..Which curiously makes that 6 shows made and broadcast in this run - the normal length of a series over the past couple of years.
hmmm...
The strange thing is, in this series the show was showing signs of getting it's mojo back.
At times, returned to almost being a car review programme.
Yes, the edition set around Car-Ambulance tasks was full of set piece scripted gags and stunts, but, was a very well crafted and filmed piece of television entertainment - as was the initially 'dry' film about the Peugeot cars before how they turned to producing rubbish vehicles with some wonderfully laugh out loud deliberately bad driving.
The Clarkson you see on screen, is basically a character he has cultivated since Top Gear came back. it's no accident that for local versions of the show, you can see the casting works along the UK show lines. Most local versions have a Clarkson wise old head type presenter with a loose mouth.
If the BBC sack Clarkson - ITV and Channel 4 will be falling over themselves to sign him up for an identikit show. The BBC may have the claim over the Top Gear name (so it might end up being called First Gear) but that won't bother the new channel that gets the show. They'll take the heat over the hosts occasional indiscretions because of the overseas sales.
I've had a feeling that this was perhaps going to be the last series. Jeremy made comments before the series began saying that they didn't even know if they would get a another series and that this series was behind (before it had even started) sounded like a lack of enthusiasm and not the usual publicity/spin.
It's the sad thing about the media today - one person makes a silly mistake once and the media are out at every opportunity to get them whenever they make a mistake in the future. It's disgraceful behaviour, but heck what do you expect from the British press.
So doing no favours to either. Would make much more sense to stick a Top Gear repeat in, or indeed just proceed without Clarkson. By not going ahead with the show they're suspending the entire staff, not just the alleged offender.