Tough As Nails - General Discussion

[Grizzly]

3 hours ago, mertensia said:

Man, why couldn't Young have been last?

I bet Callie would have beaten him in ot. Young seems like a nice guy but his skill set is limited. If it's not exactly like what he does, he can't do it. He needs to learn how to take his knowledge and apply it to a different situation.

[iMonrey]

I was annoyed with Murph over the barbed wire challenge. He didn't want to be the team leader and foisted the job on an unwilling Tara, then criticized her for not stepping aside and letting him take over. I don't think Linnett even understood who was supposed to be the leader from the start. Terribly disorganized team. And does anyone else thing Dirty Hands is a stupid name for a team?

This doesn't seem like much of a competition. Clearly it's going to boil down to either Murph or Danny in the end.

[mlp]

3 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I was annoyed with Murph over the barbed wire challenge.

I was too.  He's now off my favorites list.  It's early yet but I think Myles may be one of the finalists.  I like Danny too.  So far being short hasn't been a big issue but it sure seems to bother him.

[Maverick]

 Murph gets some slack because he said he didn't want to be the leader on this one and his team blurted him out anyway (you can see he's taken aback when they give his name).   Still, when the deed was done he should have stepped up and instead he whined a lot.  

[Babalu]

I wanted Lee to win the whole thing. My favorite now is Myles. If I could pick the next two to get their time cards punched, it would be Young, then Linda, though Linda is the only one on the whole show I dislike.

[iMonrey]

Quote

I like Danny too.  So far being short hasn't been a big issue but it sure seems to bother him.

Well, it's his main thing.

Murph: I'm a marine!

Young: I'm a fireman!

Melissa: I'm a farmer!

Danny: I'm short!

(I mean, the show probably thinks that's a better hook than "drywaller.")

[gryphon]

Just started the show.  Love Phil.  It’s a good show to work out to right now.   I’m not a fan of the drama but it’s ok.  I like the people so far.  

[mtlchick]

Young somehow keeps ending up in Overtime and is running around like he's actually getting paid for it. Too bad about Tara. 

[lb60]

Ugh! Young is going to win this whole damn thing.

I really thought Phil was going to say, the next competition, "starts now!"

Edited July 30, 2020 by lb60

[Pepper the Cat]

I was really pulling for Tara.

that was a brutal overtime challenge. I would have given up after 10 minutes. 
 

Love Phil. He really tries to route for everyone and support everyone.

[knitorpurl]

1 hour ago, lb60 said:

 

I really thought Phil was going to say, the next competition, "starts now!"

I did, too! He had that tone that he does in The Amazing Race when they keep the leg going. 

Really like Myles, Danny and Callie. I like their more quiet focus and getting the job done.

 

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Young is going to Wendy Pepper this season.  He's the king of second to last.

[mertensia]

Okay, stop with the whole "we're all Alphas! " schtick. Murph doesn't want to listen to females, especially an old female like Michelle. Or Tara, since she's a petite blonde. 

Also, Murph, Lee Harvey Oswald was a former Marone, too. Stop with the whole Marine! schtick.

Young just keeps cockroaching along.  It's kind of amazing.

[Browncoat]

Damn.  I was hoping Tara would pull it out in the end.  Her fall from the balance beam did her in.  But her team really needs to get their shit together.

Michelle continues to amaze. 

[AncientNewbie]

I was hoping for editing trickery and not the expected when Tara got her own Very Special Episode. 

I am sure it isn't the last it will come up, but I wanted more about the woman in the workplace. When they were shoveling into the back of the truck and the men boxed her out and were basically throwing the sand on her, I felt that was something. I don't think they meant to exclude her, if I'm being charitable, but the societal "seize control, seize my space" vs "let others go first, everyone cooperate" is something I would hope to see explored. Otherwise this is just capitalism porn about how awesome it is to shovel your 16 tons for the company each day. Sort of like Undercover Boss, where the joke is the boss can't actually do the job, but then nothing changes other than a token gift at the end of the ep and everyone goes back to doing what they were doing. 

[snarts]

Ok, I really don't like Murph. It's like he realized that he was coming across like an asshole so he preened about in front of the cameras trying to  show support during the overtime.  The worst though was his interview where he couldn't even must some basic empathy, choosing to compare Tara to his wife rather than viewing her as a actual peer, and only because her husband is also in the military.  

Everyone else seems cool.  I love Michelle and her attitude and think that Danny will win the whole thing. 

[mertensia]

I also liked Phil stopping by to talk to the one team to see if he could get them to work out their teamwork issues.

[bunnyface]

I like that they get to stick around and continue to try to earn money, but Linnett?  Maybe they should let her go home.  Someone else said she’s over it, which is way nicer than my feeling of “she’s a bit of a bitch.”  At the end of this last episode, I swear she was walking off while Phil was still talking to them.  She was definitely first out of the gate. Never turn away from the Phil!   She seems to always either be asleep or giving the world a death glare in the van.  Maybe let her go home and save herself this apparent agony.  She is D-U-N done.

I liked Murph at first but he’s starting to get on my nerves.  And while Young won the overtime for getting the tires off the rims, he ruined every one of those rims.  That should have counted against him somehow. 

I like the show and the challenges and I’m definitely not tough as nails, but I’m basically here for the Phil.  Where Phil goes, I shall follow.

 

[iMonrey]

Quote

Murph doesn't want to listen to females, especially an old female like Michelle. Or Tara, since she's a petite blonde. 

There's a definite pattern that's starting to develop with Murph.

Quote

I like the show and the challenges and I’m definitely not tough as nails, but I’m basically here for the Phil.  Where Phil goes, I shall follow.

Phil's narration gives the show a definite Amazing Race vibe, and that's no coincidence. It's definitely meant to remind us of AR. And I think the cast is actually quite good. Unfortunately, I'd rather see them paired up and running the Amazing Race, because this show is kind of boring IMO. The challenges just aren't that interesting to watch and there's nothing particularly visually arresting about any of this. I have a hard time following the team challenges and the individual challenges always come down to a contest between Danny and Murph.

[bamlou]

3 hours ago, snarts said:

Ok, I really don't like Murph. It's like he realized that he was coming across like an asshole so he preened about in front of the cameras trying to  show support during the overtime.  The worst though was his interview where he couldn't even must some basic empathy, choosing to compare Tara to his wife rather than viewing her as a actual peer, and only because her husband is also in the military.

I felt very similarly about that Murph interview and was at a loss for words of how to explain what felt off about it, so thanks for describing it so clearly! He was trying to show support but it came off unintentionally patronizing to me.

I really felt for Tara. Maybe it was just in editing but they showed more than once that she seemed to know better where they should drive the truck while there was a lot of doubt from the other guys that she was (or could be) right. And the stoic reaction from the rest of her team when she voiced not feeling respected was so disheartening to witness. Rather than offer any sympathy or recognize that it could have played a part in their team's communication break-down, everyone got defensive and basically told her to buck up and stop doubting herself. They may have seen weakness in her tears, but I think it took a lot of strength to voice her concerns and attempt to break the ice on the ride home.

Funny, I was really rooting for Savage Team more than Dirty Hands early on because Dirty Hands seemed to have more of a male bravado vibe that kinda put me off, but the pendulum is now swinging the other way for me.

[mtlchick]

4 hours ago, bunnyface said:

Where Phil goes, I shall follow.

 

I'm here for the Phil Phashion show.  I'm so used to him wearing Panama hats and khakis and now signature fish hook necklace, that it's taking some time to get used to the baseball caps and zip up jackets. 

[mlp]

I seem to be in the minority but I was happy to see Tara lose.  I think she has teared up or cried in every episode at the same time as declaring that she's tough and able and while pulling the "Mom" card.  I wonder if she does that on the job and what her co-workers really think of her.  When she was crying on the bus and the rest were silent, I thought they were all inwardly rolling their eyes at her over-reacting.  I'll bet they got a lecture about projecting caring and teamwork from the producers afterwards so the rest of them bent over backwards to come across as supportive.  

The only other contestant I don't like is Linnett for the same reasons stated by bunnyface although Murph whom I really liked at first is catching up fast.  Michelle is sort of amazing.  I thought a small female over 60 y/o would be one of the first to lose but she's a little dynamo with more energy than I ever had.  

[iMonrey]

Quote

I'm here for the Phil Phashion show.  I'm so used to him wearing Panama hats and khakis and now signature fish hook necklace, that it's taking some time to get used to the baseball caps and zip up jackets. 

I don't like him in the baseball cap. It doesn't look right, somehow.

[RunningMarket]

I'm in the minority with disliking Tara too. During the farm episode, she refused to be the team lead, then decided to take over, and then got upset when she was blamed for their loss. This episode, it seems that when she was trying to give input, she was doing so by interrupting (at least during the initial planning). I do agree that she was ignored when giving directions though.

That whole team has massive communication issues.

Also, add me to the list of people who totally thought Phil was going to start the next competition "RIGHT NOW!"

[hilaryvm]

This episode really pushed some of my buttons.  First we see Murph talk over Tara and then the directions in the truck, then all of them literally ignoring her as they threw sand on her.  The capper for me was when Luis (?) says he, Murph, and the other guy (apparently I haven't been paying enough attention since I don't remember most of the guys' names) worked really hard.  And then when Tara brought it up in the van, he said something like "those weren't the words coming out of my mouth."  That really made me see red.  Even if he wasn't intentionally leaving Tara out,  he apparently didn't think of her as working hard on the team.  That last bit made me see red.

I'll keep cheering for Michelle because she's awesome and Callie since she's a fellow Alaskan.

[kaygeeret]

4 hours ago, RunningMarket said:

I'm in the minority with disliking Tara too. During the farm episode, she refused to be the team lead, then decided to take over, and then got upset when she was blamed for their loss. This episode, it seems that when she was trying to give input, she was doing so by interrupting (at least during the initial planning). I do agree that she was ignored when giving directions though.

That whole team has massive communication issues.

Bingo for the very good summary of my feelings in the farm episode.

Tara has bothered me for a long time and it crystalized in that episode.  She seems to feel that she deserves everything all the time...the right to say no to leadership, then the right to usurp leadership, the right to complain and interfere with a leader's decision, the right to imply that somehow everyone was against her for (pick one) she's a woman, she's weak, she cried......etc.

I saw her as someone who was not a team player - for whatever reason-

PS> I successfully managed 36 people for the last 10 years of my career and supervised smaller departments in the 20 years prior.  I am familiar with the type of person and the problems they cause.  She is not a bad person, but she needs a pretty big reality check.

[Grizzly]

17 hours ago, mertensia said:

Okay, stop with the whole "we're all Alphas! " schtick. 

Young just keeps cockroaching along.  It's kind of amazing.

Murph must have forgotten Young is on their team, lol. He is the least alpha I've ever seen. I wanted him to finally punch out. And for Michelle to not be last on what was a very physical task is very impressive. Danny and Murph think they're battling it out for the top spot but they better not underestimate Linda. She beat Murph on that task, seems very adaptable to any challenge, and I'm dying to know what she said to always be Dirty Hands' driver.

[Lamb18]

The overtime challenge reminded me of a Survivor challenge.

[GoGamecox]

I really like the contestants being more real than the usual "I deserve to be famous because I'm hot" reality contestant. Overall, they are way more likable than the average reality star. It's nice to see Phil sincerely appreciating them and their diverse skills. This is the first reality show where I would definitely want to be friends with the female contestants. My two faves are Melissa and Callie. 

[RunningMarket]

On 8/3/2020 at 5:27 AM, Lamb18 said:

The overtime challenge reminded me of a Survivor challenge.

I'm waiting for one of them to end with a slide puzzle.

[AuntieDiane6]

Quote

And it really tugged at my heartstrings when Linda said that was the most support she'd received on a job. Unfortunately the comment won't make her life at home any better.

Linda lives near my town.  It's interesting that local media has mostly characterized her as a "roofer" (her other job).  I didn't even realize she worked for the sheriff's department until I saw the show!  If she works for the county jail where she lives, then it's a small, rural jail but they haven't stated where she actually works.  

I find her intriguing on the show.  She IS a bit standoffish or introverted.  I was shocked when she got picked just about LAST when teams were first created... she had done very well in the wheelbarrow challenge.  In fact, she does consistently well in the challenges but I notice she is often standing off to the side in group gatherings and not talking that much to the others.  Of course, maybe that's the editing devils since she isn't in the bottom or a runaway winner. 

[Lantern7]

I’ll admit that this show is more background noise for me. I don’t mentally keep notes as to who’s who or what’s going on. While I know that there have been a few pains in the ass, I don’t think anyone is worth the rage. Of course, CBS is risking people’s health with a Big Brother, probably because TAN doesn’t excite people. It’ll be moved to 9 p.m., and I’ll have to miss it for the Agents of SHIELD finale next week. At least it’ll be on prime time. Goodness knows where Phil’s “other” show will air.

”Young, you’re going back into Overtime.” “But I got my fallen man down!” “Yeah, but he landed on his head.”

I’m good with Michelle staying in the game. Also, is it messed-up for me to want Tony Paolo from TAR8 to oversee the sanitation stuff next week?

Edited August 6, 2020 by Lantern7

[mertensia]

I got a little confused at the beginning but wasn't Michelle making a suggestion that got shut down before even being heard? If so, Murph: you're a jackass. Also ageist and misogynistic. 

How much training before that challenge do you think Michelle and Luis got? Or really, before most of the challenges? Because I would be so confused.

[mtlchick]

12 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Goodness knows where Phil’s “other” show will air

You mean TAR?  It's getting the Survivor slot in the fall. 

 

7 hours ago, mertensia said:

How much training before that challenge do you think Michelle and Luis got? Or really, before most of the challenges? Because I would be so confused.

I'm assuming they have instructors to give them a quick run down on how to use the tools.  If I was were to do Overtime last night, I'd simply sit down and say "I'm giving up now." 

[TVMovieBuff]

I have become a devoted viewer of this show, looking forward to it each week. Three challenges per hour seems pretty full to me, not much padding or fluff. 

[Taeolas]

3 hours ago, mtlchick said:

I'm assuming they have instructors to give them a quick run down on how to use the tools.  If I was were to do Overtime last night, I'd simply sit down and say "I'm giving up now." 

 

Reality TV shows always have a lot more rules than the simple ones we are told to cover the challenge. Shows like America Ninja Warrior, it's obvious the Ninjas are told what parts of the obstacles they can and can't touch. In TAR, there's a rule saying that the pair of contestants can't be too far apart, even for solo challenges, unless the challenge specifically requires it. 

For Tough As Nails, I'd expect there to at least be a basic demonstration of what to do and some basic not to do that would be dangerous; both for the Telephone Pole Rescue, and for the conduit running overtime challenge. The barrel sorting this week and the hour glass overtime last week likely didn't need anything other than to further clarify what would happen if you fell off during the O/T one, or what happens if you took the other team's barrel by mistake.

 

As for the conduit challenge; I've loved watching home improvement shows so I loved that O/T challenge. But not providing a tape measure was a bit too much in my opinion. Even if they had a tape, I doubt Luis would have been much closer. Michelle certainly knows her tools and her home improvement. She's got 2 kills to her credit (compared to Young's 3 kills). At this point I wouldn't be surprised if the final challenge ends up being Michelle vs Young. 🙂

[mlp]

1 hour ago, Taeolas said:

At this point I wouldn't be surprised if the final challenge ends up being Michelle vs Young. 🙂

I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up Michelle vs. Danny.  I like both of them.  I like Young too but he seems less skilled.

[Lamb18]

Michelle is the only woman to beat men in Overtime challenges. She's a good strategist.

[bunnyface]

Some of those linemen should have had a time penalty or something because their injured coworkers, especially Young's, were KILLED in that rescue.  Young's poor guy landed on his head and probably snapped his neck.  Someone else's, I don't remember who, dropped quickly and probably was killed in the process too.  There should have been some sort of provision for SAFELY getting the worker down.

Otherwise, go Michelle!  I think she really cost them some time in that first challenge but when left to her own devices, she comes through.

[RunningMarket]

On 8/5/2020 at 11:29 PM, mertensia said:

I got a little confused at the beginning but wasn't Michelle making a suggestion that got shut down before even being heard? If so, Murph: you're a jackass. Also ageist and misogynistic. 

How much training before that challenge do you think Michelle and Luis got? Or really, before most of the challenges? Because I would be so confused.

While I don't disagree with your comment at all, I think it was Linnet who actually cut her off? I remember a woman quite curtly saying "You've had your turn!"

[bamlou]

I'm still really enjoying the show, though am kinda tiring of Danny and Murph always being one of the first to finish in the individual challenges. Their skills do seem pretty well-rounded so I don't begrudge their success and they could probably excel at most things thrown to them, but do wish more of these individual challenges leaned towards 'brains over brawn' to give other contestants a greater chance to shine. I thought this week's overtime challenge could have made for an interesting individual challenge, for instance, that may not have been as easy for the frontrunners.

There has of course been a degree of strategy to most of the challenges, but brute strength and force has often given contestants an edge - except for Young, lol! 

I jokingly question sometimes exactly how being a fireman has prepared Young for this show. He's couched his performance on more than one occasion with excuses like (paraphrasing) "as a fireman I've had to cut people out of cars, but it stops at pulling off the doors", or "as a fireman I'm trained to save people but not without this special ladder". He seems like a good guy, but none of these challenges ever seem to be in his wheelhouse, and, as a poster mentioned earlier, he can't ever seem to apply his skills beyond what he knows.

Edited August 7, 2020 by bamlouie

[iMonrey]

I'm seeing a pattern where the teams each appoint a "leader" and then they ignore said leader during the whole team challenge. Both teams are guilty of this and Myles rightly called them out for it, even though they won.

Murph seems to have chosen the weaker team, overall. I realize it's a crap shoot that early in the game though.

Michelle is impressive as hell but I still don't see anyone else but Danny or Murph winning the grand prize.

[SVNBob]

7 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Murph seems to have chosen the weaker team, overall. I realize it's a crap shoot that early in the game though.

Luis was the "captain" that chose the Savage Crew, not Murph.

However, Danny was the one that assembled the Dirty Hands crew. 

[candall]

On 8/6/2020 at 12:05 PM, TVMovieBuff said:

I have become a devoted viewer of this show, looking forward to it each week. Three challenges per hour seems pretty full to me, not much padding or fluff. 

Me, too.  I missed the first episode so I was spared all the backstory footage.  Now I just know them from how they have performed on the show and I marvel at the mad skillz I do not have. 

You GO, Michelle.  You are a pine knot.

[TVMovieBuff]

There really wasn't a lot of backstory footage. There were a lot of challenges. 

[SVNBob]

15 hours ago, TVMovieBuff said:

There really wasn't a lot of backstory footage. There were a lot of challenges. 

True.  There was about as much backstory in the premiere as there has been in every episode since.

[Grizzly]

They did foreshadow Luis losing when he started talking about his son. He'd never talked that much before since I hadn't realized he has a slight accent. Just like last week when Tarah had all those talking heads. Still enjoying the tasks. Not your typical competition show.

[lb60]

On 8/6/2020 at 1:24 PM, Taeolas said:

At this point I wouldn't be surprised if the final challenge ends up being Michelle vs Young.

In other words, my worst nightmare. lol  

[sharkerbaby]

On 7/23/2020 at 4:37 PM, iMonrey said:

I was annoyed with Murph over the barbed wire challenge. He didn't want to be the team leader and foisted the job on an unwilling Tara, then criticized her for not stepping aside and letting him take over. I don't think Linnett even understood who was supposed to be the leader from the start. Terribly disorganized team. And does anyone else thing Dirty Hands is a stupid name for a team?

This doesn't seem like much of a competition. Clearly it's going to boil down to either Murph or Danny in the end.

"Dirty Hands" is a badge of honor and pride among tradesmen and other blue collar workers.  In fact there is a common mantra often spoken and even printed on merchandise and worn as sign of solidarity and support for the very rewarding work they do.  "Dirty hands, Clean money" expresses the pride and fulfillment that comes from hard and often dirty work that so many people do and that is so vital to life as we know it but is often overlooked and even disparaged by those living clean and shiny lives.

So no, I do not think it is a stupid name.

What “DIRTY HANDS CLEAN MONEY” Really Means

[AncientNewbie]

On 8/5/2020 at 9:17 PM, Lantern7 said:

Also, is it messed-up for me to want Tony Paolo from TAR8 to oversee the sanitation stuff next week?

It is not messed up because I had the exact thought. Or maybe that is bad for you. Tony and the bananas will always be a favorite scene of mine and sort of what I had hoped for from TAN.