A little history of our two favorite motor shows...5thG/TG

[leif]

has anyone here seen "dreamcar garage" im not saying its anywhere in the leauge of TG...however i prefer it to Fifth Gear...simmilar idea to TG...show the cars...drive the cars...say what they are really like to drive

[bmwmpower]

quentin wilson was in Top GEar as moderator in 90 , i had his book, he looks very serious, but he had record in man faster car lap

[SamVT]

Hi guys, I know this is a long shot - but Top Gear has some affiliation with Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom. Now I am looking for the production company of the show, does anyone know who these people are and how to get in to contact with them?

I will be checking out this topic or feel free to mail me any details at samvantilburgh@lionhead.com

[ramster16]

Tiff and Jeremy did, Kindof, Race before, it wasnt really fair cuz jeremy was in a Jaguar XJR and Tiff was in a BMW M5, so, yea...tiff won , it was in a DVD of jeremy's, ill try to get the name of it, just gotta go through boxes, ugh

[Overheat]

Hi guys, I know this is a long shot - but Top Gear has some affiliation with Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom. Now I am looking for the production company of the show, does anyone know who these people are and how to get in to contact with them?

I will be checking out this topic or feel free to mail me any details at samvantilburgh@lionhead.com

I'd say the best place to start would be the BBC website at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/

[SamVT]

Hi guys, I know this is a long shot - but Top Gear has some affiliation with Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom. Now I am looking for the production company of the show, does anyone know who these people are and how to get in to contact with them?

I will be checking out this topic or feel free to mail me any details at samvantilburgh@lionhead.com

I'd say the best place to start would be the BBC website at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/

I know, I've checked that website but there's no information on there about the production company!!

[Overheat]

have you tried emailing the team?

[wrc_maniac]

Hmm I wonder if Tiff and Jeremy are still friends( if they ever hava been ofcourse)? They seemed to be while they both were in top gear.

[Scooby5]

Hmm I wonder if Tiff and Jeremy are still friends( if they ever hava been ofcourse)? They seemed to be while they both were in top gear.

I think probably Tiff began to fall out with Jez when he started to think we was bigger then than the show itself. Whether that repaired itself now, i don't know. Tiff would most certainly whip Jez in a race, you just have to look at the test done in the Jag Diesel on the Nurburgring to hear comments of his driving style.

[monoposto]

Jeremy Clarkson did not leave the show simply because his ego got bigger and that he was bigger than the show. There was a difference of opinion between BBC management, the Top Gear presenters, Jeremy as one faction wanting to
change the show's concept and policies on testing etc. and the others
willing to drift along with the Status Quo and not wanting drastic changes. When management refused to heed and act on Jeremy Clarkson's suggestions on improving the show and his pay scale , there was a civil parting of ways. Jeremy spent the time off the show making his special videos and other specials with the BBC with friends Tiff and Vicki appearing and helping out. Top Gear,
deteriorated in the ratings as a consequence. Finally, BBC management decided to bring back Jeremy but they have to accept his conditions which included among other things that he would be given free reign of the show. It was bad news for all
the rest of the old Top Gear gang as Jeremy wanted to bring in his 'people' or guys who think the same way he does as against those who opposed the changes. Before Top Gear aired the new series with Jeremy and friends, the displaced Tiff found willing backers in TV5 to produce an automotive TV show more similar to the format of the old Top Gear. Tiff invited Vicki as permanent presenter and some other former ones as guests presenters. The complete overhaul of Top Gear was done and the show aired in the midst of a new competition. Throughout their years of association and friendship Jeremy, Tiff and the rest of the old Top Gear gang have swapped production and story ideas for the show which could not and did not happen due to the limitations (mostly production costs) of the old set up which you now see in the episodes of TG and FG. That is part of the reason why they present somewhat similar segments. The other part is of course, they competed with the recruitment of experienced TG production staff who again over the years shared ideas. It would not be surprising that they still indirectly spy on one another for show ideas. So far, it is more like friendly competition despite the moments of snide asides about each other shows and the ironies of circumstances. Now, indeed, Jeremy is God in Top Gear and he shows it. That is also the reason why all the rests of the old Top Gear gang are together in Fifth Gear. However, Jeremy the popular Clown, it is all entertainment after all, is proven correct as the ratings and indeed viewers opinion have validated his visions or directions for Top Gear. I would wish that they can be all together. However, I like the outcome that we now have more entertaining automotive shows to watch. Nothing inspires like competition!

monoposto

[Flying Banana]

It's a shame there are no recorded episodes of the really old Top Gears. Who out there remembers William Woolard, Chris Goffey (Who had plainly nicked Noel Edmunds' Pullover collection!) and Tony Mason hehe.

Some other info on programme history and presenters:

http://www.uktv.co.uk/uktvPeople/More.cfm?ccs=49&cs=142

http://www.tonymason.uk.com/

[Scooby5]

William Woolard....... that was the name i was trying to remember. He was the one that used to introduce the Air Shows as well, really good.

I didn't really like Goffey very much but Tony Mason used to add a bit of humour.

Just watched a downloaded Fifth Gear where Tony Mason guested as a host for Caravan Rally Cross

[Skett]

Tiff and Jeremy did, Kindof, Race before, it wasnt really fair cuz jeremy was in a Jaguar XJR and Tiff was in a BMW M5, so, yea...tiff won , it was in a DVD of jeremy's, ill try to get the name of it, just gotta go through boxes, ugh

That was Head to Head, I have it on DVD, to be fair though Clarkson did spin it, and in a straight race I would expect Tiff to be quicker than Jeremy, Clarkson will himself admit hes not the greatest driver in the world and Tiff did drive in F1 (however briefly) and no matter what some ppl say, you can't get that far without some serious driving skills.

Oh yeah, the one thing I really do like about fifth gear tho is the fact that they not only have an ex racing driver but they have a current racing driver (for those who haven't seen the BTCC racing series its got some pretty good close racing)

[Flying Banana]

Hi guys, I know this is a long shot - but Top Gear has some affiliation with Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom. Now I am looking for the production company of the show, does anyone know who these people are and how to get in to contact with them?

I will be checking out this topic or feel free to mail me any details at samvantilburgh@lionhead.com

The studios are at Dunsfold Aerodrome near Guildford. Go to www.applausestore.com which are a UK company who give out tickets for loads of TV shows, Top Gear included for those in the UK. Look under Show Schedule and scroll down to Top Gear, studio location details are listed there.

There's more info about the studio here: http://www.topgear.com/content/featu...topgear_tv/03/

As far as production of the show I would guess the BBC do their own production. Watch the closing titles after the show and see if it shows a different company.

Hope this helps

[matthewbrigly]

Tiff Needell is ,like the Stig, a very trim bloke so i was wondering.
Is Tiff the (sometimes) Stig ?
Also if the Stig is in fact a bunch of different drivers ,then why do we care about lap times ?
Cheers
PS thanks a lot to all you peeps that helped create ,and keep alive ,this most wonderful site :)

[Yayox]

Fiat is italian (sister company to Ferrari)

mother company I will say

[Yayox]

Yeah I saw that old episode. My god it was bad. That host sounded like a news presenter. I'm so happy to live in 2004

you don't watch american car review shows...it sounds like crap...there is no passion...just blah balh balh balh...kinda like they are reading manufactors specs instead of reviewing the car...

the motor week! suck so much!

[Pininfarina]

"To whoever mentioned a race between Jeremy Clarkson and Tiff Needell - I'd have to say Tiff would walk all over him coming from a racing heritage (I see Ferrari didn't offer a test drive to JC of their Enzo at the Fiorano test track, plus didn't make Tiff sleep with the fishes after switching the traction control off halfway through his stint on track! ). "

I know that Tiff Needell is a better driver than JC, but, in (or against) JC's favour, he did have a test drive of a Ferrari F50, the previous iteration of the superexotic F40/50/60 class, but.. he stole it. They wouldn't let him take it round a track, so he stole it and drove it for a bit till the police found him, at least as I recall, the exact details may not be 100% accurate but that's pretty much what happened.

[toma_alimosh]

^
You actually think that it was stolen ?
Buddy, Top Gear is pre-produced. It has a script, and they have to make it interesting. If they just said that ferrari or somebody else lent them the car, it wouldn't be as interesting. They're all about entertainment and sales ... a plain and bare-minimum-simple review doesn't sell as well as humor. Proof? Top Gear has better ratings than Fifth Gear. It's not 100% real, but it sells much better.

[general]

^^ I somewhat agree with you.Sometimes they just say crap.