Top Gear (2002-2015) Phase II (2016-)

The lost episodes will be aired June 28, same time, same channel.

And, er, Chris Evans is now host of what there is.

Well I am glad we get the see those final episodes at least, and they do look fun.

As to Evan's he's not someone I find particularly entertaining on any level, but I'll tune in to see what they do, after the precedent of HIGNFY never replacing Angus Deaton the concept of rotating guest hosts generally means you will always run into a real gem every now and then, sometimes not the one you expected.

Indeed, I'll check out Evans and the new mob, see what goes. Be interesting what the viewing figures will be like. I forget what TG usually averaged.

Certainly think it regularly got the sort of figures that normally sees a shift onto Beeb 1, but they wisely kept it Beeb 2.

I like Chris Evans (last week's TFI Friday special was an absolute blast, and I'm a regular listener to his Radio 2 prog). I'll definitely give an Evans-fronted TG a go.

Fresh from the Last Top Gear it was an enjoyable hour or so. A bit odd with no regular bits in between. Funny how the studio bits felt both like Clarkson had actually died and yet also his lack of presence felt heavy. I wonder if the overnight hotel (with the pub quiz) was where the Incident happened. They were filming on location during it.
Regardless, there were superb moments not least Clarkson's scream of "I hate working on Top Gear!"

Now, we look to broad sunlit uplands and the arrival of "Clarkson, Hammond [and May]: The Series"

I enjoyed the literal 'elephant in the room' during the studio bits as well.

Yes, yes it was quite good the elephant. Kind of hit me the credits not having music. Reckon they could've faded in Clarkson's laughing right to the end.

It has been suggested by some of Chris Evans' listeners that if Star In A Reasonably Priced Car is retained, the guest on the first episode should be Clarkson. Evans loves the idea.

I heard about that, it'd be interesting but I have a feeling Clarkson would pull out. Better yet have all three do it like that time TG had two guests do the thing. Much like Hamster's first ep' after he returned from the crash, make it OTT for their entrance and then at the end cut to a long shot of the hangar with a demolition box in the foreground and the three of them detonate the thing.

The Best of Series 22 was probably a better send-off for the lads. Though you'd think the Canada experience was enough for Hammond to stay away from the Beeb without needing Clarkson to do what he did, :)

Did like the little Argentina moment with Will Smith.

"What did they do to you?"
"Everyfuckingthing."

The Canada 'rescue' was the show at its finest ... funny, with some spectacular driving (in equally spectacular surroundings) being done in a couple of extraordinary vehicles.

Watching some Dave/Beeb 3 repeats, I'm reminded of the show's fabulous way with a pre-watershed insult -

'You great clattering buttock!'

'You massive plumsack!'

'You colossal anus!'

'You apocalyptic dingleberry!'

Top Gear did things to the English language few outside QI could dare.

I read on the Telegraph that an old contract doesn't allow the boys to make a car programme outside of the Beeb for two years.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/11722706/Top-Gear-Clarkson-Hammond-and-May-blocked-from-ITV-show-by-BBC-contracts.html

so on one hand BBC lost their moneymakers but on the other, moneymakers are torpedoed.

Shame as I can't get Netflix at the moment. Hmm, will have to remedy that. Fools!

Hah! Amazon it is: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jul/30/top-gear-clarkson-hammond-may-amazon-deal-bbc

So reports of a horribly starving Clarkson have been greatly exaggerated. Didn't I know it.

Shame about that contract clause ... OK, so they couldn't go to ITV (and may not have wanted to anyway, lest it started to (with Jonathon Ross already there) look like some sort of 'dumping ground' for disgraced ex-BBC presenters).

But I would far rather have had them on Sky or maybe even Dave (they show the reruns, after all).

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Fear you're right Ambler. At least the boys, Blunty, have rumped up somewhere. Getting a bit worried about Hammond. Those teeth don't whiten themselves.

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Erica Ambler wrote:

Besides, television is finished. It has about as much future as the newspaper, chequebook and landline - I haven't owned one for five years.

But you're missing out on great shows like "iZombie", "CSI: Cyber" and "Jane the Virgin".


This is a great move for the Top Gear fellas. Count me in. I only really watch public television, Turner Classic Movies and the CBS Evening News anyway. And they're all available on streaming platforms now. (Surprise, surprise)

I've never tried Amazon but guess we will now. Funnily, tonight the BBC are showing the new series of Ripper Street having last year cancelled it and then Amazon taking it up.

As for CSI Cyber. I regret my CSI London pilot never made the grade.

Erica Ambler wrote:

Turns out Amazon is paying the boys US$250M for just 36 episodes. D'you think Dave has that sort of money, BI?

I still marvel at the stupidity of the public-sector BBC. It's handed its most valuable show to a major competitor for nothing.

In spite of the shows huge international success, that is a crazy amount of money!

Control wrote:

Erica Ambler wrote:

Besides, television is finished. It has about as much future as the newspaper, chequebook and landline - I haven't owned one for five years.

But you're missing out on great shows like "iZombie", "CSI: Cyber" and "Jane the Virgin".


This is a great move for the Top Gear fellas. Count me in. I only really watch public television, Turner Classic Movies and the CBS Evening News anyway. And they're all available on streaming platforms now. (Surprise, surprise)

I don't think that the on-demand model will completely obliterate TV. Even beyond the events that people will want to watch live, I believe a certain amount of scripted drama will still exist on TV.

The challenge with the countless new mediums and smaller channels that are now wanting to put out content is a diluting of the talent pool.

According to a Variety piece I read a while ago, the 2014-2015 American TV season yielded 350 scripted shows across all platforms.
That is an insane amount, especially when you consider that all of those shows need writers, showrunners, actors, directors, ...
To put this in perspective, compared to 1999 this is a 1000% increase.

In the past the creative talent was perhaps too condensed on a handful of shows (see how Winter and Weiner both stepped out of Chase's shadow to create their own hit shows).
I suspect we are now heading towards the opposite problem.

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Erica Ambler wrote:

Turns out Amazon is paying the boys US$250M for just 36 episodes. D'you think Dave has that sort of money, BI?

I still marvel at the stupidity of the public-sector BBC. It's handed its most valuable show to a major competitor for nothing.

Well no, of course Dave doesn't have that sort of money.

I guess I'm a dinosaur in preferring to watch telly shows actually on a television and without all this 'streaming' bollocks being necessary to do so.

Erica Ambler wrote:

You say it’s an insane amount, I say it’s an opportunity.

I'm sure it will be a great opportunity for some talented individuals who otherwise might not have gotten a chance at seeing their vision realized.
On the other hand, there has to be a tipping point where the amount of production that is required is greater than the talent that is able to provide it?
Netflix, Amazon & co are intent on creating even more original content in the next few years and there are countless smaller channel fighting for their piece of the pie.
So that 350 number is almost certainly going to rise further.

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