Enter the (British) rumormill: Clarkson leaving Top Gear?
Our new friend from Down Under, KP, dropped us a link to a post in the online edition of Wheels magazine, which asserts that Clarkson may not return to Top Gear for the next season. The report stems from an article in The Times, where Jezza hinted to his departure from the show by saying that, "After last week's Top Gear, the continuity announcer said the show would be back in the summer. Can I just say, here and now, it won't be."
Whether or not this was an overture to Clarkson's imminent departure or possibly his contention that the show's production schedule wouldn't allow a summer return is open to debate. Regardless, a BBC spokesman said that a "summer special" is set to be released and that Top Gear will make a comeback sometime in the fall.
On an aside: if you had the chance to watch the last episode of Top Gear, with its highly controversial dyno test of the GT500 and the practically self parodying limo skit, it's apparent that the show has made a sharp departure from its original purpose. While some maintain that this has added to the shows popularity, others have expressed their displeasure, saying that the only great automotive show has fallen dangerously off course.
Your thoughts, as always, are welcomed in comments.
[Sources: Wheelsmag.com.au, TimesOnline.co.uk]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Vaggeli 4:43AM (3/13/2007)
I suppose you could say that this latest season has been a bit light on real content and car reviews, but you have to take hammond's crash into consideration, i mean, come on, its amazing that they got back on the air that quickly in the first place. Its obvious that they took a bit of a hit as well in that the season was only 6 episodes long, it really shook them up and its only to be expected that the recent episodes were a bit below par (except the american one, that was brilliant) and hopefully top gear will be back to its usual fantastic self very soon.
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Mike O. 5:23AM (3/13/2007)
It seems like Top Gear has given into doing challenges, games, and races while the more serious reviews are done on Fifth Gear. Which is fine by me. I'd rather be entertained by fun things than hear Jeremy/Richard/James go on about how some car that I'll never see, let alone own or drive, is "magnificant" and "bit dodgy under braking" etc. I do think Jeremy meant that Top Gear is not coming back in the summer, but in the fall. I hope I'm right because my Sunday evenings would be awfully boring without me downloading a freshly copied episode of Top Gear to my computer.
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doglet 6:16PM (3/13/2007)
i used to watch it for the cars, now i watch it because it is hilarious. i do however think that they are just not doing cars enough. there is no shortage of bad ass vehicles for them to test. they need to get back to performance testing of vehicles i might see some day.
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lasgalletas 8:52AM (3/13/2007)
please don't mention Top gear as technical guide to carmarket...TG means ray of light in the dark and boring world of car marketing - people've chosen TG for something about car&feel thing not for detailed technical digging...come on - for tech specs you can find a lot of info anywhere even at autoblog's site.Top Gear never was bunch of test-drives show..i'm thinking that watch about "how this car is going" much more banal than "how this car/car's driver can do something uncommon (and maybe perverted like hockey game using suzuki swift)".
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chris 6:31AM (3/13/2007)
Um, I don't see why people are looking too much into this. It'll come back in autumn instead of summer as there is extra catch-up to do due to Hammond's accident which resulted in the most recent season being shorter than normal. It could likely also mean a little more effort is going into this season to make it a bit more about new cars and not have a big challenge in every single episode. No big deal, it's 100% what I expected and if this is happening for why I think it's happening it's a very good thing.
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David Naylor 6:52AM (3/13/2007)
I'm with Mike O.
Those who want serious motor journalism can go elsewhere.
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JamesWB 6:55AM (3/13/2007)
I hope Clarkson doesn't come back. I hate the prick.
And there has only been one good episode of Top Gear this season, it's really gone down the shitter.
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cawfebug 9:02AM (3/13/2007)
eh - Clarkson is great and at the same time he is a bit annoying. He really is funny at times, but does have some odd opinions. As much as I think he is right about SOME american cars, he does go a bit far on bashing the US a bit.
I have been watching Fifth Gear more lately because it is actually about the cars... so I think TG has morphed into more of an entertainment show.
yep - would miss it.
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fnj 1:53PM (3/13/2007)
Will it ever be possible for those of us in the US to watch Top Gear on our TVs rather than our computers? I can't figure out why BBC America doesn't run it and that Discovery Channel dropped it's bastardized version so quickly. I realize it's something of a niche program, but it's bound to have more viewers than, say, Future Weapons.
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shawn 8:51AM (3/13/2007)
Like music, movies, journalism or anything else, you choose between having substance or make money with controversy/absurdity. Top Gear decided to make money. So what? Most of us who do the same. It's like millions of people who bought Britney Spears CDs, it doesn't mean she's a good musician. It just means there are a lot of people that rather see cars blown up than to know anything about that car.
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John P. 9:30AM (3/13/2007)
I can forgive him for his homerism, stubbornly defending lousy jaguars and land rovers, and ugly rolls-royce for years like that while bashing most American cars, (rightly so in some/many instances). I wish we had an American counterpart doing such a fun to watch car show. I would elect Jay Leno, he's a car guy through and through and doesn't get into all the country bashing like Clarkson.
One thing for sure, Clarkson is entertaining. The show wouldn't be the same without him.
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Hank 9:48AM (3/13/2007)
Anyone who thinks the limo skit is out of character for Top Gear is a poser who's obviously never sat through an entire episode, but only pick through choice seens on YouTube. They've always had such things, and it's part of their successful chemistry.
Hello? Anyone remember the darts with cars? The conkers game with cranes and travel trailers? The endurance race in clunkers?
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The Doctor 10:32AM (3/13/2007)
The fact that the dyno thing is still being mentioned just goes to prove that the V8 is to America what the crucifix is to Christianity...
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Josh Wardell 9:56AM (3/13/2007)
God I hope this is not true.
For those complaining, there are a million places to get car reviews. Top Gear is car entertainment. Humor, wit, and dazzling the senses with the sights and sounds of awesome cars driven the way you wish you could. And the three personalities balance each other. TG would not be what it is without one.
Has anyone even presented a decent reason WHY he would leave? I can't imagine any.
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Kurt B 10:35AM (3/13/2007)
Maybe he's still pi$$ed off that they ruined his "chance" with Kristen Scott Thomas..
It would be sad to see TG go..what a great show.
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bob 10:17AM (3/13/2007)
Gotta love Clarkson, but I can't blame him for leaving and becoming a new judge on American Idol.
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frondeur 10:20AM (3/13/2007)
It’s pretty obvious that Clarkson was talking about a new series in the summer not happening. There will be a summer special, most likely along the lines of the winter Olympics special, and a new series in the fall, in a new location, as their current lease is set to expire, and they were not given the option to renew.
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Lee Gibson 11:17AM (3/13/2007)
John P., that's a great idea. I don't give a flip for The Tonight Show, but I sure would watch Jay Leno running around the country doing crazy car stuff.
That'd be a great show.
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Ashish 12:21PM (3/13/2007)
Hey Top Gear is one of the best programmed-reality shows on TV!! We all know their comments are often biased and skewed but they do a really good job at presenting the show. Clarkson is a love-hate guy. You hate him for his arrogance and non-chalance but people just love his histrionics. The guy adds a lot of flavor to the show. It is definitely not a guide to the car market but their presentation is creative.
I just hope its not a case of Clarkson throwing tantrums now that Hammond is more popular ;)
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Ken 1:07PM (3/13/2007)
Anything could happen - and only time will tell.
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