BBC commentary team?

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 09 Dec 2010, 21:32

While there's been a lot of talk over the last year of Legard being ditched in favour of someone better, I read a rather worrying quote from the other half of the BBC TV commentary team, Martin Brundle.

Martin Brundle, on racing in the Daytona 24 Hours next month, wrote:Having cleared myself of some of my other responsibilities, I want to go back and race a bit more seriously.

I hope said "other responsibilites" isn't his BBC commentary role

After all, racing seriously, regularly, is rather hard to achieve while commentating on the entire F1 season.

This may mean he would be replaced by Ant Davidson...not the worse choice in the world but it would certainly be a step down and make the BBC commentary even worse!

Myrvold · Post by **Myrvold** » 09 Dec 2010, 21:38

No ! NO! NOOO!

And, source?

eagleash · Post by **eagleash** » 09 Dec 2010, 22:21

Can't imagine MB would give up such a great job for a probably sporadic sports car career. Maybe he will compete in DTM. DC combined BBC duties with that, this year.

Myrvold · Post by **Myrvold** » 10 Dec 2010, 00:36

Picked up that someone thought it was about the MB2, but didn't Brundle stop doing that to manage his son some years ago?

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 10 Dec 2010, 00:47

Myrvold wrote:Picked up that someone thought it was about the MB2, but didn't Brundle stop doing that to manage his son some years ago?

2MB is the actual name, and he quit in January 2009. So it surely isn't that?

Peter · Post by **Peter** » 10 Dec 2010, 01:11

Bring back James Allen!!! Or put David Croft in, please!!!

Shizuka · Post by **Shizuka** » 10 Dec 2010, 07:37

Davidson + Croft for BBC team.
Please.

And get rid of Lego... Legard.

patrick · Post by **patrick** » 10 Dec 2010, 11:17

I think Brundle is under contract with the BBC until 2012 at least. Maybe he's dropping comments to try and lever Legard out. Either way, I don't think he's going - he's said before he really enjoys it

fjackdaw · Post by **fjackdaw** » 10 Dec 2010, 11:21

He's only said he's dropping "some" of his commitments, so fingers crossed commentary won't be one of them. It would be a crying shame to lose Brundle and keep Legard.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 10 Dec 2010, 12:57

So Brundle, Coulthard and Davidson could all be combining BBC duties with racing commitments. And Eddie Jordan has F1 experience. David Croft has been following F1 in a professional capacity for many, many years. Jake Humphrey competed in a Lotus Elise race last year having passed the ARDS test, or whatever the racing licience is called.

Jonathan Legard has.... Erm, can anybody help here?

Jordan192 · Post by **Jordan192** » 10 Dec 2010, 18:16

dr-baker wrote:Jonathan Legard has.... Erm, can anybody help here?

...previously quit commentating on F1 because they offered him football instead?

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 10 Dec 2010, 18:32

Jordan192 wrote:
dr-baker wrote:Jonathan Legard has.... Erm, can anybody help here?

...previously quit commentating on F1 because they offered him football instead?

Exactly! So when's he returning to watch men kick balls?

Dj_bereta · Post by **Dj_bereta** » 10 Dec 2010, 19:07

Put ben edwards in legard's place!

WeirdKerr · Post by **WeirdKerr** » 10 Dec 2010, 22:14

do we need commentary.....

ADx_Wales · Post by **ADx_Wales** » 10 Dec 2010, 22:49

Ben Edwards is too squeaky when he gets excited.

Post by **mario** » 10 Dec 2010, 23:37

fjackdaw wrote:He's only said he's dropping "some" of his commitments, so fingers crossed commentary won't be one of them. It would be a crying shame to lose Brundle and keep Legard.

I suppose that he could also be thinking of cutting back on some of the newspaper articles that he does - he still writes for The Times, I think, and for the BBC.
It would be a shame if he did quit commentating, since he is quite a popular figure, can come up with some very good lines and isn't afraid to let others know what he is thinking. Perhaps the only people who wouldn't miss him would be the RTL Tv crew, since he would sometimes cheekily cut across them during his grid walks...

As an aside, though, Brundle has announced who his team mate will be for the Daytona 24 hours - his old friend and team mate Mark Blundell. To quote from Brundle:

"I've been aching to race again. Mark [Blundell] and I were team-mates in Formula 1 but we've never actually shared a racecar together."

eagleash · Post by **eagleash** » 12 Dec 2010, 01:17

This appeared 2 or 3 days ago on Twitter. The original Tweet referred to him as Martin Blundell, & Mark B RT'd it unedited.

madmark1974 · Post by **madmark1974** » 14 Dec 2010, 16:49

Q: What type of RAM does Legard have in his PC?

Answer :

madcat · Post by **madcat** » 15 Dec 2010, 07:08

So if we all complain to the BBC that Leggard is constantly advertising a certain Ram brand, would he have to stop? (speaking?)

Aerospeed · Post by **Aerospeed** » 15 Dec 2010, 22:14

eagleash wrote:This appeared 2 or 3 days ago on Twitter. The original Tweet referred to him as Martin Blundell, & Mark B RT'd it unedited.

Wow... I'm not the only one that confuses the two... :lol:

Shizuka · Post by **Shizuka** » 17 Dec 2010, 09:29

madcat wrote:So if we all complain to the BBC that Leggard is constantly advertising a certain Ram brand, would he have to stop? (speaking?)

If he'd be German and said GEIL, would that happen?

(NOTE: I have this type of RAM)

Cynon · Post by **Cynon** » 17 Dec 2010, 10:42

ADx_Wales wrote:Ben Edwards is too squeaky when he gets excited.

His CART broadcasts were pretty crap because in CART passing was pretty commonplace, even on road courses. So naturally, when he flipped out over every last passing move, he did...

... well, to put it nicely, made the NASCAR on Fox commentators (barring Mike Joy) not appear like cartoons.

Myrvold · Post by **Myrvold** » 23 Dec 2010, 00:33

Crash reports that Legard are being replaced by David Coulthard

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 23 Dec 2010, 01:20

Myrvold wrote:Crash reports that Legard are being replaced by David Coulthard

Wha-? DC and Brundle in the box? That would be...interesting! :lol:

Myrvold · Post by **Myrvold** » 23 Dec 2010, 06:08

Looks like he'll do a bit running... Anyway, I don't think this is the most likely outcome.

Brundle – a favourite both amongst F1 fans and inside the corporation – has successfully persuaded the BBC to replace Legard with his fellow former grand prix ace Coulthard, a driver who triumphed 13 times in the top flight between 1995 and 2003. The Scot will dovetail his new commentating duties with his ongoing punditry role alongside ex-team owner Eddie Jordan and the Beeb's anchorman Jake Humphrey.

fjackdaw · Post by **fjackdaw** » 23 Dec 2010, 12:35

AndreaModa wrote:
Myrvold wrote:Crash reports that Legard are being replaced by David Coulthard

Wha-? DC and Brundle in the box? That would be...interesting!

Hmm. He's quite a low-key character is DC... I would imagine Martin will take on the main commentary role and David will replace him as the 'colour man'. I can't imagine David whipping up much excitement.

Irisado · Post by **Irisado** » 23 Dec 2010, 12:58

Lots of speculation and precious little concrete information is how I would sum this up.

I have been very disappointed with Legard. His commentary lacks variation of language, he cannot read races properly, and he just shouts when he gets excited. He also cuts Martin Brundle off an awful lot, often without apologising, so I can understand if Martin is frustrated. I don't see Brundle giving up the job, even if he has to continue working with Legard, but there are numerous commentators or ex-commentators out there who would do a better job than Legard, so I think that the BBC would do well to find somebody else to partner Martin.

Barbazza · Post by **Barbazza** » 23 Dec 2010, 20:02

DC as commentator?
No thanks - he's totally unsuited to that I think. I disliked him at first on the coverage but grew to like him as the season went on and so would like him to stay doing what he does now. I think he got better at his job at the same rate that EJ became demented. He must now be completely out of it judging by his appearance on Question of Sport recently.

ADx_Wales · Post by **ADx_Wales** » 26 Dec 2010, 16:32

I can see why there can be confusion in having MB and DC as the F1 commentary team when neither of them are what we would class as "proper" commentators.
And this is where the BBC can be pointed at if this way of presenting the sport wont work. With some of the other sports that the BBC cover, Athletics, Cricket and Snooker, they've been employing people who have been in those sports to talk about it rather than the usual way.

Steve Cram (#362)

Steve Cram for instance, is now the BBC's main Athletics commentator, having been an 800 and 1500 Meter runner and somehow not as good as Seb Coe, starting out being the analyst on Eurosport and Channel 4 (UK) when they had the track & field sports.

Dennis Taylor, 1985 World Snooker Champion and more humorously known as the wearer of upside-down glasses, is also the BBC's main Snooker commentator.

The BBC making Brundle and Coulthard their commentary team is down to some logical process that "It's worked in other sports they broadcast, it will work this time around" but Aside from the long-distance races in Athletics, and possibly the final rounds of a snooker championship, the sports that Steve Cram and Dennis Taylor present are very "Stop-start" and "Anyone" can commentate on them (you can argue this).

Maybe I'm seeing this in a negative light, but seriously, how positive has F1, in general, been these last few years?

Myrvold · Post by **Myrvold** » 26 Dec 2010, 18:05

I don't think Martin Brundle will have ANY problems being the lead. However, I would hate to see an end of his gridwalks because of that (NO, I do NOT want DC on gridwalks!!!). And I really can't see DC being able to remain neutral, he is a RB-guy...

Post by **mario** » 26 Dec 2010, 19:02

Myrvold wrote:I don't think Martin Brundle will have ANY problems being the lead. However, I would hate to see an end of his gridwalks because of that (NO, I do NOT want DC on gridwalks!!!). And I really can't see DC being able to remain neutral, he is a RB-guy...

It would be a shame if Brundle wasn't able to do his grid walks, although the German media probably wouldn't miss him, given how many times he has pushed in ahead of their presenters.

As to whether DC would be able to remain neutral, so far he has been relatively neutral during the pre and post race broadcasts. However, he is still an employee of Red Bull Racing, so he is inevitably going to be slightly biased towards them, either consciously or subconsciously, so that could potentially impact on his chances.
Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing Brundle combine forces with the Radio 5 team, and have the commentary duties shared between the radio and TV teams. But, as the lesser of the two evils, having Coulthard double up would be much better then Legard.

IdeFan · Post by **IdeFan** » 26 Dec 2010, 21:31

I agree on the radio team thing. David "Crofty" Croft seems to have the right balance between telling us whats going on and gossiping about "behind the scenes" stuff. Unlike Legard, he has been able to adapt his radio based commentary style quite well for TV, as we have seen on the Friday practice broadcasts.

I have never been a fan of Ant Davidson, though his job is more than adequately filled by Brundle (colour commentary) and DC (Up to date insight and punditry).

The third member of the team is Maurice Hamilton, I don't know much about his background but he seems to do an decent job, maybe having a three man commentary team (with Croft and Hamiton sharing the play by play commentary role) would change the dynamic and draw attention away from the "he's not Murray Walker" comparisons (which are quite frankly unfair, he is irreplaceable).

Of course the best solution is Toby and Julian but we all know that's not going to happen!

jpm · Post by **jpm** » 26 Dec 2010, 21:33

YESSSS!!!! captain obvious has gone!

watka · Post by **watka** » 26 Dec 2010, 21:49

It may be good that Legard is going, but I don't think 2 former drivers in good in a commentary team. I've always seen the former driver's job to be that of providing the specialist "behind the scenes" insight into the race - e.g. what's going through the driver's mind, what would the team be doing at x moment in time. I can't see Brundle being able to provide a running commentary of the race ala Legard, Walker etc.

ADx_Wales · Post by **ADx_Wales** » 27 Dec 2010, 00:16

Watka, I refer you back to my last post, if it works it works, if it doesnt we'll only state the obvious.

Gilles27 · Post by **Gilles27** » 11 Jan 2011, 09:53

Looks like Legard has officialy been given the boot. Just saw this on his Twitter:

legardj Jonathan Legard
Life moves on. Ask Nick Heidfeld or @narainracing. You never know what's next. To the critical and the complimentary, thanks for the company

Gilles27 · Post by **Gilles27** » 11 Jan 2011, 09:56

And there's more:

f1fanatic_co_uk Keith Collantine
Had an email from the BBC saying they are aiming to make an announcement on their #F1 team line-up later today.

I'm really not sure that Brundle and DC is the right way to go. I'd prefer a commentator plus Brundle.

Paul Hayes · Post by **Paul Hayes** » 11 Jan 2011, 10:31

Interesting that they're going to try it without a "professional" commentator, if that is really what's going to happen. Then again, Brundle has been doing it for so long now he's probably more than capable of shouldering most of that responsibility. He can certainly get the excitement into it and has the right touch of irony as well, as he's shown many times in the past, so it could be a good mix. Like many others, though, I would have preferred to see David Croft get the role, as he's always been very good on 5 Live and has that right touch of fannish enthusiasm you need to convey the excitement of it all, as Walker always did.

On the basis of his showing at Monaco back in 2005, I'd love Button to be in there in a few years time when he retires, too.

fjackdaw · Post by **fjackdaw** » 11 Jan 2011, 10:52

Yes, I think if doing the same job for the last 14 years doesn't qualify you as professional, I don't know what does! I think Martin is well equipped to step up and do the main commentary role... which, in all fairness, he's kinda had to do for the last two years.

Post by **mario** » 11 Jan 2011, 11:34

Paul Hayes wrote:Interesting that they're going to try it without a "professional" commentator, if that is really what's going to happen. Then again, Brundle has been doing it for so long now he's probably more than capable of shouldering most of that responsibility. He can certainly get the excitement into it and has the right touch of irony as well, as he's shown many times in the past, so it could be a good mix. Like many others, though, I would have preferred to see David Croft get the role, as he's always been very good on 5 Live and has that right touch of fannish enthusiasm you need to convey the excitement of it all, as Walker always did.

On the basis of his showing at Monaco back in 2005, I'd love Button to be in there in a few years time when he retires, too.

Well, as fjackdaw says, Brundle has probably racked up more than enough experience to qualify as a professional commentator, and has effectively had to act as the lead commentator since the BBC took over the rights most of the time. As for the proposal that Coulthard will take over Legard's position, well, Coulthard and Brundle have occasionally teamed up for Brundle's grid walks, so there is some precedence for the BBC's actions, and I suspect that there are many listeners to Radio 5 who would object strongly to that team being split up for the benefit of TV viewers. After all, the BBC has to cater for both audiences, and what would be good for one (switching Croft from radio to TV) could well be to the detriment of the other.

I suppose, though, that if Karun doesn't get a test driver role elsewhere, he is always free, and does have experience on commentating from his work with the Radio 5 team in the practise sessions...