Well it looks like Top Gear is finally at an End of its slumber.

AMKC

Even since Clarkson, Hammond and May left it has never really been Top Gear has it more like 4th Gear.

Now there is talk that the BBC will or maybe have cancelled it altogether after a crash by one if the hosts Flintoff I think.

Do you think the BBC should cancel it?

When is the last time you watched it?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058291826/well-it-looks-like-top-gear-is-finally-at-an-end-of-its-slumber

I watched a couple of episodes Post-Clarkson et al, but it wasn't the same and I gave up. This after being an avid fan.

AMKC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120462276#Comment_120462276

Yes they were hard to watch. There was the odd good episode but must episodes were terrible or just nothing new.

amacca

I didn't care much for the seasons with joey from friends in it although he wasn't the worst in fairness

I was kind of getting to accept the Flintoff, Harris, mc Guinness as not being too bad, not a patch on the original but growing into its own thing

Thought mc guinnesses schtick could be amusing at times

ELM327

Have never watched the new new top gear, (holy trinity being new top gear originally).

Vicxas

After the disaster that was the post Trio shows with Matt leBlanc and that muppet Evans i just stopped.

hoodie6029

I enjoyed Matt, Rory and Chris on it. They were just hitting their stride when Matt called it quits. I think it could’ve been a very good show if he had stayed. Race across Japan and Kazakhstan still stick out in my memory and I only saw them once.

Still follow Rory on his Autotrader channel on YouTube.

Watched a few of the current incarnation but found them to be very juvenile.

With so many reviewers on YouTube and the likes of Mighty Mods doing feature movies like Kei to the Sea, I’m not sure where TG fits in this new world.

blackbox

Chris Evans was terrible.

Matt le Blanc was quite good.

The rest are mediocre.

I used to be a regular viewer for Clarkson &Co., but never watch it now.

newmember2

I can't watch it any more...it's just turned into lad's banter on some sort of trip or other - that's just become tiresome, as opposed to a motoring show. When Freddie starts talking about the merits of whatever car he's talking about he comes across like he can't even believe himself what he's saying.

Autosport

I still watch TG, watching it now at the moment and they done a beautiful segment on Colin McRae, I watch it for the cars and not the presenters although I do like Chris Harris. At times Clarkson could be tiresome.

GavPJ

Rory Reid was awful in it.

Matt Le Blanc wasn't much better but I do like him.

Chris Evans was brutal.

Chris Harris is pretty good with Freddie Flintoff and Paddy McGuinness.

I still watch it and enjoy it. Clarkson, Hammond and James May were a

unique trio that worked really well.

quokula

I liked Matt Leblanc, Rory and Chris Harris, it wasn't as good as the show was in its heyday but in all honesty it felt like the original trio were starting to run out of ideas towards the end of their tenure on the show, so that new crew (once they offloaded Chris Evans) seemed like an ok refresh while it lasted.

While Harris remains, I can't stand Flintoff and McGuinness and they make it very hard to watch. I know "it's too scripted" was a criticism long levied at the show since the old days, in relation to contrived races and challenges, but I feel like it's the actual car stuff that comes across as overly scripted these days, with Freddie and Paddy reading information about the cars that they've been given rather than having any real interest, knowledge or insight of their own to provide. The only good piece I've ever seen from either of them was the one about the Motorbike stuntman Eddie Kidd, which is very tangentially related to car culture but it was the one time Paddy seemed to genuinely care about something which came across. (admittedly I don't watch every episode anymore so maybe they've produced some other good content that I've missed)

And while I hope Flintoff has a speedy recovery, every time he got in a car it was an accident waiting to happen as he had no idea what he was doing behind the wheel. I'd rather see them reboot it with presenters with an automotive journalism background who know what they're doing - there are plenty of great candidates producing quality content on youtube, just like Chris Harris did previously.

mfceiling

McGuiness and Flintoff should have stuck to what they were good at. In McGuiness's case that was being an unfunny, two bit light entertainment presenter for some rubbish on ITV. In Flintoff's case that was using one of his 2 brain cells to shill himself to any brand that would have him.

Flintoff calling McGuiness "Padd" to try and install some sort of bloke ish friendship and McGuiness shouting "boys" at every opportunity does not a car show make.

Harris is the only one who is knowledgeable about cars and he was being dragged down to their level of incompetence further every episode.

It dropped off a cliff when Clarkson and co left. The beeb should have shelved it then.

mfceiling

McGuiness and Flintoff should have stuck to what they were good at. In McGuiness's case that was being an unfunny, two bit light entertainment presenter for some rubbish on ITV. In Flintoff's case that was using one of his 2 brain cells to shill himself to any brand that would have him.

Flintoff calling McGuiness "Padd" to try and install some sort of bloke ish friendship and McGuiness shouting "boys" at every opportunity does not a car show make.

Harris is the only one who is knowledgeable about cars and he was being dragged down to their level of incompetence further every episode.

It dropped off a cliff when Clarkson and co left. The beeb should have shelved it then.

Eoinbmw

It was gone to the dogs with the original 3 and their other snow is rubbish too ill still watch all of them do as there's not much automotive entertainment to watch on TV these days!

Montage of Feck

It had gone to pot when the original three were on it. "Celebrity" guests, badly acted scripted sequences and willful destruction of classic cars put me off it years ago. Plenty of YouTube channels know filling the void of car shows.

n.d.os

To gain any notoriety again, it needs about 10 years off to come back with something different. As a poster mentioned above, Youtube has taken over from motoring TV. It's all on there months before Top Gear gets it. If we're being honest, The Grand Tour also flopped. The last one or two episodes were better but I think the three presenters are too different now and come across as a bit cynical and dated as a trio.

GavPJ

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120472894#Comment_120472894

I though the Grand Tour was a success? I've never seen it but a few friends have told me it was good. I watch

very little TV so can't justify paying for Amazon.

n.d.os

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120472935#Comment_120472935

They got rid of the audience and only do a few episodes a year. Maybe one, two at most. I think it did okay but not as well as they expected.

GavPJ

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120473163#Comment_120473163

A trio of wealthy men so they won't be hungry or homeless.

hoodie6029

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120473163#Comment_120473163

They made some derogatory comment about Netflix when they signed with Amazon. They must have been some a$$holes to Netflix in negotiations as they came out with a statement saying they had made a very fair offer based on the future profitability of the show which was declines and that Amazon had paid way over the odds and were welcome to them (paraphrasing).

Stallingrad

Clarkson's Farm is far more entertaining than the current Top Gear. It needs to be put down.

AMKC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120476528#Comment_120476528

I agree.

ohnonotgmail

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120473163#Comment_120473163

The long specials were always the best part of Top Gear.

cpoh1

Never liked clarkson and the rest to be honest, after they left the show became a bit more car focussed which is what the show was meant to be about, I preferred it after. Chris Harris is a proper petrolhead who has the talent to match the words, best presenter top gear have had.

FlubberJones

McGuiness is over exposed and I'm hoping this is the end of him on TG, Harris was great though and really did bring technical knowledge to the show, not sure why Flintoff was there, maybe being tall i suppose....

quokula

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120472935#Comment_120472935

Financially it was a massive success for Amazon. More of a mixed bag critically, very rarely reached the highs of the old days but even at its worst it was about as good as new Top Gear.

It took a while to find its feet, remember there's a whole team of people involved aside from the presenters and many of those remained on top gear. But it's gotten better over time. They're not getting any younger and they have other projects on the go so they've reduced it to the odd episode once or twice per year now, but the quality has gone up more with that. The recent one with the Mitsubishi Lancer was miles better than anything Top Gear has produced in many years.

Clarkson's farm is a different kind of show but also far more entertaining than anything McGuinness or Flintoff have ever done in their TV careers. It'd be worth paying for Amazon for a month or two to binge that and the Grand Tour.

quokula

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120473583#Comment_120473583

The quote from Netflix which came in an interview was a dig at Amazon and their overspending, rather than at Clarkson & co.

For Netflix this would have been just another series to keep things ticking over and keep subscription levels up. For Amazon they were still trying to break into the market and wanted a major tentpole show to bring in subscribers and get them into their ecosystem for the first time. I can see why Amazon were willing to spend more, and all reports are that they made a huge return on that investment so it was well worth it.

teediddlyeye

I found it shite for a good few years before the "original" trio left. And since they left, the less said the better, I seriously doubt many genuinely like it, rather just clinging to their youth as a form of nostalgia.

A long time ago now, plenty seem to have forgotten just how good it once was.

https://youtu.be/GeeOVsN6oIQ

https://youtu.be/Hw-zCsybNtg

https://youtu.be/jPks09qDXkQ

https://youtu.be/H3rP7Bxgx3w

Few random bits,

The "challenges" ruined it.

positron

When Clarkson was fired, if May and Hammond had stayed and brought in someone else - TopGear might have survived, just may be. Introducing and changing the show slowly, one presenter at a time.

As much as I dislike Clarkson for a number of reasons (racism, his rants against cyclists etc), his farm show shows how good he is at entertainment business.

Montage of Feck

I'd like to see James May doing more stuff like The Reassembler. But it was probably too slow and rambling for current tastes.

ofcork

The original show had become tired alright repeating same old things i didnt mind the current trio although chris harris was the only petrolhead,find myself watching fifth gear repeats or youtube stuff these days.