And that’s what worries me!

Works for me, I enjoyed the car shows – although the Clarkson, Hammond and Jason days were a bit awkward

TG was tired true, but it went that way because car shows become dull very quickly. They should have just let it go, but imagination and TV and uncomfortable bed fellows.

Smacks of desperation to me, he’s obviously a bit of a petrol head or he wouldn’t have done well at the laps and he’s done a bit of work with Tope Gear recently in one way or another but as said above it really seems like they’ve gone oh sh** we need to get a celebrity in, who’s the most famous guy we know that can’t get another job?

Do they need it? Who had heard of Hammond and May before they started on the programme? I just wish they’d taken a punt on some fresh talent or at least someone well respected that could bring some cred to the show. I’m hoping the Chris Harris rumours are true.

like a stopped clock being right twice a day… I agree with Chewkw ! 🙂 the beeb seems to be pointedly unaware that there are many people who could stand in front of a telly camera and be as successful as all the others, and lots of folk who want to, but to continue to rely on the same few faces and try to compete on wages with commercial broadcasters is crazy.
If the commercial stations want to poach beeb staff by outspending, go ahead because the supply and demand economics will provide an able replacement

Obvious is obvious innit?
Give millions to millionaires? Crikey …

When we’re talking about people in the entertainment industry, actors, musicians, etc, has it occurred to you how come they get all that money?
This isn’t a trick question, the answer is pretty obvious.
Even for you…

Perrrraps we should nominate someone off here to be the third “member” ..

And your vote goes to…? 😆

Wca

chewkw of course – they need somebody mad

No one is going with an ‘always stuck in second gear’ gag then?

Huh…

CountZero – Member

Obvious is obvious innit?
Give millions to millionaires? Crikey …

When we’re talking about people in the entertainment industry, actors, musicians, etc, has it occurred to you how come they get all that money?
This isn’t a trick question, the answer is pretty obvious.
Even for you… [/quote]

No, Chris Evans is no good …
Owning many expensive cars does not automatically qualify him to be a good presenter in a car show.
Yes, they might think his nerdy look may appeal to the car geek but that is simply assuming audience are easy to persuade.
Even if he is good there is no need to have him as there are many talents in the UK, unless you think Chris Evans is so good there is no one in the UK can top him …

As for the entertainment industry I don’t believe in hype, if the story line is shite it is regardless who the actor/actresses they have.

aracer – Member
chewkw of course – they need somebody mad

hmmm … I might give it a go but I cannot guarantee a better format than Clarkson et al.

The original format was “Which Consumer-ish” until it was dying and Clarkson gave it a breath of life with some humour. In the latter format the 3 blokes play a lot in ensuring they bounce their humour through each others. As a result, they have practically cover all car shows supposed to be. i.e. the serious and the humourous.

Therefore, in order to top the three amigos they need to either choose from those two formats and since they know that the only differentiation is to have better presenters … Chris Evans and that bloke from Friends … nope. Both are out of characters for this show. Evans good for kids or some chat shows … that Friends bloke is good in The Episode.

Car show … nope.

Do you folks remember that there was a massive campaign for the public to send audition tapes in? Maybe everyone was dross – maybe one of them has become the third presenter (if they keep the three presenter format)?

pondo
Do you folks remember that there was a massive campaign for the public to send audition tapes in? Maybe everyone was dross – maybe one of them has become the third presenter (if they keep the three presenter format)?

Still looking like it’s Chris Harris. It was revealed to be him, he’s stopped putting out videos and earlier this week closed his patreon account and thanked everyone for the support.

Reports that Evans is struggling with the discipline of scripting and filming segments for TG

It’s a departure from just shouting “Ooh, look at me, I’m ginger” which has been the basis of all his other tv work.

the beeb seems to be pointedly unaware that there are many people who could stand in front of a telly camera and be as successful as all the others

Friends is/was the biggest telly show ever pretty much all over the world, Top Gear was the BBC’s biggest earner, and needs to continue to be sold all over the world. telling schedulers of other TV stations that one of the stars of the biggest show ever will be on your relaunched product, they’re more likely to buy it than if they said “It’s presented by some random your audience have never heard of”.

Some high levels of parochialism in this thread. I don’t think he has been cast to please the UK market. Top Gear makes a stinky stinky huge pile of money for the BBC in foreign sales. Matt LeBlanc is a recognised international star. I am sorry but I have never heard of half the people you are suggesting instead !

He was great in Episodes, helped by great writing of course, but that was an exaggerated version of himself. Have to assume he will be himself as a out-and-out presenter ? I may even start watching Top Gear again, even before Clarkson’s head exploded, it had disappeared up it’s own bottom. In a very PM way it had become derivative of itself.

I am sorry but I have never heard of half the people you are suggesting instead !

What??? Fred Harris is an actual broadcasting legend.

these were written by Clarkson in the past.

The first 5 or 6 series after the last reboot had a full scrip writing team, due to the series success they moved on and rather than replace them Clarkson took greater control leading to the regurgitation of the same tired old cliches, barely disguised bigotry and smug self infatuation that eventually killed it.

I am sorry but I have never heard of half the people you are suggesting instead !

Well, if Hels hasn’t heard of them…. 😉

they’re more likely to buy it than if they said “It’s presented by some random your audience have never heard of”.

But that’s exactly what happened isn’t it?

molgrips
But that’s exactly what happened isn’t it?

No.

I’m not sure whether the RT is likely to have any inside lines, but I’m seeing similar reports elsewhere – it appears that LeBlanc won’t be a main presenter anyway, just doing smaller parts. Reading this it does look like they’ve come up with a format which isn’t 3 blokes which might just work – a good thing IMHO as the old format had got very stale. Meanwhile the new Clarkson show probably will be just as tired.

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-02-04/more-big-names-to-join-matt-leblanc-as-presenters-on-top-gear—but-it-will-still-be-the-chris-evans-show

aracer – Member

I’m not sure whether the RT is likely to have any inside lines, but I’m seeing similar reports elsewhere – it appears that LeBlanc won’t be a main presenter anyway, just doing smaller parts. Reading this it does look like they’ve come up with a format which isn’t 3 blokes which might just work – a good thing IMHO as the old format had got very stale. Meanwhile the new Clarkson show probably will be just as tired.

[speculation] This could be down to Sabine Spitz being predictably awful during early shooting and LeBlanc brought in as a replacement for the latter half of the series, ultimately taking a full role next series assuming he does well/show does well [/speculation]

any 3rd presenter has to be a woman… shirley?

I just think it’ll be nice to see a ginger with a Friend!

Honestly though, it looks like the BBC’s idea’s working. Look at all of us discussing it and STW is probably a fairly typical target audience for TG.

LeB. might be quiet good. I wouldn’t be surprised if he is. At the same time, it won’t be TG. Maybe a good motoring show, but not TG without Clarkson, May an dHammond.

Uh? Did you never watch Top Gear? I thought it was all a big act.

Yeah, of course, but the trio weren’t actors, same as the presenters for pretty much all shows will have a script but they’re not “acting” it.

Yeah, I guess there are no transferable skills between acting and presenting. It’s not as if there’s any kind of precedent for this type of thing.

Not saying there’s no transfereable skills, not saying there isn’t a precedent, but it takes an actor with character to be able to present well, and I don’t think he’s got a lot of that. He was on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show this morning, and he was just a bit “meh”. Gonna reserve judgement until the show’s out, but I have reservations in advance.

Give millions to millionaires?

He didn’t win the lottery, he didn’t inherit the money – he’s a millionaire because he’s a hard-working genius presenter of TV and radio.

the big question is how good will the scripts be – these were written by Clarkson in the past.

He had about four ideas and an amusing turn of phrase, I don’t see that being an issue.

Some people really are taking this far too seriously. He smacked a co-worker, he’s a bit of a c**k. Top Gear in it’s current form started to lose it’s appeal about 4-5 series ago. Clarkson constantly putting on that stupid voice and Hammond and May looking a bit disinterested. Anyway, my opinion. I’ll happily watch the early re-runs when the show seemed a bit more honest that what it became. I’ll miss James May the most out of the 3 of them.

I’m not sure why that needed fixing – of course it won’t be the same, it would be rubbish if it was (even worse than it had become), if you want that subscribe to Netflix or wherever it is the new (but oh so very old) Clarkson show will be. TG existed before Clarkson, of course it was very different and I hope the new show will be significantly better than the pre-Clarkson TG, but different certainly doesn’t mean worse – hopefully they will at least have some fresh ideas.

If it wasn’t obvious I’m not a Clarkson fan, but I was a TG fan.

I’d agree with that – though he does still have progs on the Beeb, including a recent one about cars (he included a couple of TG gags, including a smirk when he used the word “slope”).

An Austrian guy at work was discussing Top Gear with me earlier and was surprised that the guy from Friends and Captain America had been chosen to be presenters.

And another announced….

And I’m out

The US Topgear was terrible. Never, did I think one day it’d be similar to the future top gear.

It’s purely going to be a Chris Evans show, with cars in the background. Interspersed with an American from a sitcom

pondo – Member

Give millions to millionaires?

He didn’t win the lottery, he didn’t inherit the money – he’s a millionaire because he’s a hard-working genius presenter of TV and radio. [/quote]

Ya, it’s BBC and they got my money because I pay my TV license.

I have a say as to whoever or whichever millionaire(s) I wish to give my money to … certainly not Evans.

I couldn’t give a monkey arse if I do not have to pay for the TV license.

I pay my TV license.

I have a say as to whoever or whichever millionaire(s) I wish to give my money to

Those two statements don’t really make sense together.

You pay your TV licence, you then don’t get to choose what they spend it on.

Your only choice is not to watch.

(Or to stop paying obviously)

Thought it might have been Suzi Perry as the third…never mind. This might even work no telling yet. Matt LeBlanc seems quite a likeable person; it’s Evans that irritates me now I’ve grown up a bit.

Ya, it’s BBC and they got my money because I pay my TV license.

I have a say as to whoever or whichever millionaire(s) I wish to give my money to … certainly not Evans.

I couldn’t give a monkey arse if I do not have to pay for the TV license.
You don’t half talk some bilge.

nealglover – Member

I pay my TV license.
I have a say as to whoever or whichever millionaire(s) I wish to give my money to

Those two statements don’t really make sense together.

You pay your TV licence, you then don’t get to choose what they spend it on.

Your only choice is not to watch.

(Or to stop paying obviously) [/quote]

You lot are really slow … I am merely adopting the Brit culture bias complain …

Like you objecting to how your tax is spent on things you don’t like … 🙄

Obvious is obvious …

pondo – Member

Ya, it’s BBC and they got my money because I pay my TV license.

I have a say as to whoever or whichever millionaire(s) I wish to give my money to … certainly not Evans.

I couldn’t give a monkey arse if I do not have to pay for the TV license.
You don’t half talk some bilge.[/quote]

A bit like saying I pay my income tax so I am entitle to … ya?

Next time you should not complain if you tax is used to do something you don’t like … ya. 🙄

You really do have the understanding of duckcock don’t you?

You really do have the understanding of duckcock don’t you?

I think you mean ‘a drake’. 🙂

I reckon they should have a different guest presenter each week like HIGNFY.

I don’t even like cars or watch TG really, but having 2 sons who like it means I’ve watched it a bit.