Top Gear fans, we have good news and bad news.
The bad news is, of course, that Top Gear as we know it is gone. Following a ‘fracas’ with a producer earlier this year, host Jeremy Clarkson was sacked from the program, and his loyal compatriots have thus far declined to sign new contracts.
And the good news? BBC2 controller Kim Shillinglaw recently told Radio Times that the three remaining Top Gear Series 22 episodes will air in late 2015, though she couldn’t confirm exactly when.
As many of your know, studio portions of the show are filmed relatively close to the episode’s air date, so segments like ‘Star in a Reasonably Priced Car’ and ‘The Cool Wall’ will not be featured. What we will eventually see, then, is footage of previously-filmed car challenges and track events.
The inevitable showdown between the McLaren P1, Porsche 918, and LaFerrari had not been finalized before the hullabaloo went down, so it appears we’ll be waiting a bit longer for that. Instead, challenges involving classic convertibles and second hand SUVs are rumored to be shown.
In other Top Gear news, Richard Hammond recently tweeted that he’s working on a new car-related film.
“Due to demand & continuing boredom, making another film: shorter and car-themed,” he wrote. “Coming soon to er, a computer or handheld device near you.”
In the meantime, ‘Hamster’ has been busy running a YouTube channel titled Richard Hammond is bored. There have only been two entires so far, including a 10-minute video of Hammond working around a farm, having a few pints, and frolicking about the countryside in his Land Rover. The second video is simply a cut-down version of the first, one Hammond describes as “Short, snappy and still satisfyingly boring.”
James May’s channel, JM’s unemployment tube, is similarly packed with idling amusement. Included are a few cooking lessons (mmm, shepherd’s pie), and a couple of hungover recorder solos.
