No, really? Top Gear admits that the caravan fire was a hoax
The BBC has had to admit that the "caravan fire" that concluded last season's special look at trailer life was staged. While most viewers might have figured out that Jezza and the gang had started the fire intentionally for comedic effect, enough people apparently thought the fire was real that the BBC felt it had to issue a statement saying it was, indeed, faked. Not only was the fire a fake, but Top Gear paid £1000 to have a fire engine and six crew members on standby.
A spokeswoman from the Dorset Fire Service said they were asked to make the incident look real, and so they "treated it as a genuine fire."
It was a typical Top Gear stunt with entertainment outweighing journalistic integrity. Unfortunately, there will always be people who have no sense of humor and who think everything they see on TV or in the media is real. The BBC pointed out that it never misled viewers, "as it was obviously 'slapstick' with a 'sitcom ending'."
Check out the fire clip after the jump.
[Source: PistonHeads]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Severian 5:17PM (7/31/2007)
No! Fake? I'm shocked!
Makes you wonder about the truth of that little incident down in Alabama now doesn't it?
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5 Watt 4:27PM (7/31/2007)
The only naturally occurring thing in a top gear episode is Jezza’s bald spot.
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YouFaceTheTick 4:29PM (7/31/2007)
Journalistic integrity? They review cars for entertainment. Journalistic integrity hasn't been around since before the sinking of the Maine.
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Don 5:21PM (7/31/2007)
And Clarkson's an idiot.
chuck goolsbee 4:30PM (7/31/2007)
I'm shocked... SHOCKED to discover that my TV entertainment has been scripted and planned out beforehand!
Of course it was staged! 99.9% of the stuff they do on TV is scripted, staged, rehearsed, and prepared well beforehand. The only part of that episode that appeared to POTENTIALLY unscripted was when James May hit the bollard in the gas station. It was either a surprise, or very well acted.
--chuck
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Jason 4:34PM (7/31/2007)
When I watched that episode, I recall thinking someone would have to be pretty stupid to not see it was clearly staged for comedy purposes.
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Evotec 4:40PM (7/31/2007)
top gear is always good for entertainment,and i like it.
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Barney 5:14PM (7/31/2007)
I just got to start watching TV again. This show makes it worth sitting through the commercials.
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John B 5:26PM (7/31/2007)
Staged? You mean the first Stig really wasn't killed when his jump off the aircraft carrier went wrong?
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why not the LS2/LS7? 5:32PM (7/31/2007)
Of course it was staged.
The only thing that baffles me is that people believed it was real. And still believe the South episode was real.
Top Gear is there to entertain, not inform.
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DriftPunch 6:01PM (7/31/2007)
The next thing you'll tell me is that the English don't move in small yet very fast steps. Benny Hill has shown me otherwise.
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vectorbug 8:13PM (7/31/2007)
sure it was faked, but really it probably wasn't too far from the truth.
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bathtub gin 10:46PM (7/31/2007)
Dan Rather called. He wants to guest-host an episode. Says he has the documents to prove it.
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