The end of the Clarkson/Hammond/May era

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

I thought Clarkson got fired for making a crude Game of Thrones reference about Princess Meghan. It was already over.

I thought it was because he punched a crew member.

In reply to jharry3 :

That got him off Top Gear/BBC. The GoT comment got him off Amazon.

I liked  most of the specials ,  but you often forget that they have a big crew behind the scenes so its not as scary as it would be with the 3 of them alone with just a GoPro !

Will miss them

californiamilleghia said:

I liked  most of the specials ,  but you often forget that they have a big crew behind the scenes so its not as scary as it would be with the 3 of them alone with just a GoPro !

Will miss them

Next on Alone:

3 middle aged English guys are dropped off in the middle of the desert with minimal supplies and a Maserati BiTurbo. The goal? Drive 1000 miles to civilization, no cameras crews, no support crews.

Will they survive? How hard could it be??

Toyman! said:

That slight difference is what got me through the first handful of episodes. Then it was the same thing. Clarkson doesn't listen and does something stupid. Wash, rinse, repeat. I can only stand that so much before I turn off the TV and find something else to do.

While there's certainly a recurring element of that, it considerably lessened with the growth of his knowledge and experience as the series has gone on. The first handful of episodes of any series are never their best.

While I feel sentimental about the end of their TG/GT tenure, as should be the case with the end of anything one has good memories of, I don't actually feel sad or disappointed about it. I appreciate when things end before the decline mars those memories, rather than using the same as an excuse to keep drawing out the inevitable. This has been a long time coming, and is honestly overdue.

j_tso said:

In reply to jharry3 :

The GoT comment got him off Amazon.

Except that it didn't. Season 4 of Clarkson's Farm is already confirmed. There were reports last year that Amazon was done with him, but those seem to have been false. Bottom line is that he generates ratings and makes money for them. As long as that's the case, they'll keep him around.

In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :

And Clarkson's Farm is way better than Grand Tour has been in a long time, if not always.  

Still going to miss tGT, though. 

aircooled said:

Well, I do hope they can create an appropriate sendoff.  I mean, it's been a hell of a long road.

It would be nice to to a re-cap / revisit of some of the great moments and cars but I am sure they have no access to that.

I was thinking they should have a Thelma and Louise ending, with all three cars plummeting off a cliff somewhere. 

What's that?  You say you'll miss automotive content generated by a trio of middle-aged idiots?  Specifically

Idiot #1 - never shuts up, never actually works on his own cars, and thinks he's way smarter than he is

Idiot #2 - a bit older and more reserved, completely set in his ways and resistant to new ideas, but the most quietly knowledgeable of the three

Idiot #3- a bit younger and more optimistic than the other two, with a penchant for buyer's remorse after purchasing something that is utter garbage

Is that what you want?   Can I recommend a podcast?

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2100717

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

z31maniac said:

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

Do they really need to go away? I don't see anything else like it to replace them.

I thought it was more that they are tired of the grind. Clarkson is 64, May is 61, Hammond is 54. And they have been doing it a long time.

I'm older than any one of them and still grinding out the work every day.

16 hour work days for extended periods during production? Regular workdays in between?

Besides, all 3 of them are rich enough to have a choice about it.  When it's not fun anymore and you're well past your creative prime, maybe it's OK to hang it up.

I was surprised the first time I found out Clarkson is younger than me but I think he's a victim of his long time smoking habit and (probably) poor eating and drinking habits. Hammond is still in pretty good shape for his age, I'm not sure what May's excuse is.

They started their run when I was in college. They've been companions for half my life just about.   I will miss them. 

I understand why they're ending but still hope they pop up occasionally. I always found them entertaining.  

I'll miss them- but I think Clarkson's Farm is the best thing he's done in a decade. It might be my favorite show. 

Just watched it.   The cinematography was gorgeous as usual, not much for antics...kind of maudlin, actually.  I guess it was a fitting end to the partnership.

stuart in mn said:

I was surprised the first time I found out Clarkson is younger than me but I think he's a victim of his long time smoking habit and (probably) poor eating and drinking habits. Hammond is still in pretty good shape for his age, I'm not sure what May's excuse is.

Yeah, he's been a smoker for years. Diet is poor too.

stuart in mn said:

Just watched it.   The cinematography was gorgeous as usual, not much for antics...kind of maudlin, actually.  I guess it was a fitting end to the partnership.

Yeah, fewer contrived bits and more just them being themselves, which I enjoyed. And the scenery was amazing.

Someone was cutting onions here in the last few minutes, though. 

I just finished the final special and I really enjoyed it. The circle back to were it all started was a nice touch and while I am sad this is the end of the Grand Tour I'm excited for more episodes of Clarksons Farm and I'll watch whatever James May our Man in whatever country series comes next. 
the big question for me is what old special will I re-watch next? I think the scooter trip through Vietnam is towards the top of my list. 

It was way more low key than I expected antic wise, with the expected high production value.

Not having to make this even more extravagant than the previous one upping the ante special after special sure helped make things a bit more grounded, and coming full circle was a very nice touch.

Clarkson's comment about that being the last skid he'd have on tv, and how there's always a last time you do something but you rarely know it is did hit a bit close to home, serving my onion portion earlier than I expected. 

Yeah, was really well done and my next door neighbor decided to peel a whole lot of onions just I was watching the ending.. 

Thought it was fitting.  Wouldn't stand on it's own against the greats like Vietnam or the rainforest but was well done.  I really loved the VW destruction and how violently that thing tumbled.  The unscripted parts were the best, like calling a bunch of locals knobheads unknowingly. 

I'll miss them. I started watching Top Gear around the same time I got my license. They've been a part of my life for a long time. 
 

Clarkson definitely plays a character. I think he's actually really intelligent. He made cars interesting to people who would never watch a car show. Then he did the same with farming. I hear many farmers are really grateful for the awareness he's bringing to the general population about the struggles of that business.

I knew right off the steering wheel was a bad idea.  And I figured they had a decent production crew following them on adventures, but didn't realize how many until the end.

It didn't hit me that hard, I think because for the last 5 years they've only done specials once a year, so it's been a decent length of time in-between.  Versus when they did episodes fairly regularly.

I thought the last couple specials were kind of ho hum, and maybe it's just because I know it's the end, but I really enjoyed this one.  The end felt a bit contrived, but I felt it was a good send off.  I lost interest in Clarksons Farm in season 2, and I never really got into James Mays or Hammonds other shows.  I do like the fact that the show has some closure, I hate when shows just kind of trail off.

Jerry said:

I knew right off the steering wheel was a bad idea. 

I suspect it wasn't really made of solid silver.