Tuesday 13 July 2010

Dear Top Gear, your subtitles are RUBBISH!

Dear Top Gear,

Thank you, no really, THANK YOU for your consistency in cocking up the subtitles that accompany your show, series after series.

OK, so I know they’re not actually typed by Top Gear peeps – much as I’d love Jeremy Clarkson to subtitle his own show, but I think it's about time the Beeb had a word with the people who do, because they are rubbish.

I know this because last night, while watching a recording of Sunday's show, right in the middle of Baracello's interview, the subtitles jumped so far ahead that I found out his lap time practically before he'd crossed the finish line.

Arghhhh!

I turned the subtitles off, I turned them on, I restarted the programme, and I swore, but nothing worked, which was frustrating as it rendered the rest of the programme useless. I was just about to delete it, when I instead decided to let it run, and read a magazine while keeping one eye on the subtitles to see if they would eventually even out. And they did – but not until a whole section on a Muscle Car had passed, and an interview with Rupert Grint.

What gets me is how consistently terrible Top Gear’s subtitles are – there are enough blog posts here as evidence to this – and half the time I don’t even bother to comment as I know I won’t be able to type anything polite.

In fact, I can barely remember an episode where the subtitles didn't get stuffed up.

It's not good enough. It's not why I pay my TV licence.

Sort it out guys... preferably by next week, yeah?!

Yours stroppily
DG

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It won't change sadly. Top Gear is subtitled live, like live events such as news and sport. Of course these are always worse than when prepared in advance. The latter isn't possible for TG as the editing of the show doesn't finish until quite late.

The only hope is that they take the time to redo it for the repeats during the week.

Anonymous said...

well, hop over the pond and catch our version of top gear. never had problems with the subtitles. plus its hilarious trying to lipread your cockney accents. but i guess u wouldnt know about that. that its hilarious, i mean.