Season 3 Speculate!

[Taeolas]

TARC2 seems to be even more successful than TARC1 so we should see TARC3 next summer. So let's speculate. What teams do we want to see? What locations do we want to see? What challenges do we want to see? 

 

I think the International aspect has really stepped TARC2 up a notch this season, so I really hope it continues next season. Even the Yo-Yoing they end up doing with the Air Canada limitations seems to add an extra challenge IMO. (Killer Fatigue/Time Zone fatigue seems to become more of a factor).

 

So for locations, I think I'd really like to see would be:

* London or the UK in general. We had Paris in TARC2, so London/UK would make sense. Though if Scotland votes yes, they may decide to side step that area entirely for a few years. :) 

* Cuba: TAR.au visited it, and it's a place Canadians can go that the US audiences don't see. It would be a nice location to visit for something fresh.

* Australia: A chance to return the favour for TAR.au visiting us would be a chance for our racers to head down under. 

 

 

[TV Anonymous]

Sorry to be off-topic, but where can Canadians get TAR Australia, or any other versions of TAR?

[Rusun]

Given that any international location needs to be a destination to which Air Canada flies, the number of possibilities becomes smaller:

 

Likely:

• Dominican Republic
• Jamaica
• Brazil
• Ireland
• Japan
• South Korea
• New Zealand
• USA (anywhere unvisited by Family Edition, e.g. Yosemite National Park and the Bay Area, Mt. Rushmore and the Twin Cities, etc.)

 

Wishful:

• British Virgin Islands
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Bolivia
• Denmark, including Greenland and the Faeroe Islands
• Sri Lanka
• India
• Singapore
• South Africa

 

 

[TV Anonymous]

Keep in mind that with the current structure, the show can only go where Air Canada (including Jazz, Express and Rouge) directly goes, i.e. no code sharing. Therefore, NZ, BVI, Bolivia, Denmark other than Copenhagen, Sri Lanka, India, Singapore and SA are all out. Looking for other sponsor than Air Canada? I do not think TAR-C is strong enough to make it happen. Besides, Air Canada sure wants exclusivity as a major sponsor. It will not let contestants fly any other airways.

[Rusun]

Keep in mind that with the current structure, the show can only go where Air Canada (including Jazz, Express and Rouge) directly goes, i.e. no code sharing. Therefore, NZ, BVI, Bolivia, Denmark other than Copenhagen, Sri Lanka, India, Singapore and SA are all out. Looking for other sponsor than Air Canada? I do not think TAR-C is strong enough to make it happen. Besides, Air Canada sure wants exclusivity as a major sponsor. It will not let contestants fly any other airways.

 

I did acknowledge the bolded fact by writing, "Given that any international location needs to be a destination to which Air Canada flies, the number of possibilities becomes smaller:", as well as differentiating between "Likely" versus "Wishful".

 

Moving on, here are some highly probable team types slated for next year:

 

• daughter with mother or father (bonus points if from a certain city and province!)
• visible-minority brothers
• Caucasian sisters
• lady-friends from Quebec
• professional curlers, Olympians or not

 

In addition, the few remaining major cities still unvisited by the race include Edmonton, Saskatoon, and Hamilton.

 

Since Ontario and Alberta have already hosted Starting Lines, a new province will almost certainly open next season: possible places might be the Delta Bessborough Hotel for a unique indoor beginning (hopefully with racers escorted by limousines, as inspired by the upcoming TAR25), or - more realistically - the L'Anse aux Meadows historic settlement (for a Leif Ericson reenactment or some such).

 

As for the Finish Line, Fort Edmonton could serve as a scenic ending after a grueling Final Task at North America's biggest mall. If Mr. Lysakowski and company insist on having it in ON for the third time in a row, then Thunder Bay could work.

Edited August 30, 2014 by Rusun

[Taeolas]

Having the finish line in Thunder Bay would mean acknowledging there are parts of Ontario outside the Toronto area. Even getting them to acknowledge the Ottawa region can be a challenge; to see Northern Ontario would be mind blowing. :) 

 

Still, a finish line in Edmonton would be neat. And I'd love to see more road travel through the maritimes too for that matter.

[TV Anonymous]

Rusun, mea culpa.

 

I would hope that they ease up on British Columbia already. In each of both seasons BC gets two pitstops and a whole episode completely in that province. No other province or territory gets that treatment. It is even still to be seen if season 2 will wisit New Brunswick.

[shok]

I would hope that they ease up on British Columbia already. In each of both seasons BC gets two pitstops and a whole episode completely in that province. No other province or territory gets that treatment. It is even still to be seen if season 2 will wisit New Brunswick.

 

I hope they don't ease up on BC. It's the most beautiful province in Canada and they've barely begun to explore what it has to offer. I'd love to see them go to Haida Gwaii and build a whole episode around aboriginal heritage.

[Rusun]

Rusun, mea culpa.

 

Pas de souci!

 

I hope they don't ease up on BC. It's the most beautiful province in Canada and they've barely begun to explore what it has to offer. I'd love to see them go to Haida Gwaii and build a whole episode around aboriginal heritage.

 

If the Albertan capital can't be the Final Leg, then let the Queen Charlotte Islands take over!

[JustBecause]

With next week's visit to New Brunswick, TAR: Canada will have visited every province/territory in just 2 seasons. Maybe this means that they'll do an all international route in season 3.

 

So with the knowledge that this route will likely not happen except for in my head, here's a "dream route" based off of some of Air Canada's current locations & a route that I'd want to race:

 

Montreal- Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN (start with 11 teams, end with 10)

Twin Cities- Havana, Cuba (start with 10, end with 9)

Havana- Cayo Coco, Cuba (start with 9, NEL #1)

Cayo Coco- London, UK(start with 9, end with 8)

London- Liverpool, UK (start with 8, end with 7)

Liverpool- Zurich, Switzerland (start with 7, NEL #2)

Zurich- Istanbul, Turkey (start with 7, end with 6)

Istanbul- Seoul, South Korea (start with 6, end with 5)

Seoul- Sydney, Australia (start with 5, end with 4)

Sydney- Buenos Aires, Argentina (start with 4, NEL #3)

Buenos Aires- San Francisco, CA (start with 4, end with 3)

San Francisco- Edmonton (final leg)

 

 

 

[SnideAsides]

They really tried this year to tie the international destinations in to Canadian culture (Hong Kong's huge ex-pat population, the Normandy leg), so I'd assume if they do it again next season we can lock in either the UK (colonial roots) or the Netherlands (a veritable assload of stuff) as a destination, but I'm not sure where they'd go on the other side of the Date Line. I can see the Air Canada link making Sydney a plausible choice, but I don't know what the link to Canada would be, beyond "Yay, the Commonwealth!"

[TV Anonymous]

Just to be realistic, as Air Canada flights originate and terminate in Canada, international-to-international routes are very much impractical, except if they are legs of the same route. Example, Honolulu to Sydney is good as Honolulu is a transit on Vancouver - Sydney line. Istanbul - Seoul, on the other hand, is an impossibility. From Istanbul racers would need to fly across the Atlantic to Toronto, from Toronto across Canada to Vancouver, from Vancouver across the Pacific to Seoul.

 

As for Australia, the Commonwealth connection is indeed the one point they could exploit. Racers could visit the Australian War Memorial in Canberra where there are memorials about ANZAC in Gallipoli in WWI. Gallipoli is a major point in Australian history just like Vimy in Canadian history. Also, the bugler there plays the tune of "The Last Post", just like it is done in the Canadian Forces; it is in contrast with the United States Military that plays "Taps".

Edited September 12, 2014 by TV Anonymous

[Taeolas]

It would probably be impossible with Air Canada as a sponsor; but I'd love to see a TAR:Commonwealth race run at some point. Make production arrangements with Australia and a UK network or something and run a race with say 3 Canadian, 3 British, 3 Aussie and 3 Kiwi's or something like that, with a route that does go through Commonwealth countries. (including the 4 host countries). 

[TV Anonymous]

Eh, I have to make a correction to my own post above. Honolulu and Sydney are no longer in the same route with Air Canada. Air Canada now has separate flights to Honolulu and to Sydney. Both are non-stop from Vancouver. I guess that newer aircrafts can fly longer, thus eliminating refuel at Honolulu.

[Twickenham]

Air Canada has just added a non-stop flight between Toronto and Delhi, so I say there's about a 90% chance that Season 3 will have an India leg(s).

[Rusun]

Let's hope that there's enough sponsorship amassed by the end of this winter such that the Subcontinent can host the opening leg(s).

 

If the Aussies could manage eleven teams there three years ago, then why not the Canucks? Think about it: Commonwealth 2, Yankeeland 0.

[SnideAsides]

Because flights from Manila (as it was in TAR Australia) to Delhi would be much cheaper than flights from Toronto to Delhi, for one, even with Air Canada sponsorship.

[Rusun]

Except that M. Lysakowski and his co-producers arranged for a Leg 3 passage from Vancouver to Hong Kong despite being far pricier than the corresponding Antipodean equivalent from Hue to HK.

[SnideAsides]

They aren't really analagous, was my point. TAR Canada would go from Toronto to Delhi and spend only a couple of legs there before flying all the way back, pretty much doubling the cost of travelling there. TAR Australia went from Sydney to Manila to Delhi to Dubai and onwards, allowing them shorter flights and thus (mostly) cheaper travel until, like, the Calgary to China to Brisbane section at the end of that season, at which point there were few enough teams they were able to justify the cost.

[Twickenham]

Air Canada is their main sponsor. I seriously doubt the producers of TAR Canada are paying anything for the flights - the cost is being covered by AC's marketing budget. AC wanted to publicize their new premium economy seats, so popped the racers into them on the way back from Paris. Their desire to push their new N/S YYZ-DEL flight, along with TAR's long-standing love affair with India seem a perfect match.

[Kel Varnsen]

• USA (anywhere unvisited by Family Edition, e.g. Yosemite National Park and the Bay Area, Mt. Rushmore and the Twin Cities, etc.)

This could actually be a pretty cool option. I mean the regular TAR seems to spend so little time in the US, other than in the first and last leg. I imagine that this is partially to do with spoilers and wanting to take their viewers around the world and outside of their country. But I say Amazing Race Canada should take advantage of that and find some cool places in the US and send racers there. I mean the air canada flies into most big cities and from there you can either have rental cars or transit that can take racers just about anywhere. 

[shok]

 

But I say Amazing Race Canada should take advantage of that and find some cool places in the US and send racers there.

 

Pffft. There are just as many cool places in Canada that the racers could visit. No need to give the US any more pr.

[Rusun]

Pffft. There are just as many cool places in Canada that the racers could visit. No need to give the US any more pr.

 

Perhaps what Kel V. had in mind was terrains/biomes unavailable in the Great White North, e.g. chaparral (California) and tropical rainforest (Puerto Rico).

[Kel Varnsen]

Pffft. There are just as many cool places in Canada that the racers could visit. No need to give the US any more pr.

Meh, staying in Canada makes it look like a low rent version of the real Amazing Race (like the CFL compared to the NFL or something like This Hour Has 22 Minutes compared to The Daily Show). Going international makes it much more interesting. And the fact that the real Amazing Race spends hardly anytime in the US (other than first and last legs) is something the Canadian version could take advantage of.

[Rusun]

...some highly probable team types slated for next year:

 

• daughter with mother or father (bonus points if from a certain city and province!)
• visible-minority brothers
• Caucasian sisters
• lady-friends from Quebec
• professional curlers, Olympians or not

 

I was sadly mistaken since Mr. Lysakowski was allegedly Tweeting specific prospective contestants and urging them to apply, namely, "a team of Nova Scotian fishermen".

 

Given the consecutive successes of the Tims and Mickey/Pete, one would think that fewer M/M teams need join the future TARCAN3 cast.

[legaleagle53]

So this just happened on Twitter:

 

https://twitter.com/jonmonty/status/588750787121025024

 

Good news, eh?

[Taeolas]

Sounds like great news. :) 

[Tyr]

False alarm: JM just Tweeted against a fan comparing his looks to flippin' Graig Merritt of BBCAN3 (how insulting to Jon!).

 

Rather disappointed that my expectation of a mid-April start has come to naught - was anyone else thinking similarly?

Edited April 20, 2015 by Tyr

[Vyas]

After the Race is the best bonus feature since Elimination Station; given that Season 1 had it as a post-finale reunion and that Season 2 added another one mid-season with the sequestered/early-boot teams, could Season 3 tack on a pre-premiere version with the entire cast without somehow divulging spoilers?

[Vyas]

Production appears to have taken their latest inspiration from the Israeli version:

 

For the first time on THE AMAZING RACE CANADA, teams will compete in a new challenge that could dramatically change their position in the race. The Face Off is a challenge where teams compete head-to-head. No team can move forward in the race until they've successfully won the challenge – by beating their opponent. The last team at the Face Off must wait out a pre-determined time penalty before moving on.

 

[Taeolas]

Interesting. TAR.us has done those types before, usually only by pairing teams up and making them cooperate. Which means two teams end up at the back of the pack even if one team is REALLY far behind. This face off challenge feels fairer to me, since you can't wait for a team you want to cooperate more with; you just beat whoever comes in next (small bunching), and you'd have to really suck at a challenge to keep failing it and fall behind. 

 

I'm curious to see what the challenge actually is, and how grouped the teams are when they get to it. 

[kingshearte]

I am also intrigued by this concept. It seems like a better gimmick than others we've seen... Looking forward to seeing it in action.

[Vyas]

In the meantime, producer Mark Lysakowski posted the following updated intro graphic to his Instagram:

 

 

I do hope that his crew keeps the TAR14-TAR22 theme intact: the transition from such a wacky, yet inspirational epic of a tune to the stuffier cinematic BGM heard since TAR23 is analogous to the change in videogame music around the turn of the millennium.

[Vyas]

Will S3's first FF be a classic meal of insectoids? ;)

 

[Vyas]

A little later than last time, eh?

 

 

The mid-season AFTER THE RACE with James Duthie is airing after Episode 7 (Saskatoon) on August 19. The first 4 eliminated teams are confirmed, with additional eliminated "team(s)" to be announced.
 

http://www.bellmedia.ca/pr/press/the-amazing-race-canada-makes-a-midway-pit-stop-with-after-show-special-after-the-race-aug-19-on-ctv/