to think BBC (Top Gear) should not promote bad driving

[EdwardTaylor]

Latest programme (broadcast Sun.3rd Feb. Repeat Sat.9th Feb) includes the following:
(Last feature) car race on public roads.
Richard Hammond spinning the wheels of his car on the hotel forecourt.
James May reading a map as he drives along.
Jeremy Clarkson putting his car into a slide at one junction.

All this on public roads. It looks dangerous. Any driver should be prosecuted for dangerous driving for doing any of the above. Isn't it wrong for the BBC to promote it as "harmless fun"? Aren't they promoting bad attitudes to driving and safety.

[11Plustrauma]

Shag James May just once for his LARGE toolbox, Marry The Hamster and tie him to the bed, and push Clarkson off a VERY HIGH cliff.

[JenaiMorris]

Sparkling, ds and I took my car down to Beaulieu once to an event, where we got to park in a special area because my car is special proud

[countrykitten]

Love love love TG! The muppets who hate it can fuck off and watch Eastenders or some other mindless shit (btw, that's not real either ....). JC is a funny, clever bloke and his books are hilarious as is his column in the Times.

Btw Hamster lovers...he lives very near to me....

[DizzyZebra]

TBH Anyone who copies that sort of driving 'because they saw it on the telly' clearly has the mental age of a toddler and shouldn't be driving in the first place?

There are lots of irresponsible TV programmes.

[11Plustrauma]

[VivaLeBeaver]

Shag clarkson.
Marry may
Push hamster off a cliff

[VivaLeBeaver]

Someone should tweet them a link to this thread!

[11Plustrauma]

Come over here into my web Richard mwah mwah mwah

[Sparklingbrook]

OOh Jenai get you and your 'special area'.

[LtEveDallas]

Irritatingly, since DH started buying the Sunday Express I've had to take off my Richard Hammond is shaggable badge as his wife writes a column that is actually really very good. I like her dammit, so now I can't shag her husband

I loved the Vietnam challenge and the one where they drove the worlds most dangerous road? I had to watch that from behind a cushion.

[EdwardTaylor]

Firstly, "entertainment" programmes can still be factual.
Top Gear was always a "documentary programme. The car reviews have loads of detail on fittings, etc. There is a "news" section. Presumably there are "facts" in there.
Not every viewer is a sophisticated as all MN posters.
Even if it is faked - that's not really the point. It's presented as a documentary prog. and the presenters are SEEN to do bad things. (Would it be okay to show Ckarkson beating his wife - even if it was faked and staged "humorously" ? )

Are we meant to believe they close the roads every time someone squeals their tyres pulling away at a roundabout? - So all the cars we can see in the background are hired and driven by "extras" employed for the purpose? I don't think so. That would be a ridiculous expense and inconvenience for locals for very little "entertainment" value !

[countrykitten]

FFS - TG now being compared to wife beating!! ET you are a muppet of the first order...and as for MN posters being sophisticated viewers, er you've proved that to be nonsense with your ridiculous post!

[countrykitten]

And it is quite patently NOT marketed as a documentary.

[JenaiMorris]

Top Gear was more of a consumer show about 15 years ago, much like 5th Gear is now, although it was often pretty silly back then, too.

It has never been a documentary.

Oh and I fail to see the similarity between ostentatious wheel spinning and domestic abuse

[Hulababy]

Meh! We watch it here as a family. It's entertainment not a serious road safety documentary.

[Hulababy]

I don't think Top Gear has ever been described as a documentary. It's always just been light entertainment, in the past it has a few mor eserious bits, but mostly it's just fun.

[ComposHat]

Well if we keep our fingers crossed one of those wankstains will over estimate their driving ability andin the course of one of their reckless manouevers impail themselves on a lampost and their Ferrari SmallDick GTi or whatever it is they are driving bursts into flames.

It's just a joke, like the ones they do on Top Gear. (c)

(c) Stewart lee

[JenaiMorris]

Oohh I do love Stewart Lee

And Ferraris.

Once again I'm confused!

[edam]

Edward, I really think you need to look up the definition of 'documentary' because Top Gear clearly is not and never has pretended to be one. Perhaps you mean 'factual'?

It's entertainment, it's silly, incredibly amusing and daft. I loved the episode where they got the then roads minister on and he had the max. no. of points on his licence (is it 9) before you get a ban, while Clarkson had none?

[ComposHat]

If it were up to me I'd make the next show the last episode, put Hammond & Clarkson in a caravan, set light to it and fire it from a trebuchet into the North Sea

Agreed and congratulations on the use of trebuchet, (one of my favourite words!)

[TheSkiingGardener]

I love Top Gear. Not sure I would do any of them though, but they would be fun to keep as pets.

It's a light entertainment show based around cars and for me it is highly entertaining. TV has some shocking things on, especially in soaps, that concern me. The antics in Top Gear are not in that category.

[AngelAtTheTopOfTheTree]

I actually did once pull into the school car park (which was empty) and do a handbrake turn. The caretaker congratulated me blush lol lol lol!!!!!!

[MrsReiver]

It's presented as a documentary prog

Are we watching the same thing? By no stretch of the imagination is it presented as a documentary.

My 8 year old DS knows, without being told, that the stunts are faked - example, watching James May "crash" a caravan air ship, he turns to me and says "I wonder how they got them (air traffic control) to agree to do that Mum?" How sophisticated does that make him?

[mrsjay]

top gear isn't really a serious car and driving show it is 3 blokes being blokey with cars Im sure nobody copies what they see on Top gear my dh and dd1 love Top gear and laugh at it it is an entertainment programme imo