Are they going to do something about Top Gear at last?

As has been stated already on this thread high viewing figures do not necessarily equate to good programmes, only popular programmes. And by definition popular programmes are not necessarily good programmes. In any case what is one man’s good programme is another man’s rubbish. As this thread has readily proved.;)

Fair point ! :p

Your opinion, but view figures say different. 🙂

The viewing figures for X-Factor dwarf Top Gear. So by your logic X-Factor is a better programme?

Actually, on the evidence of the one episode I watched of Top Gear, X-Factor would have to be going some to be more tedious (But I’m not going to test out the theory)

Moggy

Well you have made your point and after submitting yourself to the ordeal. At least now you need never watch it again and leave the remaining 5 or 6 million of us to enjoy it, much as we always have.:)

Your opinion, but view figures say different. 🙂

I have finally watched an episode from the current series!

I was with some friends in France and they insisted on having it on. The last episode of the series apparently.

It was as dreadful as I remember.

Hammond proving yet again he can’t drive fast cars with the Lexus, spiced up with some crappy special effects which gave them the chance for some rib-splitting running joke about not having enough money for the other items in the show – My! How we laughed until our sides split.

The only other car item I can recall was May driving a VXR Insignia that devolved into a chat with the lady who designed road signs. Separately potentially interesting, run together totally pointless.

Who else would liked to have seen Fifth Gear put a real driver in it and run it around the circuit, first in standard handling mode and then with the “VXR button” pushed? I would, it would have told us something.

Then the series awards – again we laughed till our sides ached at them banging their heads on a light inside the test cars. Gosh it was fun, the audience were all standing in pools of urine it was so hilarious. But it was OK because Jezza established his non-pc credentials by using the word ‘anus’ on TV. Lordy he’s such a rebel.

I’m sitting here trying to remember which car Jezza drove, but it made so little impact that three days on I simply cannot recall one second of it except they added some fascinating clips of him around the world to prove how they had run out of money with Hammond’s effects. Gosh.

So, I’d guess I have missed nothing by not watching the rest of the series. Such a shame, still it seems nobody is interested in turning out programmes for people interested in cars and driving any more.

And please don’t tell me I’m missing the point and that it’s an entertainment show not a car show. If that load of bollox was entertainment then it’s about time we got around to broadcasting a Dulux drying competition.

Moggy

The first couple of series in the ‘new’ format were great.

Since then it has gone steadily downhill and the viewing figures support this.

Doubtless Clarkson will get a series of his own to do, some of his historical stuff has been brilliant, but he needs separating from Top Gear as soon as possible. (Not that it matters much to me, I haven’t watched anything other than the odd snippet for about three or four series.)

Moggy

Clarkson already has a series of his own! – Top Gear.
According to Wikipedantic:
“Jeremy Clarkson , who helped the original series reach its peak in the 1990s, along with producer Andy Wilman, successfully pitched a new format for Top Gear to the BBC, reversing a previous decision to cancel the show in 2001. The new series was first broadcast in 2002.”
Can’t imagine him leaving – but I live in hope!:diablo:

To whoever said about them having the minister of transport on, they had stephen ladyman on when that was his job a few years back, but i can’t pretend boris was on for his role!

It is getting a little boring and is far to scripted, i still find myself laughing, but wonder why. It must cost a lot of money, but what else do you get for the license fee (and i am sure moree than pays for itself in spin offs), it was at its peak a couple of seasons ago, and tbh with the amount its repeated i didn’t know there was a new series til the 4th episode.

As regards ruining dunsfold- would the place exist still if the show didn’t need the runway, i love seeing the aircraft in the background. Lots of free publicity for the armed forces, and its good to know if you can fit Ross Kemp in the back of a car.

No producer, esp one of top gear wants there show to get predictable, i doubt the presenters do, whilst everyone is still having fun it’ll keep going, there’ll keep pretending its the end, but as long as the miserables are getting annoyed by it, its a winner!!!:)

Moggy’s views aside it seems the Beeb has a hit show…

Jeremy Clarkson and his fellow Top Gear presenters scored a Christmas hit on Sunday 27 December with their a one-off show from Bolivia. The special edition of the BBC2 programme was the most-watched on the day, winning a 28.1% audience share with 6.4m viewers.

It beat the next most popular show, BBC1’s Cranford, which is based on Elizabeth Gaskell’s novel. It was watched by 5.4m viewers on Sunday evening, a 24.4% share.

Top Gear also proved more popular than the BBC1’s Sunday evening episode of hospital drama Casualty, aired at the same time, which was watched by 4.5m viewers, an 18.3% share.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/dec/29/top-gear-bolivia-tv-ratings

So, to answer Moggy’s question “Are they going to do something about Top Gear at last?”, yes, give them another series – maybe even twice a week or every week throughout the year….

I’ll bet the producer is just posturing for the next pay round. Remember last time the three presenters wanted a pay rise they said they were quitting and the BBC panicked. This seems to me that the whole thing is a way to minimise the next rise for the BBC’s biggest stars.

I read somewhere recently Jeremy Clarkson talking about the popularity of Top Gear. He said it is the most downloaded BBC program, is watched by millions on YouTube and nobody has told him about it being taken off air!

For those who want to see Top Gear turned into a boring, humdrum, lifeless, soleless and humourless programme where people with no personality talk only about cars and make no jokes, than I recommend Top Gear Australia. We have just had the first episode air here tonight in NZ, in fact it’s still playing but I have switched it off because it is appaullingly boring.

I don’t know where they got the presenters but I’d guess it was in a “most annoying Aussie accent ever” competition, or a “look like a used car salesman weasel” competition, rather than anything to do with presenting a TV show. A total disappointment and waste of time. If the BBC producers want to change anything, it’s cull this crap to stop it tainting the real show’s great reputation.

It makes you really appreciate the warmth, humour and fun of Jeremy, Richard and James, who clearly show they enjoy what they do and each other’s company, as opposed to the morbid twits on the Aussie rip-off. It’s far worse than any NZ motoring show, and I thought they were bad till now.

As a non-driver I really couldn’t give two hoots about Top Gear,but I just have to share this news item for all those men who insist that women can’t park.
Judging by my daughter’s thirty-eight manoeuvre attempt today,you may well have a point.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8432887.stm

I love it, always have.
As the papers suggest it may die, I will miss it.
All the presenters are carving out nice alternative careers though, it seems it’s been planned for a couple of years.
JC should be a Sir or a Lord.

I have all the Specials on DVD, and have watched them repeatedly over time.

I’ve also got all the Challenges on DVD – and they’re pure entertainment.

It has all become juvenille and I am amazed that presenters who claim to be car enthusiasts feel that it is OK to treat other peoples vehicles with so little mechanical sympathy.

You should see the ‘scrapyard’ full of TG wrecks at dunsfold ,that is the part that hurts me – to see a fine airfield like Dunsfold reduced to being the TG track,but to be fair to them…they did try to move elsewhere.Obviously it is not a programme to be taken seriously,but tbh I enjoy the ‘specials’ better than the normal progs purely because they are not screeching around one of the airfields where I used to work.

I don’t watch it every week but do catch a lot of the older ones on Dave.
Seems to me it has turned into an excuse for 3 presenters with huge egos to cane the life out of other peoples machinery and then give back whatever is left after thay have done their best to destroy it.
I do appreciate that there is a fine line between hard and reckless driving but feel that Top Gear crosses that line way too often. Frankly I am amazed that anyone loans them anything to test. I certainly wouldn’t lend them any car that I owned particularly having heard the story of a historic racer lent to them some years ago that allegedly came back with the diff and gearbox needing a rebuild and the halfshafts tied in knots.
To me many of their antics are the automotive equivalent of attempting to fly a modern aerobatic sequence in a Spitfire and then wondering why the airframe has been overstressed.
It has all become juvenille and I am amazed that presenters who claim to be car enthusiasts feel that it is OK to treat other peoples vehicles with so little mechanical sympathy.

Ah…Top Gear….my favourite tv comedy show !! 😀
I see they have a special on tonight…driving 3 4×4’s from Bolivia to chile (allegedly :D)

Beeb 2 @ 1945

Perhaps the solution may then be for a channel to re-instate a show like Fith Gear for people like you and keep Top Gear going for people like us 🙂

That would be the best solution, yes.

But the statement from the producer teased with the promise that Top Gear might become a car show again.

Moggy

Er.. me 🙂

It’s largely because I have worked in and around the motor industry for the last thirty something years and incredibly I am still quite interested in motors and driving. It’s just an opportunity lost for an interesting and involving programme about something that interests me. Things like the X-Factor are obviously much better programmes since even more people watch them, but that doesn’t irritate me in the least as I really have no interest in amateur talent nights. If I had then maybe I’d be ‘anti’ that too?

Moggy

Your first sentence explains exactly why you feel the way you do and is quite understandable. I would disagree that any programme is “better” just because it is popular. That is a different debate.

I enjoy Top Gear and it is undeniably popular but is it “good”? Fifth Gear is probably a better motoring programme but is probably in danger of becoming popularised because ratings are an essential factor on commercial television.

I am surprised that there is no specialised programme for true motoring enthusiasts on a satellite channel, many of which seem to survive on relatively small viewing figures as production costs are relatively low.