[Official] Clarkson announces new show! / Amazon Video [Hammond & May too]

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I've got to say that I'm probably as happy with this as with anything else that could have happened. I haven't touched Netflix at all -- gosh, I'm sorry, but I JUST DON'T WATCH MOVIES AT HOME. Oh, it doesn't stop me from buying Blu-ray versions of the movies I might like, but I VIRTUALLY NEVER, EVER WATCH ANY OF THEM. I've just got 18 million other things to do with my time than to sit down, strap myself into a chair and just sit there and watch something. So, no, I'm not going to pay for a movies-mostly streaming service. And as for "prime-time series" kind of stuff, I don't watch ANY of that, whatsoever -- I watch stuff like Top Gear, Fifth Gear, Wheeler Dealers, and all kinds of "other" stuff. So most of what's not "movies" doesn't interest me, either. So, Netflix just doesn't interest me in any way, whatsoever.

However, like many folks, I have been buying from Amazon for years, including most of the music I buy -- either downloading MP3 files or buying CD's when they don't have MP3 files available. I have balked about Amazon Prime, though -- 99 bucks a year?? Are you freaking KIDDING ME?? Though, I recently got an e-mail from them showing me that I had spent over $100 through the past year on shipping charges, so I guess I might as well bite on it now, or at least when the new show starts. Heck, might as well start buying stuff like soap, shampoo, and non-perishable groceries from them, right? I'm sure this is all part of Amazon's evil plans, and from how well they have done so far, I expect they will just keep on dominating most of what they touch, and presumably they will wind up burying Netflix. Yes, and it will all have plenty to do with their signing of Clarkson, Hammond, and May. Pawns of Amazon's evil plan!
 
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I think Instant Video is similar to iTunes's stuff -- pay per season/episode.

Prime throws in a bunch of stuff for free, Netflix style.


It's just a different way to sort the videos. Instant Video is everything they offer on demand and Prime Video just filters out the stuff that isn't free to members. Also, when you look at the Instant Video section, everything that is free to watch with Prime is marked with a small banner in the top left corner
 
I wonder if the Stig's name will be changed to Prime ?????
 
I wonder what the new theme music will be, apparently they were trying to ditch Jessica for ages but they never found something good enough so who knows what'll happen there, whether or not there will be a stig like character... I dunno I think Stig is staying behind with Dunsfold at the BBC.
I read that they are aiming to keep the weekly release, probably from an article posted here which who knows how that'll work.
It really is a never ending waiting game these days, first it's what's happening with the show then will Clarkson be fired then what will happen to Top Gear onto where will the new show be and now when will it air what will it be etc etc.
 
I wonder if the Stig's name will be changed to Prime ?????

I say they should keep the Stig as The Stig. Jeremy and Andy came up with him to begin with.

TG redone can do what they want, but we all know where the Stig belongs.
 
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I say they should keep the Stig as The Stig. Jeremy and Andy came up with him to begin with.

TG redone can do what they want, but we all know where the Stig belongs.

Sadly, the BBC owns the Stig IP now. They forced CHM Live to remove any Stig references from their shows.

I suggest they tog up their replacement racing driver in an orange and white helmet and suit (from different manufacturers than those used to clothe the Stig) and call him the Drone, suggesting he's an advanced prototype from the Amazon Drone Delivery labs. :D
 
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Spectre is spot on about the music situation. Amazon already has the industry contracts, and offering the music for sale at the end of the show will be a plus for all involved.

I am all for Amazon becoming another Netflix. Competition is good. Even if you subscribe to it, Netflix, and HBO the price is well under what cable companies ask for. The thought of Amazon doing something that will generate profit is strange however. :p

Here we go, a Top Gear that you can legally acquire outside the UK that will not have commercials nor horrible alternative music.
 
One thing that this announcement does is calm my concern that they might have turned away from producing a car show at all. There was always a chance of them moving on to separate things, especially if there is a two year lock out on their contracts.

Now there can be speculation about how much the new show must be different to not encroach on what the BBC owns, and what is generic enough to be usable. I expect they'll still have a tame racing driver of some sort, but will Clarkson still be able to say, "Some say ..." by way of segue, or is that sort of introduction also be owned by the Beeb? They'll still be able to have celebs in cars, but I doubt they'll be able to call it a SIARPC.
 
They'll still be able to have celebs in cars, but I doubt they'll be able to call it a SIARPC.

It would be nice to see... let' say... the five fastest stars on the board doing it again at the end of the season but with a supercar...
 
One thing that this announcement does is calm my concern that they might have turned away from producing a car show at all. There was always a chance of them moving on to separate things, especially if there is a two year lock out on their contracts.

Now there can be speculation about how much the new show must be different to not encroach on what the BBC owns, and what is generic enough to be usable. I expect they'll still have a tame racing driver of some sort, but will Clarkson still be able to say, "Some say ..." by way of segue, or is that sort of introduction also be owned by the Beeb? They'll still be able to have celebs in cars, but I doubt they'll be able to call it a SIARPC.


"Some say" can't be trademarked in this context as Clarkson was only reusing a gag that's been around since vaudeville - so prior art there.

SIARPC as a name is IIRC a registered trademark and can't be used. Personally, I'd like to see it dropped entirely because it's a worthless waste of data storage for the most part. Late in the run SIARPC ended up becoming ?I barely know anything about cars and I don?t even own a car that?s any good and I may not even have a license but HEY CHECK OUT MY NEW MOVIE/TV SHOW/BOOK!? Occasionally there were good guests on who turned out to be good sports or true petrolheads, often surprisingly so, but many of them had no significant interest in motoring and were clearly just there to shill their latest project. If that's what the segment is required to be, it can go die in a fire instead of being resurrected with a new name as far as I'm concerned.

Unless they want to call it "Crap Car, Worse Star". Then that's somewhat okay as the title would also be the warning label.

One kind of celebrity interaction I'd like to see more of is real gearhead/petrolhead celebs showing up for something car related and not specifically focusing on them. A good example would be TGUK season 5, episode 4, the Aston review/comparison; specifically when Steve Coogan appears from 51:04. There are plenty of talk or 'chat' shows out there that celebs can go on for self-promotion or to sell whatever they've just produced, the world does not need another.
 
I think they should -and probably will- do away with most of the Top Gear segments and re-invent themselves a bit. They can do better than a carbon copy of Top Gear with the trademarked stuff changed just enough to satisfy the lawyers.
 
I think they should -and probably will- do away with most of the Top Gear segments and re-invent themselves a bit. They can do better than a carbon copy of Top Gear with the trademarked stuff changed just enough to satisfy the lawyers.

They have the chance to move on and they should, just because renaming existing stuff and hoping that this will work again has never been a success. Not that I think that Top Gear content should be revised, it is just that reusing old ideas is not progress but stagnation.

However, Wilman is a smart guy so I think he will come up with some new ideas.
 
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Not everything pans out, but I have to give it to him for not being afraid to try. It keeps things from getting stale and boring.
 
I think they should -and probably will- do away with most of the Top Gear segments and re-invent themselves a bit. They can do better than a carbon copy of Top Gear with the trademarked stuff changed just enough to satisfy the lawyers.

Amen to that. Essentially it could be another reboot of Top Gear with a new format while the current format more or less remains with new presenters and we can have three incarnations of one show available to us:
Fifth Gear - Old Old Top gear
Top Gear - Old New Top Gear
CHM on Amazon - New New Top Gear

It'll be like Coca-Cola only with tyre squeal...
 
I think they should -and probably will- do away with most of the Top Gear segments and re-invent themselves a bit. They can do better than a carbon copy of Top Gear with the trademarked stuff changed just enough to satisfy the lawyers.

this. i, for one, hope it doesn't look like top gear at all
that cow was milked...
 
Love it. We can all see it now without waiting and they get paid the big money. The team came out ahead of the fracas.
 
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