ExRes
Established Member
Sounds as though you are qualified to take over Top Gear yourself ........
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Jeremy Clarkson and the future of Top Gear
- Thread starter Xenophon PCDGS
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Sounds as though you are qualified to take over Top Gear yourself ........
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What could possibly go wrong?
ExRes
Established Member
Seacook
Member
If Clarkson's only appearances were on Top Gear (a programme I avoid anyway) and nothing else, it would not matter to me but he pops up on things like HIGNFY and QI. Only Giles Brandreth is a bigger guarantee of a duff episode.
Another day another rumor about who will replace Clarkson
Indeed I completely agree with this . I dont like Great British Bake off or the spin of dancing and dancing on Ice shows . But I do not complain about there presence I simply do not watch them . I respect that some people do like them and so the BBC have just as much a right to produce and broadcast these programs .
Indeed I completely agree with this . I dont like Great British Bake off or the spin of dancing and dancing on Ice shows . But I do not complain about there presence I simply do not watch them . I respect that some people do like them and so the BBC have just as much a right to produce and broadcast these programs .
Tetchytyke
Veteran Member
To an extent, yeah, although it didn't really work with Vicki Butler-Henderson on Fifth Gear.
I honestly think the current Top Gear format was starting to reach the end of its natural life, and it won't do Clarkson and the two Diet Clarksons any harm at all to leave like this.
Fifth gear was never really going to work. I didn't mind her on it but the whole format just looked a very poor rip off of Top gear
I may well be but being on screen isn't for me.
I won't disagree, there's certainly truth in that. It's not, however, anything like close to sufficient to create a high chance of maintaining Top Gear's incredible worldwide status in the medium to long term. You could search out the 3 most alluring women in the world (who could also talk competently about cars), and give them the show, it doesn't matter. There would likely be some short term success, but the novelty would wear off rapidly for many, unless you got extremely lucky and happened to create a perfect combination of talent to create the "must watch" chemistry again. The same goes for the 3 funniest and most liked "car nut" blokes.
Top Gear with Clarkson, Hammond, and May (and previously less known widely, but equally important, Wilman) truly was one of those unique situations where they managed to create something far beyond normal expectations. I've been a Top Gear fan since the 1970s, and a big fan of Clarkson's (and Wilman's) new Top Gear, can genuinely say I've probably seen every episode since sometime in the 1970s. I don't fully understand it, and find it hard to comprehend just how successful Top Gear became.
5th Gear wasn't really a rip off of Top Gear, it was a direct continuation of original Top Gear, and they made no effort to hide it. The original Top Gear people (minus Clarkson) decided that their show was not dead, despite the BBC basically having cancelled it. They took themselves and the format over to channel 5, literally everything other than the name. It got a minor refresh at the time, but nothing that major, and has evolved slowly and simply over the years since then.
It's not a bad show at all, but despite watching and enjoying it since the 1970s, I never really became a big fan of 5th Gear (I don't dislike it, it just failed to become "must watch" for me, in the long term). I like Vicky, Tiff, and various others, past and present, on 5th Gear, but the days of the old mostly factual motoring show are pretty much long gone. I am kinda glad that original Top Gear is still trundling along in the form of 5th Gear.
It's very hard to say. It was floating very high, somewhere around peak success. Just how long it could have stayed up there is impossible to predict. It's quite conceivable that the combined talents of Clarkson, Hammond, May, and Wilman could have kept it fresh and riding the peak of the success wave for a while longer. I do agree, quite strongly, that it's better for the 4 of them to leave while it's strong, before it starts to look tired and become a "used to be", although a slightly more orderly exit might have been preferable. Ending on the "bombshell" of the most expensive punch " in the world", combined with the most expensive steak dinner " in the world", is far from the worst way it could have ended. (And no, I'm not condoning the punch, it's still wrong.)
It's going to be very interesting to see what the 4 of them do next, and just how successful it is. They have all made enough out of it to comfortably retire or semi-retire, if they want to, and it sounds like they might have been contemplating retiring from Top Gear before too long anyway. I don't think for one minute that we've seen the last of Clarkson, Hammond, and May on screen (and Wilman behind the scenes), but right now it's pretty much 50:50 to me whether they will aim big or small in the immediate future.
scott118
Member
TV and radio presenter Chris Evans will be the new Top Gear presenter, the BBC has announced.
Evans said he was "thrilled" to get the job, describing the motoring show as his "favourite programme of all time".
"I promise I will do everything I possibly can to respect what has gone on before and take the show forward," he added.
He will replace Jeremy Clarkson, who was sacked after punching a producer while on location.
Evans, a car enthusiast, has signed a three-year deal to lead an all-new Top Gear line-up.
He said the programme was "created by a host of brilliant minds who love cars and understand how to make the massively complicated come across as fun, devil-may-care and effortless".
"When in fact of course, it's anything but and that's the genius of Top Gear's global success," he added.
Controller of BBC Two and BBC Four Kim Shillinglaw said: "I am so delighted that Chris will be presenting the next series of Top Gear.
"His knowledge of and passion for cars are well-known and combined with his sheer inventiveness and cheeky unpredictability, he is the perfect choice to take our much-loved show into the future.
"Chris is a huge fan of Top Gear and has great respect for the craft and work ethic of one of the best production teams in the world.
"He knows the phenomenal attention to detail it takes to make a single sequence of Top Gear, let alone a whole series. He is already full of brilliant ideas and I can't wait for him to get started."
Production on the new series of Top Gear will start in the next few weeks and more information will be announced in due course
Kite159
Veteran Member
I think one of the last Clarkson episodes goes out on air on the 28th June.
Will be interesting to see who the other presenters will be
Will be interesting to see who the other presenters will be
ExRes
Established Member
Sadly I will never know, anything containing Chris Evans will never be screened or listened to in my house so, farewell Top Gear
HilversumNS
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TheNewNo2
Member
I do wish there had been a planned end. I wanted to see Clarkson, Hammond and May set times in the Liana.
Absolutely nothing stopping them coming back is the 'Star In A Reasonably Priced Car'.
In fact, I'd wager a little bit on it happening.
swj99
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Maybe there could be a Top Gear 3.0 vs House of Cars (rumoured name of the Netflix continuation of Top Gear 2.0) challenge like Top Gear 2.0 had with the presenters of D Motor and then Top Gear Australia.
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Xenophon PCDGS
Veteran Member
One can only but hope that the script of "House of Cars" does not become inadvertently mixed up with the original script version of "House of Cards" with the presenter being no other than Francis Ewan Urquhart...:roll:
Butts
Veteran Member
Top Gear is not like Doctor Who where the star simply regenerates .....
However if the format is altered it may be acceptable to have a new line up of presenters with Evans to the fore.
For all his irreverence and ill advised expostulations and actions Clarkson was Top Gear
However if the format is altered it may be acceptable to have a new line up of presenters with Evans to the fore.
For all his irreverence and ill advised expostulations and actions Clarkson was Top Gear
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
While I'm not a big Evans fan I'll give it a chance, but I'm not overly optimistic.
I can't abide Chris Evans, so I'm another one who won't be watching. His appeal has always been a mystery to me. I tried to like him by going to a recording of his Friday TV show in Hammersmith in 1995, but he was no more entertaining in the flesh as far as I was concerned!
For all his irreverence and ill advised expostulations and actions Clarkson was Top Gear
You are right about new format/New host and I much preferred the Tiff/Quentin/Jeremy combo than Clarkson/Hammond/May
To me Clarkson becoming the main host and the current format of the show is what turned me off Top Gear
I have no specific issue with Chris Evans and I am not a big fan by any means. He is a good choice because of his love of cars. I used to watch the show for the cars and to gain a little insight when looking to buy.
My hope is a more consumer driven show than one of entertainment and celebrity. A new format as been a long time coming tbh.
For me its a positive change and I'll be open minded when it hits my tellybox.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Would that not be Fifth Gear though? Not that the BBC can't try something similar, but Top Gear hasn't been that for many years.
Yes, as a Top Gear fan from the 1970s, and a Clarkson fan since he joined TG in the 1980s, I'm not anywhere close to convinced that Evans will secure the future of the show. I'm not against Evans as such, but I've never really thought much of him on screen. He does have the "car nut" credentials for it, but that's one tiny part of the overall picture. He doesn't cause me to think that the show is going to be a guaranteed flop (unlike some of the names floated for the role), but equally does not give me any real confidence of success.
As I see it, appointing Evans only gives a possible maximum 20% of the required solution (and it's unclear just how much of that possible 20% he will actually provide). There's still 40% required from 2 other presenters, and 40% from 2 executive producer / creative genius roles (Clarkson being critical to both on and off screen roles). Beyond that, as I explained in an earlier post, you actually need those 5 roles to somehow add up to around 125150% via exceptional chemistry, if you are to have any hope of continuing the success of the show. If you only hit 100% (and even that isn't going to be easy), it may well very rapidly shrink back to pre-Clarkson viewer numbers, i.e. losing the phenomenal world record appeal that it had.
I'm very likely to watch at least the first couple of episodes of TG 3.0, but am still far from convinced that it has a long term future anywhere close to the level of success it enjoyed for so long. As I've said many times before, we were not tuning in to "BBC Top Gear", after TG 2.0 found its stride, it was "Clarkson, Hammond, and May", no matter what the TV guide called it or what the opening titles called it.
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That's Top Gear 1.0, and continues to be adequately represented by the real TG 1.0 in its current 5th Gear form. They could certainly do that again, but you can forget the show being the huge international success that TG 2.0 was, and you can forget it providing a huge financial contribution to the running costs of the BBC.
If they wanted to go down that road, Evans may well be the wrong choice, as he's probably quite expensive. The better choice for a re-launch of TG 1.0 would be Tiff, Vicky, and Quentin, and you can get whoever looks bored in the BBC canteen to produce it.
As I see it, appointing Evans only gives a possible maximum 20% of the required solution (and it's unclear just how much of that possible 20% he will actually provide). There's still 40% required from 2 other presenters, and 40% from 2 executive producer / creative genius roles (Clarkson being critical to both on and off screen roles). Beyond that, as I explained in an earlier post, you actually need those 5 roles to somehow add up to around 125150% via exceptional chemistry, if you are to have any hope of continuing the success of the show. If you only hit 100% (and even that isn't going to be easy), it may well very rapidly shrink back to pre-Clarkson viewer numbers, i.e. losing the phenomenal world record appeal that it had.
I'm very likely to watch at least the first couple of episodes of TG 3.0, but am still far from convinced that it has a long term future anywhere close to the level of success it enjoyed for so long. As I've said many times before, we were not tuning in to "BBC Top Gear", after TG 2.0 found its stride, it was "Clarkson, Hammond, and May", no matter what the TV guide called it or what the opening titles called it.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
That's Top Gear 1.0, and continues to be adequately represented by the real TG 1.0 in its current 5th Gear form. They could certainly do that again, but you can forget the show being the huge international success that TG 2.0 was, and you can forget it providing a huge financial contribution to the running costs of the BBC.
If they wanted to go down that road, Evans may well be the wrong choice, as he's probably quite expensive. The better choice for a re-launch of TG 1.0 would be Tiff, Vicky, and Quentin, and you can get whoever looks bored in the BBC canteen to produce it.
Xenophon PCDGS
Veteran Member
Whlist the matter is being discussed in depth and at length upon this website, it will not make one iota of difference to the BBC, who, in their minds, are the ones who know best what is good for their viewers, despite it being the licence fee totals paid by the viewers being a most important financial input into the BBC.
How many times has a senior personage from a department of the BBC appeared in person of "Points of View" to pretend to have seriously listened to viewers complaints before appearing and then giving forth "the Gospel according to the BBC" in response to such complaints.
"Nanny know best syndrome" is still as alive as ever it ever has been on the BBC despite all the pious platitudes issued by the BBC Trust. This is what now occurs when the infamous "Bargain Hunt" is their mid-day "flagship programme" not only on Monday to Friday, but also at the same time on an early Saturday afternoon, when the "Grandstand" sports programme used to be de rigeur...:roll:
How many times has a senior personage from a department of the BBC appeared in person of "Points of View" to pretend to have seriously listened to viewers complaints before appearing and then giving forth "the Gospel according to the BBC" in response to such complaints.
"Nanny know best syndrome" is still as alive as ever it ever has been on the BBC despite all the pious platitudes issued by the BBC Trust. This is what now occurs when the infamous "Bargain Hunt" is their mid-day "flagship programme" not only on Monday to Friday, but also at the same time on an early Saturday afternoon, when the "Grandstand" sports programme used to be de rigeur...:roll:
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EssexGonzo
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Evans could be just what Top Gear needs. With a few exceptions, most programmes he headlines in have always had his personality stamped all over them and I see it as a good thing that he'll seek to do that with TG rather than try to breathe life into the same old ageing format.
He's a bit of a marmite character, but I was a great fan of Big Breakfast, TFI etc and like his energy and non-conformist approach. That's he's grown up slightly but can still be a bit cheeky is a good thing too.
The co-presenters will be crucial, though and absolutely have to include one or more women in my view.
I'll give it a go when it comes back.
Oh, by the way, the Beeb is still the best broadcaster in the world. If you want rid of it, be careful what you wish for. By and large, the alternatives are appalling.
He's a bit of a marmite character, but I was a great fan of Big Breakfast, TFI etc and like his energy and non-conformist approach. That's he's grown up slightly but can still be a bit cheeky is a good thing too.
The co-presenters will be crucial, though and absolutely have to include one or more women in my view.
I'll give it a go when it comes back.
Oh, by the way, the Beeb is still the best broadcaster in the world. If you want rid of it, be careful what you wish for. By and large, the alternatives are appalling.
northwichcat
Veteran Member
Sounds like it's going to be 3 new presenters for Top Gear with the expectation that they'll be 1 other new male presenter and 1 new female presenter.
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