Top Gear faces mounting criticism over costly new stunts. Again.
Top Gear fans greet each new season with more eager glee. Top Gear critics have taken to welcoming each new run with more criticism. According to the Belfast Telegraph, the latest "How dare they!" comes from a Minister of Parliament (MP) and Friends of the Earth, who want to run TG up the flagpole for "extravagant costs" and 'wanton destruction" -- those two things coincidentally being two of the things that fans love most.
The show went to Belfast, Ireland to film a few segments that included lofting a car to the top of a gigantic crane, launching a Renault Twingo into the sea, as well as a bit of garden variety drag racing. The MP, Gregory Campbell, is aghast at the apparent cost of such stunts, and even more aghast at the fact that the BBC won't reveal exactly how much the stunts cost. The supposed tally is £200,000 ($315,150 U.S.) for Belfast segments that might make up 10 minutes of the show.
Joining Campbell in outrage is Declan Allison from Friends of the Earth, who said: "The wanton destruction of tens of thousands of pounds worth of machinery impresses no-one. It's a wasteful extravagance and, in the middle of a global recession, in very poor taste."
So there. The complaints will probably have as much effect on the show as previous complaints, which is to say, pffffft. We're far more interested in finding out what Clarkson meant when he said that show heads want "black Muslim lesbian" presenters.
[Source: Belfast Telegraph]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
Lee 12:43PM (10/13/2009)
The wanton destruction of tens of thousands of pounds worth of machinery impresses no-one. It's a wasteful extravagance and, in the middle of a global recession, in very poor taste."
I hope they destroy more stuff just to spite her.
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pio!pio! 1:18PM (10/13/2009)
you mean him.. Declan is a man's name
Epyx 1:23PM (10/13/2009)
A man in name only if he is complaining about Top Gear and stuff being blown up.
roadkillrob 4:59PM (10/13/2009)
They need to get Top Gear off state run television and onto a private run station so that the government then has no right to an opinion!
Ken Stamper 7:00PM (10/13/2009)
I guess, but I can't help but think that if this happened on a taxpayer-supported US television station like PBS, people would be apoplectic. I don't blame British non-car enthusiasts for being a little upset.
Ronman 2:56AM (10/14/2009)
Well TG is an amazing thing... but one day it will stop, and possibly revert to the classic format and field green cars so that the tree huggers are happy.
but as long as Clarkson is churning a DVD a year out to appease my sense of both sideways screeching and destruction then i am happy, happier if he can manage 2 DVD's a year and happier still if he have the other two guys with im and record lets say 3 -4 or even 5 DVD's a year...
Long Live TOP GEAR!!!!!!!!!!!
Berto 12:44PM (10/13/2009)
Genius has no price.
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Rich 1:34PM (10/13/2009)
Good point. Here's a pound.
rubrduk 12:45PM (10/13/2009)
Joining Campbell in outrage is Declan Allison from Friends of the Earth, who said: "The wanton destruction of tens of thousands of pounds worth of machinery impresses no-one. It's a wasteful extravagance and, in the middle of a global recession, in very poor taste."
Don't kid yourself...it is exactly things like this that make TopGear the VERY BEST television show about cars
TopGear FTW!
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Matt Nelson 12:44PM (10/13/2009)
Me like big explosions! Ugg!
Seriously, does it get good ratings? Isn't it their last season? Then let them go out with a bang.
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xpolarx 12:47PM (10/13/2009)
In response to Mr. Declan Allison's comments:
F*** you and your ridiculous name. The stunts impress EVERYONE.
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Matt 12:48PM (10/13/2009)
"The wanton destruction of tens of thousands of pounds worth of machinery impresses no-one. It's a wasteful extravagance and, in the middle of a global recession, in very poor taste."
Wow........they must really hate the USA for our Cash for Clunkers scam............did the British scam involve the senseless destruction of perfectly working automobiles? If so, isn't that the pot calling the kettle black.
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Bob 12:50PM (10/13/2009)
As much as I love Top Gear, I agree that the waste is in bad taste. I don't enjoy those segments, especially when they destroy cars that could have served someone for years to come.
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paul34 1:08PM (10/13/2009)
How do you know it wasn't destined for the trash heap anyway? Plus, they had to buy it from someone. That someone pays their employees, who then buy other things, and put food on the table for their families. So it's not as "destructive" as it may seem at first. It's not like cash/clunkers where a perfectly good car could be destroyed and replaced with a brand new one, at a significant negative overall materials and "environmental" cost. In that case, yes, it's a tragedy that many cars that could've served many people for years to come were destroyed for no logical reason.
Randy915 4:05PM (10/13/2009)
Then you don't really love Top Gear.
Doug Stewart 12:52PM (10/13/2009)
According to the book Reality TV: Remaking Television, the average cost for an hour long dramatic program in 2005 was US$3 million. An hour of Reality TV is less than half that cost.
Even if TG filled an hour long program with segments described above, it would cost just under US $ 1.9 million in 2009 money.
Rock on Top Gear.
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Epyx 12:51PM (10/13/2009)
Maybe move to a subscription network (ex. HBO, Showtime). Then they can spend as much as they want without government bureaucrats having a say plus they can remain commercial free and expand to a world wide audience. The show has a world wide following now, but maybe they can capitalize on the popularity further.
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paul34 1:09PM (10/13/2009)
Well, problem is that the reason they have such a massive budget is because they are on state-run television - BBC. I don't know if they'd have the same budget on a private network.
Mike 1:15PM (10/13/2009)
The real reason Top Gear has a big budget is because it makes a lot of money.
Epyx 1:22PM (10/13/2009)
Well, considering the horrible show "Friends" commanded a $12MM budget PER show by the end of it's run, I am sure Top Gear could find adequate funding on a subscription service network. Shows like Sopranos were notoriously expensive to make but they generated boat loads of revenue (and continue to do so) for the network.
Does Top Gear cross market? Are there video games, toys, DVDs, t-shirts, syndication, etc? Seems like there is a great deal of untapped potential for revenue but maybe I am missing the other avenues currently being utilized.