The final bombshell: Thank you and goodbye to Clarkson, Hammond, and May

Sometime back in 2015, as I was mindlessly flipping through the channels on TV, something interesting caught my attention. Two middle-aged men – who I later learned were motoring journalists Jeremy Clarkson and James May – were racing each other from one end of New Zealand to the other. However, May was on a racing boat while Clarkson was driving a Toyota Corolla. 
“An interesting premise,” I thought to myself as I continued watching the rest of the race and the show, my eyes glued to the screen of my TV. That was the first time I had ever come across something surrounding cars that was so interesting, funny, and entertaining. That was also the first time I was introduced to Top Gear – a British motoring-themed TV show – and, most importantly, came to know of the trio of Clarkson, May, and Richard Hammond. 
Now, I like cars, but I am not what one would call a ‘gearhead.’ So, when I started watching Top Gear more frequently, I was still learning a lot of new things about cars and car brands. 
The hosts surely knew their stuff, and they made sure that their audience understood what they wanted to convey, especially in their car reviews. This of course meant that Jermey and co. often had to resort to unconventional, often nonsensical, but entertaining, analogies and reviewing tactics.
Cars were being compared to dogs, super cars were racing fighter jets, and boot sizes were being judged based on their ability to fit nuclear warheads. Sometimes, it wasn’t even about reviewing cars at all; the three would just do stuff for the sake of the audience’s entertainment – whether it be firing a rocket-powered Mini off a ski jump, building a car that can turn into a hovercraft, or putting together a train of caravans. It was hard not to laugh or feel entertained watching them do all this. Hammond said it best before the Mini ski jump scene, “We are in fact at the cutting edge of cocking about.” 
All that being said, Top Gear was a factual car show, at least on paper. And Clarkson, Hammond, and May were well aware of that. Hence, when they had to get serious, they would drop some of the best car reviews and commentary, alongside showcase the fine driving skills they possessed. At times, I couldn’t help but get emotional during some of their segments, like the one where Clarkson drives a Porsche 928 and explains that the car is special to him because of its ability to maintain a constant speed, for which he was able to say goodbye to his father before passing away. 
Yes, Top Gear provided us with a fair share of fun, laughter, insights, and emotions. And keeping aside the genre, the cars, and the locations, the only constant during the show’s best years was the trio of Clarkson, Hammond, and May. 
People keep talking about the natural chemistry the three have among themselves. Over the years, Clarkson, Hammond, and May have also become self-aware of this chemistry that people keep talking about. They are of course friends, but the banter between them is what makes their friendship, both on and off the screen, so much fun, entertaining, and occasionally relatable. After all, when you put three middle-aged British men together under one umbrella, none of them too eager to think twice before saying or doing something, you’re bound to get something exciting (or controversial, more on that later) out of it. 
The three have special nicknames for one another as well – James May is “Captain Slow,” Richard Hammond is “Hamster,” and Jeremy Clarkson is “Jezza.” They would argue with each other for hours, have heated-debate on cars, and even ram into one another with their cars during races. As the three would often point out, the relation between them was more of hatred than love; frenemies, as we’d call them today. 
The trio’s journey, of course, has had its fair share of controversies, especially surrounding Jeremy Clarkson and his time at the BBC. 
Hammond and May have occasionally, and somewhat humorously, pointed out the loose connection between Clarkson’s brain and his mouth – a rather gentle way of saying how he lacks filter when speaking or writing. Personally, I feel Clarkson alone kept the BBC’s legal team employed and on its toes 24/7. 
Clarkson’s controversial actions also led to him being dropped from Top Gear and later fired from the BBC in 2015. As Hammond and May decided to leave the show and channel as well, the trio once again found themselves together hosting another motoring show – The Grand Tour – for Amazon.
Also, as you would expect from motoring journalists driving fast cars and exploring some of the world’s most dangerous locations on four wheels, the trio has also put themselves in grave danger occasionally. Richard Hammond himself had to deal with two life threatening accidents: one during his time at Top Gear and the other on The Grand Tour, the former of which had left the presenter in a coma for two weeks.
Despite all these, the three carried on doing what they do best for over two decades – being unapologetically brutal with their car reviews and being entertaining at the same time. 
Had they been a bit extra with their content at times? Yes; after all, they had to make sure that their audience doesn’t get bored just listening to how much horsepower a car’s engine has or how many miles to the gallon it can do. Did the three act outright nonsensical at times? Of course they did, and they were entertaining nonetheless. Were they worth watching? Yes; never a dull moment with these three on your screen, irrespective of the vehicles they were praising or ranting about. 
I have seen them travel to the North Pole – Clarkson and May in a pickup truck, while Hammond took a dog sled to see which is the fastest. I saw them take on the perilous Bolivian rainforest in preowned 4x4s. I also witnessed the trio depart one show and move to another, only to keep up their on-screen momentum as motoring journalists, and reach for whatever lay ahead beyond the stars. 
Sadly, all roads reach their respective ends; yet, as they say – it’s not the destination but the journey that matters, and we are blessed to have been a part of the journey that Clarskon, Hammond, and May have taken us on. Whether it be on super cars or reasonably-priced ones, be it a rainy day somewhere in London or the scenic roads of Vietnam, the car ride with these three has been a spectacular one. 
Would I have loved this ride to never end? I definitely would, but I also understand that it’s not something those three want to do. They all, however, are trying out new things – Clarkson with his farming show on Amazon, James with his new pub, and Hammond trying out his luck in the car restoration business. So, the good news is that we can still see them around, particularly on YouTube, doing various things, at times even getting together to catch up with each other. The bad news is that we won’t see them do what they’ve gone on to do for over two decades. 
But what we have had the privilege to witness is something we can all be happy about. It was a fun and wonderful ride while it lasted, and it’ll be a memorable one forever. So, on that final bombshell, a big thank you and farewell to Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May.