{"id":129869,"date":"2015-06-30T06:06:18","date_gmt":"2015-06-30T06:06:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=129869"},"modified":"2015-06-30T06:06:18","modified_gmt":"2015-06-30T06:06:18","slug":"top-gear-farewell-episode-leaves-critics-divided","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=129869","title":{"rendered":"Top Gear farewell episode leaves critics divided"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reviews for Jeremy Clarkson’s final Top Gear episode have offered different opinions on whether the programme was at its best or past its prime.<\/p>\n

The 75-minute special, compiled from footage shot before Clarkson was sacked for punching a producer in March, aired on BBC Two on Sunday evening.<\/p>\n

The Guardian described the programme as “clever, stupid telly”, going on to praise the presenters’ camaraderie.<\/p>\n

But the Daily Mail demurred, calling the show “as worn out as a bald tyre”.<\/p>\n

It was watched by an average audience of 5.3 million viewers, according to overnight figures – slightly better than the previous edition in March, which had 5.1 million viewers, but well below the series’ peak of 8.35 million, from December 2007.<\/p>\n

The farewell episode was anchored by Clarkson’s former co-hosts, Richard Hammond and James May, who ran through their links in an otherwise empty studio.<\/p>\n

They were accompanied by “the elephant in the room” – a large, plastic, replica elephant called Jeremy.<\/p>\n

The show contained no other allusions or references to Clarkson’s departure, or the circumstances surrounding it.<\/p>\n

Instead the episode stitched together two films: a pootle across Britain in three classic cars, and a series of challenges in second-hand SUVs [sports utility vehicles].<\/p>\n

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Clarkson, May and Hammond are expected to make a new motoring show for a rival broadcaster<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“Mercifully, neither film included any racial slurs for old times’ sake,” wrote Ellen E Jones in The Independent. “But even without them, it felt like the end of an era.”<\/p>\n

The “infectious chemistry” of the three presenters, said the Daily Telegraph’s critic, made the episode feel like “an intimate farewell gig by a much-loved band”.<\/p>\n

“There were tears of mirth, toilet humour and mild incontinence,” Michael Hogan continued, saying the show was “huge fun, if typically puerile.”<\/p>\n

“The ideas, the humour, the chutzpah… are hard to argue with,” wrote Sam Wollaston in The Guardian.<\/p>\n

“We can boo the puerility – and worse – of the presenters… but this Top Gear has often been imaginative, original, entertaining, amusing and artfully made television.”<\/p>\n

‘Zombie television’<\/p>\n

The Mail’s Christopher Stevens was less charitable. In a one-star review, he said the episode was “as painful as pulling teeth”.<\/p>\n

“There were no Stig jokes, no catchphrases, no terrible puns. This wasn’t a real Top Gear episode, just a hollowed-out shell… zombie television.<\/p>\n

“The million-plus fans who petitioned the BBC to recall Clarkson should be ashamed of themselves.”<\/p>\n

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May and Hammond presented their links in an otherwise empty studio<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“Top Gear’s finale was a stark reminder why the programme would never have worked with one member of the hilarious trio missing,” wrote Katie Earlam in The Sun.<\/p>\n

May and Hammond “seemed lost without Clarkson”, she went on, and their studio links “were simply sad”.<\/p>\n

Her comments were echoed by Nicola Methven in the Daily Mirror. “James and Richard… looked pretty choked at the end,” she observed.<\/p>\n

“The studio scenes were odd in the extreme, thanks to the lack of studio audience (and Hammond’s beard).”<\/p>\n

The two films, said Andrew Billen in The Times, reminded him “how consistently well-made these [filmed reports] were” but also offered evidence on “how fundamentally objectionable and ultimately unsustainable the partnership’s act was”.<\/p>\n

“Clarkson’s Top Gear was always at its heart about big little boys destroying things,” he continued. “Fittingly, in the end the most puerile man on TV destroyed his own programme.”<\/p>\n

Twitter reaction<\/p>\n

Fans also had their say on Twitter, with many mourning the end of the show’s current incarnation.<\/p>\n

“I’m really not crying, I’ve just got Top Gear in my eye,” wrote one. “My Sunday evening will never be the same,” added another.<\/p>\n

Series director Phil Churchward was also watching at home. “Even though I was lucky enough to film it live I still found myself laughing out loud at the TV again tonight,” he wrote. “Super Top Gear.”<\/p>\n

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Several viewers criticised the BBC for dropping Clarkson.<\/p>\n

“I’m imagining a highly paid BBC boss, in a darkened room, rocking back [and] forth, muttering ‘what have we done’,” wrote Gail Macgregor.<\/p>\n

“Feeling terribly saddened for the end of an era and maddened by the pomposity of the BBC,” added columnist and professional opinion-haver Katie Hopkins.<\/p>\n

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But not everyone held the BBC accountable.<\/p>\n

“Don’t blame the BBC for what’s happening to Top Gear, blame your fave presenter for punching a colleague,” said Jess.<\/p>\n

“That was a perfect last #TopGear,” said BT Sport presenter Jake Humphrey. “Hands up who else is now even more annoyed with @JeremyClarkson.”<\/p>\n

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Clarkson himself tweeted a mea culpa as the show ended.<\/p>\n

“Many many thanks for all your support and encouragement over the years. So sad and sorry it’s ended like this.”<\/p>\n

“Can’t believe that one life has room to accommodate the first and the last steps of that incredible adventure,” added Hammond. “Thanks for your company.”<\/p>\n

James May thanked fans “for all your kind comments,” adding that he expected more abuse about his colourful jacket.<\/p>\n

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Sunday’s episode can be viewed on the BBC iPlayer until 27 July.<\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n

Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reviews for Jeremy Clarkson’s final Top Gear episode have offered different opinions on whether the programme was at its best or past its prime. The 75-minute special, compiled from footage shot before Clarkson was sacked for punching a producer in March, aired on BBC Two on Sunday evening. The Guardian described the programme as “clever, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":126290,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-129869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-togbe-afede"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=129869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129869\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/126290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=129869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=129869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=129869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}