[Closed] Top Gear - Clarkson in "IDIOT" shocker!

no. I take it with a pinch of salt and don't get so worked up.

Clarkson is a fictional character on the BBC, he plays to an audience in very successful way for which he is rewarded. When people get worked up it proves he is getting his act right.

Cheer Up

MW: 'I drove into a Rav 4 and broke my shoulder and leg'

JC: '...And that is why you shouldn't take up cycling kids'

I took it as a joke. Because it was a joke.

Should I be banned for admitting that I even chuckled briefly a couple of episodes ago when his cycling T shirt 'Drivers, thank you for letting me use your roads' was shown...

I've never been passed by Clarkson so couldn't judge whether he passes cyclists safely.

He (Clarkson) and Top Gear are two of the funniest things on TV, did think the end last night showing off Britain's manufacturing (albeit automotive) was quite poignant.

I thought it was funny but I'm not a hater who still watched Top Gear anyway so they can whine about it.

[b]Of course it's dangerous [/b]because people drive with your attitude you prick!

So you seem to agree with him that it's dangerous then ?

The cycling piece was very tongue in cheek....

The collection of stuff on the Mall was ace, just before The Germans and Das Auto, impeccable timing and probably no coincidence...

Clarkson is a fictional character on the BBC, he plays to an audience in very successful way for which he is rewarded. When people get worked up it proves he is getting his act right.

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Anyone else think the above when he discusses how dangerous cycling is?

No.
I've been reading and watching JC for well over 20 years now. In that time he's insulted virtually everyone on the planet including myself more than once through my various pastimes, cars, opinions etc.
But I 'get' him. I understand his humour. I know where he's coming from.
I find the idiots are those that get wound up by him and rant an rave about him.....
🙂

I suspect he passes cyclists very carefully, because if there was even a whiff or him hitting one then losing his career would probably only be the start.

Clarkson is a fictional character on the BBC, he plays to an audience in very successful way for which he is rewarded. When people get worked up it proves he is getting his act right.
Cheer Up

I think the only problem is that not everyone understands this.

(aka [url= http://www.****/news/article-2351767/BBC-shelved-report-showing-Alf-Garnetts-bigotry-shared-viewers-bosses-worried-encouraging-prejudice.html ]the "Alf Garnett problem"[/url])

This thread isn't going the way the o.p. had hoped...

I thought it was just kids and the terminally stupid that watched top gear.

I think the Facebook and Twitter I-ran-him-off-the-road braggers show that there are people thick enough to take him seriously and he therefore makes the roads more dangerous for cyclists.

Religious people who incite hatred of other groups aren't given air time so I object to the BBC (run by the Queen and funded by a direct tax) giving Clarkson air time. Baiting the thick and ignorant isn't a part of the BBC's mission.

Clarkson is a fictional character on the BBC, he plays to an audience in very successful way for which he is rewarded. When people get worked up it proves he is getting his act right.
Cheer Up
I think the only problem is that not everyone understands this.

And that's the genius. People still think he's serious. When everyone works out it's all an act (and don't get wound up by him) that'll be the end of the act.

So, just like that girl on Twitter then?

I thought it was just kids and the terminally stupid that watched top gear.

Don't worry it still is.

And that's the genius. People still think he's serious. When everyone works out it's all an act (and don't get wound up by him) that'll be the end of the act.

To be clear here are we talking about JC, Al or AA?

I laughed, and I actually took it that he was highlighting how dangerous a car/bike interface can be

Your rant stinks of fail

I once had a tenuous link to one of the writers for TG; word was Clarkson was a nice fella & the other 2 were the plicks. Just 3rd hand info though, and about 6 years old now.

So, just like that girl on Twitter then?

I wasn't paying too much attention last night, can you direct me to the segment where he said he got drunk and intentionally ran someone over?

Next you lot will be telling me Eastenders isn't real.

so I object to the BBC (run by the Queen and funded by a direct tax)

Religious people who incite hatred of other groups aren't given air time

I think the Facebook and Twitter I-ran-him-off-the-road braggers show that there are people thick enough to take him seriously and he therefore makes the roads more dangerous for cyclists.

Baiting the thick and ignorant isn't a part of the BBC's mission.

True. Unfortunately, entertaining them still is sometimes.

I didn't see the cycling bit, which appears to shed a different light on it.

My concern is the neanderthals like the twitter girl, and threads on here saying "looking how stupid this cyclist is riding on this busy road" when in fact it is DRIVERS not driving to acceptable standards that kill thousands on our roads annually.

It's the glaring failure to see the causal link that JC's comments encourage that concerns me.

Anyone who has lost someone to an RTC may see my point better.

I actually took it that he was highlighting how dangerous a car/bike interface can be

+1

Sweet child of Nazareth it was a quip/joke. He was talking to a bloke who can rag a car really well who also loves cycling. That alone pisses on any 'petrolhead' who hates cyclists. any morons that take Clarkson literally will take anything that they see, hear or do literally ALL their lives. Get over it.

I actually took it that he was highlighting how dangerous a car/bike interface can be

So the whole programme should be about enjoying ones driving whilst respecting the law, other road users and the environment. As per M6 Turbo in France or PS in Germany. But it's not, it's about "lads" driving "laddishly" and encouraging dangerous driving that makes life dangerous for other road users. Yob, slob, gob etc..

so I object to the BBC (run by the Queen and funded by a direct tax) giving Clarkson air time

You're spot one there, programmes such as Snog, Marry Avoid, Eastenders and Extreme OCD camp are much better use of their money and we should thank the Queen personally.

and encouraging dangerous driving that makes life dangerous for other road users.

I must have missed that bit. Or did you over-exaggerate and make it up as usual?

There really are some humourless twits around watching telly programmes and people they don't like.

In fairness there also appears to be an equal measure of humourless twits getting wound up that people don't have the same sense of humour as themselves.
Too many people seeking approval of others.

Looks like it's time to roll this out again. Nothing is what it appears etc..

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I really liked last nights show and the one before.

It started appealling to the geek/enthusiast again for all things motor/driven.

After countless episodes with purile japery I bet last nights show turned off alot of non-car fans.

I actually agree with cynic-al having lost a good friend to an idiotic drivr and having helped get an old lady out of a demolished jag yesterday that had been hit by a defender that had tried to straight line some bends. The road number of road injuries and deaths shouldnt be trivialised imo. Having said that I dont watch top gear and find it funny that so many jump to defend such mindless bollocks telly.

Having said that I dont watch top gear and find it funny that so many jump to defend such mindless bollocks telly.

I find it equally funny that people try to take it far too seriously and attack it, especially when they don't watch it. (Or better, when they do watch it, just to get annoyed by it and post on STW).

Clarkson is a fictional character on the BBC, he plays to an audience in very successful way for which he is rewarded. When people get worked up it proves he is getting his act right.

Precisely sums it up IMO.

There are so many other things on TV I'd want banning before the "Heightened Reality" show that is Top Gear, For the life of me I cannot fathom the appeal of some of some of the other shite on telly.

Banning Clarkson for being Oafish and middle-aged would feel more like a bitter blow to Freedom of speech than a win for proportionalty and public safety IMO. In the same vein the world would have to view [I]"TOWIE"[/I] and all of those other "Reality" shows as a prime argument for Eugenics... Actually, Thinking about it Twitter Girl (whose already been pointed to as some sort of example of "Clarksonism" in action) is more likely to be a devoted viewer of those preening wastes of oxygen than Clarkson... Target audience innit...

I often dislike some of what he espouses, but then I don't think he believes most of it, it's part of the act. Those that think he's serious and worse yet those that agree with it are the sort of toss bandits that would be inclined towards cyclist hating and other forms of "Light Bigotry" with or without Jeremy Clarkson's encouragement.

I love cars as engineering objects, and I love to drive, which is why I end up watching Top Gear despite having a fair few problems with it. The trips or races across Europe are good telly, I reckon, even though the tension is pretty false. Some of the stunts are good, many are stupid, and in some of the later seasons the shows just seemed like a load of clips randomly jumbled together rather than a well assembled show. And some of it is just stupid, boy racer attitudes aside.

However, there is more to driving than speed, and the show seems to downplay that side of it in favour of some boy racer attitudes at times. For example, on the cross country races they keep going on about the power and speed of the car, even though half the time they are just on normal roads and motorways and (Germany notwithstanding) they aren't going any faster than I would be in my Prius. Having said that.. they do a lot of interesting things that are not focused on speed, so perhaps they do serve both camps.

I know they joke about environmental stuff and cyclists, and I know they are joking, but humour is often a way to normalise something. If you were having doubts about buying an RR Sport say, and those three start making jokes about it, you might well find it easier to brush your conscience under the carpet.

One of the episodes you missed must have been the "lads" racing through France on public roads at average speeds over the national speed limit. Brits racing through France immune to speed cameras is a serious safety issue with something like 85% of cars flashed on some radars having foreign plates even though foreign plates are only 5% of the traffic.

even though half the time they are just on normal roads and motorways and (Germany notwithstanding) they aren't going any faster than I would be in my Prius.

Well, until they come to a queue of traffic, anyway

One of the episodes you missed must have been the "lads" racing through France on public roads at average speeds over the national speed limit.

Yeah I did miss that. I'm sure I'd have ranted about it if I'd seen it 🙁

Zokes having a pop at a_a who'd have thunk it?

Have to say that I agree with a_a on this.

Brits racing through France immune to speed cameras is a serious safety issue with something like 85% of cars flashed on some radars having foreign plates even though foreign plates are only 5% of the traffic.

Are 85% of the cars involved in speed-related crashes also foreign plated? If not, the logic FAIL.

Zokes having a pop at a_a who'd have thunk it?

Nope, just disagreeing with his logic

I would imagine that insane young French men are more of a problem than foreign drivers in terms of road safety...