Tough As Nails - General Discussion

[Taeolas]

Season 2 is a go

Hopefully they keep the casting similar to the first season and don't start doing more stunt casting to "shake things up". Season 2s are usually relatively safe from that. It tends to be Season 4 or 5 when the suits decide to "shake things up" and decide that a D-list star who installs the tile backsplash of their kitchen counts as a "Tiler". 

This should be easier to film too, so it gives CBS/Phil something to use in case they can't get TAR production going again. 

[gsnrocks92]

Yeah the ratings weren’t the greatest (Million Dollar Mile got pulled with higher ratings, though it aired in season and with a Survivor lead in) but it’s cheap to produce, keeps Phil on the network and can be plugged into a timeslot wherever (much like his other show). Seemed like an easy call for renewal.

I’ve still been watching every week but mostly as background noise and for the Rob has a Podcast recaps afterwards (most of which have had Phil on as a guest). It reminds me of that show “American Grit” which was on FOX for 2 seasons a few years ago and hosted by John Cena which had a similar focus on being “tough” and promoting hard work. 

[DEL901]

5 hours ago, gsnrocks92 said:

Yeah the ratings weren’t the greatest (Million Dollar Mile got pulled with higher ratings, though it aired in season and with a Survivor lead in) but it’s cheap to produce, keeps Phil on the network and can be plugged into a timeslot wherever (much like his other show). Seemed like an easy call for renewal.

I’ve still been watching every week but mostly as background noise and for the Rob has a Podcast recaps afterwards (most of which have had Phil on as a guest). It reminds me of that show “American Grit” which was on FOX for 2 seasons a few years ago and hosted by John Cena which had a similar focus on being “tough” and promoting hard work. 

It is also fairly easy to produce even in the time of Covid, unlike Amazing Race.   And it is filmed in the US, unlike Survivor.   

[Lantern7]

Andy Dehnart of Reality Blurred re-evaluates Tough As Nails. He's come around to really appreciating it. Sadly, even though a second season has been ordered, I imagine CBS execs binging episodes of Love Island, thinking to themselves, "This is a good representation on the blue collar worker in America. Now . . . how can we add fucking?"

Feel asleep watching tonight's episode, though that's more about me. Both tasks were rough, especially running, grabbing filled garbage bags, and tossing them onto a moving garbage truck. Sadly, Michelle ends upon the bottom, and she loses Overtime to Myles.

Next week: individual firefighting-themed task! But given the teaser and Young's luck in general, I'm certain he'll be working Overtime yet again.

Edited August 13, 2020 by Lantern7

[lb60]

My long (7 episodes!!) nightmare is over.

Buh bye, Michelle.

Yes, I know she gets to stick around, but I'm still going to enjoy her punching out.

[Maverick]

 That patio was not complete.  There were several huge gaps in there.  It look like collectively there was at least one brick missing.   It wasn't anywhere as neat and fit together as the example. 

 This show telegraphs the loser worse that the Project Runway Phone Call of Doom.  The extended curbside conversation with Michelle about how awesome she was just missing a neon "she's out" sign over her head. 

 Danny keeps talking about being short and having a dad bod.  He's actually good looking save for his real issue he never mentions, that unfortunate hair cut.  I mean seriously, he must not have going to a real barber even before the pandemic. 

[mertensia]

11 hours ago, gsnrocks92 said:

Yeah the ratings weren’t the greatest (Million Dollar Mile got pulled with higher ratings, though it aired in season and with a Survivor lead in) but it’s cheap to produce, keeps Phil on the network and can be plugged into a timeslot wherever (much like his other show). Seemed like an easy call for renewal.

I’ve still been watching every week but mostly as background noise and for the Rob has a Podcast recaps afterwards (most of which have had Phil on as a guest). It reminds me of that show “American Grit” which was on FOX for 2 seasons a few years ago and hosted by John Cena which had a similar focus on being “tough” and promoting hard work. 

It reminds me of a show that ran on, I think, NBC for a season where every episode the contestants did a blue collar job - ice road trucking, panning for gold, cleaning a suspension bridge, etc. 

I'm sad Michelle punched out. Even sadder Murph is still in it, the misogynistic, ageist prick that he is.

[bunnyface]

I sat down to watch this last night and found Big Brother instead.  Ugh.  For a 'family' viewing hour, I think TAN is a much better choice than Big Brother.  

I thought Myles would lose with all this talking heads about his son and then his bad knee.  I thought "how is he going to lay pavers if he can't get on his knees?"  He did it BUT I thought his circle looked crap. I guess he used all his materials, but there were huge gaps and they didn't look right.  I get that this competition is about being first all the time, but there should be some...some word I can't think of...for getting it done RIGHT.  Instead of who can get the most bags in the trash in this amount of time, who can get all the bags in in the least amount of time.  There was trash all over that street.  Instead of who can load the van quickest, who can load the van quickest without breaking all the poor homeowners stuff.  I know those boxes were empty, but the way they were throwing some of them around, the contents were trashed (and ready for the next task).  I dunno.  I just think quality should count as well as speed.

 

[Taeolas]

I didn't care for the Trash truck challenge as much. I understand them wanting to get that industry/job class in the show; but the challenge didn't work. It should probably have been a timed challenge and not a race challenge. I'm sure for legal reasons they couldn't have the contestants drive, but they could've had "load the truck, pound the side to indicate to go to the next, load the next..." and have it based on total time. 

 

Michelle's tactic to sort the blocks first was wise, and she was very close at the end; only a block or two short it seemed. It seemed she needed to be packing the bricks closer together as she went. I haven't done much patio brick laying (ok haven't really done any) but I think the distances between bricks is deceptive. You think you are close but you are actually spacing them too wide. I think most modern patio bricks have spacer tabs (a slight ridge basically) baked in at the bottom edge, so all you have to do is smash them side by side and you should have the proper spacing. I admit I'm a little disappointed that she couldn't pull off the win yet again; but she put up a damn good fight and almost pulled it off. An impressive showing. 

[RunningMarket]

10 hours ago, Maverick said:

 That patio was not complete.  There were several huge gaps in there.  It look like collectively there was at least one brick missing.   It wasn't anywhere as neat and fit together as the example. 

 This show telegraphs the loser worse that the Project Runway Phone Call of Doom.  The extended curbside conversation with Michelle about how awesome she was just missing a neon "she's out" sign over her head. 

 Danny keeps talking about being short and having a dad bod.  He's actually good looking save for his real issue he never mentions, that unfortunate hair cut.  I mean seriously, he must not have going to a real barber even before the pandemic. 

I called Savage Crew's "epic comeback" from the first 5 seconds of their ride-in conversation. 

Neither patio looked complete to me, but I guess it was who put the stones in the correct(ish) spots the fastest.

[iMonrey]

Yeah I agree about the patio stones, it did not look right to me. And in fact I think they deliberately avoided showing it too much after he was done because they knew it looked bad but by then it was just a matter of who got the last brick in. If they made them space them out correctly to match the sample they probably would have had to start all over.

Quote

This show telegraphs the loser worse that the Project Runway Phone Call of Doom.  The extended curbside conversation with Michelle about how awesome she was just missing a neon "she's out" sign over her head.

I actually expected Myles to lose based on his extended coverage this week. He hasn't gotten a lot of talking head footage up 'til now.

[mlp]

I liked Michelle and was sorry to see her lose but I would have been even sorrier if it had been Myles.  She lasted a lot longer than I thought she would when this started and can be proud of what she accomplished.  I like Myles and I'm hoping for a Myles vs. Danny final competition.  

I was cringing watching the people wearing shorts running after the garbage truck.  I know from an experience years ago that skinning up your knees as an adult is really painful and could make it hard for someone to continue.  I was very glad the people who did fall were wearing long pants.  

I like the absence of backstabbing and cutthroat behaviors but I could do with less of the team spirit piety.

I'm really enjoying this show overall so I'm happy to read that there will be a second season.

[Pepper the Cat]

I don’t like that everyone can watch the individual challenges right from the start. Those going later will have an advantage because they can see the mistakes the people going first made.

[Browncoat]

5 hours ago, mlp said:

I was cringing watching the people wearing shorts running after the garbage truck.

I was cringing at some of the footwear they had on to run after the truck.  I can't imagine running very well in some of those boots.

Sad to see Michelle punch out.  She didn't get to finish her "patten" as Phil pronounced it, but what she had looked miles better than Myles'.

And stupid Big Brother is now causing me to have to record this on Wednesdays and watch on Thursday.  

[zoey1996]

On 7/13/2020 at 8:23 PM, kaygeeret said:

I really enjoyed this show.

It reminded me that I have never, in my long life, performed actual manual labor.  SO perhaps, I have overlooked the strength and determination, not to mention the smarts (gotta figure out how to do a physical task efficiently and quickly, not easy for all).  A humbling realization for me.

 

I have never been paid for manual labor, but in my youth, I did a lot of it.  I grew up on a farm and shoveled, performed electrical work, done plumbing repair, learned how to change a tire, etc., and helped my dad with repairs, and so forth. As an adult, I’ve done various home repairs, including helping to hang drywall.  I also worked for a construction company, but in the office (payroll & accounting).

I have tremendous admiration and respect for those competing, putting themselves out there!

I’m way behind in watching, only watched the first three episodes, but I’m looking forward to seeing more.

[SVNBob]

On 8/12/2020 at 10:14 PM, Lantern7 said:

Next week: individual firefighting-themed task!

I think both tasks are firefighting themed.  But the team task looked like dealing with a brushfire.

So I'm predicting a captain showdown between Young and Myles in that task.

[PrincessPurrsALot]

That was a very old school way of handling trash.  Now, in my area, the trucks stop and the plastic cans get hooked to the side.  Then the lift takes them up to the bin.  However, I remember the method shown being how this used to be done.  It would have helped if they new from the start that the truck would be moving and could have chosen better shoes.  

I would have rocked the load the truck team task.  While I am not physically strong, that is my one big skill.  I am great at loading small spaces. TPTB would not have been happy if one team was knocked out of the team competition at this point. 

The patio build instructions focused on getting all of the pavers into the pattern.  There was no focus on getting the spacing right.   I was okay with that because otherwise it can become subjective unless we watch someone measuring each space.  

I found Michelle equally annoying and inspiring.  She did keep pushing no matter what.  I did not expect her to make it as far as she did.  So good on her. 

[AncientNewbie]

After last week's "let's profile Tara before she clocks out" I was nervous for Myles when he finally got screen time.

[iMonrey]

It seemed to me the best way to handle the garbage truck challenge was to run ahead of it so you were always a step beyond it. All the contestants started by picking up the first set of bags and chasing after the truck and all that chasing after the truck is what bled so much time.

[PrincessPurrsALot]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

It seemed to me the best way to handle the garbage truck challenge was to run ahead of it so you were always a step beyond it. All the contestants started by picking up the first set of bags and chasing after the truck and all that chasing after the truck is what bled so much time.

That is what I was thinking too.  Then they wouldn't have to run much with the bags which would preserve energy and lessen the likelihood of tripping.   Some of those falls looked brutal.  I am glad it wasn't likely real garbage so the bags didn't break open and leave someone covered in rotten food.  I expected the later folks to strategize a bit better. 

[kaygeeret]

I am truly happy that the show seems to  have cast real people rather than the usual 'mactors', blonds, etc.

I have stopped watching many show such as Survivor because of the obvious phoniness of the contestants.

Also, thank you for NOT having the usual shouting, screaming folks - except as appropriate for team stuff.  Normal stress and frustration at losing are understandable.

Really enjoying the show.

[Grizzly]

For once, rooting for Young.

[Lantern7]

On 8/12/2020 at 11:14 PM, Lantern7 said:

Next week: individual firefighting-themed task! But given the teaser and Young's luck in general, I'm certain he'll be working Overtime yet again.

I just wish to state that I was not spoiled on tonight's episode. I did not seek out information on spoiler sites. I don't even know if there are spoiler sites for this show. Young was the "O.G. of O.T." (really, Phil?), but the fourth time wasn't as charmed, and he lost to Murph. I get how he can irritate, but he doesn't rate with the assholes I've seen.

Two more episodes? With our luck, the finale won't be aired, and Julie Chen will announce the winner as an aside on her show.

[mlp]

I like Young but he's been in the bottom four times so I couldn't feel very bad for him whereas Murph has been doing well.  It must have been embarrassing to lose during a challenge featuring his own profession.

I wonder if the contestants were really as close together as they looked during the first challenge when they were all flailing away with sharp instruments.  I hope it was just the camera angle; it was making me very nervous.

 

[PrincessPurrsALot]

I didn't realize how much I wanted Murph out until this episode.  Dammit, Young, you had one job!  He hurt himself during the individual challenge because he followed his training rather than thinking like a reality show contestant.  

This time they didn't show the contestants what the prior people did.  That helped level things so the first person didn't have a disadvantage.  

The team challenge looked really close.  Both teams seemed exhausted afterwards.  

[jabRI]

And did Murph really say something in the team challenge "and then the ladies are going to come in behind us to clear up..." I don't think he means to sound so misogynist, right?  Just say their names, or say 'other teammates'. It's not so hard.

[mertensia]

9 minutes ago, jabRI said:

And did Murph really say something in the team challenge "and then the ladies are going to come in behind us to clear up..." I don't think he means to sound so misogynist, right?  Just say their names, or say 'other teammates'. It's not so hard.

Oh yeah he did. Women are lesser beings to Murph.

I can't believe Young finally came to an end on a firefighting challenge. It's so him.

[preeya]

8 hours ago, mlp said:

I wonder if the contestants were really as close together as they looked during the first challenge when they were all flailing away with sharp instruments. 

I thought for sure someone was going to get a foot or a leg smashed.

[snarts]

Ugh, I wanted Murph gone.  I agree that he's not an in your face misogynist but he is deliberately dismissive.  Lots of Murphs in corporate America, impacting womens' careers.

[mertensia]

21 minutes ago, snarts said:

Ugh, I wanted Murph gone.  I agree that he's not an in your face misogynist but he is deliberately dismissive.  Lots of Murphs in corporate America, impacting womens' careers.

Every time my father has heard of violence against a woman by a Marine/ex-Marine he makes a sound of disgust and says "of course. He's a Marine." 

[AncientNewbie]

As soon as they made the edit "Murph has no chance" I knew he was going to win the OT. Young didn't embarrass himself at least, in my view, in that it was very close. He just never seemed to move with urgency in any task. Which is why I also feel bad about the individual, because Young seemed to do it  according to his training which was slower than people just racing. If they did a drywall challenge and it counted if the mud was just thrown somewhere near the seam but Danny lost because he did it properly, we'd be mad...but Young's history prevents a lot of miffed feelings, I think. 

I felt Myles getting a strong edit again. We've been teased on Murph vs Danny so long he's probably just our Brett Clouser. 

 

[iMonrey]

I wonder if Young is sorry he signed up for this show, going out this way on a fire fighting challenge. At the very least his co-workers are going to give him a rough time about that.

So are there two more team challenges after this last one? Or only one more? From what Phil said I took it to mean two more challenges including this one (because he said it before they did this one). What if there's a tie?

[PrincessPurrsALot]

He said there is one more team challenge.  If it ends in a tie, there will be a tie-breaker.  

I enjoyed seeing Myles win.  He seems quiet, steady and hard-working (and I covet his hair - so thick and gorgeous).  Next week is the forestry challenge where he is expected to excel.  Let's hope the I know how to do this right and safely doesn't bite him. 

There is something refreshing about seeing hard-working people for whom $2000 is a meaningful on a reality show.  Between the mactors and focus on the wealthy people in many shows, we forget how people really live. 

[preeya]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

So are there two more team challenges after this last one? Or only one more? From what Phil said I took it to mean two more challenges including this one (because he said it before they did this one). What if there's a tie?

Phil said, if there's a tie there would be a tiebreaker. With that said, I'm waiting to see the tiebreaker (it is so obvious).

[Grizzly]

3 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I wonder if Young is sorry he signed up for this show, going out this way on a fire fighting challenge. At the very least his co-workers are going to give him a rough time about that.

 

Young should quit the fire department but he hasn't shown an aptitude for anything else.

The fire break challenge was so close. The way the wind was whipping, it's a good thing there wasn't a real fire. The break would have had to been wider.

[AncientNewbie]

2 hours ago, PrincessPurrsALot said:

There is something refreshing about seeing hard-working people for whom $2000 is a meaningful on a reality show.  Between the mactors and focus on the wealthy people in many shows, we forget how people really live. 

I like this point. Of course, some of the trades do make better money than us office drones, but I get the feeling that this group really does appreciate the cash.

I've long said $200k is my price. That would let me pay off my debts, put a little aside, and work a job I'd want to work instead of having to be here. So even though I'd like big money for all hard working people, even the prize is still blue collar.

[Browncoat]

Ah, Young, done in because he knows the right way to do a thing, and won’t cut corners.  And good for him, too.  He has absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about or ashamed of.  Too bad Murph didn’t hesitate just a little bit longer before the rappel.  Between the two, I’d rather Young have stayed.

[Spicymustard]

I love this show. It’s perfect for motivation while running on the treadmill. 
 

poor young going out on a firefighting challenge. I agree with him that his training might have been a hinderance. He mentioned that they often find people right by the door trying to get out. He was thinking like a firefighter, not like a person in a competition where they put the dummy in the back of the building . 

[SVNBob]

17 hours ago, jabRI said:

And did Murph really say something in the team challenge "and then the ladies are going to come in behind us to clear up..." I don't think he means to sound so misogynist, right?  Just say their names, or say 'other teammates'. It's not so hard.

To be somewhat fair, both teams are split evenly on gender lines.  And in the quote in question, Murph was saying that he and Young were doing the cutting work with the ax-like tools, and Luis as foreman had no tools so he could observe the rest for safety reasons.  So it was the three women on Savage using the rake-like tools to do the clearing.  Calling them collectively "the ladies" in a TH that was probably just meant to be a quick summary of the plan was probably inadvertently misogynistic.  However, it could have been worse; he could have called them "the girls".

 

On 8/19/2020 at 10:54 PM, mlp said:

I like Young but he's been in the bottom four times so I couldn't feel very bad for him whereas Murph has been doing well.  It must have been embarrassing to lose during a challenge featuring his own profession.

 

15 hours ago, AncientNewbie said:

As soon as they made the edit "Murph has no chance" I knew he was going to win the OT. Young didn't embarrass himself at least, in my view, in that it was very close. He just never seemed to move with urgency in any task. Which is why I also feel bad about the individual, because Young seemed to do it  according to his training which was slower than people just racing. If they did a drywall challenge and it counted if the mud was just thrown somewhere near the seam but Danny lost because he did it properly, we'd be mad...but Young's history prevents a lot of miffed feelings, I think. 

I felt Myles getting a strong edit again. We've been teased on Murph vs Danny so long he's probably just our Brett Clouser.

Bolded:  Exactly.  While I do assume Young got razzed by his firehouse crew for losing OT (like I assume he'd been getting razzed for going into OT each time before), I don't think he got razzed for doing things properly in the individual task.  I'm sure every single person on his regular crew would have acted the same way in his place on that task.  And to be honest, I'm glad a firefighter fell back on their training during a reality show competition.  It means they'll do actually their job correctly in a real situation.

Italicized:  That's kinda how I knew Murph was going to win.  They've been using too many clips that setup a Murph vs Danny showdown for that not to happen.  If Murph had lost here, they wouldn't have been using those THs from Danny or Murph.

5 hours ago, Browncoat said:

Ah, Young, done in because he knows the right way to do a thing, and won’t cut corners.  And good for him, too.  He has absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about or ashamed of.  Too bad Murph didn’t hesitate just a little bit longer before the rappel.  Between the two, I’d rather Young have stayed.

If I could ask Phil any question about this season, it'd be the times for this OT prior to the rappel.  As in, did Young do the actual fire-fighting part faster?  Because I'm pretty sure the rappel is where Murph actually won.  Between his fear of heights and wanting to get back down to the ground as quickly as possible, coupled with his taller build (recall Phil said the time stopped "when both feet hit the ground", and Murph has much longer legs than Young) allowed Murph to shave off enough time to win.

 

44 minutes ago, Spicymustard said:

poor young going out on a firefighting challenge. I agree with him that his training might have been a hinderance. He mentioned that they often find people right by the door trying to get out. He was thinking like a firefighter, not like a person in a competition where they put the dummy in the back of the building . 

That's exactly what my mother was saying as we watched.  TPTB were absolutely going to put the dummy near the back, so that the challenge actually was a show challenge.   The rest of them may not necessarily have thought about that, but Young absolutely didn't.

However, I did notice another exit door near where the dummy was, so Young wasn't entirely wrong either.  It's just the rules were to go back out the same door to the finish line, not just "exit the building with the dummy".

 

[AncientNewbie]

Minor complaint: I just wish they gave Murph more of a job description than "Marine." I appreciate his service but that doesn't tell me about what sort of blue collar work he did. I know helicopter maintenance was mentioned at one point. When the idea is that there's toughness and specialized knowledge in this fields, the generic title just falls flat.

[SVNBob]

22 hours ago, SVNBob said:

I did notice another exit door near where the dummy was,

Quoting myself because I've been thinking about this a little.

This door I mentioned is probably where TPTB brought the dummies in for the challenge in the first place.

[candall]

I would have expected them to award me the grand prize money for making it up that five mile hill.

[Grizzly]

Why isn't Myles taking on Murph?

[mlp]

All along I've wanted to believe that this competition was strictly on the level but now I'm not so sure.  One team coming from way behind to tie the score so they'd go into a tie-breaker seemed too planned plus I got a glimpse of Danny putting on the shin guards before a match he wasn't in.

I've been hoping that Danny wins all along but I was surprised that he faced off against Murph.  I thought it would be Myles.

[lb60]

I never thought it would be exciting to watch people chop/saw wood.

Did you know Murph was in the military?

[PrincessPurrsALot]

I expected Myles to compete also.  He does this for a living.  He was explaining to people how best to handle the challenges. 

It may be because Murph annoys me, but it feels like he gets so many talking heads.  Was he in the military?  I think I heard that somewhere. Maybe a Marine?  

[mertensia]

I bet Michelle would have kicked ass in the chainsaw challenge. 

Is it really a common thing to move your chainsaw up as they did in that challenge?

[preeya]

My big criticism from last night:

The tie breaker was to determine which "TEAM" would win. Why wasn't the tiebreaker a competition between the teams (6 people against 6 people) instead of one against one???  IMO that's a big fail on TPTB.

 

Edited August 27, 2020 by preeya

[mtlchick]

1 hour ago, preeya said:

My big criticism from last night:

The tie breaker was to determine which "TEAM" would win. Why wasn't the tiebreaker a competition between the teams (6 people against 6 people) instead of one against one???  IMO that's a big fail on TPTB.

 

I really didn't get that either.  All this build up for team events and this came down to...one person on each side? Hell a tug of war would have been a better final task than what was done. 

Murph was in the military?  Ya don't say! 

[iMonrey]

So who won? My DVR conked out ten minutes before it ended.

Quote

Did you know Murph was in the military?

They're really leaning into that a little too much.