Top Gear finally gets its comeuppance

[Malicious Afterthought]

Well how about adding that, no matter who they THINK they are, none of the presenters of Top Gear would last five minutes if their programme was not based on motor journalism.

I'll see you that and raise you the following:

RH's "Should I worry about" and something he did about cjildren's books which was awesome.

JM's stuff about toys and making things out of meccano and so on. Like we do with pushbikes. And ManLab. Which nobody like, except me, it seems.

JC's several documentaries on WWII (Especially the one on Operation Chariot, yes, exactly, the one nobody knows about).

Having quickly read the court documents, I'd say that they've a decent enough defence of their comments so should be OK.

 

[highlandsflyer]

I got my tongue twisted a bit.

I meant that they have been set up in their careers by a motoring show, and that I don't think they would have got where they are if they had tried to be comedians or whatever originally rather than motoring hacks.

I think May is brilliant on his other shows, but I don't think his persona would have been what was required to get those gigs had he not come with the background of being presenter on a highly successful franchise.

Clarkson also does some excellent shows, but again I don't think he would ever have been what they were looking for.

The other one, well he too is good, and I think maybe he would have had no trouble. He is the one with most mainstream appeal.

It is a peculiar niche, motor journalism.

Seems to attract quirky sorts you just wouldn't expect to pop up elsewhere.

James May is probably the one with the most interesting side career, Hammond the one with the pop appeal and Clarkson the one who really needs to work out whether he wants to be a serious journalist or not.

Personally I am waiting to see what changes are forced on them in the next couple of years.

Clarkson needs to remember you are only as ubiquitous as your last viewing figures suggest.

He needs to remember TV executives are not loyal like his two lap dogs.

I can safely assume he does not read this forum.

 

[taffy]

Top gear is a massive revenue generator for the beeb

And i'm pretty sure it's Clarksons company or such that produces TG anyway 9like so many companies they do very little of their own production)

 

[MikeD]

It's all quite complicated:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/au ... arkson.bbc

although I believe that it is actually a BBC production.

 

[Malicious Afterthought]

I wouldn't have written the claim form quite like they did, but that is their job and everyone's a critic nowadays. If I were in their shoes, I would have filed, anyway, as the publicity is good, and the fact that a libel trial gets a jury, who might be sympathetic to the cause. So that's a win. But I might be accused of being somewhat cynical over this matter.

 

[David B]

JM's stuff about toys and making things out of meccano and so on. Like we do with pushbikes. And ManLab. Which nobody like, except me, it seems.

+1 for Man Lab; I really enjoyed it and was pleased to see that Series 2 has been commissioned.

David

 

[tintin40]

the people of this country were doers. The British scientific and industrial revolution invented the modern world that we now take for granted. My heroes are people like Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, James Watt, James Clerk Maxwell, Michael Faraday. These guys devoted their whole lives to improving the world that others lived in -- and they came from the UK.

Clarkson would most certainly agree with you on that. Hence why he wanted Brunel for Greatest Britain a few years back.

 

[highlandsflyer]

Clarkson is not a doer though.

He has pretty much dug his rut and is driving up and down it ad infinitum.

 

[tintin40]

Clarkson is not a doer though.

.

Didn't say he was.

Just that JohnH agrees with Clarkson

 

[highlandsflyer]

I don't remember quoting anyone.