible attitude to the editing of the show, in the past. This was the final straw, but it needn't have been). But trying to replace him and hope the show still works is completely impossible, in my view.

 

They should just accept that they need to let the show go, rather than desperately trying to keep the viewers while casting aside one of the main reasons those viewers existed. Perhaps they should just comission yet another gritty crime drama, or possibly another toothless piece of period sentimentality to replace Top Gear. Those seem much more in the BBC's wheelhouse than anything that's actually entertaining.

[ProfCrash]

The report also says he was verbally abusive, used racist language, and threatened the mans job. One report I read said that he was so loud a guest of the hotel could hear what was happening in his room.

The n word was not in the show, the clip was leaked to someone. Why they aired the use of the word "slope" in the Burma episode remains a mystery.

His track record for being an ass was simply too long. Adding physical assault to the mix was the kiss of death.

[ennui]

They should just accept that they need to let the show go,

There is far too much money at stake.

[ProfCrash]

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-32062579

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-32067342

 

Yup, BBC is already talking about how Clarkson could return. At least Clarkson is defending the Producer in this mess.

[Danny Franks]

There is far too much money at stake.

 

And they're not going to make it without Clarkson. They knew that already, which is why they let him get away with the things he's got away with. The BBC trying to act like they have principles now is absurd, especially when they're already plotting to somehow keep churning out the show that Clarkson made.

 

Yup, BBC is already talking about how Clarkson could return. At least Clarkson is defending the Producer in this mess.

 

 

And especially not when they're talking like this already.  Like I said, if they want to keep making that money, they need Clarkson. If they can't accept Clarkson, they need to wave goodbye to all that Top Gear cash.

[coppersin]

Tony Hall is receiving death threats.

 

I was fine with the show ending - the current hosts have been around for over a decade, which is more than enough. But now? I hope they do replace Clarkson and I hope the new episodes are a massive hit just to shut people up. And if ratings slide and the show is officially over? That's okay, too. BECAUSE IT'S JUST A TELEVISION SHOW!

 

Honestly, I don't know what's worse: someone threatening Hall and sincerely meaning it, or someone sending such an awful email just because of all the hype that this mess has caused.

Edited March 29, 2015 by coppersin

[Kromm]

[Gentian root]

The Stig has withheld comment.

[Kromm]

The Stig has withheld comment.

I think perhaps they could have popped a Stig helmet on Clarkson and had him present the show that way.  Problem solved!

[Fukui San]

Some say he's killed a man for serving him underheated huevos rancheros...

[Danny Franks]

I've been watching a few old episodes of the show over the past few days, and I have to say that it sadly feels like the end of an era in television. The show may continue, but I won't be watching, because the chemistry between the three guys, their obvious friendship and common passions, were what made the show work. It wasn't just three funny people driving around and doing idiotic stuff, it was those three funny people driving around and doing idiotic stuff, together.

 

I wish Jeremy hadn't been such a buffoon, and I wish the BBC had tightened the leash long before this. But also, I wish Netflix would leap on this chance and stick every season of the show up for viewing. And I also find it more than a little hypocritical that BBC iPlayer still has several episodes available to watch.

[Popples]

Looks like the three new hosts have been chosen. I don't have high hopes for this.

[ProfCrash]

Well, that looks interesting

[Danny Franks]

Looks like the three new hosts have been chosen. I don't have high hopes for this.

 

They're calling it a "dream team" and all I'm hearing in my head is Inigo Montoya.

 

Jodie Kidd is alright, funnier than you'd expect for a former model (that's not a knock on models, just that she made her name by being attractive and not saying anything, rather than by actually presenting and interacting with people), but she's not exactly appointment viewing. Guy Martin is a sound guy, and I've enjoyed his shows, but he's got completely the wrong energy for the show that was Top Gear. He's too laid-back and affable.

 

And Philip Glenister is... Philip Glenister. He's alright, but the only stuff I've ever watched with him in is because it had other people in it that I actually liked.

 

They're going to have to completely reformat the show, because these three people have no hope in hell of replicating what it was. Still, I'll pass, I'll just wait for whatever project Clarkson, May and Hammond come up with next instead.

[emma675]

 

Still, I'll pass, I'll just wait for whatever project Clarkson, May and Hammond come up with next instead.

This is how I feel. I wish the new hosts well, but it will not be "Top Gear" imo and I won't be tuning in.

[Quilt Fairy]

Still, I'll pass, I'll just wait for whatever project Clarkson, May and Hammond come up with next instead.

Don't forget the churlish behavior that got Clarkson fired in the first place. I won't be watching anything he's connected with.

[Danny Franks]

Don't forget the churlish behavior that got Clarkson fired in the first place. I won't be watching anything he's connected with.

 

I don't forget it, I just don't particularly care. He's a big, coarse oaf, and it's been well known for a long time. But personally, I found his explanation about the various factors that contributed to him losing his temper in that fashion plausible and understandable (his marriage collapsing, his mother dying, the fear of a possible cancer diagnosis). As Grace Dent put it in The Independent, "violent outbursts are so rarely about one human being simply adoring the feeling of hitting another".

 

At the end of the day, I want to be entertained in those hours where I'm not worrying about life, and Clarkson entertains me.

Edited May 8, 2015 by Danny Franks

[Popples]

The BBC will be airing the already filmed footage in a Series 22 wrap-up special. No date given, but they released a trailer.

 

[Danny Franks]

Watching that just makes me wish anew that the three guys would get a deal sorted with Netflix (not Sky or ITV, because I don't do adverts) to produce a show that is basically the same as Top Gear, but with a new name. They could cut the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car segments, and probably the actual car review segments, and I'd still be more than happy.

 

The best episodes were always the ones where they had to buy or modify cars themselves, or when they went off on roadtrips. Focus on that stuff, and they'd make Netflix a fortune.

[emma675]

I hope BBC America has plans to pick up the wrap up special. I want some kind of closure, to be honest.

[halopub]

The BBC has confirmed that Jeremy recently recorded voiceovers for the special. They've yet to announce a UK broadcast date but I'd be very surprised if BBC Worldwide didn't let BBC America broadcast it as a 'make good' for the original season rights they had contracted. I can't imagine the DVD special that was substituted in for the last two planned episodes got them comparable ratings.

 

No matter what happens with the BBC iteration of Top Gear, I hope the show uses hosts who can write. Jeremy may be an oaf, but he's also a talented wordsmith who can pull together all sorts of references that shouldn't work but do.

[Writing Wrongs]

Jeremy is replaced by BBC radio host Chris Evans:

https://www.yahoo.com/autos/this-is-the-new-host-of-top-gear-meet-chris-121694230212.html

[Danny Franks]

Chris Evans is terrible. You want a show presented by a shrill, bland non-entity? Here it is. Just thinking of his reedy voice trying to be heard over the Top Gear studio audience is making me laugh. They'll have to completely reformat the show.

 

Meanwhile, I was watching Top Gear's Perfect Road Trip on Netflix today, with Jeremy and Richard (no James, because they said their perfect road trip meant removing all annoyances). It just reiterated how funny these guys are, how the show has never really been about the cars, and how much fun they have together. That's why I'll be tuning in to their new show, whatever it is and whenever it surfaces.

Edited June 16, 2015 by Danny Franks

[halopub]

Meh. I'm not a fan either but I guess it was a predictable choice. I'm going to have to relisten to his recent radio interview with Jeremy.

 

Can we have the other Chris Evans?

[ProfCrash]

OK, Who is going to try out for Top Gear?

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-33174026

[halopub]

With everything that's happened today, I missed this TV headline until now...the final episode with May, Hammond & Clarkson airs in Britain on Sunday. I don't know when BBC America gets it. Their Monday schedule still consists of Season 22, 13 and 19 episodes.

 

Vulture is marking the moment with a fun clickbait quiz of Top Gear trivia, which is actually the first time I heard about the episode finally airing.

 

In the British tabloid rumor mill, Evans allegedly has been scoffing at Clarkson's claims that a BBC executive asked him to return, with media personality Carol Vorderman backing up Jeremy.

[b2H]

Well, he's [Clarkson] not going.  Neither are May or Hammond.

 

The Stig, however, may be another story.

[Actionmage]

I hope not. The Stig is sort of a fourth Beatle/ Musketeer. The Beeb may own the intellectual rights ( idk), but  The Stig without the trio would feel...wrong?

[proserpina65]

With everything that's happened today, I missed this TV headline until now...the final episode with May, Hammond & Clarkson airs in Britain on Sunday. I don't know when BBC America gets it.

 

They ran it last night.  It had a very incomplete feel, for obvious reasons, and was a sad ending to a terrific show.  I know the producers intend for the show to go on, but that was my last ever new episode, because without Jezza, Captain Slow and the Hamster, it won't be worth watching.

 

Sayonara, Top Gear.

[b2H]

We recorded it last night too, but the guide says it was first run at the end of June. How did we all miss the initial run???

[Gentian root]

I agree with proserpina above.  Very brief studio moments with May and Hammond, both looking like they'd rather be anywhere else.

I'm curious as to which if any of the segments shown was the one where the "incident" occurrred.

[proserpina65]

We recorded it last night too, but the guide says it was first run at the end of June. How did we all miss the initial run???

That  may refer to when it ran in the UK?  I don't think BBC America had run it before.

[b2H]

Watched it on DVR last night. Hysterical as always, but very, very final.

[b2H]

They're ba-ack!!!!!

 

http://www.theverge.com/2015/7/30/9072361/top-gear-amazon-new-show

 

Starting in 2016.  Now all I have to do is figure out how to get this streaming nonsense at home.

[Sharpie66]

I do enough ordering from Amazon that the $99 investment for Prime is well worth the money for me. I like the video content it gives me as well, so I'll be using it for some more Top-Gear-like programming.

[emma675]

I guess this is the best place to put this. I finally watched the last episode this weekend--I had been saving it and hadn't been ready to watch it until now (I guess I feel better now that the boys have an Amazon deal).

 

It was equal parts sad and hysterically funny. The in-studio stuff was highly uncomfortable--James did his hardest to be upbeat (in the world's ugliest jacket) but you could literally see on Richard's face that he wanted to be anywhere in the world other than there. But the challenges were just classic Top Gear and I laughed until I cried at the SUV/caravan challenge. James falling face first into the mud about did me in, too. I'll be saving this episode to my dvr.

 

I'll miss this show.

[Athena]

While this is not Top Gear news, there has been some information released about the Amazon Prime show. Digital Spy is reporting that it officially there is still no name but "Gear Knobs" is the rumored. Amazon has commissioned three series/seasons of 12 episodes each and each series will not be dropped all at once. They are doing a weekly episode release. No word on when the show will premiere, but the filming began last autumn.

 

Budget: Top Gear is one of the BBC's most expensive shows. Amazon has given the new show a budget of £160 million which is about  £4.5m to spend per episode or almost $6.5 million USD. This means it's on par with the average episode of Game of Thrones and makes this new show one of the most expensive UK shows ever. The article said that Netflix were not interested primarily because of how expensive it would be. Clearly, this will be one of Amazon Prime's flagship shows. It has some decent shows now, but it does not have the streaming market share that Netlix has.

 

When the show has an official title, we can request a new show forum.

 

Back to Top gear itself, they are allegedly auditioning co-hosts now.

[BetterButter]

Matt LeBlanc will be one of the new 'Top Gear' presenters

[Popples]

Matt LeBlanc will be one of the new 'Top Gear' presenters

 

Maybe that explains why he keeps hosting all the "Top Gear Races" episodes on BBC America. This is completely shocking, but I still don't know if I'll watch.

Edited February 4, 2016 by Popples

[Danny Franks]

This might give you a reason to watch.. https://www.carkeys.co.uk/news/seven-reasons-matt-leblanc-will-be-the-perfect-top-gear-host?76542rH

 

I do like Matt LeBlanc a lot, and this did give me pause for a moment. But then I remembered the other host is Chris Evans, who I find utterly unwatchable. Shame, really.

 

I'll wait for Gear Knobs, or whatever the guys end up calling their show on Amazon Prime.

[Ailianna]

I think it's funny the British press I've seen on this keeps referring to Matt as the star of Friends and Joey, and omitting entirely Episodes, which is not only still actually airing and producing episodes--but which is filmed mostly in England and is a British production co-producing with Showtime.

[Popples]

I was intrigued by Matt LeBlanc and I like Sabine Schmitz, but that's a lot of people to hope they all hit it off and make it work. I know Clarkson is a complete ass, but you can't deny the chemistry among him, Hammond, and May.