S36.E10: The Longest Minute of Your Life

[Brown44]

1 hour ago, Netfoot said:

just want to point out that the quotation attributed to me above is not something I said or wrote. I'm not sure how that happened and it is no biggie, but those are not my words.

You good on my end.

[Skooma]

7 hours ago, Brown44 said:

Every team sucked at Navigation except them.

I think someone is forgetting a young man named Danny.

[SDVegas]

13 minutes ago, Skooma said:

I think someone is forgetting a young man named Danny.

He navigated his team right out of the race 

[Brown44]

26 minutes ago, Skooma said:

I think someone is forgetting a young man named Danny.

You right about Danny. If he'd taken someone but his mother he could've been in the top 3.

[Skooma]

1 hour ago, SDVegas said:

He navigated his team right out of the race 

No, it was the camera crew that got lost by not following Danny.

[SDVegas]

24 minutes ago, Skooma said:

No, it was the camera crew that got lost by not following Danny.

Yep because according to Phil and the show, Danny’s team made a bad turn and then decided not to wait and try to reunite with the crew. Sounds like bad navigation!

[chaifan]

6 hours ago, SDVegas said:

Yep because according to Phil and the show, Danny’s team made a bad turn and then decided not to wait and try to reunite with the crew. Sounds like bad navigation!

This has been fully debunked in the episode thread.  The post race interviews said that the instructions were to proceed to the next stop if you lost your crew.  That's what Angie and Danny did.  That crew took 90 minutes to catch up with them.  Something seriously went wrong with the crew - there's no reason it should have taken that long.  The crew should have gone to the next task, and if they had, Danny & Angie would have lost must less time.  Crews have cell phones - if they were lost they could have called or used GPS.  Why this crew drove around for an hour and a half for a task that was around 20 minutes away is a mystery.  Production eventually had to assign D&A another crew to film them at the task.

I understand the position TAR production was in at the moment - they didn't have all the information, D&A were last, they had to be eliminated.  But I think it's not fair to them for the show to continue to portray this as D&A's mistake after they had a chance to review everything. 

 

[Notabug]

25 minutes ago, chaifan said:

This has been fully debunked in the episode thread.  The post race interviews said that the instructions were to proceed to the next stop if you lost your crew.  That's what Angie and Danny did.  That crew took 90 minutes to catch up with them.  Something seriously went wrong with the crew - there's no reason it should have taken that long.  The crew should have gone to the next task, and if they had, Danny & Angie would have lost must less time.  Crews have cell phones - if they were lost they could have called or used GPS.  Why this crew drove around for an hour and a half for a task that was around 20 minutes away is a mystery.  Production eventually had to assign D&A another crew to film them at the task.

I understand the position TAR production was in at the moment - they didn't have all the information, D&A were last, they had to be eliminated.  But I think it's not fair to them for the show to continue to portray this as D&A's mistake after they had a chance to review everything. 

 

Phil gave an interview where he stated that Danny's assertion that they were to go on to the next challenge if they lost their crew was not correct.  He said that the rule was/is that if a team loses their camera crew, they are to stop and wait for them, to contact them via the walkie talkies and get back in sync.  That it is their responsibility to stay with the camera crew and not leave the area.  When they continued on to the challenge, they were not abiding by the rules, which is why they lost time waiting.

So, it's really a 'he said/he said' as to the rule.  I personally think Phil's version is most likely the truth.

It seems that at least part of the reason it took their camera crew 90 minutes to arrive is because they assumed Danny and Angie were following the rules and they drove around the area looking for them for much of that time.

Edited May 21 by Notabug

[SDVegas]

54 minutes ago, chaifan said:

This has been fully debunked in the episode thread. 

I’ll go with what Phil said rather than Danny. 

[Red Bridey]

Not taking any position on the D&A issue. But over all,I would say some of the "challenges" offered in this season were stupid, easy and boring. Now, I did miss what appears to have been a most entertaining episode where Team Spicoli got eliminated so maybe my memory is skewed. But following a simple rebus. Making six individual drinks using a recipe book and serving it to the customers one by one. Putting together a puzzle of a race route. Picking up balloon bundles...every team had the exact same friggin' colors to collect! I just thought there was a lack of imagination in this season.

And I really hated the 90 minute format; maybe because I found the race so lackluster I didn't want to commit to ninety minutes once a week. I might have really looked forward to the last season having 90 minute shows... we'll never know! 

Congrats to the winners, it was an okay final three. I did enjoy all the instances of bad navigation. That was classic Amazing Race, but otherwise, this will go down as a really meh season.

[chaifan]

4 hours ago, Notabug said:

Phil gave an interview where he stated that Danny's assertion that they were to go on to the next challenge if they lost their crew was not correct. 

If someone could link to that interview, I'd appreciate it.  Because the only one I found where Phil addresses this he talked around it, and never actually contradicted Danny's claim that the rule was to go to the next location.  And I'm certain I heard another team verify what Danny said was correct (it was in one of those youtube videos, and I can't remember which one). 

[Notabug]

1 hour ago, chaifan said:

If someone could link to that interview, I'd appreciate it.  Because the only one I found where Phil addresses this he talked around it, and never actually contradicted Danny's claim that the rule was to go to the next location.  And I'm certain I heard another team verify what Danny said was correct (it was in one of those youtube videos, and I can't remember which one). 

Here it is

Direct quote from Phil:  ' One of the number one rules for any contestant: Do not lose your crew. Period.'

Quote

And I've seen all kinds of stuff online. And it's unfortunate that people start to spin. The other part of it is that we don't normally peel back the wall. We don't normally allow the viewer in. And if we're going to share some of that stuff with the audience, then, of course, we do open ourselves up more to the audience speculating about what they think happened. But what what the audience doesn't know is the timeline. One of the number one rules for any contestant: Do not lose your crew. Period. So they made a decision to keep on driving. And if the crew was lost behind them. The chances of them running into the crew going forward are pretty minimal. Anyway, all I'm saying is we always go back and analyze what we could do better on a given day. We have to go to the rules. We have to gather all the information, every camera, going back to the moments, documenting the time code. Take everything we can, make our best judgment that we feel is fair, and then we have to adjudicate it.

 

In the article he also clarifies what all of the discussion between TPTB about Danny and Angie was about.  And, based on Phil's response, Danny was not part of the conversations and his impressions of what was being discussed were completely incorrect.  At no time was it ever a possibility that they wouldn't be booted.

Personally, having watched Danny on the show, I think he was a bit embarrassed about what happened and their elimination and decided to spin the story to make himself look better instead of admitting that he ignored the rules and it ended up costing them the race.

Edited May 21 by Notabug

[chaifan]

11 minutes ago, Notabug said:

Direct quote from Phil:  ' One of the number one rules for any contestant: Do not lose your crew. Period.'

Yes, this was the same interview I read.  And yes, this has been a long standing rule.  But 1) crews have almost always been in the same car as the racers, this rule was mostly applicable to don't outrun your crew type of situations, or don't hop on a subway/train that your crew can't get on.  And 2) it doesn't address Danny's statement that the other part of the rule was that as far as driving was concerned, if you do lose your crew you go to the next point.  Phil never said that wasn't true. 

Also from that article:

Quote

And a lot of people I know speculated, "That discussion must have been about whether we were going to keep them in or keep them out." That's not what the discussion was about. The discussion is about having to go back and look at footage, look at the timing of when certain things happened, where the responsibility falls on the contestant, and then where it falls on production, and then, in that moment, having to make the best judgment.

If it was simple as "they lost their crew", then none of that discussion Phil refers to would have been necessary.  They wouldn't have had to look at footage, or timing or anything.  They wouldn't have provided Danny & Angie with another crew so they could do the task. 

So, despite what Phil says, it's not "Do not lose your crew. Period"  It's more like, do not lose your crew.  Asterisk.

 

[Skooma]

Yeah Phil pretty much supported what Danny said.

[Netfoot]

4 hours ago, Red Bridey said:

I really hated the 90 minute format; maybe because I found the race so lackluster I didn't want to commit to ninety minutes once a week.

I think that longer episodes might be better appreciated if the episodes themselves were more interesting & exciting?

[Notabug]

34 minutes ago, chaifan said:

Yes, this was the same interview I read.  And yes, this has been a long standing rule.  But 1) crews have almost always been in the same car as the racers, this rule was mostly applicable to don't outrun your crew type of situations, or don't hop on a subway/train that your crew can't get on.  And 2) it doesn't address Danny's statement that the other part of the rule was that as far as driving was concerned, if you do lose your crew you go to the next point.  Phil never said that wasn't true. 

Also from that article:

If it was simple as "they lost their crew", then none of that discussion Phil refers to would have been necessary.  They wouldn't have had to look at footage, or timing or anything.  They wouldn't have provided Danny & Angie with another crew so they could do the task. 

So, despite what Phil says, it's not "Do not lose your crew. Period"  It's more like, do not lose your crew.  Asterisk.

 

I'd say that Phil's statement that, by continuing on, Danny and Angie were obviously getting further and further away from their camera crew who were lost somewhere behind them seems to indicate that they were not supposed to continue to the next stop.  Otherwise, what was the point of that statement?  They were supposed to stay together with their camera crew and they didn't.  Surely this isn't the first time that this has happened in the race, but it seems to be the first time we've ever seen a team head to the next challenge without their crew.

As far as looking at footage, timing, etc, that seems to be something they do with every team when they check in.  We've heard from many teams over the years that they were given time credits or penalties based on things that happened while they were racing that weren't shown.  Presuming Danny and Angie were only maybe 10 minutes behind the team ahead of them; I could see production being very careful as to when they lost their camera crew, how long they waited at the side of the road and then how long they waited at the challenge before getting another crew, just to be absolutely certain that they were not shortchanging Danny and Angie.

I guess I see Danny playing the martyr in his interviews post race and I just don't buy it.  I think he's not giving the full picture and I think Phil was trying to be diplomatic by not calling him out on it directly, but talking about things in more general terms to show that Danny's version of events was not entirely accurate.

Edited May 21 by Notabug

[Skooma]

2 hours ago, Notabug said:

I'd say that Phil's statement that, by continuing on, Danny and Angie were obviously getting further and further away from their camera crew who were lost somewhere behind them seems to indicate that they were not supposed to continue to the next stop.

No production said Danny did the right thing since he could not communicate with their camera team with the walkies-talkies so there was no way the camera team would ever find them.  It was all on the camera team.

[iMonrey]

On 5/19/2024 at 6:52 PM, Johannah said:

Sad, but I think I'm going to delete the last two episodes without watching.  It's so frustrating because it seems the winners have been given an unfair advantage.  It seemed every location was Spanish -speaking and even many tasks were easier if you spoke Spanish. 

I find it odd to characterize this as an "unfair advantage." "Unfair" suggests they were given some special edge from the show itself to deliberately help them, like an automatic headstart regardless of where they finished the previous leg, or given clues to the challenges other teams weren't. Or that the producers colluded with them beforehand and plotted out the race with them to insure they only went places where they would do well.

I'd go so far as to say they got a lucky break with most of the geography, sure, but I fail to see how it's "unfair." It's not as if the show can make a rule that nobody who speaks any language besides English is allowed to go on the show. Lots of people speak more than one language. And Ricky and Cesar did just as well in the Bahamas as they did in South America. 

And yet I keep seeing this word "unfair" ascribed to them again and again. It does seem like an oddly misplaced sentiment. It's like saying it's not fair that they were better than the other teams.

Edited May 22 by iMonrey

[aradia22]

That was a fun finale. I can see why they put those last two legs together. With the challenge design, things were so tight it kept it feeling exciting even when the results became clear. 

The challenges in the penultimate leg were not that exciting (bartending, wakeboarding) but there were cute moments (Rod being so supportive of Leticia, Shane and Juan in the dune buggies) and good for Ricky for not giving up when it must have been brutal falling over and over again under pressure. I think he ended up having 20+ tries? Also, it knocked out Amber and Vinny so we could all be thankful for that.

I thought they did a really nice job showcasing Philadelphia in a way they don't always do in the final leg. I'd be thrilled with this if I worked on the official tourism board. The mascots added a lot of personality to a task that wasn't really challenging aside from the cannon (though I think that played to the uniquely recognizable Philly mascots). They had colonial America themed tasks that incorporated re-enactors. And the locations of clue boxes made them drive around while also highlighting more notable locations. I wish things had shook up race placement a little more but otherwise, I thought it was a well-designed leg. 

It would have been a lot closer if Juan and Shane hadn't driven to NJ. Ricky being a former resident seemed like way more of an advantage than Cesar speaking Spanish because with things so close, they didn't have to stop and get directions or work things out on the map until the end since he knew where a lot of things were. But then, there are always going to be things that would have made a difference. If Rod had been able to memorize the preamble more quickly, they would have been out of there faster. 

I'm very happy with this outcome. Ricky and Cesar deserved all their success this race (and let's be honest, the other racers didn't put up much competition). I only wish, like last season, that both of the top two teams could win something because they were both pretty likable and deserving. 

[aradia22]

Quote

One of the questions I was asked on my viewer survey was if 90 minute episodes were "just right" "a little too long" or "way too long."

They're definitely rethinking that choice. I think that with the writers strike, they just didn't have anything filmed to fill out the out the last hour of primetime. That shouldn't be the case in future seasons, so hopefully they'll listen to the viewers and not try to make it something permanent.

I like 90 minutes when I don't have a lot going on. If there are other things I want to watch, it can be a chore to find 90 minutes... especially since I'm rarely watching when it airs since it starts so late. But the challenge design needs to match the 90 minutes. If there are quick tasks, it needs to be a megaleg. Otherwise the tasks need to be a proper challenge and not one that feels incredibly repetitive.

[Irlandesa]

On 5/20/2024 at 10:07 AM, b4pjoe said:

Well they were a great team in this edition. They had no real competition.

Did they become great because they had no competition or did they have no competition because they were so strong?  None of us can answer that for certain. Personally, I think there were a few strong teams on this race.  Some had unlucky breaks.  Some made mistakes like almost all Amazing Race teams do.  Ricky and Cesar just didn't which made it look easier for them than it probably was.

They made multiple good strategic decisions about when to push for the lead and when to conserve their energy.  

On 5/21/2024 at 2:27 PM, Netfoot said:

I think that longer episodes might be better appreciated if the episodes themselves were more interesting & exciting?

Season 35 was actually filmed after this one, and when it was recorded, they knew they were aiming for 90-minute episodes, so each leg was designed with that in mind.  Those episodes were very enjoyable.

This race was developed for a more traditional 60-minute episode so stretching them out made them a bit thin.

9 hours ago, aradia22 said:

It would have been a lot closer if Juan and Shane hadn't driven to NJ. Ricky being a former resident seemed like way more of an advantage than Cesar speaking Spanish because with things so close, they didn't have to stop and get directions or work things out on the map until the end since he knew where a lot of things were.

I read an interview with them post-finale and they said that even though Ricky was from Philadelphia, they stopped to ask directions for every stop in the city except for the stadium (because Ricky really REALLY knew where that was.) They were very aware that having the final leg in a hometown has cost teams in the past and they wanted to double-check every step they took.

Given the longer episodes, this is the kind of thing I wish we could have seen because it shows how careful they were as racers.

[aradia22]

Quote

Given the longer episodes, this is the kind of thing I wish we could have seen because it shows how careful they were as racers.

Agreed. I feel like the editors are starting to lean into more wholesomeness than drama these last two seasons. But they still love the KF and seeing people cry or get frustrated and lost rather than showing us strategy and what differentiates the racers (beyond sad backstories). I would also like to see more of the mingling and downtime if they need to pad out the episodes.

[chaifan]

7 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

This race was developed for a more traditional 60-minute episode so stretching them out made them a bit thin.

Also, it was more in the height of covid, greater restrictions.  Based on several interviews where the racers commented on relatively short days, my guess is that this was intentional to limit contact between racers, crew, locals, etc.  So there simply wasn't as much footage to stretch into 90 minutes.  This is different from many pre-covid races where we found out after airing that there were whole challenges that didn't even make it on-screen. 

7 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Given the longer episodes, this is the kind of thing I wish we could have seen because it shows how careful they were as racers.

This is in reference to Ricky & Cesar actually asking for directions in their home town, and I totally agree.  It would also have been fun to splice that between shots of the other teams NOT asking for directions.

Overall, I think production did a good job with what they had.  I'd love to keep 90 minute episodes for the premier, and maybe even the first few legs until the teams get to be a more manageable number.  Then bring back a 90 minute finale. 

[Netfoot]

39 minutes ago, chaifan said:

I'd love to keep 90 minute episodes for the premier, and maybe even the first few legs until the teams get to be a more manageable number.  Then bring back a 90 minute finale. 

If Season 35 (the most recent) is anything to go by, they are doing things right. More like that and I will be a happy camper. 

[Ilovepie]

On 5/15/2024 at 8:11 PM, Wildcard said:

"They spoke Spanish fluently. All the challenges were made for their skills. Blah. Blah. Blah." In the end, they were very good racers with a wide set of skills. The most important thing is that they did really well focusing on details - see the waterfall at Dominican Republic.

Would they win in a non COVID Race? Who knows? But, I think they would have done well.

This season makes it hard to tell - were they a really strong team, was everyone else just pretty weak, did they have too many advantages that made it seem the race was tailor made for them, or all three? I don't really care what the answer is - the bottom line is that they won seven out of 10(?) legs and that just isn't very entertaining when one team is dominating like that. I love that even when they were stressed they were still respectful of each other and always cheered for each other, but this season was really boring to me - I hope we never have another season where one team dominates so completely.

Between the Ricky and Caesar show and the not so amazing race across South America, this will go down as my second least favorite race ever (US Family Edition still wins that award).

[InDueTime]

It was a predictable outcome, but not a bad one.

A memory task for the final task would've been nice. However, TAR doesn't do them every time, so I wasn't too bothered. Also, as nondescript as some of the tasks were this season, it probably would have been too much trouble anyway.

Congrats to Ricky and Cesar! I would have been fine with Leticia and James, or Juan and Shane taking the win as well.

If Vinny and Amber's engagement actually lasts, I'll be shocked. 

Edited June 1 by InDueTime

[Alapaki]

I just finished bingeing the season. While I haven't read through the whole thread, I'd thought I'd drop in and drop a conspiracy theory (that I don't believe, but that is at least plausible).

And, I say this as a born-and raised, and still live in, Philadelphia native.  

The theory: the stadium worker who told the pilots they were looking for a couple of "pizza shops" named Pat's and Geno's was a plant meant to sabotage them.

Basis: no one, but NO one who lives in Philadelphia, and certainly no one who works at the stadium, would refer to Pat's and Geno's as "pizza shops".  The one, the ONLY thing, they're known for is CHEESESTEAKS.  They're CALLED, Pat's, or Geno's Cheesesteaks.  

No local would misspeak in that way.

Anyway, carry-on.

[Skooma]

2 hours ago, Alapaki said:

I just finished bingeing the season. While I haven't read through the whole thread, I'd thought I'd drop in and drop a conspiracy theory (that I don't believe, but that is at least plausible).

And, I say this as a born-and raised, and still live in, Philadelphia native.  

The theory: the stadium worker who told the pilots they were looking for a couple of "pizza shops" named Pat's and Geno's was a plant meant to sabotage them.

It's not "plausible" at all.

[blackwing]

On 5/17/2024 at 9:40 PM, North of Eden said:

The cherry on top all right...a moldy rotten cherry for a craptacular season. From the same boring winners every week to the ability to reduce an entire continent to feel like cabin fever this was just a big thumbs down.

Of course Ricky lived in Philly....of course!

I was actively rooting against Ricky and Cesar to lose and would have preferred the pro-bowler and his wife but would have been okay with the airmen.

Words on a keyboard cannot describe the joy I was feeling when Ricky kept falling into the surf....I was hoping it would but them hopelessly behind and we would be spared them on the final leg. It was crushing to see those ridiculous looking baby blue shorts trotting into Ford house grounds as the end.

Classic Vinnie-still being controlling in the MIDST of his proposal.

Okay folks we have a year off. Hoping for a spectacular comeback after  The Amazing South America Road Show starring Ricky and Cesar...and oh those other people.

I am very very very late to the party, but finally finished watching the season.  I completely agree with almost everything you wrote.

I could not stand Ricky and Cesar and it was so boring watching them win every single week.  The entire race is run in South America and Central America, of course Cesar is from Mexico so he speaks Spanish.  Ricky's Spanish wasn't as good but he still was conversant.

I know that some of the other teams had a Spanish speaker (Juan, Vinny, Yvonne) but kudos to Rod and Leticia for getting to the finals not knowing a word of Spanish.

And I think it's a complete crock that the race finished in Philadelphia.  Of course Ricky grew up 10 minutes from where they were!  Because they just had unbelievable luck throughout the entire race.  And yes, I know that way back in TAR Classic (as mentioned upthread) that Frangarita cursed themselves by being cocky and syaing they were from New York, but still.  It was a huge advantage for Ricky to know exactly where they were going.  He would instantly know where Lincoln Financial Field is, or where Pat and Geno's are.  He definitely would never drive to New Jersey.

I was hoping for anyone to win except them.  But Juan and Shane drive to New Jersey and Rod can't memorise anything, so of course the team that wins every leg wins the season.  Well, I guess a win by Ricky and Cesar proves that a team of two middle aged, slightly overweight, unathletic guys that are not alpha males can still win the race.

Re Vinny and Amber... those two are just toxic together.  He is a such a condescending asshole, it was always her fault, he thinks that just because he speaks in a calm flat voice that it doesn't matter.  And she is awful for always blaming herself and saying she has to adapt to him and constantly validate him.  They deserve each other.  I wonder what they think of how they were portrayed on the show.  They probably think they were edited unfairly.

What happened to the U Turn?  Or the Yield?  

I hate how teams worked together so much this season.  If I were in charge I would definitely make a rule saying teams cannot help each other with answers on tasks.