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Jeremy Clarkson suspended by BBC


CumbrianRam

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Of course they could but don't dress it up as some kind of loyalty thing to Clarkson, he is the meal ticket, and they know it.

I wonder if Chris Evans is being lined up for the BBC's motoring programme now, whatever they call it, I don't know if they'll keep the Top Gear title.

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Of course they could but don't dress it up as some kind of loyalty thing to Clarkson, he is the meal ticket, and they know it.

I wonder if Chris Evans is being lined up for the BBC's motoring programme now, whatever they call it, I don't know if they'll keep the Top Gear title.

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something not quite right about this, and in general something not quite right about the BBC.

They are acting as if physical violence is unacceptable and there's never a time to use your fists, but we all know there are occasions when a fist is needed.

So in the eyes of the BBC, when is it acceptable? when is it not? either way it is hypocrisy. Not just from the BBC but from any viewer who was in uproar demanding Clarkson be sacked.

I've been trying to find the clip, but I cannot find it, but I wonder how many million Only Fools and Horses viewers laughed or clapped when (every Christmas) they show the episode where Cassandra has a miscarriage, and then Del punches the drunk loud bloke in the hospital reception. Smacks of hypocrisy if you allow the pun, make-believe or otherwise.

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​The concept of 'new' Top Gear (2002), the style of it, the form of humour and the Stig were inventions of Jeremy Clarkson and Andy Wilman if my memory serves me right. Clarkson is central to the success that the show has had for these past 13 years, and has been loyal to the BBC for some 25 odd years if I remember right, despite having been rumoured to have been offered very good deals elsewhere on a number of occasions. 

That all doesn't excuse what Clarkson did, and he's gotten exactly what he deserved. Even getting beyond "the Chemistry" that people will now being talking about with Clarkson, Hammond and May, the key is that Clarkson and Wilman are the ones that created the modern Top Gear concept. They are the ones that turned it from what it was prior to 2002, to the global brand, money printing machine it's become for the BBC. Not to undercut their value to the series, but Top Gear could have survived losing Hammond or May, potentially even both, but losing Clarkson in this manner, with him going in a flash of utter foolishness, rather than moving behind the scenes one day, means that they've not just lost a presented, but a key to how the concept worked. 

For those reasons the decision the BBC made was all the braver. They have shown that no individual is bigger than the BBC, and that is certainly worth something. No one, and I mean no one should be able to get away with physical violence against a colleague. The sad question now though is if that moment of stupidity will cost a lot more people their jobs as well. Hopefully the BBC find a way to save Top Gear, but I'd think they'd need to rethink the concept entirely. The worry is that they'll try and plow on with it in it's current form, when even with Clarkson and co. many felt it was becoming a bit tired in any case. The saddest way for the show to go would be slowly and horribly pretending to be what it was. 

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Rossy was kicked to touch by the BBC and everyone said that no one could replace him as the king of the chatshow on the BBC, shortly afterwards Graham Norton came along.  Stars are asking to be on that show.

I like Clarkson in his Top Gear incarnation, however punching a fellow employee should be treated as an act of gross miss conduct as should the 30 min triade of vile laungage that preceeded the punch.  If h had just ran his mouth off then maybe an apology could have cooled it down in the morning.

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something not quite right about this, and in general something not quite right about the BBC.

They are acting as if physical violence is unacceptable and there's never a time to use your fists, but we all know there are occasions when a fist is needed.

So in the eyes of the BBC, when is it acceptable? when is it not? either way it is hypocrisy. Not just from the BBC but from any viewer who was in uproar demanding Clarkson be sacked.

I've been trying to find the clip, but I cannot find it, but I wonder how many million Only Fools and Horses viewers laughed or clapped when (every Christmas) they show the episode where Cassandra has a miscarriage, and then Del punches the drunk loud bloke in the hospital reception. Smacks of hypocrisy if you allow the pun, make-believe or otherwise.

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​When is it acceptable... I'd argue that physical violence should only be used in situations of self defence, and I wouldn't call a strop over dinner arrangements self defence. I particularly wouldn't argue that punching a colleague, continuing to verbally abuse them, including threatening their job, still over those food arrangements, could ever be justified as acceptable. 

I don't know, maybe I'm of a different generation. But I don't see physical violence as something acceptable in pretty much any context. Yes, Clarkson may have had tough times recently, maybe he was burned out, maybe he had a few too many to drink, holding up the helicopter, who knows. The point is though that from all reports he did physically harm a coworker in the process of verbally abusing them over dinner. It's almost certainly something that has build up over time, but that doesn't change the fact that this has come from a grown man.

Was sacking the only option? He was loyal to the BBC. He was a star for them. There might be an argument for them trying another option, some kind of mandated classes and/or treatment? Maybe a whopping fine or pay cut? At the end of the day though, what do you do when he went as far as to physically attack a coworker while threatening his job. What kind of message would it send to keep him on? What makes it harder for them is that he was given a public final warning prior to this, rightly or wrongly. 

At the end of the day, Clarkson made his bed on this one. I honestly doubt he'll struggling finding work if he does want it though. 

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