# New series of Top Gear, that's who's leaving
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-series-of-top-gear-thats-whos-leaving/453787
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [June 22, 2008, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-series-of-top-gear-thats-whos-leaving/453787 "2008-06-22T14:42:31Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)
#### Post date: [June 22, 2008, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-series-of-top-gear-thats-whos-leaving/453787/1 "2008-06-22T14:42:31Z")
Do we need a spoiler for this? Probably.
It’s James according to the [page for the new series](http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/show/nextepisode.shtml).
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### Author:  [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)
#### Post date: [June 22, 2008, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-series-of-top-gear-thats-whos-leaving/453787/2 "2008-06-22T14:48:57Z")
Well, shit.
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### Author:  [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)
#### Post date: [June 22, 2008, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-series-of-top-gear-thats-whos-leaving/453787/3 "2008-06-22T14:52:18Z")
Pfft, the spoiler doesn’t stop the preview from spoiling what you’ve written :rolleyes:
I’d have preferred to see the Hamster go, you can replace that sort of presenting, old fart James is too much like an institution. I guess he’s had enough stuff of his own to get on with since he started on Top Gear.
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### Author:  [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)
#### Post date: [June 22, 2008, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-series-of-top-gear-thats-whos-leaving/453787/4 "2008-06-22T19:03:41Z")
At least that German lady Sabine whatshername is making an appearance again.
[Sabine Schmitz](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabine_Schmitz).
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### Author:  [@The\_Shroud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Shroud)
#### Post date: [June 22, 2008, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-series-of-top-gear-thats-whos-leaving/453787/5 "2008-06-22T19:23:40Z")
I went over to the [finalgear.com](http://finalgear.com) forums, and expected them to be freaking out about this, but it seems that the episode description was just a little ambiguous.
[http://forums.finalgear.com/top-gear-pre-episode-discussions/11x01-june-22nd-2008-a-27914/](http://forums.finalgear.com/top-gear-pre-episode-discussions/11x01-june-22nd-2008-a-27914/)
Nobody’s leaving, but a stunt driver is being introduced. (Could still be wrong, but we’ll know soon, right?)
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### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [June 22, 2008, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-series-of-top-gear-thats-whos-leaving/453787/6 "2008-06-22T20:04:59Z")
If they are introducing a stunt driver, is that perhaps because of Richard Hammond’s accident? Maybe the idea is that a professional should be the one to do the really insane stuff like that. And I hope they do like they did for Torchwood and broadcast the show in the US only shortly after the UK premiere, rather than making us wait months.
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### Author:  [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)
#### Post date: [June 22, 2008, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-series-of-top-gear-thats-whos-leaving/453787/7 "2008-06-22T20:07:56Z")
[QUOTE=Dewey Finn]
…rather than making us wait months.
[/QUOTE]
Thanks to the fine work done by the people at FinalGear, I’ll be watching this episode tonight.
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### Author:  [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)
#### Post date: [June 22, 2008, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-series-of-top-gear-thats-whos-leaving/453787/8 "2008-06-22T20:29:08Z")
[QUOTE=Dewey Finn]
If they are introducing a stunt driver, is that perhaps because of Richard Hammond’s accident? Maybe the idea is that a professional should be the one to do the really insane stuff like that. And I hope they do like they did for Torchwood and broadcast the show in the US only shortly after the UK premiere, rather than making us wait months.
[/QUOTE]
It looks like they’re setting up a theme, of setting new world records which didn’t actually exist before. Tonight saw him set one for jumping over cars while driving backwards. If so, I presume it’s an elaboration on the rather uneventful setting of the first-ever indoor speed record for a car some time ago, which they did it in an F1 car, but it couldn’t grip the floor properly.
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### Author:  [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)
#### Post date: [June 22, 2008, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-series-of-top-gear-thats-whos-leaving/453787/9 "2008-06-22T20:52:53Z")
[QUOTE=The Shroud]
I went over to the [finalgear.com](http://finalgear.com) forums, and expected them to be freaking out about this, but it seems that the episode description was just a little ambiguous
[/QUOTE]
I only caught a little (I’ve still to watch the rest of the show on tape) but I got that vibe when they introduced him. The lack of furore anywhere else should have clued me in.
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### Author:  [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)
#### Post date: [June 22, 2008, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-series-of-top-gear-thats-whos-leaving/453787/10 "2008-06-22T22:03:41Z")
Sorry if this has already been asked: In tonight’s episode, what website did Jeremy first bring up that the editors didn’t let us see?
(Was it goatse?)
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### Author:  [@The\_Shroud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Shroud)
#### Post date: [June 22, 2008, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-series-of-top-gear-thats-whos-leaving/453787/11 "2008-06-22T23:54:19Z")
Nearly died laughing at the police car segment. I’m so glad this show is back.