S35.E01: The Amazing Race Is Back!

[Whimsy]

Quote

The season begins at the iconic Hollywood Sign, celebrating the famous landmark’s 100th anniversary. For the first time, a former team surprises racers as judges at the first Roadblock, where one team member must traverse a perilous tightrope stretched from one rooftop to another at the historic Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, before heading to their first location, Thailand.

Airdate 9/27/23

[anniebird]

Very satisfying first episode.

[dizzyd]

TAR was the therapy I needed. Very satisfying 1st episode. Phil just makes me happy. Likable teams. Beautiful 🇹🇭 

[Quilt Fairy]

Wednesday premiers:

Survivor: watched, deleted, forgotten

TAR:  watched, now queue it up again to rewatch and savor

[Guest]

The brother/sister team was...interestingly quirky, but I'm kinda glad the mother/daughter team made it over them. Joe and Ian were admittedly impressive in how they tackled the detour, but they're a bit too intense/tense for me.

One of my favorite moments was Anna Leigh at the rope walk: "Can I go?" *instantly proceeds to sprint across*

Also Jocelyn after the massage: "If I didn't know better, I'd consider you my enemy."

Edited September 28, 2023 by tracyscott76

[PaperTree]

My favorite was the guy's wife having a baby telling 911, "I can't push her back in!" LOL

[Lantern7]

Fun way to start a season. Too many people to keep track of, and few of them really stood out, but it's good to have TAR back.

I'm not sure what to think about the "mandatory" U-Turns and the voting . . . but I trust the series. It's more than I can say about other reality shows I watch. I got the Express Pass mixed up with the Fast Forward, but it's a neat twist. You want to potentially get out of a task? Take a detour (lowercase) to perform a first-come/first-serve task. This week eating insects and spiders! Hard not to feel bad for (looking up Wikipedia) Morgan & Lena.

Domestic opening was another interesting idea. Word puzzle was tricky without paper and pen. I never would have figured Bangkok was also called "City of Angels." Good to see Derek & Claire, two people from Big Brother I'm okay with.

Probably for the best that Alexandra & Sheridan went out first. Turns out performing a sword dance was more risky to try than suffering through an hour-long traditional massage. I would've went with the swords myself, mostly because I have vague memories of how bad the "cupping" massage was. Turns out (Wikipedia again) Andrea & Malaina made the right call in swapping tasks.

Phil Keoghan is still Phil Keoghan . . . just awesome. Great touch signing to Rob that he and Corey placed second. I was surprised that Rob got an interpreter to give his answer to Derek & Claire. I don't think Luke had that in his three seasons.

[Giuseppe]

So much better than the past several seasons. Hope this energy keeps up. Felt much more like TAR I know and love (though there are still some aspects I don't love). So glad to be done with the charters and the return of racing to the airport. No 'celebrity' or semi-celebrity teams. No focus on odd or wacky occupations of the teams. We even got semi-normal team captions like "brothers" and "married" and "childhood friends" (though I'm not sure why they needed to add "roommates" along with "siblings" to the eliminated team). Nice team dynamics. Didn't hate anyone and wasn't really rooting for anyone to come in last.  Think I'm early rooting FOR Victor and Jocelyn. He's adorable and seems really competent so far.

I do a lot of word scrambles and am pretty good with geography, but I don't think I would have gotten City of Angels anytime soon as I would have been trying to think of an actual country name, lol. Props to those who figured it out on their own.

Still wish they wouldn't break the flow of the opening with the 'getting to know you' team interviews. It just breaks the tension for me. I just want to get back to the action asap. I miss when Phil would give just a brief voiceover of each team as they were introduced, but that's a small complaint.

Still not a fan of performance tasks, but as far as those go, the swords weren't too bad. Joe and Ian rocked it. 

And I still don't understand why they've had Phil stop explaining what Roadblocks and Detours are. It's jarring to me to have the teams rip open a detour clue and have Phil immediately launch into describing the two tasks without much context.

Tentatively thinking I will enjoy this season. The excitement felt like it was back. It was all very refreshing.

Edited September 28, 2023 by Giuseppe

[choclatechip45]

Solid premiere, but I feel like Amazing Race does better with a hour it's the pacing. 

[Artsda]

Really good episode.

Love that it's no non elimination legs and that the Airplanes are back in play.  

 

[30 Helens]

 

90 minutes of Survivor + 90 minutes of TAR is a lot in one night, but I’m willing to make the sacrifice! Especially as it gives me a distraction from the hot mess that is this season’s Big Brother…

I enjoyed this episode. I’m happy to see airport queues again, and hope it leads to some early season-type shenanigans. Chartered planes were no fun.

I was also glad to see a return of the dreaded creepy food challenge, complete with giant mocking spider in the middle of the plate. Not that I want to see people choke on so-called delicacies, but this combined with the airport told me that old school TAR is back, baby!

There were no teams that stood out to me in particular, but it seemed there was an awful lot of mirroring. The mother-daughter team looked like twins, the boyfriends had identical hairstyles, and the (eliminated) brother-sister team had identical lives. Honestly, who would want to work AND live with their sibling? Good for them if it works, but that would be way too much family togetherness for me.

I did like the deaf dad and his son; they seemed to have a good bond.

The massage challenge seemed like the obvious choice. It may hurt, but they’re not going to injure you, and the timeframe is fixed. Time on a performance challenge can vary wildly depending on your skill. I’d have pretzeled along with the rest.

I’m great with word challenges, but I got nowhere with that puzzle. I have much respect for everyone who did. I also did not know there was a City of Angels other than Los Angeles, so additional kudos. (Except for those who waited to be told the answer.) It was also great to see Derek and Claire again! I wonder if they’re still together?

[Ancaster]

I hate the Gains commercial with the guy on the bus imagining he's in his happy place, but I thought of him tonight because right now I'm in my happy place.

Earlier I watched an episode of MasterChef UK: The Professionals full of people being respectful and helpful towards each other, then it was the start of the new GBBO, full of lovely people making yummy stuff and Paul Hollywood hugging a nervous competitor, and now I'm watching my favourite non-cooking reality show with the delicious Phil, and a surprisingly large amount of un-annoying, nay outright pleasant people!

Edited September 28, 2023 by Ancaster

[dancingdreamer]

We really liked all the couples, especially the son whose father was deaf. The tai massage looked great, it hurts a bit, but afterwards it feels like heaven. I'm not sure I could've eaten the bugs for the express pass, especially the spider, but they did well. We just finished AR Canada, now we start this one. Thailand is beautiful with the golden buddha is awesome, I'd love to go.

[ApprenticeFan]

Commercial travel is back after three years of halt since season 33 suspended in February 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even public transportation is back as well.

[Mediocre Gatsby]

1 hour ago, 30 Helens said:

The massage challenge seemed like the obvious choice. It may hurt, but they’re not going to injure you, and the timeframe is fixed. Time on a performance challenge can vary wildly depending on your skill.

And on the judges, if it had been one of those where there were multiple judges. 

The "they're not going to injure you" would have gotten me through the tightrope walking too. CBS doesn't want you to die on air, I would've been telling myself. 

Yay to airports (though I hope they'll go back to having teams choose their own flights) and non-famewhore teams. 

[eel2178]

3 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

I was surprised that Rob got an interpreter to give his answer to Derek & Claire. I don't think Luke had that in his three seasons.

Luke never strayed far enough away from his mother to need someone else to interpret for him.

[Fukui San]

Someone posted on Reddit the opening puzzle a few days ago. I spent five minutes trying to figure out "Isle of _______" before giving up and peeking at the answer. Obviously, if I were on the show I would have had to persevere.

It was disappointing that there was answer sharing already. I did like that DeafDad just solved it on his own while everyone else was trying to collaborate.

[Skooma]

Yes except for upcoming stupid u-turns and this dumb express pass this felt more like old school TAR.  And I LOVE airports.  I'm so glad they are back as part of the TAR cast.

And I love the casting so far.  We are usually overwhelmed with endless young dating couples 99% or which are dull and boring as anything never having had a life as yet and all the damn yelling they do as they face challenges for the first time in that life.  Only the engaged gay couple are youngish and they seem fine.  And the two married couples are more mature. 

The only possible mactor I see so far is the beauty queen from Texas but she is with her dad so judgement is withheld for now.  Maybe there are a couple of others in the mix (mactors) but they aren't obvious which is good.

And I don't think I've ever seen a season with more parent/grown kid teams.  They usually are early exit teams maybe 90% of the time since they are usually up against the young dating crowd and alpha males.  But this season they have a far better chance.  I like the mix.

I'm sorry Team I Eat Oatmeal Every Day went out.   They had the possibility of a lot of humor.  (You want to do it?  I don't know, do you?  You make the decision.  No, you make it?  I don't want to make it so you choose).  That was hilarious.  I can only imagine that happening all around the world).

I'm glad the workaholic couple won this leg.  They seem so nice and it is about time to enjoy life and stop with the grindstone of work work work 24/7.  They seem really sweet. 

Long Beard Guy almost made a fatal error by not trusting was it one of the engaged gay guys who whispered the answer to him.  Going back to figure out if "Angels" was right put their team last out of the RB and 7th at LAX and they just missed the first flight because of it.  Don't do that again.

Speaking of the Gay Guys team, they seem to have had navigation problems several times as did the young, alpha former marine/sailor team who kept losing ground too.  Meanwhile I was really impressed with Deaf Dad who rocked everything.

The two tech wizard brothers seem to have both the brains and the brawn to do well in the race.  On paper and after the first episode they look like they could be the strongest long term but mistakes always happen on the Race too.

So far I like all of the Racers which is how I like TAR.  Though I'm a wee bit leery of the Husband in Orange Shirt who messed up spa day and gave out answers on the RB.  He seems a bit over the top.  But maybe that is just adrenaline kicking in early.

Overall an excellent start and I LOVE the 90 minute format.  Got to know teams way better than the 60 minute format.  Wasn't any boring filler to me.  Just a way to actually learn more about teams and make them fully three dimensional instead of just a boring action movie format with cardboard like Racers that had no real conversations on camera. 

And no over the top music drowning out these conversations all the time too.  Like I said, seems like old school TAR is somewhat back and I love that!

[Brynnjk]

I'm with everyone else posting.  A really great first episode after a disappointing Survivor.  But since TAR is my fave reality show of all time, I'm not surprised.  So many things I loved after the last few seasons which I disliked so much.  Airports are back!  Woot!  I love airport maneuvering.  Gross eating challenge is back!  Woot!  I could not have done that.  Sooooo gross.  I really loved that you had to earn the Express pass this year.  After eating all that, they really deserved it.  Difficult challenges are back.  Woot!  I loved the tightrope walking (saw it on TAR Canada one year and thought this is great.  Wish the US did it.)  I loved the puzzle though not happy with the clue sharing.  And the detour gave us some great moments & comments.  I was surprised more people didn't go for the sword play which didn't look that difficult.  You had someone to watch the entire time doing it beside you it seemed and the moves weren't that complicated.

But most of all:  TAR is back!  Phil is back!  Double woot.  I love this show so much.  

 

[Guest]

7 hours ago, Giuseppe said:

(though I'm not sure why they needed to add "roommates" along with "siblings" to the eliminated team).

I think they were just leaning into the whole "shared brain" aspect with the eliminated siblings. It was their hook, so it went into the caption.

[Lady Calypso]

I really liked this premiere, it may be one of my favourite premieres from the show, but I attribute that more to the cast, as the challenges were somewhat simple.

I loved seeing the return of airports, the express pass, the food task to GET the express pass, and the change of how the U-Turn works, so that'll be exciting when it appears.

I'm still getting used to all the pairs, but I really loved the first four teams that finished. Jocelyn/Victor were fantastic to watch, especially in Thailand and speaking the similar language to Thai. And I actually had a good chuckle at Jocelyn's bemoaning at the massage detour. 

Rob/Corey, especially Rob, were great to watch. Rob's facial expressions as various things happening made the episode for me. I especially appreciated him solving the word puzzle faster than the other five teams there, who were also, unintentionally maybe, shutting him out of the deal to work together? At least, that was my impression when I think it was Todd who said they could work together to get the last five seats on the flight, and then Rob walks into frame.

Greg/John were a lot of fun to watch, especially when one of them tried to sign to Rob at the airport. They were also just great in their confessionals.

Morgan/Lena powered through the food task to get that express pass and I loved every second of them onscreen. They reacted how I would, especially Lena, who I believe was the one who was intensely telling her sister to hurry up. 

I didn't hate any team thus far, though some I took note of being potential issues down the road. Ian/Joe's intro with them discussing how THIS is gonna be the time for them to work on their communication issues raised a yellow flag in my head. That tends to mean that they're gonna come at odds at some point, not communicate effectively, and whichever one can't do that is gonna be extremely annoying to watch. But I did like their run this leg, especially them powering through the sword task in one try.  They had an excellent strategy, as well.

The other who I became wary of was Todd/Ashleigh. I can't quite describe why, but I have a feeling that team will annoy me at some point. They just have an off vibe, Todd especially, but maybe I'm wrong about them.

And finally, Steve/Anna Leigh, but more Anna Leigh, I have a feeling will annoy me at some point. I did enjoy seeing her basically run across the tight rope, though. 

The only other team that made me laugh but also kind of annoyed me was Alexandra and Sheridan but they're gone now. I just feel like the two were TOO much like me that I kept seeing myself in them, and it was frustrating as that's part of how I'd be on the race.

Otherwise, all the other teams had a decent intro. I liked Andrea/Malaina enough (and especially them noping out of the Express Pass task and figuring out to leave the sword task immediately after their first try). Elizabeth and Iliana were fine, as were Joel/Garrett. I literally have Wikipedia open to remember these names, but they were all still interesting enough for me to take the time to learn their names. And I did think Liam/Yeremi were gonna get eliminated first with their confessionals but I guess they're gonna be just fine.

Overall, a very solid premiere, lots of fun, even with the minimal tasks. 

[QuantumMechanic]

8 hours ago, Artsda said:

Really good episode.

Love that it's no non elimination legs and that the Airplanes are back in play.  

 

Though the "no NELs" schtick is a little phony because they can functionally do a NEL by making a leg a TBC, which I believe they did last time, too.

[shura]

8 hours ago, Giuseppe said:

I do a lot of word scrambles and am pretty good with geography, but I don't think I would have gotten City of Angels anytime soon as I would have been trying to think of an actual country name, lol. Props to those who figured it out on their own.

I saw the ""TY" at the end of that letter string and my mind goes "Sea of Tranquility! Wait, that's on the Moon..."

4 hours ago, Skooma said:

I'm sorry Team I Eat Oatmeal Every Day went out.   They had the possibility of a lot of humor.  (You want to do it?  I don't know, do you?  You make the decision.  No, you make it?  I don't want to make it so you choose).  That was hilarious.  I can only imagine that happening all around the world).

Right?  You'd think one would need a sense of urgency to be on TAR, and discussing for 5 minutes who is going to do the challenge is not it.  They didn't seem like serious people, between this and the way they went to attempt the sword dance after clearly not learning enough during practice.  But it would have been entertaining to watch them for a few episodes.

I am not sure about the 90-minute episodes, it could become tedious to watch when there are fewer teams left.  I suppose they have all the footage already and feel that it won't be a problem.  Also, how exactly is the voting on the U-turn going to work?  You can only U-turn a team that is behind you, right? (meaning that only a team that gets to the U-turn later can be forced to do it.)  Are the teams going to have an idea of who is behind them or are they going to vote blind and inadvertently try to U-turn teams that are ahead?  And wouldn't the results of this voting only be known after the last team gets to the U-turn?

About Thai massage, is it safe for everybody?  I am quite convinced my body cannot bend that way without breaking or spraining something.

The father and son have the friendliest faces ever.  Very bright-eyed, open and smiley.  When they look at you (well, at the camera, but you see them looking at you), you feel that they are super happy to see you and cant' wait to know what you have to say.  

[TheRabbi]

I am in the minority here which pains me but I did not think much of this premiere when half of it was people sitting through painful massages. Pretty unbalanced detour. And a mandatory u-turn vote upcoming? Great [rolls eyes].          

On the other hand, it was great to see commercial travel and taxis back, and I liked the opening task at the hotel. I paused it on the close up of the puzzle and tried for 5 minutes to figure it out and got nowhere. I can only imagine how it would be in the heat of the moment. 

The cast has the potential to be interesting so it can be a great season. Just wasn't a fan of the detour.

[Gummo]

TAR is back!

The premiere was great!

I am happy!

That is all.

[Whimsy]

I don't know how, but I got the word puzzle in about 5 seconds and then I was frustrated that none of the teams got it right away too.  I was trying to figure out how City of Angels equaled their next destination, but I was like... whatever lol. 

I would not have been able to do the massage.  My knees are too bad.  I get massages all the time, but I can't have them crank my knees around because of that. Actually, I wouldn't be able to run the race because my knees are too bad lol. 

 

 

[anniebird]

7 hours ago, Mediocre Gatsby said:

 

Yay to airports (though I hope they'll go back to having teams choose their own flights) and non-famewhore teams. 

Isn't the first leg always like that though? Two flights, limited seats on each but sometimes the first flight leaving isn't the first flight to arrive and they have to figure that out.

[Lamb18]

I saw the letters C I T Y right away so I thought it was something City, then looked at the letters while imagining "City" wasn't there. Then it popped into my head. I thought it mean Los Angeles as they were in Hollywood at the time, and that there was another challenge right in LA or at least going to the airport. Oops they were in LA at the time.

I'm so glad this show is back! Victor and his wife (forgot her name) are my favorite. Alexandra reminded me too much of Emily on the Survivor episode I'd just watched, so I didn't mind her and her brother leaving.

Bangkok is really pretty! 

12 minutes ago, anniebird said:

Isn't the first leg always like that though? Two flights, limited seats on each but sometimes the first flight leaving isn't the first flight to arrive and they have to figure that out.

The last two seasons they used charter planes to avoid mingling with potentially sick passengers.

Edited September 28, 2023 by Lamb18

[Booey]

Hello! Still somewhat new Amazing Race fan here. I started watching with Season 33. Have only seen 33 & 34, I went back and tried watching 32 and HATED it, I couldn't even finish it.

Anyways, I thought this was a fun first episode. For some reason the opening music always gets me a little choked up. Maybe some of you could relate? I guess because it makes me think about how amazing (see what I did there?) going on a grand adventure around the world would be.

I didn't care for the answer sharing at the word scramble puzzle. I hope there isn't a lot of that this season, and alliances or mean spirited U-Turns. Maybe because of the order I've watched the show in, but I just don't really find those aspects that enjoyable.

I don't have one team I'm really rooting for quite yet, and I thought most teams seem pretty likable so far. Some that stood out to me were the red team (the deaf father and his son). I'll be interested in seeing how they navigate tasks when they can't quite communicate the same way as others. Also, the woman who lost her husband to leukemia, and then shortly after overcame freaking brain cancer! Jeez what an inspirational story! I hope she does well also. And the beard and moustache dude friends. There's something endearing about older dude buddy teams that are probably slower than everyone else. I was kind of sad the brother sister team was eliminated, they were such a dorky awkward team and would have been entertaining to see more of.

Looking forward to seeing how the season goes!

 

[Guest]

Just now, Booey said:

I didn't care for the answer sharing at the word scramble puzzle. I hope there isn't a lot of that this season, and alliances or mean spirited U-Turns. Maybe because of the order I've watched the show in, but I just don't really find those aspects that enjoyable.

While I don't care for answer sharing in general, I can kind of understand when it happens under these circumstances. They did all try it on their own for what was apparently a fair amount of time, and eventually just decided to pool their resources so they could gtfo of there. As a viewer, I can appreciate when they do this to move things along so I don't have to watch endless footage of a bunch of people just...standing there staring at something.

It's when it becomes a knee-jerk response to a task, or an expectation by one team of another...that's when it irritates me.

[Gummo]

I thought "Let me go to the front of the line & I'll share the answer" was a pretty canny deal that was good for everybody. I don't usually like answer-sharing but that was smart.

[Colorado David]

Good start to this season, hurray. 

Like all the teams so far, no one is rubbing me the wrong way (ya massage pun there!) 

I liked Elizabeth and Iliana, the mother (Elizabeth) reminds me of me esp on the 'i can't just sit around and wait' thoughts. That would drive me crazy if I'm not progressing forward most of the time.

Yeah the sword thing - I would give up after 3-4 tries, realizing it just isn't going to happen. Learn when to give up and try the other challenge, time is against you.

I got the word puzzle the second someone mentioned 'of'. Mind you I have been playing Scrabble for many years so used to rearranging letters to make words, and also 'City of Angels' is a fave tune of mine by Natalie Merchant.  So very familiar. 

Greg and John I think are going to be tough serious competition.

I like the sisters' (Morgan and Lena) vibe - they might bicker (I can see that coming), but seems they really have each others' backs. 

Joe and Ian, at least one blowup in their future. It just always seems to happen.

All the other teams - super likeable, nothing negative thus far.

I had to look up Patagonia as I am not familiar - an unusual choice, but seems like a rather interesting place to see, not your usual touristy destination. Fun fact: Sylvester Stallone owns land there.

[chicagofan]

1 hour ago, Booey said:

Hello! Still somewhat new Amazing Race fan here. I started watching with Season 33. Have only seen 33 & 34, I went back and tried watching 32 and HATED it, I couldn't even finish it.

You should go back and watch the early seasons of TAR. Real airport drama, eat/meet/mingle and some classic teams. Ah, memories.

Like Kevin & Drew and Joe & Bill (finished 3rd but didn't get to the final mat) from season 1. Oswald & Danny (shopping anyone?) from season 2. Flo & Zach, Teri & Ian and Derek & Drew from season 3. Chip & Reichen from season 4. Colin & Christie (my ox is broken) and Charla & Mirna from season 5.

Edited September 28, 2023 by chicagofan

[anniebird]

1 hour ago, Lamb18 said:

 

The last two seasons they used charter planes to avoid mingling with potentially sick passengers.

Right - but back when things were normal the first leg always had specific flights they used.

[iMonrey]

Watching this premier after Survivor was like night and day. Hey Survivor: look over here. This is how you do it. 90 minutes, 26 new people to introduce. Amazing Race did an excellent job and they had 10 more people than Survivor, which did an absolute crap job introducing their 16 new people.

I really love Jocelyn and Victor. They turned out to be both proficient racers and cute as hell. But I also love Corey and his father Rob. Rob totally cracked me up signing the puzzle and walking off on his own leaving everyone else in the dust. Also, his facial expression during the massage. A lesser character would be accused of mugging. Rob? Mug away!

No one really pissed me off. There are a couple of teams that didn't make much of an impression. I'd rather have seen Elizabeth and Iliana (mother and daughter) go than siblings Alexander and Sheridan. I thought the brother and sister were more interesting, but they might have driven me crazy after awhile.

I think brothers Greg and John might be the ones to watch, they seem ultra competent, fit and smart. Malaina and Andrea are totally cracking me up, I hope they stick around for awhile. Shallow note: Liam and Yeremi? Hot as fuck.

You know what's sad? If it weren't for the writers strike, CBS probably would have sat on this season until next summer.

Edited September 28, 2023 by iMonrey

[Guest]

Just now, iMonrey said:

Malaina and Andrea are totally cracking me up, I hope they stick around for awhile.

They are a good example of personality balance. If they were both like Andrea, it would be too much, but having the more low-key Malaina there makes for a funny contrast.

[Seelouis]

17 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

 

 Rob totally cracked me up signing the puzzle and walking off on his own leaving everyone else in the dust. Also, his facial expression during the massage. A lesser character would be accused of mugging. Rob? Mug away!

 

I think part of the reason Rob’s expressions are not mugging is that facial expressions are an integral part of communication with ASL so it’s just part of who he is. He’s not doing it just for the camera. 

Edited September 28, 2023 by Seelouis

[mertensia]

I loved at the word puzzle the shot of the couple of people puzzling in the foreground and in the background the guy is quietly spelling out Angels and leaves.

I got City of Angels almost immediately, but I am at home on the couch. With pressure on? Yeah, no. I'd be worse than Jared and golden on Big Brother.

 

[proserpina65]

12 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

I was surprised that Rob got an interpreter to give his answer to Derek & Claire. I don't think Luke had that in his three seasons.

I wonder if Luke was ever required to give a verbal answer to a clue with his mother there to interpret for him.  That had to be the reason Rob got one, otherwise his son can do the interpreting.

11 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

The massage challenge seemed like the obvious choice. It may hurt, but they’re not going to injure you, and the timeframe is fixed. Time on a performance challenge can vary wildly depending on your skill. I’d have pretzeled along with the rest.

My concern would've been that I'd have gotten a charley horse from all the weird bending, needed to stop and then do it all over again.  I think I would've chosen the sword task first but I also would've switched pretty quickly if I didn't get it in one or two tries.

I could never have done the bug eating task in a million years, not even if the producers gave me a signed contract to deliver Ewan Mitchell naked on a platter to my house after the Race.  Too many BIG bugs and that spider - 🤢🤮 -so props to Morgan and Lena for getting through that.

Still getting the teams sorted out right now.  No one stands out as awful, which is really great.  Joe & Ian seemed like they might be a little much at the beginning but then they calmed down.  Same with a couple of the other teams.  I do like Rob & Corey and Jocelyn & Victor the best right now, but they all seem fine.

8 hours ago, Skooma said:

this dumb express pass this felt more like old school TAR. 

At least there was a task which had to been completed for the Express Pass rather than it just going to the team who finished the leg in first place.

4 hours ago, QuantumMechanic said:

Though the "no NELs" schtick is a little phony because they can functionally do a NEL by making a leg a TBC, which I believe they did last time, too.

I see the TBC legs a little differently because they don't get the opportunity to rest, but it's still one team not eliminated in the episode/on that day.  Doesn't bother me too much, though.

3 hours ago, TheRabbi said:

And a mandatory u-turn vote upcoming? Great [rolls eyes].          

I'm reserving judgment on that until I see how it actually works.

2 hours ago, anniebird said:

Isn't the first leg always like that though? Two flights, limited seats on each but sometimes the first flight leaving isn't the first flight to arrive and they have to figure that out.

It has been since the very early seasons.

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

Shallow note: Liam and Yeremi? Hot as fuck.

Totally.  They have some amazing bone structure.

 

[Skooma]

2 hours ago, Booey said:

Hello! Still somewhat new Amazing Race fan here. I started watching with Season 33. Have only seen 33 & 34

I envy you  Over 30 seasons of fun ahead for you to view.

I agree with the poster above.  Start at the very beginning with what we call "Classic TAR."  My 4 favorite seasons of all time are Seasons 1, 2, 3 and 5.  (Too much arguing in Season 4 for me). 

The Race was harder then with some longer legs at times but the teams were allowed to mingle at pitstops with footage of same sometimes which I loved.  And the Fast Forward in every leg added more strategy.

Also no spoilers for those seasons to ruin it for you but some of the most  iconic teams of all time were from those seasons.  Teams like Oswald & Danny and Charla & Mirna for example.  And one team from Season 5 (Colin & Christie) came back to compete years later in Season 31. You have to know their background in Season 5 first I think.

Speaking of past seasons, both Seasons 1 and 2 were in Bangkok too.  It is where the term "Fern" came from in Season 2.  A must watch since you will see "Fern" used a lot on TAR boards.  (That detour, aptly called "Confusion Now or Confusion Later," remains one of my favorite detours of all time).

2 hours ago, Colorado David said:

I had to look up Patagonia as I am not familiar - an unusual choice, but seems like a rather interesting place to see, not your usual touristy destination. Fun fact: Sylvester Stallone owns land there.

Actually it is very popular area for tourists though far more in the Bariloche (mmmm, chocolate) area where Season 5 went.  (Not fun fact: A lot of nazis on the run owned land there post WWII).

[eel2178]

4 hours ago, shura said:

About Thai massage, is it safe for everybody?  I am quite convinced my body cannot bend that way without breaking or spraining something. 

My first thought was how much damage that could do to all the hardware I have implanted in my body.

That is also the reason I was concerned about people with pacemakers on last week's episode of Buddy Games.

[eel2178]

4 hours ago, shura said:

IAlso, how exactly is the voting on the U-turn going to work?  You can only U-turn a team that is behind you, right? (meaning that only a team that gets to the U-turn later can be forced to do it.)  Are the teams going to have an idea of who is behind them or are they going to vote blind and inadvertently try to U-turn teams that are ahead?  And wouldn't the results of this voting only be known after the last team gets to the U-turn?

My best guess is that they'll all have to vote for who they want to U-turn at the beginning of the leg then when you get to the detour spot you find out the results of the vote. (Another possibility is once you get to the mat, you hear "You've been U-turned. Go back and do the other task," but I think it would be less likely to work that way.) 

I do like the premise behind it. This will ensure that the U-turn has to be used. We don't have to watch strategy going to waste because everyone wants to stay friends. It gives the U-turned team a better chance of survival because it could be the team that arrives at the head of the pack instead of "we have to U-turn the only team behind us to make sure they stay behind us."

[eel2178]

4 hours ago, shura said:

I saw the ""TY" at the end of that letter string and my mind goes "Sea of Tranquility! Wait, that's on the Moon..."

Another network did send contestants to Mars after all.

[30 Helens]

3 hours ago, iMonrey said:

If it weren't for the writers strike, CBS probably would have sat on this season until next summer.

I expect it would have aired in the Spring, or between Survivor seasons. But either way, I’m sure we wouldn’t have gotten 90-minute episodes! So we have the striking writers to thank for that. My hope is it becomes the norm, not just a way to fill time. Every reality show I’ve watched that has done 90 minute episodes— Project Runway, Drag Race— has benefited greatly from it. To the point where Drag Race tried to cut back to 60 minutes recently and it became unwatchable.

[Skooma]

28 minutes ago, 30 Helens said:

I expect it would have aired in the Spring, or between Survivor seasons. But either way, I’m sure we wouldn’t have gotten 90-minute episodes! So we have the striking writers to thank for that. My hope is it becomes the norm, not just a way to fill time. Every reality show I’ve watched that has done 90 minute episodes— Project Runway, Drag Race— has benefited greatly from it. To the point where Drag Race tried to cut back to 60 minutes recently and it became unwatchable.

I did read in the TAR media thread (not a spoiler) that this 35th season is actually the 36th season "filmed."  That a Season 35 that was "filmed" had already been edited into 60 minute episodes so would either have to be re-edited from scratch into 90 minute ones or saved until TAR is forced back to 60 minute ones.  It is in the can but not broadcast right now.

Complicating the matter is the "filmed" Season 35 (not this current broadcast one, so confusing) was the last one filmed under covid restrictions with the charter plane and less countries available etc.  So it would be a bit of a comedown for viewers after this season's back to normal race.

Speculation by a poster or two was that maybe CBS might just stream this old and not broadcast Season 35 on Paramount Plus instead.  Also maybe using it as a "new content filler" summer series piggy-backed behind next summer's Big Brother might be an option I suppose. 

Either way the winner of that series doesn't get any payout until the series is broadcast which is per the official rules for both TAR and all reality shows that I know of. 

(It's actually fair in a way.  No revenue for the network/producers and loss of big production costs so no money for the "talent" on the show.  Just sucks for that winner though).

Edited September 28, 2023 by Skooma

[30 Helens]

6 minutes ago, Skooma said:

Either way the winner of the series doesn't get any payout until the series is broadcast which is per the official rules for both TAR and all reality shows that  I know of.

I had forgotten about the skipped season! That will be a bit regressive for viewers, if they just drop it into the regular lineup.

I feel bad for the winners, having to wait for their $. I also assume they (and everyone else) have to remain quiet about their experience and how they did. That would suck.

[mojoween]

13 hours ago, Mediocre Gatsby said:

CBS doesn't want you to die on air, I would've been telling myself. 

Well.  Not that they would say out loud.

That Thai massage would have killed me.  I would rather eat ten spiders than have someone fold me in half.  And it’s crazy that “wait wait wait” meant stop.  Shouldn’t stop mean stop?

I worry about those two, with telling us right off the bat that their marriage nearly didn’t make it.

Love both sets of military brothers so far.  And I can’t help it, I’m v. v. shallow, but the one of Morgan and Lena with the braids?  My land she is stunning.  She can do alllll the confessionals.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, mojoween said:

And I can’t help it, I’m v. v. shallow, but the one of Morgan and Lena with the braids?  My land she is stunning.  She can do alllll the confessionals.

I believe that would be Lena, the younger sister who was a little more hesitant about eating the bugs (but still ultimately downed them like a champ). And I agree.

And as long as we're being shallow, if Lena is unavailable for any confessionals, might I suggest Iliana of the mother/daughter team as a substitute.

[iMonrey]

4 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

I could never have done the bug eating task in a million years

Me neither. My gag reflex coupled with my arachnophobia would never allow it. I might be able to do the smaller, crunchier bugs but the big larvae looking things and the giant spider would be a non-starter.  Plus if you're in first place you don't really need it. I get that you want it for insurance on later legs but that would also factor into my decision.

4 hours ago, eel2178 said:

do like the premise behind it. This will ensure that the U-turn has to be used. We don't have to watch strategy going to waste because everyone wants to stay friends.

I've never liked the U-Turn and I never will. It always struck me as interference from the network because they wanted to interject animosity and drama between the teams to make the show more like Survivor.

[TAG42481]

I think I'm in the minority - there weren't really many teams that I'm rooting for.  I'm also not rooting AGAINST anyone - I HATE rooting against people on the show.  I like Liam and Yeremi as a pair of brothers who are veterans on the same team, Steve and Anna Leigh considering she FLEW across that rope, and Rob and Corey.  Otherwise I'm pretty much meh on everyone else.

Here's the other thing.  I started watching season 7.  How many times am I going to watch the show?  The longer I watch the show, the more I have to be pulled in by the teams.  I don't think TAR did a poor job casting (this seems like the original mix of casting without any stunt casting), but I'm just not that drawn in at this point.  I'll give it another episode or two before deciding to pass on this season.