Jeremy Clarkson fired

[Waterbottle]

Yes we all know what Jeremy Clarkson is like !
Entertaining ...... Yes
Rude ..............Yes
A bully..........yes
Politically Incorrect ...... Yes
A Bit arrogant ... Hmmm ......Yes
Fun to watch ....... YES
This is why the BBC Employed him, to bring in the $$$$$
He might be all of the above, and some I've missed, But at the end of the day, he was what the show was all about  ;-T
I personally believe you have to watch shows like this for the entertainment value only, if you wish to pick holes in everything in life .... you will be constantly disappointed.
 Don't like it...... Don't watch it and bitch about it later, send them a letter, they will throw it on the pile they started years ago.  :D
  ;D

[molly]

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.

And that's why so many people loved the show. Jezzer said and did things that we are told is unacceptable today. Top Gear was an antidote to all the PC nonense we are forced to swallow on a daily basis.

It is refreshing to see so many positive comments on the show from outside the U.K.The Top Gear crew must have been doing something pretty special for the show to be so enjoyed worldwide.

[frans belgium]

Top Gear was an anitidote to all the PC nonense we are forced to swallow on a daily basis.

 :+1

[gary martin]

I'm gonna miss this loopy trio  . . . :(

[Dean Rose]

Yes we all know what Jeremy Clarkson is like !
Entertaining ...... Yes
Rude ..............Yes
A bully..........yes
Politically Incorrect ...... Yes
A Bit arrogant ... Hmmm ......Yes
Fun to watch ....... YES
This is why the BBC Employed him, to bring in the $$$$$
He might be all of the above, and some I've missed, But at the end of the day, he was what the show was all about  ;-T
I personally believe you have to watch shows like this for the entertainment value only, if you wish to pick holes in everything in life .... you will be constantly disappointed.
 Don't like it...... Don't watch it and bitch about it later, send them a letter, they will throw it on the pile they started years ago.  :D
  ;D

 :+1

Dean

[Scott of the Sahara]

One episode I remember was a race between a 1966 VW Beetle and a new Porsche 911 AWD. They did one race on the 1 mile course and showed the results. The next race was in a Desert in Africa and they dropped the VW from 1 mile up and the Porsche was racing on the desert one mile away. THAT was entertaining.

[oldbike54]

One episode I remember was a race between a 1966 VW Beetle and a new Porsche 911 AWD. They did one race on the 1 mile course and showed the results. The next race was in a Desert in Africa and they dropped the VW from 1 mile up and the Porsche was racing on the desert one mile away. THAT was entertaining.

 Scott , which car won ?

  Dusty

[youcanrunnaked]

I think GuzziDog54 and Kev M both make some valid points.  I am going to miss the show, but understand that this was a necessary, if not ideal, way to end it.

Contradictory?  I don't think so.  The key, I think, is to distinguish between, while acknowledging the overlap among, "reality TV" and reality.

Clarkson's on-screen antics are the scripted, rehearsed, calculated actions of an entertainer -- a job that he is very good at.  Clarkson's off-screen antics are the actions of a boorish, immature, offensive bully.  The former brought him fame, while the latter got him fired.  Of course, the overlap between his public and his private personas is what made him such a controversial figure AND such an entertaining presenter.

It seems to me that the show was getting a bit long in the tooth; the show's format a bit stale and predictable; and Clarkson's "shtick," in particular, a bit tiresome.  I got the feeling that the other two presenters, especially James May, were getting a bit fed up with Clarkson's prima donna routine.  However, after Clarkson's dismissal was announced, May was quoted as saying to the effect: "He [Clarkson] is a a bit of a knob, but I like working with him."  So there's that.   Frankly, I was surprised to see new episodes this year, and even more surprised read that prior to the BBC pulling the plug, all three were being offered 3-year contracts, but I guess the ratings were still very strong.

However, just as Clarkson's real-life persona informed his role as a presenter, his on-screen presenter character appears to have informed his off-screen behavior.  After years of getting away with doing and saying pretty much whatever he wanted, as long as a camera crew was present to record it for broadcast and people found it entertaining, it must have been difficult for him to separate that "reality" from the reality that outside the bubble of TV make-believe, people don't get to do and say whatever they want.

So, yeah, I feel sorry for the guy.  (Then again, he is such a talented person, I think he will land on his feet.)  Also, to his credit, Clarkson self-reported the incident. (For those who think the producer involved is trying to use this to his personal advantage, consider that he didn't report the incident and simply assumed that he had lost his job.)  Clarkson also took sole responsibility for the incident, apologized, and did not try to deny or shade what happened.  As Kev M noted, Clarkson was known for, among other things, his self-deprecating humor, so he would probably be the first to admit that he did this to himself.

[Kev m]

YouC, I agree with most of that.

A couple of thoughts to clarify or add to it.

It wasn't just a high rated show, I believe it was THE HIGHEST rated show at the BBC, or at least most syndicated and watched world wide grossing something like 150M euro/year or something ridiculous.

As for Jezza, I'm not at all feeling sorry for him. I'm feeling sorry for ME and the millions of fans that loved the show.

Also, interesting tid bit, there were 3 episodes scheduled to be filmed when he was suspended. They asked May and Hammond to film them without him and they refused.

[drlapo]

screw it, I'm going to cancel my cable TV service now

[Kev m]

Let me throw another thought into the discussion.

Because the automotive industry is always moving forward and because a decent portion of the show was showcasing new cars, the show has a shelf life.

Older episodes are already looking and becoming dated. Over time and time they'll basically become irrelevant.

[drums4money]

Pompous hosts aside, it was nice to have a "car-guy" show that's a notch above the half-hour spots produced in the US which are really nothing more than sponsored infomercials.  The attempt to reproduce TopGear here in the States fell way short (in my opinion) due to the seeming lack of rapport among the 3 doods they cobbled together as hosts.  I'm sure they tested well, but the chmistry of the 3 together was awkward & forced.

As mentioned earlier, part of the appeal of the BBC program was how the three personalities played well off each other. 

Oh well.  Somethig else aways turns up.  Like a Pez dispenser that never runs out. 

[Lannis]

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

So I had to go hunt up the clips of Sabine in the Transit at Nurburgring, courtesy of your purple prose.   :o

She's OK I guess, but didn't do a thing for me in the way she did you.   I WOULD have liked to have seen a split-screen shot showing the view from the driver's seat, the speedo, and the tach (if there is one) for the whole ride ....

Lannis

[Scott of the Sahara]

In the race between the VW Beetle falling out of the sky and the Porsche 911,
The VW won. The Porsche was having traction problems on the desert ground. If the Porsche was on pavement...

[guzzidoo]

Saddest part is that no food on these island nations is worth punching someone over! Recently got back from a two week trip to Ireland and Scotland, and really good food is nonexistent. Did get a chance to watch Top Gear on the telly while there and was shocked that there were no commercials! As the old joke goes, in hell the chefs are British....

[LowRyter]

http://www.autoblog.com/2015/03/27/top-gear-producer-no-charges-clarkson/


Jeremy Clarkson will not be facing assault charges after attacking Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon at a North Yorkshire hotel following a day of filming.

Tymon opted to not file charges, although local police had requested a copy of the BBC's report into the "unprovoked physical and verbal attack" so that it could respond "where necessary," Radio Times reports.

"Mr. Tymon has informed the police that he doesn't want to press charges," Attorney Paul Daniels said in a statement obtained by RT. "The events of the last few weeks have been extremely unpleasant for everyone involved. The matter has taken a great toll on Oisin, his family and his friends."

"Quite simply, Mr. Tymon just wishes to return now to the job at the BBC he loves, as soon as possible. Further, the BBC have, in his view, taken action with a view to addressing the issues at hand."

This statement is the first time we've heard from Tymon since the incident that led to Clarkson's suspension and then firing. Yesterday, media confronted the former presenter while he was cycling through London.

"I wish people would leave Ois alone, because none of this is his fault," the 54-year-old said.

"Mr. Tymon agrees with the BBC's stated view that all parties should now be allowed to move on, so far as possible," Daniels said.

[Kev m]

So maybe Ois is a really decent guy. Kudos to him.

Makes this all a little stranger.

I mean in contrast frickin Martha Stewart GOT A TV SHOW AFTER going to prison.

[oldbike54]

So maybe Ois is a really decent guy. Kudos to him.

Makes this all a little stranger.

I mean in contrast frickin Martha Stewart GOT A TV SHOW AFTER going to prison.

 Jon's cousin ?

  Dusty

[roofus]

Don't you remember the Stig's Chinese Cousin? He kicked James May "right in the plums'.

I missed that episode! 😀

[drums4money]

Artice over on VisorDown mentioned odds-makers speculating that Guy Martin would be the replacement..  I'd watch the heck out of that!

[Morizzi]

I have no opinion as to whether he should be fired or not. I wasn't there and have no knowledge of the lead up or actual incident. I will say that despite the controversial nature of some of his comments the BBC happily aired them and rejoiced in the ratings.

A quote: 'Show me a man that says he's indespensible and I'll sack him.' Patton.

Stating that I'd like to point out that they have tried to replicate Top Gear at least 2 times that I'm aware of, Australia and the USA. Both were awful and a failure. The presenters had no chemistry, poor timing and were predictable to say the least. They tried the same formula but just couldn't make it work. The presenters were even copied to the original 3 in size and role. They even had the 'Stig' instead of a locally derived driver name and in identical outfits.

I agree with many of the comments above.

[LowRyter]

Say what you want about American Top Gear, Tanner Faust can freakin' drive.  I wonder if Tanner doubled as the American Stig?  Yes, TG USA has all the stupid contrived stunts I hate on the UK version with none of the road tests and news. 

[Doppelgaenger]

I have to say the show was starting to get a little bit long in the tooth. The challenges were fun and the car porn was always amazing to see, but some of their pieces were just starting to get dumb and painfully contrived. This latest season's Peugeot hate rant had no point other than to crap all over the manufacturer. Peugeot might deserve it, but they didn't even try and make a point, they just made fun of the cars and the drivers for the sake of doing so. There HAS to be something else they could have filled a whopping 15 minutes worth of air time with other than that...

[motoguzziman]

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!

I can only suggest you go back and re read my posts. Your theory, as presented above, has no relevance to what I have written.
But yes; How you could construe all that, is certainly fascinating.
Almost as good as the H.C.A story about  how a single feather, turned into five hens

My posts were to do with current events, Ie  the BBC in doodoo  right now. 
 So Clarkson's gaffe, came,  just at the right moment, as a story, to blow out of proportion,as a distraction, while they worked on their whitewash.

[youcanrunnaked]

I can only suggest you go back and re read my posts. Your theory, as presented above, has no relevance to what I have written.

My posts were to do with current events, Ie  the BBC in doodoo  right now.  
 So Clarkson's gaffe, came,  just at the right moment, as a story, to blow out of proportion,as a distraction, while they worked on their whitewash.

It has every relevance to what you have written and what you just wrote.  Your theory is the BBC "bl[ew] [the story] out of proportion, as a distraction..."  My point is, the BBC had, prior to the unrelated scandal breaking, already told Clarkson that one more gaffe and he would be fired.  So, his termination was not a calculated distraction or a "blowing" of anything "out of proportion:" it was the necessary consequence of the prior warning that he had received.  Your timeline is wrong, simple as that.  Unless BBC management is capable of clairvoyance, your theory that the BBC's reaction to what Clarkson did was an overreaction calculated to distract from the molestation scandal is nonsense.

[motoguzziman]

It has every relevance to what you have written and what you just wrote.  Your theory is the BBC "bl[ew] [the story] out of proportion, as a distraction..."  My point is, the BBC had, prior to the unrelated scandal breaking, already told Clarkson that one more gaffe and he would be fired.  So, his termination was not a calculated distraction or a "blowing" of anything "out of proportion:" it was the necessary consequence of the prior warning that he had received.  Your timeline is wrong, simple as that.  Unless BBC management is capable of clairvoyance, your theory that the BBC's reaction to what Clarkson did was an overreaction calculated to distract from the molestation scandal is nonsense.

You still have not grasped the point of my post.
You are still in fantasy land !   How can  my timeline be off ?
Where do you get this Clairvoyance from ?

Perhaps you think this was the first warning  Clarkson was ever given ??

The  exposure of the BBC, came a week or so, BEFORE Clarkson, supposedly, smacked a behind the scenes worker, for not doing his job,  and  the guy he supposedly smacked, is not pressing  charges !!!!!
  No damage there  then !
But the BBC made a big deal out of the alleged incident, because, they were in need of a distraction. and  not a lot else was going on.
Now, if the German plane, had come down earlier ;  The Clarkson story would probably not have made the papers !

[ratguzzi]

any Guzzi content?
I don't watch tv and I haven't read previous posts. Have no clue who this non Guzzi guy is that has 120 replies.
I am sure there must be a Jeremy Clarkson forum somewhere other than here!!
JB

[Kev m]

Sure sounds like he appeals to a number of Guzzisti...

[LowRyter]

Naked & Dusty make too much sense.  I guess, some have drink the Clarkson Kool Aid

[Kev m]

Or maybe some have been fooled by Clarkson's public persona...

I've been watching some classic episodes and wonder if fame or life got to him, or if something else is going on.

Then again I've recently watched the last season and don't see the angst...