I have been keeping a close eye on the news about Jeremy Clarkson's employment status following the fracas with a producer and now it has been confirmed Jeremy Clarkson will not be receiving a renewed contract from the BBC. This comes as a major blow to Top Gear fans as the TV show was in the process of filming studio segments for Series 22 and Top Gear Live was scheduled to be on Tour over the next few weeks.
Last week we learned that Jeremy Clarkson's co-hosts, Richard Hammond and James May, refused to continue filming studio segments without Jeremy. This indicates the duo will follow Clarkson to which ever television company snatches him up first. Most of the appeal behind Top Gear is the on-screen chemistry and banter shared between the three presenters, especially to the wider audience who are not interested in cars. Unfortunately, the three people who are known to strike the right balance between entertainment and automotive discussion most successfully are out of the picture. An even greater difficulty for the BBC is that no matter who they get on the show, there is going to be a significant portion of viewers longing for the old presenters.
So now Top Gear is in a sticky situation because the bosses want to continue the show, but no-one is ready to present it yet. I do have a list of people I would like to present Top Gear, but it is really unlikely a majority of viewers will agree. Whoever the BBC decides to employ, ratings are expected to fall drastically compared to where Series 22 left off, so the question is if the risk should be taken to continue the show with a new format and hope viewers adapt to the Top Gear reboot in the coming years. If we look at the American version of Top Gear, things do not look hopeful as ratings are still low over 4 years after its debut.
As a final note, it is important to have some respect towards the producer involved in the fracas incident. For the sake of anonymity, I won't mention his name here but he is the victim of this whole incident and people are quick to throw abuse at him because he is a contributing factor to Clarkson's demise. Yes, he made a mistake by not getting Clarkson his meal on time after a busy day, but does that justify being physically abused at work? Like any other human being, he makes mistakes. The producer is probably in a really bad state from the whole situation already, it is best to avoid making his life any harder. Chances are he is as devastated as any other fan that Top Gear will cease to continue as we know it.
Comments
Post a Comment