James May reveals the secret behind Top Gear's phenomenal global success

  Рет қаралды 96,720

The Intercooler

The Intercooler

Күн бұрын

Former Top Gear presenter James May reveals why his version of the show with Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond became so popular around the world. Top Gear was once the most-watched factual television show globally - James explains how that happened.
He talks about his chemistry with Clarkson and Hammond, and the tension between them that creates the on-screen magic. He also reveals how that magic can be recreated.
You can watch our full 90-minute podcast with James May (episode 200) on our KZfaq channel, or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
#jamesmay #topgear #cars
The best writers, the finest stories and no ads, all on The Intercooler’s beautiful online car magazine. Visit www.the-intercooler.com and start your 30-day free trial today.

Пікірлер: 89
@michaelheimbrand5424
@michaelheimbrand5424 3 ай бұрын
The great thing about Clarkson, May and Hammond is that they are smart people emulating stupid. Usually on TV it´s the other way around.
@hugoagogo9435
@hugoagogo9435 3 ай бұрын
As I was told it’s easy for a clever person to act stupid. It difficult for a stupid person to act clever
@user-xo4qu6wd9g
@user-xo4qu6wd9g 3 ай бұрын
True
@dcfox199gamer8
@dcfox199gamer8 3 ай бұрын
You start watching Topgear for the cars by the end of it because of the hosts you are watching it for them, now even if they don’t do cars you will still watch them do anything together
@deadlyrobot5179
@deadlyrobot5179 11 күн бұрын
The most important thing in any show is the characters, if you like them, it doesn't matter what they do you'll keep watching even if they're cooking potatoes.
@lordmfitzgerald3rd754
@lordmfitzgerald3rd754 3 ай бұрын
What I miss the most is Sunday’s, roast dinner then afterwards watching Top Gear with beer.
@robertfonovic3551
@robertfonovic3551 2 ай бұрын
Nailed it. What's not to like about that!!
@Autonova
@Autonova 2 ай бұрын
100%. With my dad watching a Top Gear special on Sunday eve where they go to some far off place was part of my upbringing
@lordmfitzgerald3rd754
@lordmfitzgerald3rd754 24 күн бұрын
@@Autonova was the absolute best and more importantly….no women allowed 🤣🤣
@Autonova
@Autonova 24 күн бұрын
@@lordmfitzgerald3rd754 haha defo! 🤣
@topmandog1
@topmandog1 3 ай бұрын
funny to hear james may call people dull after years of clarkson and hammond calling him dull
@theshadowman1398
@theshadowman1398 3 ай бұрын
It’s easy. Those three. I will happily watch them build a Lego set for hours and still have better entertainment than anything on TV now provides
@ruk2023--
@ruk2023-- 3 ай бұрын
Massive oversimplification. They are a key ingredient but we came to love the show because they fronted amazing writing and production and format. If they had launched with three guys in a cottage having an unscripted chat about cars they would not have worked.
@tdragon87
@tdragon87 3 ай бұрын
It's about you guys. Clarkson, May and Hammond. You guys could have a cooking show and it'd be a hit.
@HesmiyuMC
@HesmiyuMC 15 күн бұрын
May does have one :P
@craigturner8993
@craigturner8993 3 ай бұрын
No trio has better chemistry, than Clarkson Hammond & May. Old school Top gear rules, the Grand tour is all that, & more. 😁
@sjsobol1
@sjsobol1 3 ай бұрын
You also have to give some credit to Top Gear of the CMH era in that is was very well produced. The photography, music, editing, original ideas, etc. all made for a top notch show. It was entertaining to watch even if you didn't care about cars. Just think about the episodes where they turned cars into boats and sailed across the English Channel, turned a car into a rocket, or 50th anniversary of the E-type.
@BoshSoldierCarp
@BoshSoldierCarp 3 ай бұрын
It worked so well in my opinion because you all love the same thing but you show it outwardly in three different ways.
@michaelglasser258
@michaelglasser258 28 күн бұрын
I know it's over. but I think I speak for everyone that we would love to see another series....of.....anything really- miss you guys
@RealJaybeeMusic
@RealJaybeeMusic 3 күн бұрын
For me, I have fond memories of watching Top Gear with my dad-later the Grand Tour. It’s become a show that comforts me in a sense. It got me into cars, but like others have said, I realized that I began loving it for the ‘three stooges’ that presented it.
@glenmcreynolds1818
@glenmcreynolds1818 2 ай бұрын
I'm not a car guy whatsoever in top gear is one of my all-time favorite shows
@jackrogers7540
@jackrogers7540 2 ай бұрын
It’s that they are all 3 genuine blokes, living their lives. They don’t feel like they are putting on a show, they generally, together, feel as though they are bouncing nuanced conversation from very different viewpoints and the chemistry/frank nature of their banter. There wasn’t anything that felt fake even though we know we are seeing a great production. People are looking for honesty and honesty requires Negative as well as positive reactions and in a world of “paid for” media, that is rare to truly find. Same reason Rogan is so endearing.
@TheGerbennos
@TheGerbennos 2 ай бұрын
You made such a great point and then you had destroy your credibility in the last sentence
@baoquoc3710
@baoquoc3710 Ай бұрын
​@@TheGerbennosuh you hate JRE? What happened to him that you hate him?
@xXMattyXGoesXRawrXx
@xXMattyXGoesXRawrXx 3 ай бұрын
Me seeing the thumbnail thinking the secret behind top gear’s success was the office intercooler
@Jsfhanger
@Jsfhanger 3 ай бұрын
They were/are ‘naughty schoolboys’ on top gear and the grand tour. You can't manufacture it; it just happens. You either got it or you haven't. So, why try to analyse it? They are great shows that copies cannot replace.
@petervalovic5504
@petervalovic5504 3 ай бұрын
Top gear top show! Top three blokes. It will take another 100 years to find trio like them!!! I wish them all the best whatever they do! ❤
@markjerorsr1495
@markjerorsr1495 2 ай бұрын
The different hosts from three distinct backgrounds and experiences who share a common passion, was a stroke of genius that brought viewers together who wouldn't usually take the time to spit on each others sneakers.
@BboyCorrosive
@BboyCorrosive 5 күн бұрын
It was also the very British banter, I don't care about cars at all about from the cooler ones just being cool, but I'd still watch it for them.
@gwcrispi
@gwcrispi 3 ай бұрын
He's on to something. Mythbusters was that way. Jaime and Adam didn't like each other.
@wrightyy
@wrightyy 14 күн бұрын
True. But also they didn't DISLIKE each other. That's the key, possibly.
@theothertonydutch
@theothertonydutch 12 күн бұрын
They definitely respected each other and whenever he talks about Jamie you can hear Adam express that with great enthusiasm.
@CT37BN
@CT37BN 3 ай бұрын
The 3 amigos have that fatherly knows best but often times funny crap outcome attitude towards cars and other stuff which is appealing because in many ways we also do those things. And their camaraderie is genuine.
@naikjoyx4291
@naikjoyx4291 3 ай бұрын
You supposed to do it the other way around.. the most interesting part of an interview is released before the full interview as a teaser.. at the end you say when the full video will get released.. usually a day or two after.
@ethanhunt2263
@ethanhunt2263 3 ай бұрын
The full interview was released days ago. This is just a clip from it
@donniewahlberg8546
@donniewahlberg8546 3 ай бұрын
Relax😀
@stellviahohenheim
@stellviahohenheim 3 ай бұрын
​@@ethanhunt2263It doesn't matter these are tv people they don't care about views
@legendarygary2744
@legendarygary2744 11 күн бұрын
I really, really don’t want this all to end. I hope the three of them continue to collaborate on projects together even if it’s not at the same level as the grand tour
@oscar-jx3fj
@oscar-jx3fj Ай бұрын
Un programa muy bueno sigo viendo los episodios a día de hoy no me canso de verlo lástima que no sigan
@paulhammons7077
@paulhammons7077 3 ай бұрын
Yah got stuff on here for 3 years..😮.. but this is your most popular show 😅.. star 🌟 🤩 power is amazing.. even if it is captain slow 🐌 😊. Thanks for the show it was amazing 🎉
@jansefran1752
@jansefran1752 3 ай бұрын
It is 3 different guys / friends doing funny / crazy / stupid things ... They enyoj doing that + we love to watching that.
@PlatFormerlyKno
@PlatFormerlyKno 2 ай бұрын
I think of it like they were a band. The beatles of car tv
@simonmenzies3142
@simonmenzies3142 3 ай бұрын
Without the massive fame, if they left after old topgear. I’m fairly sure clarkson would be a farmer now. Hammond would have left men&motors. Worked as a local radio presenter again. Then he’d be working with classic cars into his old age. Maybe a small garage, or just a home garage. I’m not sure what May does so much. He has the pub. Can’t see him getting one without the big fame money at all tho. He’s still be in a pub.. just as a the drinker. Drinking his monthly pip money💯 lol
@dvs21a
@dvs21a 11 күн бұрын
Last of the Summer Wine was also three men arsing about.......
@AlexLancashirePersonalView
@AlexLancashirePersonalView 3 ай бұрын
it was the Monty Python effect. That sort of silly humour.
@erty2389
@erty2389 22 күн бұрын
The reason it worked was because it was those 3. i would watch those 3 watch paint dry and it would be entertaining. Cars or not, these 3 together will always be gold. The car stuff was just a bonus
@simonmenzies3142
@simonmenzies3142 3 ай бұрын
It’s amazing tbe hights these found together. It was all clarkson tbh The debt they have for him can never be stated
@YesThatsMyHandle
@YesThatsMyHandle Ай бұрын
Top Gear is The Goodies formula 👍
@ricdotdev
@ricdotdev 15 күн бұрын
Actually, Clarkson kinda revealed the formula for Top Gear during one of his initial interviews about Clarkson's Farm, because he used the same formula to make his new show successful. (Note that Clarkson's Farm is, of course, not [yet] to the level of Top Gear in success, but it's certainly miles apart from what the solo efforts of May and Hammond.)
@gemmastaines5706
@gemmastaines5706 13 күн бұрын
I miss those 3 idiots! The escapades that they got up to was just a joy to watch!
@peanuts2105
@peanuts2105 4 күн бұрын
The boys have "the right stuff" as. An assimilated quote from Chuck Yeager
@user-iw2nh7gl1g
@user-iw2nh7gl1g 3 ай бұрын
Top Gear the original was best and probably will always be 2nd to none when it comes to car shows. Anyone who doesn't think it was a car need look no further than the great road n driving tests the hosts n Stig did. They showed many of latest super cars plus best saloon performance cars. Then throw in the amazing chemistry of three hosts not to mention the budget for the series. The recipe made a great series for any Gear ⚙️ head who appreciated the cars shown n driven hard. Plus got to laugh along the way!
@LordHackera
@LordHackera 21 күн бұрын
Very similar to Mythbusters and the relationship between Adam and Jamie. In big part why they were so successful
@ronaldl9085
@ronaldl9085 2 ай бұрын
Older brother explained Top Gear to me as: it's a comedy show with 3 men and some cars.
@cliveramsbotty6077
@cliveramsbotty6077 2 ай бұрын
i love the way you add tremendous value by constantly interrupting your guest with wonderful gems such as 'yep', 'yeah', 'umm', 'yes', 'err' etc
@HomemadeBrownies1
@HomemadeBrownies1 12 күн бұрын
That’s part of a conversation Clive.
@leethecomedian
@leethecomedian 2 ай бұрын
People want watch a show that the people who make want to make it. That will always show through.
@Kevin-sr8yx
@Kevin-sr8yx 2 ай бұрын
It wasn't one thing that made TG a phenomenon. It was the cars, expertise, dialogue, comedy, cinematography, music, risks, adventure, chemistry, fun, unpredictability, exclusivity, and familiarity. Of these, I would say that one thing that's missing from all the copycats is the risk. Think about how often the 3 got injured. You don't see that anywhere else.
@andrewklein7997
@andrewklein7997 Күн бұрын
This is similar to the reason why mythbusters worked with Adam and jaime
@jansefran1752
@jansefran1752 3 ай бұрын
Don t think / analize too much ... Just watch them and have fun.
@robertpearson8798
@robertpearson8798 14 күн бұрын
The best chemistry since the Three Stooges (and yes, that’s intended as a compliment).
@keefsmiff
@keefsmiff 11 күн бұрын
I never really watched for the cars ,it was all about 3 mates dicking about, strangely i did get a top gear vibe from the "Gordon, Gino,and Fred" series , but the chemistry needs to be right and not forced like the revamped top gear failure ..
@stewarthughesstewart
@stewarthughesstewart 3 ай бұрын
Why it was so successful is because it was funny! Intelligent humour coupled with oversized school boy pranks.
@gavinbissell8847
@gavinbissell8847 3 ай бұрын
The whole show came across as having a laugh with your dad or if you are older having a laugh with your mates on a road trip
@noelburland7169
@noelburland7169 3 ай бұрын
Clarkson, May and Hammond had a great camaraderie and coupled with their slightly juvenile humour and ability to poke fun at various groups in an increasingly PC world, it led to Top Gear becoming a massive money earner for the BBC. Unfortunately it seemed they pushed their luck a couple of times too far, specifically with the Burma and Catagonia specials that led to major backlash. Then Clarkson's alleged assault of a producer led to his sacking from the BBC and May and Hammond quickly followed him out the door to form The Grand Tour on Amazon Prime. That new show flourished on the new platform while Top Gear floundered on the BBC, with the awful and idiotic Chris Evans brought in to be the main host, lasting one terrible season before he was ousted. Aside from Chris Harris, Top Gear never recovered from the dumping of Clarkson, May and Hammond and now the show is dead and buried after Andrew Flintoff's terrible accident.
@Cam77891
@Cam77891 10 күн бұрын
This light is bad for May's toupee lmao
@The_Bean_Head_Men
@The_Bean_Head_Men 3 ай бұрын
It's success has never been a secret, it's 3 grown up children having a laugh.
@reneemerkel7158
@reneemerkel7158 6 күн бұрын
Sounds like you are describing an American TV show ... Three Stooges.
@stanleybuchan4610
@stanleybuchan4610 2 ай бұрын
I laugh when the sprogs here talk about the "old" TG. It's been around since the 70's boys!
@Rob-zf2cv
@Rob-zf2cv 3 ай бұрын
Shouldn't we just be using our cars less? Therefore lifestyle changes that involve shorter journeys will negate the need for charging anywhere other than at home.
@hugh-johnfleming289
@hugh-johnfleming289 23 күн бұрын
My observation... James May was the secret. He is us and Clarkson and Hammond were the bullies. I'd give a nice wad of cash to sit and have a meal with May. He is conversant, charming, affable and a truly nice man. The other two are yabbos...
@ChristopherIan
@ChristopherIan 2 ай бұрын
Those three ARE Top Gear! even now watching GT, its still Top Gear, its not a show, its the people and thats what the producers dont understand. This is why it will always fail.
@davidtaylor8822
@davidtaylor8822 2 ай бұрын
I'd have been in May's gang. I knew the "Clarkson" type and I hated them. And never took much notice of the "Hammonds".
@jamesmccaul2945
@jamesmccaul2945 3 ай бұрын
May protests too much. Top gear is a romance about how 3 straight men fell in love (like they must do in public school).
@TOMMYBOY6969
@TOMMYBOY6969 2 ай бұрын
Today is still the early days of EV, so no worries, soon enough, there will be enough chargers everywhere for everyone, you just have to plan your trip in advance. As for the 30 minutes charging times, for everyone,, after driving 3 hours, it would be nice to stop for 30 minutes. It works out just fine. Grab a burger, hit the loo, sometimes i find 30 minutes is not enough time to eat and poop. Most people travel between cities with kids and Wives where they need at least 45 minutes at a rest stop. It all works out just fine. They will built more Charging stations as EV grows, I dont see that as a problem at all, in fact, it only gets better and better as time goes on.
@maxventuri-sn2mi
@maxventuri-sn2mi 2 ай бұрын
harris is terrible new top gear is unwatchable
@simonmenzies3142
@simonmenzies3142 3 ай бұрын
💯James would be in that gang of really really annoying self impressed condescending kids. Hammond would be the nice normal one. Clarkson the one on his own with the weird mate at that age. Lol I could see Hammond and clarkson being mates at some point.
@user-yy9hk9od9u
@user-yy9hk9od9u 3 ай бұрын
Wilman, Clarkson and Hammond were the reason for the success.
@spongebobsquaretits
@spongebobsquaretits 3 ай бұрын
and James May had nothing to do with the success ?
@user-yy9hk9od9u
@user-yy9hk9od9u 3 ай бұрын
@@spongebobsquaretits He should have been replaced.
@funkyhouseman
@funkyhouseman 3 ай бұрын
And Richard Porter!
@Motordiciton
@Motordiciton 3 ай бұрын
@@funkyhousemanOTSOT
@TomasWatchReviews
@TomasWatchReviews 3 ай бұрын
I find Grand Tour boring and childish. Feels too staged. And I like cars more than your comedy so I miss CARS in Grand Tour A LOT.
@everTriumph
@everTriumph 2 ай бұрын
Top Gear was rubbish. Unwatchable. I was glad when it was taken off air.
@binkyboobosh1
@binkyboobosh1 3 ай бұрын
Clarkson over did the 'shock jock' at a time when the political landscape seemed to be going the same way. The 'free speech' lot must have s seen a lot of themselves in Clarkson and didn't like it, which is why they were always looking to bring him down. People who considered themselves 'woke' weren't that concerned about him as they knew he was a clever man being deliberately controversial, but not to be taken seriously as he was clearly being self deprecating.
Top Gear Complaints and Offended People Compilation
12:09
Mustang150
Рет қаралды 6 МЛН
Would you like a delicious big mooncake? #shorts#Mooncake #China #Chinesefood
00:30
IS THIS REAL FOOD OR NOT?🤔 PIKACHU AND SONIC CONFUSE THE CAT! 😺🍫
00:41
James May still isn't convinced by electric cars
6:38
The Intercooler
Рет қаралды 770 М.
James May explains why hydrogen cars still have a future
6:54
The Intercooler
Рет қаралды 48 М.
Inside James May's charming country pub
8:31
What Next?
Рет қаралды 839 М.
Jeremy Clarkson Vs. Piers Morgan Highlights | Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
10:04
L322 Range Rover TDV8 long-term update. Is this peak Range Rover?
28:48
Harry's garage
Рет қаралды 2 МЛН
⚪ Top Gear - Series 17 (Never seen before behind the scenes) HD
19:37
Extrakrumbs 𝜫
Рет қаралды 1,1 МЛН
Richard Hammond reveals how he managed to get the Top Gear job
7:15
DRIVETRIBE
Рет қаралды 1,7 МЛН
A Food Review of JEREMY CLARKSON'S Farm DIDDLY SQUAT!
16:28
Gary Eats
Рет қаралды 473 М.
Делай ПРАВИЛЬНО #дневник #стройка #excavator ✔
0:13
ДНЕВНИК ЭКСКАВАТОРЩИКА
Рет қаралды 379 М.
Потеряла Колесо и Поехала Дальше😨☠️
0:41
ИССЛЕДОВАТЕЛЬ
Рет қаралды 4,8 МЛН
He definitely didn't expect that sound! 😲😂 #car #horn
0:29
BossHorn - Train Horns with Remote Control
Рет қаралды 9 МЛН
Cowo ganteng naik motor bawa tiga cewe cantik
0:18
PESONA CIREBON
Рет қаралды 3,8 МЛН