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Clarkson, Hammond & May Live... for legal reasons
18 Jun 2015
As a fan of Top Gear and a 'soutie', as my mates call me, I was looking forward to seeing my favourite three British petrolheads cause a bit of mayhem, accidentally set things on fire and exchange a bit of witty banter at Clarkson, Hammond and May Live. That was only partially the case ...
While the show was, in parts, hair raising, loud, fast and largely entertaining, it was all a bit scripted for my liking. I understand that, logistically, a live show needs rehearsal, but it should be, well, live! Two gibbons and an orangutan could have pulled this off (some may argue that they did).
In fact, the only genuine off-the-cuff moment was when Clarkson managed to hit an audience member with a paintball gun. He did apologise and I'm pretty sure it didn't happen over a steak.
Their short film, or attempt at pretending they've never been on any motoring show before 'for legal reasons' as Jeremy put it, was amusing, but I'd rather have substituted it for more stunts. I enjoyed their digs at the legal team and substituted character references, such as 'The Stog' or 'The Ben Collins' (as was revealed in 2011). It was, however, not strong enough to have taken up 10 minutes of live show time.
Don't get me wrong, though, I was very entertained. The stunt drivers were incredibly exciting, the motorbike limbo was a particular highlight for me. The supercars were droolworthy and the seemingly now traditional chariot race and football match were hilarious. It just lacked the spontaneity I expected from seeing these three together for possibly the last time.
Ken Block proved to be a worthwhile addition to the team. If you haven't seen his skills you need to look him up. His name is synonymous with the smell of burning rubber and he has achieved a godlike status with my car-enthusiast husband. His car is the world's first performance all-wheel-drive 1965 Ford Mustang and it is, well, impressive: 845 horsepower, 630kW V8, six-speed manual transmission. These words mean little to me but I believe it's a beast of beauty. Plus he did score a winning goal for SA in car footie.
In closing, car enthusiasts had a ball, Top Gear fans may have left the arena mumbling about it not being the best show (in the world) and, finally, man, was the line for the mens' bathroom long!
