Past Seasons Talk

[green]

Okay, I didn't start watching TAR until the season with the Chippendale's and they're one of my favorite teams.  Was it the same season in which the Beekman's won the race?  I was so pissed when that happened.  Anyway, I came here to get recommendations for which seasons I should go back and watch and I'm guessing by the comments that would be Seasons 1-7.  I especially want to see the season with "my ox is broken!".  Any other suggestions?  Or better yet, which past seasons should I avoid?

 

I go with Season 2 (my all time favorite) followed by Seasons 3, 5 and 1 in any order on "my list".  Which basically says that it's best to start with Season 1 and go in order. 

 

Season 1 - How it all started.  Differences from current TAR?  No Phil at the mat except for eliminating the last team cause back then they didn't know if they could get him to the mat in time to greet the early teams.  Route markers were yellow and white instead of yellow and red.  First few episodes the editing was somewhat off and the music was poor.  But real soon you can see the production values go up as they find their mojo.  Has the fresh feel of a new adventure with teams having no "knowledge" of any strategy.  Has classic teams any true TAR fan should know like the funny Frats, the Guidos, Frank & Margarita and Nancy & Emily.  (Nancy will always remain my favorite "mom" on TAR ever).  Features a Jules Verne-like Race course filled with iconic world monuments and wonders.  Never again will so many of the world's wonders appear on one single race.  (BTW to posters up-thread, they went to Tunisia, not Morocco - remember the Mos Eisley exterior from Star Wars).  My ranking - anywhere from 2nd to 4th favorite trending more to 4th place but all closely bunched.  But for the "awesome adventure" feel I'd rank it higher.

 

Season 2 - A well-known Australian poster on several boards who also liked this season the best once referred to it as "that sun-speckled season" or something like that since that Race was blessed with about 99% incredibly sunshine throughout which makes it always pop in my memory.  I love this season the most of them all.   The other three I cite above are not far off though.  It's all about personal preference.  Flags are now yellow/red, Phil greets everyone at the mat, editing and music are spot on from the very beginning.  So to me it still has the early "raw edge" of the first season with the "polish" that the third season on has.  Best of both possible worlds.  Features the closest, most exciting finish ever in TAR history.  Also well-known iconic teams like Oswald & Danny, Tara & Wil, The Boston Boys, Blake & Paige, Mary & Peach and the Gutsy Grannies.  (Blake has gone on to found/run is it Toms Shoes or whatever it is called that helps provide shoes to poor kids around the world).  Took a brilliant southern hemisphere approach to counter the Season 1 route with something totally different.  Had the famous classic "Oswald & Danny Go Shopping" episode which is a must see for any TAR fan.  BTW this was the first season to be filmed after 9/11.  It was set to start in October but got pushed back to January 1st because of post-9/11 stuff not the least being if a show about traveling the world would survive in the post 9/11 "hunker down" mind-set.  My ranking - Number 1 period though the next three (1, 3 and 5) are close at it's heels.

 

Season 3 - The season where they could start adding chrome and trim.  The race course was a little Euro-centric when I first viewed it since I wanted them to get going to other continents in a more balanced way like the first two seasons but in retrospect that no longer bugs me.  This season featured the one and only Flo along with her partner, the sainted and talented Racer, Zach.  Also Teri & Ian who brought the grumpy fun and especially Ken & Gerard who were the hilarious "opposite brothers" (I hate the term Bald Snark.  If the Racers called themselves something or other Racers called them something fine, but don't like fan nicknames in the main ... sorry if that offends anyone).  Also the Wonder Twins (a in-Race nickname from another team) and Jill & Jon Vito.  Also the Cool Kids Club vs the Band of Brothers theme.  Featured one of the most satisfying rules violation eliminations, a Vietnam vet going back to his youth and so many tasks that this current season 25 seem to give shout-outs to.  Also the most nail-biting, exciting and surprising fight for the last spot in the final three in the show's history to me.  A must see.  Especially since I mellowed over the years on Flo.  She wasn't mean-spirited, just "high strung" as Zach tells which leads to meltdowns but not the crassness of future Racers down the seasons.  If Zach could handle her then I give her more a pass these days.  She just wasn't built to race.  My ranking - tied with season 5 for second place.

 

Season 4 - The first chink in the armor.  The problem was the absolutely horrid casting.  After the Wonder Twins (two male models) of Season 3 working out well, the casting decided to go full bore into mactorville casting.  The result was another model couple, one model/actor wannabee couple, one model/ivy leaguer couple, a recruited and forgettable pretty boy barfly team a casting agent found at her local watering hole, a team of NFL wives (first sports gimmick team) and, literally, a couple of clowns.  The other half of the cast were normal people and early fans of the show and the result was a haves vs have nots war with only the Clowns playing nice with everyone.  The result was endless arguing and screaming and yelling over such "interesting" things as your place in line.  The haves had their way and the results were boring.  The Clowns were nice guys and highly skilled racers who got screwed over in one of the worst possible ways when an airline literally lied to them about their flight out of Korea.  The model couple (Kelly & Jon) did make memorable, serviceable villains in a way but all the other stunt casting sucked.  Rankings - one of the worst ever.  Good for a history lesson on what not to do.

 

Season 5 - First the bad.  This was the first season the FF was removed from ever leg of the race except the last which was a major MAJOR mistake.  I'll save that rant for later but they replaced it with thefirst artificial "negative" thing.  Forget what it is called but you could stop a team while they watched an hour glass' sands run out.  It became the modern day U Turn eventually cause TPTB realized that hour glasses don't make exciting viewing.  Also a model and two beauty queens but they didn't hijack the Race so you forget about that part easily.  The good?  Every freaking thing else!  This memorable cast saved the producers from the stupid tweak they made by being one of the most colorful casts ever.  There was first and foremost Charla & Mirna who were/are one of the most hilarious and popular (except on one lone forum back then) team in Race history.  There was intense Colin and his beauty queen non-person partner.  Yes he of the most famous "My ox is broken" TAR quote ever.  There was well-liked and happy-go-lucky Chip and his quiet wife partner who gave the Race the first really likable ending in it's brief history.  There were the funny and beloved Bowling Moms.  The clueless, spaced out Twins.  The grumpy Pizza brothers.  The one forced on production by CBS reality show crossover - Allison - blissfully going out early.  The leg from Russia to the pyramids is one of those classic episodes that puts the "Amazing" in the Amazing Race.  It did have the problem of quiet female partners backing away from doing Roadblocks a lot which lead to the rule where RBs have to even out from the next season on but that doesn't distract from this season.  In fact without Colin doing all but one RB we may never have had a broken ox.  My rankings - tied for second with season three.

 

Season 6 - If you thought season 4 was bad, and I sure did, season 6 was a total downer after Season 5.  Again it was the foolish mactor casting and as others said above the bad luck of the likeable teams getting eliminated early on.  My favorite team was Gus & Hera an Afro-American father-daughter team.  Gus was formerly CIA and held some over the pole in old fashioned open cockpit plane records but was out of shape when he was on the Race.  Still he and Hera, who is most famous for coining the word Mactor on an Amazing Race forum after the race, stood out for me.  (mactor = model and/or actor).  One of the few memorial moments featured tough Gus with tears in his eyes at one of the gates of departure for slaves being sailed off to America.  And the hilarious one of him in a German bar.  There is also the famous episode early on of the sisters team looking for clues inside hay bales for hours and hours until Phil has to come out an eliminate them in the field.  But that is about it.  The rest?  TOO many dating couples teams most of whom were mactors besides.  One was likeable but pretty boring but became the defacto team to support compared to the others.  The rest?  Ugh.  More models and wanna be actors and our first pro wrestling team even.  The most likeable win on Season 5 was soon forgotten by one of the worst, most disliked mactor teams in history.  And I haven't even mentioned another main villain, Jonathan, and the wife threatening incident.  Rankings - probably lower than Season 4 because of the winners but it did have Gus.

 

Season 7 - Fans were the most divided about this season then almost any.  It all came down to if you liked Boston Rob and cross-reality show casting or not.  Most TAR purists didn't but Rob can bring humor and such to the screen.  He and Amber were the stunt casting that the whole season revolved around however which made this season not Season 7 so much as "The Boston Rob Season".  As a result other teams wanted him out.  There were endless fights and plots as a result.  I liked the season better after it ended than watching it and can probably stand it better now knowing the ending in advance.  The race course weirdly was a anomaly.  Leaving aside the Family Edition, it was the only Race never to race around the world.  It went half way out to India then did a u-turn and headed back the way they came.  That has always always bugged me for some reason.  Again, personal quirk with me.  Uchenna & Joyce don't show up on the radar until half way through the race.  There was an interesting older couple.  But one of the most interesting looking teams finished last on the first leg.  Otherwise it was all about Boston Rob.  If you like watching him you will like this season.  If not, not.  Polarizing season in the end.  Weirdly enough I kind of don't go hard one way or the other.  I hate he was cast cause I was one of the purest.  But he is a very entertaining guy so I have to give him that.  But he became the whole focus of the Race and that wasn't good.  Rankings - mixed bag.  I would probably watch it again but only because I know the results but it isn't in my top tier.

 

Season 8 (The Family Edition) - Past the classic era.  In fact this season ended it.  It's a terrible terrible concept that worked out terribly.  Traveling around the USA primarily in campers is like watching someone else's home vacation movies.  Nothing good can come from it.  And if it is sometimes hard to hear what a team of two people are saying talking over each other imagine a team of four all shouting at once.  But I added it here to say there was, amongst the boring, a few interesting casting choices I would have liked to see on the regular Race.  I LOVED Mama Paolo and her good-hearted trash collector husband and sons.  The quiet one posted a lot on one forum where Mama Paolo had taken on cult saint status complete with Photoshopped pictures of her kicking ass on past seasons of the Race.  She and loud-mouthed but race competent older son would have been good on the real TAR.  Especially when she voiced all our thoughts in one when she read a clue returning the teams from their very brief Costa Rica/Panama jaunt back to the US again.  Something like "Arizona?  Who wants to go to Arizona?  I want to go to New Zealand!!!"  You and me both, Mama Paolo.  You and me both.  The other interesting cast member was the conservative, religious though also scantly-clothed online dubbed "trailer trash Mom" (Linda was it).  Her son (Rollo???) was the together one on that team and would be too young back then to do the regular race but now he would be old enough to race with her.  They were totally real people and not some mactors and I'd like to see them on the real race too.  Rankings - interesting to see the horror people speak of in person I guess and Mama Paolo is awesome but otherwise avoid like the plague.

 

Season 9 - Don't consider this a classic season either but just had to vent about how much I hated the two younger male teams that dominated this season.  All the worst stereotypes about frat boys on one team.  The other was an anti-hippie team of greedy, camera hogging posers posing as "hippies".  The horror, the horror.  Add that to the fact that one of the frat boy, Eric, pretended (he confessed it was a "pretend" after TAR 11) to be dating one of the "dumb blondes" generic team after the season to get himself cast on TAR All-Stars and ruin the whole freaking thing.  My take?  Avoid Season 9 at all costs!

 

About TAR All-Stars (aka TAR11). If you avoid the last episode it is nice to see some of the great ones back again.  Unfortunately one of TAR1's Frats had a bad back and Ian got too grumpy and the Guidos were way to worried about projecting a "nicer" image (the problems of teams repeating on the Race).  Also Uchenna & Joyce had a bad plane flight.  But well worth it to see more of Oswald & Danny and Charla & Mirna (who are my two most favorite teams ever).  Especially the Mirna vs Boston Rob roadblock that had me leaping to my feet cheering in my living room.  "See ya.  Wouldn't want to be ya."

 

Sorry, got a bit carried away with this.  Also, caffeine is evil that way.  But I'm a bit passionate about old school TAR.  Like Latern7 said originally, we all were like young kids at Christmas back in those days supporting a show that up until about TAR5 was on the verge of cancellation each season.  So we all felt like we were part of a small group of people who discovered something awesome in the vast TV wasteland and were dragging friends and relatives almost literally to sit down and watch it despite the huge stigma of TAR being a "reality show" which made it like a leper to many people back in those days.  TAR3 winning the first ever reality show Emmy ever presented (it was called something different back then) helped gain it some respect and TAR5's colorful cast did the rest or no one today coming along would ever have heard of this magical show.

 

I also agree with Latern7 that the show goes blurry for me starting with the Family Edition.  Up until then I had every team and every location and ever pitstop etc etc all memorized.  (God I miss the pitstop "eat, sleep and mingle" set-up and footage, loved the comradery back then).  Then some of the air went out of the sails.  The legs became more fly in and stay in fly in city and rural equals a couple of miles outside the city and no real awesome uber legs anymore.  Also reduced to 12 episodes.  No more FF strategy.  

 

I would have liked to see some of the teams these days on TAR classic.  Not their fault they came later to the Race.  Would loved to have seen a strong female team like the Cyclists on early TAR.  Loved Mallory.  Enjoyed Bopper.  But in the main so many of the teams just get blurry after their season ends and fade from memory these days.  I guess I'm no longer that image of an innocent kid at Christmas filled with excitement and wonder as soon as I heard the theme music.  Alas, we all can only hold onto wonder for so long.  Grateful for the four DVD sets I own of 1, 2, 3 and 5.  They return me to that magical time when I re-watch them.

Edited November 11, 2014 by green

[Netfoot]

Season 8 (The Family Edition) - Past the classic era.  In fact this season ended it.  It's a terrible terrible concept that worked out terribly.  Traveling around the USA primarily in campers is like watching someone else's home vacation movies.  Nothing good can come from it.  And if it is sometimes hard to hear what a team of two people are saying talking over each other imagine a team of four all shouting at once.  But I added it here to say there was, amongst the boring, a few interesting casting choices I would have liked to see on the regular Race.  I LOVED Mama Paolo and her good-hearted trash collector husband and sons.  The quiet one posted a lot on one forum where Mama Paolo had taken on cult saint status complete with Photoshopped pictures of her kicking ass on past seasons of the Race.  She and loud-mouthed but race competent older son would have been good on the real TAR.  Especially when she voiced all our thoughts in one when she read a clue returning the teams from their very brief Costa Rica/Panama jaunt back to the US again.  Something like "Arizona?  Who wants to go to Arizona?  I want to go to New Zealand!!!"  You and me both, Mama Paolo.  You and me both.  The other interesting cast member was the conservative, religious though also scantly-clothed online dubbed "trailer trash Mom" (Linda was it).  Her son (Rollo???) was the together one on that team and would be too young back then to do the regular race but now he would be old enough to race with her.  They were totally real people and not some mactors and I'd like to see them on the real race too.  Rankings - interesting to see the horror people speak of in person I guess and Mama Paolo is awesome but otherwise avoid like the plague.

 

Just wanted to comment on Season Eight:  Most people disliked S8 in part because there was so little of the race shot in foreign countries.  But for me, the USA is a foreign country, so that was not an issue.  Also, the Weavers were pretty unlikeable and their self-righteous superiority stunk up the entire series for me, especially since they were clearly not superior to anyone, in any way.  Worst of all was the break from TARs standard teams-of-two format, and the accommodations this forced.

 

There were a few redeeming aspects, such as Mama Paolo, and also the Gaghan family, particularly Tammy "Ban Red Beans" Gaghan and young Carissa, who at single-digit age, showed more maturity and common sense than many racers before and since and went on to do her own mini-reviews of the next few races.  (How old would she be now?  I'll bet she's one helluva girl!)

 

Alas, the few bright lights simply can't repair or compensate for a badly broken race, and Season 8 is the one season I would ever recommend that a TAR newbie simply miss.  Even the likes of J*n*th*n of S6 and the Horrible Hippies of S9 with their A-Ass tee shirts don't make those seasons unworthy of a look-see.  (it was A-Ass wasn't it?  If not, it should have been.)

 

And for the record, I love Flo.  And the sainted Zach.

[Lantern7]

I think the hippies' word was "T-Tow." Yeah, I don't remember what it meant. After Eric self-destructed on the final Roadblock, I figured it meant "Tools Totally Outran Weenies." They also wore "Bowling" and "Moms" t-shirts, which made me mad that they were trying to steal Linda & Karen's shtick.

 

I gotta say . .  it's nice to get the show back firing on all cylinders these days. I can't remember the last season where I was okay with most (if not all) of the teams remaining.

[Babalu]

Netfoot - Carissa is a freshman in college now.

[GinevradiBenci]

I'm pretty sure that it's thanks to the Weavers that my husband and I have now declared Lake Pontchartrain one of the Great Lakes.

[SnideAsides]

Have you also declared Pennsylvania a state yet?

[kassygreene]

Ah, the Weavers.  I am currently "forum-watching" the Duggars (will not give TLC the ratings points online or via my cable box), and I wonder how the two groups would mingle.  While they did have a genuine awful tragedy 18 months or so in their past (papa Weaver worked at a NASCAR track, and was killed by an out-of-control car or something on that scale of dear-god-that-is-truly-horrible), the daughters were privileged and untested princesses (there was money for horses and they were reasonably competent equestrians on a cowboy roadblock), the son struck me as someone who was expected to step up as man of the house, and yet he was only around thirteen and often undermined (especially in Toronto, when mama and sisters checked out of the route info task), and Mama was apparently at the time of the race engaged.  All of which is ok, but the poor fatherless children angle would be played up, the superiority of home-schooling would be played up, the constant questioning of the religion of people who helped them would be played up and exploited so they could get things free (which failed very nicely when Southern Evangelical Christian asked for money from Western Mormon Christian after they lost their money in the previous NEL).  They were also very nasty about the Paolo family and their garbage business, and apparently on the bus trip across the south they acted out like deranged two-year-olds. 

 

I think they were too crazy for pageant!  Hated that they came last on the NEL in Utah, hated they came third overall.  Loved the edit they got, which is one of the few highlights of TAR8.

[Lantern7]

Tonight's episode has Amy and/or Maya topless for their massage. Question: when else has the show needed to break out the pixels to cover nudity? The only thing that comes to mind is Jon going naked for the final Roadblock in TAR4.

[Netfoot]

Wasn't there a challenge where they had to pose nude for artists?  Perhaps it was a FF task. 

[Lingo]

Wasn't there a challenge where they had to pose nude for artists?  Perhaps it was a FF task. 

I don't remember anything like that! Maybe in an international edition?

[Kel Varnsen]

I don't remember anything like that! Maybe in an international edition?

Amazing Race Canada did that last season for a fast forward. No pixelation, just creative camera angles. It actually ended up being a brother and sister that had to pose together.

[Lantern7]

So . . . anybody else amped up by the Switchback next week? Colin's "Broken Ox" moment has to rank about the funniest in TAR history. I can't see anybody having trouble, since a. We'll probably dealing with recruits and new fans, as opposed to fans from 2004, and b. I don't think the task is that hard. One person works the yoke, the other guides the ox. Colin couldn't hack it because Christie wasn't walking the ox. I don't think we'll have anybody saying, "My ox is BROKEN! This is BULLSHIT!" even ironically.

 

How many other Switchbacks have there been? I remember the hay-unrolling, the cheese-transporting downhill, and the mud-vaulting. Am I missing anything?

[Lingo]

Speaking of international editions, I remember that high-wire RB under the Marina Bay Sands from TAR Australia, which is the only international version I've had the chance to see. That's the first time I remember seeing the MBS and was instantly fascinated by it!

[KnitsWithRaceCars]

I'm pretty sure that it's thanks to the Weavers that my husband and I have now declared Lake Pontchartrain one of the Great Lakes.

 

 

Have you also declared Pennsylvania a state yet?

 

Do you find that ice cream "revigorates" and "injuvenates" you?  I remember thinking how scary it was that Mama Weevil was home schooling the kids because she seemed so uneducated.  Rolly is the boy's name--a contraction of Roy Lee.  He seemed like a decent kid.  Mama and the girls were cray cray, though.  It was the episode with the bus ride down south that it showed the most, as someone else noted.  Mama and the girls were complaining that the Race was holding them prisoner on the bus and they had no right to do that.  They made the bus driver stop at a restaurant so they could eat, then Mama and the girls were running and jumping in the parking lot.  I seem to remember that they were recruited for the Race after all the national attention from the husband/father being killed.

 

Season 5 is near and dear to my heart because it's the first one I watched.  Mirna and Schmirna are one of my least favorite teams of all-time, though.  Especially Mirna.  She even came across as a bully towards Charla, IMHO.  The hourglass twist was called the Yield.  This is also the first season where there was a penalty for coming in last on an NEL.

[Lantern7]

I forget . . . does the head-shaving Fast Forward count as a Switchback? That was the time Brendon & Rachel balked, leading to Bopper getting his dome shaved to no avail.

[Lingo]

I don't know if they called it a Switchback, but they've had a head-shaving FF at least 3 times (Brandon and Nicole, Uchenna and Joyce, Mark and Bopper). I think they only call it a Switchback if it's the same task at the same location.

Edited December 1, 2014 by Lingo

[lianau]

In preparation for next week I just rewatched Collin's broken ox . I have a feeling the ox was rather happy  to plow wherever it wanted to plow for a chance .

[SnideAsides]

The only other official Switchback that hasn't been mentioned is the spy Road Block from the TAR22 finale (first seen in the Family Edition), but they've been increasingly using tasks from the other TAR versions during these past two seasons. It's usually only been a random task every so often - last season's copied tasks were the observation wheel (Asia, Australia) in Leg 1, waterfall rappel (China, Vietnam) in Leg 3, bamboo trampoline (Latin America) in Leg 4, shirt sewing (Asia, Australia), hotel cleaning (China) and dog milk delivery (Canada) in Leg 9, the flamenco routine (Israel) in Leg 10, and the skeet shooting (Israel, Australia) in Leg 11 - but this week was the first time an entire leg has basically been copied - the highwire traverse, wave machine, and crab meat tasks all came from the same leg of TAR Asia (although the wave machine was a Detour and the crab meat was a miscellaneous task), the statue search was from a different TAR Asia leg (albeit in a different city and searching for a cat statue) and the cupping Detour was an unchosen Detour in China just last season.

 

Also, this week's greeter was a former TAR Asia contestant, but that's a form of recycling I can totally get behind.

 

(This has been another edition of SnideAsides Pays Too Much Attention.)

[Lnmop]

Nevermind.

Edited December 1, 2014 by Lnmop

[Jac]

Watching the Hong Kong leg of s17 and all I can say is what an ass of a leg. Brilliant leg design, with the fake food roadblock that was bad enough to induce vomiting and two equally difficult detour options. I am pretty familiar with HK and Aberdeen Harbour, for the sampan option is a good 20 minutes from the HK Island ferry piers and probably 25 minutes from Central in minimal traffic, either of which is where the teams presumably arrived after leaving the Bruce Lee statue which is in Kowloon. Moreover Aberdeen Harbour is super crowded which would have made the task even more complex. Ding Ding would have been a pain in the ass as it was very needle-in-a-haystacky and HK trams move at about 3 miles an hour. More legs like this would be appreciated. 

[Lantern7]

Question for those more learned of TAR than me: has there ever been a season where so few teams won legs? With two legs left in TAR25, the only teams to have won have been the Dentists (5 times), the Surfers (3) and the Cyclists (2). I think the record for fewest teams is four, but I could be wrong.

 

Also: was anybody else disappointed by the lack of "broken ox"? Sure, the oxen wandered quite a bit, and it didn't occur to anyone to walk alongside the animals, but we didn't have something leading to the breakdown Colin had. To be fair, he and Christie had a bad day going into that Detour, having fallen behind and getting Yielded by Chip & Kim. The ox was just icing on the cake.

[Rusun]

TAR20 was even more lop-sided: Dave/Rachel (eight wins including the premiere and both parts of the finale), Art/JJ (three wins in a row), and Mark/Bopper (one win). At least TAR13 had one less leg as an excuse: Nick/Starr (seven wins including both the opener and the finish), Ken/Tina (three wins in a row), and Toni/Dallas (one win).

Watching the Hong Kong leg of s17 and all I can say is what an ass of a leg. Brilliant leg design, with the fake food roadblock that was bad enough to induce vomiting and two equally difficult detour options. I am pretty familiar with HK and Aberdeen Harbour, for the sampan option is a good 20 minutes from the HK Island ferry piers and probably 25 minutes from Central in minimal traffic, either of which is where the teams presumably arrived after leaving the Bruce Lee statue which is in Kowloon. Moreover Aberdeen Harbour is super crowded which would have made the task even more complex. Ding Ding would have been a pain in the ass as it was very needle-in-a-haystacky and HK trams move at about 3 miles an hour. More legs like this would be appreciated. 

 

"Topped with courtesan-style moves by Auntie Brook Roberts", as a Cantonese menu would say. Quite possibly the most difficult NEL episode ever - and possibly even more challenging than TAR Canada 2's visit.

[Jac]

I don't understand the race design choices used in s11 (all-stars 1). Why would you design a race that all but eliminates killer fatigue as a factor for at least the first four legs? 

[TheRabbi]

I'm not quite sure I understand the question.  Are you referring to KF not being a factor in season 11?  In my opinion, the first 3 legs of s11 are completely brutal, and well-deserving of an all-stars race.  Leg 1 you had to navigate yourself through the backwoods of Ecuador.  Leg 2 was completely draining for many teams - fly into Santiago, RB, another charter flight to the middle of nowhere, then detour in the heat and navigation to the pitstop.  More self-navigation through Chile in leg 3 with a grueling detour (which the rock climbing was impossible for several teams).

 

The Africa and Poland legs are kind of crappy, but there's some decent ones in Asia before the worst finale of all-time sinks in.  If Eric and Danielle hadn't won that season, and the final task had been something besides gossip-related, I think the majority would have a much higher opinion of the first All-Stars.

[Rusun]

I don't understand the race design choices used in s11 (all-stars 1). Why would you design a race that all but eliminates killer fatigue as a factor for at least the first four legs? 

 

Any leg that rewards Cha Cha Cha, spares Charla and Mirna, and knocks out Romber can only be described as pure satisfaction.

[Jac]

I'm not quite sure I understand the question.  Are you referring to KF not being a factor in season 11?  In my opinion, the first 3 legs of s11 are completely brutal, and well-deserving of an all-stars race.  Leg 1 you had to navigate yourself through the backwoods of Ecuador.  Leg 2 was completely draining for many teams - fly into Santiago, RB, another charter flight to the middle of nowhere, then detour in the heat and navigation to the pitstop.  More self-navigation through Chile in leg 3 with a grueling detour (which the rock climbing was impossible for several teams).

 

The Africa and Poland legs are kind of crappy, but there's some decent ones in Asia before the worst finale of all-time sinks in.  If Eric and Danielle hadn't won that season, and the final task had been something besides gossip-related, I think the majority would have a much higher opinion of the first All-Stars.

 

While task fatigue is a factor, keeping the racers in a relatively narrow band of timezones eliminated significant jetlag as a contributor to KF.  The KF caused by jetlag is, IMO far more debilitating and long-lasting than task fatigue. The better routes tend to be those that never allow teams to fully acclimatize before moving them on.

Any leg that rewards Cha Cha Cha, spares Charla and Mirna, and knocks out Romber can only be described as pure satisfaction.

 

This I agree with, the elimination of Romber in s11 has been the most satisfying elimination on TAR to date.

[Lingo]

Question for those more learned of TAR than me: has there ever been a season where so few teams won legs? With two legs left in TAR25, the only teams to have won have been the Dentists (5 times), the Surfers (3) and the Cyclists (2). I think the record for fewest teams is four, but I could be wrong.

 

Also: was anybody else disappointed by the lack of "broken ox"? Sure, the oxen wandered quite a bit, and it didn't occur to anyone to walk alongside the animals, but we didn't have something leading to the breakdown Colin had. To be fair, he and Christie had a bad day going into that Detour, having fallen behind and getting Yielded by Chip & Kim. The ox was just icing on the cake.

 

For lopsidedness, the first season that came to my mind was Season 9, where it seemed like the Hippies and that other guy team won almost all the legs, though I do remember other teams winning at least 2 other legs, so it wasn't technically as lop-sided as this one.  But it felt more lopsided because there seemed to be only 2 good teams, whereas this season had three.

 

As for the oxen, I mentioned in the main thread, that these switchbacks are never as exciting as the original tasks, but it's unfair to really expect them to be.  Lightning won't strike twice.  I appreciate the callbacks nonetheless. I was disappointed that none of the teams appeared to recognize it as a callback, though we didn't really get to see the dentists' and scientists' initial reactions to the scene.

 

Perhaps the only task in Race history that matches the Broken Ox in its fame/notoriety is the hay-unrolling, so it's nice to have seen both of those reappear as Switchbacks.  The cheese task in Switzerland was a great and famous task too, another pretty good choice for a Switchback.  (The pole-vaulting and DC spy tasks, not so much.)  So here's my next question(s): what are the most famous/notorious tasks in Race history, and which would make great Switchbacks? Two immediately came to my mind.  First, the watermelon slingshot from S17 -- though it's too much to expect another facial impact (and I don't dare hope for one!).  Another great one was Chuck vs. Jon climbing the ladders in the Bat Cave in Malaysia in S4.  Though that one was more memorable due to the team rivalry and what else went on in that leg than the task itself, so maybe not the best Switchback choice.

[Netfoot]

First, the watermelon slingshot from S17 -- though it's too much to expect another facial impact (and I don't dare hope for one!).

 

I wouldn't mind seeing Brooke get a faceful.  I doubt she'd tough it out like Clare!

[Lantern7]

Knowing the show, they'd probably spring for protective visors. Y'know, just in case.

 

I'd like to see the sheep corralling task from near the end of TAR2. That was lots of fun to watch, though it didn't factor in sheep with "mad hops."

[Rusun]

The Shetland RI was more than enough. 

 

How about TAR10's "Lob It" Detour a.k.a. the Tomatina?

[Lingo]

Rusun, that was, like, a tomato-throwing fight of some sort, right?  I don't remember much about that one.

 

Here's another question that came to my mind last night.  We discussed the most lop-sided races, in terms of the fewest numbers of teams who won legs.  Which races is/are the opposite -- the least lop-sided? I.e. in which race(s) did the most teams won legs?  And since I suspect that it's probably one of S1-S4 (because of all the FFs), then which race after S4 is the least lop-sided?

Knowing the show, they'd probably spring for protective visors. Y'know, just in case.

 

I'd like to see the sheep corralling task from near the end of TAR2. That was lots of fun to watch, though it didn't factor in sheep with "mad hops."

 

Another great one from S2: the Ice-Ball RB, in which Wil and others had to extract a clue from the center of a frozen ball of ice by whatever means necessary.

[Netfoot]

Another great one from S2: the Ice-Ball RB, in which Wil and others had to extract a clue from the center of a frozen ball of ice by whatever means necessary.

 

Wil beating his brains out against that ball of ice is, for me, one of the most memorable moments in classic TAR history.

[Rusun]

Rusun, that was, like, a tomato-throwing fight of some sort, right?  I don't remember much about that one.

 

Here's another question that came to my mind last night.  We discussed the most lop-sided races, in terms of the fewest numbers of teams who won legs.  Which races is/are the opposite -- the least lop-sided? I.e. in which race(s) did the most teams won legs?  And since I suspect that it's probably one of S1-S4 (because of all the FFs), then which race after S4 is the least lop-sided?

 

You're absolutely correct, Lingo:

 

 

In terms of least lop-sided seasons since TAR5, quite a few had as many as six distinct leg-winning teams: TAR7, TAR10, AS1, TAR14, TAR16, UB/AS2, TAR21, and TAR23.

 

However, TAR17 is a still better example of statistical parity, since everyone besides the first two boots - and even they were competent enough to get into a three-team restricted flight and leave a selling Roadblock in 6th out of 10th, respectively - placed in the Top 3 on at least one leg and thus clustered close together in terms of average rankings/standings despite a clear three-horse race between the eventual Final Three.

[Lingo]

Dang it Rusun, you're faster than me, I was about to post my analysis!  This is all based on Wikipedia's stats, which I hope are correct.

 

To answer my original question, it's Season 4 that has the largest number of teams to win a leg, with 9 out of 12!  But you may want to put an asterisk next to that one, since the first leg had a 3-way tie for first place (before they banned ties).  Even so, two of those teams (Millie and Chuck, Steve and Dave) went on to each win another leg (each with the help of a FF), while the third (Chris and Amanda) was eliminated in the 2nd leg.  If you don't want to count legs won by FF, then S4 is still the highest, with 7 (again counting the first leg 3 times). 

 

The next highest number is Season 2, with 7 teams winning legs--though only 5 without FFs.  (And maybe it's worth mentioning that Blake and Paige's only non-FF win was later ruled a tie with Wil and Tara.)

 

After that, as Rusun wrote, there are several seasons in which 6 separate teams won legs: S7, S10, S11, S14, S16, S18, S21, and S23. If you want to eliminate FF wins, that would remove S7, S10, and S11 from the list (each had only 5 non-FF winning teams). I don't know what kind of tiebreaker stat would be best to decide among the remaining 5 seasons--each had 12 legs and 11 teams. I suppose you could take the team with the best average placement from each season, and then choose the one among those with the worst average. I don't have those numbers though.

 

Seasons with 5 teams winning a leg are S1 (4 without FFs), S3 (4 without FFs), S6 (3 without FFs), S8, S12 (4 without FFs), S17, and S22.

 

Seasons with only 4 teams winning a leg are S5 (a fan favorite), S9, S15, S19 (three bland seasons), and actually S24, the most recent All-Stars.

 

Finally, as mentioned before, seasons with only 3 winning teams are S13, S20, and so far S25 -- though it could conceivably hit 5 if the scientists and the wrestlers somehow split the last two legs.  I don't see that happening though!

[Rilla-my-Rilla]

Well, reading through this thread yesterday inspired me to watch the 1st few seasons. I even signed up for the Amazon Prime free trial to stream some of the seasons (Hulu Plus works like poop on my tv, but it looks like I'll have to use that on my computer to see some of the seasons).

 

I started watching during season 6. At least, that's the 1st one I have clear memories of. I think some of season 5 has been absorbed into my consciousness and processed as memories, but I don't think they're real.

 

Which season had the original Fern?

[Bella]

 

Which season had the original Fern?

 

Season 2. Danny and Oswald were in Thailand and befriended a young lady named Fern.

[green]

Wil beating his brains out against that ball of ice is, for me, one of the most memorable moments in classic TAR history.

 

It was almost a Charlie Chaplin like skit since it was so totally visual comedy.  Wil vs The Ice Globe.  Contrast the other two teams calmly using the hammer and chisel in the tool boxes they were given to Wil attacking the thing with everything from a flat hammer sans chisel to a drill to a welding device that looked more like a flame thrower and which actually started to set his other tools on fire.  Good times.

 

Having said that it probably wouldn't make a good switchback RB today because there was only one Wil who would be dumb enough to give us this comedy gold.  As said above, lightning usually never strikes twice.  It depends so much on people like Colin and Wil more than the task itself.

Edited December 10, 2014 by green

[proserpina65]

I'm amazed at the memory you guys have.  I've watched TAR since the first episode of season one and aside from that first season I really can't remember which racers appeared when, or where the show went when.

Some seasons' teams I remember really well, especially the first five seasons, but otherwise, I agree with the props to the memories of posters here.  Season 10 - ? lol

[proserpina65]

I think I might also be in the minority of liking BJ & Tyler

 

You might be in the minority, but you're definitely not alone.  I found them moderately amusing at the time, and their mugging didn't particularly bother me.  In retrospect, I think  I might've liked them less if they hadn't been on the same leg as the uber-annoying Eric and Jeremy, but in comparison they were okay for me.  Not one of my all-time favorite teams (that would be Drew & Kevin, Team Cha-Cha and Team Bald Snark), but still alright enough.

[proserpina65]

Building Ikea furniture

 

Still one of my favorite detours ever, because it's one of the very, very few which I would actually rock.

[proserpina65]

Corsica is definitely the one episode you could remove from the season without impacting anything.

 

I loved that leg of the Race!  Stomping grapes in Corsica was a terrific task, and only the presence of He Who Shall Not Be Named could take away from it.  Plus, Napoleon's birthplace!  (Okay, that's the Napoleonic Wars buff in me talking.)

[proserpina65]

Just wanted to comment on Season Eight:  Most people disliked S8 in part because there was so little of the race shot in foreign countries.  But for me, the USA is a foreign country, so that was not an issue.  Also, the Weavers were pretty unlikeable and their self-righteous superiority stunk up the entire series for me, especially since they were clearly not superior to anyone, in any way.  Worst of all was the break from TARs standard teams-of-two format, and the accommodations this forced.

 

There were a few redeeming aspects, such as Mama Paolo, and also the Gaghan family, particularly Tammy "Ban Red Beans" Gaghan and young Carissa, who at single-digit age, showed more maturity and common sense than many racers before and since and went on to do her own mini-reviews of the next few races.  (How old would she be now?  I'll bet she's one helluva girl!)

 

Alas, the few bright lights simply can't repair or compensate for a badly broken race, and Season 8 is the one season I would ever recommend that a TAR newbie simply miss.  Even the likes of J*n*th*n of S6 and the Horrible Hippies of S9 with their A-Ass tee shirts don't make those seasons unworthy of a look-see.  (it was A-Ass wasn't it?  If not, it should have been.)

 

And for the record, I love Flo.  And the sainted Zach.

I never minded the Weavers that much, and actually thought that the other teams (especially the Linzes) were the ones who were acting like assholes who thought they were soooo superior.  And I found the Paolos to be pretty obnoxious.  The Gaghans?  Well, the kids were cute, but they highlight the biggest thing wrong with the family edition: children.  I didn't, and still don't, want to watch cute little kids bawling when they get eliminated on the Amazing Race.  The teams really needed to be all adult family members.  Oh, and much less USA-centric travel.

[Kel Varnsen]

I never minded the Weavers that much, and actually thought that the other teams (especially the Linzes) were the ones who were acting like assholes who thought they were soooo superior.  And I found the Paolos to be pretty obnoxious.  The Gaghans?  Well, the kids were cute, but they highlight the biggest thing wrong with the family edition: children.  I didn't, and still don't, want to watch cute little kids bawling when they get eliminated on the Amazing Race.  The teams really needed to be all adult family members.  Oh, and much less USA-centric travel.

At the very least it should have been one or the other, teams of four adults or two adults with two children under a certain age. Having it be a mix of the two was annoying and super unfair. A parent having to race with their little kids would be at a huge disadvantage compared to 4 adults racing together. I mean the team where it was the dad and his three adult daughters, the dad probably doesn't have to remind his kids to go to the bathroom or help them get dressed or pack their things up or make sure to finish their food so they get enough to eat. 

Edited December 10, 2014 by Kel Varnsen

[auntlada]

So here's my next question(s): what are the most famous/notorious tasks in Race history, and which would make great Switchbacks?

 

The ascender thing from season 5 that resulted in the Bowling Moms rule about splitting the roadblocks. I'm also fond of the nutbunches from season 4, not because of the task itself, but just because of the word "nutbunches." Also because of Team Who standing under the sign they were looking for and wondering where they needed to go.

[SnideAsides]

So I had a lot of spare time recently and made a list of (almost) every TAR task ever, for those of you who are into that sort of thing.

[Jac]

So I had a lot of spare time recently and made a list of (almost) every TAR task ever, for those of you who are into that sort of thing.

 

You are amazing (sorry, couldn't help it) for doing this. You have made my obsessive nerdy self very happy.

[Lingo]

Finally, as mentioned before, seasons with only 3 winning teams are S13, S20, and so far S25 -- though it could conceivably hit 5 if the scientists and the wrestlers somehow split the last two legs.  I don't see that happening though!

 

UMMMMM....looks like I spoke too soon!!!

[TheRabbi]

So where will season 25 rank in the annals of TAR history?  It's a bit too fresh to give it a proper ranking, but I definitely think this is the best season since at least TAR17.  It felt fresh in a number of areas, and it really felt like they pulled out a lot of stops to make a great "silver anniversary."  The public starting line, an overall really good route map with first visits to St Thomas, the Shetland Islands,and Malta, and great locations they haven't visited in ages like Morocco and the Philippines.  Self-driving in the final leg.  A genuinely balanced cast from all corners of the country.  And really likable winners.  Maybe not the most deserving, but really likable.  

 

Assuming the no-winners rule is still in effect, I'd say Kym and Alli, Adam and Bethany, and Misti and Jim would be invited back for another go around should the show survive long enough for another All-Stars.

[Lantern7]

Have you considered playing the lottery, Lingo?

 

So . . . what is the legacy of TAR25? I think it's the inverse of Survivor; they had a crap season with a great finish. With TAR25, we had a great season capped by a WTF finish. I mean . . . who could have predicted the Wrestlers and Scientists would win the last two legs without having a hardy laugh about it? I think the turning point came when the Cyclists elected to do the Fast Forward. If they stuck to the regular race, they would've finished ahead of Amy & Maya, and the Scientists would have been eliminated. Also, I think Amy & Maya's win was painfully telegraphed in the finale. No other team got as much spotlight as far as their jobs were concerned.

 

Good season, semi-decent finish, and it's looking better than TAR26 . . . though we can always hope for the best.

[Lingo]

Assuming the no-winners rule is still in effect, I'd say Kym and Alli, Adam and Bethany, and Misti and Jim would be invited back for another go around should the show survive long enough for another All-Stars.

 

Well if casting for the next All-Stars is like the last one, I'd expect them to cast the Cyclists and the Wrestlers.

 

Have you considered playing the lottery, Lingo?

 

Also, I think Amy & Maya's win was painfully telegraphed in the finale. No other team got as much spotlight as far as their jobs were concerned.

 

 

 

Re lottery: I was just thinking the same thing!

I didn't feel like the editing telegraphed the ending at all.  However, I did see a media article whose headline indicated that Phil called the ending "unpredictable", which as soon as the wrestlers were eliminated, strongly suggested that the scientists would win.  Phil should not be allowed to say such things!