LadyChatts

You're right! For some reason, I was thinking that they had visited there more than they had. So that might have been a nice break up for them to have a leg there and taken out UAE, London, or one of the Swiss legs.

My interest went way down when it looked like they were eliminated. I didn't even think of the possibility that they got the FF in Croatia, which is the only thing that makes sense as to why they were the only team not spotted. Team Fun was my other horse in the race, so I am disappointed they are out, but at least they will be in it practically all season as well. I've always lurked in the TAR forum, but C/C made me start posting. That was such a happy surprise, as I figured the TAR teams picked would all be from the recent seasons and repeaters who've raced 2 and 3 times. I want them to win for a varity of reasons; I think it would be such a great story line for a team from that far back that's only racing their second time in an era of TAR that is different from theirs to win. In addition, and this is way more wishful thinking, but if they won and got a positive response, I'd love for that to open the door in future AS TAR seasons to bring back teams from older seasons. Maybe TPTB would realize they don't need recent teams that have already raced and lost numerous times. Some of the team combos that were originally rumored for this season (namely on the Big Brother side) were a big turn off to me, but besides Rupert, I can't say I was overly displeased with the cast. Puzzled by a few inclusions, but overall the teams made sense. I agree about the route. I would have loved another leg in Uganda, or just somewhere else in Africa. It would have even been nice to get a South America leg, or Australia/New Zealand despite Australia being a frequently visited country. I am excited for Croatia, Laos, Switzerland, Uganda, and Vietnam. Like you, I wish Uganda, Laos, and Croatia had more than one leg. ETA: It would be great if C/C got the win and Christie performed the last RB, since she was in the last season where there were no RB limits (and part of the reason that changed).

With my luck Colin/Christie are going to finish 2nd. Again. Just glad I got them until the end of the race. There was a photo with I believe Tyler/Korey checking in with Phil in London posted at RFF so I'm assuming they are in the final 3 (unless they are eliminated). I will say I'm happy that 3 out of the 4 teams left are original TAR teams.

I just don’t know if I feel she was 100% the problem with casting. It will be interesting in the first Lynn-less casting season, which I’m assuming will be S39, to see if it’s any better. I know there had been rumblings from Redmond the last few years that some seasons they struggled with casting (but that can be blamed on whatever stupid twist they were trying to shoe horn the contestants in). And with some fans asking for better diversity, along with a wider range of backgrounds like we had in the early days, it’ll be interesting to see if that changes. Reading Shanes comment made me think of a couple of other things-this might put the kibosh on some players ever getting a chance to return if they were a fave of Lynn and Lynn alone. And I wonder if some contestants will have less influence in recruiting or helping in the casting process. I can believe that there may be more to this than she just sucked at casting, but was more expendable in getting rid of over someone else. I will agree that it’ll be a good thing if we don’t get an Ozzy, Aubrey, Cochran, Boston Rob, and Parvati repeats every season. I’m just hoping this isn’t a bad sign that S37 and the soon to be finished filming S38 tanked because of casting.

Oh, I do agree about it being a Purple Kelly cast. I guess what I meant was, it seemed like one of the better casts in awhile on paper and in pre and post show interviews. It's unfortunate that so much of the focus was on the horrible twist of Ghost Island and Dom/Wendell. I think it could have been a much better season had they let some of the other personalities shine. But I think as a whole it was a better cast than we had in awhile, especially HHH, Game Changers, and Worlds Apart. That said, I still don't know how much say and control she has with casting without other input, and I can't really blame her on the editing. I don't think the GI cast didn't try, TPTB just chose to focus on Dom/Wendell. As a whole, I think Survivor needs an overhaul in every department. I'm one that wants a different location besides Fiji and better challenges, and of course better editing and less cushy rewards. But heck, they tried this season to make it harder for them in an attempt to make the workers and providers more valuable, and apparently it failed.

https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2018/07/survivor-casting-director-lynne-spiegel-spillman-fired/ So Lynn Spillman has been fired from CBS (she did casting for Survivor and TAR I believe). This article has quotes from Shane Powers’s podcast where he broke the news. Needless to say he is no fan of Probst and doesn’t hold back blaming him. Not exactly sure how I feel about this. I think GI was one of the better casts Survivor has had in a long time, despite the focus being mainly on Dom and Wendell. But before that, I think casting has been weak for awhile. I know that doesn't rest squarely on Lynn, but I guess if she was butting heads with the almighty Probst and CBS wanted a change she was probably easier fodder.

And there were photos posted at RFF of a task in the Netherlands involving a fake cow that had to be taken off a trailer...which gives me flashbacks to Colin's epic meltdown in S5 and makes me hope there's some reference to "My ox is broken!" this season. I'm really worried Nicole/Victor are going to win this. Out of the 5 remaining teams they are the ones I don't want anywhere near the finish line.

YES!!!!! I wonder if they took a fast forward in Croatia and that’s why they weren’t seen. Whatever the case, this is the BEST news. Holding out hope nothing goes wrong for them or Team Fun and they both make the final 3. Don't really care who the 3rd team is. I am disappointed about Elissa, but not Rachel. In reality, I can't say I'm overly disappointed by any eliminated team yet. Corinne might have been fun to have since she has no filter and might have gone at it with some of the teams. But the boot order didn't depress me until it looked like C/C were out. Glad they didn't fall victim to a stupid twist (and hopefully don't).

I feel like Bret and Chris are going to win this. Hopefully they get more an edit than they did on Survivor. I still can't remember Chris at all. Really sad about Colin/Christie. I hope they didn't go out due to some stupid twist that put them behind. I'm just glad they are going to be around for most of the season. Last I looked there had been no sightings of Rachel/Elissa, either, but not sure if that changed. Team Fun better win this, because I have no interest in the other teams besides them.

I feel like I know more about the upcoming cast than I do the last 2.

Leo and Jamal are like chameleons. I know it was being debated if they were eliminated in Uganda along with Britney and Janelle but here they are again. Getting nervous at no Colin/Christie sightings. I know they were spotted leaving Uganda but I haven’t seen any sightings of them since.

https://people.com/tv/fear-factor-celebrity-episodes-exclusive/ One more show for reality show has beens to extend their 15 minutes of fame. On the Survivor front, Abi Maria, Sierra, and Caleb (shocker) will be appearing on a celebrity edition of Fear Factor on MTV.

The more teams out the better the chances for Colin/Christie and Team Fun. I think at this point I'd want Rachel/Elissa in the final 3 with them, as long as they don't win lol I just don't care for the other teams left, and I do like Elissa. I'd also go for Tyler/Korey strictly for being a TAR team.

I haven’t been too crazy about the route, but I love when the show visits new countries. Glad we are getting an Africa leg as well.

I don’t care for Leo/Jamal one way or the other, but I’d be happy if Eliza (who I can’t stand) was out. Corinne oddly enough I don’t mind, but I don’t care that she’s gone, either. I listen to the podcast she does with Max Dawson and despite not liking either of them on their respective seasons, I enjoy listening to them on there. As I’ve mentioned, there’s only two teams I care about and I’m thrilled they are both still there. I’m trying to decide if I think C/C had it harder in the TAR classic era (minus the roadblock rule that came the following season) or easier. I tend to think TAR classic seasons were harder in the sense that there was a lot more doing stuff on your own, and not a bunch of twists thrown in, so maybe that’s one thing working to their advantage. I’m sure they didn’t go into this blindly, either.

I never minded Elissa, either. At first I was determined to dislike her since I never liked Rachel, but she won me over. Had she been on the show first I might have tolerated Rachel better. I'm wondering if Bret/Chris will be as snooze worthy as they were on Survivor. That's my only disappointment if they're still in the race. So who do we have left? Corinne/Eliza, Bret/Chris, Colin/Christie, Becca/Floyd, Tyler/Korey, Nicole/Victor, Janelle/Britney? I just want Colin/Christie and Becca/Floyd in the final 3, with one of those two teams winning (preferably C/C). Don't care who the third team is as long as they finish in 3rd.

Thank you TAR gods that Rupert is out. Colin/Christie still look amazing. Can’t really complain of any of the remaining teams left. As I said, I hope the remaining TAR teams go far (to the final 3 would be preferable).

Even though I don’t care for either of those teams (and am mystified why Art/JJ are even back) I hope the remaining TAR teams go far, especially Colin/Christie. I’d love to see TAR classic win, especially since they were done in by a delayed flight and flat tire.

I was nervous about what TAR teams we were going to see, especially any fourth timers (I could say the same for Survivor and BB teams). I will say, while I don't follow the TAR teams all that closely off the show, none of the teams from the respective 3 shows picked seem fame whorish. Like, they all have lives and jobs and families outside of the show that they will go back to. It's an interesting contrast to who was cut from the BB side of things, the people from BB that would go on anything that had the word 'reality show' in it (thinking specifically of Caleb here). Bret/Chris are such a random pair from Survivor, despite being friends outside of the show. But they don't seem like the type that campaign to make reality TV a way of life and to make a living off of. Except maybe Rupert, but I don't even think he's as bad as some of the ones who've come off these shows in recent years.

I think they were asked for the first AS season but Christie was pregnant at the time (that might have just been speculation that they were asked). I was always disappointed they didn’t come back in one of the other AS seasons, and while I hoped this day would come, wasn’t sure it ever would (either because the show wouldn’t ask or the couple would have moved on with their busy lives). They were a very pleasant surprise to see on the roster, and both still look amazing. I remember the first time they ran the race and had a rough go of it after the fact due to public perception of them over editing. I randomly found Colin’s email on a message board he posted at and worked up the nerve to contact him. He and Christie both sent me back very nice replies. I think they were grateful for the fan support. While this cast isn’t the worst they could have come up with (so happy the original leaked BB teams got cut), these two alone have really peaked my interest. I’m almost afraid to follow spoilers because I do not want to see them out early. I’d love to see them do well for many reasons, one of which is being a classic TAR team.

In regards to one of the teams

I’m honestly surprised at who was selected, out of all the former Survivor contestants they could have picked. Especially one particular team.

I may have to start posting about TAR now that Colin and Christie are FINALLY back (one of my all time favorite teams from my all time favorite season). Seeing the list of TAR alums makes me wish they’d just done another AS season. Would have been nice to see some other older seasons represented. Glad Becca and Floyd are back, too, though that’s not a surprise. That’s the best they could get from Survivor? I had to look up who Chris and Bret were. Color me surprised they were on a recent season. And Rupert and Eliza alone makes me want to not tune in.

I had been re-watching this season and am almost done (just the finale and reunion show left). It wasn't one of my favorites when it first aired, but wondered if over time (and some truly horrible seasons that followed) my mind would be changed. It wasn't. It mainly boiled down to an unlikable cast for me. Twila's the only one I found worth rooting for, and it pains me that she's never returned. Chris's win totally soured me the first time, but strangely I'm finding him not to be such a terrible winner the second time around. Still would have preferred Twila a million times over, because Chris got very, very, very lucky. Lucky that the original tribe split had 5 older men to 4 younger men. Lucky that he was able to form some kind of social bonds with the women after the tribe swap. Lucky that he was seen as less of a threat and had the social bonds after the men started getting picked off at the merge. Lucky that he had such a bitter jury and two guaranteed votes in Sarge and Chad. Oddly, while I wasn't a big fan of Sarge, I would have even preferred him to win over any of the remaining women. Ami was such an arrogant obnoxious control freak who grew into a barrel of sour grapes when Leann got blindsided and the game didn't go her way. I can't say I cared for Julie that much, and while I barely remembered Leann, she seemed more tolerable in the beginning. Scout was okay but kind of a whiner. And then there's Eliza, who despite bringing humor to both her Survivor appearances, I find one of the most annoying contestants to ever play in 36 seasons of the show. At the time she was going to college not too far from where I lived, so it was cool to have someone local (the only other person in my neck of the woods who was on Survivor back then was Frank Garrison). The news media couldn't interview Eliza before she got voted off, but her friends at school did weekly parties and spoke to the media about watching her on TV. I can't say the pre-merge group was much better. I loved the location, I loved the cultural elements of how it started and how it was incorporated into the season. But the cast really put a damper on it for me.

I was no fan of Dawn but I would have done the same thing, and told Probst a thing or two at the reunion when he kept harping on it like it was all Dawn's fault for betraying poor Brenda. Seriously, I get emotions run high in this game, especially given the elements and personal connections, but people can take themselves way too seriously. Brenda's grandstanding at the FTC was one of the worst.