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AIBU?

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Original poster

Top Gear Filming near Cenotaph?

84 replies

HoneyDragon · 14/03/2016 13:17

Any one else a bit ?

Disrespecting the Cenotaph bad obviously but I can't see how they were?

They were granted the filming and road closures, they must have had to explain what they were intending to do for it to be filmed.

Also (and I'm not not sure if it is true as I'm not from the capital) I was informed once by a chap that it's a popular area for filming as its recognisable, and users of the route are used to closures?

Is it just the papers looking for fodder/ a Top Gear publicity stunt or do I need a slap on the wrist too?

OP posts:

logfiresspit · 14/03/2016 13:47

no of course 1 car will make no difference - but the timing was terrible, and it's the kind of thing that should be automatically cancelled if pollution hits the exceptionally high levels it did on Fri/Saturday.

Stillunexpected · 14/03/2016 13:48

The pictures of them doing donuts outside St Paul's when a poor bride was making her way down the steps made me eye roll. Anything for a headline. - I am convinced that was a set-up. In some of the photos you can see that the bride's dress doesn't even fit very well, her hair is hanging loose and her flowers appear to be not very good fakes. You also need to have an OBE or one of a few other awards, or be the child of a holder of one of those orders, to even get married at St Paul's. Did anyone else notice that there didn't seem to be any guests at the wedding, apart from a random group of about 6, the rest of the people on the steps are bemused tourists?

OurBlanche · 14/03/2016 13:50

Yup, staged wedding. The 'groom' was a member of the production crew.

Personally I don't think they should have apologised for it. It's a telly programme. One of many that closes roads in cities all over theplace - that's why the London borousgh each have a filming dept. specifically to arrange road closures etc.

Lots of fuss over nothing... and if they aren't going to show it, more fool them!

RudeElf · 14/03/2016 13:53

PR stunt.

HerBigChance · 14/03/2016 13:56

I think the Cenotaph should be respected, as PP have said. But as an aside, I am sick to fucking death of hearing about this programme everywhere. There always seems to be some story attached to it and I've stopped listening to Chris Evans in the morning because he was always going on about it. His radio show has been turned into a tedious little chat show in the mornings now.

MrsHathaway · 14/03/2016 13:58

I didn't find it offensive but I think it's a bit insensitive.

The Cenotaph is an important symbol to many people. It sounds like they were "collecting" London landmarks, and they just didn't need to showboat in front of a war memorial.

They wouldn't have done the same through a graveyard. They wouldn't have done the same stunt in a hearse.

They can fuck off, as far as I'm concerned. I'm not going to watch the programme, and I think less of its presenters for going along with this item.

ElementaryMyDear · 14/03/2016 14:01

personally I think it was completely disgraceful - not for any 'respect' reasons, but because London was blanketed in health-damaging smog, and it was entirely inappropriate for them to be playing with stinking cars (and closing roads, increasing congestion/pollution) while the rest of us cough.

No, it wasn't "blanketed in health-damaging smog." There was a mist in the morning which cleared pretty quickly. Given that they closed the roads for filming purposes, the amount of pollution caused by that car would have been a fraction of the pollution that is normally caused by the hundreds of cars driving along there every day.

feellikeahugefailure · 14/03/2016 15:08

Seeing the photos I think its offensive. It was doing high speed stunts meters away from these memorials and by an American.

ExitPursuedByABear · 14/03/2016 15:12

I think doing handbrake turns round the cenotaph is a teeny bit disrespectful.

Stillunexpected · 14/03/2016 15:16

I think these desperate publicity stunts are further proof that this show has passed its sell-by date and the BBC are bricking it that the new series will be a disaster (personally I think it should have been cancelled years ago).

Purplepicnic · 14/03/2016 16:08

The Cenotaph is surrounded by buses, lorries, cars, motorbikes, cyclists every day, horns tooting, engines revving, taxi drivers swearing...

exLtEveDallas · 14/03/2016 16:14

The Cenotaph is a headstone for those without headstones.

Yes. I think it was disrespectful.

originalmavis · 14/03/2016 16:15

I suspect this show is going to crash and burn. They are just trying too hard.

iseenodust · 14/03/2016 16:17

Definitely PR thing. Chris Evans has apologised and said it won't be shown but isn't it his production company so he would have known in advance what the plan was ?

RortyCrankle · 14/03/2016 16:44

The BBC are so desperate for the new TG to be a success (which it won't) there are daily made up stories, like the fake wedding. They are wasting their time.

TheFairyCaravan · 14/03/2016 16:48

I think it was disrespectful. I can't understand why anyone thought it was a good idea in the first place.

MalmseyWhine · 14/03/2016 17:05

It wasn't by the Cenotaph though, was it? It was by the Women of WW2 monument which recognises the work that women undertook rather than being a memorial to the war dead.

I agree that they were 'collecting' landmarks and this one was Downing Street. I see GO took the opportunity to have a dig at the BBC for the noise.

MalmseyWhine · 14/03/2016 17:06

I meant the wheel spin things were not next to the Cenotaph.

MrsHathaway · 14/03/2016 18:34

If it's willy waggling in front of a monument to women's war efforts then I'm massively unimpressed. TG had been a misogynist stronghold for some time but ffs.

ElementaryMyDear · 14/03/2016 18:39

It was doing high speed stunts meters away from these memorials

Apparently it was around 40 metres away. If you're going to object to that you should really object to everyone driving past it every day. You can bet that they're listening to the radio or their music, singing along, picking their noses, talking to their companions, eating sweets, thinking about work or what's for supper, and generally doing anything but respecting the fallen.

ExitPursuedByABear · 14/03/2016 19:17

So why choose that l location then? They chose it because it is an important place.

The photo I saw was right next to the cenotaph.

No one objects to people going about their daily lives. But closing the road means they were using the memorial for their own purposes.

MrsHathaway · 14/03/2016 19:27

Exactly what Exit said.

Since they blocked it off, they were there deliberately, and not because it was the easiest route from A to B (as it would be for the commuters). They were deliberately flouting the usual rules of that road by doing donuts or whatever, and not just driving along.

Nobody would have objected to their driving a new car along the road past Horse Guards and the Cenotaph to Parliament Square. It's the childish showing off - what I called willy waggling earlier - that is inappropriate in a memorial location.

Original poster

HoneyDragon · 14/03/2016 19:34

But this morning the pictures I saw of the cars doing stuff didn't show the memorials.

This afternoon I saw one of them all labelled .... I assume the purpose was for St Psuls and the fake wedding, as a landmark?

OP posts:

ElementaryMyDear · 14/03/2016 21:02

Well, obviously they were there deliberately. They don't just drive anywhere that takes their fancy and hope the cameras, director, sound operatives, make-up people, food van etc etc can all keep up. They blocked the road off because that's the norm when filming unless they're deliberately filming in traffic. And they probably chose the Mall because it's a straight stretch of road. I heard the cameras were pointing away from the Cenotaph.

lamiashiro · 14/03/2016 21:05

I can't really see the problem, tbh. The faux outrage just comes across as yet another attempt to whine about TG.

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