Jeremy Clarkson fired

[oldbike54]

 So MGM, it was the BBC's fault that this guy got drunk and acted like a dick ? Interesting concept that  ::)

  Dusty

[Aaron D.]

The show was a bunch of staged nonsense. I'm surprised anyone cares.

[drw916]

I agree with Kev M.  The whole point of the show was the chemistry between the three.  If you every saw the US version, you would see what happens without the chemistry.  Without JC, a lot of that is lost.

Staged?  Sure.

Entertaining?  Absolutely.

[motoguzziman]

So MGM, it was the BBC's fault that this guy got drunk and acted like a dick ? Interesting concept that  ::)

  Dusty

No, He always acts like that, but this time, it is "Convenient" for the BBC to fire one of its best earners !
So they can use the distraction, to gain time , to come up with excuses for their  covering up of child abuse through decades.
Guess You are not aware of  current  hot news in the UK ?
Apart from the German Plane Crash, that is !
Heck, Just a few days ago, it was revealed that Margaret Thatcher, was made aware of Cyril Smith's actions, Yet she went ahead and Knighted him anyway !  Big ongoing panic among the involved over here !

[gsf12man]

The show was a bunch of staged nonsense. I'm surprised anyone cares.

 ::) ::) ::) ::) ::)

[oldbike54]

No, He always acts like that, but this time, it is "Convenient" for the BBC to fire one of its best earners !
So they can use the distraction, to gain time , to come up with excuses for their  covering up of child abuse through decades.
Guess You are not aware of  current  news in the UK.

 Most everyone knew about the children's show host that apparently had done some awful stuff . Not sure what that has to do with the folks running the BBC now, wasn't most of that 30 years or more back . Not apologizing for what happened then , but is there anyone associated with the BBC now that was around then , and wasn't it their news division that broke the story ?

  Dusty

[beetle]

Good riddance. He was an arse-hat.

[RickTReloaded]

I heard he is possibly colaborating with Netflix on an original series.  He'll be back...

[motoguzziman]

Most everyone knew about the children's show host that apparently had done some awful stuff . Not sure what that has to do with the folks running the BBC now, wasn't most of that 30 years or more back . Not apologizing for what happened then , but is there anyone associated with the BBC now that was around then , and wasn't it their news division that broke the story ?

  Dusty

NO ! The Guardian newspaper & the BBC were the very last of the UK media, to get involved with the story.
 Only due to public Pressure !
From memory, the initial story was in the Daily Mail, or perhaps the Express.
Yes there are still people in the BBC & Whitehall, who were involved.
But as said, the Security Services  are shutting down the investigation & reporting !
So any diversion is grasped with both hands.

[oldbike54]

NO ! The Guardian newspaper & the BBC were the very last of the UK media, to get involved with the story.
 Only due to public Pressure !
From memory, the initial story was in the Daily Mail, or perhaps the Express.
Yes there are still people in the BBC & Whitehall, who were involved.
But as said, the Security Services  are shutting down the investigation & reporting !
So any diversion is grasped with both hands.


[/quote

 Alrighty then , if there are guilty parties still at the BBC then put them in stocks . Still not sure what this has to do with some pompous twat committing an act of violence because because he couldn't get a hot roast beef sandwich . Or whatever he wanted .

  Dusty

[Kev m]

I'm a huge fan of Clarkson and the show, but I'm with Dusty... Irrelevant to the fact that Jeremy cooked his own goose.

[LowRyter]

I don't know who the Stig is now but he was Michael Schumacher for a few years. BTW, the doctors say Schumacher's severe head injury was caused by a helmet mounted Go Pro that, when he fell on his skis, smashed his skull in.

MS was NEVER The Stig.  It was a joke.  Like the rest of the show

[oldbike54]

MS was NEVER The Stig.  It was a joke.  Like the rest of the show
[/quote

 The Michael Schumacher , winner of more GP races than anyone ever  ??? ??? Doubt they could afford his pate bill  ;)

  Dusty

[motoguzziman]

I'm a huge fan of Clarkson and the show, but I'm with Dusty... Irrelevant to the fact that Jeremy cooked his own goose.

Clarkson has done  many similar things in the past , and never had a problem, because TOP GEAR is the biggest earner the BBC has ever had.
Any misdeeds by Clarkson have always been toned down & glossed over, to the point of insignificance.
 He was hailed as a Hero, for smacking  Piers Morgan in the mouth ! How long was that ago ?

However, This Time, where the BBC is in deep Doo Doo, over a different thing altogether;  
They decide that blowing the whole Clarkson  thing way out of proportion, buys them time to cover their  tracks.
Otherwise  it would have been" Business as Usual"

[Kev m]

 The Michael Schumacher , winner of more GP races than anyone ever  ??? ??? Doubt they could afford his pate bill  ;)

  Dusty

He appeared on the show "as" the Stig once.

That said, the show had both a massive budget and massive pull with auto makers of luxury, supercars, and Hypercars

They routinely flogged cars that cost between $100k-$1M both on the track and on the street.

They conducted lap time testing of these cars on their test track to log relative performance, and not just straight line.

We got to live vicariously as they raced a Bugati Veyron against a military jet, or tested its top speed, meaning over 200 mph.

They got an expert racing driver to attempt to lap the Nuremborg ring in under 10 minutes in a Ford van.

They tested an AWD Ferrari on a track laid out on a frozen lake.

They gave us glimpses into 900+ HP hybrid supercars.

They raced an AWD Bentley Continental on a rallye stage.

They raced an Olympic luge and skull with a rallye prepped Audi and Mini.

They attempted to ski jump a Mini Cooper by adding a rocket to it.

They staged a "1950's" race with a period correct steam train, Jaguar, and Vincent Black Shadow.

They consistently got celebrities to spend a day on their test track trying for a best lap time in a cheap car. Same car each season to rank them relatively.

There were stupid stunts... Like racing cars each with a second car welded upside down on the roofs of the primary cars. Two drivers in each car, the one in the lower car works the brakes and gas, the one upside down in the top car steers.

The "challenges" were often staged, but the concepts were things we'd only dream to do in our wildest imaginations. Race a Nissan GTR across Japan against their bullet train and public transport, or racing a speed boat vs. a small plane vs. an antique Ferrari or Jag to the Riviera.

They had a budget we could only dream of and constantly showed us fun things we only wish we could do.

[190 Octane]

He appeared on the show "as" the Stig once.

That said, the show had both a massive budget and massive pull with auto makers of luxury, supercars, and HyperCard.

They routinely flogged cars that cost between $100k-$1M both on the track and on the street.

They conducted lap time testing of these cars on their test track to tank relative performance, and not just straight line.

We got to live vicariously as they raced a Bugati Veyron against a military jet, or tested it's top speed, meaning over 200 mph.

They got an expert racing driver to attempt to lap the Nuremborg ring in under 10 minutes in a Ford van.

They tested an AWD Ferrari on a track laid out on a frozen lake.

They gave us glimpses into 900+ HP hybrid supercars.

They raced an AWD Bentley Continental on a rallye stage.

They raced an Olympic luge and skull with a rallye prepped Audi and Mini.

They attempted to ski jump a Mini Cooper by adding a rocket to it.

They staged a "1950's" race with a period correct steam train, Jaguar, and Vincent Black Shadow.

They got celebrities to spend a day on their test track trying for a best lap time in a cheap car. Same car each season to rank them relatively.

There were stupid stunts... Like racing cars each with a second car welded upside down on the roofs of the primary cars. Two drivers in each car, the one in the lower car works the brakes and gas, the one upside down in the top car steers.

The "challenges" were often staged, but the concepts were things we'd dream to do. Race a Nissan GTR across Japan against their bullet train and public transport, or racing a speed boat vs. a small plane vs. an antique Ferrari or Jag to the Riviera.

They had a budget we could only dream of and showed us fun things we wish we could do.

I'm going to miss the best televison show... 

[Rough Edge racing]

My first thought was who the hell is JC and why should I care?

Serves him right, there are plenty more who can step in and take over.

 I have no idea either...I suspect he's on the TV? And is it ok for manly men who dress in leather and ride dangerous machines to discuss this stuff???

[flip]

I'm going to miss the best televison show... 

 :+1 

[Mayor_of_BBQ]

They got an expert racing driver to attempt to lap the Nuremborg ring in under 10 minutes in a Ford van.

To be honest this was one of the sexiest things I've ever seen.. The way Sabine was puffing, panting, turning red and gripping the wheel..  Whew boy I was in quite a state by the end of that segment!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mayor_of_BBQ]

I love Top Gear.. As a non-cable haver.. Has to be one of the top 5 series on Netflix

I don't agree with JC's hybrid bashing, climate change denial, and snide jokes about liberals in general...

But the show is so good I've managed to overlook it and be a fan.  Sure some of the stuff is obviously staged, but damn entertaining and plenty of petrol head eye candy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Kev m]

I BET some of that bashing was insincere, for shock/image value as well.... And hell, even if not, you could always laugh at it, if not with it.

[Mayor_of_BBQ]

Here's the segment I was thinking of..

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5KiC03_wVjc

The setup is such:

The boys has tested a new diesel Jaguar that was supposed to be as fast as the petrol Jag..  Jeremy was able to clock a 10min lap on the Nurburg Ring in it...

Much later, when they had a special that pitted the German Top Gear crew vs the UK Top Gear crew.. They entered the diesel Jag in one of the competitions against a Merc or BMW diesel that the Germans had brought...

Since ball-busting is pretty much the bread & butter of Top Gear, they stood around bashing each other's car choices...  Jeremy defended the Jag by saying he took it around Nurburg in 10min. Sabine laughed in his face and said she could drive a Transit van as fast...  And thus this segment


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Kev m]

Yup, great segment. The type of thing we would all like to try on some level... Some ball busting some bench racing, then a real challenge on a track... Good stuff

[Rusty goose]

It is disappointing that he went out like that, I was a big fan of the show. Idiot did it to himself though. I like James May better anyway, I'd like to see him on a motorcycle based show. One of my favorites was the three riding bikes through Vietnam.

[youcanrunnaked]

Clarkson has done  many similar things in the past , and never had a problem, because TOP GEAR is the biggest earner the BBC has ever had.
Any misdeeds by Clarkson have always been toned down & glossed over, to the point of insignificance.

No.

It has been widely reported, and is undisputed by Clarkson and the other Top Gear presenters, that Clarkson was previously issued a "last chance" warning by BBC management and put on probation for incidents in the prior season of the show.  Maybe the BBC tolerated his antics up to a point, but prior to this season, the BBC had already decided that enough was enough.

So, your theory is... the BBC knew in advance that an unrelated scandal within the BBC would some day be exposed, and therefore BBC management put Jeremy Clarkson, the star presenter of their highest-rated show, on notice that one further screw-up would cost him his job, not as a valid management tool to control his offensive and embarrassing behavior, but in preparation for the day when that the unrelated BBC scandal would be exposed, all the while knowing for a certainty that Clarkson would once again commit a faux pas, and that it would occur at the same time that this yet unrevealed scandal was in the news, which the BBC could then cite as Clarkson using up his "last chance," justifying their refusal to renew his contract, and thereby accomplishing the BBC's nefarious goal of distracting public attention from the as-yet-unrevealed, and unrelated, scandal.

Fascinating!

[LowRyter]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhQql-ZbZmg

the BBC send off


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhQql-ZbZmg

[Turin]

Too bad. It really was my favorite car show. Motorweek meets monty python.

[Kev m]

It is disappointing that he went out like that, I was a big fan of the show. Idiot did it to himself though. I like James May better anyway, I'd like to see him on a motorcycle based show. One of my favorites was the three riding bikes through Vietnam.

That episode always made me think that much of JC's on air personality/attitudes was an act it at least exaggeration.

You don't cross Vietnam on a cycle, even a small scooter, and really hate them and their riders.

And that trip was just another in the long list that made me envious of their job.

[GuzziDog54]

I'm a huge fan of cars, so I've been watching every episode since day one. I'm a little unnerved that nobody here has mentioned Carson's spreading of hatred. During the show he continuously bashed other countries, calling Americans "fat, gun toting idiots", and calling the French "surrender monkeys", and calling modern day Germans "nazis" and worse. Oddly enough, he did an episode on Britain's decline, stating that they are "stuck in 1936", which is what he seems to be. He also was very obvious about giving British cars precedence in his reviews, never giving cars like the Porsche 911 a fair chance and always promoting the Aston Martin. That type of guy shouldn't be on a rating show, or any show for that matter. To top it off, he bullies his co-hosts in the show, and their displeasure is quite obvious episode after episode. Clarkson behaves like a big, spoiled child, which ended up with him punching his superior over nothing. This is not okay in any industry, which is why he got himself fired.

[Kev m]

Yet you've been watching from day one.

I think most of us didn't believe he genuinely meant the "hate".

It's humor, and humor is often an exaggeration, and ofttimes an outrageous one.

You can't look around the US and not see a reason for calling us fat, or pointing out the cultural differences between us and the UK regarding firearms.

And if I can laugh at myself in such a way I can also laugh at "surrender monkeys." I can tell the difference between humor and reality.

He never hesitated to call himself fat too, or to point out, quite sarcastically, anything he saw "wrong" in the UK too.

Come on, the Blue Ridge Parkway as "best driving road in the world, cause Americans know everything" is funny on multiple levels. Going through the effort to bring 3 supercars to it and drive 35 mph is hilarious in and of itself even if the sometimes superior attitude of Americans is the brunt of the joke.

Then in contrast in another episode they'd show again just how funny it is to call the Blue Ridge a driving ride by tearing up the Stelvio pass in more supercars.

But then they'd also take another trip to the US, make some redneck jokes, and point out something socially relevant like the post Katrina economic devastation of New Orleans. Or they'd show us the beauty of Vietnam giving us a radically different point of view than the one with which we likely grew up. Or they'd take the time to point out economically devastated parts of Spain that have suffered since the economic collapse. All this under the guise of road trips in supercars. Not bad for a "car" show.

Did the various hosts refrain from sharing their tastes and prejudices with regards to car brands and nationalities? Nope, not once. But why should they. We knew how they would feel after just a few episodes and someone was always relatable on one side or the other. Not that they didn't sometimes surprise us.

Always conservative captain slow looking at the specs and tech, always function over form.

Porsche loyalist and motorcyclist, and American car enthusiast Richard Hammond.

British and Italian car loving JC who puts passion over logic and despised hybrids largely because of pious owners (until he reviewed the McLaren, and then the BMW I8).

Hell one episode clearly showed that logic suggested the Alfa Romeo just plain wasn't the right choice compared to the other two cars they were "testing" but all three agreed it was the one they'd want. "The worst car, is the best car" they quipped.

No one should have taken the "conclusions" to their reviews seriously.

By the time they arrived at their "conclusions" the audience had received enough information to make up their own minds and the "conclusions" were nothing more than the tastes and prejudices of the presenters and not meant to be scientific in any way. Like three mates at the pub.

They obviously didn't take themselves seriously, so you can't believe they meant us to either.