Race To Survive: Alaska - General Discussion

[Quilt Fairy]

Is anyone else watching this show hidden away late on Monday night on USA?  It's surprisingly watchable, like Amazing Race and Survivor had a baby.

[proserpina65]

I've been watching it.  It reminds me a lot of the Eco Challenge races which I enjoyed a lot.  This isn't quite as difficult as those were, but it's engaging.

[Grizzly]

Yes, I've been watching it On Demand. So glad you started the thread, #Quilt Fairy. Seen the first 2 eps, 1st being much better than the second. Very scary when the lady was taken out. Don't know why she wasn't drinking when she kept saying she needed electrolytes. Probably too late at that point but it might have helped. Boyfriend didn't take her seriously until she fell. The medic in green didn't seem very skilled. We definitely don't need to see the scene of the son throwing up anymore. (Obviously I don't have any names memorized yet.) I like the brother/sister, the guys in first and second, and the all female teams.

[Leeds]

I'm watching but I don't know how much more of the vomiting/retching I can take.

Edited April 19, 2023 by Leeds

[meep.meep]

I like the brothers from Nome.  They're so totally laid back.

[Lovecat]

17 hours ago, meep.meep said:

I like the brothers from Nome.  They're so totally laid back.

I admire their skill and their chill (heh), but their bro-speak sets my ears on fire.

I am rooting hard for Favia and Genevieve, but sadly I don't think they're long for this race.  If Hakim (?) has truly messed up his knee and can't continue, they'll get another leg (maybe Hakim's good one, bah-dum-bum!).  

I rolled my eyes so hard when the dad-and-son team (Jeff and...HUNTER!  It just came to me.) opened their rations for the first leg and were incredulous that they weren't vegetarian.  Just something about the tone--not "Oh, well we're vegetarians, so this is going to be another aspect of the challenge," but "[indignant noises] Psht.  Ucht.  We're VEGETARIANS, we've NEVER eaten THIS food before!"  Gee, catering must not have gotten your special request, buttercup.  Because I'm a terrible person, I didn't even feel bad for Hunter barfing his guts out all night after eating the clams.

I love those ECO-Challenge races so much, and have been enjoying this one.  Glad to have a thread to discuss!

Edited April 20, 2023 by Lovecat

[Inga]

I’m watching and i really like it!! I just binged like 4 episodes. I really like Favia and Genevieve too, great attitudes. The father and son…oof. The Dad is a nutcase. He will never accept the fact that his son will someday be more experienced than he.  Max has been on Naked and Afraid a bunch of times. I think it’s going to get ugly between the 2 female doctors. The blond is much stronger than the brunette who is not doing well. I’m hooked. 

[alexa]

I like it too, though I am super tired of the son in the father / son team always commenting on how old and fragile his dad is now that he has stopped competing for a while.  lol.  omg, kid, your dad will be fine and he isn't that old.

[argrow]

I find it interesting that the teams are in relatively same positions in the second leg even after they reset. Hopefully this is not going to happen in later legs because that will be boring.

[candall]

I appreciate your remarks.  I have the episodes piling up on my DVR and wasn't sure about making the commitment.  I saw eight comments here and thought, "Uh oh.  Delete!"  But you all seem to like it.  I'll give it a shot.

[Leeds]

On 4/20/2023 at 3:52 PM, argrow said:

I find it interesting that the teams are in relatively same positions in the second leg even after they reset. Hopefully this is not going to happen in later legs because that will be boring.

I think the way the producers are playing it at the moment, the suspense and drama will be all about who has to be airlifted out next.

[snarts]

On 4/20/2023 at 6:52 PM, argrow said:

I find it interesting that the teams are in relatively same positions in the second leg even after they reset. Hopefully this is not going to happen in later legs because that will be boring.

Agree. It's like watching Varsity vs. JV.  The top 3 teams were so far in front of the rest on both legs.  

Interesting that some of the teams are relatively new friendships. I wouldn't commit to spending 40 days at a 5 star resort with someone I'd recently met, let alone slogging through the Alaskan wilderness,

Curious what they were allowed to bring with them. Surprised the Alaskan fisherman didn't have more fishing gear than just the line & lure. 

[jah1986]

Just discovered this show and am just watching the first episode, so glad to read your comments, will definitely stick with it. It does remind me of one of the Eco Challenge shows, but with smaller teams.

[Quilt Fairy]

I think they should take out the colon and just call this show Race to Survive Alaska, because, damn. 

[seacliffsal]

I kind of wish that the 'surviving' partners of the medical evacuees could partner and continue together.  I will really feel sad for the blonde woman if Elizabeth decides to quit to attend her brother's wedding.  I really felt for her when Elizabeth told her she might leave and the blonde responded with 'I wish you had told me that when I first asked you in January...'  I could feel her disappointment and frustration through the t.v.

[Irlandesa]

I agree.  You made your decision, live with it.  But maybe she thought they'd be eliminated early.

[Quilt Fairy]

The food issue provides a touch of Alone to this reality show mix-up.  What did the non-survival-experts think there would be to eat?  Did they think that the provided rations would be enough to survive on?   I also don't understand why the Alaska bros gave up on fishing after Survival Guy caught a fish (or 3, as it turned out).  If one team is catching fish, they haven't caught all the fish, there are presumably more close by.  

[Grizzly]

I'm wondering if the medics have scales with them. Some of these contestants are being being very specific about how much weight they're losing.

[Leeds]

On 4/26/2023 at 5:26 AM, seacliffsal said:

I kind of wish that the 'surviving' partners of the medical evacuees could partner and continue together.  I will really feel sad for the blonde woman if Elizabeth decides to quit to attend her brother's wedding.  I really felt for her when Elizabeth told her she might leave and the blonde responded with 'I wish you had told me that when I first asked you in January...'  I could feel her disappointment and frustration through the t.v.

You're presumably somewhat well educated but have chosen to miss your beloved brother's wedding to compete on a crappy reality tv show.  Says it all about this show really.

[meep.meep]

You want to challenge yourself physically and said yes when your partner asked you in January, but in March your brother suddenly scheduled his wedding in the middle of July, thinking your race would be over by then.

That's how it would go in my family.

[seacliffsal]

Somehow the race doesn't seem that dramatic-maybe because they are focusing on personalities instead of race challenges?  Wasn't surprised that the sisters went home.  Also not surprised by the brother/sister depending on the knowledge of the father/son.  I want to like this show more than I do-but, like the racers, I'm in it until the end...

[Quilt Fairy]

11 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

Somehow the race doesn't seem that dramatic-maybe because they are focusing on personalities instead of race challenges?  

I think that it's because they don't seem to be changing positions at all.  There's the front of the pack, the middle, and the back.  They start the next leg even, but they immediately fall into the same positions.  I loved the sisters, but they would have been out at the end of the first leg (and the second leg) if it hadn't been for teams that were medevacked out.   However, since they only started with 8 teams it's been easier for me to follow who's who.  

[snarts]

I also don't see the positions changing any time soon. Barring an injury, the women doctors will the next to go.  Then we'll see Team Sibling vs. Team Dad/Son battle it out to survive elimination.  It won't be a true RAAACCEE until the final two teams.

Speaking of Team Dad/Son, dad's a straight up jerk. Why is he so threatened by his son? Guessing the kid was raised as a vegetarian (prolly not his choice from what we've seen) because you'd think he would've known he had a shellfish allergy. 

[Irlandesa]

12 minutes ago, snarts said:

Guessing the kid was raised as a vegetarian (prolly not his choice from what we've seen) because you'd think he would've known he had a shellfish allergy. 

He might not have known because of his vegetarianism but a shellfish allergy is one of the allergies you can develop later in life. You can eat shrimp for years with no problem and then one day it makes you violently ill. That happened to a coworker. 

[jah1986]

Dad does seem really threatened by his son having grown up since the last time they did a challenge together. I was sorry to see the rock climbing friends go, but they obviously did not know the definition of "hustle". They kept saying they had to hustle but they were moving at a snails pace.

I too don't see the team standings changing unless the dad hurts himself. Or if the AK brothers hurt themselves trying to be first for every leg of the race.

[seacliffsal]

If most teams end up being eliminated due to injuries rather than coming in last, there is probably a problem with either the design of the race or the racers they chose to compete.  It's been pointed out by many that if the remaining teams drastically change position it would be due to injury to one of the leading teams.  I know injuries happen, but of the three teams that have left, only one was due to coming in last.  

The brother/sister admit they are not good with navigation and other teams (the doctors?) have acknowledged they have never done a race like this before, so if the producers selected teams due to demographics rather than readiness, it would explain the injuries and the placements.

[Quilt Fairy]

I can't figure out if the teams are allowed to bring any of their own rations.  That would have been preferable to providing them with something like tinned clams which the son found out he was allergic to.  

Totally agree that dad is being a dick, he's have a major mid-life crisis, on-air. 

I'm still enjoying it, but it's much more a survival competition than an actual race.

[Irlandesa]

11 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

The brother/sister admit they are not good with navigation and other teams (the doctors?) have acknowledged they have never done a race like this before, so if the producers selected teams due to demographics rather than readiness, it would explain the injuries and the placements.

I do think they tried to cast people of varying degrees of survival experience and for their stories.  A cancer survivor is a compelling story.  I do think watching the best teams have been kind of boring and they might be afraid of finding enough drama if everyone is super experienced and competent. 

[Irlandesa]

This episode was a bit more interesting.  The predicted last place people were last place but there was more intrigue at the top of the race. 

First, I really wish Robin had a better partner.  I get that this is grueling but I'd have a lot more sympathy for "I'm not feeling well" if we didn't hear her complain about missing her brother's wedding for the episodes prior to this.  Now that attending the wedding is out of the question, she's again at the point of being unsure if she can continue.

I hope the final legs are more like this one where decisions about how to navigate the terrain can have an impact on who comes in first.  Or maybe it's just that the brothers making a mistake is fool's gold and if they hadn't, it'd be the same old same old--especially since Max and Christian managed to catch up.

I am rooting for Bella and Cason for at least one leg.

Oh daddy Jeff, apparently Bella and Cason don't need your masterful navigation skills after all. And considering how often you fight with your son, I don't think you should be so smug about the brother/sister spat.  At least Cason can give enthusiastic praise when it's merited even if it means he's admitting he was wrong.

[seacliffsal]

Much more intrigue this episode.  I was concerned about the brothers and although I like "mixing" up the order a bit, I don't want to see them eliminated at this point.  But, they were able to get back on track and it looks like the female friends will be the next eliminated (unless something else happens).  The son has mentioned a few times that he hopes his father doesn't get injured so I am wondering if that is foreshadowing.  I do appreciate that when the competitors need specialized equipment that the show provides it so they don't have to carry everything they could potentially need for the duration of the race.

Knowing that the brothers were able to work their way around them, I was so excited to see the bears-and cubs!

[Mediocre Gatsby]

On 5/3/2023 at 10:39 AM, snarts said:

Speaking of Team Dad/Son, dad's a straight up jerk. Why is he so threatened by his son? 

Preach. His son collected berries he doesn't even like, just for his father, and all Jeff could do was ask why his son was bragging about something Jeff had already done, twice? Jeff, you collected berries BECAUSE YOU EAT THEM. 

Seriously, if I had to root for Jeff or a bear in a fight, I'd have to sit back and think on it a minute. 

It was nice seeing Bella and Cason do well. 

[proserpina65]

22 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

The son has mentioned a few times that he hopes his father doesn't get injured so I am wondering if that is foreshadowing.

I'm actually rather tired of hearing him talk about his father, who is younger than I am, like he's a decrepit octogenarian.  Yes, he might be a little more prone to injury due to his age, but a twisted ankle could just as easily take out Hunter despite his youth.  They're both annoying me.

I'd love to see Bella and Cason win this leg.

[Quilt Fairy]

Alaska really showed its beauty this episode.  All those wildflowers, wow.  It was amazing to me that they were in an area with no paths, not even game trails.  They were truly on their own navigating. 

I'm trying to figure out the rules about the canyoneering portion of the race.  From a comment that the AK bros made, it seems that once you entered it you were allowed to finish even if the 12 hour horn blew. 

[HurricaneVal]

I really like the format of this show.  A little Alone, a little EcoChallenge, a little Amazing Race ...  I hope that the ":" in the title means we will get subsequent seasons of Race to Survive: Malaysia, Race to Survive: Tasmania, Race to Survive: Patagonia, etc.

I was crushed by the son going out and picking the berries he didn't even like, as a special gift for his dad, and then to be dismissed like that back at camp.  In front of everyone.

Thank you for starting the thread!  I was afraid I was the only one here watching.....

[Grizzly]

Elizabeth needs to stop with the I don't operate well on low calories. A. No one does. B. Did she think they were going to get 3 course meals in the wilds of Alaska?

Had to laugh every time the narrator said Elizabeth and Robin are still last but are making up ground. No they're not.

Don't like Max and Christian after making fun of Bella and Cason but then taking their path.

[Leeds]

I'm just grateful that whatever his name is is not my dad.

Edited May 12, 2023 by Leeds

[Inga]

On 5/11/2023 at 1:34 AM, HurricaneVal said:

I really like the format of this show.  A little Alone, a little EcoChallenge, a little Amazing Race ...  I hope that the ":" in the title means we will get subsequent seasons of Race to Survive: Malaysia, Race to Survive: Tasmania, Race to Survive: Patagonia, etc.

I was crushed by the son going out and picking the berries he didn't even like, as a special gift for his dad, and then to be dismissed like that back at camp.  In front of everyone.

Thank you for starting the thread!  I was afraid I was the only one here watching.....

The dad is straight up psychotic. If i were the son, i would’ve dumped that whole bag of berries over the cliff after that a-hole comment.  He cannot handle getting older and his son doing or saying anything more than him. And totally agree with another poster—-stop acting like the dad is sooooo old!!! He’s 53!!!! That is not old! There are people in their 50’s, 60’s who are in amazing shape. I think once the dad realizes they are not going to win, and he gets too tired, he’ll fake an injury and use that as the excuse for cutting out early. 

[Irlandesa]

On 5/12/2023 at 10:49 AM, Inga said:

The dad is straight up psychotic. If i were the son, i would’ve dumped that whole bag of berries over the cliff after that a-hole comment.

And that was nothing compared to what he did tonight.  He used good, solid food that would provide much-needed protein to try and catch crab.  CRAB!  This is after his son threw up the oysters and they suspect he might have a shellfish allergy. Crabs are part of that same family and Hunter might throw those up too.  (I wish they'd stop showing him vomiting.)  But Jeffiepoo might get the food he needs so screw his son.

This was a bit anticlimactic after last week's episode.  The brothers regained the lead.  The only intrigue was who would get 3rd.

[seacliffsal]

The highlight for me was the bear family that Robin and Elizabeth came across.  The scenery is just outstanding. 

I bet the father wishes he hadn't shown off his navigation skills to the brother and sister.  They totally fed into his ego and he overshared if he wants to beat them out on the next leg.  I feel for his son.  BUT, the son knew his father and what his father was like so maybe signing up for this wasn't the best decision.  Hunter could be more proactive in protecting their rations.  I don't understand why someone who has never used a crab trap would risk the salmon (which is high in protein and vitamins/minerals).  

They said the next leg is the last one before the finale so it appears that there will be three in the finale.  I think that barring an injury it will really be a race between the brothers and the other male team.  Brother/sister could pull an upset.

 

[bioprof]

Prediction: psycho dad will fake an injury rather than being ( gasp ) outraced and outsmarted by any other team. He’s an idiot.

Wanted  to root for the brothers, but their smugness just rubs the wrong way. So, rooting for Max and Christian . If I could root for just the brother on the brother sister team I would….she tends to be a bit annoying.

[Quilt Fairy]

21 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

And that was nothing compared to what he did tonight.  He used good, solid food that would provide much-needed protein to try and catch crab.  CRAB!  This is after his son threw up the oysters and they suspect he might have a shellfish allergy.

My God, that was so stupid.  Even if Hunter did not have an apparent allergy to shellfish, he would have had to catch quite a few crabs to make up for the amount of salmon that he used for bait.  

21 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

(I wish they'd stop showing him vomiting.) 

I think it's a requirement that they show that at least once per episode. 

 

Now at least we're down to the teams that have an actual chance at winning. 

[Mediocre Gatsby]

I wish Jeff was out, although then I'd miss great navigating wisdom such as "You can kind of hear other teams, just because of the noise they make." 

Also, he talked about using half their rations on the crab trap, but what he really used was 100% of the rations Hunter wanted to eat - it looked like the rest was the berries that Jeff likes. 

He's infuriating. 

At the beginning when Robin said "I'll never quit," I knew they were doomed. There's nothing editors like more than foreshadowing. 

[hilaryvm]

I still don't understand.  Why did Jeff want to use the salmon for the crab trap?  It literally made no sense.  They had perfectly good salmon, a good source of fat and calories and protein.  And he used that guaranteed source of food to put into a crab trap hoping to get crab?  Even if he caught crab it would have taken a lot of crab to make up for the amount of salmon he used and all the effort to get and eat it.  Also, there was no reason at all to use so much salmon.  I can't think of a single reason why it was better to use the salmon as crab bait than to just eat the salmon.

[Quilt Fairy]

2 hours ago, hilaryvm said:

I can't think of a single reason why it was better to use the salmon as crab bait than to just eat the salmon.

Except it allowed Jeff to play "the Dad card".  

[seacliffsal]

12 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Except it allowed Jeff to play "the Dad card".  

I think he was really going for the "I am more experienced and know more than anyone else" card in addition to "the Dad card."

[meep.meep]

He's giving Dads a bad name.

I'm also watching the 100 Foot Wave where the older surfers delight in teaching the young whippersnappers things, and want to tow them out onto the perfect waves, and worry about them.  You know, like a normal human being.

Glad the docs got to see the mama bear and cubs and live to talk about it.

[proserpina65]

I don't mind Jeff as much as the rest of you do, but yeah, using up the salmon to try catching crabs was a stupid move.

[Grizzly]

That crab trap looked brand new. Do we think production put it there to see how the racers would react?

[Leeds]

The hubris of the team that didn't learn any navigational skills is just astonishing.  Did they even do any preparation outside of a rock wall in a gym?  Of course, they know how to get around NYC, so that's going to be invaluable.  Gah!

[seacliffsal]

This episode was more compelling than I had anticipated.  I'm surprised that Max and Christian fell behind and it seems like Jeff and Hunter could catch up with them.  I think it was very scary for J/H to see the bear cub without knowing where the mother was.  

I am looking forward to the paddling through the glacier ice next week.  Had all of the original teams been more comparable in skill level I think the season would have been much more interesting.  During the previous weeks, it was pretty clear which teams would continue forward and which ones would be eliminated.  It seems that we're now at the point that while I think I know who will be eliminated next week, it's not as clear-cut.