Well, the BBC has announced that Jeremy Clarkson is getting the old heave-ho for bullying and assaulting a subordinate, throwing the popular show into crisis.
But like the old urban myth about the Chinese character for "conflict" says, this is a situation with both obvious danger (alienated fans) and opportunity. The opportunity is to give the show's formula a refresh, and I think I know just how to do it:
Replace Clarkson with a woman.
While I consider myself a feminist, I don't have a feminist agenda here. I have a fan agenda. The show's formula of three guys making asses of themselves is pretty long in the tooth by now, and if they simply try to slot in a replacement meathead fans will only see him as "not Jeremy Clarkson".
There's also something condescending to fans in the very idea of replacing a favorite character with a close copy, as if they can't tell the difference between New Coke and Classic Coke.
So don't try to reproduce the old dynamic. Shake it up instead. I'm picturing a kind of tomboy/sibling rivalry thing going where the girl doesn't always win, but shows she can keep up with the boys.
I think fans would tune into see a smart, funny woman driving exotic cars too fast and pranking the boys. It wouldn't take long for old fans not to miss the old orangutan, and maybe the show would pick up some new fans.
So the next question is who? Any suggestions?