The Grand Tour thread (PLUS Post-BBC Clarkson discussion)

[Dave]

Essentially a sacking. No contract on the table for him so he's gone

Views? It's the balls du jour to hate on Clarkson, but he has done some pretty inexcusable stuff in his role.

Top Gear isn't as funny as it once was either... All a bit formulaic these days.

I'm surprised they sacked him but on the other hand what chance did they have? If I punched the bloke next to me at work I'd be escorted out of the building with a box of my stuff.

So...

[WWTBAM]

Probably the right thing for the BBC to do considering they are also a government owned broadcaster. I never liked him after seeing how he was on series one of Robot Wars. I saw someone on Facebook suggest that Rowan Atkinson should replace Clarkson

[Geo Ghost]

I can understand the reasons, but it's a still a shame as I loved the show.

And I still wanted to see the race between the Mclarren, Ferrari, and Porshe!

[Dave]

Rowan Atkinson would be brilliant!!!

[Redirect Left]

A shame, but realistically, it was the only appropriate action.
I hope Oisin Tymons career with the BBC is unaffected by recent events, and I'm glad that Clarkson reported himself to BBC officials, and it wasn't left to someone else to report the matter.

Hammond & May were reported to have refused to film the rest of this series without Clarkson. So I suspect they may also leave of their own accord.
I'm also somewhat anticipating another channel to potentially scoop up the trio for another TG rip off too, if all three of them end up leaving the BBC.

edit: it seems Hammond & May have both individually tweeted their departure already, http://metro.co.uk/2015/03/25/jeremy-cl ... b-5120492/

[Pyoro]

Yeah, kinda sucks, but if you punch somebody, well, that's hard to defend ...

... I found those "it wasn't his first offense" articles that listed all his Top Gear "events" though really ridiculous, as if the show wasn't scripted and approved by the producers. He's just the one presenting previously agreed lines, not like he's spontaneously racist or something ^^

[Wile E. Coyote]

Very odd.

Is there any plan to continue show with new hosts?

Somebody likes Clarkson, somebody hates him, but nobody has no opinion about him. That fact spikes for itself.

[Ameecher]

I was incredibly riled by the petition to keep him when nobody knew anything about the situation. None of us round here could expect to keep our jobs by socking someone so nor should he, regardless of how much money he makes for the BBC or how much he is liked by a lot of people. Personally, the guy is a total arse but he is a very good entertainer, although I think some of his best stuff is as a documentary presenter. Sky will scoop them up but I think it actually gets the production team out of a few holes. The format has been getting tired for a while and needs a rest/change anyway.

[Chrill]

I support the decision taken by BBC but I also enjoy Top Gear and Jeremy Clarkson so I will end up watching a potential spin-off/reboot/remake of the show with or without the complete trio.

Almost every TV channel will try to pick the trio up but a commercial channel will struggle to be neutral in the same way BBC could be. I'm also not sure if they want to do an exactly similar show. Perhaps they will work together from time to time on smaller projects but another TopGear might be difficult to arrange.

[Dave]

Yeah, kinda sucks, but if you punch somebody, well, that's hard to defend ...

... I found those "it wasn't his first offense" articles that listed all his Top Gear "events" though really ridiculous, as if the show wasn't scripted and approved by the producers. He's just the one presenting previously agreed lines, not like he's spontaneously racist or something ^^

But it's well documented that they wrote a lot of it themselves. Maybe the whole production team is to blame, but he's the face of it. There have been a number of incidents outside of Top Gear, too. Remember when he punched Piers Morgan? Although we all liked that.

Is there any plan to continue show with new hosts?

Nothing from the Beeb as yet.

As Ameecher says, Clarkson will end up on Sky One presenting Top Speed or something like that. And May and Hammond will no doubt follow.

The Beeb have shot themselves in the foot, but they hardly had a choice...

[PhiliThunder]

Rowan Atkinson would be brilliant!!!

HAHA Maybe... Just tell them

[orudge]

Remember when he punched Piers Morgan? Although we all liked that.

Oddly enough, Piers Morgan actually wrote what seems to be a surprisingly sensible article on this whole situation.

A shame that Top Gear in its current form has come to an end (although I hope the BBC find some way to at least show the prerecorded films that must have already been prepared for the rest of this series), but quite understandable that they couldn't continue Clarkson's contract after he actually hit somebody. The guy made a stupid mistake and acted like an idiot. It'll definitely be interesting to see what the future holds though.

[Wile E. Coyote]

(although I hope the BBC find some way to at least show the prerecorded films that must have already been prepared for the rest of this series)

I really doubt that. I don't know about legal things, but if they broadcast earlier recorded shows when they broke contract, all thing may end on court.

[Redirect Left]

Poor Oisin is currently the target of trolls and general twits on Twitter, who blame Clarksons sacking on him.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-32076395

Already said it in this thread, but I hope none of this affects his career with the BBC.

[Born Acorn]

Riding a bicycle already.... The end of an era.

[lobster]

I'm also somewhat anticipating another channel to potentially scoop up the trio for another TG rip off too, if all three of them end up leaving the BBC.

Tbh this will probably be the case. Channels are probably queueing up with bags of money ready to fill that Top Gear gap. I cannot see Top Gear itself continue in this format, but am curious to see how they'll reshape it and who'll be on it. Rowan Atkinson would be quite good, along with someone less famous with in-depth knowledge of cars. If they need a non-car-clown-type to complete the trio, I'd suggest Richard Ayoade though.

[doktorhonig]

Somehow a pity, but some people act like that when they think they cannot be replaced. Rowan Atkinson would be great for this show.
In the meantime, check out "mighty car mods" on youtube. Essentially, it's about modifying cheap old cars (as they have a small budget), but it's also hilarious. Especially their longer shows where they travel around. (Kei to the city, lend us a ride).

[Redirect Left]

The official TG website has dropped all 3 presenters from their header banner, leaving only the stig.

Possible confirmation of all three jumping ship?

http://www.topgear.com/
For anyone who has never noticed, this is what the banner looked like late last year, https://web.archive.org/web/20141217213 ... ar.com/uk/ (yay, achive.org)

[te_lanus]

The official TG website has dropped all 3 presenters from their header banner, leaving only the stig.

Possible confirmation of all three jumping ship?

http://www.topgear.com/
For anyone who has never noticed, this is what the banner looked like late last year, https://web.archive.org/web/20141217213 ... ar.com/uk/ (yay, achive.org)

Both Hammond and may's lastish tweets:

James May @MrJamesMay · 22h 22 hours ago
Is any animal good at reversing? #StillUnemployed

Richard Hammond @RichardHammond · Mar 30
Ok, now this is where being bored gets you. Not ready for retirement

[Kevo00]

Interesting that other broadcasters seem to be leaving some breathing space before signing them.