经济学人下载:疯狂汽车秀 高辛烷值的滑稽

Top Gear
疯狂汽车秀

High-octane antics
高辛烷值的滑稽

Motormouth Jeremy Clarkson is suspended from the BBC's hit show
快嘴快舌的杰里米·克拉克森被BBC热门节目停职

WHEN Jeremy Clarkson suggests switching off the VSC on a Toyota GT86 sports car to do better doughnuts around the “Top Gear” test track at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey, his audience is more than likely to know what he is talking about. That audience is huge: “Top Gear” is the world's most widely watched factual television programme, with more than 350m viewers in 214 countries. That presents BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, with a problem, because on March 10th the broadcaster suspended Mr Clarkson for being involved in what it called a “fracas” with one of the show's producers. The next episode will not be broadcast and another two may be dropped.
当杰里米·克拉克森在萨里的敦斯福德机场建议将丰田86跑车的车辆稳定性控制系统（VSC）关闭，好让跑车在“疯狂汽车秀”的测试跑道上更好地回旋时，他的观众很可能不知道他到底在说些什么。这个节目观众数量庞大：“疯狂汽车秀”是全球受关注最广的真人电视节目，在214个国家拥有约3亿5千万名观众。这给BBC的一个部门BBC Worldwide（英国广播公司商业公司）带来了麻烦，因为在3月10号，该广播公司辞退了克拉克森，原因是他与该节目的一名制片人发生了所谓的“争吵”。下一集将不会播出，余下两集也可能被砍掉。

Mr Clarkson's satnav seems to steer him towards controversy. In May last year he said he had been given a final warning by the BBC after it was claimed that he had said “nigger” while reciting a rhyme during the filming of an earlier series. In October 2014 the Top Gear crew had to flee from Argentina after being attacked by angry crowds during a road trip because the registration of a Porsche they were using appeared to refer to the date of the Falklands war. The BBC says it is investigating the latest incident, which, according to some reports, involved Mr Clarkson throwing a punch in a row over a lack of food on an assignment.
克拉克森的导播可能将他推上了争论的风口浪尖。去年五月，他说BBC声称他在之前的录制过程中背诵诗时提到了“黑鬼”这个词，给了他终极警告。2014年10月，疯狂汽车秀中使用的一辆保时捷牌号与马岛战争日期一样，因此在自驾路上受到了愤怒民众的攻击，工作人员被迫逃离阿根廷。BBC表示正在调查最近的事故，据某些报道，与克拉克森在某次任务中因缺乏食物而出拳斗殴有关。

“Top Gear” earns a good deal of money for BBC Worldwide and for its star. The commercial rights to the series used to be controlled by a company called Bedder 6, a joint venture with BBC Worldwide, and 30% owned by Mr Clarkson and 20% by Andy Wilman, an executive producer. The dividends from that company alone made Mr Clarkson a multimillionaire. In 2012 the pair sold their shares to BBC Worldwide. Mr Clarkson is said to have received ￡8.4m ($12.6m) for his stake.
“疯狂汽车秀”帮BBC Worldwide和明星大赚了一笔。该节目的商事权利曾由一家名为Bedder 6的企业管理，该公司是BBC Worldwide的合资企业，克拉克森拥有30%的股权，一名执行制片人安迪·威尔曼拥有20%的股权。仅该公司的分红就让克拉克森成为了千万富翁。2012年，这对合伙人将股份卖给了BBC Worldwide。据说克拉克森将自己的所有权卖到了840万英镑（1260万美元）。

Mr Clarkson and the show's co-presenters, James May and Richard Hammond, are believed to have been negotiating new contracts with the BBC. The politically correct and those who have found themselves the butt of Mr Clarkson's jokes—greens, truck drivers and Mexicans are among those on a long list—would be happy to see him go. Some think Danny Cohen, the BBC's director of television, shares their feelings: he hinted last year that he did not see the presenter as “untouchable”.
据说克拉克森和该节目的合作主持人詹姆斯·梅、理查德·哈蒙德一直在与BBC就新合同事宜进行协商。政治倾向正确的人和克拉克森取笑的对象——绿党、货车司机和墨西哥人在这份长名单之列，他们将乐见克拉克森的离开。有一些人认为BBC的电视导演丹尼·科恩和他们有同感：去年克拉克森曾暗示他认为导演并非是“无法企及的”。

The BBC has a strong incentive to overlook Mr Clarkson's transgressions. But it is a bureaucratic machine that must try to please everybody, because everybody pays for it. So it could be that commercial rivals such as ITV and Sky will be taking out their chequebooks to sign Mr Clarkson to present a rival series. They would not be able to use the “Top Gear” brand, but whatever the contracts say it is Mr Clarkson who is the real franchise of this show. An online petition in support of the presenter collected nearly 500,000 signatures in barely 24 hours. Mr Clarkson might be seen as an overbearing joker, but that is precisely what his fans like. And, petrolheads all, they know he is not afraid to call a new car rubbish if he thinks it is.
BBC绝对有忽略克拉克森越矩行为的强烈动机。但它是一架官僚机器，必须取悦每一个人，因为每个人都向它支付费用。所以像ITV和Sky这样的商业对手有可能将拿出支票本签下克拉克森，开创一档竞争栏目。他们无法使用“疯狂汽车秀”的名字，但无论合同怎么说，克拉克森才是节目的真正卖点。支持这位主持人的在线请愿在24小时内收集到了近500，000个签名。也许克拉克森给人的印象是一个自大的爱开玩笑的人，但他的粉丝所喜爱的正是他这一点。而且车迷们都知道如果克拉克森认为一辆新车是垃圾的话，口无遮拦的他毫不讳言。