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June 22, 2010 11:46 p.m. BobOfTheFuture Reader

Article

Top Gear: popular BBC show to 'cut back on the comedy stunts' The presenters of Top Gear are to tone down their comedy stunts amid concern that the BBC show has descended into "Last of the Summer Wine tomfoolery".

By Anita Singh, Showbusiness Editor Published: 7:00AM BST 22 Jun 2010

James May, who presents the motoring programme alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, said there would be a more serious tone to the new series, which begins on Sunday.

The decision to alter the BBC Two show follows repeated criticism of Top Gear's sillier stunts.

“The keen observer will see a subtle change this series, a slight retreat from the Last of the Summer Wine tomfoolery. It’s easy to get carried away – it’s like drinking, you start to believe you’re funny and other people might not," May told the Radio Times.

“I don’t think anybody would say a TV programme has got too big – everybody wants their programme to be the biggest in the world. But it opens you to accusations of dumbing down, all that sort of stuff. It possibly makes it more difficult.”

Notorious Top Gear stunts include the presenters blowing up a caravan, May pretending to crash-land an airship and Clarkson firing a Renault Twingo off the docks in Belfast. Clarkson has found himself in trouble several times

In November, Ofcom upheld viewer complaints about a Top Gear spoof advert in which a man shot himself in the head because he had bought the wrong car. The BBC argued that the scene was a "ludicrous and obviously comic" depiction of suicide, but the media watchdog disagreed.

May, a Daily Telegraph columnist, said he would like to pursue more serious television projects when he finishes Top Gear, including "a serious eight-part documentary about the post-war development of the car - fairly highbrow, Andrew Marr territory".

While it has its critics, Top Gear is BBC Two's most-watched programme, regularly drawing audiences of over five million. It is broadcast in more than 100 countries and is said to be one of the most illegally downloaded programmes in the world.
June 22, 2010 11:47 p.m. BobOfTheFuture Reader

While a little more content and realism would be nice, basically any commands from higher-up will destroy this show, im sure of it.

Thoughts?
June 22, 2010 11:59 p.m. JeepinMatt HalfDork

I think the Right to Free Speech can never coexist with the Right to Never Be Offended.
June 23, 2010 12:10 a.m. skruffy SuperDork

This attitude will kill top gear quickly. There's already a bunch of "we really like the cupholders in the new M5" car review shows around (I'm looking at you, MotorWeek). I want to see test drives that include 20 minutes of smokey powerslides, blowing up caravans, and ridiculous challenges on top gear. That stuff is what makes top gear good, I certainly won't be watching it to see a serious review of a new prius or something.

Top Gear is about having fun with cars. That's what I watch it for, period.

What really sucks is that people who are not fans of the show have finally ended up changing it. I've never understood why people who are deeply offended by a television program would continue to watch it week after week.
June 23, 2010 12:30 a.m. MitchellC Dork

It was fun while it lasted.
June 23, 2010 12:39 a.m. neon4891 SuperDork

I recall this time a year ago, Top Gear was under fire for being a Boy's show, and they needed to soften it up for women veiwers and a possible female host. Didn't happen. This is more of the same, a bunch of shiny happy people blowing smoke.
June 23, 2010 3:11 a.m. BobOfTheFuture Reader

But this is BBC saying there will be changes.

Maybe the BBC doesnt realize that half of their audience watches purely because of a lack of PC style content, like every other tv show on tv today.

By realisim, i meant a little less obviously staged stuff and more real stuff ie, a little more jungle in a crappy isuzu and a little (just a little!) less rigged balloon caravan crashes for comedy. Its the natural comedy these men posess that is funny.
June 23, 2010 8:17 a.m. foxtrapper SuperDork

BobOfTheFuture wrote: The presenters of Top Gear are to tone down their comedy stunts amid concern that the BBC show has descended into "Last of the Summer Wine tomfoolery".

Heck, that's why I watched the show.
June 23, 2010 8:28 a.m. mndsm HalfDork

They said the same thing last year, that there would be less shenanigans. And then there were actually MORE shenanigans, just more subtle. I suspect this is another way to drum up audiences for the premier of the new season.... just to see what May, Clarkson and Hammond will do. And to see how long it takes them to smash a Marina with a piano.
June 23, 2010 8:46 a.m. donalson SuperDork

ya knowing them i can't say this is a bit of a publicity stunt... i hope that it is at least... i love my top gear and have been counting down seance final gear got the countdown up :)...

can't wait for the late afternoon on sun so I can DL it :)
June 23, 2010 9:15 a.m. Tom_Spangler Reader

I think you guys are overreacting. The way I read it, this iisn't an effort to make the show more PC, it's an effort to make it less slapstick, and I have no problem with that. As much as I enjoy the humorous aspect of the show, they did have a tendency to go to far with it in the last couple of seasons.

Besides, my interpretation is that this is being driven by viewer criticism anyhow. They are responding to their audience. How is that bad?
June 23, 2010 9:50 a.m. RedS13Coupe Reader

I was happy till I read the examples.

The obviously faked "real" moments weren't funny because they were obviously fake....

But launching cars, suicide advertisements, ect... all good stuff.
June 23, 2010 9:54 a.m. Keith SuperDork

Anyone remember the Top Gear stuntman from a couple of seasons back? Jumping caravans, that kind of thing? It was awful, probably fairly expensive and added nothing at all to the show. That's the sort of stuff I'm hoping will disappear.

Every time there's a new series, people moan about how it's crap now. Pay no attention, just sit back and enjoy the show.
June 23, 2010 10:01 a.m. EastCoastMojo SuperDork

But, I only watch it for the tomfoolery.
June 23, 2010 10:51 a.m. rebelgtp Dork

I think it is interesting that they are talking about making the show more serious and making it sound like the show is May's and the other two are the second bananas. He is the one always getting mad about the pranks the other two pull and the like. Honestly May is the one I could do with out in the show most of the time.
June 23, 2010 10:55 a.m. GregTivo HalfDork

rebelgtp wrote:

I think it is interesting that they are talking about making the show more serious and making it sound like the show is May's and the other two are the second bananas. He is the one always getting mad about the pranks the other two pull and the like. Honestly May is the one I could do with out in the show most of the time.

Without a straightman, its just the 2 stooges. May makes Hammond and Clarkson funnier by contrast and some of us actually like his commentary.

I loved the running gag on the Dacia Sandero and how he was genuinely excited about it.
June 23, 2010 11:02 a.m. Duke SuperDork

Yeah, May is the only one that stops Clarkson from being a complete and utter pratt. I love the interaction and I love the lighthearted nature of the show, but the staged "reality" segments suck just as much ballsweat as any other staged "reality" shows do.
June 23, 2010 12:42 p.m. novaderrik Reader

what's the next complaint going to be- that The Stig scares young children because he always wears his helmet?

i've only been watching Top Gear since i got BBC America about a year and a half ago, but it is one of my favorite shows. it has that rare formula where everything just clicks and works right- it feels a lot like South Park, where they don't really think too much and just do whatever pops into their minds in the moment and let the results wind up however they wind up.

sometimes it's the greatest television ever, sometimes you'd rather have the few minutes of your life that you spent watching a segment back.

sometimes, i think they go too far with some things- like when they drove cars across the southern US in "typical American cars" and had the rednecks at the gas station chasing them out of town- but that just ads to the silliness of the show. but it is also sort of a window to how the typical Brit sees the typical American. i always like getting the foreign perspective on our society, even if it is overdone for comedic effect.

i do love the "star in a reasonably priced car" concept. they do it right- put famous people in a regular car and tell them to go around a track as fast as they can.Jay Leno tried to copy it on his primetime show and got it exactly wrong- put famous people in a hybrid and make them go thru a bunch of stupid obstacles in the parking lot.
June 23, 2010 12:46 p.m. Keith SuperDork

I felt that the Jay Leno version of SIARPC was a great illustration of why Top Gear America would not have worked. It was absolutely terrible.
June 23, 2010 12:51 p.m. JeepinMatt HalfDork

May is a crucial and integral part of Top Gear. He not only plays the straight man at times, he's wickedly funny. He's less drop-a-piano-on-that and more quips. Read their articles on the Top Gear site. They're all pretty funny.
June 23, 2010 1:08 p.m. donalson SuperDork

if you don't care for james may you should spend some time on the 1st season and then be thankful he's around :)

honestly I like the entire group... I think james is funny but in that more typical dry british sort of way.

novaderrik if you've only seen it via BBC america you owe it to yourself to seek out the full length original version (finalgear.com is my preference) :) the reason this is comming up now is the new season starts sunday... it should be ready for DL around 3 or 4 pm typically
June 23, 2010 1:45 p.m. NYG95GA SuperDork

It seems a certain amount of Idiocracy has crept from our borders. Maybe they could add more "kicked in the 'nads" scenes.. really tick off the dry Brit complainers!

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