Has Top Gear had its day?

[nakamichi]

Very dissappointed with last nights Top Gear (21 Dec)
The usual "Star in a reasonably priced car"
An interminable film of them driving across New York.
The usual Xmas presents for car fans.
After 40 mins I was looking at my watch wondering how much longer it was on for.
They have clearly run out of ideas and are just rehashing stuff they have done many,many times before.
Clarkson laughing like a baboon at his own,unfunny jokes and Hammond acting the fool.
James May is looking increasingly embarrassed at being involved in this childishness.
The part where they were doing a drive by shooting with The Stig as the target and the totally unneccessary bitching about The Stig (Ben Collins) was embarrassing.
It is high time the BBC decommissioned the show.
Shame,as I used to love it.

[Andy_No_NSX_yet_:(]

I gotta agree on some of your points, the american bit was all ok and entertaining but the rest of it was terrible.

[Justin]

Couldn't agree more.

This show, that I used to enjoy, has become increasingly irresponsible and new-laddish to the point it can be cringe inducing.

I often feel guilt by association prevents me from any public discussion of car stuff these days, lest people assume I'm a Clarkson type (curiously, I don't mind Hammond, and agree that May is rather good).

Anti-Reithian sh.te. Time it was axed for sure.

[havoc]

Agree with a lot of that, which is a shame.

IMHO it's gone the way of most 'entertainment' shows, that is it panders to the lowest-common-denominator in society. Gone are the days when you could have something erudite and clever on mainstream TV - Raymond Baxter* would never get a look-in now!


* One of my childhood favourites on TV as he always seemed so clever - how sad was I?!?

[markc]

IMHO it's gone the way of most 'entertainment' shows, that is it panders to the lowest-common-denominator in society.

I'd venture that it's gone the way of many long running series whatever the genre. Good (bad) examples are Big Brother, Twin Peaks, or even 'Allo 'Allo. New, inventive and quite good in the first series but increasingly sensational, bizarre or silly beyond about series 3-4. They tend to get more and more sensationalized until they become caricatures of themselves and the only option is to kill them off.

They often get reinvented as something near to their original form only for the cycle to start all over again.

Cheers

Mark

[gumball]

I thought it was fine, great cars in a great place, and a bit on banter. Still the best car show.

[jaytip]

I think you guys are taking it too seriously.It's light entertainment after all.Top Gear has changed completely from its original format,and i for one,am glad of that.

[m666 edd]

As I don't take things too seriously and don't hold high expectations I was able to thoroughly enjoy it.

The format may have not changed and it may be a bit too contrived but I'm still able to sit back, relax and enjoy it.

[Rob_Fenn]

I loved the episode, personally.

You have to remember that its an entertainment show, not a car show! Take a look at old episodes on YouTube and be shocked by your rose-tinted memory of the "good ol' days".

It is a car-related show that my friends and girlfriend will happily let me watch alongside them, so it is fine with me! Yes, the format is getting a little tired, but experiencing the fantastic camera work and engine notes of exotica is far more appealing than the usual late night dross. I giggled like a little girl when Jeremy power-slid the SLC out of a junction in NYC.

Would you really rather they were comparing the boot space of a Mondeo and Vectra?

[Andy_No_NSX_yet_:(]

Would you really rather they were comparing the boot space of a Mondeo and Vectra?


I think there is a demand for such a show, but it would have to be a little bit entertaining at the same time.

Not Chris Goffey informing us of the overtaking ability in third gear of the new FSO polenez or some such...

[TheSebringOne]

Agreed, its not just about cars, its an entertainment show about everything to do with driving/vehicles. If it was like the car show of yester years or when TG first started in 1977!?, it would been taken off air a long time ago.