Speaking on behalf of a lot of Top Gear addicts; we all knew this day would come, the day when we would have to say goodbye to our beloved Jezza. BBC confirmed earlier this morning that Jeremy Clarkson has been officially canned from BBC’s motoring programme, Top Gear. With an audience of over 350 million people worldwide, this news came as a stiff and cold reminder of just how serious a ‘fracas’ can be.
Tony Hall from the BBC announced that with great regret that Jeremy had been ousted only weeks after the incident on March 4th when Clarkson was alleged to have physically and verbally attacked a Top Gear producer. Clarkson was then officially suspended on March 10. With only 3 episodes remaining of Top Gear’s Series 22 season, I effectively felt like a child who had his candy taken from him before taking my first bite. Just after Clarkson had said that we will indeed see the epic battle between Ferrari, Porsche and McLaren commence, BBC had taken the show off the air indefinitely. Clarkson then quickly came under scrutiny by some fans who took to twitter to express whether or not he should remain on the show. Others, like myself, were outraged by the BBC’s decision to suspend Clarkson. Hoping for the best, many even took to Change.org to sign a petition to the BBC to reinstate Clarkson. Within a week or so, it amassed over 1 million virtual signatures.
With Clarkson now gone for good, how will the show cope? We have yet to see official comments from fellow presenters, Captain Slow (James May) and Hamster (Richard Hammond). Being a Top Gear fan since my childhood, I have grown to become attached to the show, and its presenters. They were more than just TV hosts, they were my idols, and while I did not have a favourite, Clarkson always brought a demeanor to the show that was unforgettable. I do not think it is plausible for anyone to be a sufficient replacement. May and Hammond did say earlier last week that they would refuse to continue the show without Clarkson, but we will just have to wait and see what their official decisions will be.
One can only hope they create another motoring show and continue the legacy, perhaps through a different medium, such as Netflix. But while it may seem that Sundays have essentially become meaningless, I would suggest they take a look at viewing older series of Top Gear, why not start from the very beginning? See how Top Gear was in the early days. It was splendid.
And on that bombshell, it’s time to say goodbye, Clarkson.
Update (11:41 AM) Reactions from Top Gear Co-Presenters May, and Hammond.
Gutted at such a sad end to an era. We're all three of us idiots in our different ways but it's been an incredible ride together.
— Richard Hammond (@RichardHammond) March 25, 2015
Source: BBC News
