For those that miss Jeremy Clarkson....

[49er]

 Works for Amazon these days advertising their Drone delivery system.

https://youtu.be/MXo_d6tNWuY

[scoot]

Yet another reason to dislike Amazon.

[Raymond]

Ironic that he advises us to "...behave like a rational human being", given that it was his irrational and violent behavior that got him sacked from a multi-million Pound a year gig.

[scoot]

I think it's interesting that the more I read about Jeremy Clarkson the more I dislike him.  I certainly enjoyed him on Top Gear, but learning more about what sort of person he is in his interactions in the real world, I think that he has become unenjoyable.

[Montreal V8]

  Just a minor point - he wasn't "sacked",  his Contract wasn't renewed.  (Semantics?)   I enjoyed him also, but he seemed to feel he was indispensable, and a number of his comments were indeed offensive, in my opinion.

[Raymond]

Not semantics at all.  He was suspended immediately, not allowed to finish the program he was working on, and the highest levels of the BBC made it known to him that his violations of company policy were grounds for termination.  I think that qualifies as sacked.  Even though he is an incredibly talented writer and presenter, his actions were insufferable enough to cause the BBC to cancel millions of Pounds in broadcast rights contracts and lay off dozens of support personnel.  Whether or not that coincided with a contract renewal is moot.

I hope he learned a bit of humility and is a more rational human being as audiences gradually give him another chance. 

[Montreal V8]

Hi Ray. I know all the news reports stated he was "fired" (sacked)  but the first sentence of the official statement by BBC Director General, Tony Hall, reads  " It is with great regret that I have  told Jeremy Clarkson today that the the BBC will not be renewing his contract". The full statement goes on to give various aspects of the situation, but the word fired is diplomatically absent. That's why I used "semantics" - question mark,  I wasn't trying to be smart about it.  Cheers, Dale.

[mdsalemi]

Yes, there was the whole debacle on Jeremy Clarkson getting fired and all that. There were opinions right left up and down on this, from this group here. What most sort of agreed upon is that, before "the incident", Top Gear was television worth consuming.

Well, he's baaack! Or, should I say, they're back, all three of them: Clarkson, May and Hammond along with producer Wilman. Courtesy of Amazon Streaming Video for Prime members (sorry for those of you outside the USA who may not get this) they have produced the new series, The Grand Tour. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grand_Tour_(2016_TV_series)

Having been a Top Gear fan, we watched the first episode and for those that have yet to see it, my guess is the budget for this episode probably exceeded most of the BBC budget...for everything. Aside from no mention of "gears" top or otherwise, and no "Jessica" theme by the Allman Brothers, it has a similar format with the same kind of antics and reviews on perhaps a larger scale with a whopping budget. No Stig, and no "Stars in Cars" yet.


I can see we'll be spending some of Christmas holiday watching more...

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

Hi Mike,

They soon will be aired in Canada and going Global soon. I don't think the BBC will ever match it, the new Grand Tour will be tops. I cannot wait. I have Top Gear seasons 10 to 21 on DVD.

----> https://www.amazon.co.uk/www.amazon.co.uk/b?node=12022739031&ref=dvm_uk_sl_gen_SLGEM2M_2_14

Dieter

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

They are back as of today in Canada too

Signed up today for my 1 month free trial and saw the first show that aired last month. For 12 months Prime it is slightly below $80.00

The highlight of the first show was three of the finest ...

McLaren P1 at 904 bhp
LaFarrari at 950 bhp
Porsche 918 at 887 bhp

What a show enjoy it when you get there ....

Dieter

[mdsalemi]

They are back as of today in Canada too

Signed up today for my 1 month free trial and saw the first show that aired last month. For 12 months Prime it is slightly below $80.00

We use Amazon Prime all the time, and it's plenty worth it for us, the streaming video is just an added bonus!
So, you saw the first episode.  Care to compare the budget for production of Amazon compared to the BBC?? 

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

Hi Mike,

I have not seen (nor do I wish to see it) the new BBC version of TOP GEAR, from what I've seen on the first show of Grand Tour I don't think BBC will get anywhere near the US budget. I will make the Amazon Prime part of my entertainment package.

Dieter

[Benz Dr.]

With everything being so PC today, even getting fired has taken on a whole new look and feel. Sorry, but I'm afraid that we are going to have to let you go, we won't be renewing your contract, we won't be asking you to come back, we are over budget and over staffed and we have to reduce costs, please remove your personal items from our desk and accompany security to the front front door! Mr. S., report to the front office at once!!! Don't call us, because we wont be calling you...............

[mdsalemi]

Well, I've seen nine of the ten installments of "The Grand Tour" now. Clearly it's far more about entertainment, as it were, than it is about cars and testing--having evolved (or devolved?) to more of a comedy show that has a huge budget. It's starting to bear some resemblance to the silliness of Monty Python, just with a big budget and automotive "bent".

Episode nine is hosted out of Stuttgart, where they made a big deal out of not being welcome there, because of one "green" Stuttgart council member, who commented that it's a bicycle friendly city.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/on-demand/2017/01/06/grand-tour-episode-nine-berks-future-talking-point-review-lights/

Clarkson's quote: "The Germans are the only people on earth who really know how to make a car."