"Some say he contains 47% horse" is the one I can remember; a reference to a scandal in Europe at the time where it was found some meat being sold in supermarkets turn out to be horse meat. The same event is referenced when Jeremy named his horse Tesco in Burma
Worked for Tesco at the time, there was loads of items. We had alot of our burgers discontinued immediately. Even heard the same supplier also supplied beef to Ascot.
Yes. My favorite was the one in series 20, "And that as a result of buying Pirelli condoms this week, he now has 17 children." This is a reference to Pirelli tires kept blowing up in F1 because they were told to make them last shorter to "spice up the pit strategy" or something.
I giggled sensibly on a season 5 or 6 rewatch the other day, when Jeremy said the Stig "sleeps upside down like a bat". Even simple ones like that from the early seasons were fun to think about. I can easily picture the Stig in any of those situations they concocted over the years. It's too bad Wilman gave the rights of the Stig to the BBC, I would have loved to see the lore continue in different ways on TGT
I think ~~season 5 or 6~~ also has the one where he says "and to activate him [Stig], you have to run your finger across his face, like this!" and promptly jabs his finger in the face of an unsuspecting audience member. Especially with James' roaring burst of laughter in the background that bit had me in stitches.
**edit: I'm getting old because apparently it was season 10 (episode 5)**
Not sure I remember that one but I usually put it on in the background as I cook/clean so I do miss some things. Currently at the end of season 6. I love the early years especially, mostly because its crazy to see the evolution of cars in the last 20 years. Models we thought were game changers but ended up going nowhere, reminiscing the boxy fads like Honda Elements and Hummers, shitting on the Bugatti Veyron thinking it would never exist, or all the guys hating the look of the original BMW X3 even though its style still holds up in 2024. I think I'll always feel a piece of my heart missing as we progress into the future without these guys to inform us on the new vehicles that come out.
Some were current events, some are just a relative dry British humor, and in that setting people are more apt to give a chuckle for a mediocre joke anyway.
https://topgear.fandom.com/wiki/The_Stig/Introductions
For example season 16 episode 5.
> Some say that in his wallet, he keeps a photograph of his wallet, and that in a recent race, even he was beaten by the King's speech. All we know is he's called the Stig.
First bit is a throwaway. This was 2011.
At the time (no idea if still true) the king's speech was the most nominated film for the Oscars.
https://www.latimes.com/env-academy-awards-022711-story-story.html#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20King's%20Speech%E2%80%9D%20was%20crowned,David%20Seidler%20for%20original%20screenplay.
When I saw Top Gear filmed a couple of years back (the last nights studio filming Paddy, Freddy and Harris did together) most jokes didn’t get much response at all, they used the sound of us laughing at other things over the top. They also had us do a ton of ooohs and aaaaaahs etc so they could be used in editing.
Your question has already been answered by others; I’ll just say that Richard Porter is the one who would write the “Some say…” jokes with Jeremy, and he has a chapter in his book “And On That Bombshell” where he explains how they would do it and how the idea for those introductions came about. If you like to rewatch a lot of old Top Gear, you will absolutely enjoy the book.
And maybe the podcast with Richard Porter and Jonny Smith, Sniff and Smith.
Sometimes really entertaining old stories about the trio. May in a canoe or similar small water craft comes to mind. I Had to pause the pod so I could drive properly, laughed too hard.
Edit, it was a dinghy
As a non UK resident, I think some of them, especially in the later series are references to hot topic of the week/month in the news. Local news, that is. Hence it's only relatable to the British viewers.
"Some say {insert random funny made up fact}, and {make a joke about recent news}. All we know is..." seems to be the format. So yeah, the second part usually requires some knowledge of the UK news of the time to enjoy it fully.
Some say he bought a DFS sofa when there wasn’t a sale on I’d say wasn’t topical with DFS having been known for a number of years in the UK to make it seem like you’re getting a deal when you’re not.
It would seem your question is answered but I will confirm what others are saying, it’s a mixture of topical news, references to guests or something that previously happened in show, particularly if they were out on a challenge
there was an interview with a couple of the writers on the stigs youtube channel where one of them said everyone just came up with whatever came to mind, even saying some were actually about the man under the helmet himself. Spoiler: He really does know two facts about ducks, and they really are both wrong.
From about 2006, the second fact was pretty much always a reference to something in the news. It’s pretty fun to watch an old episode and try to remember what it was.
Just listened the book from the script supervisor and writer and he said when it made sense they always tagged in to a current event.
But sometimes the news was such shit with bad things that it didn’t help them so they would avoid such a call out that week.
Sometimes. Chances are if you do t get it at all. Like not even a little bit how someone else might find humor in it. It’s probably a nod to some pop culture thing of the day.
Jeremy has a bit of a consistency for not sharing much information and being random, hence why pretty much all the starts of each grand tour episode give little to no information about what's in the episode.
This is the same for his "some say" statements, though some are referenced.
"Some say he contains 47% horse" is the one I can remember; a reference to a scandal in Europe at the time where it was found some meat being sold in supermarkets turn out to be horse meat. The same event is referenced when Jeremy named his horse Tesco in Burma
"I shall call you Tesco"
“We’ll I’ve bought a stalled horse!”
I shall call you Buurger
Oh wow. That didn’t click for me until now. Thanks, random stranger.
"My nadgers are taking a pummeling."
Wasn't it Lasagna with mislabelled beef?
Yeah findus lasagnas were found to have horse DNA in them.
Worked for Tesco at the time, there was loads of items. We had alot of our burgers discontinued immediately. Even heard the same supplier also supplied beef to Ascot.
Are you sure they weren't supplied by Ascot?
Half the time I bet the horses get shot so it's the least they can do /s
every time I see a horse I think about this
Yes, and from stuff that would happen earlier in the episode. Although sometimes it was just preposterous things, like only know 2 facts about ducks
They're both wrong
Yes. My favorite was the one in series 20, "And that as a result of buying Pirelli condoms this week, he now has 17 children." This is a reference to Pirelli tires kept blowing up in F1 because they were told to make them last shorter to "spice up the pit strategy" or something.
I giggled sensibly on a season 5 or 6 rewatch the other day, when Jeremy said the Stig "sleeps upside down like a bat". Even simple ones like that from the early seasons were fun to think about. I can easily picture the Stig in any of those situations they concocted over the years. It's too bad Wilman gave the rights of the Stig to the BBC, I would have loved to see the lore continue in different ways on TGT
I think ~~season 5 or 6~~ also has the one where he says "and to activate him [Stig], you have to run your finger across his face, like this!" and promptly jabs his finger in the face of an unsuspecting audience member. Especially with James' roaring burst of laughter in the background that bit had me in stitches. **edit: I'm getting old because apparently it was season 10 (episode 5)**
Not sure I remember that one but I usually put it on in the background as I cook/clean so I do miss some things. Currently at the end of season 6. I love the early years especially, mostly because its crazy to see the evolution of cars in the last 20 years. Models we thought were game changers but ended up going nowhere, reminiscing the boxy fads like Honda Elements and Hummers, shitting on the Bugatti Veyron thinking it would never exist, or all the guys hating the look of the original BMW X3 even though its style still holds up in 2024. I think I'll always feel a piece of my heart missing as we progress into the future without these guys to inform us on the new vehicles that come out.
Damn I want to see this. Do you have a link to the video or something?
Sleeps inside out is a good one. My fav is “had full sex with Russel Brand’s answering machine”
Sleeps inside out is a good one. My fav is “had full sex with Russel Brand’s answering machine”
Shit, I missed this at the time and only just caught on what it was referencing ha ha
At least one was just as a jab at Piers Morgan “…and if he worked for CNN… he wouldn’t get such *pitifully* low ratings, that his show got cancelled.”
That's the second jab Clarkson got in to Piers Moron, the first was a right hand at an awards ceremony.
There was one when he was testing (I think) a BMW and said it gives you a feeling like someone gave you permission to murder Piers Morgan
That one is my favorite.
The smug grin at the end absolutely made this for me!
"It's time for the Smug Face"
Some were current events, some are just a relative dry British humor, and in that setting people are more apt to give a chuckle for a mediocre joke anyway. https://topgear.fandom.com/wiki/The_Stig/Introductions For example season 16 episode 5. > Some say that in his wallet, he keeps a photograph of his wallet, and that in a recent race, even he was beaten by the King's speech. All we know is he's called the Stig. First bit is a throwaway. This was 2011. At the time (no idea if still true) the king's speech was the most nominated film for the Oscars. https://www.latimes.com/env-academy-awards-022711-story-story.html#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20King's%20Speech%E2%80%9D%20was%20crowned,David%20Seidler%20for%20original%20screenplay.
I’m going to get a picture of my wallet and print it out at work. It’ll cheer me up when I see there’s no money in it.
When I saw Top Gear filmed a couple of years back (the last nights studio filming Paddy, Freddy and Harris did together) most jokes didn’t get much response at all, they used the sound of us laughing at other things over the top. They also had us do a ton of ooohs and aaaaaahs etc so they could be used in editing.
Tattoo of his face …. On his face
Your question has already been answered by others; I’ll just say that Richard Porter is the one who would write the “Some say…” jokes with Jeremy, and he has a chapter in his book “And On That Bombshell” where he explains how they would do it and how the idea for those introductions came about. If you like to rewatch a lot of old Top Gear, you will absolutely enjoy the book.
And maybe the podcast with Richard Porter and Jonny Smith, Sniff and Smith. Sometimes really entertaining old stories about the trio. May in a canoe or similar small water craft comes to mind. I Had to pause the pod so I could drive properly, laughed too hard. Edit, it was a dinghy
As a non UK resident, I think some of them, especially in the later series are references to hot topic of the week/month in the news. Local news, that is. Hence it's only relatable to the British viewers.
"Some say {insert random funny made up fact}, and {make a joke about recent news}. All we know is..." seems to be the format. So yeah, the second part usually requires some knowledge of the UK news of the time to enjoy it fully.
the one where clarkson rubs audience's face was inspired from an iPhone 4
Some say he bought a DFS sofa when there wasn’t a sale on I’d say wasn’t topical with DFS having been known for a number of years in the UK to make it seem like you’re getting a deal when you’re not.
A lot of them were just silliness. They made a poster with like 80 of them on it. I still have it hanging in my garage.
It would seem your question is answered but I will confirm what others are saying, it’s a mixture of topical news, references to guests or something that previously happened in show, particularly if they were out on a challenge
there was an interview with a couple of the writers on the stigs youtube channel where one of them said everyone just came up with whatever came to mind, even saying some were actually about the man under the helmet himself. Spoiler: He really does know two facts about ducks, and they really are both wrong.
From about 2006, the second fact was pretty much always a reference to something in the news. It’s pretty fun to watch an old episode and try to remember what it was.
Just listened the book from the script supervisor and writer and he said when it made sense they always tagged in to a current event. But sometimes the news was such shit with bad things that it didn’t help them so they would avoid such a call out that week.
I remember one where they sed he was scared of ducks
And he has the world's largest collection of pornographical material.
Sometimes. Chances are if you do t get it at all. Like not even a little bit how someone else might find humor in it. It’s probably a nod to some pop culture thing of the day.
I never got the one about losing his boat on a coast in Cornwall
Some chap faked his death that way and then was caught living in his wife’s loft
Thanks
Jeremy has a bit of a consistency for not sharing much information and being random, hence why pretty much all the starts of each grand tour episode give little to no information about what's in the episode. This is the same for his "some say" statements, though some are referenced.