Richard Porter (1)

I enjoyed the show, particularly the specials, and this book did reinforce the humor that was the show's hallmark until the end. Porter did a good job telling the story from the inside as opposed to commenting on what the rest of us were seeing and reading as an outsider would have done. But this was to have been a fun book to read and I couldn't put aside the Jeremy part, which distracted from the enjoyment.

Worth reading? I suppose that depends on what you thought of the show, both pre and post Jeremy's implosion. I'm trying to decide myself what the book's rating should be. Higher the more I think back to the specials, lower the more I think about Jeremy the person. I'll bet I'm not alone in that and wouldn't be surprised if that had a lot to do with BBC pulling the show's plug. Too much baggage associated with Jeremy.

Ok, the rating. Out of deference to Richard Porter and those who lost their jobs when the show was cancelled, a 5. When thinking of just Jeremy . . . let's just leave it at, much, much less.… (more)

Written by the script editor for the series - the good bits are its an easy read, is geuinely funny in places, and it is genuinely interesting reading how much went into the shows. The book started off very amusing but (like my experience with the tv series really) it got childish and a bit boorish in places; delighting in the infantile. My impression was that the show was often set up when they were making out stuff happened unexpectedly. Sometimes this was actually the case and other times not. Either way, the tv series lost appeal for me when they focused more on their "specials" - featuring a race against time or each other, or some other fake jeopardy. Apparently though the races were often just that - races. And any fill in shots from different angles and so on were recorded after the event, not during (which really would have made them fake). So he says, anyway.

The chapter on getting Schumacher to dress as The Stig prompted me to go and find it on YouTube. He describes MS behind the scenes as being expressionless while being briefed on what they'd like him to do and they wondered if he was ok with it all...but then came to the conclusion he was really just very focused and taking it all in, analysing exactly what was expected and the best way to do it.

In reality he probably thought he was "above all this childish crap and let's get it done and I can go".

The last chapter, giving his impressions of what went on when Clarkson got sacked and the show ended is odd, in a way - the book details what a great time everyone had, although they worked hard, and what good blokes the 3 presenters are...but the last chapter he sounds relieved it was all over and peeved at Clarkson for his half arsed apology to the staff after the event without going into why it was a relief the show was finishing. I guess when you might be after a job in the future you're not going to be too critical.

So a mildly diverting read - probably more so if you're a die hard fan, which I wasn't really - and genuinely funny in places. No real dirt dished, a few stories he has probably told at parties many times over, and (and this turned me off the book a bit) the delighting in the stupid, destructive and thoughtless. The only things that he isn't pleased about are the odd episodes where the ideas just didn't work as well as they hoped.… (more)

And on that Bombshell is a look back at the golden years of Top Gear from 2002 to the disastrous events of 2015 by the series script editor Richard Porter. As a big fan of the show I enjoyed the book immensely. As you might expect from a show writer, the book is just as witty and silly as the series was as it dives into the history of the show and how it became a global phenomenon. I loved hearing about the origin of the Stig and how the show managed to put stars in their reasonably priced car. It also answers the one question I always had about the series - yes the three presenters are basically the same in real life as you see them on tv. Overall it was a wonderful, nostalgic look back at Top Gear that made me want to go watch some reruns. This is definitely a must read for fans of the show.

I listened to the audio book narrated by Ben Elliot.… (more)