Top Gear is dead . . .

2015-03-25

. . . and I’m OK with that. I was rewatching shows from series 7 and 8, and those were the types of shows I wanted to watch. At some point, it became less about cars and more about cocking about in vaguely car-related ways. It was still fun, and I still watched it, but I felt like it was missing something.

The BBC may try to revive it with new presenters. Problem is, the current three have perfect chemistry together, which was a 1 in a million chance of working out (which is the fundamental reason why Top Gear Australia and US were never going to work). They might try to change it back into a straight car show like old Top Gear, but the brand probably can’t go back to that.

The current presenters may try to revive the concept under a new organization (Netflix? who knows). Fans underestimate the complications involved in that. They may not have access to the track, studio, production staff, or connections to the car industry that they did before. There’s more to putting on a show than filming a couple of old blokes with cars.

Meanwhile, some of the actions of the fanbase have been horrid. Jezza punches a guy for not providing hot meals, and they blame the BBC for suspending and firing Jezza. Plus, the victim started to get death threats, which is all kinds of fucked up.

Even the fanbase that doesn’t go to the deep end of the shit pool still dips their toes in. “Je Suis Clarkson”? Charlie Hebdo is a satirical newspaper that got shot up by religious extremists. Clarkson punched a guy in the face. Let’s have some perspective here, huh?

I still really like Regular Car Reviews. All the review sites were trying to ape the Top Gear style for years. Regular Car Reviews is the first in a while to try something different. Their 1995 Miata review was an instant classic (just like the car itself).