I wish Clarkson would stop blatantly avoiding this catchphrase, because it makes his outros seem unnatural and contrived. I hope the BBC hasn't claimed exclusive rights to it; it would be very petty if it had. Have they been using it in the new Top Gear?
shareMy knowledge of copyright law is sketchy, but I don't think a corporation can actually trademark a performer's personal catchphrase. Maybe they can in certain instances, but the point of a catchphrase is that it's particular to a certain performer (in this case, Clarkson), so it effectively belongs to him, in whatever context he wishes to use it.
I know Andy Wilman has laid down a lot of guidelines about what they should and shouldn't say, but I think this is more about moving away from Top Gear and establishing The Grand Tour as a different show than trying not to fall foul of the evil, wicked BBC, which is probably more concerned with getting the new Top Gear team to gel in any case.
Thinking about it logically, if the BBC had somehow stopped Clarkson from legally using "...and on that bombshell..." (highly unlikely), he'd also be barred from saying things like "...in the world" or "Power!" or "Anyway..." or whatever else he said on a regular basis on Top Gear.
The BBC can protect its IP, but only to a point. Some interweb inhabitants seem to be characterising the BBC as some all-powerful ogre with more lawyers at its disposal than coffee cups, when it's really just a public broadcaster on some god-awful, doomed island off the coast of Europe. Basically, Amazon has very little to worry about.
Make tea, not war. 🌈
when it's really just a public broadcaster on some god-awful, doomed island off the coast of Europe.
"when it's really just a public broadcaster on some god-awful, doomed island off the coast of Europe"
And that was the moment your post lost all credibility
I disagree: my post didn't have any credibility in the first place.
Make tea, not war. 🌈
He's likely to be using it because "and on that bombshell' was a catchphrase of Alan Partridge on Knowing me Knowing You. At the end of an episode, it was likely he'd got in to an awkard situation with a guest, including accidentally killing one with a gun. Jeremy Clarkson is arguably sometimes regarded as Patridge-esque by some people because of some conservative viewpoints, deliberate over-emphasis on words as if doing a voiceover, seeming to enjoy getting further in to trouble if controversy occurs, being middle class yet somehow not always fitting in with the middle class (at least that's the caricature), possibly a few fashion choices here and there, and the like.
http://www.kgbanswers.co.uk/who-used-the-phrase-and-on-that-bombshell-first-alan-partridge-or-jeremy-clarkson/1901310