blackwing
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On 11/2/2023 at 7:19 PM, chaifan said:
I don't think there's ever been a U-turned team that hasn't bitched and moaned about it for the rest of the episode, as well as made the "who U-turned us, we're going to get them" type of comments, even just in jest. And I'm sure they all have been prompted a million times in their talking heads segments to discuss it ad nauseam. It's the same reason why I don't get annoyed (too much) with teams that keep bringing up the same piece of their bio (I'm an ex-professional football player, or my husband is a professional football player, or whatever). So much of the talking head stuff is producer driven. So I personally don't see anything in AL or Steve's behavior/comments that isn't pretty standard stuff for a U-turned team. And I'd bet money on it that they'll be asked about it (again) in their talking heads next week.
On 11/3/2023 at 10:58 AM, iMonrey said:I'm sure they are asked specific things. But unless someone is writing a script for Anna Leigh and she's putting on an act, she's telling us how she really feels. Not in the heat of the moment, but when she's had time to think about it after the leg. Nobody else is pointing fingers at other teams and judging them, other than to say "so and so are a really strong team." This is twice now that Anna Leigh has criticized another team in a negative way, and the first time was before the U-Turn. She's coming off as victimized and entitled. I don't think anyone watching is going to say "Oh poor, poor Anna Leigh, why aren't other people as good and as honorable as she is?" But SHE seems to think that.
I agree that almost all of the U-Turned teams in the past have taken it quite poorly. Usually there's some angry exclamation of "OMG we've been U-Turned" and then the commercial break. But this time around, the U Turn is a lot different. By making the vote happen at the Pit Stop, and being a blind vote, and any team can be eligible to be U-Turned, this has now brought a social aspect to the game.
I like TAR because it was one of the only competitive reality shows where contestants' fate depended solely on their own performance. Sure, teams can be friendly to each other and agree to work together or share info. But there was an easy way to combat that. Don't want others to agree to U Turn you? Just make sure you get ahead of them.
The one time I can remember an alliance was successful was when three teams gave each other the answer at the rock music task which ended up eliminating the NFL players (Gary and his partner who was bitter and said he wasted his time being on the race). That sucked. I really hope there is a new rule in place that prevents such open collusion to eliminate another team.
But by and large, alliances are meaningless here. However, I have to wonder how this new U Turn is going to affect things. Will teams try to get into an alliance from the start? Are there rules in place against discussiing who you want to U Turn?
On the one hand, I do feel for Anna Leigh, because under the previous rules, she and her dad would never have been at risk to be U Turned. But she was just such a sore loser about it. She should have taken it like the people do on Survivor, she was chosen because she is strong.
I do wonder how future U Turns will fall out. As was said in another comment, the teams near the top are going to want to U Turn the strongest team to try and delay them so others can get first place. The teams near the bottom are going to want to U Turn a weak team to try and get them out of the race so they themselves can avoid elimination.
I do wonder how four teams all chose Robbin and Chelsea to U Turn. I think only Todd and Ashley said that they were a strong team. The others seemed to think they were weak and wanted them out. But how did those three teams all decide to U Turn that particular team? To me, the sisters or the boys would have been a better choice to guarantee staying in the race for at least one more leg.
On 11/2/2023 at 8:49 PM, anniebird said:I didn't see U-turning Steve and AL as a means of beating them in the final leg but because they already had a one-hour lead and, if they weren't slowed down, they could have turned that into a two or three hour lead. I just saw it as a way of bringing them back in with the pack.
True. But ever since the edition where a team almost acquired a 24 hour lead due to good airport skills, there have been measures in place to ensure that no team is ever going to get an enormous lead again. There is either airport bunching or hours of operation bunching which will eliminate a lead of hours to a lead of 0 or 15 or 30 minutes.
On 11/3/2023 at 8:52 AM, Netfoot said:I wondered about this. Initially, I thought he was one of the judges or assistants to the judge at the bricks place. I wondered how he would know that they had not properly completed the flowers task. Did he overhear local producers talking? Was he one of the local producers?
Unlike Survivor, where the cameramen don't seem to relay any information to Jeffy or help the contestants in any way, I think the cameramen on TAR are also tasked with acting as spies for Phil. Otherwise, Phil would never know if a team committed a penalty, or forgot their passports, or left their gnome behind.
I'm quite certain that Phil and production knows exactly where each team is and what they are doing, because of regular updates from the camera and sound guys. I would assume that AL's camera guy texted Phil and said "they just finished the flowers and now we are headed straight to the bricks". "Did they go back to the flowers and turn in their two receipts?" "No." "Ok thanks." Then Phil or producer texts whichever production/camera guy is stationed at the brick task to tell that greeter to tell AL that she didn't finish the other task.
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1 hour ago, millennium said:
Did they cast Kendra hoping for Carolyn 2.0? Carolyn was out there, sure, but she was also likeable. I would vote off Kendra in an instant.
Bruce really believes he's the whole package, doesn't he? I wonder what he was like before the bump on the head.
On 11/3/2023 at 3:50 AM, KeithJ said:Kendra and all her antics and faces are very, very annoying. She is not the type of person I could see myself being near for more than five minutes.
I could do without "celebrity" Bruce as well. He's called himself a celebrity a few times now hasn't he? He's also acting like he's the one in charge and that really never ends up well for people. Here's hoping for a blindside next week.
I didn’t like Carolyn, I thought she was just as annoying as Kendra.
Bruce has a massive ego, I am unclear as to why he thinks he is such a celebrity. He was literally on the show for about 15 minutes last time. If he hadn’t been brought back, then he would have been one in a long line of forgotten first exits. I don’t know why he thinks he is such an expert that everyone should defer to and ask for advice, because he barely played last time. Hope he goes soon.
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6 minutes ago, Giuseppe said:
I can't quote every poster who is criticizing Anna Leigh, but I'm still not jumping on this bandwagon just yet. She is high-strung and was visibly frustrated about the u-turn for sure, but I didn't see any pissy or petulant behavior, threatening revenge against other teams, demanding to know who u-turned her, or haranguing of other teams. She asked one team that I can remember if they u-turned her, and she didn't seem very confrontational about it. Maybe she asked others, but I don't think the editors showed it. I saw one of the sisters volunteer the fact that they did NOT u-turn her, and Joel or Garrett volunteered that they did. Yeah, she said she was gunning for them now, but just seemed like trash talk to me. The 'true colors' statement from both of them IS kinda ridiculous, but I'm not seeing this entitled mean-girl behavior that others are. She took the u-turn in good stride, if you ask me. YMMV. Fully reserve the right to reverse my opinion on this in the future, however.
The sister immediately said they didn't U Turn her since it wouldn't do them any good, she had such a huge lead. One of the Beard Guys said they did, she is a strong team. Corey said they did, she had a huge lead.
She was pissy about it, it was all she and her dad could talk about in the rickshaw over to the tasks. And I think in the confessional interview she did say something about how the teams that U Turned them were going to get what's coming to them, or something like that. Or that she would get her revenge. The only revenge she can get is by continuing to race and avoid elimination. If there's a future U Turn, she can cast her ONE vote against another team. This isn't Survivor where she can collude with others to vote out another team. I would be surprised if teams are allowed to have these kinds of discussions with other teams at the Pit Stop.
I wouldn't have owned up to it. She wasn't told how many people voted for her, for all she knew, it was 3. And it's supposed to be an anonymous vote. I loved Andrea saying "no way were we going to tell her, she can find out when she sees it on TV".
2 minutes ago, Netfoot said:But as alluded to above, how does Bald Snarking play into this? In a Detour you can start one task and before completing it, switch to the other. There have been double and I believe even triple bald snarks in the in the past. So if S&AL bald-snarked the challenge right before returning the receipts, completed the other challenge and then bald-snarked back to the first challenge to complete it by returning the receipts...
Obviously the rules prevent this but I can see how they might have misunderstood this if they failed to read their clue properly.
If teams switch Detour tasks, I thought teams have have to actually announce on camera that they are switching Detours. They used to have to do so in the past. But I don't think Morgan and Lena actually stood in front of the camera and said it last week, did they?
I just wish someone didn't tell AL exactly what she did wrong. Maybe the guy could have let her complete the bricks task but then tell her he cannot give her the clue because she did not complete both Detours. Then they would have had to figure out they never turned in the receipts and gone back to the flower shop and gotten the clue there.
There's probably little time wasted but it would have been nice to have seen AL freaking out while trying to figure out what they did wrong.
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The flower task required deliveries to two stations while the bricks was just one. It was hard to tell which task took longer, but I was surprised the boys wouldn't have tried to make up more time by taking the more physical bricks task. They didn't seem to have any drive, and for that I think they earned their elimination. They seem like they came on the race to work on their relationship, and were just la-di-dahing their way through the race. Whether they were on the race or not didn't seem to matter in that respect, because now they get to hang out with each other at some resort for the duration of the race.
I am not sure how I feel about this new mandatory blind U Turn rule. In the past, knowing there was a U Turn ahead made things a lot more urgent, because only a team behind the user could be U Turned. But now, it seems kind of counterintuitive that the team in front will attract more votes and there's nothing they could have done about it other than sucking a bit more in the legs leading up to it. I don't like that TAR has become Survivor with this element, the strong players get the votes.
Corey said the point wasn't to eliminate Steve and Anna Leigh, it was to erase the lead. But that lead would have almost certainly been erased with airport bunching on the next leg. I think it was a poor choice, I definitely would have voted for Robbin and Chelsea. I was kind of surprised they got four votes, I don't think they are a strong team, they just got lucky the one time. If they had gotten U Turned they certainly would have gone home.
16 hours ago, anniebird said:Anna Leigh is turning out to be just as unpleasant as I was afraid she was going to be. Of course you got U-Turned - that's what happens when your team is consistently in first place. Get over it and quit haranguing the other teams.
Yep. I was really liking this team, I have a soft spot for parent/child teams but especially the father/daughter ones. I even was still liking Anna Leigh after her "I'm not telling Todd that was his" incident that others commented on last time. But this episode, she was awful. She was acting like Rupert Boneham bellowing "WHO VOTED FOR ME" in his first appearance. It's part of the game, every team had to vote for someone, she has consistently been at the top of the pack, seems like a no brainer that many teams would vote for her. Get over it, AL.
I also hate the way she talks to her father. Her father is definitely the dead weight. From the way she talks to him, she thinks he is old and slow and incompetent in everything he does. When they picked up the flower bundles, he was actually in front of her loading his bundles on the rickshaw and she still screamed at him to "hurry up". I thought maybe she was telling him to hurry up and move out of the way but she wasn't close enough to be at the point of unloading.
Is there going to be another blind mandatory U Turn? If so, how is Anna Leigh going to exact her revenge? She only gets one vote. She has no idea how many people voted for her. I'm with Andrea, no way would I have told her. The only teams AL knows for sure voted for her are the beard guys and Rob and Corey. So I would assume one of those two are on her "list".
3 hours ago, chaifan said:Malenia is grating on my last nerve. The "out of towners" bit is horrible. First, what's the chance anyone around them understands what they're saying? Second, what's the chance anyone cares? Being an "out of towner" is not a free pass for running into traffic or wanting to push past people. I wish them gone for this alone.
They have become one of my favourite teams. I absolutely love Malaina, she seems a bit wild and crazy and uncouth. I love her unique voice and I love the "out of towners, out of towners". I find it hilarious. Andrea is great, she's a good balance to Malaina.
2 hours ago, Tango64 said:I found this very odd. One of the most delicious moments in TAR is when a team shows up at the mat and Phil says, "...but you didn't complete the flower task." And they scramble back to do it or wait out a penalty. I don't recall ever seeing a producer (via the local person) telling a team mid-race they skipped something and to "read the clue." Read the clue?? When has TAR ever coddled a team like that over a mistake?
I could see possibly, just possibly, the local task supervisor saying, "No, you can't do this task," and then letting the team figure out why. But the way they handled it seemed odd and actually helpful to the team.
I thought that was crappy if somebody clued them in on the fact that they didn't complete the flowers task. The guy should have just said "I'm sorry, I cannot give you the clue" and they should have been left wondering why.
1 hour ago, Netfoot said:I think I can understand why they made that error with the receipts. They figured they had to do both halves of the challenge before getting their next clue. That was a mistake, of course, and one which could have been avoided by simply reading the clue and following the instructions therein. So, yes I understand it, but can't "forgive" it because it was a simple failure-to-read-the-clue type of error - an unforced error on their part which might have cost them the race, but which they were able to overcome.
Every time there is a U Turn, the team that gets U Turned always has to complete the first Detour in its entirety and then move on to the second one. By not returning the flower receipts to the vendor, they didn't finish the task, and they shouldn't have been allowed to start the next task.
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I like Kaleb, so I was happy he survived. I was surprised it was a unanimous vote though, I guess nobody cared if he had an idol? Strategically, he was the right vote, he is strong in the challenges and good at the social game.
I'm still not liking Emily. She's not as abrasive as she was initially. She's very analytical. Normally I like the analytical players but I find it annoying how she excuses all of her behaviour by relating it to her experience as a stock analyst or whatever it is she does. "Oh sorry, the math told me to vote for you, that's in my nature and I can't help it." It's like she's trying to get others to excuse her plays against them by saying it's not her, it's them for being a threat.
I didn't mind J and I guess I don't understand why the entire cast was against her? She made Sifu think she voted for him... why not tell him it wasn't her? What else did she do to the rest of the people? Austin and Kelly wouldn't mind her gone so their amulets grow in power, but not everyone knows they have these, do they?
Bruce is extremely irritating, why was the first 30 or so minutes of the show all Bruce, all the time?
21 minutes ago, SnapHappy said:I'm waiting for the ego clash between Bruce & Sifu. It's got to happen, as "Celebrity" Bruce and Sensei Sifu are both so Alpha Male, it's painful. And I hope it's going to be really ugly.
I can't help but notice that the two people that Bruce has the most issues with, Kaleb and Katurah, are two of the remaining Black players. Not sure if there is some kind of unconscious thing going on there (I am reminded of the season that had three Asian women and one of them was determined to be the last Asian standing). I agree it won't be long before Bruce sets his sights on Sifu, after getting rid of Kaleb and Katurah.
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On 10/28/2023 at 6:11 AM, JudyObscure said:
The jerky movements are so quick, it's possible that they've passed before nurse Kellie looks over and all she sees is the falling part, so she's missing the seizure symptoms.
However, production must see it so why hasn't medical been called?
On the positive side, if it was going to turn out to be something serious we wouldn't be seeing the spells because it would make the show look bad for not doing something sooner.
On 10/28/2023 at 8:53 AM, seacliffsal said:It seems to me that Jake's medical issue will have an impact in a furture episode (no spoilers) just based on it being featured in two different episodes at this point. Hopefully he doesn't have an undiagnosed heart (or other) issue.
Whether it is seizures or dehydration or something else, it has happened twice now, the same exact display of symptoms. Slow crumple to the knees, then brief spasms. The first time, it looked like he was pretty close to the fire. The camera people see it and won't interfere, but surely at this point, medical should have been alerted?
Or is it up to the contestants to ask for medical? Unless Jeff actually sees it happening, like during challenges with Caleb Reynolds and Bruce and other medical evacs, he doesn't get alerted? I guess the camera people really are impartial observers. Unlike the ones on Amazing Race who seem to snitch on contestants to Phil all the time about violations.
I would think that he should be concerned about his long term health and get checked out just for peace of mind. If these seizure are related to heat, exhaustion or dehydration, at least rule that out. Unfortunately, without proper equipment, the medical team would almost certainly pull him and send him to a hospital for further tests. And that's what he is trying to avoid.
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Drew annoys me, he thinks he is this master strategist. He thinks he is way smarter than he actually is. He went to UPenn, so has to be fairly intelligent, but there was something he said which surprised me. I forget exactly what it was and I'm too lazy to rewatch, but it was either he completely misused a word or he was unfamiliar with some word or something.
I like Brando, he seems like a super nice kid, so I was disappointed that Brando went out instead of Drew. Why not Krazy Kendra? She must be super irritating to be around. So much time spent on her and the worm.
On 10/26/2023 at 3:23 PM, eel2178 said:I keep thinking they're calling him "Seafood."
We've had dumber nicknames than that in the past.
I learned from Kung Fu Panda that "sifu" means "master" or "teacher" in Mandarin. I know that he's been doing martial arts since he was a boy and must think of himself as a martial arts teacher, but do people in everyday life call him Sifu instead of his actual name? Seems like an odd nickname for him to insist that his friends call him Sifu. It'd be one thing if his last name was Jack Thompson and his friends call him Tommy or Tomps, that's a nickname actually connected with his first or last name. To insist on being called Sifu is just strange to me.
On 10/27/2023 at 8:16 AM, SnapHappy said:Sifu is gross. What is with all these disgusting guys that think they are all that? Why didn't the women just say Sean lied on his way out? How would Sifu know? Dee could have said Sean told her he was going to write down Sifu, so he lied going out. No disadvantage to it.
I could have sworn there was some rule against the recent boot saying any kind of strategy or game talk on their way out. "Asked to leave the tribal council area immediately." They can say goodbye, but people don't usually spill secrets, like "you said you were going to use your idol on me Jenny, why didn't you", either because it's prohibited or out of some unwritten rule? Maybe there is no rule and people just know not to do that.
On 10/26/2023 at 10:20 AM, iMonrey said:I'm confused about all the different advantages Austin has, I can't remember how the hell they worked and WTF he did in the voting booth. I take it he had two different advantages that more or less cancelled each other out.
I was confused too, and I have to assume there was some kind of language on the Goodwill Advantage that permitted it to be restored actually IN the voting booth? Jeff says his thing about "if anyone has any idols or advantages they wish to play, now would be the time to do so". I would have assumed that the person with the Goodwill, if they were playing it for someone else, would announce that it is being played. I don't like that he had this advantage no one knew about, he was able to play it, it saved his friend, and still no one knows about it. Seems a bit unfair, I think any advantages need to be disclosed when played.
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On 10/27/2023 at 3:54 PM, KeithJ said:
Did they say what happened to papi? I was half awake while watching and he just disappeared after talking about the Vegas trip.
I think that Will just said he wasn't feeling well. We've seen this before in past seasons, there have been one or two times where someone doesn't attend the judging, I always have just assumed it was some kind of gastric distress.
It really does expose the illusion however that this is one continuously filmed segment. We obviously won't see the entirety of the building, but I've always wondered about the really long builds, the 12 hour or 15 hour ones. I assume that's total time and there have to be breaks in between for meals and/or sleeping.
What happens when there is a meal break? Are teams allowed to take the hour to discuss with each other about their plans for the build? Can they sketch out more ideas? Or is it strictly "no working or planning"?
I also wonder if during the building if teams are allowed to do any research on the internet regarding ideas or techniques. I would assume no?
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9 hours ago, Maverick said:
I didn't get what Super Freak had to do with magic either. Definitely a weird night.
The top two and bottom two were definitely flipped. No way Hawk and Tiki belonged in the bottom in that group. Definitely pre-planned hijinx, but then Tyler mentioned being hurt not going farther so I wonder how in on the planning all the celebrities are.
Robin's Too Cool for School attitude really bugs. I can see them approaching him about a Harry Potter costume and him shutting them down fast.
Robin's Sirius Black was weak, he was pretty much in normal clothes. They should have forced him to be Hagrid. Or why not have him be Dumbledore? Jenny was a bad Dumbledore. Jenny would have been naturally suited to Fleur de la Cour. Or maybe McGonagall.
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I enjoyed this week and it was nice that no one went home, since there was no one that really stood out as having done poorly.
I do wish we would have gotten more looks at each of the builds. I feel like the presentations just went by so quickly. It seems only half of the teams on each side got actual comments, or perhaps that is all that editing allowed.
The team that did the sun/moon build should have gotten more credit for the way all four stages connected together. The ocean build was great and had a better story, but each team built their own stage, and I thought the judges would have commented on that.
I agree with Aubrey and Ryan as the winners. They took the comments of Amy seriously and made sure to make their contortionist the star. They also had some ancillary movement with the seaweed and animals also moving. All that was missing was Sebastian crooning "Under the Sea".
Christopher continues to annoy with his villain or faux-villain schtick. It's so irritating and not funny at all. I also continue to dislike his theatrical booming presentations.
The time they wasted on the stupid push-up contest could have been spent showing us more of each build.
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4 hours ago, AnimeMania said:
Ah that's too bad. This show confused and frustrated me, but I wanted to see what it could do in the second season. I will always like Kiefer from before and during "24", so I'm sad for him that he has another failed TV series on his resume.
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49 minutes ago, Cool Breeze said:
I guess now Charlie's going to find love with Esther? The supposed "comic relief" for both shows need to unite and vacate. Please.
I guess I've been off and on with this show. What happened to Pam and her lemon bars? Pam was only on because she was Stephanie's sister and fought with Donna. Charlie was only on because of Pam. Without Pam, there's completely no need for Charlie. The character is a joke, and that's a great comparison, if they really are uniting the two jokes on the show, let them find each other and retire to South America.
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I don't really understand the Harry Potter theme... there are no songs in Harry Potter. I guess it's just another loose theme where all the songs are supposed to have some mention of magic or something? Like the Space theme. I thought it was stupid and completely random.
5 hours ago, Ananayel said:I have no idea who Tyler Posey is. I may have heard the name once or twice.
I have never watched Teen Wolf but I vaguely recognise the name as the guy who was on Teen Wolf. But until "Superman and Lois" started airing, I think I was confusing this guy with Tyler Hoechlin constantly. They were the same person to me. Whoever he is, he can actually sing, which was a nice surprise. This is the kind of person who should be on Masked Singer... someone known for something else and not singing, but who can actually sing.
2 hours ago, Phishbulb said:I'm pretty sure the Sea Queen said she was a "triple threat" and mentioned doing comedy, which wouldn't really fit with Macy Gray. I thought Tiffany Haddish when she said she was going on tour (I think Haddish is about to go on a comedy tour with Lil Rel Howery), but she's not really known for singing.
Voice sounds husky and smoky like Macy Gray. But my thought was that I badly want her to be the legendary Dame Shirley Bassey. I have no idea why Shirley Bassey would do this show, she's in her mid 80s but I think she is still making singing appearances and there are rumours of a new album or a tour coming soon.
I don't think this is Tiffany Haddish, tone seems different. She's not known for singing but she did sing the amazing song "Not Me" in "Lego Movie 2". I think Tiffany is amazing in everything she does, I would love to see her on this show one day!
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There was absolutely no real need for Lauren to show up and even less need for Esther to show up. There's really no room for them over at Y&R, both are extraneous. So maybe they decided to throw these long-time vets a bone and let them guest appear on the sister show?
Esther is truly a joke, when Jeanne Cooper and Katherine died, they should have retired the character. I am flabbergasted as to why she has been on the show for all these years, the character has always been useless. I was surprised to learn that the actress is only the third person (Jeanne Cooper and Susan Lucci) to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame solely for being on a soap opera. She has a star on the Walk of Fame. Amazing.
I think the only reason she is still around is because her daughter Chloe is back in town. The show has fired/retired longtime vets before, a prime example is Doug Davidson / Paul Williams who you would think could be back now that his daughter Heather is back in town. And he had a much more significant role on the show that Esther ever has.
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On 10/21/2023 at 7:45 PM, Gam2 said:
I wasn’t a huge fan of Liam’s in the past but that message he left for Steffy made me want to stab him in the heart. Royal Asshole.
Yes, he's a complete douchebag. What a dick for showing up to Finn's place of work (I think) to confront him about a personal matter, then just hangs out in the office after Finn walks out. Then calls Steffy and leaves that message. If there's an award for Supreme Dick of the Year, he's already won.
When his assholishness makes me root for SHEILA to kill him, that's saying a lot. I've never liked Liam, I've never liked beady eyed Scott Clifton. But I've never hated this character as much as I did watching him leaving that entitled assholish message.
Not sure what is going on with Eric, not sure if John McCook is trying to retire, if so, maybe they will kill off the character. But it's taking too long to get there, just tell us what is going on. He's not a central character on the show anymore so the "I've got a secret" game is tiring.
I hate that the show is turning Li into a complete beeyotch. For a show set in Southern California, an area with a sizeable Asian-American population, this show has hardly had any Asian characters. They finally bring one on again, she was a very minor character, then they "killed" her. Then they brought her back and now she's getting a bigger role. But they have to go and turn her into a beeyotch. Disappointing.
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So since the first teams started the last leg at 5:45 AM, and the first teams started this leg at 8:56 AM, the tasks from the last leg including travelling time only took 3 hours? Originally I thought that the show was faking us out and did one of those "secret" 24 hour pitstops. But then one person said they only slept 2 hours.
11 hours ago, Shermie said:I always wonder, and even more after seeing them do a double leg with little break in between - when do they go to the bathroom? I know they don’t need to let the viewer see a team stopping a challenge for a pee break (or more), but obvi it happens. It just seems like a racer wouldn’t want to waste time when every second counts sometimes.
I vaguely recall one team hurrying to the finish line and one person absolutely had to have a bathroom break. Not sure if it affected their finish, but it must have or why would the producers have included it?
The need to use the bathroom is almost never addressed or mentioned on camera. The only instances that clearly come to mind are Kisha and Jen's infamous bathroom break, and way back in TAR Classic when Brennan said he had to go to the bathroom. I vaguely think there might have been one other time where someone mentioned the need to go.
One of these days I'd love for Phil to write a tell-all behind-the-scenes book. I've often wondered what people do as to the bathroom. Do they just hold it while the leg is active? I assume that if there is a task at a place of business that has a restroom, they would use it. Do they wear Depends?
I also wonder when, what, and how they eat. Do they get fed by production at the Pit Stop? They definitely used to with Eat Sleep Mingle. Then ESM was eliminated. Did it get brought back and we just don't see it? Presumably they are all at some Pit Stop hotel, are teams allowed to leave the hotel to explore? They used to be able to but I'm not sure anymore. While the leg is active, do they just not eat? I guess if the leg is only 3 hours, I would just wait to eat too.
7 hours ago, chicagofan said:You're remembering sisters Kisha and Jen from season 14. After being u-turned they were able to leave for the pit stop ahead of one other team. As they neared the mat Jen had to desperately make another kind of pit stop after drinking several bottles of water at the roadblock. This allowed the other team to pass them causing them to be eliminated in 4th place, just short of the finale.
They redeemed themselves in season 18 - Unfinished Business which they won.
I really liked this team and felt so bad for them when they got eliminated because of a pee. Was very happy for them when they won it all on their next appearance.
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On 10/22/2023 at 6:19 AM, Haleth said:
I'm about 1/3 into Ken Lafollette's new book in the Kingsbridge series, The Armor of Light. So far no one has been raped.
1 hour ago, Anduin said:All things considered, I have enough to go go on for now. Reading, watching, writing. Maybe if I ever run out I'll consider circling back, but it's a pass for now thanks.
"The Pillars of the Earth" is my favourite book ever. The building of the cathedral is the central element of the book. All of the characters' stories and the side-stories are connected in some way to the cathedral.
I love the entire series, each book is set in the same town, 200 years apart. Some of the characters in each successive book are descended from the characters that appear in the prior books. One of these days I will start with the prequel and re-read them all again.
Planning on starting "The Armour of Light" this week. I'm wondering what his plans are after this one. If he continues with the 200 years apart, the next book in the series will be set in the 20th century. Then what? Another prequel set in the 8th century? Or he could try and insert books in between at the 100 year mark, but would have to make sure he has a good editor to make sure the addition of new people in between two existing books doesn't create any inconsistencies.
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On 10/19/2023 at 8:04 AM, Fukui San said:
Farewell team Everything Everywhere All At Once. Perhaps the show ran out of challenges which resembled your day jobs.
Some would say it was prompted by production (like "as the wife of an NFL player") but I for one was so sick of them talking about their grocery store. "This is just like every day when we stock items!" One task was literally to collect items in a market. One task is to identify and sort and present fish.
I get that there are often tasks on TAR that are of this sort, but I was tired of hearing about their store. Even the fish sorting. "No, that's the red rock river bass! We need the yellow bellied striped bass!" Other teams: "oh where is the big one?"
i liked Victor, but good riddance to Jocelyn. She seemed artificially perky whenever they were doing well, and C-3PO "we're doooomed" when they weren't. All those "oh we aren't giving up, we are so proud, we're happy" comments of hers as they were on their final steps to elimination seemed to fake.
On 10/19/2023 at 4:34 AM, Ancaster said:I suspect the woman on the winning team (Robbin with two bs for some reason), who some people here seem to dislike, may have a bit of a chip on her shoulder - I'm guessing she's working class, she has an unremarkable body and face, prominent tatts, and she was probably expecting (having watched previous seasons) her competitors to be a bunch of bitchy, whiny, backstabbing mactors/reality show star wannabees and fame whore you tubers, and presented herself accordingly. Hopefully she'll learn, just like well-fed, well-rested us, in our comfy armchairs with our drinks by our sides, that most of these people appear to be remarkably normal and nice. I'm willing to bet she can drive a stick shift.
On 10/19/2023 at 12:51 PM, Skooma said:I don't know all that but she is the lady that was first bullied in high school by her now partner, lost her husband tragically then shortly thereafter almost died herself and went through brain surgery so she has been through a LOT in life so may be seen as tough because of same. Going through hell and back can do that to you.
I am not sure who is who, but the one I dislike is the blonde with the helmet hair who has really bad sunburn on her face. I thought she is the bully? It seems these two should be the same age, but the other one looks a decade younger and is far prettier. I could have sworn the other one is the one that said her friend was mean to her at volleyball camp or something like that.
The blonde is perhaps my least favourite racer on this season. Something about her just rubs me completely the wrong way.
On 10/19/2023 at 12:48 PM, Skooma said:It is a rule on TAR that they don't guard personal items and it is up to you entirely unless there is a task where you start at one point and end at another like a long rappel say where a designated vehicle will bring your backpacks down to the finish of the task for you.
But otherwise no, you are on your own. And it was a very crowded, chaotic market where one bad apple amongst the hustle and bustle could purloin your backpack in a split second and basically end your race then and there.
It's interesting because in past seasons we saw a team leave their passports in a bag in a taxi and production just let the taxi and bag go and the team was eliminated. But for some reason, production always seems to guard the Amazing Fanny Pack? More than a few times a team has left the Fanny Pack and we always see a camera shot of it. Does no one try to steal it because a cameraman is standing near it to get a reaction shot for when the teams come back?
Wouldn't the same apply if someone's backpacks were on the ground? I would imagine the show would want to station a cameraman by the bags to get a shot of them if the bags disappeared. One season, I forget which one, one team took another teams' bags out of a taxi and just left them on the ground unattended. I think they got a penalty for it. I think a cameraman was probably stationed near them to protect the bags?
On 10/19/2023 at 9:37 PM, Roccos Brother said:4 - I must be heartless, but I couldn't care less about Liam and Yeremi's very first-world sounding family drama.
Same. This reminds me of the early days of the race, when teams seemed to be cast in part because of their marital problems and because production thought it would add drama. Frangarita, the separated couple from TAR Classic who saw the Race as a chance to work on their marriage. Or Tara/Will from Season 2... enough said about Will!
I couldn't care less about the fact that one brother was mean to the other and walked away, or whatnot. I don't need to see splotchy-faced, red-eyed, snot-nosed crying over interpersonal problems on TAR.
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This was a fun challenge, I liked the sounds and the ways the teams interpreted the sounds.
Once again, editing clearly signalled that Tim and Tim were going home. Anytime a team gets called out during building by Amy and Jamie and the early part of the show focuses on their problems, they're out. Their build looked terrible and if anyone but them went home I would have been upset.
I don't agree with Aubrey and Ryan being in the bottom two. Yes, their spaceship was small. But the landscape and detail was incredible.
There's a huge difference in skill level amongst the teams. As much as I like the brother/sister, their skills seem a bit weak. The crib was very blocky. They seem to have basic sculpting skills but the baby was also a bit blocky.
The pink ladies also are weak. I thought their robots were terrible, very blocky. No colour, each was one solid colour and boring. Not much detail in the build at all. I would have put those two in the bottom two.
Ukuleles are more skilled than Pink Ladies and Brother/Sister. Thankfully they didn't sing this week.
I want so much to like Christopher and Robert but I've decided they really turn me off with their arrogance and their theatrical booming presentations. The one that speaks more and is always on the left (I assume that's Christopher, the one with the basement of thousands of Lego sets) is nowhere near as funny or witty as he thinks he is.
The scale of their build was impressive, especially the UFO. I'm sure they were expecting to get the golden brick, and I cackled when they weren't even in top 2. Would have loved to have seen a shot of their faces dropping when the second team was named.
Neena and Sam continue to crush it. The gears alone were really impressive.
I liked the teachers and their monkey students build. Very creative. They said an episode or so ago that they are proud Cubans. But if so, I'm wondering why Luis pronounces his name like Lewis Carroll instead of loo-EESE.
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I was confused because I was expecting this week to crown the Group A winner. I expected Smore to get eliminated first. Then Cow and Gazelle would Battle Royale and someone would use the Ding Dong Bell to save the loser. So I was surprised to see all new masks.
Robin's fake piano playing took me out of his opening performance... you can tell his hands didn't even move up and down the keyboard to hit the lower or higher notes.
Someone has to be feeding Ken answers, right? He's gotten 3 out of 4 correct. I think he must have complained about being the show's joke and requested that he be shown to make correct guesses this season.
It was so obvious that Billie Jean King was just cannon fodder, there's no way she even came close to the level of the others.
1 hour ago, borealis said:Also, I'm 99.9% sure Hawk is Bryan Adams.
I am a lifelong Bryan Adams fan and I have long wanted him to be on this show. Unless he is changing his voice, I would be surprised if Hawk were Bryan Adams. Hawk doesn't have the same tone. At some point he says in his speaking voice "here we go", didn't sound like Adams at all. The singing didn't have enough of his signature rasp.
The clue package in the beginning about being an underdog does kind of fit his bio. However, I don't think he has any kind of close connection to New York. And he specifically said he collaborated with Miley Cyrus. I don't believe Adams has sung with Miley Cyrus. He did a song with Billy Ray Cyrus, but not Miley.
I think the biggest issue is that I think this season was filmed in July and August. Adams was on his "So Happy It Hurts" tour, don't think there would have been time for him to do this show, even if the shooting schedule is compacted.
Hawk is also too tall to be Adams. I'm judging from where he held the microphone as being his mouth, and am assuming the eyes of the mask are where his eyes actually are. He seems almost as tall as Nick Cannon. Adams is a bit diminutive, he's about 5-7.
(If Hawk does turn out to be him, I will have major egg on my face!)
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On 10/14/2023 at 1:59 PM, kav said:
I love them. Last week a preview showed there was a twist, turned out to be a keep on running one, but some people thought it could be a partner twist. I don't think they would do that this season because it would be unfair to Rob. D we know if there is some sort of interpreter for the challenges when Rob is alone?
Yes, in the Roadblock in the first episode where one person had to go to the roof and unscramble letters, Rob did it. He had an interpreter with him that we saw on camera who spoke for him when he gave Phil the answer.
I am curious if this interpreter is assigned to travel around with them everywhere. If so, how does he fit in the car? Or does he travel with production staff and is only on hand for Roadblocks requiring verbal communication, in case Rob does it?
Rob does seem to be able to speak, I think this indicates he lost his hearing as a child after he became verbal. And he can read lips. So he wouldn't be completely helpless.
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I read The Dark Edge of Night by Mark Pryor. This is the second book in a series set during World War 2 in German-occupied Paris. Henri LeFort is a French police detective who is tasked by the German occupiers to solve the disappearance of a missing German doctor. Along the way, he is also trying to solve a murder as well as the disappearance of some young children who his neighbor Mimi suspects have been taken by the Germans for nefarious purposes.
I enjoyed this book, it was a good follow up to the series debut. I wish Pryor would get back to writing about Hugo Marston, but I'll read this series until he does, if ever.
I read The Vacation by John Marrs. We meet various guests at a rundown backpacking hostel in Venice Beach, California. Each of them seems to have some kind of secret and different reasons for being there.
The tagline on the cover promised "Sun. Sex. Murder." While I'd say it was lacking in a great deal of all three, there is a murder, but it's not central to the plot. This was an interesting book because usually books like these involve a murder and trying to determine who done it. Instead, there are other mysteries that are captivating enough to have kept me going.
My biggest issue with this book is that there are too many characters. There's several characters that don't add to the plot at all, they are just extra stories, and their stories abruptly stop at some point (not through death) and we don't hear about them again until the closing pages. This was my first book by this author and I'll give him another chance.
I read Murder on the Christmas Express by Alexandra Benedict. Last Christmas, I read her earlier book, "The Christmas Murder Game", and remember finding it kind of mediocre. But I'm a sucker for "Murder on the Orient Express" and went into this book thinking it could be similar, and with a Christmas setting, how could it not be fun?
Alas, the Christmas setting barely comes into play. There's a snowstorm and a fallen tree on the tracks and people start dying. There's mentions of getting home in time for Christmas, and not much else Christmas. This author tries her best to be like Christie, but who can?
As with many books of this genre, everyone has a secret. I don't think this author is a very good writer. She thought it would be edgy to give us brief chapters looking into the mind of the killer. Unfortunately, she kept on referring to the killer as "they", I wasn't sure if she was dropping a hint that the killer was the nonbinary character or if she simply couldn't figure out to write these chapters without giving away whether the killer was a man or a woman. She would have been better off cutting these chapters, they added nothing to the story.
My biggest problem with the book was the solution.
SpoilerOne character confesses to the murders. But the detective figures out that she was lying and covering up for someone else. It turns out that the fake killer and the real killer were both raped by the same man who was one of the murder victims. The fake killer felt pained for the real killer so decided to confess and give up her life for the real killer who she had never even met? Made absolutely zero sense.
I don't think I should read next year's version of this author's Christmas book.
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4 hours ago, sugarbaker design said:
Just read this one and I enjoyed it very much. Cute, without being cloying, no cringy moments, an imperfect heroine with a charming set of supporting characters. I look forward to more.
Yes, this is a great series. I just finished the fourth book, Case of the Bleus, and it was a good read.
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I've been wondering, are these two full sisters? To me, one looks Black and the other looks Hispanic or maybe Filipino. Perhaps they are mixed race and they each take after one parent?
S35: Andrea Simpson and Malaina Hatcher
in The Amazing Race
Awww, I absolutely love them. I think the "out of towners, out of towners" is hilarious. They're two Black females travelling to places like Thailand, Vietnam, and India. Plus, the locals can probably see that they're being trailed by a camera guy and a sound guy. It should be really obvious that they're almost certainly "out of towners" and she says it anyways. There's something about the unnecessariness of it all that makes it funny to me.
I don't think they are the strongest team, and will probably be eliminated soon. But I love their friendship and I think calm and competent Andrea is a great balance to the somewhat frenetic Malaina.