Top Cock

There's a clip on You Tube of a press conference for the Top Gear Live show that is touring Australia the moment, starring Clarkson, Hammond and that guy from Top Gear Australia, Steve Pizzati (On another note thank god they god rid of Charlie Cox from TGA to be replaced by James Morrison next season. Hopefully that will make the show more palatable).

You can find the clip here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzAExC8iEFs

One may assume from Top Gear, as I did, that the amusing rapport of Clarkson, Hammond and May is heavily scripted and plays towards their established personalities, but if their banter here is anything to go by, maybe the show is more improvised that I previously thought. What the video reveals mostly though, is that Jeremy Clarkson is an utter cock. It's one thing to call Gordon Brown a "one-eyed Scottish idiot" and insult Australians, that's just expected, but when asked an honest question by a journalist regarding the future of the automotive industry, Clarkson blankly replied that "we don't care...as long as we have something to slide around in". I won't presume he is speaking for Hammond or May, two people who still retain some sort of integrity, but such apparent disregard for the industry upon which he has built his career just seems strange. Is Clarkson really that far removed from reality?

On the show you laugh at Clarkson's assertions that everyone should be driving Range Rovers to heat up the planet, and that the "inconvenient truth" is that global warming is a trick invented by environmentalists. It's funny, politically incorrect and entertaining. I mean, who really takes what Clarkson says seriously? A lot of people, at least publicly seem to, with the seemingly endless reactions against his frequently ridiculous rants and outbursts.

I suppose I had thought that underneath all the show and juvenile games, Clarkson might actually have something worthwhile to say, mainly about the joy of technology, engineering and progress, and that he was aware that most of his act is based upon insulting and upsetting people, especially tree-huggers and the "apes" in the Top Gear audience. Perhaps he was tired or jet-lagged in this clip, but in real life he seems much like he is on the show - irreverent, juvenile and outspoken, but far less funny, more bitter and without a hint of integrity.

Doesn't mean I'm going to stop watching the show though. Speaking of which...when's it back?