There are some golden rules for behaviour on internet message boards, two of the most important being
1) don't post until you've read the thread so far
and
2) don't post while being totally shitfaced drunk
I am going to break both now, and for good reason.
When Andy Wilman's blog post came online i did not comment it in any way. I did not cheer to how wise Andy's words, once again, were. Back then, it was mostly because all praise i could have posted had already been posted by my fellow forum members. BUT NOW i am quite happy about not posting because i feel not only betrayed, but underestimated and fooled by Wilman's post.
I am with him that the premise of the "Art Gallery" thing was another brilliant example of "how far can you take the concept of 'motoring TV'?" But the execution of it! Oh man, did it hurt!
From the moment Hammond's easel fell into the river on it all went downhill faster than a Zonda down the TG test track's main straight. The "Hammond sucks at promotion" bit, the bad audio guide by James, the all-too-obviously staged crash of the "art car" with Jeremy at the wheel, it all was just ill-conceived. Richard and Jeremy breaking James' statue had nothing funny but looked just like ill will, it all was just painful to view.
But most of all...
..the idea of no one showing up for the exhibition. I think it was in the cheap mid-engined italian supercar challenge where about 12 dozen schoolboys turned up wherever the TG three appeared. You can't tell me no one turned up to something involging the TG three. They had to lock down the whole yard of this museum to get shots of an empty space. That just did hurt...
...which is sad, because the news actually included some cars, Jezza's Noble review was more of the same but in a brilliant way and JB was a perfect SIARPC.
Anyways, 6/10.
And if, after watching TG in a pub, the debate is about weather this or the Jeoff film was the worst moment in new Top Gear's history, you know something's not right. If you and your mates just have one shot after another to erase the memories of the "TG art show", you know something's not right.