Clarkson

[bunn]

I have to admit, I'd assumed that Jeremy Clarkson had long ago jumped his own personal shark, and had been playing an Ali G -style character based on himself on Top Gear for many years.   I'm rather saddened that recent events suggest that he was actually taking himself seriously.

Although I've not signed it myself*, I am amused by the fact that the petition to bring back Clarkson was set up on change.org.  Judging by the emails I get from change.org, they take themselves rather seriously, and their userbase profile has probably just changed in ways they were really not expecting...

Also, The Stig delivering the petition to the BBC  in a tank (or is it a self-propelled gun as I saw some gun nerd complaining somewhere?) was an inspired piece of theatre that I can only appreciate.

* because, amusing though Clarkson and petition both are, when it comes down to it, if he really thumped someone vastly poorer and less influential than himself, or even threatened to do so, that's pretty abysmal behaviour and I'm not sure an online petition to allow him 'freedom to fracas' is in any way an appropriate response. 

Comments

[the-marquis.livejournal.com]

I'm only dimly aware of this having seen the hoopla on the internet about it. From what I have read in news media the problem seems to be to do with filiming on location, the presenters going to the pub, then travelling to a hotel to film in another location (someone else driving), and the crew having gone to bed before they got there and the hotel saying no hot food after ...pm. In which case the bloke who stayed up to wait for them should not be held responsible for them getting food when they could have done that before the pub, in the pub, or before travelling.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I don't think it really matters whether he fell down on the job or not. Even if he was specifically tasked with ensuring that there was steak and chips and he blew off the task, attacking him physically was clearly very wrong.

However, I think the situation is complicated by the fact that Top Gear is very much a Clarkson vehicle, so there is a questionmark over whether the show would survive without him. So it's *not* really like sacking another abusive employee.

If the show folds, presumably the entire team are out of a job, and I can see that even if the guy who was (allegedly) assaulted did everything right, and Clarkson did everything wrong he might prefer an apology and a job to revenge and no job.

I assume the enquiry will consider that, or at least I hope it will!