Ultimate Tag - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

Quote

Football superstars and brothers JJ, TJ and Derek Watt host athletes in a physical competition based on the childhood game of tag.

 

[Primetimer]

Might Ultimate Tag be the dumb reality TV "It" show of the summer? Primetimer's Tara Ariano thinks it may have what it takes. Her review here:
https://www.primetimer.com/features/is-ultimate-tag-the-it-show-of-the-summer

[saber5055]

I'm a big fan of ANW and all its offshoots, and I like Titan Games, so I was looking forward to this. But after the first 20 minutes my attention wandered off and I was doing something else, anything else, besides watching. I guess I'm out.

[Taeolas]

I'm enjoying it so far. It feels like American Gladiators for the new decade. It has some timing issues, but I'm liking the Tagger personalities so far (especially Iron Giantess with Atomic Ant)

I also like that while the contestants are divided men vs women, the taggers are mixed all up and seem evenly matched no matter which sex. 

It does need a better theme song. Gladiators has the big trumpets fanfaire, while this doesn't have anything but maybe some riffs. 

 

One thing I don't like is they did the While We Were Away.... for one of the runs. I hate when ANW does it. And I hated when nuGladiators did that too. I'm here for the excitement of the runs, not to see more posing. 

[Rickster]

Granted, I only watched the first two sets of competitors, but the the game play seemed sort of stupid. The times and rankings of the competitors seems entirely dependent on who the taggers randomly decide to chase after, since they don’t seem to change their targets because someone is too elusive. In the first round, the bearded guy seemed to do the best at avoiding the tag, but since they chased him first he ended up with the worst time. It would be better if they ran one competitor at a time, and then compared times to determine a winner, but I guess that would be too boring.

[LexieLily]

18 minutes ago, Rickster said:

Granted, I only watched the first two sets of competitors, but the the game play seemed sort of stupid. The times and rankings of the competitors seems entirely dependent on who the taggers randomly decide to chase after, since they don’t seem to change their targets because someone is too elusive. In the first round, the bearded guy seemed to do the best at avoiding the tag, but since they chased him first he ended up with the worst time. It would be better if they ran one competitor at a time, and then compared times to determine a winner, but I guess that would be too boring.

That is actually what I was thinking too, that the first man that got tagged in the first game (and ultimately was eliminated first) actually did the best time-wise at avoiding the tagger.

The women competitors seemed equally bad at tag in the first game. Isn't the first rule of tag to split up and not all run in the same direction? I must have misunderstood the rules because I thought that in the first game as soon as one person was eliminated the next tagger would join the group, so the last contestant standing would have all three taggers running after them.

Edited May 21, 2020 by LexieLily

[Taeolas]

The first round sets the positions, but the later rounds give them better chances to get more points (especially that dodge tag round), so a 2 point spread (and more importantly a 1 point spread for the bottom two contestants) isn't insurmountable. 

As for splitting up or staying grouped, I think we'll have to see more rounds to see what tactic will work better. With 2 other targets and the tagger swapping out after tagging one, staying grouped might be a better tactic. You only have to stay ahead of one other contestant after all. A classic "I don't have to be fast, I just have to be faster than you." 

[EAG46]

This show tickled that spot in my brain set aside for stupid contests with costumed and gimmicky opponents.  It just needs a few tweaks here and there but it could go more than one season. 

[Swenson]

Ultimate tetherball anyone?

[kieyra]

I can’t believe I watched ten minutes of this. Thanks, pandemic.

It looked both boring and staged.

[blackwing]

This show obviously took a lot of inspiration from American Gladiators.  Seeing the tagger do the monkey bars on the dome reminded me so much of Nitro doing that event with the hanging ropes/rings.  And the points lead translating into seconds on the final course is obviously the only way to do it as well.

It's scary how well I remember some of the Gladiators - Nitro, Laser, Gemini, Tower, Malibu, Turbo, Sabre, Hawk, Lace, Zap, Sky, Jazz, Diamond, Gold, Ice, Sunny.  I like the names on Ultimate Tag better.

Two complaints/observations.

1) I would have loved to have seen the women run that maze course.  I guess they decided women aren't strong enough to compete on that hanging dome so gave them the maze instead?  I would have gladly lost some of the "who are you" intros and "how do you feel" interviews (pointless, I truly don't care, I'm never going to see these people again and I just want to see them compete) if we could have seen this event.  Also, looks to me like the men might not be strong enough for the dome either.  The first guy avoided doing the monkey bars completely while the second one truly sucked at it.

2) In the final competition, it seems obvious that the competitors are going to get tagged regardless.  So if you are going to get a five second penalty from each tagger, why bother trying to avoid them?  Some of them wasted so much time trying to avoid the tagger and end up getting tagged and lose the points anyways.  If it were me, I'd just make a beeline to the finish.  Let them get the tag, who cares.  Not one out of the four competitors managed to avoid any of the taggers.

 

[Taeolas]

Second episode, and I'm still liking it, but it could use some improvements. 

For the first round, I'd set up Colour Coded "safe zones" on the course that randomly switch every 5 or 10 seconds or so. So if you are picked by the tagger, you could go somewhere and make them go after someone else. 

I'd probably automatically swap the tagger after every minute or so. That said, Iron Giantess, I love her attitude but she's a tank; she's built for strength not speed like pretty much everyone else. She can do good on the sprint tag and probably revenge tag; but on the first round she is just too slow. (She's probably too big for the aerial tag too for that matter). Hope she sticks around though.

Sprint tag is pretty much fine as it is. Lots of action and back and forth, and being 3 vs 2 taggers means the contestants have a decent shot of getting through. 

We saw Revenge tag for the first time tonight (and not WWWO'ed like last time) and I like it. The revenge button shakes things up and adds a proper amount of strategy. It's basically Pacman tag (and the dots on the walls are just a coincidence I'm sure 🙂 )

The Aerial tag is neat but might be too close quarters to show well on TV. Can't think of much I'd change there. 

That all said, the show only has 8 events total, and they're already trimming the longer runs. THere is absolutely NO REASON to do "While we were out"!. ESPECIALLY to do it on a women's run TWICE in a row

I also hope they are coming up with another two-man course or two to shake things up. Maybe another 3 man course to add some variety at the start.

 

Finally, the final challenge. The first half feels fine. The tagger on that portion can be beaten as we saw a few times tonight. It doesn't always happen but luck can work. 

On the climb portion however, the tagger is unbeatable. They already start in an advantageous position, and both last week and this week, it was obvious they were just toying for the camera and not tagging as soon as they could. A simple change that could make the tagger beatable, might be to have them start on the ground on the opposite side of the mountain. So they have to climb and race to the contestant while the contestant is also climbing. Reaching the top of the solid section is obviously 'safe' so a fast climbing contestant could beat the tagger.   

 

So yeah, I'm still liking this, and it does have potential. The taggers across the board are fun, have great characters without being too mean. Trim some of the talking and show all of the competitions without WWWO'ing and they'd be good. A few tweaks on the existing courses and maybe a few more tag courses for variety and it would be great. 

[Ciarrai]

Wow I (probably irrationally) hate The Banshee. She's just annoying.

[blackwing]

I enjoyed the second episode, but yeah, yet another women's event that we didn't see.

On the first course, how come nobody ever climbs the tower looking thing?  That's where I'd park myself.  Let the tagger start to climb up and jump over them or off the other side.  The first course still sucks because basically you're screwed if the tagger decides to go after you.  Austin got picked by the first tagger who just wouldn't let him go, even when Austin ran right near the other two contestants who were just standing there.  If he hadn't gotten chosen, he might have gotten an extra point or two and could have been in a better position for the final.

On 5/27/2020 at 9:47 PM, Taeolas said:

Finally, the final challenge. The first half feels fine. The tagger on that portion can be beaten as we saw a few times tonight. It doesn't always happen but luck can work. 

On the climb portion however, the tagger is unbeatable. They already start in an advantageous position, and both last week and this week, it was obvious they were just toying for the camera and not tagging as soon as they could. A simple change that could make the tagger beatable, might be to have them start on the ground on the opposite side of the mountain. So they have to climb and race to the contestant while the contestant is also climbing. Reaching the top of the solid section is obviously 'safe' so a fast climbing contestant could beat the tagger.   

I agree, the tagger on that mountain climb is unbeatable.  They are already starting from higher ground and are just standing there when the exhausted runner comes up.  There's no way anyone evades a tag.

The female taggers are all distinguishable but for some reason I can't distinguish between any of the shirtless white male taggers.  I do think Iron Giantess is too slow.  They all look the same.  Beach Boy, etc.

[Swenson]

When I first heard of this, I thought it would be stupid.  But I actually enjoy it.  They can develop more tag games so they're not playing the same games on every show.  And I have one.....call it "Target Tag"....and here is how it goes.....a target is suspended above the stage, similar to "Assault" on AG.  A cylinder of balls are placed on the start line... the contenders will start there....two taggers will start on the course underneath the suspended target, on go, the contenders take a ball and try to hit the target and avoid being tagged,  if they are..... they must return to behind the line to serve a ten second penalty before re-entering....otherwise if they miss, they can go back to get a new ball with no penalty. Every target hit is one point.  The game is two minutes...... it's time to play some tag!

[Ciarrai]

Dear god the female winner this week was obnoxious.

[Taeolas]

I agree. I fast forwarded through most of her talking segments, but did I catch she was only 19? Ugh, she felt like a poster child for the "cocky teenager" trope. 

On the other hand, that Parkour teacher ran a clinic on how to beat the final stage. 27 seconds and no tags; damn that was quick. And he legit stumped/beat both taggers too.

I still say they need to start the mountain tagger on the opposite side of the climb to make it fairer. 

They also need more courses. At least 1 more three-person course and 2 more 2-person courses to add some variety. I can understand the limited number of courses this season since they had no real idea what they would need. But if there is another season, we need some more variety. 

 

AND NO MORE "DURING THE BREAK" RUNS! I don't care if you clip some of the stalling that might happen; I still want to see all of the events. 

[blackwing]

12 hours ago, Ciarrai said:

Dear god the female winner this week was obnoxious.

Agreed, I couldn't stand her.  I don't know if the contestants are asked to trash talk to make things more interesting, but she was irritating.  I was rooting for the lady from Brazil. 

I was also heavily rooting for steroid boy in blue to lose.  Strutting around shirtless in his video, talking about his arms and how he's going to win so he can buy a Lamborghini?  I don't think $10,000 (pre-tax) goes very far towards buying a Lamborghini.  I think this is one of the first times where somebody got a goose egg in the second game.  He was so slow.

The Taggers I like the least are Iron Giantess and the Boss.  They have muscle but are just slow.  I get that it's a crafted persona, but Iron Giantess seems like a nasty bully.  I don't really care for Horse either, he looks like he needs a decontamination shower.

I like Atomic Ant, Flow, Beach Boy and The Kid the best.

3 hours ago, Taeolas said:

AND NO MORE "DURING THE BREAK" RUNS! I don't care if you clip some of the stalling that might happen; I still want to see all of the events. 

Agreed, it's annoying.  Since they are determined to do it, I much rather would have seen the men in the Dome this week.  The male winner seemed like he was amazing, it looked like he was truly using all parts of the dome, they said he used the outside and bottom, which is something most don't try.  It would have been way more interesting than watching Seanny just standing there waiting for Dynamite.

Edited June 19, 2020 by blackwing

[Taeolas]

I don't mind Iron Giantess much. She's clearly more muscle than speed and meant to be one of the "mean ones", but she seems to have fun and can be good in certain situations. Though she also seems to be one of the ones quicker to 'anger'.

 

Granted I may be affected by the fun she had in the first episode after being paired up with Atomic Ant; the size difference and having Ant hanging off her so easily just made both seem so much fun. 

 

Flow, Kid and Atomic Ant are probably my main favorites by far. They seem to have the most fun out on the course, taking it seriously enough to be a threat, while also just looking like fun. I loved how Ant entered the maze and stayed low to surprise the contestant at the last moment last night. 

Horse and Viking? I'm not liking as much, mainly because they seem to be focusing on a CaveMan Primitive look and character for those taggers; and I just don't care for the wild look in general. 

[Ciarrai]

Banshee is my least favourite; she's trying way too hard to be weird and it's just coming off as dumb.

[blackwing]

On 6/19/2020 at 10:01 AM, Taeolas said:

Horse and Viking? I'm not liking as much, mainly because they seem to be focusing on a CaveMan Primitive look and character for those taggers; and I just don't care for the wild look in general. 

Viking won me over when he said his beard was magic, or something like that.  He seems fun.  The other unkempt one besides Horse that we haven't seen as much of is literally named Caveman.

12 hours ago, Ciarrai said:

Banshee is my least favourite; she's trying way too hard to be weird and it's just coming off as dumb.

Haha, my kids can't stand her, they hate her screaming in her intro and the way she moves her arms and legs in some kind of ancient ghostly dance.  But my daughter dislikes Iron Giantess the most, she always mocks the "you're gonna get stepped on" line.

[EAG46]

Looking at the taggers from an eye candy POV, my favorites are: Viking, Beach Boy, and La Flame for the men; and Flame and Dynamite for the women.  Flow and Atomic Ant are the best athletes overall.  I really want this show to come back next summer; I know its silly but we need silly.

[Taeolas]

There was an interview with Banshee and La Flair recently on Newsarama.

Turns out both of them are stunts people who have worked on Marvel movies. Banshee has been a stuntwoman on Avengers and Black Panther. She's also been in some of the X-Movies too. 

[rr2911]

If I had to take out one of the games, I would take out the first one. It's not an exciting game like the other ones that follow. Besides, when there is only one contestant left, the game should be over shouldn't it? That contestant lasted the longest by the second runner being tagged!

 

The Watt brothers are just ok as hosts, but for the love of God, please take away that stupid line, "It's time to play some tag"! It sounds too hokey and goofy! Maybe it's the way JJ says it. 

[Taeolas]

I'm fine with the first game; it establishes the initial rankings. The players need to be more aware of how to play it though. If you are being chased, you should be running towards one of the other contestants, so hopefully the tagger will switch to someone else.

I also think the first game should have "safe pillars" that light up with a contestant colour. If they tag the pillar, they are safe for 5 seconds or so, encouraging the tagger to go after someone else. 

[blackwing]

On 7/5/2020 at 1:59 PM, Taeolas said:

I'm fine with the first game; it establishes the initial rankings. The players need to be more aware of how to play it though. If you are being chased, you should be running towards one of the other contestants, so hopefully the tagger will switch to someone else.

I also think the first game should have "safe pillars" that light up with a contestant colour. If they tag the pillar, they are safe for 5 seconds or so, encouraging the tagger to go after someone else. 

I do think this game needs some adjustment.  I really hate how all three of them just clump together in the same corner with an "anyone but me" strategy.  I also think it does suck for whoever gets targeted first.  Because not only are they down one or two points from the other competitors, but if the others last beyond 2 minutes, which they could if it took a while to get the first guy out, then they are down the additional bonus point(s).

Like with the green guy from last week's episode who taunted The Flow by doing the backflip.  He was pretty much done after that since The Flow rightfully targeted him.

But I do think there are a few things that can be done to make things seem less harsh to the person who gets targeted first:

1.  Have 2 taggers to start, so that the 2 that aren't targeted first don't just get a free pass.

2.  Have all 3 taggers in at the same time, with each having a designated target.  Then it's all simultaneous.  Maybe the arena isn't big enough for this?

3.  I like the idea of a safe button that would force tagger to go after someone else.

4.  Tweak Game 2 so that there are more opportunities to increase points to overcome a 3rd place finish in Game 1.  I think in all the episodes I've seen, I may have only seen one instance in which the 3rd place person doesn't go home after Game 2.  And that was only because of a tie score, and the 3rd place person had scored more in Game 2 than the person in 2nd.  For Game 2, I'd add a target that is harder to get to that is worth two points.  Maybe a target that is farther out, or across a narrow bridge, or has no trampoline, or guarded by a 3rd tagger just patrolling that area etc.

 

Noticed the past two weeks that Big Deal was back, he seemed to be the least used guy.  Spitfire seems to be the least used woman.

 

[Taeolas]

Currently the first course is a U shape. I'd turn it into a circle, maybe with an obstacle you can climb thru at the back. That way people don't get trapped back there as badly. 

The contestants also need to up their tactics. We saw it a little this week, when Red and Blue stayed grouped and ran together. But if you are being chased you should be trying to figure out how to get to another contestant and hope the tagger will peel off to someone else. 

I think I would restart the clock after each tag. If you last 30 seconds after the last tag, you get a bonus point. What's happening now is the first couple of tags get close to the 2 minute mark, and then the last one standing gets the bonus point just because. 

 

For the second event, I would add another set of buttons midway down the course, with one tagger in the first half and maybe 2 taggers in the second half, but zoned so they can't go outside the regions. You can go halfway and tag a button and get 1 point. Or if you are daring, you race to the end and go for a 2 or 3 point button.

 

I haven't looked at the ratings, but this feels like a fast and cheap series, so I'm pretty sure a second season will be in the works. It should be quick to film so they can probably start it up as soon as the studios can safely reopen and toss it out in the fall/early winter as a placeholder series until the bigger shows can get back. I'm sure there's a big list of tweeks in the works too for a second season. 

[128survivor]

On 7/17/2020 at 1:41 PM, Taeolas said:

 

 

I haven't looked at the ratings, but this feels like a fast and cheap series, so I'm pretty sure a second season will be in the works. It should be quick to film so they can probably start it up as soon as the studios can safely reopen and toss it out in the fall/early winter as a placeholder series until the bigger shows can get back. I'm sure there's a big list of tweeks in the works too for a second season. 
 

they would need a new host  Watt brothers Need to go back to the NFL 

 

[Jessa]

This has been great to watch with my teen son and we looked forward to it every week. We agree with the areas that other posters have said need tweaking. The other one that bugs us is the second tagger on the final course. They just stand on the pyramid and wait for the people to climb up. 
 

 

[blackwing]

The most recent episode I watched, the description said it was the final competitors of the season, so I think new episodes are done.  It appears that rerun episodes are now airing on Saturdays.  I really hope this show comes back next summer.  Since this show premiered in May, I am assuming it was all filmed pre-COVID, so I imagine that some precautions will have to be made if it comes back.  If the NHL can play in closed arenas, surely they can film this show as well.