fizzbitt Posted April 16, 2007 Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 JC on the current TG setup... As Top Gear finished its much-delayed run a few weeks ago, the cheery continuity announcer said that the show would be back in the summer. Well, I'm sorry, love, but it won't be. Not unless someone from the Greenwich Observatory suddenly decides that we need a new month between May and June. The fact is that it takes four months to film enough material for a run of Top Gear. And then another couple of months to turn the miles of tape we generate into something you might actually want to watch. But assuming we do come back to BBC2 at some point in the future - October, if we're lucky - our problems will be far from over. Because as I write, no one has much of a clue what the programme should look like. I'd therefore like your help. The series that's just finished was full of us three cocking about, and almost completely devoid of anything you might fairly call 'a road test'. You had us growing petrol, getting stuck in Fulham, being hounded out of Alabama and resurfacing roads. And about two seconds of a Porsche going round corners in Lincolnshire. This has gone down very badly with the people in internet land. After every show, they dived into their forums and moaned like Nigel Mansell stuck in a jet engine that their beloved car show had become an entertainment show for the terminally childish. They're right too. Perhaps we should have changed the name to Last of the Summer Petrol. All these people want to know why there aren't two or three proper car tests a week. And not car tests where I drive around shouting "poweeeeer", but proper ones done by James where every nut, bolt and torque is taken out and examined. What they want, secretly, is Chris Goffey back. And I'd love to oblige. I'd love to spend the day hooning around in a 599 or a lightweight Gallardo. I'd love to make those cars live for you on the screen. It'd be great. I'd even love to take that little Fiat Panda 100HP for a spin and wonder out loud how many Nurofens you'd need to take before the headache it generated went away. And whether that many Nurofens will actually kill you. But galloping like a huge, poo-stained horse over the horizon comes the problem: is that what the vast majority of the viewers want? Not you. Not your mates in cyberland. But the vast swathe of people who just want to flop down on a Sunday night and watch entertaining telly. I suspect the answer is a Thatcheresque "No. No. No." We always knew that when Richard Hammond made his triumphant return to the programme, the viewing figures would be enormous. And they were. We even beat the final of Big Brother into a cocked pig. And then we sort of thought they'd tail off again, when people realised the Hamster wasn't going to suddenly fall to the floor and start dribbling. But they haven't. Apart from a slight blip for the America special, the figures climbed like an F-15 on combat power, until we finished with 8.6 million people watching the end of the final show. To put that in perspective, it's pretty much twice what a very successful programme could dream of getting on BBC2 or Channel 4. It puts us on level terms with Eastenders. It means we are, give or take, the most watched show on the BBC. And that's just in Britain. Factor in the rest of the world, and TG is effing massive. You may say that, as a public service broadcaster, we shouldn't care about viewing figures; and it's true - we shouldn't. We can take them to the lavatory for a little moment of pleasure, but we can't skew programmes to make them as big as possible or we'd end up with Jade Goody and The Hamiltons being loaded into the cars before they were pushed out of the transport plane... Anyway, although we won't chase figures, we still have to give the audience something you want and like. Which means we should make Top Gear an entertainment show featuring cars, rather than a car show, that isn't as boring as your wife and kids feared. Or have I got that all wrong? I'm stuck on this one and would love to hear your views. http://www.topgear.com/blogs/planettopgear/040-series-10-its-up-to-you/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mixit Posted April 16, 2007 Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 Well spotted Fizz. I'm sure most folk on here could come up with a few suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fizzbitt Posted April 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 Well i aint been here long but damn there are some opinionated characters on here for sure hence the link. I am of the 'bring back the good old Top Gear' fold and am quite bored of watching this 'obvious' pre-scripted shinanigans... Also point to note... look how many people have said they love the show as it is in the comments section then see how many are female. Just says it all really... Its a automotive program first for crying out loud so why shouldn't they listen to the 'now minority' of viewers who want more factual and less slap stick comedy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvantSE Posted April 16, 2007 Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 I wish they'd make their bloody minds up - first it's coming back, then Clarkson implies in his newspaper column it isn't, then it is... (repeat ad infinitum). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v6tas Posted April 16, 2007 Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 [ QUOTE ] Well i aint been here long but damn there are some opinionated characters on here for sure hence the link. I am of the 'bring back the good old Top Gear' fold and am quite bored of watching this 'obvious' pre-scripted shinanigans... Also point to note... look how many people have said they love the show as it is in the comments section then see how many are female. Just says it all really... Its a automotive program first for crying out loud so why shouldn't they listen to the 'now minority' of viewers who want more factual and less slap stick comedy? [/ QUOTE ] I think if they strike a happy medium between "petrol head stuff" and "cocking about stuff" then it will carry on being the best program on television bar none. The fact it works so well now is you dont have to be a car nut to like the show. I love cars but would certainly not watch the show if they went down the route of Fifth gear which bores the pants off me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
330dcoupe Posted April 16, 2007 Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 I loved the 'entertainment' of the last series, no question - there's nothing better than watching 3 of the best TV presenters p*ssing about - but not just in the name of entertainment, may i add. They helped re-surface that road for the people of that town. They did that American run to prove that you don't need to spend bug bucks on a rental car for a long-ish stay and that it's actually possible to grow your own petrol if you have a spare bit of land. The previous series was an excellent balance between TP being a car show and an entertainment show - so if they could perhaps go back to what it was like then, that would do me just fine. But like some people i know have already said, they don't watch top gear to know which car to buy, as each are to their own and listening to reviews isn't their way of buying a car (strangely) But for me, I would always take in consideration what JC and the others say about a car - because after all, they are car journalists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrakeSnake Posted April 16, 2007 Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 I loved the format of the show over the previous couple of seasons, but I have to say that this latest season is far too scripted for my liking. Last year they had the mix right between challenges (Veryon, Ferrari etc etc), test drives and tom foolery, but this year it really did suffer from being too entertainment oriented. As Said before, 5th gear bores the pants off me too, but TG just need to re address the balance... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazdot Posted April 16, 2007 Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 [ QUOTE ] it's actually possible to grow your own petrol if you have a spare bit of land. [/ QUOTE ] Did they actually finish this? or is it to be continued in the next series? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sayerbloke Posted April 16, 2007 Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 [ QUOTE ] Also point to note... look how many people have said they love the show as it is in the comments section then see how many are female. Just says it all really... Its a automotive program first for crying out loud so why shouldn't they listen to the 'now minority' of viewers who want more factual and less slap stick comedy? [/ QUOTE ] Simple: Ratings. Besides, when Clarkson left old Top Gear, he did so saying that no-one believed anything he said anyway [with figures to back it up] and that he had run out of interesting things to say about the majority of cars when tested in the traditional format. If you watch a clip of old Top Gear now it's so cringeworthy it makes your teeth itch. I don't watch Top Gear to be informed, I watch it to be entertained. Even when it's a "bad" show, they still suceed in that on some levels because: 1) It's about cars, which I like. 2) I like the presenters. 3) If all else fails, I can appreciate the production values, the camera work, the use of lighting, the choice of sound and music... it's a very well put together show. The fact I often disagree with the opinions of the presenters doesn't spoil my enjoyment of the show. Sometimes I'll watch the show and laugh my ass off, othertimes I won't but it'll still be entertaining. I don't think the show needs changing all that much. That said, they could lose the "star in a reasonably priced car" segment and I wouldn't be complaining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RacingRed Posted April 16, 2007 Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 I didn't catch this last series but from watching others I know that Top Gear is a balancing act between the light entertainment featuring cars, and actual cars being driven. Sometimes they get it very very right. The supercar run to the bridge in France is a great example. Other times they fail miserably. Hammond and May shooting cars into a quarry at a caravan was filler lifted from a 90's Clarkson video. Unfortunately, from what I'm hearing and the tone of this statement by JC, the show is losing that balance and the producers are content as long as they are beating Eastenders. A return to 'Old' Top Gear would be useless. Nobody, but nobody wants to watch a group test between diesel hatchbacks. I am perfectly able to choose between a Golf, Focus, Civic by myself thank you. If I want to be entertained I want sportscars, supercars, jet fuelled drag racers, Bonneville salt flats, Santa Pod, and a visit to the Nurburgring. One of my favourite Top Gear features was the GT3/360cs test Clarkson did a few years back. No gimmicks, no weekend in a caravan, just two fine cars, driven around the track? Is that too much to ask for each week amongst all the twatting about? If so then those three better get used to an audience full of women, why not kids as well? Maybe get some seating in for them. Hell why not move the whole thing to Trisha's set? That's what it'll become. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v6tas Posted April 16, 2007 Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 Savabloke, couldnt agree more mate, great post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrakeSnake Posted April 17, 2007 Report Share Posted April 17, 2007 Summed up everthing my stupid hands were trying to type Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R32Ash Posted April 18, 2007 Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 [ QUOTE ] I don't think the show needs changing all that much. That said, they could lose the "star in a reasonably priced car" segment and I wouldn't be complaining. [/ QUOTE ] I couldn't agree more. They should either stick to proper car enthusiast stars, or do away with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s4_sat Posted April 18, 2007 Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 More boobs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrakeSnake Posted April 18, 2007 Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 There are boobs in the TopGear 3 dvd pack. Gets JC all in a flutter... Should be more of em i say, and have em cleaning cars with their fluffy pom poms, and... Ok, i'll stop now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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