Will Top Gear survive?

[Darth Rosenberg]

Meant to reply to this a while back, but forgot:

He punched a coworker in the face. That isnt something any employer can reasonably write off as a "mistake" and give him a slap on the wrist just because he's famous.

Yes, actually it would be something I hope grown up adults can sort out without a firing. Tensions got strained, Clarkson acted like a dimwit, and that's that. I think the guy ended up with a split lip - he wasn't exactly attacked with a crowbar. Fame has nothing to do with it.

As I said, if the guy wants to press charges, then let the law do its thang. Otherwise, people should let it blow over, and get the show back on TV.

...not like that's going to happen now, though.

I hope May and Hammond join up with Clarkson on another channel, but it'll no doubt be one I don't subscribe to - so that's the end of proper Clarkson/Hammond/May 'Top Gear' for me, it seems. It was a damn fine ride while it lasted.

 

[The Bucket]

Meant to reply to this a while back, but forgot:

He punched a coworker in the face. That isnt something any employer can reasonably write off as a "mistake" and give him a slap on the wrist just because he's famous.

Yes, actually it would be something I hope grown up adults can sort out without a firing. Tensions got strained, Clarkson acted like a dimwit, and that's that. I think the guy ended up with a split lip - he wasn't exactly attacked with a crowbar. Fame has nothing to do with it.

As I said, if the guy wants to press charges, then let the law do its thang. Otherwise, people should let it blow over, and get the show back on TV.

...not like that's going to happen now, though.

I hope May and Hammond join up with Clarkson on another channel, but it'll no doubt be one I don't subscribe to - so that's the end of proper Clarkson/Hammond/May 'Top Gear' for me, it seems. It was a damn fine ride while it lasted.

Grown up adults dont try and solve their problems by throwing their weight around and lashing out. I think you're understating what happened, it wasn't a moment of weakness, the actual confrontation lasted 30 seconds and he shouted the guy out and told him repeatedly he was fired both before and after it happened. It was bullying plain and simple.

And fame has everything to do with it. If it was the other way around and the producer had snapped and given Clarkson a hit, I dont think anyone would question or protest a decision to sack him.
I like Top Gear and am really dissapointed at this, but like the statement said, they cant have one rule for most people and another for Clarkson because he's a big deal.

 

[Albino Boo]

Well Clarkson last ever appearance on Top gear has been leaked

 

[Genocidicles]

Talk about cutting your nose off to spite your face. The BBC is throwing away a lot of money letting Clarkson (and by extension Hammond and May) go... but I guess it really pissed of Danny Cohen that the BBC's most successful program was about a bunch of straight white men having fun and being politically incorrect.

Coming soon to a tv near you! the BBC's new Top Gear starring a diverse range presenters pulled from a variety of minority backgrounds who'll talk about the responsibility of driving electric cars and hybrids, while also extolling the virtues of public transportation!

 

[Albino Boo]

Talk about cutting your nose off to spite your face. The BBC is throwing away a lot of money letting Clarkson (and by extension Hammond and May) go... but I guess it really pissed of Danny Cohen that the BBC's most successful program was about a bunch of straight white men having fun and being politically incorrect.

Coming soon to a tv near you! the BBC's new Top Gear starring a diverse range presenters pulled from a variety of minority backgrounds who'll talk about the responsibility of driving electric cars and hybrids, while also extolling the virtues of public transportation!

You don't get drunk at work and start throwing punches and expect to keep your job. Its been fairly obvious that Clarkson has been on an arc of self destruction for some time now, all his enemies at the BBC had to do was wait. Now I do hope that, like Chris Evans before him, Clarkson goes away cuts back on the booze and winds his ego back in and returns to form as a great broadcaster. I used to like top gear but Clarkson had become the pub bore, James May just didn't care and I do worry about the health of Hammond.

 

[Laughing Man]

You don't get drunk at work and start throwing punches and expect to keep your job.

and THIS is why you take everything with a pinch of salt when reading about this sort of thing.

The actual investigation as conducted by Ken MacQuarrie makes NO reference to anyone being drunk, or that punches were being thrown.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/what-the-bbcs-inquiry-into-jeremy-clarksons-fracas-with-a-top-gear-producer-found-10133373.html

PDF link for download of report

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/investigation-summary.pdf

I also have noticed in EVERY single one of the people that respond agreeing with what the BBC did by firing him is that they embellish the incident and fail EVERY SINGLE time to acknowledge that not only did Clarkson make multiple attempts to apologies to the victim but was the one that actually started the proceedings for an official investigation.

The fact is he shouldn't have been fired.

Not withstanding the show's popularity and the money that it makes the BBC, at every stage this incident as highlighted examples of a corporation that has mis-managaed every single aspect when it comes to Clarkson and this incident itself.

It is no shock that Clarkson is more than a little hot headed, the people responsible for his management both personnel and within the BBC should have been managing him and his behaviour long before this incident occurred. Even then the lead ups to the whole incident aren't very clear. Does it excuse hitting someone, no, but as someone who suffers from hypoglycemia I can understand just how quickly I can get annoyed when I have been working hard and need something to eat. Again no excuse but everyone loves to kick around the whiny baby wanting a Steak and not getting his way when we seem to have very little info about the lead up to the incident.

After the incident the BBC should have done an internal investigation, the problem though is on the back of Jimmy Saville they are so scared of being accused of covering things up they went to the polar opposite, canning the last three episodes of Top Gear and making a very public statement to the fact 'yes one of our talent has done something wrong look everyone look we are raking him across the coals in the middle of the town centre, look we don't cover things up anymore'.

If Clarkson had made no attempt to show remorse or had acted in the 'I don't give a fuck manner towards the victim' that is being made out by the sack him supporters, then yes sacking him AFTER the current run of Top Gear had ended, would have been the right decision. Instead the current run should have been completed, because cancelling it affects no one but the people who fucking pay the BBC's wages, they should have conducted an internal investigation and taken in to account the fact that Clarkson had tried to apologies (many times) and clearly knew he had done something wrong they should have punished him via his new contract (which was up for renewal anyway). If he was unwilling to accept those terms then he could have opted not to renew.

I love how everyone focuses on Clarkson in this case because he is the obvious big name celeb but will their be ANY investigation in to the management that allowed this to happen in the first place or an investigation in to how piss poorly the whole thing was handled or an investigation in to the high ranking BBC individual that actually compared the whole thing to the Jimmy Saville scandal. I doubt it.

 

[Breakdown]

Top Gear has felt a bit tired for a couple of years now. Hopefully Clarkson, May and Hammond will be invigorated with the prospect of working on a different series for a different network.

It's difficult to see how Top Gear can continue though. Chris Evans could maybe do it but he's ruled himself out. Even if he changes his mind he would still need to have credible co-presenters.

 

[Albino Boo]

snip

Because being sober at work and punching people is so much better

 

[WhiteNachos]

I think Top Gear will replace all 3 hosts and their replacements won't be nearly as good. It'll hang on like the other Top Gear spinoffs but it won't be nearly as good or as popular.

I don't care about cars and I still watched Top Gear UK because it was funny and entertaining. Yeah I had to sit through them showing off and gushing about a super car almost every episode, while I didn't cafe about it, it was still fun to watch.

But maybe the 3 of them will get a new car show somewhere else.

 

[Jeroenr]

Talk about cutting your nose off to spite your face. The BBC is throwing away a lot of money letting Clarkson (and by extension Hammond and May) go... but I guess it really pissed of Danny Cohen that the BBC's most successful program was about a bunch of straight white men having fun and being politically incorrect.

Coming soon to a tv near you! the BBC's new Top Gear starring a diverse range presenters pulled from a variety of minority backgrounds who'll talk about the responsibility of driving electric cars and hybrids, while also extolling the virtues of public transportation!

You don't get drunk at work and start throwing punches and expect to keep your job. Its been fairly obvious that Clarkson has been on an arc of self destruction for some time now, all his enemies at the BBC had to do was wait. Now I do hope that, like Chris Evans before him, Clarkson goes away cuts back on the booze and winds his ego back in and returns to form as a great broadcaster. I used to like top gear but Clarkson had become the pub bore, James May just didn't care and I do worry about the health of Hammond.

I have a hard time shaking off the feeling that this was an exit strategy of sorts.(just speculating here)
The host's are also a prisoner of the success, They are getting older and maybe getting a little bored of it.
But they can't resign without getting the whole of the UK(and the world) piste off at them.

So this way, they aren't the bad guy's (slight backfire) and increase their market value. (that one probably worked)

 

[Laughing Man]

Because being sober at work and punching people is so much better

Swing and a miss, the POINT was that like so many you were spreading miss information to help make whatever point you were trying to make.

 

[Albino Boo]

Because being sober at work and punching people is so much better

Swing and a miss, the POINT was that like so many you were spreading miss information to help make whatever point you were trying to make.

No you are missing the point you don't go to work and punch people and keep your job. You are also ignoring many eye witness accounts that say Clarkson was pissed as a lord. If you want to engage in conspiracy theories thats fine but don't expect everyone in the reality based community to take you seriously.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

Frankly, I started watching Top Gear because I found the three of them charming and funny. If Richard Hammond is still around I'll still watch it.

Though, to be perfectly honest, if you Brits are done with Clarkson we Americans would love to have him. Seriously, he'd be huge here.

 

[Someone Depressing]

Nobody gave a shit about the cars, and now that people have realised that it was hosted by three boring middle-aged guys the show will go down and then die a semi-dignified death.

Then Upper Cog will appear on Sky, hosted by the one and only Jeremy Clarkson in blackface Jerome Cartson.

 

[GonvilleBromhead]

It was the right decision, but also the stupidest decision the BBC has ever made.

Yes, you can't go around punching co-workers. It is, as has been correctly identified, a sackable offense, and any organisation with any inkling of a duty of care to it's employees would immediately dismiss someone who did such a thing. It was absolutely, the right decision.

On the flip side, its a lose lose situation for everyone involved. The BBC has lost one of it's most popular shows and biggest money earners, Oisin Tymon has already suffered cyber bullying (though the fact that such repercussions are not as extensive as was initially anticipated is most likely down to Jeremy Clarkson's behaviour after the event, which was pretty exemplary - reporting himself to the BBC, and the only statement made to reporters being to ask them to "Leave Ois alone" - otherwise I doubt he would ever feel able to work again. That said, it's not as if he himself hasn't been a victim of misdirected violence), and the only person in any position to come out on top is Jeremy Clarkson (there are, afterall, other networks).

But the real sting is going to be felt by the BBC. Top Gear was the only show they, or frankly indeed any other British broadcaster, produced that does not appear to have aimed at the two golden demographics - housewives and 16-20 year old males. That is why it has upset a lot of people - it was the only thing they watched, and there is nothing to replace it. It's not like "Location Location Location" which, if it gets cancelled, well...you can always watch "Homes Under the Hammer".

There were also ways around it, as far as the BBC was concerned. There is strong reason to suspect that this was not the outcome Oisin Tymon wanted, and there would have been other ways to punish Clarkson without shooting themselves in the foot. But such a thing would require an imagination - something in short supply at the BBC. And now they have to find something new those who aren't desperately obsessed with other peoples houses or what other people are cooking.

Frankly, the only thing to pull out of this whole mess is the fact that petitions aren't worth the paper they are printed on. I mean, if a broadcaster (TV, let us not kid ourselves, relies entirely on the popularity of its shows to survive) won't refrain from firing someone based on a million signatures, I doubt that Monsanto really gives a halfpenny jizz for your 5,000 signature petition to give free milk to Peruvians or what have you