[All Episodes Talk: S03 War Of The Damned]

Thanks Badger and ElleryAnne for the clarification of the three women's names.  I am terrible enough about remembering names in real life let alone all of these characters' names.  Appreciate the help.

 

Don't worry about the blood letting scene guys.  I was grossed out the first time too but it is not as kinky as it looked.  There is a logical explanation for what happened coming up soon.

 

I think the "apologies" and "gratitude" lines instead of "sorry" and "thanks" is, along with all the dropping of the "the" and "a" and "an" words, an effort by the writers to get a singular style for their show.  I don't know Latin but maybe they didn't use definite and indefinite objects (is that what "the," "a" and "an" are called).  A lot of language don't use them so maybe Latin is one of those languages??  Their way of saying it isn't the 21st century anymore maybe.  I assume "apologies" and "gratitude" are the literally translations of the Latin words that were used in those situations.  A reminder that so much of English derives directly from Latin as well as Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, French and Norse.  Just my theory.  Maybe I'm wrong though.

[All Episodes Talk: S03 War Of The Damned]

Thanks, green, for the answers!  My knowledge of Roman history is sorely lacking. 

 

 

That may be it, then.  The ones I was curious about were shown in a transition between the Romans and Spartacus.  It looked like Spartacus had a bunch of them on sticks.  Very Lord of the Flies.  Maybe they were war trophies?

 

Yeah Spartacus -- or any other enemy of Rome -- would keep and showcase any eagle standards they captured.  It was the ultimate insult to Rome to have them in your possession if you were their enemy.  It was a desecration to all that was Roman far greater to them than say some enemy of the US burning the American flag to Americans these days.

[All Episodes Talk: S03 War Of The Damned]

Yikes.  This season is going to be rough on my nerves, I see.  Must they show people burning alive?  The show's general gore is so excessive that it's almost laughable, but people burning alive is the stuff of nightmares for me.  

 

That is some serious PTSD coming back to haunt Naevia.  I would guess that after months of being on Vesuvius surrounded mainly by other former slaves, it must be re-waking some of the trauma to be living in a city among reminders of the kind of Romans who abused and tortured her.   Attius was suspect anyway, and his sympathy for the baker only made him seem less trustworthy.  But there's so much fear and anger in Naevia right now, it hurts to watch.  I've said before that love the way CA-R is playing the role but I have to say MB as Crixus deserves kudos, too, just for the expression on his face when Naevia was telling that story.  I would've sworn he aged with every painful word she said.

 

Also, during Naevia's fight with Attius I may have covered my eyes and chanted pleasedontletnaeviadiepleasedontletnaeviadie.  This show stresses me out sometimes.

 

I'm curious to see what comes of Attius' death in the next episodes, since the gladiators seemed to have differing feelings about him.  Gannicus considered him a friend, Agron didn't trust him (but as Spartacus said, Agron doesn't trust anyone), and Crixus' perspective may be influenced by what Naevia said about him.  Could be some dissent among the ranks for Spartacus.  Well, more than the usual dissent among his three 2IC's.

 

And now there are pirates in the mix.  That's a development I didn't expect.  

 

The cute pirate flirting with Nasir was just asking for trouble.  Why would you insult a gladiator - excuse me, a frickin' gladiator who's half a foot taller than you and has muscle to spare - after trying to score with his significant other?  Agron barely had to move in order to deck him.

 

And I guess I can add "jealous" to the list of traits that Agron has that are sweet as long as you're not the one dealing with him.  I liked that Nasir assured him he had nothing to worry about.

 

And Saxa sets up a threesome for Gannicus, because why not?  I'm glad Gannicus said no to that, because that girl (Sybil?) did look awfully young.  And Saxa looked gorgeous.   Flirting, fighting, hook-ups...I tell ya, a little wine and these guys become Big Brother Sinuessa.  All that was missing was a hammock for Crixus and Naevia to swing in.

 

The Romans are currently dull in comparison.  I'm not interested in Tiberius and Caesar trying to outdo each other in the snotty-brat department.

 

Btw - am I the only one who thinks Tiberius looks like David Archuleta and Caesar looks like Eric Christian Olsen?  

 

"Pirates of the Mediterranean!"  And a historically correct development too.  Aside from the Cilician pirates dealings with Spartacus they were all over the Med in those days.  Pompey the Great finally broke their power but they were a force to be reckoned with.  Their main hidden bases were on the eastern coastline of modern day Turkey (Cilicia area then which gave them their name) near where it meets with Syria.

 

I had to google them to spell Cilician right here I admit (getting to hate spelling at this point for this show, always have to look stuff up, hah) and found an interesting entry online which gives some idea into the early character of Caesar just several years previous to the Spartacus revolt:

 

"When Sulla (me: that's Sulla the Dictator that did in poor Lucius' fortunes in the past) died in 78 BC, Julius Caesar returned to Rome as a lawyer, prosecuted Sulla's supporters, and headed to the Greek city of Rhodes to study oratory. Pirates seized the vessel in 75 BC, kidnapped Caesar, and held him for ransom. Caesar was insulted at the ransom demand, which was insultingly low, and promised to crucify the pirates after he was free. At his insistence, the pirates raised the ransom demand to a level in accordance with his station; his friends quickly raised the sum. After his freedom was purchased, he assembled a small army, which captured the pirates and crucified them."

 

Well you got to admit he did keep his word to the pirates.  Got that going for him.  Fun times in ancient Rome ... except for said pirates he caught.

 

And yeah Sybil does have an innocence to her.  Nice to see someone like that amid all the hands on both sides so red with blood.

[S25.E07: Pretty Fly For A Food Scientist]

innominate listed some times when heat and wind have affected challenges, but I have been wondering recently why I can recall hardly any instances of hard rain on the race in all 25 seasons.  The only significant rain I can remember is when Zev gave a stranger his raincoat while they were in transit in some Asian country I think.  It makes me wonder whether the production checks the forecasts in advance of each leg and actually stops the show and waits for a good forecast before moving on.  I'm sure that happens sometimes but I wonder how often.

 

Oh I just remembered another one: Wil and Tara driving through rain in Australia in S2.  That was the basis for a funny edit.  Wil was like, "As long as I've got you Tara, I've got sunshine!" Cut to them driving through the pouring rain!

 

I don't think they halt production for mere rain.  They couldn't possibly halt production every single time rain is in the forecast.  They have filming permits lined up for the whole Race all of which have limited dates and times allowed for them to film at certain locations.  They have pit stop locations reserved and booked for a certain date.  They have the production's (minus the individual team camera crews) airline tickets all reserved in advance before the Race starts.  It's bad enough when they are forced to stop an extra day like during the airline workers' one day walkout in Morocco in Season 3.  It causes a whole domino effect and becomes a logistics nightmare.

 

The irony about the Tara & Wil rain shower scene was that it, as well as a brief overnight shower in Sydney, were the only two times in that whole Season 2 they didn't have brilliant sunshine throughout.  Really stuck out as a result.  Also about heat?  Season 2 featured a detour option on the world's hottest golf course in Australia.  That day was described by Tara as "hotter than an oil driller's ass in Texas" so yeah plenty of hot days on the Race too.  It's the whole wide world, not a sport held in an air conditioned gym after all.

 

There has been plenty of rain down the years I remember.  I just assume if it is raining way too hard it is pretty impossible for the camera crews to get decent shots what with the raindrops spattering up their lens endlessly.  But showers they can handle pretty well.  First one I remember was the third episode ever -- Leg 3 of Season 1 -- when the teams sleeping outside in Paris at the ferris wheel clue site over night waiting for it to open got rained on.  (So did the Frats at the tea shop FF site, "Good night, John boy").

 

Season 4 filmed in Europe during early winter and the results were pretty much endless rain and/or snow or at the very least heavy gray-leadened skies pretty much the whole time.  The NFL Wives got stuck in a rain-soaked muddy field.  I remember endless raincoats being worn that season.  A bad season complete with bad weather.

 

I remember lots of raincoats on TAR over the years and lots of times Phil stood at the mat holding an umbrella over his head as he happily issued forth wisdom and eliminations.

 

As for weather stopping a task.  It stopped one of the detour options one season in Alaska.  Forget which one.  Thinking it might be the only season they had a grandpa/grandson team on it maybe.  One detour option involved going up in a small bush plane but the weather didn't cooperate.  Forget if it was heavy fog (think so) or maybe high winds.  The detour clue actually did say that option was "weather permitting" so that leads me to believe they probably have that disclaimer on clues a lot.

 

In other news, I hate entertainment industry endless "awards" shows period.  It's nauseating.  I thought no Sundays, no more C&W award show interruptions.  But now no show this coming Friday cause of a "Z" grade award show no one ever heard about nor wants to see?  During one of the best Races in years?  Grrrrrrr.

[All Episodes Talk: S03 War Of The Damned]

Okay this is the reality check episode.  You can't field an army of freed slaves with no real discipline and not end up with a horrible massacre the first time they get a go at unarmed Roman civilians.  Most regular armies engage in it let alone a mob on the loose.  War is hell ... and always has been for the innocent civilians first, last and foremost.  So while it is hard to watch I salute the writers for tackling this difficult reality.  All wars are gray even if there is a good guy side to that war.

 

Enter one Gaius Julius Caesar.  Think we will hear more on this fellow down the years, heh?  The strange blood letting scene looked both weird and kinky the first time I saw it.  Glad it is explained later in the series.  As for now, glad he finds young Tiberius Crassus as annoying as the viewing audience does.

 

The graphics effects dept really pumps up the size of the armies this season for sure.  And they pretty much have to with both armies reaching 50,000 to 100,000 fighters as they grow.  It's no longer about hanging out with the lads at a ruined temple this season.

 

All I got for now.  Having three episodes over three days makes keeping up a bit tricky.  And I'm too lazy right now to look up the name of the Roman lady in the capture city right now (starts with an L I remember) so won't comment on her just yet.  Several new women this season what with Crassus' slave lover and the slave girl Gannicus just freed.  Maybe someone else has all three names for handy reference?

[All Episodes Talk: S03 War Of The Damned]

A few questions:

1 - What was with the silver eagles?  

2 - What was the title the other senator said Crassus could have if he led the Roman army?

3 - Where exactly are the rebels camped out now?  Are they still near Vesuvius?

 

1. I don't know cause i don't remember it mentioned in the episode.  You always pick up stuff  I miss, good catch.  But I did notice Crassus does seem to use a silver eagle as his personal seal maybe.  The eagle was to Rome what it is to the US; it's official animal symbol.  All legions carried eagle standards.  Losing that standard was the most shameful thing that could happen to a legion.  But what "silver" eagles mean I have no idea, sorry.

 

2.  The other title was Imperator.  From wikapedia:  "The Latin word imperator was originally a title roughly equivalent to commander under the Roman Republic."  Imperator later became the root word that turned into the English Emperor but that was after Rome officially became an Empire and not a Republic which is still over a half a century away from this time frame.  But Crassus and others raising private armies to save the inept and dare I say sometimes "gridlocked" Senate (nothing is new under the sun) money etc during this time frame going forward were a leading factor of the transition to Empire since soldiers in these armies remained more loyal to their "Commanders" (Imperators) then to the Senate and people of Rome.  This would lead to some bloody Roman civil wars in the near future culminating in the fall of the Republic.

 

3. Yes they are far away from Vesuvius and Capua now.  You got me curious so I looked it up.  The two Consuls' armies were defeated in the Picenum region.  Clicking on that I found Picenum runs along the east coast of Italy north of Rome's latitude but still miles south of the modern day Venice area..  Capua and Vesuvius were near the west coast south of Rome.  But this Picenum location is temporary.  Spartacus et al were all over the Italian peninsula during the time frame of this final season of the show.  Next episode they are already moved far away from that area.

 

Nice to see Gannicus having fun.  His "we will all die but what the f*** it will be one hell of a glorious death" complete with grin offsets the more dour Spartacus, Crixus and Agron trio.

 

Enter Marcus Crassus.  Good job of showcasing he is no fool like Glaber by way of the serious gladiator training he personally did.  And his political smarts by allowing the two Consuls to get themselves "removed" from interfering with him thus giving him full command (Imperator) of the Spartacus campaign.   And yes his son, Tiberius, is annoying as all get out.

 

Nice cross-cut editing at the end between Crassus fighting to the death with his gladiator doctore and Spartacus and his bros fighting the two Consuls and their men with the music building to crescendo.  Makes it clear to all that it is now the varsity going mano y mano.

[Past Seasons Talk]

Okay, I didn't start watching TAR until the season with the Chippendale's and they're one of my favorite teams.  Was it the same season in which the Beekman's won the race?  I was so pissed when that happened.  Anyway, I came here to get recommendations for which seasons I should go back and watch and I'm guessing by the comments that would be Seasons 1-7.  I especially want to see the season with "my ox is broken!".  Any other suggestions?  Or better yet, which past seasons should I avoid?

 

I go with Season 2 (my all time favorite) followed by Seasons 3, 5 and 1 in any order on "my list".  Which basically says that it's best to start with Season 1 and go in order. 

 

Season 1 - How it all started.  Differences from current TAR?  No Phil at the mat except for eliminating the last team cause back then they didn't know if they could get him to the mat in time to greet the early teams.  Route markers were yellow and white instead of yellow and red.  First few episodes the editing was somewhat off and the music was poor.  But real soon you can see the production values go up as they find their mojo.  Has the fresh feel of a new adventure with teams having no "knowledge" of any strategy.  Has classic teams any true TAR fan should know like the funny Frats, the Guidos, Frank & Margarita and Nancy & Emily.  (Nancy will always remain my favorite "mom" on TAR ever).  Features a Jules Verne-like Race course filled with iconic world monuments and wonders.  Never again will so many of the world's wonders appear on one single race.  (BTW to posters up-thread, they went to Tunisia, not Morocco - remember the Mos Eisley exterior from Star Wars).  My ranking - anywhere from 2nd to 4th favorite trending more to 4th place but all closely bunched.  But for the "awesome adventure" feel I'd rank it higher.

 

Season 2 - A well-known Australian poster on several boards who also liked this season the best once referred to it as "that sun-speckled season" or something like that since that Race was blessed with about 99% incredibly sunshine throughout which makes it always pop in my memory.  I love this season the most of them all.   The other three I cite above are not far off though.  It's all about personal preference.  Flags are now yellow/red, Phil greets everyone at the mat, editing and music are spot on from the very beginning.  So to me it still has the early "raw edge" of the first season with the "polish" that the third season on has.  Best of both possible worlds.  Features the closest, most exciting finish ever in TAR history.  Also well-known iconic teams like Oswald & Danny, Tara & Wil, The Boston Boys, Blake & Paige, Mary & Peach and the Gutsy Grannies.  (Blake has gone on to found/run is it Toms Shoes or whatever it is called that helps provide shoes to poor kids around the world).  Took a brilliant southern hemisphere approach to counter the Season 1 route with something totally different.  Had the famous classic "Oswald & Danny Go Shopping" episode which is a must see for any TAR fan.  BTW this was the first season to be filmed after 9/11.  It was set to start in October but got pushed back to January 1st because of post-9/11 stuff not the least being if a show about traveling the world would survive in the post 9/11 "hunker down" mind-set.  My ranking - Number 1 period though the next three (1, 3 and 5) are close at it's heels.

 

Season 3 - The season where they could start adding chrome and trim.  The race course was a little Euro-centric when I first viewed it since I wanted them to get going to other continents in a more balanced way like the first two seasons but in retrospect that no longer bugs me.  This season featured the one and only Flo along with her partner, the sainted and talented Racer, Zach.  Also Teri & Ian who brought the grumpy fun and especially Ken & Gerard who were the hilarious "opposite brothers" (I hate the term Bald Snark.  If the Racers called themselves something or other Racers called them something fine, but don't like fan nicknames in the main ... sorry if that offends anyone).  Also the Wonder Twins (a in-Race nickname from another team) and Jill & Jon Vito.  Also the Cool Kids Club vs the Band of Brothers theme.  Featured one of the most satisfying rules violation eliminations, a Vietnam vet going back to his youth and so many tasks that this current season 25 seem to give shout-outs to.  Also the most nail-biting, exciting and surprising fight for the last spot in the final three in the show's history to me.  A must see.  Especially since I mellowed over the years on Flo.  She wasn't mean-spirited, just "high strung" as Zach tells which leads to meltdowns but not the crassness of future Racers down the seasons.  If Zach could handle her then I give her more a pass these days.  She just wasn't built to race.  My ranking - tied with season 5 for second place.

 

Season 4 - The first c**** in the armor.  The problem was the absolutely horrid casting.  After the Wonder Twins (two male models) of Season 3 working out well, the casting decided to go full bore into mactorville casting.  The result was another model couple, one model/actor wannabee couple, one model/ivy leaguer couple, a recruited and forgettable pretty boy barfly team a casting agent found at her local watering hole, a team of NFL wives (first sports gimmick team) and, literally, a couple of clowns.  The other half of the cast were normal people and early fans of the show and the result was a haves vs have nots war with only the Clowns playing nice with everyone.  The result was endless arguing and screaming and yelling over such "interesting" things as your place in line.  The haves had their way and the results were boring.  The Clowns were nice guys and highly skilled racers who got screwed over in one of the worst possible ways when an airline literally lied to them about their flight out of Korea.  The model couple (Kelly & Jon) did make memorable, serviceable villains in a way but all the other stunt casting sucked.  Rankings - one of the worst ever.  Good for a history lesson on what not to do.

 

Season 5 - First the bad.  This was the first season the FF was removed from ever leg of the race except the last which was a major MAJOR mistake.  I'll save that rant for later but they replaced it with thefirst artificial "negative" thing.  Forget what it is called but you could stop a team while they watched an hour glass' sands run out.  It became the modern day U Turn eventually cause TPTB realized that hour glasses don't make exciting viewing.  Also a model and two beauty queens but they didn't hijack the Race so you forget about that part easily.  The good?  Every freaking thing else!  This memorable cast saved the producers from the stupid tweak they made by being one of the most colorful casts ever.  There was first and foremost Charla & Mirna who were/are one of the most hilarious and popular (except on one lone forum back then) team in Race history.  There was intense Colin and his beauty queen non-person partner.  Yes he of the most famous "My ox is broken" TAR quote ever.  There was well-liked and happy-go-lucky Chip and his quiet wife partner who gave the Race the first really likable ending in it's brief history.  There were the funny and beloved Bowling Moms.  The clueless, spaced out Twins.  The grumpy Pizza brothers.  The one forced on production by CBS reality show crossover - Allison - blissfully going out early.  The leg from Russia to the pyramids is one of those classic episodes that puts the "Amazing" in the Amazing Race.  It did have the problem of quiet female partners backing away from doing Roadblocks a lot which lead to the rule where RBs have to even out from the next season on but that doesn't distract from this season.  In fact without Colin doing all but one RB we may never have had a broken ox.  My rankings - tied for second with season three.

 

Season 6 - If you thought season 4 was bad, and I sure did, season 6 was a total downer after Season 5.  Again it was the foolish mactor casting and as others said above the bad luck of the likeable teams getting eliminated early on.  My favorite team was Gus & Hera an Afro-American father-daughter team.  Gus was formerly CIA and held some over the pole in old fashioned open cockpit plane records but was out of shape when he was on the Race.  Still he and Hera, who is most famous for coining the word Mactor on an Amazing Race forum after the race, stood out for me.  (mactor = model and/or actor).  One of the few memorial moments featured tough Gus with tears in his eyes at one of the gates of departure for slaves being sailed off to America.  And the hilarious one of him in a German bar.  There is also the famous episode early on of the sisters team looking for clues inside hay bales for hours and hours until Phil has to come out an eliminate them in the field.  But that is about it.  The rest?  TOO many dating couples teams most of whom were mactors besides.  One was likeable but pretty boring but became the defacto team to support compared to the others.  The rest?  Ugh.  More models and wanna be actors and our first pro wrestling team even.  The most likeable win on Season 5 was soon forgotten by one of the worst, most disliked mactor teams in history.  And I haven't even mentioned another main villain, Jonathan, and the wife threatening incident.  Rankings - probably lower than Season 4 because of the winners but it did have Gus.

 

Season 7 - Fans were the most divided about this season then almost any.  It all came down to if you liked Boston Rob and cross-reality show casting or not.  Most TAR purists didn't but Rob can bring humor and such to the screen.  He and Amber were the stunt casting that the whole season revolved around however which made this season not Season 7 so much as "The Boston Rob Season".  As a result other teams wanted him out.  There were endless fights and plots as a result.  I liked the season better after it ended than watching it and can probably stand it better now knowing the ending in advance.  The race course weirdly was a anomaly.  Leaving aside the Family Edition, it was the only Race never to race around the world.  It went half way out to India then did a u-turn and headed back the way they came.  That has always always bugged me for some reason.  Again, personal quirk with me.  Uchenna & Joyce don't show up on the radar until half way through the race.  There was an interesting older couple.  But one of the most interesting looking teams finished last on the first leg.  Otherwise it was all about Boston Rob.  If you like watching him you will like this season.  If not, not.  Polarizing season in the end.  Weirdly enough I kind of don't go hard one way or the other.  I hate he was cast cause I was one of the purest.  But he is a very entertaining guy so I have to give him that.  But he became the whole focus of the Race and that wasn't good.  Rankings - mixed bag.  I would probably watch it again but only because I know the results but it isn't in my top tier.

 

Season 8 (The Family Edition) - Past the classic era.  In fact this season ended it.  It's a terrible terrible concept that worked out terribly.  Traveling around the USA primarily in campers is like watching someone else's home vacation movies.  Nothing good can come from it.  And if it is sometimes hard to hear what a team of two people are saying talking over each other imagine a team of four all shouting at once.  But I added it here to say there was, amongst the boring, a few interesting casting choices I would have liked to see on the regular Race.  I LOVED Mama Paolo and her good-hearted trash collector husband and sons.  The quiet one posted a lot on one forum where Mama Paolo had taken on cult saint status complete with Photoshopped pictures of her kicking ass on past seasons of the Race.  She and loud-mouthed but race competent older son would have been good on the real TAR.  Especially when she voiced all our thoughts in one when she read a clue returning the teams from their very brief Costa Rica/Panama jaunt back to the US again.  Something like "Arizona?  Who wants to go to Arizona?  I want to go to New Zealand!!!"  You and me both, Mama Paolo.  You and me both.  The other interesting cast member was the conservative, religious though also scantly-clothed online dubbed "trailer trash Mom" (Linda was it).  Her son (Rollo???) was the together one on that team and would be too young back then to do the regular race but now he would be old enough to race with her.  They were totally real people and not some mactors and I'd like to see them on the real race too.  Rankings - interesting to see the horror people speak of in person I guess and Mama Paolo is awesome but otherwise avoid like the plague.

 

Season 9 - Don't consider this a classic season either but just had to vent about how much I hated the two younger male teams that dominated this season.  All the worst stereotypes about frat boys on one team.  The other was an anti-hippie team of greedy, camera hogging posers posing as "hippies".  The horror, the horror.  Add that to the fact that one of the frat boy, Eric, pretended (he confessed it was a "pretend" after TAR 11) to be dating one of the "dumb blondes" generic team after the season to get himself cast on TAR All-Stars and ruin the whole freaking thing.  My take?  Avoid Season 9 at all costs!

 

About TAR All-Stars (aka TAR11). If you avoid the last episode it is nice to see some of the great ones back again.  Unfortunately one of TAR1's Frats had a bad back and Ian got too grumpy and the Guidos were way to worried about projecting a "nicer" image (the problems of teams repeating on the Race).  Also Uchenna & Joyce had a bad plane flight.  But well worth it to see more of Oswald & Danny and Charla & Mirna (who are my two most favorite teams ever).  Especially the Mirna vs Boston Rob roadblock that had me leaping to my feet cheering in my living room.  "See ya.  Wouldn't want to be ya."

 

Sorry, got a bit carried away with this.  Also, caffeine is evil that way.  But I'm a bit passionate about old school TAR.  Like Latern7 said originally, we all were like young kids at Christmas back in those days supporting a show that up until about TAR5 was on the verge of cancellation each season.  So we all felt like we were part of a small group of people who discovered something awesome in the vast TV wasteland and were dragging friends and relatives almost literally to sit down and watch it despite the huge stigma of TAR being a "reality show" which made it like a leper to many people back in those days.  TAR3 winning the first ever reality show Emmy ever presented (it was called something different back then) helped gain it some respect and TAR5's colorful cast did the rest or no one today coming along would ever have heard of this magical show.

 

I also agree with Latern7 that the show goes blurry for me starting with the Family Edition.  Up until then I had every team and every location and ever pitstop etc etc all memorized.  (God I miss the pitstop "eat, sleep and mingle" set-up and footage, loved the comradery back then).  Then some of the air went out of the sails.  The legs became more fly in and stay in fly in city and rural equals a couple of miles outside the city and no real awesome uber legs anymore.  Also reduced to 12 episodes.  No more FF strategy.  

 

I would have liked to see some of the teams these days on TAR classic.  Not their fault they came later to the Race.  Would loved to have seen a strong female team like the Cyclists on early TAR.  Loved Mallory.  Enjoyed Bopper.  But in the main so many of the teams just get blurry after their season ends and fade from memory these days.  I guess I'm no longer that image of an innocent kid at Christmas filled with excitement and wonder as soon as I heard the theme music.  Alas, we all can only hold onto wonder for so long.  Grateful for the four DVD sets I own of 1, 2, 3 and 5.  They return me to that magical time when I re-watch them.

[S25.E07: Pretty Fly For A Food Scientist]

Brooke and Robbie have to be playing characters with that, "Where's Sicily?" thing, cause once you're a teen and up, you should know where Sicily is. Ridiculous. I know they're playing characters because wrestlers travel all around the world, so wrestlers are somewhat familiar with an island such as Sicily.

 

I don't know much about wrestling but unless there is some wrestling superstar that travels some abroad I seriously doubt that.   I imagine 99% of all professional wrestlers don't travel much outside of their state or local region doing the local circuit thing.  I have never equated wrestlers with international travel ever.  Love to be proved wrong but I doubt that most of them get further afield then a once-in-a-lifetime vacation in Cancun.

 

Well this Sicily leg helps to cleanse the horror from that locale put there during TAR9's "Two Totally Obnoxious Young Male Teams From Hell" season.  What a nice, pleasant place Sicily has become without the totally fake, "poser" and camera hog so-called "hippie" team and the yucky, gross, bratty frat boys.  I like all the teams here this time around.  Night and day.  Great episode with wonderful scenery, interesting tasks and a kind of an old school fake-out on the detour choices making the opera one sound way harder than it turned out to be in the write-up about it.

 

I'm fine with all the teams this season.  The Miami women were annoying but could have served as some entertaining light-weight villains and the Survivor couple was boring as anything and probably the weakest link in the entire cast but they weren't walking horrors.  But other than that it's been a great old school cast.  The type that made me fall in love with this show at the beginning.  In fact this is a more pleasant cast then even some earlier ones  Way way better than TAR4's. 

 

Loving the Cyclists.  Really enjoy their humor which is much much milder than our beloved Frats of Season 1 so I see nothing negative at all in them.  They bring good humor, joyful enthusiasm, language skills and a competitive A game all in one package.  Never heard of bulging Popeye eyes being a disease.  More an effect of plastic surgery sometimes which is what I figure given the Dentists' obsession with body enhancements.  Anyway, hard not to make fun of a Popeye look and I seriously don't think anyone would think it was some condition unless they were into medical stuff or knew someone with that disease.

 

Jim is like a Colin 2.0 with his uber intense racing skills and his "I'm the greatest Racer ever" confessionals.  But he lacks a personal vendetta against his own version of Mirna & Charla.  So bring on the ox!  The edits these teams have gotten early own let alone the anvils dropping in this episode say they are both in the final three to me.  So that leaves team number three up for grabs.

 

Early on it looked like the Surfers would be a no brainer for that slot.  But now not so much a given.  I think the Wrestlers have as much a chance at making that last spot it coming down more to luck on the latter legs.  Surfers have the express pass but as others explained here (thanks for the explaining), it has to be used next leg or expires.  I agree with the posters that suggested using it on the RB since it would save an extra one ahead for Adam if needed.

 

T n' T (trademark Trammel & Talicia from "We're number 10!" chicken dance fame - credit where it is due) and the Scientists keep bleeding too much time on driving themselves anywhere.  It would take a minor miracle for either of these teams to make the final three because of that.  Too bad cause it would be fun if the official "nerd team" broke through to the final three especially since the first "nerd team" (talking about how both teams were cast for a "type") got eliminated in Sicily back in TAR9.  It could become a Revenge of the Nerds theme.

 

And I don't mind that two teams are tending to dominate the Race.  This isn't a level playing field high school track course.  This is a freaking race around the world where cabbie luck, bad directions and delayed flights can throw a whammy at any team at any time.  That is part of what makes the AMAZING race that amazing.  It isn't a sporting event; it is more like a quest/adventure with competition thrown into the mix.  And in a quest it isn't always the big bad wizard but the little orc hiding behind a rock you didn't see that can do you in.

 

Only thing I don't like about this season is all the artificial crap -- Save, Express Pass, U Turns and other trashy reality show stuff that have crept into TAR over the seasons.  Bring back the FF on every leg but the last two and use some strategy again and not hand-me-outs like the first two and affecting another team negatively like the latter.  Let the Racers race and let the world itself decide if unexpected stuff crops up.  (Also don't like the "into the flight's city and rural equals a few miles outside town" cookie cutter stuff either.  Bring back the 12 hour bus rides.).

 

But given that, this season is still delightfully old school.  Credit to the casting department.  I've picked on them in the past so it seems only fair to praise the job they did this season.  And, of course, to the Racers they cast who have proven to be wonderful to watch this season.  Good job!

[Spartacus Rewatch June 2014 and Beyond]

Thanks for the info.  I just went through endless frustration on the SciFi site trying to find why it wasn't on tonight.  Should have come here first.  Way to go SciFi.  You are making it harder for me to find Spartacus then it was for Glaber to find him.  Grrrrr.

 

Looks like I'll have to catch one of the re-broadcasts of Daily Show / Colbert Report on Mondays and Tuesdays this month.  SciFi is such a pain.

[S02.E07: Deliverance]

I was so excited when the spider thing entered Katrina's mouth.  Finally she is going to turn evil and not forever be an energy-draining damsel in distress and the world's most inept witch ever.  But no, she's just growing Moloch inside her.  But doesn't Moloch already run around in a spooky body that likes to slap Henry around?  Why does he need to be in another body?  So confusing.

 

But then some brief hope.  Katrina is dying.  Die, witch, die!!  The writers are finally going to make the bold and highly popular move of having her and her energy-sucking presence gone from the show.  But no, it is CPR time.  Damn.  I think the only witchy thing about her is that she is so hard to kill off.

 

Moving away from the boring elephant in the room this episode ...  Loved the "I must internet, immediately!" line.  Must use it myself in the future.  Also Abbie's "try 666" cause what else would an evil club use.  Fun times with Abbie and Ichabod every time they are together.  Things come to a screeching halt every time a certain witch with no powers is in the scene.

 

I am so so so missing Jenny on the show.  Bring her back into the action.  Now.  Before now.  Before before now.  Make it so, writers!  Jenny was the character with an edge who isn't squeaky clean.  But suddenly she seems replaced in that niche by this totally useless new blonde-haired dude. 

 

And 5 seconds of Irving is not enough.  Why aren't they busy saving his soul instead of "As The Cranes Turn" soap opera stuff.  It was a Fantastic Four vs horsemen with automatic weapons joy ride last season.  Now the writers have totally dropped the ball with Jenny and Irving left with nothing to do.

 

Also keep the damn Headless Horseman headless.  He had far more personality back then.  (Someone blow-up that damn green necklace thing asap).  I so miss Headless out for a night on the town with his AK-47 and shotgun in tow.  Cap it off with a few old school axe chops.  Oh how I miss when he was one exciting party dude horseman.  But now even he has become boring from too long an association with Katrina.  (Maybe that is Katrina's real magic.  She drains the life out of everyone around her and turns the whole freaking world boring).

 

Also next week the stupid blonde-haired guy again?  Really?  No Jenny?  No Irving?  Just the new guy I don't care about.  Kill him off along with Katrina and they can appear for a max 5 seconds per episode walking hand-in-hand in some purgatory for boring characters I want off my TV screen. 

[S12.E06: Parental Guidance Suggested]

Good episode, Ok, ok, ok, I get it... Ziva is not coming back but I am still pissed. I recognize I am in the minority here. But, I liked Ziva.

 

 

Why would you assume you are in the minority for liking Ziva?  Just cause a couple of posters here said they didn't like her there is no reason to assume that everyone here feels that way.  We all have our own opinions and there is no right or wrong, just that, opinions.  And you are not alone my friend.

 

My favorite character on this show was Ziva.  It still is.  I feel absolutely no reason to feel guilty about saying it.  On the contrary, I'm proud of saying it.   Show is running on fumes without her and her kickass ways to me.  It's just an easy show to couch potato with these days but no longer must viewing to me. 

 

I appreciate the mention of Ziva in this episode even if I realize TPTB were lecturing the audience some to forget Ziva cause they are probably a little pissed that the actor decided to leave and it makes it harder for them to re-set and re-boot after having had such a popular character on the show for years.  That was their subtext to me anyway.  But I'll never forget one of my favorite all time TV characters.  I liked her and Tony matching wits.  Always got good laughs from those lines. 

 

And it isn't cause I was into some romantic storyline fantasy about the two characters.  I don't care about any sort of romance stuff myself.  Keep it in the soaps and on Lifetime and away from shows I watch please.  Have no problem if others like that with Ziva, just saying that wasn't why I was into Ziva.  Just liked how Ziva and Tony were good buddies and good friends often jab at each other as a way to bond and show affection without any romance stuff.  At least with almost everyone I know.  Would be a dull world and extremely l-o-n-g work days without the zingers flying fast and loose.

 

As for this show I was wondering why it wasn't more of a typical Halloween episode then when it was the little girl I did a hand to the forehead d'oh.  Yep they did do a Halloween episode but I was too couch potatoed to notice early on.  Kudos to those of you that caught on early.

[Utopia (US) Live Feed Discussion]

... I only wish we could have seen the reactions of these idiots when they found out they were not famous or even likeable to the viewing audience. ...

 

But did anyone here even imagine in their wildest fantasies that either Kroll or FOX would broadcast such a thing?  Not in a million billion years would they show it.  Producers and networks don't showcase their most humiliating moments like that.  Just all the humiliating moments they don't know are humiliating leading up to that moment.

 

Sorry folks but it never was gonna be in the cards to see the big "the show is cancelled" moment.  Even when that would have ended up as the most popular bit of footage from this whole train-wreck of a show.

 

I can see this show being an "inspiration" (gag) for some adult rated, scripted, cable sitcom show about how NOT to do a reality show.   But that could never be done as well as in this real life version though.  I mean who would believe a fictional version?  Viewers would think that no one could be that bad and incompetent in real life.  Guess fact is stranger than fiction.

[Utopia (US) Live Feed Discussion]

Posted in media thread to celebrate the outstandingly great news but came over to this thread to thank all the intrepid re-cappers here.  Great job, guys.

 

Glad the show ended with a fizzle without any final summery episode or wrap-up.  Makes these creeps fade into obscurity quicker than yesterday's newspaper.

 

Glad Kroll crashed and burned.  And apparently taken by surprise by the quick cancellation.  Frosting on the cake.  Glad to see the self-absorbed, arrogant ones get humbled.

 

Thanks again, re-cappers.  Now back to a pretty darn good season of TAR.

[Utopia in the Media]

Me a month ago:  "Die, show, die!!

 

Me now:  Nirvana!!!

 

Just came over to celebrate after someone told me the news.  It is a great day for humanity!  And Thomas More sends his thanks as well!

 

Worst show I ever saw.  Well I only saw the first two weeks but I read the live feed stuff which was where the real entertainment value was.  Thanks so much to the recappers here.  Hope you all get over any lingering vestiges of reality show Stockholm Syndrome and enjoy the upcoming holiday season now.  You guys earned a little peace on earth after that ordeal.  And no ShadyChef Thanksgiving dinner nightmares to ruin your feasts either.

 

Can't imagine anyone in America not knowing the total disconnect between the fake TV broadcasts and what really went down though there is always someone that never gets the word.  So I imagine there is someone somewhere that actually believed the TV version spin crap.  They also walk around with tin foil on their head and have Big Foot as their next-door-neighbor.

 

So glad my favorite reality show, The Amazing Race, was up against this trash.  TAR is sporting a really good season of pretty much likeable people.  What a great contrast on how to produce a class reality show.  Glad TAR helped contribute a little in this trash's demise though this show would sink on it's own.

 

Happy for all the cows and chickens too.  Hope they enjoy the rest of their lives under normal circumstances now.

 

There isn't one person on this show I liked at all.  I guess Ernesto, who disappeared into the woodwork, was the best of the lot by default.  But he chose to enter the damn compound so I don't let him entirely off the hook either.  The rest can just take a flying leap to losersville.  All of them.  Even the so-called "good" ones were only "better" on the Doptopian scale and not on any normal human scale.  Good riddance to the pathetic lot of them.

 

With all the bad stuff that happens in this world I'll take the demise of this putrid trash as a gift from the gods of good taste.  Peace out.

[S29.E06: Make Some Magic Happen]

Man, screw Missy, she's got to go.  Seeing the price her former tribe had to pay for burning through their rice so quickly, while she skated off to another tribe where she proceeded to decimate their supply as well really, really pissed me off.

 

Actually I congratulate her on her win-win luck.  Same goes for Jon.  And Kelly had it too until she got voted out.  They came from the smart tribe that used their food wisely to win challenges then lucked into even more food.  Good for them.

 

Rooting for Natalie (liked the Twins on both TARs) and she is playing a good game. 

 

Not just going to Exile Island to work Baylor but also to get a clue to an idol.  It doesn't seem either she or Baylor found one but at the time she wouldn't know that.  Far far better to get the clue for yourself then to have it wasted on Julie.  If Julie had gotten the clue and found the idol and their team had lost then -- according to Jeremy's fears of his alliance standing at only three with Reed possibly jumping ship --  it could have been a 50% chance Natalie would have gone home in that case.  Also she seems more closely allied with Jeremy than with Julie so if not her then her strongest ally, Jeremy, could have been gone in that scenario.

 

Right now Natalie for the win by a wide margin though I also like Jeremy and Baylor as well.  I like Josh too but he will probably be in the "other" alliance post-merge so can't root for him as a result.  Now if he flipped to Natalie's side I think they could rule the season.

[All Episodes Talk: S02 Vengeance]

First, historical factoid of the week.  When I first saw this on the downloads this summer I was thinking, yeah really, vines down a long cliff?  Writers are losing me with this fantasy stuff.  But turns out it is historically accurate.  Except that in history ALL the rebels went down the vines and not just four stellar "gods of the arena" dudes.  Guess in real history the Romans didn't waste time guarding/watching a giant cliff face that no one could possibly get down ... except when they actually did.

 

Also when I first saw the episode I was pretty shocked by the loss of Mira then Oenomaus.  I shall miss them going into the last season though not miss trying to remember how to spell Oenomaus.  Or Ilithyia for that matter.  At least Oenomaus was a real gladiator and one of only four mentioned by name by Roman historians along with Spartacus, Crixus and Gannicus.  So that difficult spelling I could accept.  But Ilithyia?  Why not Julia or Marcia or Lucia or something easy.

 

Speaking of the Romans twas a total clear out of the lot along with their slimeball toady in the finale.  Along with Ilithyia we see that Lucretia lost her mind, Ashur lost his head and Glaber was left literally speechless.  So the final season -- Spartacus: War of the Damned -- will have a total Roman re-set and re-boot.  Enough with the junior varsity level generals.  Next season the Roman varsity team will show up.

 

Too bad they couldn't keep Lucy Lawless in the cast but Lucretia & Batiatus are now happily raising Spartacus Junior in the afterlife.  Or not.  Any afterlife those two might end up in probably would not allow innocent babies in that zone.  On the other hand I'm sure Ilithyia and Glaber will be their neighbors.  Time for the sequel:  Romans in Hades.

 

Too bad those original Starz posters cited above that didn't like Naevia killing Ashur, and who are probably the same that didn't like Naevia 2 from the get go as mentioned last week, will always reside in their parents' basement living on Fritos and Doctor Peppers while having their Elf Lords die at the hands of Level 3 wild boars.  (Hey I love computer games but there seems to be a certain minority subset of chiefly teenage boys that viewed Spartacus on Starz who seem to be of the same ilk as the "Gamergate" types.  They can't handle strong, independent women in either real life or in any media form).

 

And do they think any of the combat shown in Spartacus is even remotely realistic?   Like gladiators leaping in the air 6 feet and spiting a gallon of blood out of their mouths in slo-mo while still sporting a full set of Crest extra white teeth the next scene is realistic?  This version of Spartacus is not in the naturalistic genre.  It is in the fantasy/mythic one of the 300 movie.  Not my favorite genre but it is the one they are using so in this genre it is far far more "realistic" that Naevia can kill Ashur by stabbing him where it hurts the most then finishing him off in three chops then Gannicus becoming "Mothman" (still love that moniker, ElleryAnne) or Spartacus launching himself skyward off of Crixus' shield to take out a whole balcony full of Romans at the ludus.  So in my book, Naevia rocks!

 

Now, on to War of the Damned and the new cast of Roman incompetents as well as some varsity grade opponents.

[All Episodes Talk: S02 Vengeance]

I agree, ElleryAnne, did cover if really well.  Really enjoyed the Seppia/Lucretia dialogue, haha.

 

This episode seemed more about setting up the finale then being a classic episode itself.  Off two of the more minor Romans this season -- Seppia and Varinius -- so it isn't a total bloodbath saved for the finale.

 

The bonding by making bickering gladiators fight together moment was good.

 

Speaking of bonding, nothing like a little blood flowing to get Glaber and Ilithyia all hot and bothered for each other again.  They are sure to get the coveted Roman Power Couple of the Year award now.  Except there is this next episode coming up so ... maybe not.

[S25.E05: Morocc' And Roll]

A week late but wanted to at least express gratitude to all the TAR3 shout outs in this episode.  Cafe Glazier?  Ah yes the "rubbings" taken to reveal that destination.   Wow, remember when Flo sold snails in the square outside it.  One of the few Flo non-meltdown moments in her Race.  And in this episode another selling cart task though slightly different with just the set-up part of it.

 

Also another leather task though the TAR3 leather one was in Fez I think maybe.  And scraping off the bristles instead of dying the hide.

 

And I wouldn't be surprised if that carpet shop where the Dentists had their speed bump wasn't the same that hosted the Ian & Teri vs. Jill and Jon Vito "find the carpet" FF competition back in the day. 

 

So carpets, carts and tanning with the exact same Cafe Glazier used as well was one massive TAR3 trip down memory lane.  And since TAR3 is one of my favorite seasons ever this episode really amped me up. 

 

Glad the Survivor couple was eliminated.  Someone had to go and they didn't seem to be bringing much to the Race except just another of the endless boring young dating couples but this time with reality show baggage in tow as well.

[All Episodes Talk: S02 Vengeance]

A little off topic:  I think the inspiration for a supply wagon full of arms comes from history.  But not with the commander of the opposing forces presenting it as a gift to the rebels.  That was silly to even imagine.

 

Anyway I found a site with the little left to us of Roman histories on the revolt.  Can't find it again now unfortunately or I'd leave a link.  In it it states that the revolt in the ludus started in the kitchen area (like the 1960 film version had it start) and 400 gladiator rose up and 74 (72??) of them made it past the guards and over the wall to freedom armed only with kitchen knives and clevers they seized during the uprising.   (Don't know what happened to the remaining 300+.  Whether they were re-captured failing to get over the walls or killed or wounded or a little of all three).  If Roman militia troops had tracked them down right away the revolt would have been stillborn.  But the historians say that "fortune smiled upon the gladiators" in that less than 24 hours later they came across a lone supply wagon along a forested road.  Inside it was filled with newly forged gladiator weapons and armor bound for one of the ludus' in Capua.  Which one we will never know but it would be funny as anything if it had been meant for Batiatus'.

 

Also that about a week after that they came across another single supply wagon and attacked and looted it.  It was filled with a nice upgrade of stronger and better legionnaire weapons and armor and shields.  Without those two supply wagons the revolt may well have ended before it even began.  So when I saw this episode I was thinking about the other two real supply wagons instead in some ways.

 

And yes that was 400 gladiators revolting.  Production cost gave us only a micro version of what the real Batiatus' ludus would have been like.  But you need micro versions of this stuff to get to know characters and personalities so it is all good.

 

Anyway here we get instead the giant ex-gladiator "The Egyptian" storming out and knocking Agron flying and almost killing Crixus.  That dude is bad news.  Lucius couldn't even slow him down before he came over and killed poor Lucius.  Too bad.  I liked him as a character and having a Roman on the rebels' side and having an older guy in the mix.  More diversity.  Well he outlived the dictator, Sulla, who destroyed his fortune originally anyway.  So there is that.

 

Well Lucretia is in a batting slump with her plotting of late.  Didn't go well last episode and this one wasn't going all too well either.  It was a little easier when she was in a tag team with Batiatus.  Though it looks like she finally got back in the groove some with showing Seppia the double serpent bracelet.  Even an empty-headed idiot like Seppia got the message.

 

Naevia is looking wicked good with her sword.  Even gave Crixus a bloody nose.  And with self-confidence comes self-worth again and the ability to get a bit closer to Crixus in other ways.

 

I liked that Gannicus volunteered not because he believes in the cause but that Oenomaus, who can't go but who wants to go, does.  Oenomaus, give the dude a break.

[All Episodes Talk: S02 Vengeance]

I liked how Gannicus brought a third pov to the revolt.  Feeling compassion for the innocents caught up in it like the prostitute he liked that got crucified.  Also LOL at "Mothman".  Yeah that was a nice little visual.  And leaving behind his rudus in one of the guards for good measure. 

 

Yes Gannicus has chosen his side but he doesn't believe in it knowing more the ultimate power of Rome from his wanderings these past years.  And he is tired of the endless personal vengeance stuff that keeps getting other people killed.  Get realistic about fighting Rome and start forming an army yourself as opposed to the endless "Glaber did me wrong" or kill Ilithyia (who certainly deserves it in her own right) wife-for-wife and be done with this personal vengeance trip then flee and scatter the best you can seems to be what he is saying to Spartacus.  Well actually he just wants option two but Spartacus should see option one as an alternative from his pov anyway.  Cause Gannicus has no real belief in what a rebel army can do against Rome.

 

Naevia is starting to heal and that is good to see.  If anyone has a right to personal vengeance against Rome it is her but she is all about the cause.  Spartacus, take notes from Naevia.

 

And yeah Agron was more than happy to select the German slaves ship wasn't he.  "Well yeah there was one full of Gauls but ya know I just thought the ship with the Germans might be better to take (cough)."    And a rather unruly bunch until Spartacus took out the gigantic guy that threatened Naevia.  Then they were all "he killed big dude, we follow killer of big dude."  Well I guess they aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer but rebels can't be choosers.  And Saxsa (sp?) adds another trained female fighter to the cast mix.

 

Yeah I agree it is tough viewing regards Ashur and Lucretia.  As if we don't have a neon sign flashing in the background already saying "slimeball" every time he is on screen already.  I do think the writers go too far at times.  But at least this time knocked open Ashur's little treasure box and the double serpent bracelet spills out unto the floor in front of Lucretia.  Of course she could have just checked the box out when she was alone some time too.  Rape wasn't needed to reveal the bracelet.

[S29.E05: Blood Is Blood]

I'm definitely puzzled by the strategy: We can't stand Dale.  Dale is horrid to live with.  So let's vote out Kelley.

...

Also:  I get there there's no fishing gear, but aren't there any clams, or mussels, or crabs, or other little aquatic creatures they could catch and eat?  Bananas?  I keep hearing Susan Hawke in my head saying "Tapioca."

 

You just explained it yourself.  "Strategy."  It's a game of strategy.  Period.  Anyone on Survivor who goes around wanting people out due to personal likes and dislikes doesn't know how to play the game.  So it would be horrible strategy to vote out Dale at this point.  Why?  Because Kelley = 3S (smart, strategic and savvy).  Dale = 3D (dumb, dim and dingbat).  If you want to win yourself you darn well want to keep the dingbat over the savvy.

 

And there are apparently no clams etc on the beach either because otherwise I'm sure some of these people at least would be off picking them up.  Especially the new members to this tribe.  And with their beachfront property very very limited they don't have many options.  We haven't even seen the tons of coconuts in either camp either.  Poor location scouting probably.  Or at this time in the show's franchise they just don't give a damn about stuff like that anymore.

[S29.E05: Blood Is Blood]

They coddled them the first few seasons. It was only later they had to work for things, such as flint. They used to bring  a change of clothes and a luxury item, too.  

 

The first few seasons they were coddled?  When people were losing upwards to 40 or 50 lbs.  When there were no endless "rewards" of spas and tons of food to eat like every other day?  When people were living on rats?  And as someone else mentioned up thread, one girl had clumps of hair falling out etc.  When they had to make their own fire until they could bring back their torches from the first tribal council?   Then had to try hard to keep the fires going through rain because flint just wasn't given away to them back then.  Nay, I think old school Survivor was the tougher kind.

 

I liked how Kelley said in the end how her father really made the game a mess for her.  Yeah he is one really dim wit with a mouth that won't shut up.  He should maybe end up as Missy's future fourth husband; the two are made for each other.  Entirely clueless on how to play the game too.  I mean his old alliance never even told him about blindsides in advance.  Then her bad luck she got merged onto his old team.   So no way they were going to vote out someone as dumb at the game as him when Kelley was obviously the smart one who was a danger to them.

 

Liked the confessional where Baylor mentioned her mother already having had three husbands and will probably have a fourth sooner then later and fell over laughing at the idea.  I'm liking Baylor a lot.  Managed to skirt the "waffling" issues early on and seems to be in control of her new tribe while letting the boring Michigan couple think they are instead.

 

Actually liked that Team Sky Blue were eating up their food.  They kept winning almost all the challenges and immunity because of that.  That was more than worth it.  Now they will have to make a "big sacrifice" (yeah, sure, I bet ... not) to get more rice.  Win-win situation for them.   And the real merge is only a tribal council or two away so any "sacrifuce" if real will only be short lived.  So the grasshopper wins, ants lose.  Like when that happens.

[S25.E04: Thinly Sliced Anchovies]

When Phil first announced the Save, he said that it would "turn a leg into a non-elimination leg." So nobody else would have to leave instead.

Whoops missed this post.  Makes my non-conspiracy conspiracy theory above not so tin foil maybe.

 

Sorry don't know how to include it in the post above.  I don't know how to do all the multiple quotes stuff or to include a quote multiple ebbed quote either.  Is there an instruction thread here on this site about how to do them?

 

Also posted the post above before reading hincandenza's too and them missing Rinaldo's above (no I still don't get how to include a person's name in the quote either. 

 

And like them I needed to quote immediately cause it is so hard for me to "quote" here.  The quote button is totally non-intuitive to my wee brain.  Again I need a tutorial if the only option allowed is Quote and only one quote is allowed.  I don't get the arcane stuff others have tried to explain as to how they get their awesome, credited, multi-quote stuff happening.  I do appreciate them trying to school us, I really do.  But I need clear commands tied to the Quote button for me to get it I guess.  Other forums make it easy.  Guess the company that put the software together on this one missed on the "ease" bit here.

[S25.E04: Thinly Sliced Anchovies]

And that's the way I like it.

 

Either an elimination is scheduled -- in which case you get eliminated -- or NO elimination is scheduled, in which case you DON'T. 

 

Mugging, Marked for elimination, Speed Bumps, etc, are all attempts to jazz up a formula that was just right from the beginning.  I call for the elimination of the U-Turn, and the return of the Yield, and a Fast Forward on each leg.

 

I agree with you totally except for the Yield which I also don't like.  Back to the TAR 1 through 4 rules.  Though the awesomely, incredibly colorful cast of TAR5 more than made up for the horrible Yield addition at the time.

 

I wish this Save would go away as well as the Xpress Pass.  A FF on every leg but the last was totally awesome and worked far far better.  Far more strategy involved and risks with so many teams trying to decide when to go after theirs and what happens if others decide they need it that leg.  Also saves a team that may have some short term problem (Danny's gout on TAR2 for example) and give the bottom-feeders their moment of glory while putting some top team having a bad leg at risk which helped even the field a bit and gave hope of a dark horse maybe ending up winning for a change.  And, starting about mid-season on TAR2 when they first started giving out rewards every leg for finishing first in a leg, a weak, doomed team still got their feel good moment and the audience got to share in it.

 

Anyhow, loved the FF.  It worked better than any of the silly artificial "drama producing" stuff they came up with afterwards.  And it would be cheap to do.  Nothing elaborate.  Wolfing down meat pies with the Boston Boys at a Sydney diner with just their camera crew in tow worked just fine.  So I never bought production's "it cost too much to have them on every leg of the race" excuse.  They just started to make them too big budget (TAR4's Vienna waltzers one was first I remember hiring a lot of locals and a big palace for just a FF) but there was no need to do that.  And if you took a FF on a non-elim leg (4 of them back then since their were 13 legs and 11 teams - 12 teams on TAR3) then that is what you got.  You didn't get to hold on to it for the next leg like the Dentist with this Save junk.

 

Anyway I guess I don't care if the Dentists get the Save back.  Rather it be used up too and I'm sure TPTB have taken note that it was a poor decision but they had to write the rules before the Race began and they were stuck with writing the wrong ones for this Race.  If they use this horrible Save in future (if there are future seasons) then I'm pretty sure they will change that rule.  Not because of the Dentists but because it made no logical sense.

 

Spit-balling here:  I'm thinking they know there has to be 3 NEL in these truncated 12 episode seasons they have had lately (yeah, I'm old school to the bone, give me 13 legs again, damn it) and so wrote into the legal rules that one of them would officially be "triggered" in the leg when the Save is used to prevent the possibility of having to go back and eliminate a second-to-last team that already checked in.  Thus they had to give it back if it was already a NEL otherwise the NEL that is planned to become a NEL by this trigger device would never happen.  (I also assume the same rules would declare before the Race started as well that the last leg you could use the Save on would become a default NEL if the Save was never used if the team kept finishing strong the whole time and never turned it in).

 

This means of course that my whole theory doesn't explain NOT taking the "Save" away from the Dentists cause the rules could also have included a clause that said "if the Save is used in a NEL then the third and missing roving NEL defaults to the last leg said Save could have been used on" or something like that but maybe the legalize thinking didn't get that far.

 

Anyway, I guess what I'm saying above was their idea may have been to try and make a "roving" NEL within legal game show rules just to try something different and the "Save" was the mechanism they came up with to bring that about.  Chicken/egg, who knows.  (Well they do I guess, hah).  Didn't work like they would like I guess.  If there are future seasons and they keep this stupid "Save" they may have to re-think their mechanism better if that was their intent ... which it might not have been since this is my non-conspiracy conspiracy theory.  Again just a guess.  Could be totally wrong but, hey, I'm bored and this post got way away from me, heh.

[Gold Rush - General Discussion]

Can some mod change the title of this to Dodge Brothers maybe?  Or add a thread for them?