Jeremy Clarkson, the contumelious host of BBC's show Top Gear has been fired. He admits to verbally and physically attacking a show exec earlier this month.
No word yet on if or when already-filmed episodes will be aired, no word on if Clarkson will be replaced, nor any word that the show itself will continue.
Not a surprise. Always was a love/hate thing with the guy. On one hand you know he is an ass, on the other he is funny on the show. His constant snide remarks about America, while sometimes funny, pissed me off. Not many things make me mad but attacks on God or country are way up there.
That was one of my favorite shows back when I got BBC. Even my wife, who cares nothing for cars,enjoyed it. The humor of that kind of show just works for me. If they don't come to an agreement with him, I think the show is done. Hopefully someone else picks it up and lets them just do their thing. Don't know if the american version of it is still on, but it was just horrible.
I think it was last year that he got in trouble because he was giving James and Richard grief over a bridge they had built. He said "Look, there's a slope on it" and the camera pans to a little Asian guy walking across the bridge(although the bridge was sloped too). I thought it was funny, but apparently it was almost a firing offense.
His contract and the contracts of both Hammond and May are all up next month. None of them will be renewed. They view themselves as a "team." I wouldn't be terribly surprised to see all three of them together on a new auto-related show on a competing channel or network, laughing "all the way to the bank."
I liked the show and never took any offense to his ramblings about the USA. I will say they were always respectful to members of the UKs armed forces. I am sure we Americans look pretty crazy to the rest of the world based on our media. Or what's written here for that matter.
i enjoy the showdidnt fine Clarksons occasional shot at America or Americans any big thing....a US show that had British cars you prolly see the same thing going the other direction....but then again i can also laugh at myself....hell watched him take the same sorta shots at Germans, Russians, Aussies and even some groups of Brits.....not like the guy had a hatred of the US or anything......just took shots at bout any group for a laugh.....no big fuggin deal....
i discovered the show when i was stuck on the couch after back surgery.....first episode i saw is when they built campers and i was hooked after watching Clarkson drive his three story monstrosity down the highway.....i damn near pissed myself....
There's talk of netflix trying to start something similar with him and the others in it. It will probably be a good show if it goes ahead, however there are things you can do with the backing of the BBC you couldn't do with netflix. Such as drive a Ford off a Royal Marines landing craft onto the beach while they storm it and talk about how two grenades fit in the cupholder etc...
Funny but the show actually started back in 1977 but it was not very successful until Clarkson joined in around 2003.
While I enjoyed the show, I think Clarkson was getting past his sell by date.
In more recent shows, I started to see Clarkson's behaviour and treatment of others crossing a line from quirky / funny to simply boorish and arrogant..
Playing the grumpy old man is fine, but there is only so much you can do with that and its started too wear a bit thin with me now..
All good things must come to an end, and I expect this will be it for the show..It may carry on, but I suspect it will simply fade away if it does..
They'll always be sorely missed at our house. Me, my son and my wife loved that show.
and Clarkson's comments about Americans....
I lived in England for 3 years in the 60s...63 to 66. and lived off base, among the English...
being an American, but living among the English, I learned to see things thru their perspective.... and what Clarkson said about America and Americans, while many may not always like them or laugh at his assessment, but I really don't think he is far off base....
seeing our country thru other people's eyes can be an eye opener...
a fine example is how many Americans associate Canadians say, 'eh' all the time....working in Canada, I had a Canadian counter, Americans use the word "huh" just as often....
started paying attention to that observation, and ya know what.... they weren't wrong...
Now if they would get rid of that not funny yuppie dik on the american Top Gear Tanner. The other two are great but Tanner is not a good tv personality.
" RUSSIA’S Zvezda television, a channel run by the defence ministry, unexpectedly revealed on Thursday that it has offered a job to disgraced British Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson after he was dropped by the BBC for assaulting his producer. The state-owned channel, which promotes the armed forces but also airs general entertainment shows, published a letter to Clarkson on its website, asking him to host a new motoring show and inviting him to visit Moscow to discuss the offer."
You can bet his digs at the US are just all a part of British humor. You need thick skin to hang in any verbal battle over there. Boarding school separates those with a quick wit and a sharp tongue from the shrinking violets. You have to be able to give it and take it. If you can, then you win some begrudging respect. If you can't, then you're just another putz.
Clarkston ego was starting to override his usefulness. Take the Argentina thing. I will tell you they are great people down there, but have NO sense of humor over the Fauklands War and he just had to get his subtle dig at them.
Clarkston was probably getting tired of the gig and was getting too big for his britches.
He is FAR from being anti-American, in fact he is very much pro. He did have the standard British arrogant carryover from their glory days of empire, but he was definitively not anti-American and if anything right of center..for a limey anyway!
I think you nailed it, Pete. Clarkson simply mouldered from witty to boorish. He was also a mean prankster to his co-hosts, and I view pranksters as low-grade bullies.
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