Top Gear thread

[Cookie Monster]

#FracasGate

[Morris Minor]

From the one of the most awesome UK tabloids, so compelling that it has cult status:

'I'm off to the Job Centre', jokes Jeremy Clarkson as sources say he may QUIT the BBC - even if they clear him of food fight fracas - as 400,000 join fight to keep him on Top Gear

    Clarkson suspended by BBC after allegedly throwing a punch at producer
    54-year-old allegedly 'smacked' Oisin Tymon, 36, over lack of food on set
    Presenter said today he was 'just off to the Job Centre' as he left his home
    James May admits his friend was involved in a 'bit of a dust up' over dinner
    BBC spokesman confirmed no one else has been suspended over incident
    'Bring Back Clarkson' petition already has 400,000-plus online signatures 
    Top Gear episode will not air on Sunday and doubt over showing two more
    Clarkson put on 'final warning' in 2014 after racism row over nursery rhyme
    ITV may be preparing £10million bid to lure presenter away from the BBC
    Chris Evans favourite to replace Clarkson if he is sacked over 'punch-up'
    Did you see it? Contact 02036151866 or emma.glanfield@mailonline.co.uk


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2988412/Top-Gear-s-Jeremy-Clarkson-suspended-BBC-fracas-producer.html

[SVT666]

The BBC has reportedly decided to cancel the rest of the current Top Gear season due to a recent scuffle between host Jeremy Clarkson and a producer.

Previous reports suggested the final three episodes in the show's 22nd season, however BBC News now claims the network has finalized its decision to not air the episode related to Clarkson's alleged confrontation and the remaining two scheduled segments.

One source claims Clarkson attempted to punch producer Oisin Tymon in a dispute over hot meals following a day of filming, but details surrounding the incident have not been officially detailed or confirmed by BBC.

The fiasco has infuriated many fans, leading to a "Bring Back Clarkson" petition at Change.org. The campaign has been signed by more than 770,000 supporters.

Despite the truncation of the current season, Top Gear is one of the BBC's most popular shows and is not expected to be completely cancelled, even if the dispute leads to Clarkson's resignation or ouster.

[Rupert]

I think they stage these things every few years. Clarkson isn't that much of an idiot hothead, and neither is the BBC.

[68_427]

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

 

[SVT666]

LOL

[MrH]

@jeremydarkson

[hotrodalex]

[hotrodalex]

"Probably"

[Cookie Monster]

[Morris Minor]

Another source said that Clarkson called Tymon, 36, a "lazy Irish c***" before splitting his lip with a punch that left him with blood running down his face.
Tymon is understood to have received treatment at the A&E department at Friarage Hospital, in Northallerton, and is said to have also suffered dizziness.

More... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/top-gear/11472112/Jeremy-Clarkson-punched-producer-and-called-him-lazy-Irish.html

[Payman]

Not good.

[veeman]

As much as I love Top Gear and hate "politically correct" speech which has hamstrung most intelligent discussion on television, Jeremy's clearly in the wrong here.  Being drunk isn't a great excuse either.  He thinks he's too big for his britches and that sort of stuff shouldn't fly.

It's hard to predict whether the show will survive without his persona.  They find the right guy, and it'll be different but still could be great.

[SVT666]

As much as I love Top Gear and hate "politically correct" speech which has hamstrung most intelligent discussion on television, Jeremy's clearly in the wrong here.  Being drunk isn't a great excuse either.  He thinks he's too big for his britches and that sort of stuff shouldn't fly.

It's hard to predict whether the show will survive without his persona.  They find the right guy, and it'll be different but still could be great.

Yeah, the more that comes out about this incident, the more I think Clarkson should be fired.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Yeah, the more that comes out about this incident, the more I think Clarkson should be fired.

Fuck that. Clarkson is Top Gear.

[hotrodalex]

Yeah, the more that comes out about this incident, the more I think Clarkson should be fired.

Yeah, BBC's actions seem pretty reasonable with the current info on the incident.

[Payman]

I voted Steve Coogan to replace Jezza.

[SVT666]

It's official. Jeremy Clarkson quit, and BBC has cancelled Top Gear for good.

[12,000 RPM]

Good, we need more car shows like Alex on Autos. Top Gear is to cars what Mythbusters has become to science ("hey lets find a reason to blow some shit up!")

[Cookie Monster]

It's official. Jeremy Clarkson quit, and BBC has cancelled Top Gear for good.

Link?

[Byteme]

It's official. Jeremy Clarkson quit, and BBC has cancelled Top Gear for good.

Got a cite for that?

[SVT666]

http://m.autoevolution.com/jeremy-clarkson-quits-top-gear-show-cancelled-for-good-93287.html

[SVT666]

Good, we need more car shows like Alex on Autos. Top Gear is to cars what Mythbusters has become to science ("hey lets find a reason to blow some shit up!")

[Cookie Monster]

Good, we need more car shows like Alex on Autos. Top Gear is to cars what Mythbusters has become to science ("hey lets find a reason to blow some shit up!")

Alex on Autos is good, but both kinds of shows have their place. Not everyone's always in the mood to find out how an infotainment system works or how child seats fit in the back seat.

[Byteme]

http://m.autoevolution.com/jeremy-clarkson-quits-top-gear-show-cancelled-for-good-93287.html

Road and track, 14 hours ago (as of this writing), thinks that conclusion is a bit premature.  And I can't find anything where May says the BBC has killed off Top Gear forever.


http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/entertainment/news/a25278/no-jeremy-clarkson-hasnt-quit-top-gear-yet/


No, Jeremy Clarkson hasn't quit Top Gear yet

Any reports that he has are a stretch. More importantly, it doesn't matter.

By Alex Nunez


So, there's a story out there that definitively states Jeremy Clarkson has quit Top Gear, and that it's over.

He hasn't and it's not. At least not yet.

The conclusion is based on allusions Clarkson made in his weekly Sun column.

You can sign up to read The Sun column yourselves (first month's free, so you can read and quit before you get charged) or you can Google and probably find it reprinted on any of eleventy-four trillion forums.

Whatever, the part that has everyone saying it's all over is this analogy Clarkson draws to the way people try to mobilize to save endangered species—a nod to the petitions started in support of him:

The fact is that 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.

He goes on to confirm his suspension and says he won't discuss what happened then or speculate on what's to come because he's fed up with it all and the rest of humanity likely is, too.

Anyway, back to the bullshit drama that is, "OMG! CLARKSON REALLY QUIT!"

First, he didn't. He colorfully alludes to perhaps doing so. But there's no announcement here.

Second, it doesn't matter. You know why? Because whether or not the three remaining "postponed" episodes of Top Gear ever air, Clarkson's contract—along with May's and Hammond's—is up at the end of the season anyway.

So, whether Clarkson quits now, or the BBC opts not to renew him, it's the same difference. And really, penning a career eulogy for Clarkson now is just about the stupidest thing ever.

Because if you think that, say, a Rupert Murdoch won't basically offer him (and Hammond and May) roughly the GDP of Lichtenstein to take their petrolhead party over to a rival net like Sky, you are not paying attention.

Jeremy Clarkson, contrary to what all the hysteria would suggest, has everyone right where he wants them. If he quits now? He's a free agent. If, following its Official Fracas Inquiry, the Beeb doesn't re-sign him—bingo! He's still a free agent.

He is a valuable asset with a massive, baked-in audience.

The BBC, for all its talk the last several months, will machine-gun itself in the foot if it doesn't swallow hard and re-sign Clarkson, and May, and Hammond.

Top Gear is a cash cow. Top Gear without them, and Clarkson especially, would NOT be Top Gear. It'd be the equivalent of Top Gear Poland or Top Gear America, only with British accents—a pretender that wears the uniform but fools exactly no one. That includes advertisers.

And no, if Clarkson bounces to another network to start another car show—with or without his current co-presenters—it wouldn't be Top Gear, either. But in that case, it's just semantics, because the BBC controls that brand. It would be the show that everyone tuned into.

Is Jeremy Clarkson a dick? Maybe. Probably. It doesn't matter.

Jeremy Clarkson has already won.

[hotrodalex]

http://m.autoevolution.com/jeremy-clarkson-quits-top-gear-show-cancelled-for-good-93287.html

That doesn't have anything official.

I'm assuming Clarkson is done, but I think the BBC has said they'd just find someone to replace him.

[Byteme]

That doesn't have anything official.

I'm assuming Clarkson is done, but I think the BBC has said they'd just find someone to replace him.

To quote Yogi Berra "It ain't over 'til it's over".

Facts:

TG is a huge cash cow for the BBC.
The three presenters contracts end at the end of the month.
Other networks would pay handsomely for the services of Clarkson, May and Hammond.

My speculation:

All three move to another channel, get gobs of money, BBC recasts TG and it folds after a max of two seasons.

Or,

BBC slaps Clarkson hard on both wrists, he makes a humble public apology compensates the producer he struck, and TG goes on with three even more highly paid presenters named Clarkson, May and Hammond.

[SVT666]

I think it's done, and it's Clarkson's fault. He's a diva. I've always defended him, but this time I can't defend him.

[SVT666]

Not one of the three is replaceable. If one is gone, the show is done.