Clarkson: The Weekly Times Comment Column by Jeremy Thread

ThatsAgood1jay said:
If Top Gear would be released un-edited and on time over here in the states, you bet your arse i would pay for it, but until that happens, i will keep downloading it because its an amazing program.
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Upsized and bolded for truefacts.

Why is America the only place where the show is not run? (as Jezza said in the SRPC segment from this season)
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Jezza is wrong. TG does air here (on BBC America); and I'm sure that, in truth, he's well aware of it. Series 11 and 12 first ran over here late last year/start of this year, as S12 ended in the UK. We're actually two series behind (not four years as some newer fans may believe); it's just BBC America opted to backtrack to Series 7 (the earliest series aired here on BBCA was 6) over this summer. The Polar Special will be airing for the first time here on December 21.

So, by the end of the year, we'll have seen all of 6-12. I'm wagering that at the start of the year, we'll get Series 13 and 14.

However, of course, the episodes are hacked to bits to make room for commercials, 90-something percent of the music is replaced, and there's slightly more censorship.

Kiskaloo said:
I do however wonder why the BBC have not released Series 6, 8 and 9 in the US iTunes store. I'm pretty confident that they were broadcast on BBC America, so I would think they should be available, as well. And why not a Series 7 DVD box set to go with Series 11 and 12?
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Series 8 and 9 were the first ones to air Stateside, as I understand it, then Series 6 was originally broadcast over here Summer 2008. I suppose at the time, the show wasn't as in demand or as popular yet, hence why they're not on iTunes, and why there are no complete season DVDs.

Anyhoo, if there was a way we in the States could have the complete episodes of TG (and whatever other BBC shows we wanted, for that matter), in a more timely manner than it is now, I would pay. If the original music used were included, I bet we'd be willing to pay a bit more for them. But they're not. My only option to get what I want, in regards to TG (and, to list a few more examples, QI, Ashes to Ashes*, and Life on Mars UK**), is torrenting.

* A2A is on DVD in the UK; I know. If it were available in Region 1, or region-free, I'd buy the sets. I watched S1 on BBCA; but they never went on to S2, so...had to d/l that.

** Downloaded before the DVDs became available in the US in Region 1. So far I'm not sure whether or not I like it (I'm just over halfway through S1). If I do end up liking it, I will buy the sets.
 
I don't mind DVDs being $10-20, provided they're of a good quality.

A few issues with Clarkson though:

Top Gear is the most pirated television show in the world because it gets butchered and delayed for people who don't live in the UK. I'm only going to pay for the BBC if I get it uncut in my country - and I would very, very much like to have uncut BBC - but as BBC Canada is a mess (to put it kindly), why am I going to pay for that? The clusterfuck that is music licensing doesn't help matters here. I almost wonder if some tracks could be sold by a BBC/iTunes or similar partnership, with the songs used in the show available on the website for a small fee. People do seek out particularly good music if they've seen on a show, why aren't we embracing this instead of forcing music changes?

Two, the most downloaded movie (the Dark Knight) set box office records. I honestly don't download films as a rule, the quality is often terrible, a subscription DVD rental is cheap, and if it's really good Blurays are getting reasonable in price. Yeah, there are some cases where a film by a foreign director I like is unfindable (I reeeeeeally want a nice Takeshi Kitano BluRay Box Set) but that's about the only time I'll download a show.

I do download music, but I think every single CD I've purchased in the last decade has been by an artist discovered through downloads.
 
Kiskaloo said:
I understand and accept that the BBC does not have an international license to broadcast whatever music they want and therefore needs to edit the music in all released formats. And I understand that BBC America is a commercial channel and my local provider needs to run commercials to defray the costs of carrying it in their lineup.
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This is a very good point. So is that made by the other person who mentioned it (sorry--I can't remember who it was and have no idea how to multi quote :|).

I, for one, would definitely be willing to pay a little extra for the original music used in the show. Top Gear has, without a doubt, the best needle drop soundtracks in the history of EVAR. I am forever annoying my husband with cries of "Ooo, it's Echo & the Bunnymen/Depeche Mode/I Monster/The Jam!" I've certainly paid to download songs I've heard in the show, too. For me, the music--though it does distract me sometimes from the show itself because I have to rock out a little--is a huge part of the charm, and . . . well, yeah. The point is that I'd really have no problem paying a little more to help defray the costs of the licensing.

:lol: Top Gear execs, are you reading this thread? Can you shove all these "Please let us give you our money!" posts under the right BBC noses?
 
Quick multi-quote lesson:

Underneath the posts you want to quote, click the "multi" button. When you're done choosing your posts, click the "reply" button at the bottom-left corner underneath all the posts. Edit and reply as usual. :)

Also: I need to spread some more license fees before giving any to 2Billion again.
 
shellygrrl said:
Quick multi-quote lesson:

Underneath the posts you want to quote, click the "multi" button. When you're done choosing your posts, click the "reply" button at the bottom-left corner underneath all the posts. Edit and reply as usual. :)

Also: I need to spread some more license fees before giving any to 2Billion again.
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As a thank you for the multi-quote lesson, +1 to 2Billion on your behalf.
 
Aughh. Jeremy, Jeremy, Jeremy...you should know better than this!

People will always find ways to get their hands on "unauthorized content." As far back as the dawn of the printing press, people were putting out "unauthorized" translations of the Bible in languages that (gasp!) the common person could actually read. Not unlike a fansub, IMHO.

Piracy is good. There, I said it.

So-called "pirates" can access content from other cultures (...even the Brits) at the tips of their fingertips. I learned more about the quirks of UK politics from "The Thick of It" than I did from some of my poli sci lectures. A prof can yammer on and on about Japanese aesthetics, but it's watching anime that got me to really see what Dr. Whoever was blathering on about--and goodness knows, many of the "legal" dubs for those are confusing, inaccurate, and generally miserable. Thank goodness them crazy pirate kids on the intertubes usually think to explain the more obscure bits in their fansubs. The world's become a smaller place, thanks in part to file sharing.

Then there's the issue of seeing a program as its makers intended. I know Andy Wilman and auteur theory don't typically end up in the same sentence, but those beautiful images are meant to go with the audio the TG team matches up with it. As someone who studies this kind of thing, I want to see programs in as close to their original form as I can. Every bit--even in TV shows--is put just so for a reason, and those bits come together to set a mood, make a statement, or what have you. By the time we get TG on BBCA, it's been altered from its original form, and some of that statement is lost.

Finally, piracy affords consumers a crap filter. You can sample millions of different things, but most of us want to spend money to support the best things we run across. We seek out good bands we discover in concert. We buy DVDs to get the backstory behind our favorite shows via commentary tracks. We seek out our favorite films while they're still in theatres to get the full experience. Since we're spending less on things we may not end up actually liking, we've got a better chance to put our money where we really want to: to support up-and-coming talent, to keep our favorite shows afloat, to reward filmmakers who really make an excellent piece of cinema with our hard-earned cash.

Unfortunately, the merits of file sharing really haven't been given equal time in the news. It doesn't surprise me to see that The Dark Knight was one of the most pirated--and highest grossing--films of all time. The pirate community can be an excellent means of advertising a good product, IMHO. If we watch something and want more, we'll spend our hard-earned cash to get it.

I feel as if modern filesharing technology has quite a lot in common with the printing press insofar as it's a new technology that some are afraid to adapt to. While the printing press was a means to bring knowledge to the common man, Internet piracy is a way to spread culture. Will media companies lose some control because of it? Perhaps. But since the pirate community has proven time and time again that it can adapt to new problems (site closures, lawsuits, etc.), it's time for the companies themselves really trying to adapt (at least not in consumer-friendly means--putting ridiculous protections on things we've deemed worthy of purchasing only frustrates the "law-abiding" folks who purchase it, for example). I think piracy should be embraced somewhat--it allows consumers to decide which things are really worth their money and hopefully, weed out some of the crap as a result. If you're behind an outstanding show like "Top Gear," I don't think falling by the wayside is anything to worry about. Make a great show and the fans will support it.

I think big media companies fear the loss of control that comes from consumers sharing files, else they wouldn't make such a big stink over it. That being said, if consumers are spending their money more wisely on things they know they like as a result...isn't that a good thing for the companies as well? They'll get a better picture of what viewers want and will be better able to deliver that to us (...and stay in business).

(Dang it, now I've gone and typed out much of what I wanted to write for one of the local Waco papers. Um, so if you're in Waco, please disregard any senses of deja vu you might get in the near future. But I'm rambling because I'm sleepy and probably repeating myself or making less sense than I should...because I'm sleepy. Final paper version will make more sense.)
 
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ermmm

has JC been pulled?

i just got an email circulation with a column by clarkson entitled : ""Get me a rope before Mandelson wipes us all out""

apprantly this article was pulled, but its been saved and i have it here. is this an old column ? or a new one? it was pulled because the "lefties sniffled"
 
otispunkmeyer said:
ermmm

has JC been pulled?

i just got an email circulation with a column by clarkson entitled : ""Get me a rope before Mandelson wipes us all out""

apprantly this article was pulled, but its been saved and i have it here. is this an old column ? or a new one? it was pulled because the "lefties sniffled"
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That was the from the week before. It was pulled and then restored (with I think some minor changes) for legal reasons. It was probably defamatory under British libel laws
 
Well judging by the tone i must have the original. It's pretty funny and completely true. Guess some just can't handle that
 
I think he may have taken the chance to go on a mini break as there is no TG to film next Wednesday. either that or he may be away doing some more filming so they've enough content for the rest of the run. Andy was a bit vague in his pre-season blog about what was going to be in the second half of the series.

Whatever the reason I'm sure we'll find out in due course anyway.
 
ninjacoco said:
Unfortunately, the merits of file sharing really haven't been given equal time in the news. It doesn't surprise me to see that The Dark Knight was one of the most pirated--and highest grossing--films of all time. The pirate community can be an excellent means of advertising a good product, IMHO. If we watch something and want more, we'll spend our hard-earned cash to get it.
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Exactly! Make something good..and I'll buy it. :)

I mean, if you'll let me. ;)
 
TG Live in Dublin was this weekend. That may be why there's no column or car review this week (there isn't even anyone filling in for the latter).
 
Just a couple of points from me on the internet piracy discussion. First of all, I think everyone should read this: http://www.demonbaby.com/blog/2007/10/when-pigs-fly-death-of-oink-birth-of.html.

Ah, JC got this one very wrong. Music and movie industry shouldn't protect itself against the internet, it should embrace it! I'll happily admit that I download tons of different stuff from the internet, not necessarily because it's free, but because it is very convenient. How else can I have all movies/music/TV shows organized on my external HDD so I can enjoy it how and where I want. DVDs or CDs aren't a solution anymore, I don't want to go searching through hundreds of dvd/cd cases, just because I want to see this episode of the Simpsons or Top Gear I just thought of.

Also, I would honestly LOVE to pay for this stuff, but there are simply too few ways how to do it. How come that xbox live, iTunes, amazon online music, etc etc are only available in handful of countries around the world? There is one online music store here and I can't transfer the songs onto my iPod, what's the point then? I'd love to rent a movie through netflix or watch comedy central on my xbox but I'm simply not allowed to. Even last.fm isn't available in my location and I live in the bloody EU. I don't need a localized service, f*ck that, keep everything in english please but with the same content as it was originally intended and the money will follow.
 
Jeremy,

If Top Gear hadn't been pirated then it would not be popular around the world and you would not be selling your DVDs, nor would you be producing Top Gear Live. The popularity of new Top Gear was sparked by clips that have appeared on You Tube and passed around by friends. Were it not for people pirating Top Gear you simply would not presently have a career.

Furthermore, if the BBC got its act together and offered users outside the UK the ability to either purchase the equivalent of the license fee for use of iPlayer _OR_ offered the ability to purchase and stream single episodes or whole series of episodes for a given program _OR_ offered both options, then the pirating you see happening wouldn't be happening on such a drastic scale _AND_ the BBC would be making a ton more money.

Also, the degree to which a song or a movie is pirated does not translate into direct loss in revenue. A very large number of those who do pirate music and movies do so to see if said product is any good. If it is, they then purchase the CD or DVD or what have you. If they don't like it, they don't purchase it. Without pirating I, and many many others, would NOT have found the movies or bands or television programs they like and subsequently the producers of these things would NOT have our money.

This opinion that the internet is evil and everyone is stealing money of out your pocket is ridiculously ignorant of the reality. Jeremy, you wouldn't have even half the money in the bank you have now if it hadn't been for pirating. And you wouldn't have Top Gear anymore.
 
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The title of the column alone is hilarious: Sing about the fat man again and I?ll shoot Tiny Tim.
 
Yeah...hopefully this year's #1 will be Rage Against the Machine. ;)
 
JC said:
Sing about the fat man again and I?ll shoot Tiny Tim.
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But Jezza! Tiny Tim has given some people loads of enjoyment with his ukelele and that falsetto---oh, you meant that Tiny Tim. :p


I have to say the Bob Dylan stuff is spot on. Whenever the family is together and they show that horrible hip-hop mashup of "Forever Young" Pepsi advert, I'll immediately start into my Dylan impersonation. Namely, it's a bunch of incoherent mumbling that sounds like someone who was triple-dog-dared into licking a flagpole.

I have to say that the local radio station has overdone it with "Do They Know It's Christmas?" this year and I swear I'll drive my car off the road if I hear "I'll Be Home for Christmas" one more time. The moment Celine Dion or Mariah Carey open their gobs, that's it. Someone at the radio station is going to go down.

One final thought: I had to look up the John Denver song mentioned in the article on YouTube. Holy crapoley, there went three-and-a-half minutes of my life listening to such godawful shite.
 
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