On the day when a Germanwings aircraft was, apparently, deliberately flown into the side of a mountain in the French Alps, killing all 150 people on board, another unfolding story was - sadly - also gripping international media: the potential sacking of the BBC's Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson. That's right, a man who hosts a television show. About cars. (Who did eventually get the elbow.) I'm surprised the planet didn't stop spinning for such a momentous event.
Of course, if you or I had punched and screamed abuse at our boss, there wouldn't have been any controversy. We would have been out on our ear quicker than you can say, "lickle Jezza's twemper tantwum". But because Clarkson brings huge wads of cash to the TV station, it was a drawn-out drama that bordered on the insane.
There's nothing particularly clever about picking on Clarkson these days. He's an easy target, for sure. But even if you abhor his political leanings and musty chauvinistic bravado, there's no denying he was very good at his job.
It's difficult to tell whether he was playing an exaggerated caricature of himself to rile the lefties or if he genuinely is that much of a tool. The only good thing to come out of this whole ridiculous circus is that his buffoonish sidekicks, James May and mini-me Richard Hammond, appear to have quit in solidarity.
No doubt, given the global popularity of Top Gear, other stations will be fighting to offer the trio deals worth gazillions of dollars, enough to keep them in double denim and gas-guzzling penis extensions for life.
As the Top Gear era ends - as we know it, at least - TVB Pearl begins broadcasting the mega-successful show's 21st season (tomorrow at 9.30pm). The first episode sees the smarmy threesome mess around with boy-racer cars from the 1980s while disparaging anyone who doesn't adhere to their outlook on life. This series will also see Clarkson and his buddies embark on a tiny-car road trip across Ukraine before taking three lorries on an adventure in Myanmar. This trip (in episode 6) contains the infamous scene in which Clarkson excels himself by decreeing, "There's a slope on it", in reference to an Asian man on a bridge. What a lovely chap you are, Jeremy!