Top Gear

[Sdiver]

While not a 'gear head', I've always enjoyed watching this show on BBC America, and aside from Doctor Who think that Top Gear is the best show on this channel.

Oh, to be able to drive some of those cars that they 'test' would be pure heaven.

Maybe I can put in an application to be the next STIG ... or at least his American Cousin.

[PSM]

OK: "tope, to drink alcohol to excess, especially on a regular basis". Are you quoting something or, uh, toping?

Pat

[Sdiver]

Shhhh .... don't talk to the driver when he's driving.

[Mustang Man]

I very much do love the show as well. The fact that Jeremy punched Piers Morgan is enough alone to make me a loyal viewer of his show.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ing-feuds.html

[Sdiver]

Some say that it is the beard that makes the man .... Others say that it is the man that makes the beard ... but for this chap there is absolutely no doubt ...

All we know is ... HE'S CALLED THE STIG !!!!!!

[Sdiver]

Well this SUCKS !!!!!!

UPDATE: Jeremy Clarkson Quits Top Gear, Show Cancelled for Good

Petrolheads all over, ladies and gents that enjoyed Top Gear's "ambitious but rubbish" take on all things automotive, it pains us to announce that Jeremy Clarkson calls it quits in his column in The Sun.

In a piece titled "So we lose the tiger... but gain acid-spit snail," Jeremy Clarkson talks about nature's battle against extinction and the future of the Top Gear trio. Without further ado, this is how Jezza broke the silence in his most recent column for the tabloid:

"I THINK it’s fair to say that nature made a mistake when it invented the dinosaur. It was too big, too violent and with such small and puny arms it was never going to be able to operate heavy machinery or even enjoy a bit of special “me” time." Pretty easy to understand, but we haven't even got to the most tear-jearking part yet.

“All the dinosaurs died and now, years later, no-one mourns their passing. These big, imposing creatures have no place in a world which has moved on.” What these two lines point at is the dying of Top Gear as a show and how the presenter will have to move on.

Despite 880,000-plus signatures for the #BringBackClarkson petition, Jezza suggests that all our efforts were in vain: “You can start as many campaigns as you like and call on the support of politicians from all sides, but the day must come when you have to wave goodbye to the big monsters, and move on.”

This is the end and we can't do anything about it...

Fingers crossed other British broadcasting companies will bite his arm off and Clarkson will convice May and Hammond to start a new motoring show from square one. It will be hard to convince those two to jump on the bandwagon, but it won't be impossible.

Even if not for May and Hammond, if Jeremy will make a pay-per-view YouTube channel and continue filming car reviews, it'll still be enough to soothe our fevered petrolhead brows. Best of luck, Jezza!

UPDATE: Captain Slow confirmed that Top Gear is kaput in a not-so-cryptic manner in two tweets. It's quite surprising that he quotes a very dramatic song from 1980s act The Smiths. Then he changes to The Fall's A Lot Of Wind, a song about "Fred the Weather Man" from Granada TV. Fred Talbot has been convicted of indecently assaulting two teenage boys.

UPDATE 2: The Mirror reports that "Jeremy Clarkson called Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon 'a lazy Irish ****," and that "Clarkson ranted for half an hour then punched him in the mouth - he was bleeding and dizzy so he had to go to hospital." In related Jeremy Clarkson news, bbc.co.uk was offline this afternoon, possibly because digital protest group Anonymous threatened an attack on the site a few days ago.

UPDATE 3: Clarkson was reportedly involved in filming for BBC rival Channel 4, with a new "Full Throttle" show on its way.

UPDATE 4: Perry McCarthy (the Black Stig) seems to have jumped the fracas bandwagon. He shoots a big one straight at the BBC on Twitter.

UPDATE 5: here are Jeremy Clarkson’s most controversial moments during his 27-year stay at the BBC.

http://www.autoevolution.com/news/je...ood-93287.html

[Divemaster]

Originally Posted by Sdiver

Well this SUCKS !!!!!!

The reports of Top Gear's death are greatly exaggerated...by about 16 years.

http://jalopnik.com/jeremy-clarksons...9-e-1691668505

Keep calm, and Gambon on.

[Sdiver]

Well, looks like the BBC sacked Clarkson and the future of the show is now in doubt.

BBC Director-General's statement regarding Jeremy Clarkson




Date: 25.03.2015 Last updated: 25.03.2015 at 14.00

Category: BBC Two; Factual; Corporate

Tony Hall, the BBC Director-General, has today released the following statement regarding Jeremy Clarkson.

It is with great regret that I have told Jeremy Clarkson today that the BBC will not be renewing his contract. It is not a decision I have taken lightly. I have done so only after a very careful consideration of the facts and after personally meeting both Jeremy and Oisin Tymon.

I am grateful to Ken MacQuarrie for the thorough way he has conducted an investigation of the incident on 4th March. Given the obvious and very genuine public interest in this I am publishing the findings of his report. I take no pleasure in doing so. I am only making them public so people can better understand the background. I know how popular the programme is and I also know that this decision will divide opinion. The main facts are not disputed by those involved.

I want to make three points.

First – The BBC is a broad church. Our strength in many ways lies in that diversity. We need distinctive and different voices but they cannot come at any price. Common to all at the BBC have to be standards of decency and respect. I cannot condone what has happened on this occasion. A member of staff – who is a completely innocent party – took himself to Accident and Emergency after a physical altercation accompanied by sustained and prolonged verbal abuse of an extreme nature. For me a line has been crossed. There cannot be one rule for one and one rule for another dictated by either rank, or public relations and commercial considerations.

Second – This has obviously been difficult for everyone involved but in particular for Oisin. I want to make clear that no blame attaches to him for this incident. He has behaved with huge integrity throughout. As a senior producer at the BBC he will continue to have an important role within the organisation in the future.

Third – Obviously none of us wanted to find ourselves in this position. This decision should in no way detract from the extraordinary contribution that Jeremy Clarkson has made to the BBC. I have always personally been a great fan of his work and Top Gear. Jeremy is a huge talent. He may be leaving the BBC but I am sure he will continue to entertain, challenge and amuse audiences for many years to come.

The BBC must now look to renew Top Gear for 2016. This will be a big challenge and there is no point in pretending otherwise. I have asked Kim Shillinglaw to look at how best we might take this forward over the coming months. I have also asked her to look at how we put out the last programmes in the current series.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/sta...n-dg-statement