Chris Evans [of the UK] - three-year Top Gear deal

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Top Gear is not a show that can be fronted by one person, it never has been and there is no reason to think it can now. There is a reason that they have sold the three presenter format around the world and that's because it works. More personally I and thousands of others out a lot of time and effort into writing and filming audition piece son the promise that there was a chance one of us might be lucky enough to get a chance to work on the show we love so much and ten weeks or so on from the closing date we get this. Even Clarkson for all his bombast and ego wasn't deluded enough to think he could carry the show on his own.

That said if you re-read more carefully it does say that it's a one man thing currently; I doubt very much I've it will remain that way, partly because I don't believe it would work but also because the burden of responsibility would be far too great for any one person to shoulder on their own.

I take you never heard anything back about your submission?
 
Squat. Although they did state they would only reply to those who were successful.

I always knew knew that it was a bit like buying a lottery ticket but right now it looks like they sold a bunch of tickets when there wasn't a prize to be won. And if that turns out to be the case then VW's latest problems are going to look like jaywalking compared to the PR disaster that this could be for TG and the BBC as a whole which is already fighting for its life thanks to the Tories and Murdoch.
 
Isn't it just sad that they have to throw meaningless pieces of news like this one just to keep some of the old audience focused that something new is coming?
I guess that otherwise the new Top Gear becomes, even before it starts, just another show you catch by accident while flipping channels.

I feel like their intention to keep the fans in suspense is working the other way around and it just bored the shit out of me.
I thought that they will take it slow, just like Clarkson did in 2002, and they'll grow into something else. I was prepared for a slow-start with a growing charisma over the years.
Now they are just bullshitting people with great ideas and yet half a year on they still have nothing.
Is it just me who feels this way?
 
I can't believe this isn't getting more discussion. So, what was the point of auditioning other people, then?

Is this is smart move, claiming (as he is) to avoid mimicking what came before, or is this the result of an out of control diva who can't play well with others?
I have said it before, I am seriously wondering if they are having a hard time finding someone that wants to work with him.

I am hoping that means more chance for our hopefuls.

I was lucky enough to see a couple of the attempts and I think they were very good and the hopefuls WANT to have a go.
 
You know what all this tells me? That the BBC executives *still* have no idea what they want to do with Top Gear.

I'm getting the impression that there are two factions operating: one wants to keep the CHM format but without CHM (they're the ones making noises about presenters like Jodie Kidd or CE's ex-partners), the other wants to give CE room to craft his own take on the show. And I half suspect that CE hasn't got enough info from the higher-ups to figure out the format they'll allow him to go with.
 
"And also, the second you wander off into the 'Well, I'm the main host, and this is my mate over here and my mate over here, if there's three of you and you go and make a film together, suddenly you're doing what they did. Why would you do that?

Um...because it worked?

This whole thing really does come across as "We're still trying to figure out what the hell we're doing but we need to keep people's attention, or they'll wander off". Too late, guys, people are wandering off! They'd be better off just saying "New show coming, stay tuned" and leave it at that, rather than changing things almost weekly.
 
http://m.independent.ie/entertainme...but-no-sign-of-copresenters-yet-31588366.html

Well, here he claims they have screen tested some of the hopefuls.

Looks like I'm not going to be one of them. :cry:

Um...because it worked?

This whole thing really does come across as "We're still trying to figure out what the hell we're doing but we need to keep people's attention, or they'll wander off". Too late, guys, people are wandering off! They'd be better off just saying "New show coming, stay tuned" and leave it at that, rather than changing things almost weekly.

While I agree in some ways it must be incredibly difficult for all those involved. The show is so big that the press and the audience are all going to be desperate for any titbit of information they can glean at any opportunity and of course Chris and his team need to ensure that level of interest is maintained but they also need to keep as much as possible under wraps to avoid pre-judgement and not spoil the surprise.
 
Did you know that Jay Leno has a new show starting tonight? Go stay amused and stop feeding the PR machine.
 
It looks like the comment I made earlier in this thread, the one that was picked up by the newspaper and denied by TG, about the host applicants being gypped, was correct.

One of the best parts of the old TG were the road trips by the three; difficult to see how this can continue with one presenter.

I also looked at the publicity shot that went with the link and I thought how much Evans looks like Adam Savage. I could imagine Jamie Hyneman being inside the Stig suit; he has the attitude.
 
I wouldn't go as far as to say gypped, after all no promises were made that any of the applicants would be hired (CE did say at the outset that was the case) or about the exact nature of any role they might take if successful. I think a lot of those who did submit audition pieces did so on the basis they hoped to become the next Hammond or May which now seems not to be the case.

The problem we face is that the concrete information we have is very sparse which inevitably leads to a great deal of unsubstantiated conjecture. All we know for absolute certain is who the main presenter is going to be, that he is considering doing the show live (TFI Petrol? No thanks!) and that we aren't getting a trio of regular presenters.
 
It seems a shame to ask people to send in video clip auditions only to stick to just using Evans.
 
One of the best parts of the old TG were the road trips by the three; difficult to see how this can continue with one presenter.

Perhaps things like the road trips would be where the "extras" would join? So CE would be on his own for the studio segments and car reviews?
 
Perhaps things like the road trips would be where the "extras" would join? So CE would be on his own for the studio segments and car reviews?

:no: It won't work. Imagine you booked to go on vacation with a couple of really good friends then suddenly through no fault of their own they can't make it but the trip is paid for so you put an ad out on social media offering the two places to a couple of strangers and then go anyway. You take the same basic trip but the experience isn't the same even if you like to people who end up going with you. The reason the big TG films worked is because of the bond between the three and that is something that developed over time which is why the early TG US stuff was pretty wooden and only got into its stride further down the line.

It's also likely to be one of the main reasons for trying a different approach instead of trying to replicate what went before.
 
I bet if I looked at the comments they are gonna be full of evil little scumbags like most comment sections are.
 
Oh they are worth a quick look I promise you. If only to remind you that the levels of grammar and intelligence which prevail on Final Gear are way higher that those you encounter elsewhere on the internet.

Looking at some of them I wonder whether the authors remembered to breathe while posting. If they did it was almost certainly through the mouth.
 
As I stated a while ago, I doubt Evans can work with other people who actually have an opinion because it would take the spotlight away from himself. Apart from that, what are the chances of creating a group of people that will actually make us forget old TG. It was never going to happen, at least not by trying to relive what was.

All they could/can do is to completely revamp TG, away from the petrol heads, into something more with the times. They lack the vision to do so it seems.
 
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