The problem the BBC had is that the presenters became bigger than the show. It was easier for Clarkson, May and Hammond to find a new show than it was for Top Gear to find a replacement trio.
If i remember this correctly, BBC just wanted to get rid of Clarkson. They wanted to keep Hammond and May, so in their original plans they just need one new presenter, not the whole team. And don't forget that a lot of production team crew jump ship with them as well.
@@SKutas64 You're right, it was only Clarkson they wanted to get rid of. May and Hammond were generally well behaved and didn't cause trouble like he did. The thing is, getting rid of Clarkson was destroying the trio, whether the other two stayed or left. Hammond and May knew this so they left aswell. I'm sure there was a large element of loyalty to him because of being genuinely close friends, but at the core of it they knew the show wouldn't work without him.
Not so bad. Actually the classic trio got old and needed replacement anyway. But they were very good comedians, so the replacements should have been comedians too.
It wasn't just Clarkson, May and Hammond it was Andy Wilman ,the producer as well that came up with the ideas as well. That's why he went to Amazon as well.
Remember the relaunched Top Gear was 30% owned by JC 20% by Wilman both old school mates 50% by BBC Studio's (the private arm not the state run BBC). Until 2013 when JC &Wilman was bought out. Hence the switch to Chump and Amazon.
I too loved the May, Clarkson and Hammond era for the reasons you mention, but I also loved the show in the 1980s. Even as an under-10, I really loved seeing the reviews of new cars at the time. I think Chris Goffey, Tiff Needell and William Woolard came across as really knowledge and personable. I think you could really trust their reviews. Then Clarkson joined and really moved the game on. Nowadays I don't watch any telly as such, I get all my content from You Tube, especially cars.
I fully agree Matt. What was key in the older one was the undoubted chemistry between the 3 lads. What I and Im sure a lot of people found the most interesting segments were the factual challenges, like where they had to drive from Switzerland to Balckpool on one tank of diesel or the most car for the money for £6k. Those segments didnt need any silly gimmicks or explosions etc but were still very entertaining purely because of the rapport. A quality that was blatantly lacking in the new format, they tried in vain to mimic the laddish formula but didnt have the rapport, personality and chemistry to pull it off. It shouldve started on a clean slate where the new presenters worked to their own strengths.
as opposed to chris evans whos only skill is upsetting many people every time he opened his mouth but if they wanted him to do that he was cheaper then Boris Johnston
I agree with literally everything you said. Plus there was far too much 'watch this' slamming a £2 million hypercar around an airfield instead of focusing on cars we conceivably could own.
What on earth is the point of watching cars that we could all afford being driven on the tele? You honestly gonna tune in to see a diesel astra being driven sensibly?
We can't all afford an Astra and when we eventually can I'd like a program (say with an unique USP that is devoid of commercial ties and contracts) to tell me that under no circumstances should you pay out you're hard earned on this gen Astra because they're bullshit. Is that asking to much ?
Sadly it ran out of ideas and got steadily more ridiculous. And they needed to go back to basics like you suggest. Finally they needed people who can actually drive or know their limits.
agree - however what Matt has hit the nail on the head is I think is that he and numerous other YT contributors fill the gap that he correctly points out needs filling. It is being filled and for a number of them production budgets and values are expanding. I suspect under Willman and Clarkson there was a thirst to push the programme further and further out there with Zonda's and jeopardy and it went from there. Mostly downhill.
Constant rehash...couldn't watch the Paddy McGuinness/Fred Flintoff era...terrible! Miss Sabine, mainly for her dry humour,as well she was like a twin of my German friend!
Chris Harris is mentioned in a quite a few positive comments here - well deserved. He is the lead on a great YT channel for those addicted to collecting cars - I'm sure that as a fellow car addict, Matt watches this too!
Yes Chris Harris was excellent, but for some reason they made him the joke of the group. I remember Eddie Jordan being on one of the specials too and they did the same to him and gave him the worst car in the challenge but once the cars were in dirt tracks it was so obvious how much faster he was then anyone one else.. I also don't agree that the death of the show was as simple as the other 3 leaving, the Grand Tour was largely crap as well. I just think they were if a time and they time has passed
He has got a Collecting Cars RUclips channel and podcast which are worth checking out. But I agree it’s a shame to lose him from Top Gear as I thought he bought a lot to the show.
Honestly they should've rebooted top gear with him and Rory. I genuinely think with all that forced friendship thing the bbc tried to push out, they'd not only just naturally just get along with time anyway, but also they are both very clearly knowledgeable about cars and how they work.
I completely agree with you Matt. Watching Chris Evens running around jumping screaming “we got custody of The Stig” on his first episode was cringy and embarrassing. Chris Harris can drive and knows cars which is more to be said for Paddy and Freddy. It was so evident there was no chemistry between Matt Le Blanc and Evans. All in all its a great shame.
Ye 100% agree! Chris is totally separate to the other 2. He’s been in the game for decades. I remember watching him in 2013 when the gt86 was new and got one a few years later mainly from his review on it…Good ol days for sure.
It failed for 2 simple reasons. Firstly, everyone was bored with freddie and paddy trying to be the biggest northerner and lad. Secondly, it ignored Chriis being drowned out by those 2 planks.
I remember the program way back when it was fronted by a more formal presentation team, but as a kid growing up, it really ignited my interest in cars and encouraged me to join the motor industry. Even in the Hammond, May and Clarkson era there was still informative reviews and cars we could all have the opportunity to own. Despite a couple of makeovers the only good thing to come out of it is Chris Harris, he actually provides sensible, journalism and informed reviews. The others are just a couple of chumps!
You described how most people felt. Clarkson, Hammond and May were Top Gear. The episodes after them just weren’t the same. I wanted to like them but just couldn’t.
The chemistry between Clarkson, Hammond and May, is unique. But they are also natural comedians in the great English tradition. And Wilman is brilliant. They way that they all stuck with Jeremy is a wonderful story of loyalty and mateship. How the BBC couldn't see that beggars belief. They always wanted to get rid of Jeremy because he's the opposite of woke. So they did it and the result was immediately inevitable. You can't manufacture true natural comedy and wit. The Grand Tour is great. Always good entertainment with cars thrown in. And we've watched the fab 3 in Top Gear replays more times than I can count. First on BBC, then on Discovery or something. Now on RUclips. 🇭🇲
Yes it was Clarkson the BBC wanted rid of. Never for one moment expecting the whole crew and Hammond and May to walk as well. It served them right in my book as Grand Tour just picked straight up and was popular and utterly brilliant while Top Gear tanked and struggled and never reached the same heights again. Sadly Clarkson Hammond and May have now decided to retire, with Clarkson and May in their 60s now I cant blame them. I get the feeling that with all the trouble in the world now, there are few places left that they could go, they have done it all. And the travel and aggro involved in getting there was obviously getting tiresome to all three. I thought May looked very aged and tired in the last special and it was sad to see but we all get older. There are two more specials to be released next year and that is it, I feel like I cant watch them now as I will be too sad knowing its the last time they will be doing a car show / trip together.....
I think your comment about being entertained and informed, is a much wider problem for the BBC than just Top Gear. RUclips has filled my hole in this department. Great passionate creators, in charge of there own futures and content. Keep it up Mat and all you other guys.
@@kofib3 its quite telling that I don't find drivetribe all that good and it has Hammond involved. I probably have ten or so motoring based channel subscriptions and I have never been happier with my motoring content.
@@Steve_Hallett Quite agree with you on Drive tribe, I just usually skim through some bits of it, but quite liked when they restored the M5 Touring and the Ford Mondeo ST 200.
The opening sequence in the first Grand Tour was terrific, not a word spoken as Clarkson left a rainy London and rejoined his crew in the desert. That was an example of the production values that made the Wilman era so good. Don't under estimate how talented the production team were, the likes of Richard Porter and Jim Wiseman are brilliant.
One of the things which sets Wilman apart of most producers is that he is present during the whole editing process and can determine things right then instead of just being shown a cut of the edit.
The Clarkson, Hammond and May years were golden for me. I used to really look forward the each episode. It was car car show where stars were not the cars, they were the back drop - but they were the fourth member of the group. The Stig and a lot of the guests made for magic moments, the challenges, and epic journeys made this show special. Then it all ended with a punch, apparently, the down hill ride was as epic as the rise of Top Gear had been. Chris Harris was great, but the rest of them were just... I had to stop watching. Yes I still watch The Grand Tour, it reminds me of happier days. I don't think we will ever see the likes of this again, with the EV / ICE war and the restrictions and policing of cars, we are being driven away from such ideals. Ah now you've got me on a rant, but it is from the heart, the magical years of Top Gear, sadly missed but not forgotten, and rewatched now more than ever.
_"Yes I still watch The Grand Tour, it reminds me of happier days"_ And there's the BBC's problem in a nutshell. Clarkson and Wilman had sold their commercial rights to the BBC in 2012, then Clarkson set about daring the BBC to sack him (e.g. "There's a slope on it"). _Fifth Gear_ showed that returning to a more journalistic style once Clarkson's strategy succeeded was a non-starter, so the BBC *had* to find three more larky petrolheads. The first attempt was pretty lame, but gradually _Top Gear_ rebuilt its audience (sheer persistence helped, once Clarkson discovered the joys of farming and created a gap in the larky petrolhead market).
Not many will remember but the actual original Top Gear with Quentin Wilson etc was brilliant. They did proper car reviews and it’s really missing from today’s television.
Yeah but by the end, nobody was watching. That's why it was cancelled and then resurrected by Clarkson and Andy Wilman with a different format. TV execs don't care about giving people sensible advice when they could bring in far more viewers (and much more revenue) by entertaining the masses.
Completely agree, Matt and in many ways the car journalism market is where RUclipsrs such as yourself filled the gap. As the Grant Tour and Top Gear went into the stratosphere with supercar content and challenges, people found RUclips for affordable (or at least obtainable) motoring journalism.
Chris Harris is a 1st rate car journalist and well respected by his peers. He's served his time right from the bottom and worked up to be on top of his game. You can't put him the same category as the other two Herbert's. As you say. Do we even need a car program in tv these days? I think not. The only tv program I've watched for years is the annual Christmas grand tour. Clarkson's Farm now fills that gap and it isn't even a car program. RUclips is now the place to go for relevant automotive journalism 👌
If you haven't seen Rally Heaven where Chris rides shotgun in a Lancia Stratos, 037 and Delta S4 then i suggest you do. The cars and drivers are something else and Chris's face is a picture in the 037 :)
I found Chris to be a bit of a muppet/ clown on the show to be honest and I therefore didn't really care for him. Don't know if that was his thing on the show or what but yea - he just didn't do it for. Neither did those 2.
Theres a big gap in the market. You have the Grand Tour once a year for the last 4 years. People are just stuffy and not willing to let go of the past, but Clarkson, Ham and May have considering they literally make an episode a year for 4 years now.
I feel bad for Chris. He was great, and a proper car guy. Freddy and Paddy will go back and get their own TV programmes, Chris has been left short changed.
He certainly hasn't. He's living it large travelling the world with Collecting Cars. No doubt he'll be rejecting many offers from motoring related RUclips channels too.
Chris has his own Collecting Cars/watches business auction business so he's fine I think. That and I reckon he and Paddy will have got a decent pay out when Top Gear was axed. I wouldn't shed too many tears for him he is still doing great work with cars. Other two don't know don't care.
Tbf Matt, your channel is the only 'car show' I really watch these days - you're informative and entertaining, and I lead a busy life with little time to watch anything that doesn't tick both those boxes. Keep doing what you do mate.
Agree with pretty much everything you said. I'm sure personally that we will never get a car show as special as old top gear again and I feel lucky to have been watching during its golden age. I personally think it was dying even when Clarkson, Hammond and May were at the wheel towards the end, even with those guys it felt very forced and try hard.
Clarkson May and Hammond worked well together. Towards the end of their time, it was getting a bit past it and ridiculously tedious, and far to much focus on supercars at times. I miss Top Gear from the 80s to late 90s when it actually reviewed cars.
I couldn’t agree more Top Gear from the 80s through the 90s were absolutely brilliant, watching some of them now I only realise how good they were because there’s nothing close on mainstream TV, only RUclips delivers anything of any substance anymore.
yeah the trio was the main and only reason the show worked. The Grand Tour was also an amazing show and the specials are little gems, even tho the three are beginning to show their age. What really shows how crucial them being on the show was to the show being successful, is the fact that the small amazon series they have being doing on their own are all massive hits. I mean, Clarkson's farm is a genuinely good tv series to watch, it's entertaining and it teaches something at the end of the day. I hope the future will bring us a legendary trio, but I'm happy to have lived the time of these absolute legends
Completely agree with everything you said Matt, for me, post Clarkson, Chris Evans totally ruined it and from then on it was always on a downward spiral to certain death. I think youtube has so much content available now that we can all get a daily 1 hour tailored car show
A brilliant and accurate summary of pre and post 2015 I found myself nodding in agreement several times, Matt here’s your calling card develop your channel with some challenges, I know this is high risk but you do have a loyal fan base, fluent in Spanish, lots of experience of European road trips, a good script writer, knowledge of cars, just need a competitor to add to the entertainment
Well, the BBC should look no further than yourself, Matt, as the new lead presenter for any revamped Top Gear show they may or may not produce in the future. You've got a great backstory, a booming RUclips channel full of both entertaining and practical car advice/content, and you're a down to earth guy that the audience can relate to. Make your pitch to the BBC with this video to support your case and the job is yours 👍 Just need to find a couple of other people to present with you!
I've watched your content a lot more than Top Gear over the last year - and you are just 1 dude up north. Well done - you are better than the whole BBC budget could do!
I think that you forgot to mention Chris Harris, big props to him as he was the one putting life back into the show. I think if they had given time for Matt LeBlanc and Chris Harris to develop their friendship, it would have been such a better program!
The Clarkson, May and Hammond years worked because it felt like three mates just having fun and messing about in cars (whether they were actually mates in real life I don't actually know) whereas the last lot felt like just three random blokes told to have fun in cars and failing to do so.
They were actually mates irl. Hence Hammond and May's decision to step down from Top Gear after Clarkson's firing. Apparently they offered the two hosts big sums of money just for them to stay and work with a new third man, but they turned it down. May himself mentioned that they're pretty much a complete package. You can't have one without the other two.
Well articulated Matt. Feel exactly the same. I think Top Gear post 2002 was largely the creation of Andy Wilman and Clarkson. While May and Hammond became intrigal, there's no disputing that it was Clarkson's writing, bluntness and sarcastic humour that made the show great. It had both a wonderful child like appreciation of cars and travel but with a touch of blokey humour that just worked so well. None of the replacement presenters could ever hope to recreate it. Still miss it on Sunday nights but at least the trio are still very active on tv and online.
I can remember when the original Top Gear used to be on, I would make sure I was ready to watch it religiously. But with the revamped series, I wasn't bothered at all, Jeremy,Richard and James were in a class of their own. I just get my fix watching you regularly overspend 😂, but on serious note you have the perfect platform to take this further. And I'm hoping you and your team get your heads together and take what you have forward. Keep it all going Matt, so many followers can't be wrong 👍👍
I think you hit the nail on the head - anyone can get high quality automotive content from RUclips to suit their individual taste. Trying to keep Top Gear going without the classic lineup was like keeping the Rolling Stones without Mick and Keef - the magic was gone. I like watching your videos because they're practical, informative and you allow your personality to come through, too. You've created your own brand through hard work. I based my last used car purchase on your reviews (a BMW F31 LCI) and I made a point to check a lot of the things you check in your own videos. So thanks, and keep it up!
The original Top Gear was exactly the kind of show you described. The likes of Quentin Wilson, William Woolard, Noel Edmunds, Tiff Needell, testing out the sort of cars we were all looking to buy. It was only after a break & serious revamp that the remaining presenter, Clarkson, was joined by the other two & the format changed dramatically. I have to admit I preferred Fifth Gear, though again that got daft towards the end as well. Like you suggest, the days of weekly motoring shows is over, & RUclips fills that void many times over with all manner of characters like yourself giving varying levels of reviews instead. To ape Clarkson, "Some say he's a pompous git!" "But all we know is, he can review a cheap car quite well!" 😁
The original sensible car review show had dies and viewing figures were dire, that's why they had to change everything and the three amigos format saved the show for years.
I never really liked fifth gear for the most part. I particularly hated their head to head tests between a handful of competing models of cars. Touting it as a proper impartial test to see which was best. But instead they would disqualify models after each round. This is not a fair test and makes it easy to rig, and you know they did as they always ended up selecting the car most badge snobs would go for. A proper test involves subjecting each model to the same level of testing and scrutinising the results. Enjoyed their run of crash tests. Those were epic. But the rest of the show was annoying and filled with badge snobbery.
Man after my own heart, I fully agreed and said the same thing. Because I’m quite sad I even wrote to the BBC and said this is what should be done because I was so irritated watching the new cast try and out lad each other. The issue is the BBC don’t give the public enough credit and didn’t think people would want a factual show and we really did, I learned so much about cars from Clarkson and Co, proper nerdy stuff as well which I loved, it inspired me to go to Vietnam and Chernobyl. From watching the specials every Christmas with my family to providing comfort tv when nothing else was on (still do) I’m sure I and a lot of other people cherish it and mourn it’s passing (2015 and previous). Hopefully someone can reboot it in a few years, while I enjoy watching you tube I still enjoy regular format tv if nothing else to try and bring people together.
Honestly I didn't have a problem with the latest topgear, I think chris harris brought the car knowledge and the experience and after two seasons I could feel there was a friendship building, but I do agree with you on the sensible advice and the cheap car challenges. Anyway RIP top gear it was always my number one go to when I felt I needed lifting up, and you guys on youtube and keep the torche moving.
@@seanmclean3028 I think its for the best really, Harris is not bound by a contract anymore, and he is back on youtube skidding about which is what everyone wants anyway
I loved the old Top Gear with Clarkson, Hammond & May. The BBC shot themselves in the foot sacking Clarkson and losing their cash cow. It used to make millions around the world but not anymore. I have the same feelings as you regarding their replacements. I also really like Matt Le Blanc.
They should have completely revamped the show and brought a new format to it. In the format they had, it worked, as you said, because of Clarkson, Hammond and May. There is a special chemistry between them that appealed to so, so many. When they left, the reason for watching TopGear for many people left. At that point, it was like a Superman movie where he never once flies, never rescues anyone.
I agree with all you've said and I've said to you before I honestly believe you'd make a great presenter on Top Gear. Straight to the point and honest reviews you would be a breath of fresh air.
A very fair assessment by Matt. I believe that when Top Gear came back the first time Clarkson had bought a share of the rights to the show and it was them made by his production company and sold to the BBC. Some time later in 2012 the BBC bought out Clarkson's share to assume full ownership. Thus they were able to sack Clarkson when his actions displeased then. Fast forward to TG Mark 3 with the BBC in full control. This was the mistake in my opinion. When the programe was make by outsiders it had to be good enough for audiences to like it. Worse, by pushing people into a format that did not really work they took some risks culminating in Flintoff's accident. The huge legal settlement cost alone is enough to bury the concept for the time being and may have proved that the BBC is not competant when it comes to making popular TV shows which are best left to production companies. The BBC has licence payers money to spend on whatever it wishes whether it is good or bad. However, ultimately even with Clarkson and co, I felt that the show was starting to become a stale parody of itself and the presenters, at the risk of being accused of ageism, were getting long in the tooth. It could not have gone on for much longer at the same level of popularity but of course the BBC had a money making machine on its hands so the show had to go one. Lord Wreith must be turning in his grave and the state of the organisation he restuctured into a public service broadcaster!
@@geebee6737 As I understand it Clarkson and co had stayed in the pub too long and returned to the hotel after the kitchen had closed, upon which Clarkson lost it and assaulted the production assistant. I can't comment on that person's orientation, nor is it relevant. That says way more about you than about them, or JC. And by the way, I love TG and Clarkson's historical documentaries on the Arctic Convoys and Brunel. He's a fine journalist. But if you behave like an arse, you have to face the consequences.
@@malthuswasright totally fair analysis, plus some really good points made by @keithmatthews1673 - at its peak, the JC-Andy Wilman TG set a unique benchmark for TV production and viewer engagement. A perfect storm of talent, ambition, knowledge and genuine love of a topic. For those of us who cherished TG at its best, it will never fade from our memories; it's a terrible shame that, in this instance, a true understanding of the target audience seemed to be a million miles away from senior BBC management's priorities, or desires, at the time.
@keithmatthews1673 Clarkson was not sacked, he could not be sacked as he was not a BBC employee. He was _contracted_ and when his contract with the BBC expired it was not renewed...big difference.
i loved the unscripted responce to clarksons ohh some water coming in now a squaddie "are we nearly there yet?" you can tell unscripted by JC and the Sarg looking at him and coming close to losing it
Have not watched an episode since the end of Clarkson, May and Hammond. Everything you said/suggested is spot on - for now my motoring entertainment is HPA and it’s wonderful. Just spotted your Bermuda pic - passed through there 2 days ago and currently catching up on your material mid North Atlantic heading for San Juan - keep them coming lad 😂
Totally agree with what you said about how they should have gone back to a basic car review show. I think Fifth Gear did that quite well. Now, it would be hard to do though, thanks to RUclips and the variety of car related shows. Auto Alex has a superb RUclips channel, he’s a great presenter and exactly what a car show should be. There’s also this guy, I think his names Matt 🤔 he owns a car dealership, he makes some alright videos too ☺️👍🏻
Rory Reid recently said he has no regrets not doing the show and wouldn't return if the job was offered to him again, preferring the AutoTrader YT space and freedoms.
I think ultimately it was cancelled for the reason you gave at the end. Viewings are down because the younger generation watch social media clips more than TV. Viewers dropped from 7m at its peak to 2m recently. In my case I love your content because it gives me what I want
I think that's why CARWOW is so successful, you've got Mat, Yianni and an occasional guest. It works because they are friends, its organic, and the chemistry isn't forced.
Good video Matt. I think Top Gear with Jeremy et al. was like your favourite rock band; they had a chemistry which made the whole greater than the sum of their parts. Once Jeremy had gone, it wasn't the same any more. I'd also like to acknowledge Quentin Willson's very sensible car buying advice, and Vicki Butler-Henderson whom a lot of male viewers had a bit of a "thing" for back in the day. Tiff was a character too. P.S. One advantage with a back to basics show of the kind Matt is suggesting would be that if it's on a major channel it would have the clout to be able to test new cars straight from the manufacturer. I enjoy RUclips channels like Ian on HubNut and Jack on Number 27 but they are heavily reliant on having people lend them cars to drive, and people who have just bought new cars don't tend to want to do that.
I think Matt has touched on one of the problems for Broadcast Media when it comes to automotive content when he mentioned about wanting a camera car; it's a very expensive thing to produce at a high production level. Between the cars, insurance and liability, wages for presenters and crew, support vehicles, trips and expenses, fuel/electricity, professional gear and the directing and editing, it's quite hard to justify and so any content has to land perfectly to get the audience figures and returns to be viable. RUclips on the other hand has a lot more flexibility. I'm not for one second saying RUclips is easy or cheap, I'm aware it's neither, but I look at my subscribe list at the sheer variety of automotive channels, it's a variety that is absolutely staggering. Everyone can do the things they're good at and enjoy the most, and can bring in a like-minded audience which (hopefully) makes the whole thing fairly sustainable money wise. And if there is the audience, money and motivation, then we get things like Car Trek from Tavarish, Ed and Hoovie which scratch the epic challenge itch we all have. I honestly think in hindsight, the right move would have been to retire the show and let it regrow. There is the Top Gear Magazine people which do video content, that would have been the place to re-sow the seeds of the next generation, someone like Rory Reed would have been perfect. A few years of seeing who works well with who, who vibes well etc and then they could've relaunched it. I know hindsight is 20/20 of course, but I think what killed Top Gear was Chris Evans. He played the fool too hard and it came across as forced and annoying.
It cancelled because it was cringe and couldn’t live up to what it used to be with Clarkson, Hammond and May. It was with two people who didn’t know a thing about cars and Chris Harris was the only saviour of the show. It was a good decision not to continue and let’s just keep the classics of Clarkson, Hammond and May and know how good Top gear used to be.
They should have hired you, Henry Catchpole, and Chris Harris: You doing second hand cars; Henry doing scenic drives; And Chris doing the quick stuff. A special guest could go out filming with one of you every episode.
Sounds silly, but I agree. Matt would be great on a new version of Top Gear! If the BBC would use some RUclipsrs who do car reviews it'd be different and that's something they need to do. Not reusing old ideas with presenters who don't really gel. I thought that Chris Harris was genuinely good though and a genuine 'car guy' who really knew his stuff a could properly drive.
What a great honest, informative review mat . I totally agree with everything you said. Mat you are my top gear fix now. Love all your content. Cheers.
Love when you go “off-piste” and do a short video like this. Absolutely nail on the head. Totally agree with all you say and yes I think we have all moved on. The future is here. It’s ironic that in the last few years all the quality motoring and entertainment stuff is now on RUclips ( and occasionally streamers like Disney with the excellent Brawn documentary) and all that’s left on the old platforms, channels like BBC and discovery, is dross.
You're making it sound as if "the original trio" where the first presenters of TG, it was going for many, many years before they came along. I can remember watching it in the late 70's.
You nailed the answer in the first minute, Matt. The friendship among The Old Man, The Hamster, and Captain Slow. There were authorized copies around the world trying to re-create their magic. We even had an American version of Top Gear over by my neck of the woods. It was awful! Let's just take three random blokes, and we'll have a hit! No! One was a pro driver, one was very mildly successful comedian decades back, and the last guy.... I believe he was kinda fat. I recall Top Gear from before the days of the iconic trio. It was more of a factual show with a rotating cast of hosts. Clarkson, one of them. Quite successful too. But after many years, the ratings took a hit. Then there was that very unfortunate incident caused by one of the hosts. Old Top Gear was gone! When it did return.... one of the hosts was a fat man. He was soon gone, and the iconic trio came to be. I do agree with James May. The incident that caused Clarkson to be fired in 2015 should have been handled in-house. Would have benefited everyone involved.
Clarkson, May and Hammond all had superior car knowledge. They actually had brains. They had superb comedic timing. They had great ideas that the producers loved. They all could drive. They had worldwide respect. They were emotional about what they did. They brought a sense of occasion to the acreen, and still do. Top Gear was about cars, but those three made it more about growing up with them. There was a genuine connection with the audience.
Totally agree, I hardly watched it after clarkson etc. Wish the Grand Tour would do a season again. Drive Tribe on RUclips is good though plus lots of others.
7:16 today there's no room for top gear because of RUclips, multiple channels are doing top gear format so there's no need for it anymore and Television is dying anyway
I thought the chemistry between the final 3 (Harris/Flintoff/McGuinness) was the most genuine since the classic lineup. Though the challenges were increasingly ridiculous. Rory Reid was seriously hard done by - he's a very good reviewer, as is Harris. I do think you're right in so much as a 12 month pause to really think about what was needed in a Grand Tour world would have been a sensible idea. But it had a good run from 1977 to 2015 or so.
When I first heard they were leaving I was sad about it but I also felt that it was a good opportunity to take the show back to it's roots. After all there's only so many caravans you can set fire to or Morris Marinas you can blow up - it was getting a little tired. It would have been nice to get (for example) Tiff Needell, Harry Metcalf, and Chris Harris as a trio (Maybe?) and go back to some proper road testing, maybe even have a Motorbike segment for 10-mins every show as well. Instead they carried on with the hyperbole, scripted "banter", and brought in a slew of presenters most of whom knew nothing about cars. I'm surprised Chris Evans didn't kill it off completely after the first series tbh. Such a shame.
I remember watching the very early Top Gear, presented by Noel Edmunds and Tiff Needel. Back in those days they did indeed review the cars that most people would buy. Unfortunately being a petrolhead is no longer cool, that’s why Top Gear has been “parked”.
I was once asked” what is the difference between a plumber and a heating engineer “ ( I’m a heating engineer) so I said you know Harris Flintoff and mcguinness , they are plumbers where as Clarkson Hammond and May are heating engineers. Hope that clears it up
Trouble with Top Gear was that presenters' egos became more important than the cars. Sigh, I miss the days of Chris Goffey, William Woollard, Sue Baker 😊
Agree on genuine consumer information, how does the car drive, what engines / gearboxes are unreasonable, rust, maintenance cost. expected retail value. Cars are along side houses the biggest investments people normally do?
I personally think we need "THE HIGH PEAK" show in RUclips, like chilling around with friends with their cars, going to car meet/show around UK. More like a stress buster with containing information!💯
Pretty much completely agree and exactly why I stopped watching a few years ago. Chris (Harris not Evans) and Rory could have been joined by one more of any of a plethora of great RUclips car reviewers and taken time to build rapport and I think something approaching the chemistry of the original trio might have developed over time and become as entertaining. Giving the presenting jobs to actors, comedians and sports personalities - regardless of how much they liked cars - just felt like a cheap shot at injecting entertainment into a car show. RIP
Completely with you on how they should have 'grown' Top Gear. Also with you on Matt and Chris Harris doing a great job. I never completely grew into the Grand Tour. I thought it was too 'orchestrated' compared to Top Gear. That said, Top Gear itself was also already going in that direction. More dicking about, less fake explosions if I got a say. It just took the flow out of the adventures.
You are spot on Matt. Exactly right, Paddy and Freddy should have never been brought on. No car knowledge nor driving experience and accident was just waiting to be happen...If BBC would have been clever, they could have played the STIG card and bring back Ben Collins as a presenter with Chris Harris and I think a lot of people would have ben interested. And if they wanted ad some fun maybe Rowan Atkinson, but without trying to mimic the old trio.
I'm hoping the phone has rung recently 😉 Good interview video. Top Gear had been going many years before the Clarkson, May, Hammond trio. Angela Rippon and Noel Edmonds for example being around early days. The Chris Evans phase had too many changes at once, e.g. the lap, the number of presenters (7!), the too many rushed segments, etc.
LeBlanc was actually a surprisingly good fit and you could tell he actually had a proper interest in cars. Evans was a disaster, he wasn't funny, he wasn't a car guy, he's just somebody with too much money and some very expensive cars. Gordon Ramsay and Kevin McCloud would have made better choices lol, Ramsay as the volatile opinionated one, Kevin as the obsessed with design and build quality one, and LeBlanc for comedy relief and American insights.
The chemistry felt real That's because it was real, they'd been allowed to grow as a unit and became friends during the course of the earlier seasons so you believed that everything they did was natural. When the BBC replaced them, they just picked three random people and expected them to carry on acting that way, which the audience knew wasn't very life like. You just can't manufacture that kind of organic chemistry
We will always need car shows. You guys in the UK are lucky. Here in America we had no good car shows. I mean we had motor week. They actually film it not too far from where I live. I always wanted to be a test driver for them!
Not sure how well known this is but I saw interview with Hennessey on Rogan a while ago. He talked about being there for filming of a show when Clarkson/Hammond/May were there still and Steven Tyler (Aerosmith) was guest. Hennessey was standing behind the crowd in the back watching the show and soon noticed a guy standing next to him taking notes throughout interview. He soon realized that was Wilman, the TG producer. He was taking notes on which bits hit with the crowd from Clarkson's interview. That interview would be trimmed down to 2/3 to 1/2 its actual length based on popular bits of it. Audience reaction, live audience, was used as focus group/editing cues. It was brilliant for TG.
There were two people that I thought would have been an interesting choice when they were recasting. One - Jay Leno. He is a MASSIVE car nerd. Anyone who's seen the episode of Top Gear he appeared on will know how massive his car collection is, so he _definitely_ knows his stuff and he already presents a car show on RUclips. He would also have added some of that American 'pizzazz'. Only downsides would be that he is quite old (73) and lives in Beverly Hills, so getting him to an airfield in Dunsfold to present a poky motoring show on British TV where he drives around in old bangers might have been a tall order lol Two - Jay Kay, the Jamiroquai lead singer. For similar reasons, the guy knows his stuff when it comes to cars, and he seems like he'd be a good laugh. He collects supercars, and has a number of Ferraris and Lambos. He's fast too, topping the leaderboard when he was a Star in a Reasonably Priced car. Granted, he doesn't have any experience of hosting a TV show, but then neither did Hammond or May when they started. Now, I don't know if Jay Leno and Jay Kay would have been a good pairing if they worked together, I'm not suggesting they should have, but individually they could have been interesting choices
I think your analysis is spot on Matt. I lost interest when Clarkson, Hammond and May left and just couldn't bond with later iterations of the show. The point about You Tube is well made as well.
I think your bang on Matt they were top gear and when they left the show died. It's like trying to recreate "only fools and horses" I just won't work .keep up the good work really enjoy the show especially the spin offs
I agree with everything you said here. To me, it seems that the BBC couldn’t believe that Clarkson, Hammond and May (and Wilman) were actually talented. The reboot shows that TG was a sum of the parts calculation, to bring in the audiences. I did like some of what happened after 2015 - but time for a good rest now.
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I'ts about time they have taken it off it has lost plot like you have just said get back to reviewing cars not 3 idiots
Absolutely
The problem the BBC had is that the presenters became bigger than the show. It was easier for Clarkson, May and Hammond to find a new show than it was for Top Gear to find a replacement trio.
Spot on, when the guys became top gear, top gear disappeared with the guys.
If i remember this correctly, BBC just wanted to get rid of Clarkson. They wanted to keep Hammond and May, so in their original plans they just need one new presenter, not the whole team. And don't forget that a lot of production team crew jump ship with them as well.
@@SKutas64 You're right, it was only Clarkson they wanted to get rid of. May and Hammond were generally well behaved and didn't cause trouble like he did. The thing is, getting rid of Clarkson was destroying the trio, whether the other two stayed or left. Hammond and May knew this so they left aswell. I'm sure there was a large element of loyalty to him because of being genuinely close friends, but at the core of it they knew the show wouldn't work without him.
Spot on. It became outdated years ago when the presenters became bigger than the product.
Not so bad. Actually the classic trio got old and needed replacement anyway. But they were very good comedians, so the replacements should have been comedians too.
It wasn't just Clarkson, May and Hammond it was Andy Wilman ,the producer as well that came up with the ideas as well. That's why he went to Amazon as well.
And all of of the production team e.g. Richard Porter
As well as well
Remember the relaunched Top Gear was 30% owned by JC 20% by Wilman both old school mates 50% by BBC Studio's (the private arm not the state run BBC). Until 2013 when JC &Wilman was bought out. Hence the switch to Chump and Amazon.
@@Hudobec like fine wine
Clarkson and Wilman were at school together (Repton public school)
It’s blatantly obvious why it’s failed , it was doomed as soon as Jezza , Hamster & May left .
Captain Slow*
To be fair the show was already dying long before the trio left/got sacked
Who
Did wonders for toyota hylux
It failed because it became more about the ‘challenges’ than the cars. This started before the original 3 left.
I too loved the May, Clarkson and Hammond era for the reasons you mention, but I also loved the show in the 1980s. Even as an under-10, I really loved seeing the reviews of new cars at the time. I think Chris Goffey, Tiff Needell and William Woolard came across as really knowledge and personable. I think you could really trust their reviews. Then Clarkson joined and really moved the game on.
Nowadays I don't watch any telly as such, I get all my content from You Tube, especially cars.
I fully agree Matt. What was key in the older one was the undoubted chemistry between the 3 lads. What I and Im sure a lot of people found the most interesting segments were the factual challenges, like where they had to drive from Switzerland to Balckpool on one tank of diesel or the most car for the money for £6k. Those segments didnt need any silly gimmicks or explosions etc but were still very entertaining purely because of the rapport. A quality that was blatantly lacking in the new format, they tried in vain to mimic the laddish formula but didnt have the rapport, personality and chemistry to pull it off. It shouldve started on a clean slate where the new presenters worked to their own strengths.
Special mention for Chris Harris who done a brilliant job, he has all the enthusiasm, knowledge and skill of a top motoring journalist
Interestingly didn’t get a mention here though….
I'm sorry but Harris had the personality of wet cardboard.
as opposed to chris evans whos only skill is upsetting many people every time he opened his mouth but if they wanted him to do that he was cheaper then Boris Johnston
I agree with literally everything you said. Plus there was far too much 'watch this' slamming a £2 million hypercar around an airfield instead of focusing on cars we conceivably could own.
What on earth is the point of watching cars that we could all afford being driven on the tele? You honestly gonna tune in to see a diesel astra being driven sensibly?
Oh yum the new Renault Megane TDci. I feel all funny in my pants 🤮
We can't all afford an Astra and when we eventually can I'd like a program (say with an unique USP that is devoid of commercial ties and contracts) to tell me that under no circumstances should you pay out you're hard earned on this gen Astra because they're bullshit. Is that asking to much ?
@@kktommyes that's why we watch Matt
@@sandypaterson592 I agree. But he's not on the tele with a budget of millions.
Sadly it ran out of ideas and got steadily more ridiculous. And they needed to go back to basics like you suggest. Finally they needed people who can actually drive or know their limits.
agree - however what Matt has hit the nail on the head is I think is that he and numerous other YT contributors fill the gap that he correctly points out needs filling. It is being filled and for a number of them production budgets and values are expanding.
I suspect under Willman and Clarkson there was a thirst to push the programme further and further out there with Zonda's and jeopardy and it went from there. Mostly downhill.
😢
Wow, hold on…Chris haris can drive! He’s a vet in this industry and i’ve watched him on yt for a decade. He’s an expert on track
@@denacol was thinking of various other presenters
Constant rehash...couldn't watch the Paddy McGuinness/Fred Flintoff era...terrible! Miss Sabine, mainly for her dry humour,as well she was like a twin of my German friend!
Chris Harris is mentioned in a quite a few positive comments here - well deserved. He is the lead on a great YT channel for those addicted to collecting cars - I'm sure that as a fellow car addict, Matt watches this too!
What’s the name of the channel please?
Yes Chris Harris was excellent, but for some reason they made him the joke of the group.
I remember Eddie Jordan being on one of the specials too and they did the same to him and gave him the worst car in the challenge but once the cars were in dirt tracks it was so obvious how much faster he was then anyone one else..
I also don't agree that the death of the show was as simple as the other 3 leaving, the Grand Tour was largely crap as well. I just think they were if a time and they time has passed
Chris Harris was decent, Evans was sh!t
Chris Harris was a class act on the most recent iteration of TG. I’ll miss seeing him. Also a very knowledgeable and decent chap.
He has got a Collecting Cars RUclips channel and podcast which are worth checking out. But I agree it’s a shame to lose him from Top Gear as I thought he bought a lot to the show.
Honestly they should've rebooted top gear with him and Rory. I genuinely think with all that forced friendship thing the bbc tried to push out, they'd not only just naturally just get along with time anyway, but also they are both very clearly knowledgeable about cars and how they work.
I completely agree with you Matt. Watching Chris Evens running around jumping screaming “we got custody of The Stig” on his first episode was cringy and embarrassing. Chris Harris can drive and knows cars which is more to be said for Paddy and Freddy. It was so evident there was no chemistry between Matt Le Blanc and Evans. All in all its a great shame.
Evans was shit but I can't stand him anyway. Paddy Fred and Harris were the best
Ye 100% agree! Chris is totally separate to the other 2. He’s been in the game for decades. I remember watching him in 2013 when the gt86 was new and got one a few years later mainly from his review on it…Good ol days for sure.
It failed for 2 simple reasons. Firstly, everyone was bored with freddie and paddy trying to be the biggest northerner and lad. Secondly, it ignored Chriis being drowned out by those 2 planks.
well summed up
It failed for 2 simple reasons. 1. Clarkson got sacked. 2. Hammond and May said fuck this shit
Did become a bit of a Northern C*ck swinging contest between Paddy and Freddy.
Well said
McGuiness, was the worst choice of presenter. An absolutely obnoxious twat, who made every car fan turn the telly off.
I remember the program way back when it was fronted by a more formal presentation team, but as a kid growing up, it really ignited my interest in cars and encouraged me to join the motor industry. Even in the Hammond, May and Clarkson era there was still informative reviews and cars we could all have the opportunity to own. Despite a couple of makeovers the only good thing to come out of it is Chris Harris, he actually provides sensible, journalism and informed reviews. The others are just a couple of chumps!
You described how most people felt. Clarkson, Hammond and May were Top Gear. The episodes after them just weren’t the same. I wanted to like them but just couldn’t.
The chemistry between Clarkson, Hammond and May, is unique. But they are also natural comedians in the great English tradition. And Wilman is brilliant. They way that they all stuck with Jeremy is a wonderful story of loyalty and mateship. How the BBC couldn't see that beggars belief. They always wanted to get rid of Jeremy because he's the opposite of woke. So they did it and the result was immediately inevitable. You can't manufacture true natural comedy and wit. The Grand Tour is great. Always good entertainment with cars thrown in. And we've watched the fab 3 in Top Gear replays more times than I can count. First on BBC, then on Discovery or something. Now on RUclips. 🇭🇲
Yes it was Clarkson the BBC wanted rid of. Never for one moment expecting the whole crew and Hammond and May to walk as well. It served them right in my book as Grand Tour just picked straight up and was popular and utterly brilliant while Top Gear tanked and struggled and never reached the same heights again. Sadly Clarkson Hammond and May have now decided to retire, with Clarkson and May in their 60s now I cant blame them. I get the feeling that with all the trouble in the world now, there are few places left that they could go, they have done it all. And the travel and aggro involved in getting there was obviously getting tiresome to all three. I thought May looked very aged and tired in the last special and it was sad to see but we all get older. There are two more specials to be released next year and that is it, I feel like I cant watch them now as I will be too sad knowing its the last time they will be doing a car show / trip together.....
I think your comment about being entertained and informed, is a much wider problem for the BBC than just Top Gear. RUclips has filled my hole in this department. Great passionate creators, in charge of there own futures and content. Keep it up Mat and all you other guys.
Nobody wants to know about you filling your hole😮🤣🤣🤣👍
And with so many automotive content like this on RUclips, I don't miss Top Gear very much.
100%
@@kofib3 its quite telling that I don't find drivetribe all that good and it has Hammond involved. I probably have ten or so motoring based channel subscriptions and I have never been happier with my motoring content.
@@Steve_Hallett Quite agree with you on Drive tribe, I just usually skim through some bits of it, but quite liked when they restored the M5 Touring and the Ford Mondeo ST 200.
The opening sequence in the first Grand Tour was terrific, not a word spoken as Clarkson left a rainy London and rejoined his crew in the desert.
That was an example of the production values that made the Wilman era so good. Don't under estimate how talented the production team were, the likes of Richard Porter and Jim Wiseman are brilliant.
Yes exactly!!
Truly, that was the magic that made it work.
One of the things which sets Wilman apart of most producers is that he is present during the whole editing process and can determine things right then instead of just being shown a cut of the edit.
i bet the woke committee who sacked Clarkson watched that and updated their CV's
The Clarkson, Hammond and May years were golden for me. I used to really look forward the each episode. It was car car show where stars were not the cars, they were the back drop - but they were the fourth member of the group. The Stig and a lot of the guests made for magic moments, the challenges, and epic journeys made this show special. Then it all ended with a punch, apparently, the down hill ride was as epic as the rise of Top Gear had been. Chris Harris was great, but the rest of them were just... I had to stop watching. Yes I still watch The Grand Tour, it reminds me of happier days. I don't think we will ever see the likes of this again, with the EV / ICE war and the restrictions and policing of cars, we are being driven away from such ideals. Ah now you've got me on a rant, but it is from the heart, the magical years of Top Gear, sadly missed but not forgotten, and rewatched now more than ever.
_"Yes I still watch The Grand Tour, it reminds me of happier days"_
And there's the BBC's problem in a nutshell. Clarkson and Wilman had sold their commercial rights to the BBC in 2012, then Clarkson set about daring the BBC to sack him (e.g. "There's a slope on it"). _Fifth Gear_ showed that returning to a more journalistic style once Clarkson's strategy succeeded was a non-starter, so the BBC *had* to find three more larky petrolheads. The first attempt was pretty lame, but gradually _Top Gear_ rebuilt its audience (sheer persistence helped, once Clarkson discovered the joys of farming and created a gap in the larky petrolhead market).
never forget Clarksons reaction seeing the espace with the roof down
or everyone's laffing at the leaning tower block
Not many will remember but the actual original Top Gear with Quentin Wilson etc was brilliant. They did proper car reviews and it’s really missing from today’s television.
I do! And it was Quentin Wilson, the slicked backed haired used car salesman along with vbh etc!
That sort of became 5th gear which was okay.
Yeah but by the end, nobody was watching. That's why it was cancelled and then resurrected by Clarkson and Andy Wilman with a different format. TV execs don't care about giving people sensible advice when they could bring in far more viewers (and much more revenue) by entertaining the masses.
I remember the original before willson with woolard and goffey
We have RUclips for that
The great thing about Jeremy leaving BBC is that now we have Clarksons farm and Grand Tour.
Completely agree, Matt and in many ways the car journalism market is where RUclipsrs such as yourself filled the gap. As the Grant Tour and Top Gear went into the stratosphere with supercar content and challenges, people found RUclips for affordable (or at least obtainable) motoring journalism.
You can do the challenges on the cheap. Mongol Rally? Plymouth Banjul? Or a rickshaw north to south of India. All achieveable on a budget.
@@adenwellsmith6908 very true!
Chris Harris is a 1st rate car journalist and well respected by his peers.
He's served his time right from the bottom and worked up to be on top of his game.
You can't put him the same category as the other two Herbert's.
As you say. Do we even need a car program in tv these days? I think not.
The only tv program I've watched for years is the annual Christmas grand tour. Clarkson's Farm now fills that gap and it isn't even a car program.
RUclips is now the place to go for relevant automotive journalism 👌
If you haven't seen Rally Heaven where Chris rides shotgun in a Lancia Stratos, 037 and Delta S4 then i suggest you do. The cars and drivers are something else and Chris's face is a picture in the 037 :)
I found Chris to be a bit of a muppet/ clown on the show to be honest and I therefore didn't really care for him.
Don't know if that was his thing on the show or what but yea - he just didn't do it for. Neither did those 2.
@@rokana9641 If you watch his RUclips he is a lot more serious I think on Top Gear he had to be a bit more comical.
Chris Harris had to dumb himself down for Top Gear. Now he's back on RUclips his motoring journo chops will be front and centre once again.
Theres a big gap in the market. You have the Grand Tour once a year for the last 4 years. People are just stuffy and not willing to let go of the past, but Clarkson, Ham and May have considering they literally make an episode a year for 4 years now.
I feel bad for Chris. He was great, and a proper car guy. Freddy and Paddy will go back and get their own TV programmes, Chris has been left short changed.
He certainly hasn't. He's living it large travelling the world with Collecting Cars. No doubt he'll be rejecting many offers from motoring related RUclips channels too.
Chris has his own Collecting Cars/watches business auction business so he's fine I think. That and I reckon he and Paddy will have got a decent pay out when Top Gear was axed. I wouldn't shed too many tears for him he is still doing great work with cars. Other two don't know don't care.
Fred is not going anywhere in his state after the accident mate.
Yep. His fearless gungho attitude was one of the features of the show. unfortunately it came back to bite him. However, £9m should help his recovery!
The only real petrol head of the show and rather belittled by his co presenters? An indication of the direction Top Gear was going!
Tbf Matt, your channel is the only 'car show' I really watch these days - you're informative and entertaining, and I lead a busy life with little time to watch anything that doesn't tick both those boxes. Keep doing what you do mate.
try trottle house..
Agree with pretty much everything you said. I'm sure personally that we will never get a car show as special as old top gear again and I feel lucky to have been watching during its golden age. I personally think it was dying even when Clarkson, Hammond and May were at the wheel towards the end, even with those guys it felt very forced and try hard.
Clarkson May and Hammond worked well together. Towards the end of their time, it was getting a bit past it and ridiculously tedious, and far to much focus on supercars at times. I miss Top Gear from the 80s to late 90s when it actually reviewed cars.
Yeah I always liked Quentin Wilson doing his serious car reviews because he reviewed second hand cars that I could actually afford
Tony mason doing the rally news
@neilharryjones
Shame he's shilling for electric cars now. Yes, those were great reviews back then.
I couldn’t agree more Top Gear from the 80s through the 90s were absolutely brilliant, watching some of them now I only realise how good they were because there’s nothing close on mainstream TV, only RUclips delivers anything of any substance anymore.
@@neil1997yeah he was brilliant, as was the rallying.
yeah the trio was the main and only reason the show worked. The Grand Tour was also an amazing show and the specials are little gems, even tho the three are beginning to show their age. What really shows how crucial them being on the show was to the show being successful, is the fact that the small amazon series they have being doing on their own are all massive hits. I mean, Clarkson's farm is a genuinely good tv series to watch, it's entertaining and it teaches something at the end of the day. I hope the future will bring us a legendary trio, but I'm happy to have lived the time of these absolute legends
Completely agree with everything you said Matt, for me, post Clarkson, Chris Evans totally ruined it and from then on it was always on a downward spiral to certain death. I think youtube has so much content available now that we can all get a daily 1 hour tailored car show
Spot on!
A brilliant and accurate summary of pre and post 2015 I found myself nodding in agreement several times, Matt here’s your calling card develop your channel with some challenges, I know this is high risk but you do have a loyal fan base, fluent in Spanish, lots of experience of European road trips, a good script writer, knowledge of cars, just need a competitor to add to the entertainment
Well, the BBC should look no further than yourself, Matt, as the new lead presenter for any revamped Top Gear show they may or may not produce in the future.
You've got a great backstory, a booming RUclips channel full of both entertaining and practical car advice/content, and you're a down to earth guy that the audience can relate to.
Make your pitch to the BBC with this video to support your case and the job is yours 👍
Just need to find a couple of other people to present with you!
I've watched your content a lot more than Top Gear over the last year - and you are just 1 dude up north. Well done - you are better than the whole BBC budget could do!
Thanks!
Totally agree and support your comment.
Yep the era of msm car shows has gone
This 👆🏻
North!?
The BBC should be ‘rested’…it too has run its course
I think that you forgot to mention Chris Harris, big props to him as he was the one putting life back into the show. I think if they had given time for Matt LeBlanc and Chris Harris to develop their friendship, it would have been such a better program!
Really 😂😂
Props?
The Clarkson, May and Hammond years worked because it felt like three mates just having fun and messing about in cars (whether they were actually mates in real life I don't actually know) whereas the last lot felt like just three random blokes told to have fun in cars and failing to do so.
They were actually mates irl. Hence Hammond and May's decision to step down from Top Gear after Clarkson's firing. Apparently they offered the two hosts big sums of money just for them to stay and work with a new third man, but they turned it down. May himself mentioned that they're pretty much a complete package. You can't have one without the other two.
@@Geheimnis-c2e my favorite thing about May was his explanation beyond the “team” stipulation.
“Jeremy is a knob, but I quite like him.”
I think you hit the nail on the head with your breakdown. I always wished they kept on with the real tests on new and used vehicles.
Well articulated Matt. Feel exactly the same. I think Top Gear post 2002 was largely the creation of Andy Wilman and Clarkson. While May and Hammond became intrigal, there's no disputing that it was Clarkson's writing, bluntness and sarcastic humour that made the show great. It had both a wonderful child like appreciation of cars and travel but with a touch of blokey humour that just worked so well.
None of the replacement presenters could ever hope to recreate it.
Still miss it on Sunday nights but at least the trio are still very active on tv and online.
I can remember when the original Top Gear used to be on, I would make sure I was ready to watch it religiously.
But with the revamped series, I wasn't bothered at all, Jeremy,Richard and James were in a class of their own.
I just get my fix watching you regularly overspend 😂, but on serious note you have the perfect platform to take this further. And I'm hoping you and your team get your heads together and take what you have forward.
Keep it all going Matt, so many followers can't be wrong 👍👍
Thank you. I’m trying
I think you hit the nail on the head - anyone can get high quality automotive content from RUclips to suit their individual taste. Trying to keep Top Gear going without the classic lineup was like keeping the Rolling Stones without Mick and Keef - the magic was gone. I like watching your videos because they're practical, informative and you allow your personality to come through, too. You've created your own brand through hard work. I based my last used car purchase on your reviews (a BMW F31 LCI) and I made a point to check a lot of the things you check in your own videos. So thanks, and keep it up!
The original Top Gear was exactly the kind of show you described. The likes of Quentin Wilson, William Woolard, Noel Edmunds, Tiff Needell, testing out the sort of cars we were all looking to buy. It was only after a break & serious revamp that the remaining presenter, Clarkson, was joined by the other two & the format changed dramatically. I have to admit I preferred Fifth Gear, though again that got daft towards the end as well. Like you suggest, the days of weekly motoring shows is over, & RUclips fills that void many times over with all manner of characters like yourself giving varying levels of reviews instead. To ape Clarkson, "Some say he's a pompous git!" "But all we know is, he can review a cheap car quite well!" 😁
The original sensible car review show had dies and viewing figures were dire, that's why they had to change everything and the three amigos format saved the show for years.
I never really liked fifth gear for the most part.
I particularly hated their head to head tests between a handful of competing models of cars. Touting it as a proper impartial test to see which was best. But instead they would disqualify models after each round. This is not a fair test and makes it easy to rig, and you know they did as they always ended up selecting the car most badge snobs would go for.
A proper test involves subjecting each model to the same level of testing and scrutinising the results.
Enjoyed their run of crash tests. Those were epic. But the rest of the show was annoying and filled with badge snobbery.
I also enjoyed Matt Le Blanc as a presenter. In fact, I actually think that second season with him, Chris and Rory was pretty good and had potential.
Man after my own heart, I fully agreed and said the same thing. Because I’m quite sad I even wrote to the BBC and said this is what should be done because I was so irritated watching the new cast try and out lad each other. The issue is the BBC don’t give the public enough credit and didn’t think people would want a factual show and we really did, I learned so much about cars from Clarkson and Co, proper nerdy stuff as well which I loved, it inspired me to go to Vietnam and Chernobyl. From watching the specials every Christmas with my family to providing comfort tv when nothing else was on (still do) I’m sure I and a lot of other people cherish it and mourn it’s passing (2015 and previous).
Hopefully someone can reboot it in a few years, while I enjoy watching you tube I still enjoy regular format tv if nothing else to try and bring people together.
Loved old Top Gear, was genuinely sad when it was cancelled
Honestly I didn't have a problem with the latest topgear, I think chris harris brought the car knowledge and the experience and after two seasons I could feel there was a friendship building, but I do agree with you on the sensible advice and the cheap car challenges. Anyway RIP top gear it was always my number one go to when I felt I needed lifting up, and you guys on youtube and keep the torche moving.
Harris has a genuine deep passion for motors and it was plain to see. McGuiness and Flinty not so much and that was plain to see too.
@@seanmclean3028 I think its for the best really, Harris is not bound by a contract anymore, and he is back on youtube skidding about which is what everyone wants anyway
I loved the old Top Gear with Clarkson, Hammond & May. The BBC shot themselves in the foot sacking Clarkson and losing their cash cow. It used to make millions around the world but not anymore. I have the same feelings as you regarding their replacements. I also really like Matt Le Blanc.
They should have completely revamped the show and brought a new format to it.
In the format they had, it worked, as you said, because of Clarkson, Hammond and May. There is a special chemistry between them that appealed to so, so many.
When they left, the reason for watching TopGear for many people left.
At that point, it was like a Superman movie where he never once flies, never rescues anyone.
ratings was so bad they had to put in on BBC1 (something Clarkson had been saying for years)
I agree with all you've said and I've said to you before I honestly believe you'd make a great presenter on Top Gear. Straight to the point and honest reviews you would be a breath of fresh air.
A very fair assessment by Matt. I believe that when Top Gear came back the first time Clarkson had bought a share of the rights to the show and it was them made by his production company and sold to the BBC. Some time later in 2012 the BBC bought out Clarkson's share to assume full ownership. Thus they were able to sack Clarkson when his actions displeased then. Fast forward to TG Mark 3 with the BBC in full control. This was the mistake in my opinion. When the programe was make by outsiders it had to be good enough for audiences to like it. Worse, by pushing people into a format that did not really work they took some risks culminating in Flintoff's accident. The huge legal settlement cost alone is enough to bury the concept for the time being and may have proved that the BBC is not competant when it comes to making popular TV shows which are best left to production companies. The BBC has licence payers money to spend on whatever it wishes whether it is good or bad. However, ultimately even with Clarkson and co, I felt that the show was starting to become a stale parody of itself and the presenters, at the risk of being accused of ageism, were getting long in the tooth. It could not have gone on for much longer at the same level of popularity but of course the BBC had a money making machine on its hands so the show had to go one. Lord Wreith must be turning in his grave and the state of the organisation he restuctured into a public service broadcaster!
"When his actions displeased them" - you mean when he assaulted someone.
@@malthuswasright ....who probably deserved it 🤣 , probably a he she or none binary !
@@geebee6737 As I understand it Clarkson and co had stayed in the pub too long and returned to the hotel after the kitchen had closed, upon which Clarkson lost it and assaulted the production assistant. I can't comment on that person's orientation, nor is it relevant. That says way more about you than about them, or JC. And by the way, I love TG and Clarkson's historical documentaries on the Arctic Convoys and Brunel. He's a fine journalist. But if you behave like an arse, you have to face the consequences.
@@malthuswasright totally fair analysis, plus some really good points made by @keithmatthews1673 - at its peak, the JC-Andy Wilman TG set a unique benchmark for TV production and viewer engagement. A perfect storm of talent, ambition, knowledge and genuine love of a topic. For those of us who cherished TG at its best, it will never fade from our memories; it's a terrible shame that, in this instance, a true understanding of the target audience seemed to be a million miles away from senior BBC management's priorities, or desires, at the time.
@keithmatthews1673 Clarkson was not sacked, he could not be sacked as he was not a BBC employee. He was _contracted_ and when his contract with the BBC expired it was not renewed...big difference.
I don’t know when the absolute peak was, but the Ford Fiesta coming off the landing craft for me was one of the best car reviews Clarkson ever did
i loved the unscripted responce to clarksons ohh some water coming in now a squaddie "are we nearly there yet?" you can tell unscripted by JC and the Sarg looking at him and coming close to losing it
Spot on with your analysis. I also believe people would prefer a more serious content to start with and let relationships grow naturally over time.
Have not watched an episode since the end of Clarkson, May and Hammond. Everything you said/suggested is spot on - for now my motoring entertainment is HPA and it’s wonderful. Just spotted your Bermuda pic - passed through there 2 days ago and currently catching up on your material mid North Atlantic heading for San Juan - keep them coming lad 😂
Totally agree with what you said about how they should have gone back to a basic car review show. I think Fifth Gear did that quite well. Now, it would be hard to do though, thanks to RUclips and the variety of car related shows.
Auto Alex has a superb RUclips channel, he’s a great presenter and exactly what a car show should be. There’s also this guy, I think his names Matt 🤔 he owns a car dealership, he makes some alright videos too ☺️👍🏻
You can tell that Chris Harris secretly fully agrees with you whenever he’s interviewed about the show.
Rory Reid recently said he has no regrets not doing the show and wouldn't return if the job was offered to him again, preferring the AutoTrader YT space and freedoms.
I think ultimately it was cancelled for the reason you gave at the end. Viewings are down because the younger generation watch social media clips more than TV. Viewers dropped from 7m at its peak to 2m recently. In my case I love your content because it gives me what I want
I think that's why CARWOW is so successful, you've got Mat, Yianni and an occasional guest. It works because they are friends, its organic, and the chemistry isn't forced.
I think even with Clarkson and crew it ran it's course many years before. I think RUclips is the place to go for car shows
Good video Matt. I think Top Gear with Jeremy et al. was like your favourite rock band; they had a chemistry which made the whole greater than the sum of their parts. Once Jeremy had gone, it wasn't the same any more.
I'd also like to acknowledge Quentin Willson's very sensible car buying advice, and Vicki Butler-Henderson whom a lot of male viewers had a bit of a "thing" for back in the day. Tiff was a character too.
P.S. One advantage with a back to basics show of the kind Matt is suggesting would be that if it's on a major channel it would have the clout to be able to test new cars straight from the manufacturer. I enjoy RUclips channels like Ian on HubNut and Jack on Number 27 but they are heavily reliant on having people lend them cars to drive, and people who have just bought new cars don't tend to want to do that.
I think Matt has touched on one of the problems for Broadcast Media when it comes to automotive content when he mentioned about wanting a camera car; it's a very expensive thing to produce at a high production level. Between the cars, insurance and liability, wages for presenters and crew, support vehicles, trips and expenses, fuel/electricity, professional gear and the directing and editing, it's quite hard to justify and so any content has to land perfectly to get the audience figures and returns to be viable.
RUclips on the other hand has a lot more flexibility. I'm not for one second saying RUclips is easy or cheap, I'm aware it's neither, but I look at my subscribe list at the sheer variety of automotive channels, it's a variety that is absolutely staggering. Everyone can do the things they're good at and enjoy the most, and can bring in a like-minded audience which (hopefully) makes the whole thing fairly sustainable money wise. And if there is the audience, money and motivation, then we get things like Car Trek from Tavarish, Ed and Hoovie which scratch the epic challenge itch we all have.
I honestly think in hindsight, the right move would have been to retire the show and let it regrow. There is the Top Gear Magazine people which do video content, that would have been the place to re-sow the seeds of the next generation, someone like Rory Reed would have been perfect. A few years of seeing who works well with who, who vibes well etc and then they could've relaunched it. I know hindsight is 20/20 of course, but I think what killed Top Gear was Chris Evans. He played the fool too hard and it came across as forced and annoying.
It cancelled because it was cringe and couldn’t live up to what it used to be with Clarkson, Hammond and May. It was with two people who didn’t know a thing about cars and Chris Harris was the only saviour of the show. It was a good decision not to continue and let’s just keep the classics of Clarkson, Hammond and May and know how good Top gear used to be.
Your channel Matt IS now the only car show worth watching!
Thanks!
Thank you for your audition for presenter on the new Top Gear ( if and when we decide to re-launch). We'll be in touch.
They should have hired you, Henry Catchpole, and Chris Harris:
You doing second hand cars;
Henry doing scenic drives;
And Chris doing the quick stuff.
A special guest could go out filming with one of you every episode.
Replace Matt (sorry) with Harry Metcalfe and I agree
Sounds silly, but I agree. Matt would be great on a new version of Top Gear! If the BBC would use some RUclipsrs who do car reviews it'd be different and that's something they need to do. Not reusing old ideas with presenters who don't really gel. I thought that Chris Harris was genuinely good though and a genuine 'car guy' who really knew his stuff a could properly drive.
What a great honest, informative review mat . I totally agree with everything you said. Mat you are my top gear fix now. Love all your content. Cheers.
agreed mate
Love when you go “off-piste” and do a short video like this. Absolutely nail on the head. Totally agree with all you say and yes I think we have all moved on. The future is here. It’s ironic that in the last few years all the quality motoring and entertainment stuff is now on RUclips ( and occasionally streamers like Disney with the excellent Brawn documentary) and all that’s left on the old platforms, channels like BBC and discovery, is dross.
You're making it sound as if "the original trio" where the first presenters of TG, it was going for many, many years before they came along. I can remember watching it in the late 70's.
MY idea for cast replacements?:
Chris Harris - Clarkson
Ed China - May
Alex Kersten - Hammond
You nailed the answer in the first minute, Matt. The friendship among The Old Man, The Hamster, and Captain Slow. There were authorized copies around the world trying to re-create their magic. We even had an American version of Top Gear over by my neck of the woods. It was awful! Let's just take three random blokes, and we'll have a hit! No! One was a pro driver, one was very mildly successful comedian decades back, and the last guy.... I believe he was kinda fat.
I recall Top Gear from before the days of the iconic trio. It was more of a factual show with a rotating cast of hosts. Clarkson, one of them. Quite successful too. But after many years, the ratings took a hit. Then there was that very unfortunate incident caused by one of the hosts. Old Top Gear was gone! When it did return.... one of the hosts was a fat man. He was soon gone, and the iconic trio came to be. I do agree with James May. The incident that caused Clarkson to be fired in 2015 should have been handled in-house. Would have benefited everyone involved.
Clarkson, May and Hammond all had superior car knowledge.
They actually had brains. They had superb comedic timing. They had great ideas that the producers loved. They all could drive. They had worldwide respect. They were emotional about what they did.
They brought a sense of occasion to the acreen, and still do.
Top Gear was about cars, but those three made it more about growing up with them. There was a genuine connection with the audience.
100% nailed it. Matt you could be a top gear presenter, with auto Alex, Mat Armstrong and maybe a few others
And Tavarish as a guest feature
I think Ian from HubNut would be a great 'James May' in any trio.
Mat Armstrong..... Mr raffle seller sellout. No wonder this world is going down the drain with people like you
Totally agree, I hardly watched it after clarkson etc. Wish the Grand Tour would do a season again. Drive Tribe on RUclips is good though plus lots of others.
7:16 today there's no room for top gear because of RUclips, multiple channels are doing top gear format so there's no need for it anymore and Television is dying anyway
I thought the chemistry between the final 3 (Harris/Flintoff/McGuinness) was the most genuine since the classic lineup. Though the challenges were increasingly ridiculous. Rory Reid was seriously hard done by - he's a very good reviewer, as is Harris. I do think you're right in so much as a 12 month pause to really think about what was needed in a Grand Tour world would have been a sensible idea. But it had a good run from 1977 to 2015 or so.
Love these videos Matt, keep them up😊
Thanks! Will do!
Whatever people say about Clarkson, his enthusiasm melted through the screen. And 3 mates connection was genuine.
Perfectly put.
If you’d been in an interview with the Beeb they would have walked out and thought “this guy has “something”….”
When I first heard they were leaving I was sad about it but I also felt that it was a good opportunity to take the show back to it's roots. After all there's only so many caravans you can set fire to or Morris Marinas you can blow up - it was getting a little tired.
It would have been nice to get (for example) Tiff Needell, Harry Metcalf, and Chris Harris as a trio (Maybe?) and go back to some proper road testing, maybe even have a Motorbike segment for 10-mins every show as well.
Instead they carried on with the hyperbole, scripted "banter", and brought in a slew of presenters most of whom knew nothing about cars. I'm surprised Chris Evans didn't kill it off completely after the first series tbh. Such a shame.
I remember watching the very early Top Gear, presented by Noel Edmunds and Tiff Needel.
Back in those days they did indeed review the cars that most people would buy.
Unfortunately being a petrolhead is no longer cool, that’s why Top Gear has been “parked”.
That’s another reason
I think we all knew why after the ditched the trio😂 but nice video anyways
I was once asked” what is the difference between a plumber and a heating engineer “ ( I’m a heating engineer) so I said you know Harris Flintoff and mcguinness , they are plumbers where as Clarkson Hammond and May are heating engineers. Hope that clears it up
Not quite true, Chris Harris was a Heating Engineer locked in the back of a Plumbers van.
The Auto Alex channel is where I get my Top Gear style fix now. Three mates messing about with cars. Its great.
Trouble with Top Gear was that presenters' egos became more important than the cars. Sigh, I miss the days of Chris Goffey, William Woollard, Sue Baker 😊
Basically from Nottingham
Agree on genuine consumer information, how does the car drive, what engines / gearboxes are unreasonable, rust, maintenance cost. expected retail value.
Cars are along side houses the biggest investments people normally do?
If the BBC brought it back i'd cast....You, Chris Harris, Mat Watson and maybe Alex Kersten!
I personally think we need "THE HIGH PEAK" show in RUclips, like chilling around with friends with their cars, going to car meet/show around UK. More like a stress buster with containing information!💯
Pretty much completely agree and exactly why I stopped watching a few years ago. Chris (Harris not Evans) and Rory could have been joined by one more of any of a plethora of great RUclips car reviewers and taken time to build rapport and I think something approaching the chemistry of the original trio might have developed over time and become as entertaining. Giving the presenting jobs to actors, comedians and sports personalities - regardless of how much they liked cars - just felt like a cheap shot at injecting entertainment into a car show. RIP
Completely with you on how they should have 'grown' Top Gear. Also with you on Matt and Chris Harris doing a great job.
I never completely grew into the Grand Tour. I thought it was too 'orchestrated' compared to Top Gear. That said, Top Gear itself was also already going in that direction. More dicking about, less fake explosions if I got a say. It just took the flow out of the adventures.
Luckily you can get your fix of car shows on RUclips nowadays! I enjoy watching AutoAlex, Car Throttle and your videos.
You are spot on Matt. Exactly right, Paddy and Freddy should have never been brought on. No car knowledge nor driving experience and accident was just waiting to be happen...If BBC would have been clever, they could have played the STIG card and bring back Ben Collins as a presenter with Chris Harris and I think a lot of people would have ben interested. And if they wanted ad some fun maybe Rowan Atkinson, but without trying to mimic the old trio.
I'm hoping the phone has rung recently 😉 Good interview video.
Top Gear had been going many years before the Clarkson, May, Hammond trio.
Angela Rippon and Noel Edmonds for example being around early days.
The Chris Evans phase had too many changes at once, e.g. the lap, the number of presenters (7!), the too many rushed segments, etc.
I preferred the original TG which was about which car to buy.
LeBlanc was actually a surprisingly good fit and you could tell he actually had a proper interest in cars. Evans was a disaster, he wasn't funny, he wasn't a car guy, he's just somebody with too much money and some very expensive cars. Gordon Ramsay and Kevin McCloud would have made better choices lol, Ramsay as the volatile opinionated one, Kevin as the obsessed with design and build quality one, and LeBlanc for comedy relief and American insights.
The chemistry felt real
That's because it was real, they'd been allowed to grow as a unit and became friends during the course of the earlier seasons so you believed that everything they did was natural.
When the BBC replaced them, they just picked three random people and expected them to carry on acting that way, which the audience knew wasn't very life like. You just can't manufacture that kind of organic chemistry
Without the golden trio, Top Gear was doomed to fail.
I agree with you about the need for a sensible car programme, I want to be informed before I make a decision on my second biggest purchase.
We will always need car shows. You guys in the UK are lucky. Here in America we had no good car shows. I mean we had motor week. They actually film it not too far from where I live. I always wanted to be a test driver for them!
Not sure how well known this is but I saw interview with Hennessey on Rogan a while ago. He talked about being there for filming of a show when Clarkson/Hammond/May were there still and Steven Tyler (Aerosmith) was guest.
Hennessey was standing behind the crowd in the back watching the show and soon noticed a guy standing next to him taking notes throughout interview. He soon realized that was Wilman, the TG producer. He was taking notes on which bits hit with the crowd from Clarkson's interview. That interview would be trimmed down to 2/3 to 1/2 its actual length based on popular bits of it.
Audience reaction, live audience, was used as focus group/editing cues. It was brilliant for TG.
There were two people that I thought would have been an interesting choice when they were recasting.
One - Jay Leno. He is a MASSIVE car nerd. Anyone who's seen the episode of Top Gear he appeared on will know how massive his car collection is, so he _definitely_ knows his stuff and he already presents a car show on RUclips. He would also have added some of that American 'pizzazz'. Only downsides would be that he is quite old (73) and lives in Beverly Hills, so getting him to an airfield in Dunsfold to present a poky motoring show on British TV where he drives around in old bangers might have been a tall order lol
Two - Jay Kay, the Jamiroquai lead singer. For similar reasons, the guy knows his stuff when it comes to cars, and he seems like he'd be a good laugh. He collects supercars, and has a number of Ferraris and Lambos. He's fast too, topping the leaderboard when he was a Star in a Reasonably Priced car. Granted, he doesn't have any experience of hosting a TV show, but then neither did Hammond or May when they started.
Now, I don't know if Jay Leno and Jay Kay would have been a good pairing if they worked together, I'm not suggesting they should have, but individually they could have been interesting choices
I think your analysis is spot on Matt. I lost interest when Clarkson, Hammond and May left and just couldn't bond with later iterations of the show. The point about You Tube is well made as well.
I think your bang on Matt they were top gear and when they left the show died. It's like trying to recreate "only fools and horses" I just won't work .keep up the good work really enjoy the show especially the spin offs
Have you seen the pilot to the American remake of Only Fools? It's on YT somewhere... it's really bad. 😂
I agree with everything you said here.
To me, it seems that the BBC couldn’t believe that Clarkson, Hammond and May (and Wilman) were actually talented. The reboot shows that TG was a sum of the parts calculation, to bring in the audiences. I did like some of what happened after 2015 - but time for a good rest now.