TV Presenters: Top Gear

I LOVE Top Gear. And as much as I like to delude myself it's because I have an appreciation of good cars and have the foggiest clue what 1000 horsepower and V8 means, that isn't why. I'm not the only one who doesn't have much of a clue about cars, so to avoid having a really niche audience Top Gear relies on it's presenters:
Jeremy Clarkson: Very much the Chris Moyles of the Television. He is brash, opinionated and totally unapologetic, and TG viewers (again I hate to generalise but mainly men) love him for it. He typically wears a suit jacket over jeans; showing a kind of rebellion against the typical smart BBC TV presenter, as well his man of the people persona.
He is the Alpha-male of the group, and his voice reflects that. He is well-spoken, but not in a posh way, his voice booms and his main 'catchphrase is 'power', which totally reflects his personality. Sometimes he sounds very nasal, like he has a cold, but he works that into his speech making it sound intentional. His speaking styles is often parodied- brilliantly by Michael Mcintrye in this clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaExvMy8n9c . One of the more noticeable aspects of his speaking is wear his voice deepens in the last two words of a sentence, which is often used to introduce a VT.
When he is describing cars he uses a lot of similes and metaphors= "I'm now doing 100 miles an hour and it sounds like I'm in church!","Those LED fairy lights make it look like a council house at Christmas", "Driving most Supercars, is like trying to manhandle a cow up a back staircase". This type of illustrative language really helps to convey to the viewer the experience of driving cars most people will never get to drive. From the above metaphors you can tell that that car is quiet, and handles well but has rubbish lights, but in language that is much more interesting.
Another feature of Jeremy Clarkson' presenting is hand gestures. I never really noticed it before, but when I set out to look for it he does it all the time, even when he is driving which can not be entirely safe!

Richard Hammond:Is more laid back. He generally wears a leather jacket over jeans, to look fashionable .
He has a softer voice, and a slightly softer personality, which is a lot to do with him being smaller than his co-presenters, and getting taken the mick out of because of it. 'Hamster' (A play on his last name and his height) is very much the beta-male to Jeremy's alpha, you can imagine if they all went out together he would be the one quietly apologising for something offensive Jeremy might have said.
The producers at Top Gear use his charm and vulnerability in lots of dangerous situation, because as a viewer you are instinctively more worried for his safety,even more so post-crash.

James May: Is a big ol' geek. He has hair like a mad scientist and he often wears more eccentric shirts over jeans. He always does the scientific parts in the challenges. His catchphrase is 'Oh Cock'.
He is the one most picked on by the others, and as a result his postures his slightly hunched; almost apologetic. He speaks in quite a slow paced fashion, that suits his more modest presenting style.

Top Gear does sensationally well on the ratings, new series are almost always the most viewed show on the BBC, and the many repeats during the week are always in the top 30 most viewed. This, in my opinion, is because of the chemistry between the presenters. They work so well together, and they are all very funny. Jeremy is cocky, but entertainingly so, James is boffin like but has a great sense of humour and Richard is very personable. The three presenters interacting is what I like the best, I like when they joke with each other.

There are two things that I don't like about Top Gear. Ever since I've found out that it's scripted it's ruined the illusion of spontaneity which is one of the things that make it so funny.

Also, sometimes I think they go overboard with their bullying of James May, and it makes for slightly awkward viewing. However, the target audience is mainly 40 + men, and they interact with each other differntly to how I interact with my friends. This brings me on to my last point.

Top Gear is essentially a programme aimed at 40 + men. It's three middle age men talking about cars = 40 + men. However, they have transcended the target audience to become one of the most popular shows on TV because of the presenting. They are all very strong on their own; which is why they all have solo projects. However the magical combination of all of them is intoxicating to watch. They are just bounce off one another so well that they could be talking about different types of worm, whatever programme they present they would be able to make people watch and be entertained. And that, my friend, is presenting.