Past Seasons Talk

[SnideAsides]

Then what is an objectively non-terrible (in the sense of "must-see RTV", not just "watchable at the bare minimum") TAR season?

As in a specific example? TAR3.

The Save may have been a bust, yet both the "optional EP-hunt on the second leg" and "four teams in the finale" twists were influential enough to carry over to the third season of the Canadian edition and S26, respectively

"Influential" isn't synonymous with "good".

the supposed archipelago theme is not only discredited by Morocco

Morocco was a last-minute substitution.

Twitter-ification of the show is an inevitable outcome stemming from social media spillover ever since the BB15 fiasco two years prior

Except TAR25 was more than a year after that Big Brother season, and TAR was already successful, much more successful than they have been since, on social media beforehand.

Furthermore, people swore to embrace that which immediately followed the divisive Family and Blind Date Editions...until reality proved otherwise, of course. At the very least, S25 showed that there could be a crossover season nearly as worthy as ur-example S5.

To be fair, TAR9 actually was quite popular until that disastrously bad leg in Germany (which seriously has to be in contention for the worst episode ever) and unlike TAR25 it did win an Emmy, and TAR27 isn't even half over yet.

[Lantern7]

I know that the Frats/Hippies "feud" sucked . . . but what was so bad about the Germany leg? My memory is very hazy about TAR9.

 

And I liked TAR24, mostly because I never had a problem with Dave. I'm glad he and Conner won.

[SnideAsides]

The Germany leg was the one with both the random trip to Stuttgart just to ride in a Mercedes as someone drove you along a test track and the "find a Travelocity gnome under a giant gnome hat in a random Bavarian field" Road Block, the latter of which was even worse when one of the Detour options was also a random luck thing (smashing stunt bottles), and the elimination of one of the season's few plausible contenders in Wanda and Desiree. Pretty much the one highlight of the leg is that it's the first one ever with a "learn the dance routine" task.

[Vyas]

The same S3 that "could stand to lose a few legs/episodes"? (There's constructive criticism and then there's just solipsistic nitpicking for its own sake.) How about something more current, if any can pass the needlessly arbitrary criteria of "objectivity"?

 

Petty semantics aside, the two twists endured in the eyes of producers on both sides of the border.

 

In the same vein: substitution or not, neither Doha nor Manama made the final cut; more saliently, let it be reiterated that islands played zero part in the "city/digit combos on shipping containers" Finale Memory Challenge.

 

There was no suggestion whatsoever of ratings as regards the introduction of hashtags, and it is the burden of whoever introduced such a fallacious non-sequitur to rescind it henceforth.

 

It is commendable to share the view that S9 fell apart following the first half of its TBC; nonetheless, if the consensus is for some to denigrate S21 for an awful first half even before/during/after the second half aired, then that principle would extend to the current season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Whimsy]

It’s ok to have differing opinions.  You can state your opinion on which was your favorite season of TAR, but it’s not ok to argue why your favorite season is THE BEST SEASON EVA!  Just agree to disagree and move on please.  It's derailing the thread.

 

Thanks and happy posting.

[DB in CMH]

Okay I hope the mods allow this OT reply since the thread isn't some mega-long monster thread.

 

I googled up TAR1 airdates and only got this airtime broadcast schedule for the show:

 

Episode 1 - 9/5/01

Episode 2 - 9/19/01

... ends on -

Episode 13 - 12/13/01

 

Source (scroll half way down page for the schedule):  http://amazingrace.wikia.com/wiki/The_Amazing_Race_1

 

Unless Episode 1 was re-broadcast on 9/12/01 I would say it was not re-broadcast.  And again I remember chatter on the internet as to why it wasn't re-broadcast back in the day.   As well as the show not coming back right away with indications CBS was having second thoughts about broadcasting it at all given the rampant growing "phobia" that the whole world was out to "get" America back then.  Again I could be wrong but endless googling turned up no indication of any re-braodcast including TV Guide archives etc.

 

Sorry again for the OT but everyone loves a good mystery and anyone wanting to help figure it out, well this is all I got.

 

Total dork alert, but I used to follow the ratings closely and have an archive (personal) from way back then. TAR premiered to 11.8 million viewers on September 5th (Wednesday at 9pm), and that episode repeated on September 9th (Sunday at 8pm) to 7.8 million. It next aired September 19 to 10.1 million, repeating September 22 (Saturday at 9pm) to 3.8 million. That was the last time they repeated it, probably likely ever.

 

I also remember the flack the show picked up because of the WTC attacks, specifically for the airport scenes. The country was a very different place for a while. It's kind of amazing (tee hee) that the show, which was on life-support for the first 4 editions, is still here. It wasn't until that fantastic season (best ever, for my money), and airing in the summer, that it finally attracted attention.

Edited October 27, 2015 by DB in CMH

[kdm07]

Okay so I'm doing a re-watch of S17 and I'm on the episode where they go from Norway to Russia (episode 6). I'm hoping someone here can help me with this. What's the name of the classical song they keep playing when they arrive in Russia (as they exit the airport and head for the clue box; before they start the detour)? I want to say it's Tchaikovsky but I'm not sure and it's beginning to drive me nuts. Anyone know?

[ratherbereading]

I started a rewatch of all the seasons (thanks Amazon Prime) and am up to Season 11. (I skipped 8. I refuse to watch the show that never left the North American continent, not even for the Gagnons).

 

One thing struck me. I hate Charla and Mirna orignally in both seasons, but kind of liked them this time around in Season 5. Season 11? Holy crap, Mirna was a shrieking harpy. And Eric and Danielle? Good lord, stop bitching about the yield. Calling other people names because they got to the yield mat before you? Not cheating and not cool. I am not a big fan of the yield, but it was part of the race. Suck it up and deal with it. Hated that they won. Would have loved to have Dustin and Kandace win. Or Charla and Mirna (god forbid) over Eric and Danielle.

[Lantern7]

I have an idea for a project, and I was hoping some of you readers can help. I want to cater to the demographic of YouTube fans whose faves are in TAR28, but who have never watched the show before. I'd like to get them ready as to what to expect before the season is aired. Sadly, most of recent TAR has left me cold, and I have gaps in my memory regarding the show. Does anybody want to assist me?

[kdm07]

Okay so I'm doing a re-watch of S17 and I'm on the episode where they go from Norway to Russia (episode 6). I'm hoping someone here can help me with this. What's the name of the classical song they keep playing when they arrive in Russia (as they exit the airport and head for the clue box; before they start the detour)? I want to say it's Tchaikovsky but I'm not sure and it's beginning to drive me nuts. Anyone know?

 

Answering my own question here: while watching the animated movie Anastasia with my little cousin, I realised that the music is an instrumental version of "A Rumour in St. Petersburg".

[ratherbereading]

Just started Season 24 in my rewatch.

 

I had forgotten the UCLA marching band playing the TAR theme in the opening. Very cool.

 

Oh god, I forgot Leo and Jamal were on this season. They were just so annoying in their original season. It's bad enough when the women try and kiss people, but these guys hugged people without asking (or at least it appeared that way). Several people appeared very uncomfortable during this.

[SnideAsides]

24 is weird. The cast is almost obnoxiously terrible (and is certainly terribly obnoxious) and on top of that the boot order is pretty much the worst possible, but the only individual episodes that are actually bad are the Switzerland leg and the finale?

[TheRabbi]

To be fair, I'm not sure what would make a good boot order with that cast... Ideally Mark and Bopper would have gotten a proper chance to run it again and they would win. I can't think of anyone else I was actually excited to see again. Well, Dave and Connor for sure, but they made me regret that quickly.

But yes, season 24 with the UCLA band is by far my favorite opening starting line ever. So cool.

[Lantern7]

Is there an official record-holder for most title quotes for a given season? According to Wikipedia, Justin has five after ten episodes.

 

ETA: While I'm thinking about it . . . what is the short list for worst seasons ever? Off the top of my head, there's TAR6, TAR11 and TAR26.

[ratherbereading]

For me, worst seasons ever?

TAR 8-never leaving North America? The Weavers? Enough said.

TAR 26-Blind date season. Never again the burning times.

TAR 11-There were actually a lot of teams I loved on this race. Dustin & Kandace, Oswald & Danny? But the win by the hybrid team? Of people I disliked? Ugh.

 

Favorites include

 

TAR 5-very strong field, love the Bowling Moms (if the roadblock rule had been in place, they might have finished better or even won), Colin's "My Ox is Broken" melt down and his eyes of intensity.
TAR 17-First all female team winners (very strong and just women I would love to hang out with). Plus Brooke and Claire (watermelon to the face!) finishing second.

TAR 18-Love me some Cowboys, Mallory & Gary. It was fun revisiting many favorite teams.

 

I'm almost done my rewatch with Season 25. (Not sure if 26 is free or not. Regardless, will not be watching this again since there were no teams I liked much. At least 11 had some great teams, even though I hated the winners)

 

[green]

For me, worst seasons ever?

TAR 11-There were actually a lot of teams I loved on this race. Dustin & Kandace, Oswald & Danny? But the win by the hybrid team? Of people I disliked? Ugh.

...

 At least 11 had some great teams, even though I hated the winners)

 

The secret to enjoying TAR 11 is never ever re-play the final leg.

[TheRabbi]

I'm one of the few who doesn't think 11 is too bad, but I agree with green that you need to skip the final leg, which is the worst final city sequence of all time.  11 had some truly brutally designed legs and tough challenges, and a solid 9 of the 11 teams cast were solid representatives of an "all-star" season.  Of course one of the two that wasn't ended up winning, which puts a bit damper on it.

 

An easy pick for worst ever is 26, and I'm not going to object.  I can't think of any worse of the top of my head.  Even Family Edition has some redeeming qualities and memorable teams.  Season 6 has a pretty bland second half after a devastating elimination order, but I'm not prepared to group it down with 26.  Season 15 and 19 are also a bit dull.

[Vyas]

An easy pick for worst ever is 26, and I'm not going to object.  I can't think of any worse of the top of my head. 

 

Kind of a copout based just on the gimmick: the route was easily the most expansive since S22 (and with more long-haul flights to boot) and the tasks progressed subtly from the easiest leg of all time (Nagano with a choice of "Noodles" for the Detour) to a grueling endgame in South America.

 

In addition, it's the easiest season from which to distance oneself emotionally given the wholly non-family, often pseudo-couple cast (save a certain online fanbase that inexplicably got itself invested in the 3rd placers while simultaneously demonizing the winners beyond all proportion): that kind of light-heartedness is infinitely preferrable to actual toxic ordeals such as S4, S9, S16, and especially S20.

[Ducky]

I have an idea for a project, and I was hoping some of you readers can help. I want to cater to the demographic of YouTube fans whose faves are in TAR28, but who have never watched the show before. I'd like to get them ready as to what to expect before the season is aired. Sadly, most of recent TAR has left me cold, and I have gaps in my memory regarding the show. Does anybody want to assist me?

 

  I don't know if I can help in any way (I'm always on the computer and my google-fu is pretty good...) and since I am bored most days (there's a reason for that...) why not- willing to give it a shot.

[TheRabbi]

It's not a copout whatsoever.  Maybe I worded it poorly, but my pick for worst season is easily 26.  I was just trying to express that it would probably be a popular pick, and I think it's a valid one.  A couple tough challenges in South America near the endgame do not make up for the horrible gimmick, the incredibly boring/horrible first half of the route, and possibly the worst final three ever, at least in terms of blandness and no one to root for (yes, I'm including season 20 in that comparison, as I didn't mind Dave and Rachel).

[Ducky]

To whoever mentioned that The Amazing Race seasons were on Amazon Prime- thank you (I think...lol).  I have Amazon Prime but had forgotten about TAR being a choice.   So now I have my lunch time viewing set!  Just watched season 1 first episode today.... and promptly heard/saw (captions) two of the many famous TAR catchphrases... "That's Namibia...Jackass"  and "Swing you fat bastard!"  LOL

[green]

Kind of a copout based just on the gimmick: the route was easily the most expansive since S22 (and with more long-haul flights to boot) and the tasks progressed subtly from the easiest leg of all time (Nagano with a choice of "Noodles" for the Detour) to a grueling endgame in South America.

 

In addition, it's the easiest season from which to distance oneself emotionally given the wholly non-family, often pseudo-couple cast (save a certain online fanbase that inexplicably got itself invested in the 3rd placers while simultaneously demonizing the winners beyond all proportion): that kind of light-heartedness is infinitely preferrable to actual toxic ordeals such as S4, S9, S16, and especially S20.

 

This was about the "luuuuv connection" season?  Is that what Season 26 was?  If so why on earth would it be a cop out to choose it as the worst season ever.  Especially when it WAS the worst season ever.  Not by inches.  Not by kilometers.  Not by miles.  But by light years.  It is in a black hole all by itself.

 

I didn't like the format/destinations of the Family Edition but at least there were two interesting teams on that Race I loved to watch.  The positive - Mama Paulo and company.  The negative - the Florida trailer trash dressed family.  I got my favs and my villains and enjoyed watching both teams in different ways.  Especially since Mama Paulo would make my all-time top 20 favorite Racers list.

 

So a few Racers can prevent all the other factors sinking a season into a black hole totally.  But horrible teams (I can't even remember any of them except there was a nurse/doctor team that was talked about and psycho-analysed endlessly) that leave no impression on me but "endlessly annoying and all the same" but to hope they depart my screen before they enterd it coupled with the worst "theme" anybody could possible conceive of sunk "the luuuuuuv connection" not just 99% but totally 100%.  (You know I can't even remember who won "the luuuuv connection" season and if I learned their names again it probably wouldn't help me place them either).

 

Ducky, glad you can enjoy those early seasons when it was more AMAZING and less atificial u-turns full.  Hope you enjoy them.

Edited December 1, 2015 by green

[Mrs. P.]

 

The Amazing Race was originally the reality show for people who hated reality shows.  It was a cut above.  But with all these u-turns, double u-turns stuff if just brings the negative and pulls the show down to the same level of the other shows.  it used to be special.  Now it is a show that still entertains to an extent but is a shell of it's former self.

 

I sadly have to agree with this.  TAR was once my favorite show on all of television, with Survivor running a distant second.  That has changed in recent years.

 

For the first time ever, I didn't finish last season.  I didn't care who won and disliked the whole 'Phil at the mat asking about a love connection.'  I came here to find out the winner and remembered not being surprised, but also not caring one whit.

 

I haven't watched last week's episode yet.  I had to make myself watch the week before.  I don't think I'm going to watch any more, unless I read that Justin and Diana have been eliminated.  That team has made this season virtually unwatchable for me, and that makes me very sad.

 

On the other hand - as soon as Survivor's Wednesday night episode is completed, I start eagerly anticipating the next week's offering.  I am loving this season and even though I am spoiled, I still love watching how the whole thing unfolds.

 

As I think about it - the same thing happened to me with Dancing with the Stars.  I used to love it - now I haven't watched at all in 3 or 4 seasons.  It makes me think that Survivor is far and away the most durable of the reality shows, for whatever reason.  The old workhorse can still keep my attention, where others no longer do. 

 

[Bella]

Discuss the show; do not characterize each other's opinions.

[Lantern7]

Prior to tonight's ep, how many times has a team waited out a penalty in the penultimate leg? I think two: Reichen/Chip (TAR4) and Kent/Vyxsin (TAR18).

[Quilt Fairy]

I haven't watched last week's episode yet.  I had to make myself watch the week before.  I don't think I'm going to watch any more, unless I read that Justin and Diana have been eliminated.  That team has made this season virtually unwatchable for me, and that makes me very sad.

x1000. I would definitely nominate S27 as one of the worst seasons ever. Even though I wasn't a fan of the "love connection" in S26 it was more watchable than the current season. Boring tasks, no airport drama, no self-driving, and way too much Justin.

[Supay]

Prior to tonight's ep, how many times has a team waited out a penalty in the penultimate leg? I think two: Reichen/Chip (TAR4) and Kent/Vyxsin (TAR18).

Er, wouldn't that be "penultimate episode" since it's before the Zev & Justin boot in Brazil?

 

Anyhow, barring the handful of teams Marked for Elimination, there's also the case of Flight Time & Big Easy on Season 15.

[Lantern7]

I forgot that Zev & Justin wound up finishing fourth.

 

Trying something new , , , I'm calculating the strengths of the final three teams going into their respective stretch runs. They get three points for each first-place finish, two for second, one for third. I add those up, then divide the sum by the number of elimination legs* times six (that being the amount of points up for grabs in any given leg). Here are the results:

 

.803 TAR20

.750 TAR9

.708 TAR5

.700 TAR7

.682 TAR1

.682 TAR23

.667 TAR8

,667 TAR15

.667 TAR17

.636 TAR25

.636 TAR27

.633 TAR14

.621 TAR26

.600 TAR13

.576 TAR2

.576 TAR3

.576 TAR22

.530 TAR4

.516 TAR12

.516 TAR21

.515 TAR6

.515 TAR18

.500 TAR11

.500 TAR24

.485 TAR16

.485 TAR19

 

(* I didn't factor in the final legs in TAR25 and TAR26)

[BK1978]

This is more of a general comment about the show but is it weird that I remember racers from earlier seasons and I cannot remember any racers from the more recent seasons?  When I was watching the show on Friday I struggled to think who won last season and for the life of me I could not remember until I looked it up on the internet (I cannot believe I forgot Laura she was so hot...).   The only people I remember from last season were Jackie and Jeff and that was because they were on last season of Big Brother.   

[John Seavey]

I will admit to having a soft spot for TAR 26, mainly because I recapped the whole thing for Mightygodking.com and it was the first time I was ever able to do that for a whole season as it aired. I'll freely admit that it's not good, but I was pretty emotionally invested in it because of the effort it took to write about it all.

 

Plus, Hayley and Blair were absolutely fascinating in a trainwreck sort of way. I mean, you could tell from their first scene together that they were two people that shouldn't share an elevator ride, let alone a race around the world, but they were there right up until the last scene and there was almost never a point where they weren't at each other's throats. It was really something else.

 

I started watching with TAR 14, and I've gone back and watched a few episodes here and there on Hulu but haven't consistently gone through whole seasons. While I don't think there've been any seasons I really disliked (Family Edition excepted, I kinda tapped out on that one after realizing I'd have to have the Weavers in my living room right up until the end) I'd say that my favorite was probably TAR 25--everyone in our house was rooting so hard for Amy and Maya, and to see them power through and win it on the memory challenge was a stand up and cheer moment. My least favorite? Of what I've seen, it would probably have been 16 or 19. 16 stands out for the really ugly scene at the Finish Line; my favorite bit in every Race is when everyone comes together at the end to laugh and share their experiences, and to see it turn into a nasty argument was painful. And 19 just was kind of dull, nobody really to root for in the final three and no real suspense.

 

As always, YMMV.

[green]

This is more of a general comment about the show but is it weird that I remember racers from earlier seasons and I cannot remember any racers from the more recent seasons?  When I was watching the show on Friday I struggled to think who won last season and for the life of me I could not remember until I looked it up on the internet (I cannot believe I forgot Laura she was so hot...).   The only people I remember from last season were Jackie and Jeff and that was because they were on last season of Big Brother.   

 

Hey I don't watch Big Brother so the only team I vaguely remember was the bickering doctor and nurse.  And being told a Laura was on the winning team brings back no memory of her or her partner.  Totally lost season for me.

 

And yeah I remember the early seasons better.  If you are in it from the start you remember the show struggling to stay on the air as CBS failed to promote it.  It had a cult like feel in the positive sense of the word.  It still was The AMAZING Race and just not another reality show. 

 

And let's face it.  After about 10 of anything most people can't hold that sort of TV memory trivia in their heads.  Especially when a season like the luuuuuv connection was both a stupid idea and the cast was so poor.

 

The early seasons were "firsts" too.  And there was a far greater sense of innocence and wonder to the show.  The sites they visited were often world icons.  And, the editing and music were way different in that:  (1) The music enhanced the show and didn't drown out conversations or create one after another after another attempts at "over-hyping" tasks like they were the be all and end all.  (2) Thus you could hear conversations.  And the editing kept conversations longer.  You felt like you knew these teams though we always "know" the team the way they are edited of course.

 

But really I think that is a major key.  People were allowed to have fuller conversations editing wise on the earlier seasons.  The rising music of impending doom pounding wall-to-wall "excitment" or whatever was used more sparingly and the wonderful trumpet fanfare of the "Previously On" music that started each episode as Phil re-capped for us set up the feel of the glorious adventure we were about to begin that hour. 

 

And back then the pit stop was to "eat, sleep and mingle" with the other teams.  We saw "downtime" as it were which fleshed them out more.  Just watching someone comb their hair or grab a towel or talk with other teams at the dinner table or whatever made the race more in tune with real life I guess to me.  Sometimes it is the simple things that make people connect as humans.

 

Heck remember on TAR2 when they had half a day's wait for a train in Thailand?  Most of the teams went out to eat and shop together.  And TAR1 where the teams still near the mat all hugged Dave & Margarita good-bye with voiceovers of how nice they were.  The Gutsey Grannies got sweet voiceovers too on TAR2.  The show had "class" that way then.

 

So they knew each other better and there was a great balance of both comradery and competition.  It felt more like a grand adventure like I say and I always hated to see anyone eliminated.  I wanted all the teams to drink in this "adventure of a lifetime."  You could identify with a more human, fleshed-out team more then than these days where they are edited into two-dimensional cardboard cutouts more often than not.  No wonder I can remember the earlier teams way better.

Edited December 8, 2015 by green

[Quilt Fairy]

Just a heads up, guys.  Thanks to our wonderful mods, we now have a separate thread for each season from 1-23 in the Past Seasons sub-forum.

[TheRabbi]

Thank you for the heads up Quilt Fairy.  I will take discussions on individual seasons over there, since I am still working my way through Amazon DVD's.  And we will use this thread for more general show discussion.

 

Very eloquently worded green, especially in regards to the editing, which I agree with tenfold.  There are so many quick cuts now, that it is impossible to get the flow of a conversation, which is why, like you said, the contestants are basically 2D cardboard cutouts now.  I was thinking about this just in last week's episode, when they let the entire scene of Justin and Diana play out in the cab, with no cut for at least 20-30 seconds if I recall.  I immediately thought "Wow, this is the stuff you don't see anymore!"  And it was a welcome addition.

 

So comparing the current season to seasons past, the most obvious omission this year is driving legs.  This is the first season where contestants have not once ever had to drive themselves (not even to LAX in leg 1) (for the record, I'm assuming there will be no driving in the final city, which has only been done once back in s25).  Season 13, to my knowledge, was the only prior season to restrict driving to just one leg (in New Zealand).  And every other race had at least 2.  But to omit driving legs entirely is unacceptable.  It used to be a crucial element to the show, knowing that anywhere from 2-5 legs you were going to have to navigate yourselves and often drive stick.  

 

There can be a couple explanations.  The most obvious possibility is that Ford dropped their sponsorship, which IIRC started around season 19.  The pickup trucks that the drivers drove them through Argentina in leg 3 this year were Ford pickups, but any dialogue mentioning Ford was conspicuously absent, which almost makes you think maybe product placement negotiations broke down at some point between filming and air date.  The other possibility is that it is just getting too expensive.  If they lost Ford, and with ratings that are a shell of their former self, they might just not have the budget to get 10-ish cars on the road there and pay for all the insurance liabilities for every contestant.  But I refuse to accept any excuse.  There's no reason why leg 3 in Argentina they couldn't have driven themselves, or legs 7-8 in Rotterdam/Krakow.

 

Anyways, I still do love the show, but a lot of the memories that green pointed out ring especially true, making me wish the races of yore.

Edited December 9, 2015 by TheRabbi

[Ducky]

I didn't come to TAR until around Season 5 I think it was so had no clue on the prior seasons other than what I read on forums and online... so for me I can pick out/remember more recent racers.  I just started S3 (with the infamous Flo and Zach...) but one thing I also noticed is that 1) any time penalties were always done off screen and applied to the start of the race, not at the end of the leg and shuffling them to the side to wait and 2) almost every eliminated team didn't break down into giant puddles- tears yes, sadness yes but all were grateful and graceful in their exits (to me at least) unlike the more recent (*coughlastweekcough*) display.

 

Some colorful characters, some boring and some "yikes I don't want them on my screen!"

[green]

I didn't come to TAR until around Season 5 I think it was so had no clue on the prior seasons other than what I read on forums and online... so for me I can pick out/remember more recent racers.  I just started S3 (with the infamous Flo and Zach...) but one thing I also noticed is that 1) any time penalties were always done off screen and applied to the start of the race, not at the end of the leg and shuffling them to the side to wait and 2) almost every eliminated team didn't break down into giant puddles- tears yes, sadness yes but all were grateful and graceful in their exits (to me at least) unlike the more recent (*coughlastweekcough*) display.

 

Some colorful characters, some boring and some "yikes I don't want them on my screen!"

 

You may see some of the above in Season 3 yet.  And sobbing doesn't have to be confined to a mat either.

 

Some penalities were added on at the start back then but don't rule out ones at the mat either in those seasons yet.  The departure time ones usually came to production's attention debriefing technical crews etc.  But I assume some minor ones also come into play that way now as well.  We just don't know the exact check in times anymore do they can be added and we will never be the wiser if it doesn't effect the placement position in the Race itself. 

 

Earlier seasons really had a lot more time stamps shown so there was no way to hide even minor time differences between the time of arrival and time of departure.  Now they can hide the minor stuff unless if impacts the drama.

 

Also TAR 5 is still considered Classic TAR so you have seen some seasons from that era.  I'd say the cutoff point for Classic TAR would be when the Family Edition appeared in Season 8 even though I didn't like Season 6 and had a hard time with Season Boston Rob though made better in retrospect now.  And I suppose you could even stretch the definition up through Season 11 since that was All-Stars featuring teams from the earlier seasons.

[John Seavey]

Thank you for the heads up Quilt Fairy.  I will take discussions on individual seasons over there, since I am still working my way through Amazon DVD's.  And we will use this thread for more general show discussion.

 

Very eloquently worded green, especially in regards to the editing, which I agree with tenfold.  There are so many quick cuts now, that it is impossible to get the flow of a conversation, which is why, like you said, the contestants are basically 2D cardboard cutouts now.  I was thinking about this just in last week's episode, when they let the entire scene of Justin and Diana play out in the cab, with no cut for at least 20-30 seconds if I recall.  I immediately thought "Wow, this is the stuff you don't see anymore!"  And it was a welcome addition.

 

So comparing the current season to seasons past, the most obvious omission this year is driving legs.  This is the first season where contestants have not once ever had to drive themselves (not even to LAX in leg 1) (for the record, I'm assuming there will be no driving in the final city, which has only been done once back in s25).  Season 13, to my knowledge, was the only prior season to restrict driving to just one leg (in New Zealand).  And every other race had at least 2.  But to omit driving legs entirely is unacceptable.  It used to be a crucial element to the show, knowing that anywhere from 2-5 legs you were going to have to navigate yourselves and often drive stick.  

 

There can be a couple explanations.  The most obvious possibility is that Ford dropped their sponsorship, which IIRC started around season 19.  The pickup trucks that the drivers drove them through Argentina in leg 3 this year were Ford pickups, but any dialogue mentioning Ford was conspicuously absent, which almost makes you think maybe product placement negotiations broke down at some point between filming and air date.  The other possibility is that it is just getting too expensive.  If they lost Ford, and with ratings that are a shell of their former self, they might just not have the budget to get 10-ish cars on the road there and pay for all the insurance liabilities for every contestant.  But I refuse to accept any excuse.  There's no reason why leg 3 in Argentina they couldn't have driven themselves, or legs 7-8 in Rotterdam/Krakow.

 

Anyways, I still do love the show, but a lot of the memories that green pointed out ring especially true, making me wish the races of yore.

 

Or it could just be that they didn't do that this season. I think it's a mistake to look for a pattern to the way the Race is structured, because one of the key elements of the show is that they want it to be unpredictable. Not just to avoid boring the viewers, but because they want the Racers to believe that every decision they make has the potential to be a game-changer. So they don't put self-driving in every time, because they don't want potential Racers to get used to the idea that they'll have to do some driving and practice stick shift until they can do it in their sleep. They want to be able to spring things on the competitors, and that means having a lot of variability and capriciousness in the way the challenges (even the things we don't necessarily think of as challenges, like navigation and travel between countries) are set up.

 

That gives us moments like Kurt and Bergen abandoning their car by the side of the road, which was one of the few great "OMG What were they _thinking_?" moments of TAR26, because the Racers don't necessarily know what to expect. While I do like the self-driving tasks, and I think they make for great drama, I'm okay with them not being a constant. I don't necessarily want any constants in the Race, apart from the obvious "race around the world" one. :)

[Bella]

I agree with your entire post and especially the last statement, John Seavey. I do understand why some people don't want any tinkering with the show, but I don't mind the experiments. As you note, it keeps the racers guessing. As a rule, I am bored by the unflappable racers who figure out how to play it as a game.

 

It seems that many of us continue to watch this show because of the magic in the first few seasons we viewed, whether we began with Season 1 or Season 25. When that magic wears off, is it because of the show's structure, casting, and tasks, or is it because magic is hard to sustain on a TV show? I suspect it's a combination, but I'm mostly in the "magic is hard to sustain" camp. 

 

YMMV.

[Supay]

With all due respect to John Seavey, all 26 seasons before the current incarnation had at minimum one episode with self-driving out of 13 (Classic to the first All-Stars except Family Edition) / 11 (12 and 13) / 12 (14 to the present plus Family Edition) legs, without including the premieres/finales on domestic US turf.

 

Not since the Dark Age between 21 and 24 a.k.a. the abrupt suspension in a theretofore uninterrupted quota of "one new country per season" has there been such an ominous change to the show.

[SnideAsides]

I definitely think losing the Ford sponsorship (probably due to a combination of the Friday night timeslot not working and the TAR26 teams not having a sufficiently Amazing time with their cars) is the reason there hasn't been any driving this year. Even in the early seasons when driving was more common, there were plenty of times when they made you know everyone was driving a Mercedes or a Toyota. They just didn't hammer you over the head with it like they've done with Ford in recent seasons. There's also the added problem that most legs now are so small-scale in terms of on-the-ground travel that navigation doesn't play much of a role anyway.

 

But even if they can't organise cars for everybody or the course is too small for cars to make sense... like, give everyone a bike and make them navigate themselves, you know?

[Lantern7]

I figured that nobody drove during the final leg because the producers didn't want any road rage-fueled accidents in the stretch run. I can't explain why there hasn't been any driving in TAR27. Knowing Justin, he could probably drive stick with a bag over his head.

[proserpina65]

a promising island-locations theme buried by a sea of recycled tasks to celebrate the anniversary

 

I disagree that the recycled tasks were a bust.  I actually loved that aspect of the season, and took great pleasure in recognizing each callback task.  In fact, I fucking loved Season 25 and absolutely dispute that it was a bust in any way.

Edited December 11, 2015 by proserpina65

[proserpina65]

TAR 8-never leaving North America? The Weavers? Enough said

 

I actually found the Weavers less offensive than I did the Paolos and the eventual winners (the Linzes? I think - I hated them enough that I've tried blocking them out of my mind entirely), but not leaving North America was indeed utter crap, and I never want to watch little kids crying when they get eliminated ever again.

The secret to enjoying TAR 11 is never ever re-play the final leg.

I'd never rewatch anything after Danny & Oswald get eliminated.  I like to pretend that they actually won that season.

Edited December 11, 2015 by proserpina65

[mikewho]

I remember touting the show to friends and family seasons ago. Maybe around the time of the first All-Stars? They said they didn't like it because it was annoying how it was edited to never show one shot for more than two or three seconds, and that between the yelling and the constant loud music, they said, "It never shuts UP!'

[Lantern7]

Going into the finale . . . what are your most/least favorite finales? Here is what I got off the top of my head . . .

 

BEST

 

TAR2 . . . two hours of Tara & Wil treading water, coming back from the dead like good movie monsters do. The only season where a team (Chris & Alex) overtook another (Tara & Wil) in the stretch run. It was my first TARCon, and it might be my most memorable.

 

TAR5 . . . sad farewell to Linda & Karen in the first hour, but it's trumped by Chip & Kim coming from behind to overtake Colin & Christie and Brendon & Nicole. Also, there was the POV binocular shot with a lens cap still on, and Chip trying to deke B&N. "SHUCKS!"

 

TAR7 . . . sucks that Uchenna & Joyce couldn't make it work in real life, but they wound up coming back from being mugged by Phil to overtake the heavily favored Rob & Amber to win.

 

TAR8 . . .  the Weavers didn't win. That was reason to celebrate,regardless of whether the Linzes or Bransens pulled it off. The Linzes wind up becoming the first team to win a race after narrowly avoiding elimination in the first leg.

 

WORST

 

TAR3 . . . basically two hours of Flo packing it in, ending with her and Zach miraculously winning in the final leg. Still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Also: Teri & Ian lucked into second place over the more competent Ken & Gerard, and they wound up getting an invite for TAR11.

 

TAR6 . . . it all hinges on Kris & Jon falling behind the odious Freddy & Kendra. The shot of the two of them kissing while waiting out a train passing has to rate as one of the most heart-breaking images this show has produced. And deep dish pizza as a final obstacle? Boooo. I mean, thank goodness Adam & Rebecca didn't win, but it still sucked.

 

TAR9 . . . I think this was the last finale to last two hours. Basically, it came down to the odious Eric & Jeremy and the "hippies" BJ & Tyler, with Ray & Yolanda nowhere near the front of the pack to give us a happy ending. Eric winds up blowing the final Roadblock, giving the greater of two annoyances a win they didn't deserve. And speaking of Eric . . .

 

TAR11 . . . all I remember is a safe combination thing that reminded me of The Newlywed Game, to the point where you could imagine Charla whacking Mirna over the head with a placard. Eric & Danielle wind up winning their first and only leg in the very end, even though they bickered and trailed throughout most of the race. Also, if Danielle was a bigger beard, she'd be on Rupert Boneham's face.
 

[green]

Latern 7, nice list.  I agree in the main.  I only disagree with TAR8 because I couldn't stand either the Linz or Bransen familes and the worst of the two won.  So that wouldn't make my top finales as a result.

 

I'd sub in instead the finale from Season 1.  Though I felt so bad for Margareta who, at one point near the end, thought they were in the lead and would win.  Of the final three I wanted her and Frank to win though I wished Kevin & Drew were there of course.  But the Guidos in the snow in Alaska was such a funny, feel good moment that will always be remembered.  Also the stirring "take-off" (to avoid copyright infringement) of the "Gladiator" end titles during the running to the mat was totally epic.  And the mat right by the giant globe of the world.  That whole end sequence gave me goose bumps ... and still does.

 

Even so I'd rank TAR2's ending the best too.  No matter how hard they must have tried -- since it makes for great TV I'm sure they have tried -- they have never ever had anywhere remotely as close a race to the final mat as Season 2's.

 

Loved the feel good endings of TAR5 and TAR7 too.  And hated TAR4's ending of course.

 

PS:  Also I think Teri & Ian (who I liked too) didn't get picked over Ken & Gerard for All-Stars as much as Kevin & Drew did.  Both male teams fit into the "funny, all male" team grouping whereas Teri & Ian were more the "older couple" slot.  I liked Ken & Gerard a lot too and would have loved to see both funny male teams make it onto TAR11 and a certain fake "non-dating in real life that pretended to be dating to get on All-Stars" non-former "team" hybrid from the horrible TAR9 cast been left off. 

 

Yeah TAR9 is among my worse too.  Perhaps worse than TAR4 for me since at least TAR4's ending was up in the air until the last 5 minutes and one of the two teams I didn't hate whereas I hated both lead teams in TAR9 to the extent that Flo was like a gentle goddess and "feel good" winner compared to them.

 

Actually I don't mind Flo as much as time goes by.  She is small potatoes compared to some of the Racers that have followed.  She was just the first of that ilk so she stands out in the mind more than those that followed her.  And Zach so deserved to win having to go through the whole Race with her.  Zach is still near the top of my "most talented Racers ever" list in how he managed to win despite her. 

 

So I was okay with TAR3's finale even though I wanted Ken & Gerard to win.  And I liked 5 of the 6 final racers on TAR3 which is a very high quota for a last leg for me.  So I'd not put TAR3 down there and put TAR8 into the bottom instead since I didn't like any of the freaking TWELVE final racers in that season.

Edited December 12, 2015 by green

[Supay]

Among the more recent seasons, competitive/exciting final legs include 15, 21, and 25.

[SnideAsides]

Also the stirring "take-off" (to avoid copyright infringement) of the "Gladiator" end titles during the running to the mat was totally epic.

Definitely better than the fake Top Gun music (it might have been real Top Gun music, given it was a Bruckheimer film?) in TAR4 to celebrate former Air Force member Reichen winning.

 

The best finale definitely has to be TAR3. Gratuitously forcing teams to take an overnight train across Vietnam (the second in as many legs) even though there was an airport right there, and then forcing them to immediately fly to Hawaii? Giving them a sportscar to drive, and then only using it for a "get a blessing" task before making them drive back to the airport? The "Detour" where one task was physically impossible because they had to change the location, forcing Flo to ride a zipline? Sending them to a park overlooking Seattle, and then making them hike downtown to a fountain close enough to the Space Needle that "go to the Space Needle" is about as much help as locals gave, but far enough away that it's still hard to find? The first memory task ever? There are so many dick moves the producers made in that leg, and they're all wonderful. And then the finalists all ended up finishing within about five minutes of each other to boot.

 

For the worst, I'd probably pick TAR16. Three teams I don't care about completing lame tasks, with the result basically set in stone from the moment they leave the airport? No thanks.

[Lantern7]

I disagree. Flo winning TAR3 was enough to sour me on that finale. She must have quit a thousand times in those two legs. And Ken & Gerard wound up finishing third, which is still a huge WTF for me. I wonder what would've happened if Flo & Zach had been eliminated instead of being saved the first time. Even if you eliminate John Vito & Jill for their lack of navigational skills, the final three would be Ken & Gerard, Teri & Ian, and Derek & Drew. That would've been better for audiences.

 

While I'm thinking about it . . . "We have an alliance with Teri and Ian?" "We have an alliance with Teri and Ian." "When did that happen?"

[SnideAsides]

I mean, I think Flo and Zach winning was the worst option of those three for sure, but in terms of the season narrative it makes perfect sense. The one downside to early TAR is they never really do that great a job foreshadowing the winners, but the "Whoever beats the twins gets a prize!" quote followed by Flo being the reason the twins get eliminated and then them later winning the prize is pretty brilliant, and not the sort of thing you'd pick up on a first-watch.

 

Flo and Zach weren't slouches at the actual racing part either. She rocked the one Road Block she actually did and she was pretty good at the travel-skills part of the race, but she's the sort of person who's fun only when they're having fun, you know? And that back half of the race seemed designed to cause Killer Fatigue even more than any other race before or since.

[TheRabbi]

I agree with the love for TAR3's finale.  I was just thinking about this a little while ago, during a recent debate here about why the show is now filmed in about 21-23 days as opposed to the 28-35 of the early seasons.  Besides ditching the 12 hour pit stops to better accommodate flights they want the teams to take, they've also basically gotten rid of the 24-ish hour train rides designed just to induce killer fatigue.  Season 3 was particularly adept at this.  Off the top of my head, there was a day long bus from Mexico City to Cancun, a bus from Cambridge to Aberdeen, a ferry from Spain to Morocco, and as SnideAsides mentioned, 2 day-long train-rides through Vietnam.  Just brutal.  Honestly, the only one of these I can recall in the last 7 seasons or so is a bus ride from Iqique to Santiago in TAR23 (someone may provide another example I'm sure, it's just all I can think of currently).

 

If you're ranking finales, I think you almost have to do it in 2 groups, in TAR1-11 and then 12-27.  The best thing to come out of the first wave of budget cuts the show experienced, was cutting the finale from 2 flights down to 1 (actually, that could also be a reason races are a bit shorter now - 12 legs including a 1-flight finale, vs 13 legs including a 2-flight finale, means its basically 2 full legs shorter now).  Several of those first 11 seasons, since the final city portion is so short, came down to luck of the taxi.  The best finales in the early seasons would probably be season 2, 3, and 5, all of which had nailbiting finishes (I know 5 wasn't that close, but the editors did a good job with what they had).  The worst, no question, are seasons 10 and 11.  Season 10, the entire NYC section takes place in about the last 5 minutes of the show, and features 2 teams you don't care a lick about, and Tyler and James win because their cab has EZ Pass...congrats?  Season 11 was a truly terrible final sequence, but at least had someone to root FOR, as opposed to all teams you felt numb about.

 

With the new finale template of 12 and onward, the best ones would be 12, 13, and 21.  All of these seasons had a pretty close finish, a really well-designed final leg, and great memory challenges.  Speaking of 12 and 13, I enjoyed back when the final legs still had detours.  I understand the budgetary reasons to eventually chop them out (it's rather alarming how many final legs had detours where all 3 took the same option), but it was a nice extra way to allow teams to potentially shuffle order.  Off the top of my head, the same detour choice was chosen in seasons 1, 2 (choice edited out since they all chose the snow-cats), 3, 4, 7, 9 (weather related), 10, 13, and 14 (the choice was edited out since they all chose pig-hauling).  So season 15 they stuck to RB's and team tasks.

 

Anyways, there's really no denying the worst finales of recent memory would be season 24 and probably 22.  Though I will agree season 16 kind of sucked based on the outcome and that the finish was based on the plane seating.

Edited December 14, 2015 by TheRabbi