S13.E05: Qualifiers

[Lantern7]

Just saw Leif “Swedish Ninja” Sunberg spend what felt like an eternity hung up on Log Roll. He made it through, so it looks like the cleanup crew had to start work early, what with Matt & Akbar messing themselves so hard.

Oh, and his son Linus is a cute scrunchy baby.

Edited July 13, 2021 by Lantern7

[Frisky Wig]

Anyone else surprised at how Jackson Twait seemed kinda nonchalant about Hades disappearing? Especially considering how obsessed he was with his cat in previous seasons, though that might have been exaggerated as part of his shtick. He was like “Hades disappeared, I put up signs, we looked for a while but never found him. So, we got Hashbrown!” You know damn well the show would’ve played up his grief as a heartbreaking sob story. I guess people grieve in different ways and I shouldn’t judge. 

[SophiaD]

Oh, Michael Torres.... (SOB!)  He is one of my favorites and I am so sad for him.

SOOOOO delighted for Flex, though.  And glad that Flip made it through.  

27 minutes ago, Frisky Wig said:

Anyone else surprised at how Jackson Twait seemed kinda nonchalant about Hades disappearing? Especially considering how obsessed he was with his cat in previous seasons, though that might have been exaggerated as part of his shtick. He was like “Hades disappeared, I put up signs, we looked for a while but never found him. So, we got Hashbrown!” You know damn well the show would’ve played up his grief as a heartbreaking sob story. I guess people grieve in different ways and I shouldn’t judge. 

Yes, I couldn't decide if the fondness for the cat was the shtick, or if he's just one of those people who doesn't do grief publicly.  I did like how unimpressed Hashbrown looked about the whole thing.

The mentor angle makes the teen-invasion more interesting, although I did think the father "threatening" his son with more chores and duties if he didn't beat him was a bit much.  I get that it's a show and that he was probably kidding, but, dude, support your son in coming out there and doing his best!  I was amused when his kid beat him, though.  I wonder if that means he gets a later curfew.

[ams1001]

19 hours ago, SophiaD said:

Oh, Michael Torres.... (SOB!)  He is one of my favorites and I am so sad for him.

SOOOOO delighted for Flex, though.  And glad that Flip made it through.  

His fall looked painful, too! I got the impression that part of his emotion was just realizing that he wasn't seriously hurt.

Yay for Flex! When Chris went down I was afraid she'd fall, too, since they seem to have a habit of falling in the same place sometimes. 

Not a fan of long hair on guys but somehow it suits Flip. Glad he made it.

Edited July 14, 2021 by ams1001

[DanaMB]

I laughed so hard at the ninja whose cape blocked his face. I think being tired of everyone’s shtick made me cold hearted. 
 

Did Najee Richardson (sp?) compete this year?

[TiredMe]

I’m glad some veterans made it through like Captain nbc, flip and nick Hanson. And of course Flex. I’m sick of 15 year olds lol

[ams1001]

1 hour ago, DanaMB said:

Did Najee Richardson (sp?) compete this year?

No, he dislocated his ankle shortly before they filmed the qualifiers.

https://www.americanninjawarriornation.com/2021/3/31/22359641/najee-richardson-will-miss-season-13-with-an-ankle-injury

[DanaMB]

36 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

No, he dislocated his ankle shortly before they filmed the qualifiers.

https://www.americanninjawarriornation.com/2021/3/31/22359641/najee-richardson-will-miss-season-13-with-an-ankle-injury

Oh, poor thing. I’ll miss him. 

[Lantern7]

37 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

No, [Najee] dislocated his ankle shortly before they filmed the qualifiers.

Did they mention that at all? At least they told us Jessie Graf was injured. I was wondering about her. There's an ever-increasing number of female competitors, but there's only one Jessie.

1 hour ago, TiredMe said:

I’m sick of 15 year olds lol

*sigh* It's not that I hate them. It's . .. I think on some level, I envy these "ninjas" because they can move in ways I could never achieve. So when a "Ninja Cal" comes in and demolishes the course at such a young age, I get mad. Not mad-mad, but irked.

I saw Roo Yori. Did he run at all? I like seeing him with his dogs.

[enoughcats]

Did they reduce the number of rolling logs from six (two or three weeks ago) to the four last night?

Running across four would be a heck of a lot easier than the six (IIRC) that others had to fall off of. 

I admit to muttering how unfair life is for some.  The one kid and his dad who built 43 obstacles in their back yard.  Versus the kids who have just beyond a jungle jim to learn on. 

43 OBSTACLES.  That's going to cover most of the motions a human body can do, and that kind of back yard can really build up confidence that you can't buy without a course in your own back yard.

[ams1001]

39 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

Did they mention that at all? At least they told us Jessie Graf was injured. I was wondering about her. There's an ever-increasing number of female competitors, but there's only one Jessie.

Not that I recall, though I didn't realize we hadn't seen him until the question came up here, either (but I also haven't been keeping track of how many qualifier rounds there have been/will be).

[Vermicious Knid]

Quote

At least they told us Jessie Graf was injured.

This is what I get for fast forwarding. I totally missed that. Too bad, she's always a fun run. Poor Najee, ankle injuries can be nasty. I sprained my ankle once so badly the podiatrist told me I would almost have been better off breaking it. Took eight weeks to fully heal, a break would have been six. And for two-three years after that the ankle would twinge and almost re-sprain if I stepped wrong.

They must be disenchanted with Jamie Rahm, veteran performer who finishes and would normally get a full feature, but ended up WWWA-ed. Time to change up his shtick. Younger, non-eskimo Nick Hanson succeeds where the original fell this year. They must pack them off home immediately if they fail since he was available to video call for his run. Or back to the AirBNB.

[Rickster]

15 hours ago, enoughcats said:

Did they reduce the number of rolling logs from six (two or three weeks ago) to the four last night?

Running across four would be a heck of a lot easier than the six (IIRC) that others had to fall off of. 

Good catch. The show before this one was the first to use the logs (I know the prior two shows used different obstacles for the choice). They used 5 in that one and 4 in this Monday’s show. In fact I’m pretty sure the course preview Monday showed 5 rollers.

Not sure 4 was easier than 5 if they are spaced further apart. In fact I think the only reason to change it was to make it harder so more people would choose the spinning blocks.

[Ilovepie]

22 hours ago, TiredMe said:

I’m glad some veterans made it through like Captain nbc, flip and nick Hanson. And of course Flex. I’m sick of 15 year olds lol

You just summed up this season for me. If I wanted to watch Ninja Jr. I would have watched Ninja Jr! It pissed me off on American Idol when they lowered the age, and it pisses me off here too. It just feels like they are tired of the same people and want new blood, but I come here to watch the ones I care about and get sick of seeing them getting the WWWA treatment so I can watch some kid.

I miss the kinetic energy of the live audience. Between the kids and the indoor weirdness of the empty set/family on screens, my love of this show has waned. It sits in my dvr until there's nothing left whereas before I watched it same night it was on. Maybe moving on to the finals will improve my feelings......

[Quilt Fairy]

44 minutes ago, Ilovepie said:

Maybe moving on to the finals will improve my feelings......

Don't forget we're going to lose a couple of Mondays to the Olympics. 

[mlp]

I second your comments, Ilovepie.  I used to be excited to watch it.  I'd record it and watch it a couple more times.  Now I watch it out of habit and with hopes that I'll see the old favorites then I delete it from my VCR without watching it again.  I enjoyed ANW Junior and I'm impressed with the teenagers but I don't like them all together.  I also miss the outdoor setting and the live crowds.  And, as usual, I am SICK of the back stories, especially when they're long and the person falls on the third obstacle.

[VartanFan]

Agreed about the teens.  Hated it the first week - still hate it.  If I wanted to see a bunch of over involved parents who cry at every obstacle on the sidelines, I’d hit up some Toddlers and Tiaras.  

I noticed in the summary that Jamie Rahn was the slowest finisher (slower than Flex), so I’m guessing NBC is over him.  

Torres’ fall was terrifying.  I expected a broken back or something.  I think he got super lucky.

Did someone mention that the Swedish guy got through to the semi finals?  His save? THAT impressed me.

Finally, what’s the deal with the pants that a lot of them are wearing this year?  They’re like capri workout pants but they’re mostly black except the inside of the legs are grey.  Ideas?

 

[Dewey Decimate]

On 7/13/2021 at 10:35 PM, enoughcats said:

I admit to muttering how unfair life is for some.  The one kid and his dad who built 43 obstacles in their back yard.  Versus the kids who have just beyond a jungle jim to learn on. 

43 OBSTACLES.  That's going to cover most of the motions a human body can do, and that kind of back yard can really build up confidence that you can't buy without a course in your own back yard.

Yeah, I noticed a few weeks ago when they showed one of the young ninjas training at home, a waterfront property with the back yard chock-full of obstacles. Like, I guess if the kid is grateful and has some understanding of her good fortune then what can I say *shrug*... I guess I just don't like being reminded of how unfair life is for some when I watch this show.

I'm neutral on the youngsters competing: on the one hand, if they can rip through the same course the vets do, good for them; on the other hand, there's just not much to distinguish one from the other. (And by distinguish, I do not mean a silk-screened t-shirt with another lame name!)

The ninja community overall seems really cool, inclusive, and supportive, but those (was it?) two Ninja Teens really rubbed me the wrong way. Not to the level of the Winner Who Shall Not Be Named, but they just screamed douche-bro. (Please fall early in the finals.)

[DEL901]

It will be interesting to see what happens to the junior ninjas when they grow up and fill out. 

[ams1001]

12 hours ago, VartanFan said:

Finally, what’s the deal with the pants that a lot of them are wearing this year?  They’re like capri workout pants but they’re mostly black except the inside of the legs are grey.  Ideas?

Made by a brand that sponsors the show? Or just the current trend.

[Vermicious Knid]

I just realized, no one is getting blankets or towels, anything, when they fall in the water now. And why do they even have Zuri when they just forget she exists for 3/4 of the show?

[enoughcats]

11 hours ago, Vermicious Knid said:

And why do they even have Zuri when they just forget she exists for 3/4 of the show?

Just a guess, but Zuri gives them a woman who sort of counts as announcer diversity.  But she also probably talks to everybody. This gives the film editors wiggle room, it they need another twenty seconds before the commercial, would be an example.

When they edited out he who will no longer be mentioned, they needed to fill the space.  Nice, gentle chatter would be useful.

Also, maybe, in the real world, they need somebody to take attention away from the peons who have to reset all the obstacles before the next person moves them around. (And to mop up the running surfaces.)