Top Gear Jumps Shark Sacking The Stig

[Garpal Gumnut]

I have cancelled my subscription to Top Gear Magazine and will never watch the show again.

I have also advised Bugatti, that I had been considering a Veyron, but have decided otherwise because of Ben Collins' disgraceful treatment by the producers and presenters of the show.

When Fonzie jumped the shark, it was the end for Happy Days.

Thus with the Stig and Top Gear.

gg

In an interview on 7 September 2010, Jeremy Clarkson said, 'put it this way, he's history as far as we are concerned. He's sacked.'[81] Clarkson also referred to the white Stig as "Sacked Stig" in voiceover narration on his 2010 video The Italian Job, released in mid-November.[82]

On 5 November 2010, the Top Gear website released a video clip about its "Stig Farm", the end of which introduced a new Stig for Top Gear Live. He sports a white helmet and overalls, with black highlights on the shoes, sleeves and shoulders. The video also featured a satire of Collins' autobiography, in which one example of a Stig tries to write a book on a computer, before proceeding to correct one of its numerous mistakes with Tippex.

In the first episode of the 2010-2011 series, the presenters branded the Stig a traitor, with James May declaring his true name to be Judas Iscariot. In a later challenge in which the presenters had to take part in a mock drive-by shooting, the targets used were cardboard cut-outs of the Stig””which, on his turn, Hammond turned around to take the specific opportunity to "shoot [the Stig] in the back!"

 

[boofhead]

As you appear to be a fan of The Stig it would be a good way to pass time with reading Ben's autobiography. It deals a little with what you're unhappy about. I'm sure you'll like some of it.

 

[Solly]

I have cancelled my subscription to Top Gear Magazine and will never watch the show again.

I have also advised Bugatti, that I had been considering a Veyron, but have decided otherwise because of Ben Collins' disgraceful treatment by the producers and presenters of the show.

When Fonzie jumped the shark, it was the end for Happy Days.

Thus with the Stig and Top Gear.

gg

GG,

I dumped TG some time ago after my repeated requests for Clarkson & Co to review & road test the Toyota Crown went unanswered.
IMHO the the Fuel Injected 4M-E 2-valve SOHC 2.6 litre was one of the best engines Mr Toyoda ever produced. I still give the Traffic Branch guys in their XR6's a run for their money down Coomera way when doing trip from the Cove to Burnett Lane.

TG is soooo 2010 for my liking, Fifth Gear has far more class and your get to see Ben Collins sans helmet.

S

 

[Smurf1976]

The whole concept of the program as mass market TV entertainment basically relies on the trio + stig constantly outdoing themselves. Another form of constant growth if you like.

Sooner or later they won't be able to keep it up, as with anything that goes parabolic (and Top Gear over the past couple of years is a truly classic example there). These guys basically rely on jumping the shark not once, but literaly every program in every series. It's been that way at least since the rocket launch, though to some extent it could be argued that it goes back further than that. It's always got to be more extreme than last time, otherwise it becomes boring and it's game over for the mass market (largely not really interested in cars) audience who watch because it's entertaining, albeit in a somewhat ridiculous manner, with the cars merely props.

In Australia, I'd argue that it already is largely over. A once loyal fan base on SBS has basically lost interest in it due to the constant messing about and flogging it to death by Channel 9. I used to watch it every week but I don't even know when (if?) it's on now - just too much messing about trying to work out what was and what wasn't a repeat before watching it. Likewise many others I know have also lost interest for the same reason.

 

[matty77]

Thats the problem, when it was on once a week you could look forward to the episode and know its a new episode, that you hadnt seen before. Same time slot every week, lock it in. Nowdays I have no idea which episode is a new one and which is a repeat, chanel 9 have succesfully saturate the show to a point that nobody will watch it anymore

Top Gear Bubble... I think so.

 

[nomore4s]

Thats the problem, when it was on once a week you could look forward to the episode and know its a new episode, that you hadnt seen before. Same time slot every week, lock it in. Nowdays I have no idea which episode is a new one and which is a repeat, chanel 9 have succesfully saturate the show to a point that nobody will watch it anymore

Top Gear Bubble... I think so.

Thing is channel 9 and to a certain extent Ch7 do the same-thing to any show that is popular and in the end I just stop watching because 1 week is a episode you haven't seen and the next is a repeat, gets very frustrating.

 

[Smurf1976]

With a bit of luck it drops below the seemingly critical 1 million viewer mark, Ch 9 loses interest, and it ends up back on SBS.

It's just too much hassle on 9 and they've killed it. There seems to be more general interest now in Hey Hey It's Saturday, which looks to have been axed anyway (?), than Top Gear which was an outright hit just a year ago. They couldn't have done a better job of killing it if they'd tried.

Top Gear would be far better back on SBS. For that matter, HHIS might just have a future if it were on another network too.

 

[Garpal Gumnut]

It is good to see so many intelligent posters feel as I do.

Can one short a TV show on Centrebet?

gg