Conceptually Flawed: A Coda
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- čas přidán 8. 12. 2023
- Not intended to be clickbait, just some thoughts to hopefully tide most of you over until the next big video (Hamster: The Richard Hammond Story) which I've been working on for far longer than I ever would have liked to. Again, no-one's fault but mine.
Gearknob's two cents on the immediate future of Top Gear, or its lack thereof. Rather timely given recent news of Grand Tour's end as well (though whether it'll actually mark the end of the show is another story entirely).
Not really much of anything if I'm honest - what I say isn't functionally different from what other people have been saying these past couple weeks. Mostly some further takes I didn't get to say or felt I didn't clarify as well as I could have in the original 2 hour long video, as well as providing a response to Richard Porter's snide comments. The internet has sadly made many people, even those worthy of respect, far too comfortable with saying things they likely wouldn't in real life, as Mike Tyson less eloquently put it. Not that I'd ever want go to that extreme, but I feel his rude remarks were chiefly embarrassing over anything else and may have demotivated me in the short term, but in the long term, I honestly don't give a damn.
If he feels he can gatekeep people like me out of enjoying the show he helped to create because I wasn't on the floor of the individual meetings at BBC's Media Village and may not know the "real" story behind the show that wasn't published in any publicly-accessible pieces of media, I'd say he's more than welcome to. One bad apple does not spoil my overall view of Top Gear as a collective whole, nor will it ever. If he turns the whole production team against me, I'll know exactly what happened and would just be proof I've further got under his skin, even though that would never be my outright intention. Ultimately, the ball's in his court.
Note that this video was initially written in October, and then subsequently rewritten as the past few weeks' of headlines came out in between various other recording and writing sessions. I also attended the NEC Classic Car Show in Birmingham, which knackered me for about a week or so after its occurrence.
You can support me here:
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Also follow me on Twitter at @GearknobAlex, where I'll post at least once every few days in the run-up to the release of my Richard Hammond documentary, set to be out by year's end and the chief reason why this video wasn't out sooner. A basic workprint will be out on Patreon in time for Christmas at least, whether it's finished or not. - Auta a dopravní prostředky
The only people who didn’t see the end of modern top gear coming are the people who made it
They were always just doing it out of hatred for the trinity and the audience.
facts
@@albow4oops5 well they got what was coming to them
Basically BBC going to left wing bullshit themselves again.
@@albow4oops5they stuck by clarkson through all the shit he did but you can’t not sack someone for punching their coworker.
What the BBC failed to realize or should I say refuses to realize is that at a certain point, people aren't watching "Top Gear" anymore; They're watching the "Clarkson, Hammond, and May Show".
Yea, I watch top gear to see three manchildren bicker and play with fast cars all day
@@kayagorzan We all do. We all wish we were one of them. That's what made that series of Top Gear so great. It was entertainment with cool cars.
The lads joked about his back when real TG was on the BBC. "Hello, and welcome to _Last of the Summer Wine_ , where three old men get up to wacky hi-jinks."
And now that the Clarkson, Hammond and May show will be coming to an end, with the last of the Grand Tour specials having already been filmed, everyone will move on to the next Clarkson, Hammond and May shows. Because despite the trio absolutely deserving a comfortable retirement from the business that made them stars, Amazon (and Discovery in Hammond's case) are very smart about having those recognisable faces as part of their brand
Let’s not forget - clarkson knows how to make good television - it’s why everything he does is so popular I give clarksons farm as a prime example. Without that talent and someone like Wilman who could move heaven and earth to make it happen - no one would EVER replace them. Period also Clarkson, Hammond and May are well known car journalist and car nerds - they love vehicles they have years of automotive presentation and writing behind them and that love translates on screen.
I can’t BELIEVE the bbc is stupid as to not AT LEAST send these guys to a few driving schools to learn how to handle these extremely powerful cars. They just throw them in and that’s EXTREMELY FUCKING STUPID.
The BBC is a propaganda machine nowadays anyway, it's pathetic. They don't even condemn terrorists.
Chris Harris is the only good thing about modern Top Gear.
I'm pretty sure that chriss guy is has a profession in motor sport but given the way the bbc handled the show it didn't give much room for the talent to shine
Clarkson knows what the common person wants from entertainment. That’s why he works on so many levels.
@@renz1013No Chris isn’t made for television like Clarkson. It’s not even within the same realm. It would never have worked no matter what the circumstances had been. You could not follow up a true hit series with anyone else.
@@underSTATEDexcellence
Do you want to watch a tractor plow a field?
No way.
Do you want to watch Clarkson try to drive said tractor?
Hell yes.
Simple as.
I’m actually surprised it took this long for the BBC to shelve Top Gear.
Also the grand tour was announced to be ending next year as well, with only 2 more africa specials coming out in 2024 before shutting down entirely. I personally hope the grand tour goes out with a lion's roar and that the rotten, decrepit husk that is top gear shrivels up like a dead mouse in the desert.
This is just very sad news.
There's talk of 'new projects' which I think just adds to the point that even an adapted form of the classic TG Special format can only remain novel and new for so long. Looking forward to whatever the trip do next, together or individually.
By my calculations, there should be 3 episodes left. They filmed one at the beginning of the year. Clarkson said on Twitter or Instagram at some point in the middle of the year that they would shoot 2 more episodes before the end of the year.
@@benn87933 more special episodes, but maybe just 2 actual specials with one split into a part 1 and 2
@@liptaz yes but its understandable. the boys, especially jeremy, are all getting older and less able to do what they did in their younger years, and it would probably be best to cease at some point to avoid hammond or may having another brush with death.
Chris Harris was holding that thing together once it had shaken off it's early glaring mistakes, he deserved better co-hosts and a lot more respect for the quality of his work.
100%. Chris Harris could start his own show and it'd get far more views than the tosh the BBC was putting out.
@@Snakebloke I wouldn't go that far! I prefer Steve Sutcliffe, who still does freelance for AutoExpress, Autocar etc. I prefer Sutcliffe's views as Harris often says things that are contradictory or don't make sense.
I could never stand Harris, he has a snob, know it all attitude
@@SnakeblokeChris should’ve made his own show and then we wouldn’t have to compare him to the GOAT’s. But he’s a duck and he falls in line so I got no respect for him.
Harris and Leblanc should've just been left alone to do their own show.
The point you made about comparing hammond returning after only 3 months and flintoff not returning at all, while valid, is a bit flawed. From what ive seen flintoff was and still is physically disfigured by the crash, i imagine he simply doesnt want to be seen by the world in this state which while unfortunate is entirely his choice and an understandable one at that. perhaps finding a better lineup and starting again from scratch wouldve been a beter alternative but maybe one that wouldnt have been possible.
the reason the bbc is being silent is that they made freddie wear an open face helmet when it should have been full face. They don;t wanna be caught admitting that in public coz if they do freedie can add a zero to his injury claim
Wouldn't be surprised. Looking back at two decades of shows I think safety was sacrificed at times for entertainment - hard to have someone present a show in a full face helmet. Aside from Hammond's crash there were things like Clarkson driving the truck into the brick wall without a frontal head restraint - he was very lucky not to be seriously injured.
Safety in motorsport has moved on since 2000 - no-one from a serious track day driver upwards wears an open face helmet outside of rallying, and FHRs are getting increasingly mandated. But because of Top Gear being entertainment mainly in road cars those advances weren't made (can't wear in FHR without a proper harness). Meanwhile Flintoff clearly lacked in driving skill, being there as a personality. It's perhaps not so surprising someone was eventually badly hurt again.
What's that? The Beeb having no idea of the homegrown gold mine they're sitting on until it's too late? Here's looking at you, Doctor Who!
Top Gear is like the TV show equivalent of Manchester United. In a decade of decline after their leader left
"oh no, anyways" I still watch compilations every so often of the 02 TG.
Fry didn’t get fired from QI as you seem to elude he quit because budget cuts by the BBC meant he had to do three episodes a day instead of the usual two and he lost all enjoyment through over working.
Good content though subscribing 👍
That’s likely true although it is a theory I’ve seen posted elsewhere which I’ve got no idea how it started
Opinion from someone who appreciated Top Gear but is NOT a petrolhead:
For me, the exotica of 6-figure automobiles was a distant second to how the boys made me laugh and relax; providing an hour's worth of respite from the world, especially the night before my workweek cranked up again.
Yes, I appreciate a well-made motor, and even went to a few car shows in the years of TG's prime. (Found out that girls can get the Fizz, too. We'll leave it at that.😊)
There were lots of good things about TG - how it was filmed, the music that was chosen, the locations, etc. All were pieces of a beautiful jigsaw puzzle that ended up missing three pieces. No matter how great the picture glued to the front of the puzzle, without those three pieces, it's not worth keeping. BBC thought we wouldn't mind the missing pieces and still ooh and aah over their creation. Sorry, Aunt Beeb.
EDIT: I'm now off to re-watch Come Fly With Me to look for Dunsfold shots. 🧐
Top Gear was a show everyone could watch even if they weren't into cars. Cars were just the medium, the real show was the three presenters playing off each other plus the cinematography. It was entertainment. Yes, a lot of the stupid stuff was clearly scripted and the three were all playing characters but so what? It was fun.
The Grand Tour recaptured most of the magic thanks to Andy Wilman coming over too. Once they ditched the silly tent segments and stopped trying to recreate Top Gear, the Grand Tour really took off. It's a shame that too is coming to an end but this time it's the three ending it on their terms and saying goodbye.
The BBC basically cancelling top gear without saying its cancelled reminds me of the 1989 cancelation of doctor who
The BBC just kept repeating the show was in developing or having a test or "were working on bringing the show back"
Only to leave the show to rest for over 15 years
Yeah, I thought that as well. "A long rest" is what they called it, quietly killed it off and it was blatantly obvious that they had no intention of bringing it back until they realised bringing it back would make them a fortune, due to the amount of Sci fi shows coming out in the early 2000s, the same thing is probably gonna happen with top gear. Maybe not as long as 15 years but I guess we'll see.
Unpopular opinion, but I liked Leblanc. He is clearly a petrolhead who is dripping in charisma. The problem is, he was put alongside Rory who simply isn’t a great presenter. As you touched on, he needed time to create a character, he could’ve been put at the forefront of their CZcams channel before taking on such a large role as Tog Gear TV. However, I just don’t think he was quite right.
I think Harris, Leblanc, and McGuinness could have been a great three. McGuinness as comic relief, Leblanc and Harris as petrol heads with known on screen skills and driving skills too.
I never really liked Flintoff on the show, although I of course wish him the best. I knew he was a ticking time bomb as it was almost like he didn’t take it seriously enough or heed the danger of driving quickly - note the XJ220 run, the 3 wheeled bike contraption, and his reckless driving of the electric off roader - there is no way he was a competent enough driver to pedal that thing the way he did. I’m not saying it is his fault in isolation, but singling out the XJ220 run, he did ignore the brake signs by some way, suggesting he did ignore BBC safety advice on at least one occasion.
He clearly had so little interest in cars, proven by his willingness to destroy Harris’s MK1 Focus RS - no self respecting petrolhead would’ve done that. I think McGuinness retained some level of interest in cars and took care (ignoring the Lambo crash, but even the best make mistakes. It wasn’t like he was driving it like a lunatic).
All if, buts and maybes, I’m not saying Leblanc, Harris, and McGuinness would’ve lived up to the original trio, that simply can’t happen, but I think it would’ve been an entertaining enough show. It basically just turned into Flintoff and McGuinness bullying Harris - the one we relate to the most - which felt painfully forced.
That was the intent of Reid originally as he was set to host extra gear in S23, but was suddenly thrust into the spotlight from S24-S26 which didn’t suit him at all.
Didn't think I'd catch a video this early on. Can't wait to see what your opinion is of the show being put to pasture.
So many things lined up for TG...Dunsfold was just as much the heart and soul of it as The trio and Stig...it just worked!
I wish I knew who the folding clothes reference was about.
I think it’s Richard porter, the writer. I remember he did an interview with Ben Collins and he said he was working in the stock room at Next around the time he got into TG
@@qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnm3937 that makes sense, cheers!
I truly wish we had more The Grand Tour, the amazing stride they hit in season 4 really had me excited for more. 😢
Lets be honest, what we think of as "Top Gear' ended at the end of GT season 3.
Fantastic video, I can't imagine the work that went into this, but just know you nailed it.
Can you make a video on the history and evolution of the Stig?
Honestly i thought i was subbed to you earlier after finding your hour and a bit long history of top gear.
Having only got into top gear as much as i did 1- maybe 2 seires max before its end (Yeah sorry guys seems i cursed the show) and living in australia there is so much about this show i just dont know.
Watching the footage you have of what appears to be hammond going into depth over his crash is something iv never seen before and would very much like to see even if its just your recounting of the events so i am already very much looking forward to that one.
The reason for no cancellation, is because the BBC love the current Top Gear, like how they love every show they are currently killing. It's one great big ego trip, and they don't want to give that up anytime soon.
The only reason it isn't coming straight back, is likely because Flintoff is giving them hell, and wants them hung, drawn, and quartered. And while I'm not a fan of Flintoff, I hope he succeeds. The BBC needs to be hit hard and fast so that real genuine change comes around, and it finally starts producing good television again.
I'm from the land across the pond and I've enjoyed Top Gear since I found out what it was since 2003. I saw a clip of it at a friends house and forgot the name, so I spent weeks searching the internet on dial up internet until I found it. This was at the time the "fat guy" was still hosting. I was so glad to find Final Gear so I can download it. I would wait on Sundays until 9-10pm when it was uploaded. That was 20 years ago, I was 22 years old then. Had back surgery and was in bed for a while and I would rewatch Top Gear over and over. Got me through that period of tough times. I feel like trio Top Gear and The Grand Tour has been a huge part of my life.
I did enjoy the Chris, Matt, and Rory line up. Wish they kept that line up going. I know it's probably hard for LeBlanc to stay on since he has many projects going, but they should've kept Rory. Would've been nice to see Chris, Rory, and maybe someone like Jethro (current US Top Gear for MotorTrend). They could've brought in another American like from the old US Top Gear cast, Rutledge Wood. He's a country boy, would be funny to see him in the land of the posh. The trio they have now feels detached from what we're used to seeing. I can't stand the other two guys. They try to be the old Top Gear with their short jokes, but they come off as more insults than jokes. The humor towards Chris seems more like bullying than 3 mates joking about. I had a hard time connecting with the new line up's personality, therefor I ended my run with them.
Harris, Leblanc and Rory worked well together. It is a pity they couldn't keep a hold of Leblanc.
Chris Harris on Cars was an exceptional program here on CZcams, but even so, I have not seen a Top Gear episode since the trio left. I'm glad that my hunches were correct. This video is very thorough and eloquent, as always. Nice job, Mr knob.
Today I learned what a Coda is.
It's also a really average Led Zeppelin album.
@@TC-lk2evMore of an outtakes album, really
@@twitchy.johnson6731 Yeah, it's still a bit pants though.
As a cricket fan I should highlight that Andrew Flintoff appears to have some non-contracted role with the England cricket team as a coach, so even if he were able to return to Top Gear, A League of Their Own, or any other media work, he would probably seek a job in cricket.
Excellent as always Alex.
Whilst I've always been a huge Top Gear nerd, watching it before the Clarkson, Hammond May era as a kid and obviously a massive fan of THE trio when it was rebooted in 2002 when I was a teenager, I think if everyone was brutally honest they'd admit the format was getting a bit stale even before Clarkson was sacked and they left. For me it was around Season 20ish that the show started to feel like a bit of a parody of itself. Repeating the same ideas, the scripting feeling a bit too obvious and the jokes too rehearsed. It no longer felt original and genuine, even thought it's always good to see those three together. For the BBC to just try and carry on with their format with new presenters was pretty naive. It was like your favourite band losing all it's members and some randomers getting on stage playing the songs as if nobody would know the difference or care. The fact is that these days there is an abundance of car content youtube channels that offer far more than anything Top Gear offers in the post Clarkson, Hammond and May era. The world has moved on, the combustion engine is getting phased out and Top Gear as we know it no longer works. It was a golden era for the car and car entertainment on TV with those three but it feels like it's done and dusted now. Maybe there's a new format waiting to happen but the Top Gear name will always be synonymous with those three and anything the BBC do will always be held up against what it was.
💯 my thoughts exactly I feel like Vietnam special was the peak of Top Gear
top gear died the day Clackson, Hammond and May left the studio.
22:10 Richard Porter offered to meet up with you and film a video explaining his objections to your video. Did you take him up on this?
I'm just sorry for Freddie :(
I will miss Chris Harris' contributions. He was excellent. I think the only presenter who captured some of the previous magic.
Just give Harris his own show
Well as you said before this was going to happen at some point. I’m kind of glad they have finally put the show down.
Something that the BBC never managed to understand is that Top Gear was never about the cars. It was always, and had been about the presenters. Something Amazon has understood very well.
You can see where the red flags were being hoisted when the BBC picked Paddy McGuinness to be the host of A Question of Sport over Flintoff, who literally plyed his trade as a professional sportsman
Top Gear was such an important part of my childhood and I'm just so happy I got some more seasons of grand tour after.
My pitch for a renewal of Top Gear: Bring back the magazine format. Have Chris Harris present the show solo, recycling some of the quick wit and humour of the CHM era but with a more factual tone, harking back to early CHM Top Gear. Get Tiff Needell back to guest present. Focus on car buying advice, which gives the show practical appeal whilst leaving the door open for the occasional cheap car challenge. Stick to motoring journalists and resist the urge to stuntcast ratings draws, if your journalists have a good enough on-screen presence they'll become stars in their own right. Finally, bring back some of the creativity! Don't stick to a tried and tested formula, test the waters with different challenges and tweaks to the presentation that allow new-new Top Gear to grow into its own thing! Innovation is tough, but it can pay off. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
The narration that Clarkson May and Hammond delivered showed their backgrounds in journalism and broadcasting - for all their clowning around - they did research their shows/specials - even although Clarkson tries to hide it - when he talked about the bridge over the river Kwai - you could tell he had the facts to hand. The other presenters that followed struggled to deliver and lacked the ability to change tact quickly which the other three excelled at.
Not only that. Clarkson is a very interesting person with learning about culture and people.
As a massive fan of the original trio and as someone that has literally grown up watching Top Gear religiously from the age of 10 (now 32) I thoroughly enjoyed having both The Grand Tour and new Top Gear to watch, apart from the first season with Chris Evans it really wasn't that bad and I never understood why it got so much hate, if anything some of the films and specials they put out we're in my opinion some of the best in the entire history of Top Gear!
They are trying to reboot Top Gear Australia next year. Hope it goes well because Moog from Mighty Car Mods is in it 😂
Its sad that it ended how it did, but its sadder that it ended in the state it was in.
So Matt Leblanc was not considered good? Personally, I liked Matt Leblanc dry sense of humor and it really grow on me and the way the other guys would pick on him. The season after or two after he left, I had a difficult time understanding the accents of the new guys and gave up watching.
Yeah I quite liked him actually. I think he gets unfairly caught in the crossfire from the absolutely awful Chris Evans.
The BBC directors board knows exactly what they need to do to make Top Gear successful again.
Go on their hands and knees and beg Clarkson, May, and Hammond to come back.
But they won't.
Why would you beg a guy who hit someone on your team back?
@@CodecrafterArtemis
That got resolved the same night.
The directors board was just looking for an excuse to get rid of Clarkson.
@@nielsmichiels1939 "Resolved" how? The person who got assaulted got a lump of cash not to press charges? Out of whose pocket, BBC's or Clarkson's?
I think this incident was just the moment Clarkson became a liability. If BBC kept him, they might've come under fire.
Keep in mind that Clarkson's name was already mired in controversy because of the whole FKL car license plate incident (yeah, he probably didn't do it on purpose, but *he* was driving that car).
Even if they came back, it would simply plug some of the holes of that sinking ship.
With channels like Hagerty and Throttle House (the top of the game in my opinion), Top Gear is just too resource intensive to produce and can't be adapted to the current model of competitive small, but very high quality, producers.
Agreed. The TG YT channel puts out better content than the BBC show, at presumably a fraction of the cost and resources. The YT scene has in essence made main screen car shows an outdated platform and obsolete
@@qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnm3937 Exactly, there is a whole plethora of channels out there, especially ones that cater to specific niches, so not only do you have a lot of content, you can watch stuff specifically for the type of cards or activity you like, only reason why TGT still works in my opinion is because people watch it for the trio and their entertainment value along with the car element still being an attraction to some extent, rathen than watching a car show specifically
And every other smaller car channels as well.
Chris Harris was a good pick, it's just that on the show he's playing a character that isn't present with his 'on cars' videos where he's more candid. His chemistry with Jack from those videos on TG is much stronger. Both of them were the perfect pick, then it's just a matter of finding a 3rd. For that, I'd dive into the realm of CZcams and seriously consider someone *like* Auto Alex. Ideally though you meant people who aren't *just* car fans and have more to say.
I think Chris Harris should move on from the BBC and host his own driving show that's somewhat like a mix between old Top Gear (i.e. 1977-2001 run), Fifth Gear, and new Top Gear (the 2002 format) - a serious motoring show with some occasional challenges (like the cheap vehicle challenges) that are of a smaller scale compared to Top Gear. Harris would be joined by other racing drivers serving as hosts - Abbie Eaton (who did the power laps on the Eboladrome in the Grand Tour) and Tom Chilton (touring car driver who appeared on Top Gear's unconventional vehicle races hosted by Richard Hammond). I honestly think Harris, Eaton and Chilton would've made a good trio.
The idea is that it's sort of like Top Gear, but tries to be its own thing to differentiate it from something like the Grand Tour (which is essentially a continuation of Clarkson, Hammond and May's tenure from Top Gear).
auto alex is a clown. Any picks from Ben catchpole, Jason camissa and Jethro Bovingdon is a better shout
Plucking someone who is successful on YT and putting them on a TV show won't necessarily work (Chris Harris himself being a case in point). I can't see Auto Alex being any better at being a TG host than Chris, and I quite like Alex.
That's poor form from Richard Porter. I saw him as guest on some CZcams podcast thing and he came across as a nice bloke. it would have been much more civil of him to post a comment on your video stating the things you got wrong or he disagreed with.
You should do Classic TG indepth ranking lists of eps, or indepth reviews of old eps
People who watched the show for the boys couldn't care less about the new show.
And others who wanted to watch a proper car program didn't care for same style, "fooling around" show just with different hosts.
I was with you right up until you chimped out over Richard Porter's tweets querying the accuracy of a past video. If you want to be a successful CZcamsr, you have to develop a thicker skin, lest you become a lolcow.
Other than that, great video as always.
How about Porter develops thicker skin, for real, if aleast he criticized his points with counter arguments and facts rather than basing his whole response on how he got that show "wrong". I mean someone responds to you with sketchy information but if you respond you are thin skinned?
Honestly it should have ended when the 3 left. Including wilman
Wondered when you would talk about this
The dunsfold part is just depressing really. Why cant you do a track day there?
Dunsfold never was, and was never intended to be, a permanent race track, and has none of the safety features that you need for one (the course even crosses over itself so you can't have more than one or two vehicles on it for risk of collision).
That said the encroachment point it somewhat valid - tracks in the UK have nearly zero protection from noise complaints. New venues are practically impossible to get approved even if both a site and funding are found, as local planning authorities rarely consider motorsports in good faith. I don't think any permanent circuit has been built in the UK for decades, and there's been some big lost opportunities in that time. It's not much better overseas and combined with other factors it's gradually killing motorsport.
THE DOWN SIDE AND SAD REALITY IS THE ONLY WAY BBC CAN REVIVE THE DEAD HORSE WOULD BE TO BRING THE ORIGINAL TRIO BACK - AND WITH THEIR AMAZON DEALS WHY WOULD THEY
The same is the case for Dr Who.Everything has its time.
Welp, that just happened... and on that bombshell it's time to move on
It's just like in 1989 with Doctor who were they say that it will be on a break but it doesn't come back
Get Chris Harris,Matt Farrah and Jodie Kidd as hosts,all are Good drivers,all have a genuine interest in cars/transport,all are personable people that seem genuinely likeable..The current line up is two pillocks and a goodfella.
Lad, Porter is in your head rent free
He has deleted that months old tweet within the past day, so I think that might be the other way around
Considering Porter has deleted tweets and brushed the whole interaction under the carpet that's kind of telling on who is correct in this situation.
Doctor Who will be next.
throughout my childhood, i never looked over at top gear, until one day i searched through netflix and found the series and from there, i notice one thing.
Top Gear in the past was far more superior in automotive broadcasting than today's Top Gear.
While the 'classic' Clarkson, Hammond, and May-era Top Gear came across as genuine and fresh, the eras that followed all came over as contrived and stale.
It was over when the real Top Gear hosts left. After that it went down hill quickly. Bye bye bye Top Gear
I enjoyed the Harris, Freddie & Paddy iteration, but it never hit ITS stride, yet certainly had its moments. The Grand Tour wasn't the best either, but because it had the beloved three bouncing off each other and doing a tweaked version of a format put together by them. Rather than attempting to stick to a format left for them to fill and stick to.
I disagree with including Paddy in that. Paddy just seems like he is playing a character. He seems inauthentic for some reason.
I didn't mind Freddie though. Him, Harris and Leblanc would have been an interesting trio.
@@PeterHouellebecq at times I do feel he was trying to be the Clarkson of the group when it comes to the presenting side of Jezza's character. I find him funny tho so most of the times I didn't care
If Chris Harris can carry the show himself I would watch it. At least he's a decent bloke, he knows what he's doing.
Top Gear could try morphing into a CZcams only car review and adventures format. They mostly need some charming personalities that know what they're driving
Which is ironic since CZcams carshows are part of the TG Golden Era's legacy.
The BBC could have just hired better people. I watched top gear from 2002 and from the time clarkson left I never watched another full episode of Top Gear without falling asleep.
Chris Harris on his own on YT is more entertaining than as part of Top Gear impostor team. Anyway this brand still has decent power and could be developed further in many ways with reasonable budget, as we all can see on this very platform (I personally love "Revelations" by Jason Cammisa). They just need to hire creative talents and let them do their thing, instead of trying to stitch together old glory and calculated corporate guidelines into this rotting monster.
By the way, same thing happened to big movie IPs. When Marvel thought that its name alone can make profit and stopped hiring people like Favreau, Branagh, Russos' and Gunn it all went downstairs. And went fast.
most viewers of the original programme only had a passing interest in cars, but they did enjoy watching certain middle aged men buying budget bangers and doing challenges.. and buggering up! 😅
The main problem with the latest TopGear is all the excellent CZcamsrs doing car reviews in format we the viewer love, with likable presenters! The BBC made a huge mistake getting rid of Rory and putting a comedian and cricketer on the team. Harris, Reid and a 3rd proper car personality would have been much much better.
We didn't watch Top Gear for Top Gear. Since Season 2 we watched TopGear for the three lovable idiots.
Technycally safety is the BBCs top priority,
allbeit in the (non)sense of politically "safe"
anyone know who he is referring to at 9:20 ??
Richard Porter
well, at least top gear and collecting cars yt channels exist
LJK Setright!! Do a feature on him, please, time is grinding away at his legacy.
Here's an idea. Chris Harris, Rory Reid and Alex Kersten as the new presenters. New track, new location, friendly banter. Tell me these guys can't make a new exciting Top Gear.
That's a great lineup of talent, but they're probably better sticking with (or going back to) the relative freedom of CZcams.
Odds are this never happens, but imo the only way to save Top Gear would be to sell the copyrights and to bring Clarkson, Hammond and May back on a different network. Top Gear really isn't Top Gear without them.
Jeremy announced recently that he's done with car journalism and may said similar things about a year ago too, it seems like Richard is the only one of the trio who's still enjoying doing it Drive Tribe channel is a good indicator of that
@@1ybr I agree, although I find it hard to believe that they would pass up an opportunity on Top Gear again.
@@jamcm8 I find it extremely easy to believe. The current car landscape simply isn't what Clarkson is interested in anymore.
Top Gear and The Grand Tour are both dead through the Aussie Version of Top Gear is coming back next year with Moog from Mighty Car Mods as one of the hosts.
Well, the current situation at the BBC is not getting any better with the ongoing discussion about the TV License Fees and the cancellation/downsizing of TV shows, there is no way Top Gear will be back on TV even if the BBC beg the original trio to come back, which they won't.
That’s in 2026 right?
@@jackthorton10 I read that the raise the license fee in 2024 but by 2028, they are discussing how the BBC will be funded
Schadenfreude, that’s what I get from all this. Top Gear ended when they decided to not renew Clarkson. Now we can blame Flintoff for the official ending of the series though. Hammond a near death funny car accident didn’t even cause the series this much grief.
I mean, Clarkson assaulted a producer. Why *would* you renew a contract with him after this?
@@CodecrafterArtemis Oh wow that changes everything for me now. It’s like you turned the lights on for me, it was dark and now I can see. My view has changed on this whole situation.
How can the BBC continue in this new media world. Scrap the license fee and allow the public to decide to pay per view via an app. If it then can't survive, then it doesn't deserve to exist.
Hammond's daughter can be one of the future's Top Gear presenters. She has been making good content with her father recently.
Yeah on drive tribe I’m subbed to them
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I really hope we don't lose the Dunsfold test track. It's synonymous with the show and could be applied to all sorts of events. Replacing it with a housing estate would be the same as demolishing Wembley stadium to build an Asda. You'd be destroying a piece of culture.
New top gear had some good bits at least
I disagree with the ending statement of "when you try and take it out of that era, it doesn't work", i belive that Top Gears golden goose format still does work expectionally even outside of the era it defines, it's just that it only worked for Top Gear with the original trio
See: the Grand Tour. A lot of people don't get that it's not about the cars, it's about the chemistry between James, Jeremy, and Richard. That's what people watched. The Grand Tour has done well, especially once they stopped trying to be Top Gear in the tent.
@@bwofficial1776 Exactly! The Grand Tour is not just Top Gear 2.0
I'm willing to bet there are people out there who bought Amazon Prime just to watch TGT, and there are reasons it's the most pirated show............ in the world
@@NeurodivergentSuperiority It contradicted your point though lol. TGT working when they stopped trying to be Top Gear means, Top Gear's Gold Era could not have happened anywhere else.
@@GloomGaiGar But the formula for a Top Gear type-progam works
The show will never be as big as it once was, but I do think they can keep Chris and the stig and get two other knowledgable CZcamsrs and make something out of it as long as they quit it with the dangerous stunts. There is still a place for an auto show on traditional TV in the modern anti-car world.
The rant about Richard was not needed. That was a bit thin skinned. You produce things, you need to be able to take criticism.
I think what you're omitting is that Top Gear with the original trio in 2010's had already lost the clout it had during 2000's. You can see that from the viewcount of the series as well, viewer numbers drop from 7.45 down to around 6.5 millions.
Regarding hosts, I believethe reason why BBC employed LeBlanc and Evans is because they were famous names who are petrolheads, and they tried to make it work. Mind you, Hammond was not a proper car journalist as well before Top Gear, he only had done Men&Motors and a radio show based on cars. Had they manage to build chemistry with Evans and Matt LeBlanc and all the other hosts, "new" Top Gear could have worked.
Who are these history revisionists
Ripbozo
I maintain that the last few series of "the trio" showed that the format had already outstayed its welcome. It had become too contrived and simply not funny. I tried watching the Grand Tour but genuinely can't get through an episode as it's just the same - painfully scripted interactions between people who cannot act, being put in situations that come from a Family Guy cutaway gag.
It's not like I've grown up and the Top Gear I enjoyed as a teenager doesn't entertain me in the same way - the old episodes are still good. The same can't be said for the format.
so why did the writer get angry at your video
Cos of some scuffed misinformation, as well as Gearknob's shitty attitude elsewhere. I can vouch for this after leaving shitstain marks with his rotten moods all over the Top Gear Community discord server.
Some of his points in the video were inaccurate. It's a shame Gearknob took the Tweet as he did as I don't think Richard tried to cause offence at all. In fact he later praised Gearknob for his passion around 2002-era Top Gear and offered to do an interview to discuss what working on the show was like, which Gearknob rejected. I've met Richard Porter at one of his Smith and Sniff Live podcasts and have to say he was lovely. We chatted for a good 10 minutes, he told me about going round to Quentin Willson's house when working on the show in the 90s.
22:06 I'm going to stop here and disagree, the way you responded was even worse when it devolved into a 25-strong retweet frenzy and that wasn't the only thing he was talking about. Mind, I can totally understand that it was disconcerting to see, but the response was immature. In any case he has invited you to a chat, so there's that.
Flintoff defo made off with his big payment and his face rearranged
Taggart was STV/ITV not BBC, so it lived in a different environment to BBC productions.
its funny how a diner plate killed Top Gear
I liked Matt Le Blanc, he was awkward but given time he could have been a great host imo
11:05 Wait, Stephen Fry was fired?😳