BBC admit Top Gear caravan blaze was a stunt

^ What do you mean it wasnt real? :cry:
 
dmdfreak said:
I live in Pensacola, Florida, and I'm about 15 miles from where they were attacked by "rednecks" (Bagdad, Florida). Just in case the Daily Mail would like to know, I'm pretty sure the whole attack was faked. Stop the presses!!

I'm sure noone really thought it was real. hehe
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I dunno mate, it seemed proper to me, those rednecks looked rather cross. Couple that with what was written on the cars and a little thing called "Southern pride".. I'm not sure it was fake.. :p
 
The funny factor is still there even on the staged items, but once you watch and the amusement has passed you are left a bit empty in my opinion. You wanted it to be real and you laughed at it as if it was real, but it was staged, that hurts the credibility of the show and makes what you just watched less funny. It also makes any future things like that automatically less entertaining because you suspect they are staged too.

I would say to Wilman and the rest of the Top Gear team, the three presenters and the stuff they come out with and do is funny enough, no need to go overboard. I am not that unhappy about the staging of things, but I think everything works well enough without pretending.
 
Ephexis said:
The funny factor is still there even on the staged items, but once you watch and the amusement has passed you are left a bit empty in my opinion. You wanted it to be real and you laughed at it as if it was real, but it was staged, that hurts the credibility of the show and makes what you just watched less funny. It also makes any future things like that automatically less entertaining because you suspect they are staged too.

I would say to Wilman and the rest of the Top Gear team, the three presenters and the stuff they come out with and do is funny enough, no need to go overboard. I am not that unhappy about the staging of things, but I think everything works well enough without pretending.
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If you watch it, and laugh at the funny bits, then its done its job. I can watch repeats of episodes and know whats coming up and then when it does, still laugh myself silly.

They just need to keep the show around the series 5-8 format though.
 
dmdfreak said:
I live in Pensacola, Florida, and I'm about 15 miles from where they were attacked by "rednecks" (Bagdad, Florida). Just in case the Daily Mail would like to know, I'm pretty sure the whole attack was faked. Stop the presses!!

I'm sure noone really thought it was real. hehe
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fake or not, they did look pretty pissed, which made me lol :p

and at least one chaser's stunt was real. my mates bus was held up while the chaser boys tried to buy bus tickets with bricks a few months ago, hehehe.
 
epp_b said:
I really hate to think that the races are fake. Consider the race between the SLR and the speed-boats. May and Hammond weren't even close; Clarkson slaughtered them in that race. I'd really like to think that this indicates that the races are real.
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Of course the races are faked. How do you think the camera crew not only keep up with Clarkson but also manage to get ahead of him to film as he blasts by them constantly?
 
I remember them saying with the Bugatti race that they went back and filmed some pretty passing shots of the car after the race was over.
 
its a entertainment show... not a full documentary of truth that cars can do this, that, whatever... I watch the show because its hilarious to watch and they review cars.. If I needed straight facts on buying a TVR, Lambo, etc... then I'll just walk down to the local dealership and get my own opinion on the car.

Just fucking enjoy the show and stop the bitching and moaning
 
Ephexis said:
The funny factor is still there even on the staged items, but once you watch and the amusement has passed you are left a bit empty in my opinion. You wanted it to be real and you laughed at it as if it was real, but it was staged, that hurts the credibility of the show and makes what you just watched less funny.
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To sum it up, we know there are gags and bits worked into Top Gear, nobody denies that. More so now than previously.

However, now the question is -- where is the line? Is there a line? Could it be that everything on Top Gear is staged? To quote Hammond from the Polar Special, not very sporting of them. That is what is upsetting those of us who are upset.

That's why we love sports -- the thrill of the unscripted result, the unpredictability of it all, the ebb and flow. That's what we love about the challenges -- car vs. car or car vs. something else. This is the same as finding out your sporting events are rigged (insert appropriate sport reference for your continent). How many people would care about their favorite sports if they knew the results were predetermined?
 
It still in extremely enjoyable, you just have to watch it without thinking about it. Which in some of the things you can do. Like when they made the Limos, I was laughing so hard during that episode that it made me cry. Other things how ever when you watch it, such as the caravan on fire I sit there thinking, Do they think I'm stupid or what?
 
I thought the whole caravan episode was hugely entertaining despite being so obviously and unashamedly staged, just like the whole show actually. You knew it was always going to end up destroyed, so why make a big deal out of it?
 
janstett said:
That's why we love sports -- the thrill of the unscripted result, the unpredictability of it all, the ebb and flow. That's what we love about the challenges -- car vs. car or car vs. something else. This is the same as finding out your sporting events are rigged (insert appropriate sport reference for your continent). How many people would care about their favorite sports if they knew the results were predetermined?
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Nicely put. I find it even more sad that they tampered with drag races/tests.

And I did not know that absolutely the whole show was staged. The show loses most of its appeal for me because now everytime I will be watching TG and see them goofing around claiming to be in danger, May being lost or Hamster being angry I will know that it is not true and that they are only performing their carefully scripted roles. Not exciting at all. I cannot watch TG like watching a movie.
 
Vette Boss said:
I dunno mate, it seemed proper to me, those rednecks looked rather cross. Couple that with what was written on the cars and a little thing called "Southern pride".. I'm not sure it was fake.. :p
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I totally agree. There's no way that was fake. Those gun totting loons were out to harm *shudder*.

Plus, Clarkson said so in his Sun column months before it was aired as he was stunned* by the reaction at the petrol station.

*I say stunned but he put it in a rather hilarious and derogatory way...of course!:lol:
 
My lord, the entire basis of my existance has been erased, i don't think i can continue living the same way.....................

Good old Daily Mail, i must admit that i don't miss this paper since moving back to Australia.
 
I think that most of the "drama" is faked on Top Gear. For example when Hammond overturned a van going around a corner during one of the series. It was obvious it was done on purpose.

And much of the fun is plainly scripted.

Lots of the races and other events seem logistically impossible to cover unless they hav numerous camera crews accompanying them and are somehow almost always very tight finishes or entertaining in some other way.

But all that doesnt stop Top Gear from being one of the most entertaining programmes on TV.
 
phenergn said:
Personally I think the redneck stuff in america was just very cleverly edited to make it seem much, much worse than it was. The camera crew were in it because it would have been utterly unconvincing if they weren't.
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That's it in a nutshell.

Though I don't think "becoming a radio show" is particularly clever (or convincing) when your entire camera crew is present <g>


Jezztopia said:
Vette Boss said:
I dunno mate, it seemed proper to me, those rednecks looked rather cross. Couple that with what was written on the cars and a little thing called "Southern pride".. I'm not sure it was fake.. :p
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I totally agree. There's no way that was fake. Those gun totting loons were out to harm *shudder*.

Plus, Clarkson said so in his Sun column months before it was aired as he was stunned* by the reaction at the petrol station.

*I say stunned but he put it in a rather hilarious and derogatory way...of course!:lol:
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They had guns? Where'd you hear that?

Come to think of it, I watched the segment again recently, and there's no footage of a single person throwing a rock, nor does anyone even threaten them. TG had probably half a dozen cameras there, and their failure to capture a single person carrying out any form of attack or threat (and, in fact, going dark just as the supposed "action" begins) doesn't seem strange to you?

The station owner *warned* (not threatened) them they were in a "hick" town; you could argue she was concerned for their safety, but that's a hell of long way from threatening to do harm. It was Hammond who kept putting words in her mouth in his voice-over (or just by yelling at the camera).

When I read the Daily Mail story my first reaction was "Uh, no shit! Most everyone already knew that!" But after reading these sorts of posts, I'm not so sure.
 
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