Top Gear, This Is Your Life.

"JustDauKee" (oopsiforgotmyburnerkey)
03/30/2015 at 13:30 • Filed to: Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson, Clarkson, This is your life, Hammond, Richard Hammond, May, James May, Sacked, Ferrari, Porsche, McLaren, Top Gear this is your life

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Not unlike many of you here, I grew up watching Top Gear. And I absolutely loved it. It was, for a period of time, my favourite thing on telly and Jeremy Clarkson was, for a period of time, my favourite person... in the world .

I still remember that day. I was sitting with my parents at a café, bored out of my little 8 year old mind and melting crayons on the outdoor heaters, when a black Lotus Exige hurtled past me rather recklessly. As soon as I got home, I stoked some coal, wound up the crank of my ancient HP laptop, waited several years for Google to be invented, and then stumbled across Top Gear's !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! of the Lotus Exige. There was tyre smoke, there was a funny shouty man, and there was a FUCKING HELICOPTER . I was hooked.

Pre-pubescent me did not give a toss about the improved braking performance afforded by silicon carbide coated, carbon ceramic brakes. What pre-pubescent me did care about, was that they cost more than a bag of Kanye West's toenail clippings, and that silicon was what went in breast (K)implants. To a boy that had just hit double digits, the best car in the world was the fastest around the Top Gear Test Track. To a boy that had just hit double digits, the Porsche 911 was rubbish because it had an engine in the back and that, according to Clarkson, was just wrong. And to a boy that had just hit double digits, whatever Clarkson said was law. He was, in my pre-pubescent eyes, the automotive Pope.

Top Gear was to cars what House was to doctors. Doctor House made us to see the sexy side of lupus, just as Jeremy Clarkson made us lust after depreciating hunks of exotic Italian unreliability. I'm not saying that lupus IS sexy, or that cars AREN'T sexy, because I really don't want lupus, and I really really do want a Ferrari. All I am saying is that House and Top Gear have done wonders to make the (otherwise) ignorant viewer more interested and entertained in things that we never realised were so interesting or entertaining.

Season 22 was, perhaps, the best and most exciting rendition of our favourite car show. It was quintessential Top Gear, like the new M3 - the best of where we've come from. Sure, nearly 8 years down the line, I care a little less now about 0-60 times and tyre smoke than I did before. Sure, I now think the Porsche 911 is, and always has been, a triumph of engineering and will continue to be one of the most significant cars ever made. And sure, now that Chris Harris has emerged from the papal conclave of my mind as the new Holy Father, Clarkson's word isn't law anymore. But Top Gear is Top Gear: beautifully shot, fantastically entertaining, wonderfully witty, and a damn good place to park an hour of your time on a Sunday evening.

So unsurprisingly, I was rather miffed when I heard that Jeremy Clarkson would lose his job and that the Top Gear that we know and love would never be the same again. In fact, to say I was rather miffed would be the grossest understatement... in the world .

I was genuinely distraught. The whole of motordom was genuinely distraught. It was like that first !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in 1994 all over again. Then I realised that theFerrari theFerrari, the 918 Spyder, and the P1 would never lap the track in the hands of the Stig. When I realised that we would never know which of the current crop of superduperhyper cars was the best (in schoolboy terms of course), I had a stroke. Fortunately, I got better.

Clarkson's sacking was one low blow that, according to the twiterrings of the Hamster himself, saw the end of a truly amazing era arrive in one fell swoop. Not unlike you dear reader, I never wanted to see any member of the Top Gear trinity leave the show. I did not want this to be the end of an era. I never wanted the era to end, but Jeremy....

Clarkson had to go. No doubt about it. It is downright negligent for any employer of any company to allow any one of his (or her, because gender equality) employees to physically assault another employee. Even if you do work for a Mexican drug cartel, you're still not allowed to punch your coworker in the face because he used up all the salsa. It doesn't matter if you're the best Jihadist in the world, ISIS will still tell you to sod off if you attack even the most butter-fingered suicide bomber in the entire organisation. Likewise, being Jeremy Clarkson and pulling in big bucks for the BBC does not give you the right to physically abuse anyone. The only people who could have, maybe, slightly got away with a stunt like this are F1's resident Troll-Under-The-Bridge-Bernie-Ecclestone himself and maybe Jesus (the son of God, not the cartel employee). In actually hitting Oisin Tymon, Clarkson effectively handed in his own resignation letter, signed and sealed, smack bang onto the biggest desk in the BBC - he knew it and the whole world should know it.

So what now? What will happen to Top Gear? Some say that this is really it for the show, and that the boys know it too. Whether it's one replacement or three, a spinoff show on a rival network, or the end of the road, the show will never be the same again. Trying to fill Clarkson's shoes is like trying to find a replacement for the Holy Ghost - impossible and borderline blasphemous. Trying to replace all three of them, however, is like finding a better version of the Holy Trinity in the Westboro Baptist Church - it doesn't exist, and even God can't do it.

So Top Gear, this is your life. It's been fan- fucking -tastic having you around. To Jeremy, Richard, and James: you are all idiots. Wonderful, wonderful idiots who dare to be utterly stupid in such an austere age of seriousness. I'm sorry that it had to end this way. Thank you so much for all you've done. We wouldn't be here without you.

(cue music)

Tonight: Richard !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , James !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and Jeremy !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ...

DISCUSSION (100)

edu-petrolhead > JustDauKee
03/30/2015 at 08:38

Beautiful writing!

JustDauKee > edu-petrolhead
03/30/2015 at 08:43

Thank you!

Wheelerguy > JustDauKee
03/30/2015 at 08:51

Kinja'd!!!

This test is a bit like the Pac-May fight... it involves timing, but I might be wrong.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > Wheelerguy
03/30/2015 at 09:44

That fight that might still never happen. Until it's the day of the fight and Pac-May are both in the ring is when I'll believe the fight will happen.

All I know is Pacman CAN'T lose this. I would be devastated and it would be the worst way to end a boxing career. Like Roach said there is nowhere to go after Mayweather. So this is quite possibly Manny's last fight EVER.

Kinja'd!!!

Wheelerguy > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
03/30/2015 at 09:57

I still think Manny has the least to lose among the two. He's lost quite a lot after Marquez put him to sleep (*cringe*) and at this point already has his legacy set in stone (unless he wants to fight El Dinamita one more time). He's lost before, and hard, so I'm certain he knows better than to play Floyd's game.

One thing, though: Pac better put Money to sleep like what he did to Hatton. Or make him give up like De la Hoya. Better to end up with the latter because it's gonna show Floyd at his weakest. How he responds will be the last thing that will be called for him. He wins some if he's gracious. If he isn't gracious, and hollers around the ring and some time after... well, you know the drill.

neogeo2027 > JustDauKee
03/30/2015 at 10:12

Dropping the f bomb does NOT make you cool, it makes you sound juvenile and unintelligent.

JustDauKee > neogeo2027
03/30/2015 at 10:18

I'm 17. Get fucked.

JustDauKee > Wheelerguy
03/30/2015 at 10:23

Where's the car section? I didn't mean to post in the boxing bit...oh and the fight will only happen if Floyd takes 99.9% of the money if he wins, and 100% of the money if he loses.

Wheelerguy > JustDauKee
03/30/2015 at 10:26

Here's my piece of the car section .

Robert Donovan > JustDauKee
03/30/2015 at 10:53

If you're comparing the impact of Clarkson's losing his job to Ayrton Senna's death at Imola on 1 May, 1994, you're an unconscionable moron.

Perry > JustDauKee
03/30/2015 at 10:59

You. I like you.

Kayone74 > JustDauKee
03/30/2015 at 10:59

I don't know people cannot observe this with the attitude of a great show going out while it's on top, rather than allow it to go on too many series too long and fade into a pale shadow of itself, much like many popular TV shows that continue season after season until the writers run out of ideas and have wven recycled their old ideas too many times.

Shouldn't we just enjoy the whopping 22 series that we got rather than feel bad about what we don't have?

JustDauKee > Perry
03/30/2015 at 11:00

I'm quite fond of myself as well.

Kayone74 > JustDauKee
03/30/2015 at 11:00

Real classy response

JustDauKee > Robert Donovan
03/30/2015 at 11:01

Oh. Hyperbole must mean something else then. Could you be a dear and look it up for me?

JustDauKee > Kayone74
03/30/2015 at 11:02

I'm a teenager and don't know better. I'm nice, promise.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > Wheelerguy
03/30/2015 at 11:04

Fuck I hope it happens just like you described.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > JustDauKee
03/30/2015 at 11:04

Sounds about right on Mayweather's part

JustDauKee > Kayone74
03/30/2015 at 11:05

BUT UBER HYPER MEGA CAR COMPARISON TEST THO

edwar.simon2 > JustDauKee
03/30/2015 at 11:10

The end of an era. Television is empty as it is; but now worst. Not worth the two years, monthly fees providers' request for service. Two hundred fifty channels of void. Cable and satellite can shutdown now. All BBC America has now is Doctor Who and that was a science fiction in its early form; now, it is a "soap opera". Demise and obituary of the BBC(A).

tamedcowboy > JustDauKee
03/30/2015 at 11:31

I disagree. I think BBC should have disciplined Clarkson with a suspension, fine, maybe anger management, but to throw him out like a bag of trash is deplorable. Clarkson is redeemable, not disposable.

JustDauKee > tamedcowboy
03/30/2015 at 11:35

So you're telling me that if you were punched in the face by a more successful colleague and he WASN'T fired, but instead told to sit on the naughty step for five minutes, that you'd be perfectly happy?

Ian Finlay > JustDauKee
03/30/2015 at 11:35

I think we can all still look foreword (for years to come) to the straight to DVD Christmas specials and epic road trips. So it won't say BBC on the box, might not even say Top Gear, but it will have the 'Trinity", plenty of petrol, and clearly staged shenanigans, and that's all the magic I'll need. Perhaps at last we can take the helmet of the Stig and talk to him for a while too. Yes the program is done, but the show's not over.

JustDauKee > Ian Finlay
03/30/2015 at 11:40

The show will never be over my friend. Not until one of the three kick the bucket. Viva la Top Gear

Tom White > JustDauKee
03/30/2015 at 12:16

The problem is that Clarkson has been walking the tightrope for a while. If this was his first incident he MIGHT have gotten away with the suspension/fine/etc.

But he's been called on the carpet before for racist remarks and publicly rude behavior that went beyond comedy. It wasn't even his first time punching someone (Piers Morgan - 2003). And whether the Argentina incident was staged or not, the problem is that by then his behavior was well-established enough that it would certainly be believable that they did stage it.

In short, this isn't firing someone after one incident. This is firing someone after quite a few incidents, with the final moment being another physical assault. He's had the opportunity to show himself redeemable, and in their eyes he hasn't.

JustDauKee > Tom White
03/30/2015 at 12:40

I'm arguing that punching a co worker is all it takes to get fired, and all it should take to get fired. Sure, his behaviour hasn't helped at all, but punching someone who you work with in the face is definitely gonna get you fired. Also, punching Morgan wouldn't have got him fired, as I didn't think he was a colleague. If Morgan had pressed charges, there would be some legal brouhaha though...

TrapperJohn > JustDauKee
03/30/2015 at 13:02

Yes, it's good that the current crew is going out relatively on top. I particularly enjoyed the anti-PC stance of the members - it's the sort of mud in your eye thing that youth once did so well, before they became programmed. Note to the world: it's not a good sign when the older members of society are the rebels.

The TG crew spoke for all of us, said the things we want to say but can't. The show's popularity is testament to that.

Still, JC committed one major sin: he took himself too seriously. Punching out Piers Morgan was brilliant - we'd all like to do that. Punching out a hapless go-fer is being a bully.

I'm going to miss these guys. Who will speak for us now?

JustDauKee > TrapperJohn
03/30/2015 at 13:09

bravo good sir

Kayone74 > JustDauKee
03/30/2015 at 13:54

I'll take that. Ok

JustDauKee > JustDauKee
03/30/2015 at 13:55

Apologies for the repost, this was scheduled for 1:30pm, but Matt couldn't read it because it wasn't published. I wonder if he's read it yet....

Kayone74 > JustDauKee
03/30/2015 at 13:56

Yeah but there will always be hyper/mega car comparo films and they've come and gone before. There's always one more mtn peak beyond the one you think is the ultimate. Never end.

JustDauKee > Kayone74
03/30/2015 at 13:58

True. But find me one that gets McLaren, Ferrari, and Porsche to play nice. Then I'll take your point.

Kayone74 > JustDauKee
03/30/2015 at 14:08

I guess I don't really care about that stuff that much anymore. I love fast cars, but what you highlighted (porsche, mclaren, ferrari playing together) has lost its importance to me.

LAMarlowe > JustDauKee
03/30/2015 at 14:44

not a terrible send-off, as these things go. So the young guy got a chubby watching a true Brit act all American. That's cool, however far it goes. Where is the the passion in these current times, though? Where is the love that JC bestowed upon the world?

He gave joy, humor, sarcasm, and insight. I've seen nothing here on offer that could compare.

"I loved him when he was good," is probably the worst thing to be said./Top Gear is dead. Long live Top Gear.

JustDauKee > LAMarlowe
03/30/2015 at 14:45

you must be less sober than I am

MrDakka > JustDauKee
03/30/2015 at 15:38

Enjoy it. Revel in the last years of being irresponsible. Being an adult is depressingly boring

JustDauKee > MrDakka
03/30/2015 at 15:40

it won't be. I'm sure of it

MrDakka > JustDauKee
03/30/2015 at 15:45

That's what they all say at first...

Eric-B > JustDauKee
03/30/2015 at 18:16

There must be a way to punish Jeremy Clarkson without firing him. It doesn't seem fair to punish the fans of the show, May, Hammond or the rest of the staff for his actions.

Suspend him for the rest of the year and have the Stig fill in for him, I think Stig would be funny for the interview portion of"Stars in reasonably priced cars".

Bring Clarkson back for 2016, make him donate a portion of his salary to charity, he can apologize every week and do public service announcements about workplace violence.

HarryJames811 > JustDauKee
03/30/2015 at 19:34

Kinja'd!!!

Richard shoots the bird , James clears his throat , and Jeremy said Bull Sh@@...

paulenki > neogeo2027
03/30/2015 at 19:35

I totally agree with you. The guy has written 2 articles and he already thinks he's something special. How sad is that? LMAO. It's a pity, really. He can write well and he's obviously bright, so there was no need for him to drop the f bombs. But that's what happens when you're an "UBER"-juvenile adult pretending to be a teenager.

paulenki > JustDauKee
03/30/2015 at 19:43

Do you honestly believe that you're going to win admirers by acting like a jerk? You only make yourself look foolish this way. You wrote a good, solid article. What do you gain by telling people to get fucked just because they are (justifiably) critical of your use of the f bomb? You have a great deal to learn.

Elgreco > JustDauKee
03/30/2015 at 21:47

Couple of guys at my work got into a fight. Trust me, fists landed on faces. They got their licks in and everything was cool after that. Nobody got fired. They never had a problem in the 2 years after the fight.

Benz-wine-coffee > JustDauKee
03/30/2015 at 23:32

I just hope your next write-up is not about One Direction. Nobody is indispensable... and stop the adulation of the old era dropping the stereotypes. Man up and get over it.

JustDauKee > paulenki
03/31/2015 at 01:50

Now look here. My use of expletives is instrumental to the piece. This whole damn article was written in the spirit of Top Gear. It's called register, heard that one before? For your information, I am indeed 17 and I write more often than you think. These two articles are the only published ones in this genre. Thank you for your understanding, or lack thereof.

JustDauKee > paulenki
03/31/2015 at 01:52

I do have a great deal to learn and its NOT from people who fail to understand that "dropping the f bomb" and sounding "juvenile" is the whole point of the piece. It's a proper TopGear send off for TopGear. Duh.

JustDauKee > Benz-wine-coffee
03/31/2015 at 01:53

I won't even bother with this one

JustDauKee > paulenki
03/31/2015 at 02:23

Three actually. There's one about McLaren losing its way on my other blog (to which I forgot my burner key, hence this blog's username).

Sharjeel_sak > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 03:41

Nicely Done!

To all the people who are unable to get the point, I say this

"SOD OFF"

JustDauKee > Sharjeel_sak
03/31/2015 at 04:17

Thank you!

A Krespi > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 11:05

Great article - enjoyable read and very funny. BUT, I disagree with your claim that Clarkson hitting a colleague in the face necessitated his termination... Top Gear earns the BBC £42 million per year. Jeremy Clarkson is the driving force behind Top Gear. Sometimes stars get drunk with power, everyone understands that. In the interest of CASH, £42 million per year, however, the BBC should have accepted that Jeremy is too integral to their earnings to be fired over an internal incident. Information over what happened was not public; the BBC could have spun it any way they liked. Universal Music puts up with Justin Bieber because he brings in tonnes - same with a plethora of other stars. The BBC should have taken the same approach with Clarkson. Without Top Gear's earnings, the BBC simply can't afford to make the less popular dramas and documentaries that it prides itself on doing. What an employee can get away with doing is dependant on their value to the company - that's the way the world works. Some may object in principle, but corporations need to act pragmatically to stay competitive. The BBC is, at the end of the day, the British Broadcasting Corporation , and in the interests of the corporation, he should NOT have been fired, no matter whether he hit a colleague or not.

JustDauKee > A Krespi
03/31/2015 at 11:23

Right dear, let me tear you a new one.

1. It doesn't matter who you are or how much you contribute to the company. Physical violence is intolerable in any workplace with a modicum of integrity, especially considering the reaction of the victim himself (insofar as he feared that HIS job was at risk for being a victim of physical work place violence - no employee should feel this way in any workplace, especially in a country like the UK, and especially in a partially state funded one).

2. Justin Bieber never punched a co-worker in the face. Sure he's probably music's largest farce, but he's never gone so far as to physically abuse a member of the company. Even KANYE hasn't done something as colossally stupid as Clarkson.

3. Sure the BBC's future revenue will be severely crippled by Clarkson's departure and its consequences, but remember what the BBC is: semi-state funded, and representative of British media. Sure it may be the British Broadcasting CORPORATION, but it will always be the BRITISH Broadcasting Corporation before it is the British Broadcasting CORPORATION. At the end of the day, it's supposed to be a representation of BRITAIN. Can such a large and important organisation be seen to perpetrate unfair workplace equality? No. All the more so BECAUSE it is the BRITISH Broadcasting Corporation.

4. In addition to point 3, the role of the BBC consists less of returning as much profit as possible to the shareholder but more of portraying the state of the British Media in as positive a light as possible. There is less of an emphasis on competition, as it will always remain the BRITISH Broadcasting Corporation as long as the state deems it suitable.

5. So you're telling me that if your more successful co-worker were to punch you in the face with enough severity to warrant a hospital visit AND get away with it, you'd be perfectly happy? Do YOU want to work in a workplace like that? Sure, more successful employees may bully and hound less successful ones, but any form of physical violence will earn them a one-way ticket out of the door. In other words, you CAN be a prick, but you CAN'T be a violent one.

A Krespi > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 11:54

I understand your reaction, because on principle, I too think that physical violence in any workplace is intolerable. However, I must return to the position that the BBC should have acted pragmatically to retain the earnings that Top Gear provides... They should have cut his salary, put warnings into writing, perhaps even shrunk down his role on the show, but not fire him, because now there's a big gap where £42 million per year used to be. Furthermore, your point about the BBC representing the UK internationally is really only true because of Top Gear. Before Top Gear, no BBC production gained international attention in a significant way. Top Gear is the vehicle through which the BBC represents the UK internationally - removing Clarkson is removing this vehicle. I understand that being an prick is indeed different to being violent, but companies sometimes have to make hard decisions, and in this case I feel that the BBC will most certainly do itself more damage by firing him than it would by keeping him on despite his actions. The BBC has some state ties, yes, but ultimately as a corporation it had a choice on whether or not to fire Clarkson. They could have given the victim a large compensation package and placed internal sanctions on Jeremy's behaviour; they didn't NEED to fire him. Any number of explanations for Jeremy's actions could have been given - he was drunk, delirious from a long day of filming etc etc. I'm not necessarily arguing that he shouldn't have been fired, I'm just pointing out that he didn't NEED to be.

BionicOddity > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 13:59

Read the intro and had to jump here to comment. That was my first episode too! Hooked for life.

Nibby > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:01

Kinja'd!!!

Tina Corbett > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:04

An excellent article. For me, trying to replace the trio is like trying to take Mr Rogers off of Mr Rogers Neighborhood, or even The Doctor off of Doctor Who.

You might still have a show, but it's just not the same.

Tina Corbett > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:05

An excellent article. For me, trying to replace the trio is like trying to take Mr Rogers off of Mr Rogers Neighborhood, or even The Doctor off of Doctor Who.

You might still have a show, but it's just not the same.

neon wario > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:05

Good writeup. Apples to oranges comparison here, but I prefer their magazine presence anyway. Hope that's not significantly impacted.

Kaufmania: Mark Webber's Stunt Double > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:06

i cried a lots

TrueBritEngineer > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:07

Surely you're a Brit too? That was just too relatable! Brilliant. What's your twitter?

chicagoE36 > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:07

Beautiful write up!

AG74683 > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:08

I was watching the Bolivian special again last night. These guys clearly loved their jobs, more than anything else.....in the world. What a gut wrenching decision it must be for May and Hammond, choose their friend who ultimately through his own selfish actions may had ended the single greatest job in the entire world for them, or choose their career and potentially lose a great friend over the whole thing AND face a ton of potential fan backlash who still incorrectly blame the BBC for everything.

Here's hoping someone steps up and brings all three of them in for another show. I really think that's the only way it works out for anyone. FWIW, I love Jeremy Clarkson (no, legitimately, I would tell him to his face I love him like I would any other distant family member), but man what a stupid thing to do.

chicagoE36 > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:08

Beautiful write up!

Brian, The Life of > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:08

Yup.

Kinja'd!!!

Crest > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:08

I'm just tired of all the bullshit. Can BBC please release the rest of the video's to us, after that fire everybody for all i care because i know i have not seen the end of what is a very juicy season on Top Gear

K-Mama-Daebak > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:09

Jeremy Clarkson is a racist, arrogant POS, glad he is gone, and anyone who supports him can jump right off the cliff with him !

stephenmcknight > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:10

there back together doing five live shows. under the name of Clarkson, hammond and may live. there not allowed the BBC branding at all, but they have a contract with Brand events who wanted the tour to go on.

grow up with a UK show called this is your life, Eamonn Andrews and the big red book surprising Celebrities.

damnthisburnershitsux > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:10

Kinja'd!!!

NeonBlaqk > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:11

Would everyone please stop jumping on this kids back for being a teenager? Like you didn't curse or use slightly questionable hyperbole as a kid. Just because you happened to show up on the planet a few years before this guy doesn't make him any less of a person than you.

drdude > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:11

Now that you have me thinking about it...

Theres is someone out there, whos job will be to take down the unbreakable toyota... to disassemble the whole stage... to take all the toys they built, and warehouse or sell them.

Thats sad. Also, whats his number and how sticky are his fingers?

CALUSA > paulenki
03/31/2015 at 14:12

LOL you take things toooooo serious.

drdude > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:13

Now that you have me thinking about it...

Theres is someone out there, whos job will be to take down the unbreakable toyota... to disassemble the whole stage... to take all the toys they built, and warehouse or sell them.

Thats sad. Also, whats his number and how sticky are his fingers?

nekowrites > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:13

And on that bombshell we end... see you never

BReLp7dzHM3ytYsE > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:16

Well said.

britboitexas > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:16

I remember seeing the Early Top Gear in 1980 while at prep school, and it was not until 88 when clarkson came on board, it was essential viewing back int he eraly 80's and i think it was on thursday nights at 8 or 9, not sure of this.

Do not also forget it was cancelled in 2001 before being relaunced in the current format, i do not see this as the end of Top Gear but rather , like the doctor, a reinvention of the format. Some doctors we loved others not so much and i feel it will be this way with TG.

Maybe they will go back to being more informative, more main stream in test drives, who knows but i am sure it will continue or something that has been part of my life for 35 years will fade into memory.

Clarkson was a journo who joined the show and will go back to being one, He was a reason to watch but no one can go on forever, and to be honest i have been getting the feeling he has been behaving in such a way to allow the Beeb to release him, not sure just a feeling.

Dirka > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:18

"Even if you do work for a Mexican drug cartel, you're still not allowed to punch your coworker in the face because he used up all the salsa. " -I would have pegged you as a Hammond fan over Clarkson

Hans_Moleman > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:19

Silicone is used in breast implants. Silicon is used in brake parts, and semiconductors, among other things.

JustDauKee > Hans_Moleman
03/31/2015 at 14:20

CLARKSON YOU LIED!

guppy8290 > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:20

Yes. Spot on mate... a tear just dribbled down my cheek

chuckster1124 > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:20

Netflix, I'm just saying.

The three presenters will still be doing their live show, assuming this article is true...

http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-…

So, with a lot of luck, maybe there is hope for a show all their own.

hackunamatata > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:21

the best moment of Top Gear is James May flirting

Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:22

This. 1,000,000 times this.

Rahee > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:22

I will make sure I put an effort and make sure BBC goes bankrupt in the next 10 years. pfft, Top Gear is responsible for everything I have to do with cars, always will be. This is sad for me, and alot of people.

drdude > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:22

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

JustDauKee > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car
03/31/2015 at 14:24

many thanks kind sir. To you I doff my cap

JustDauKee > drdude
03/31/2015 at 14:25

AHA, But was there any formal contractual employment? Hmm?

Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:26

This. 1,000,000 times this.

TheTruthisHere > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:28

Thank you for pointing out that this was Clarksons choice, he ruined this for everyone.

Tapas > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:30

Your words mirrored my feelings about Top Gear and the incident.

While this sentiment is not unique, your article is. Thanks for the nice article :)

JNZ > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:30

"Trying to replace all three of them, however, is like finding a better version of the Holy Trinity in the Westboro Baptist Church - it doesn't exist, and even God can't do it."

Jay Leno, Chris Harris and Chris Evans. Am I God now?

WillyJimmy > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:31

Chris Harris is your mentor? Geez man, have a little self respect.

JustDauKee > JNZ
03/31/2015 at 14:31

I'll let everyone else decide

Kex > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:36

That... that was beautiful.

skeffles > Elgreco
03/31/2015 at 14:38

Couple of guys at my work got into a fight. Trust me, fists landed on faces. They got their licks in and everything was cool after that.

Two things: First is that your work place is stupid and insane. Please post the company name so we can get the corporate head office reaction to that.

Second, and most importantly, this wasn't two guys who came to blows in a mutual decision to be as childishly violent as possible like in your example. This was one large angry man (angry over having to settle for cold cuts rather than steak, good god) assaulting another man who did not fight back. This was not two alpha males butting heads (and even if it were they'd both deserve to get fired), this was a ragemonkey losing his shit like a toddler on someone who was just trying to do the best he could with the situation at hand and who was not trying to fight at all. That is assault and it is bullying and it is not the way a middle-class professional adult in Britain is expected to act, especially not in the UK's flagship corporation. They have standards there.

I liked the show as much as the next girl, but Clarkson deserved to be sacked. No second chances with workplace assault.

Thedude > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:38

Won't anyone think of the Hilux! Someone (looking at you, Toyota) needs to save it before the BBC does anything stupid!

I'm Abe Froman > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:42

And sure, now that Chris Harris has emerged from the papal conclave of my mind as the new Holy Father, Clarkson's word isn't law anymore. But Top Gear is Top Gear: beautifully shot, fantastically entertaining, wonderfully witty, and a damn good place to park an hour of your time on a Sunday evening.

WillyJimmy > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:47

Top Gear was funny, but not because they threw curse words left and right. It wasn't needed, not in the least, takes away from an otherwise well written article. That's typical Jezebel BS, cuss and generate views from simple minds. Your writing is mature way beyond your age, and expect you to have a very successful and respected career. But insulting your readers and pandering for views by trying to be unnecessarily edgy with vulgarity, that will limit you for no good reason.

JustDauKee > WillyJimmy
03/31/2015 at 14:49

Thank you for taking a more sensible stance on the matter. I thought they were necessary in the spirit of the article, and you don't. I don't always curse when I write, it's just I think those bits really really needed emphasis.

CALUSA > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:49

Kinja'd!!!

THE MEMORIES.

VWDashboardLight > JustDauKee
03/31/2015 at 14:50

This was so excellently written, hit me right in the feels.