Top Gear

End of the week before last, Evans was in Pasadena for the winter Television Critics Association press tour promoting TG. Variety said his long talk on his career and TG was occasionally "self-deprecating" but this more detailed review has a different take on it:

http://deadline.com/2016/01/top-gear-hos...201678718/

Some revealing snippets in there I think, particularly that he wants to make the car "definitely the star" again, whilst at the same time stating that TG is the "biggest talk show of all time".

He would say that of course as it's the guy's only on-camera forte (he reportedly wants more A-listers on the show: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sho...ers.html). These two priorities seem a little at odds to me as personally, as I always found the Clarkson love-in with the celeb of the week the weakest part of the recent TG's. (How many bloody "low-risk" - read low viewer interest - interview show's do we need for a celeb to plug their latest book/movie/cd?!) I think it would be a mistake to let that slot expand on the Evans TG.

For the mo, TG is still in California with Evans having a spot of bother on the track:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sho...-sick.html

One of the many wrong signs in that last series was the seeming desperation of the choice of guests: Ed Sheeran et al. I daresay Chris Evans would like more "a-list" guests to feed into the circular myth of his star attraction a la his radio shows & the brief TFI revival.

An apparent thorn in the side of the new TG has gone from the BBC:

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entert...22241.html

The article is a bit of journalistic mischief-making though, as anyone who cares to read around the matter will see, her departure had absolutely nothing to do with TG. She left because she failed to get the new controller of BBC TV job.

Still, Evans might well get more things his way from now on.

I notice May's back on BBC2 with a new series of his own next week.

The Guardian tries to redress the poor balance they think the new series in receiving in it's press coverage.

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/ja...hris-evans

New info revealed:
Location filming is now almost complete.
The audience sections will not be live.
There will be some "twists" to the previous format. The Star in a Reasonably Priced Car segment will have, "potentially... some changes to make it Evans’s own".
Evans will be credited for his role in redefining the new format with a job title with the word “creative” in it. (This will no doubt ensure his remuneration includes residuals for such every time the show is broadcast around the world.)

New TG's troubles as publicity stunt anyone?

http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/james...ly-7248052

James looks to have let himself go there

Just anounced that Matt la Blanc from Friends is going to be one of the presenters

WTF!!!! Wasn't expecting this news just announced by bbc

https://twitter.com/bbc_topgear/status/6...8108509184

Interesting choice

Needed a name that was familar in the US which is one of the biggest markets it was sold

When yanks think of chris evans they think actor who plays captain america can see it wow top gear being presented by captain america and then switching off when its some ginger twat with an english accent