Top Gear

Not yet in Top Gear (Guest Blog)

Television’s (once) favourite motoring show is back – and the jury is out on whether the new-look format will prove a hit.

Fans are divided into two camps. First, those that think Clarkson was a genius whose talents helped make Top Gear the global success it was. And then there are those in the ABC camp – Anyone But Clarkson – who reckon that the motormouth controversialist with a penchant for chinning producers was an oaf who had outstayed his welcome.

Into the void stepped Chris Evans, a man whose persona is equally as divisive as his predecessor, and who insisted he’d never take the job… until he actually took it.

So, viewers of Great Britain and beyond, it all comes down to whether would you rather buy a used motoring show from Jezza, James May and Richard Hammond. Or a new one from Evans, Matt LeBlanc and a cast of many.

I must admit to being torn. I wasn’t all that keen on Clarkson as a person, but recognised his brilliance both on screen and in making Top Gear work. However, I am also a huge fan of Evans on Radio 2, and really think that, like Terry Wogan, his true talents are on the wireless rather than on the goggle box.

Evans has been dogged with negative stories about his revamp from the beginning: tales of bust-ups, walk outs and, latterly, historic bullying allegations. The Sun newspaper – where Clarkson, a friend of senior executives, coincidentally has a column – led the onslaught with a series of brutal revelations. The BBC-bashing Daily Mail followed suit.

And so, finally, 4.4 million of us tuned in to see the first episode. That’s below the 5 million that Evans had hoped for. With consolidated figures, the opening night will be seen by around 5.3 million, which is still down on the old team’s figures. But, within days, it will have been shown in 16 countries across four continents and eventually a global audience of 350 million.

Within minutes of the show beginning, Evans was getting a hammering on social media. Even BBC Radio 5 Live admitted that over 90 per cent of its comments from listeners were negative. And while Twitter isn’t an accurate guide to how the whole nation really thinks – Ed Miliband would be firmly entrenched in Downing Street if it was – halting such a flow of negativity is hard to do.

Personally I didn’t think Top Gear was a disaster, but I didn’t think it was much good either. It was like Queen or AC/DC with a new singer: the songs are the same, but something is missing.

I thought couple of items were dull and forced, and smacked of Top Gear box-ticking. Reliants? Tick. Supercars chasing jet fighters? Tick. Off-roader chased across a desert? Tick.

For many of us, this merely reinforces what we already knew – Clarkson may have been an arrogant oaf, but he was a genius at making good TV and his talents were underappreciated by ‘right on’ BBC bosses who just ‘didn’t get it’ because they simply didn’t approve of him.

Evans was like an annoying, shouty kid on a sugar rush. For some bizarre reason, he dropped his voice over the intro to sound more like Clarkson – or, rather, Jezza on helium.

Apart from his Clarkson impression, Evans made a couple of digs at his former friend. Introducing the waiters from his local Indian, an audience member shouted: ‘New catering?’ Evans replied: ‘We don’t talk about catering on the show anymore.’

I think they missed a big trick by not introducing the rest of the team. It reduced the show to: ‘Me, me, me – oh, and Matt.’

And, despite Evans claiming beforehand that everything would be snappy and relevant, the chats with Jesse Eisenberg and charisma-free chef Gordon Ramsay boasting about his Ferrari went on too long.

The writing and scripts were poor, and nowhere near the standard set by Clarkson, who used to work through the night to get things just right. This will improve now that Danny Baker is onboard to tighten them up, though the problem remains: Le Blanc can deliver a line, whereas Evans is better ad-libbing than reading off cue.

The second episode will be important ratings-wise, and I honestly cannot see them rising. Also, as that episode is already filmed – a big my mistake in my view – urgently needed changes cannot be made until the third one.

However, it wasn’t all bad. There were some glimmers of hope for the show’s future. For starters, it was the highest rated show in the 8pm slot – beating BBC 1’s Antiques Roadshow and ITV’s British Soap Awards. Which isn’t bad for a BBC2 show, especially on a bank holiday weekend when many of its staple audience are at their holiday homes abroad.

Also, Matt LeBlanc is very good. Even Evans has said that he’s made for the show and is truly ‘Mr Top Gear’. Whilst bubbly, flirty, potty-mouthed female racer Sabine Schmitz, with her mangled use of the English language, is also a real star. We need to see less of the shouty Evans, and more of them and Eddie Jordan on screen. And they still have custody of The Stig.

So, Top Gear, as Joey would say, ‘How yoo doin’?’ Only fair to middling. Hold on folks – it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

Guest blog by Nigel Pauley, a Fleet Street journalist.

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