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Model S on Top Gear?
- Thread starter Rob Fairman
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bluenation
Member
here's the tl;dr version:
TG is a entertainment show vaguely related to motor vehicles of various types. It is not where you go to get wiser about cars.
TG fans are legion, and worldwide. And their bitter outrage and tears are hilarious.
And so is the outrage from the anti-TG club.
Btw, this isnt the last time we see JC, oh no.
Basicaly, just another day.
TG is a entertainment show vaguely related to motor vehicles of various types. It is not where you go to get wiser about cars.
TG fans are legion, and worldwide. And their bitter outrage and tears are hilarious.
And so is the outrage from the anti-TG club.
Btw, this isnt the last time we see JC, oh no.
Basicaly, just another day.
With all the issues the BBC has had over the past few years, mainly operation Yewtree, they had no choice to not renew Clarkson. Every now and then the corporation allows it's stars to become bigger than itself (see Chris Evans (version 1, not the current version), Jonathan Ross, many 70s and early 80s presenters since disgraced etc etc). Clarkson was smart to sell the rest of his stake in TG to the BBC a couple of years ago, so this was only a matter of time, maybe he had no intention of renewing his contract anyway. May and Hammond both have plenty of other gigs going on, I don't think the three of then would go running to Sky, or Five, or whoever else would have them. The BBC can sometimes do a really good job of re-inventing a format (e.g. Doctor Who), and can screw it up, but this isn't akin to Charlie Sheen leaving 2 and a Half Men.
Regardless of the presenters, and the scripted 'races', where everyone miraculously manages to finish within seconds of each other, the cinematography is top notch; TG has won awards for it, and is generally admired for being one of the best shows from a visual perspective. Done right, the BBC could re-invent the format taking the best bits, but moving on from the laddish 90's feel the show had has been overdue. It's a poisoned challis for whoever takes it on, but there's some really good options out there.
Regardless of the presenters, and the scripted 'races', where everyone miraculously manages to finish within seconds of each other, the cinematography is top notch; TG has won awards for it, and is generally admired for being one of the best shows from a visual perspective. Done right, the BBC could re-invent the format taking the best bits, but moving on from the laddish 90's feel the show had has been overdue. It's a poisoned challis for whoever takes it on, but there's some really good options out there.
Obviously not all politicians or politically affiliated people hold or held elected office. I would say your message on the matter is as much an over-simplication than mine was (which, granted, it was), just on the other end of that spectrum.
BBC has plenty of appointments made on political grounds, plus due to it's state-held nature a lot of the discussion (and thus pressure) on BBC is made for political reasons. British politics affects the BBC a lot, including and beyond the top twelve - and thus Clarkson's position hinged on politics a lot more than it would have, say, were this a CNN show. (Now, political correctness, CNN of course is not free from.)
In any case, not to belabour that point, I think the above-mentioned CNN had a fair & balanced - like a commercial entity only can
- summary of the controversies surrounding Clarkson overall:Jeremy Clarkson: Hated by liberals, loved by elite - CNN.com
NigelM
Recovering Member
Obviously not all politicians or politically affiliated people hold or held elected office. I would say your message on the matter is as much an over-simplication than mine was (which, granted, it was), just on the other end of that spectrum.
Thanks for labeling my analysis of the entire Trustee Board and complete Executive Management as "over-simplification". Complete nonsense but not worth dragging this discussion any further off topic.
Thanks for labeling my analysis of the entire Trustee Board and complete Executive Management as "over-simplification". Complete nonsense but not worth dragging this discussion any further off topic.
That was not my intent, though.
What I would call an over-simplification were two things:
AnxietyRanger:
"BBC overall is a government organization and it is basically run by past and present politicians"
NigelM:
"only 1 was previously in politics"
I still think both are, although on opposing ends of a spectrum. Do you disagree?
Your technical description of how BBC is directed was fine, of course.
bonnie
I play a nice person on twitter.
Read what you wrote. Please. You said it was run by past and present politicians. Nigel pointed out that wasn't true. And you dismiss his response as 'over simplification' and rationalize that not all politicians hold office.
C'mon.
Lex
Member
Model S P85D finally reviewed on Top Gear UK... well, their website:
First drive: Tesla Model S P85D - BBC Top Gear
I'm a bit miffed by some of it, eg:
But, great to see them finally embrace a Tesla
First drive: Tesla Model S P85D - BBC Top Gear
I'm a bit miffed by some of it, eg:
Ya, let's pretend it's not over 90 percent efficient.
But, great to see them finally embrace a Tesla
Blu Zap
Grinning member
As much as I liked Clarkson as an entertainer, he was not a motor vehicle analyst. Hence the bad blood with Tesla. Based on this latest review of the P85D, I think they are beginning to come around in appreciating Tesla Model S. Not there, since the program plays to gear heads (like me before I got my MS)
Clarkson was a very experienced motoring journalist before he went into the buffoon act for Top Gear. Top Gear the magazine has little to do with the programme and has featured Tesla many times in the past.
Blu Zap
Grinning member
@graham
You're right. It is important to differentiate Clarkson's opinions from the real Top Gear journalism. Interesting to see how this plays out.
You're right. It is important to differentiate Clarkson's opinions from the real Top Gear journalism. Interesting to see how this plays out.
AustinPowers
Total Smeghead
It is also important to differentiate Clarkson's real-life opinions from what he says/said on Top Gear the show. Because his personal opinions not always match what he uttered on the show (where quite a bit of the content was scripted).
Plus, as others have pointed out, Top Gear the magazine has little to do with Top Gear the show.
I am not sure how TG could go on successfully, but the notion that someone mentioned of hiring Edd and Mike from Wheeler Dealers (plus a seasonal guest presenter like Rowan Atkinson, Robert Llewellyn etc.) sounds like a promising idea to me.
Gizmotoy
Active Member
As we're aware, essentially the entirety of each show is scripted, which is what led to the Tesla dust-up previously. Even with his buffoonery act, Clarkson doesn't give the impression he dislikes EVs implicitly. He liked the Mercedes SLS AMG Electric Drive and BMW's (admittedly hybrid) i8. And it's pretty easy to forget the Roadster episode was way back in 2008. A lot has changed since then, particularly around charging infrastructure.
Maybe we'll find out what he thinks one day.
Called it.
(along with 100s of others. )
So much for "never" replacing Clarkson. Guess the money must be right.
PV4EV
Member
Its rumoured that his existing BBC contract fee has been increased by around $1.6m a year for 3 yrs.
Evans loves Tesla's which is a good thing, whereas JC hated anything without a V8 and was well known for ensuring any EV got a bad rap .. especially the Roadster some yrs ago now.
Oddly enough the TG track lap times still include a Roadster lap time at 1m27.2 (in the wet) which is the same as a 911 GT3 in the wet !!
Evans even gave a P85+ a glowing review in Jan 2014 :-
Chris Evans reviews Tesla Model S P85 | Daily Mail Online
replacing him is the easy part. Filling his shoes and maintaining the audience is quite another....and really, they arent just replacing Clarkson. They are replacing all three...I think this is like a snowball taking a well intended trip through hell.
JER
Member
http://metro.co.uk/2015/06/17/top-g...clarkson-its-going-to-be-a-car-crash-5249799/
The "Last of The Summer Wine" comparison nails it. Take the Clarkson & company chemistry away and it's just another me too show. Chris Evans could also be a polarising choice; yes, he's very slick in front of a camera, but some people hate his guts precisely because of that.
I don't envy anyone who dares to enter the new line-up. They're going to be under heavy fire from literally millions of critics.
The "Last of The Summer Wine" comparison nails it. Take the Clarkson & company chemistry away and it's just another me too show. Chris Evans could also be a polarising choice; yes, he's very slick in front of a camera, but some people hate his guts precisely because of that.
I don't envy anyone who dares to enter the new line-up. They're going to be under heavy fire from literally millions of critics.
JER
Member
Here's another related article, and a surprisingly entertaining one:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/21/top-gear-chris-evans-sphincter
Of all the influences a writer could call upon here, I wasn't expecting Lovecraft.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/21/top-gear-chris-evans-sphincter
Of all the influences a writer could call upon here, I wasn't expecting Lovecraft.
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Maybe. I guess time will tell. I personally think Chris Evans has a lot in common with Jeremy Clarkson. I don't really mean that as a compliment as they share some of the same characteristics that would ordinarily make them unlikeable and annoying but which in this particular case seems to be just the formula required. Even the characteristic of being polarising is common to both. I remember hearing Chris Evans on Virgin radio and often wanting to change stations to get away from his show but sometimes being unable to change due to the "traffic accident effect" where you can't really look away. Chris Evans seemed comfortable being surrounded by fawning sycophants who might tease him gently but who would ultimately bow to his every opinion, no matter how ill informed or narrow minded. This isn't exactly the Clarkson, May, Hammond dynamic but it isn't far off and ultimately this will be scripted anyway. The gimmicky, crazy stunt side of TG fits right into Evans' wheel house too. Ginger bloke can be funny but in a similarly abrasive way to the Clarkson humor. Bottom line is that I think this is a situation that could actually work; however, the blind loyalty Clarkson has developed, seemingly regardless of anything he does, might effectively doom any attempt to continue, regardless of who is involved.
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