Here's the bad news: Top Gear is broken. Given the powerhouse TV series Top Gear once was, I would have called in trouble in paradise. But it hasn't been paradise ever since Jeremy Clarkson left the program with James May and Richard Hammond in tow. Now, The Telegraph reported last week that episode 4 of this new season of Top Gear marked the lowest rating for the series since June 2003. But here's the good news: we know why the new Top Gear isn't working.
Since the beginning of the new season, both the critics and show watchers alike agree that Chris Evans' shouty presenting style is irritating and are unimpressed with his patronizing tone towards the audience. In response to the feedback, a report from BBC last week revealed that Chris Evans will be given a smaller role in future Top Gear episodes. However, it looks like that won't be enough to fix the show – co-host Matt LeBlanc told the Top Gear bosses that he will end his contract early and walk away from the show if Evans does not go first. Wow.
"The big question now is who goes and who stays," a source on the Top Gear production team told The Sun. "The team does not gel at all, and the atmosphere between the presenters is decidedly frosty. It’s very much a picture of him – Chris – and them.
“Matt has already indicated that he won’t continue on any further series if Chris remains a part of it. And he is far from the only one who isn’t happy.
“Chris is not encouraging when any of the others are doing their links. On one occasion this month he even pretended to bump his head against a wall in frustration when Eddie Jordan kept fluffing his lines.
“He also seems to be jealous of the attention and praise which has been heaped on Chris Harris and Rory Reid in particular since the show began.
“You would have thought that with his experience, he would help out those new to studio recording. But he doesn’t encourage them in any way. He just isn’t interested. He doesn’t even hang out with the others back stage and firmly keeps his distance from all of them at the aerodrome.”
The Top Gear atmosphere is tense right now, but according to the viewpoints from the ratings, the critics and even the members of the Top Gear team, Chris Evans is not an asset to the show. Time will tell what the execs at BBC will ultimately decide, but it will be a surprise if Chris Evans does not get dropped.
