Some of the video clips were in the can ages ago but the show is recorded earlier in the week of transmission, otherwise how would they get the topical news section in if it were pre-recorded weeks in advance?
I don't go along with the train of arguement that TG's a load of crap just because it's not the televisual equivalent of Autocar, (the controls fall easily to hand etc.) It's target audience love it, eg. people like me. It's eclectically-minded, iconoclastic and irreverent. That it is often very funny is a bonus, but it's usually just damn good sunday evening entertainment based around a petrolhead theme. OK the caravan thing was a bit weak, but that's no reason to fire off ill-thought-through emails saying how crap it all is. The team set a very high standard so occsaionally things will fail. I mean, what would you film instead? Yet another back to back test on the Vectra diesel? The build-a-Caterham thing last night was terrific IMO, boy did they not get shirty with each other.
To correct a terminalogical inexactitude, we have had not had three threads on how crap it is. We have, however, had three threads based on whether people like it or not, with supporters and detractors on both sides making some valid points. If you don't like it, fine, switch the fu-cker over and watch Big Brother on the other side. The statement about "we who pay the wages" is absolutely nonsensical. TG's made by an independent production company to a very tight BBC remit and which it is contractually bound to meet. It is the most watched prog on BBC2 so I guess they've got to be doing something that appeals to somebody somewhere. And if acting the Mr Angry of Tunbridge Wells applied to half the crap on the BBC we'd spend all day complaining.
Finally, no one will ever convince me that the extremely dull Pulling Power or the low budget wannabe Fifth Gear (they can't even come up with an original name!) are better options. Fifth Gear is a blatant copy of the old TG which ironically was axed by the BBC due to quickly shrinking audiences. Sure VBH is hot to trot and she's a pretty good TV girl too. But I wouldn't swap her for any of the three TG presenters. If you want to leer over her in some sort of grubby adolescent fantasy then there's plenty of pics of her on the internet, I mean, that's what it's there for.
