S26.E02: I Got The Smartest Dude

[peachmangosteen]

To make it more difficult to eat the noodles.

 

Wasn't there a real reason for that though? Like didn't they say something about it being a trend in the restaurants there to cool food? Or was that a joke or something?

[Muffyn]

-Rochelle looks tough; however she's so weak physically and emotionally. "I need a medic"---blah!

That would be the moment when Dr. Muffyn looked at me and said, "You could have hit the ice, broken your nose, and would still keep going without asking for a medic."  Okay, so I might ask him to pop it back in line, but we'd have a race to run.  Then again, we would have been eating noddles.  I can't skate.  Rochelle needs to show not tell on the toughness.  She comes off like a big, brash wimp.  Her partner seems very sweet.  

[LiveFromKevin]

I'm surprised at how many people have commented that they dislike Jackie. I thought she did great at staying positive after her partner struggled with the puzzle box, and seemed pretty upbeat overall (and not in an annoying way, a la Hayley).

 

Honeymoon seems to be over for Kurt and Bergen. Not sure if I like the one that couldn't eat the noodles, seemed kinda bratty in his confessionals and during the task. All other couples seem okay. I feel like I have no idea who Matt and Ashley are, though.

 

The Detour options seemed pretty unbalanced again this week (unless you're Winter Olympians). I get the argument of "well you don't know how far apart each option is", but that's terribly unfair unless the contestants are given some clue. It's one thing for the producers to say "this one's easier, but far away" and "this one may take a while, but it's closer" or even subtly hint that. Because that would make it part of the strategy. In both episode one and episode two Detours, I don't think that was part of the clue, so the tasks (and distances) should've been theoretically comparable (which again, they don't really seem to be unless you're a team of dancers or athletes, and even so, dancers/athletes don't have a similar DISADVANTAGE at identifying one saki bottle or eating noodles). 

[Snickerdoodle]

That would be the moment when Dr. Muffyn looked at me and said, "You could have hit the ice, broken your nose, and would still keep going without asking for a medic."  Okay, so I might ask him to pop it back in line, but we'd have a race to run.  Then again, we would have been eating noddles.  I can't skate.  Rochelle needs to show not tell on the toughness.  She comes off like a big, brash wimp.  Her partner seems very sweet.  

And Rochelle is a Roller Derby girl.  I would think that she's had worse spills in Roller Derby and not asked for a medic.

[selkie]

In addition to the seeming return of Eat/Sleep/Mingle, anyone else see the first part of the FitBit prize and go 'Hey it's like the old days when the teams had to pretend to be excited to win a Kodak Easyshare Camera as a leg victory prime?' Okay, just me then.

[Quilt Fairy]

The puzzlebox RB may have been boring for some, but I thought the drummers were fabulous, and it was authentically old-world Japanese. It brought back memories of something I read or watched about how it takes years of study to go from apprentice to journeyman to master drummer.

 

I've watched this ep again and I'm convinced that it was a blind (or semi-blind) detour. When reading the 'Share' detour aloud there was a line about 'sharing nourishment' which most teams interpreted as an eating task, and the 'Chair' detour mentioned 'an ancient training technique', which could be assumed to have to do with ice if they were instructed to go to an ice-skating complex. But I don't think they had any details that let them choose more wisely.

 

And the first-place prize was the fit-bit stuff, something about a chef preparing meals, and a choice between a year's gym membership or a year of delivered fresh groceries.

[Electruck]

Jenny looked better with her hair in a ponytail. Maybe she had less makeup this ep, too. I still like this team a lot.

Speaking of makeup, Vegas female (Jackie?) should ditch the false eyelashes. They're not doing her any favors.

I loved the unique outfits for each team, particularly Blair's bowler hat and the two bunny knit caps -- too cute! I did not think Hayley was going to get Blair around in time, even with his help. Good for them for sticking with it and getting it done.

I don't think TruckStop guy threw up, he just spat out a mouthful because she fed him too much with the first serving. He asked her not to give him 3/4 of the bowl next time. Or did he vomit later and I (thankfully) missed it?

I agree with other who've mentioned we're missing scenery. But I'm glad I'm not disliking any teams yet.

Edited March 1, 2015 by Electruck

[Way Wes Jr]

I've watched this ep again and I'm convinced that it was a blind (or semi-blind) detour. When reading the 'Share' detour aloud there was a line about 'sharing nourishment' which most teams interpreted as an eating task, and the 'Chair' detour mentioned 'an ancient training technique', which could be assumed to have to do with ice if they were instructed to go to an ice-skating complex. But I don't think they had any details that let them choose more wisely.

 

 

I was wondering if they had to declare their choice, "Share or Chair," before they could open the clue, then travel to the site before they could switch.  

[blackwing]

Blair has absolutely no sense of humour, and he is extremely sensitive about everything.  At the Chair Detour, Hayley commented that she had a hard time, because Blair weighs a lot more than she does.  His immediate reaction:  "Are you calling me fat?"  Well, no.  It is a fact.  He weighs a lot more than she does.  He is a man, he is taller than she is, and the average man tends to have more muscle and weighs more than the average woman.  But of course, he immediately assumes she is being catty.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

File this under the law of unintended consequences, but this season of TAR is giving us something that has very rarely shown up among competitors...opposite sex, heterosexual friendships. That's clearly what Jenny and Jelani already are and I think that's what Laura and Tyler are trending towards. Blair and Hayley only hope they can get to that stage before they're eliminated. The fact that these friendships are evolving on the fly is going to make the season that much more unpredictable. As Bergen and Kurt showed at the puzzle detour, these teams have still only known each other for 3 days and aren't even sure what the proper protocols for how you should cheer or not cheer on a partner at a roadblock...figuring out what buttons to push for motivation purposes, and what buttons not to push is still very much in the discovery phase.

 

I mean if I set the over/under on kisses from the blind dating couples the rest of the season at 1.5, pretty much everybody would bet the under at this point right? Jeff and Jackie might give us one somewhere along the way (although as others upthread have mentioned, if things turn south on any given leg this might be the blind date team outside of Blair and Hayley that goes up in flames over something that might come across tv as something trivial or just an inherent part of the race).

 

Thankfully for Team Tuskegee's sanity post-race, it didn't look like the selfie train fail cost them the race. They struck me as a team that admittedly had little travel experience, had very low expectations of winning or progressing all that far (kind of like the Grateful Dead Beekeepers a whole bunch of season ago)...so it was nice to see them on multiple occasions really take in their surroundings in Japan and enjoy something that might not come back around anytime soon...

Edited March 1, 2015 by PhD-Purgatory15

[possibilities]

I was so glad that Kurt and Bergen were able to say on caamera how creepy it is to be paired with someone who looks like they could be your twin. They really, really do look like that, and with the German-sounding names besides, it's like the show deliberately cast them for maximum creepy twincest effect. The should both get makeovers, designed to differentiate, and see if that helps.

 

I love the lawyer team. If they don't live in the same city, I think it's very wise for them to not even consider going for a romance angle, and just race. I've been in long distance relationships where we started in person and then for whatever reason had to geographically separate, and it was not something I'd seek out on purpose. And the idea of having a time-limited fling with a stranger while running TAR is just ridiculous. FOCUS. RACE.

 

Laura (the blonde who isn't Hayley) looks SO FAMILIAR. She really should get work as a stand in for her lookalike actress.

 

I liked the drumming that accompanied the puzzle box. Also, I have never tried one of those puzzles but now I want to.

 

I wonder if production told the teams that they can't check in to any of the pit stops unless they've taken a selfie somewhere on each leg. I can't imagine any other reason the teams would bleed time doing that boring stupid exercise while racing. And it really is boring to watch. I think this was a miscalculation from production. It's really not fun to watch and it undermines any sense of urgency you would expect to see in a competitive environment.

 

Phil is clearly doing his job the best he can, but it makes him look so stupid when he pokes the teams for deets on whether stuff is steamy between them. What is he, twelve? It's just embarrassing.

 

Urban scenery is never as breathtaking to me as rural, but I do think they are making at least a token effort to showcase Japanese things. The drumming, anyway. I have noticed that Phil gives less background on what is happening than he used to. He could have said something about how fast the bullet trains are, and they used to try to put historical tidbits into the show. But what can he really say about a parking shortage, really?

 

Loved that Jenny wanted to sleep in a coffin style motel. It shows that she knows something about the country, but it also shows a certain spark in her personality that I really enjoy. And I'm still not over that team not only reading the clue but READING IT CAREFULLY in episode 1.

 

I'm not into the saliva of strangers, but I will be happy to spit in the food of anyone who isn't bothered by it. This is a service I provide for free. PM me and I'll even mail you a packet of my spit. Nose pickings and toe jam also available.

[Ducky]

 

I was wondering if they had to declare their choice, "Share or Chair," before they could open the clue, then travel to the site before they could switch.

Not sure but it looked to me like they had to pick one and each choice had its own card.  I can't remember if Rochelle and Mike had to go back to the clue point and get the clue card for Share or not.

[mel31602]

Lilabennet- Phil said in interviews that they did this blind date twist in part so they could cast people who wanted to be on the show but didn't have a partner. So that would also explain why few of them are looking for romance- they just agreed to the twist so they could race around the world and they didn't care if their partner became a lover or just a friend.

[Haleth]

The thing to me is this is the amazing race, the show has never needed gimmicks because the race itself is so awesome. But so far this season, and it's still very young, they haven't played to their strength which is the scenery.  Sit down and open a box, sit down and eat noodles. They could be anywhere, show me Japan. Do something that shows me how beautiful and amazing Japan is.

 

The warriors at the box challenge were amazing.  (Pun)  Wish they had to try to open the boxes while dodging Samurais.  THAT would have been more fun to watch.

I'm surprised at how many people have commented that they dislike Jackie.

 

I'm still trying to sort everyone out.  Is she the Kardashian look alike?  That's enough to make me dislike her and her eyelashes.

 

Good lord, someone forgot to tell CJ and Libby that this was a race.  At least they were good natured about being so far behind and enjoyed their time, but their lackadaisical attitude was ill suited for TAR.  Good news is that we won't have to watch any more footage of them passing wedding related businesses in cabs and hear her begging him to propose.

[shura]

In addition to the seeming return of Eat/Sleep/Mingle, anyone else see the first part of the FitBit prize and go 'Hey it's like the old days when the teams had to pretend to be excited to win a Kodak Easyshare Camera as a leg victory prime?' Okay, just me then.

 

No, me too. Possibly because I have no firsthand experience with FitBIt, but my thought process would have been "So, I won a glorified step-counter? yay..."

[truthaboutluv]

His immediate reaction:  "Are you calling me fat?"

 

 

See I actually thought he was just being funny. After two episodes I have concluded that Blair may just be one of these people who is just sort of awkward in that whatever they say or do just comes off wrong even when they're not even trying to be. I mean don't get me wrong, there's definitely a condescending/superior element about him but I actually think he came across well in the challenge in staying calm and not getting frustrated when they missed the time limit twice.

[Molly by golly]

I have to admit I liked these first two episodes way more than I thought I would, but I hope this is the first and last time they do the dating theme, or any other gimmick. It's not necessary and like someone else above mentioned, if we want a dating show we'll watch a dating show. I've never even seen one episode of one of those types so this won't hold me long if they keep this up.

 

I don't mind Hayley at all, I think she was nervous and hyper, and whether she stays that way or not, I'd take her over that stuffy, stuck up bore fest she got for a partner. Any person who is rude enough to make it that obvious he's not into the person he's with, on camera no less, loses any respect from me.  I'm glad he seems to have improved in this episode and is maybe realizing she's not so far "beneath" him as he was thinking, and in fact may turn out to be a much better racer,  but his attitude at the beginning was a huge turn off.

 

 She reminds me of Anna Farris in a way.

 

Other than him, I pretty much like everybody else so far.   I didn't mind the challenges but I hope this season has more thrilling, scary type tasks like bungee, rappelling, skydiving, etc. I miss those, and if they're running out of ideas, just repeat more from past seasons! Who cares, it's a new set of people.

Edited March 1, 2015 by Molly by golly

[Molly by golly]

Blair has absolutely no sense of humour, and he is extremely sensitive about everything.  At the Chair Detour, Hayley commented that she had a hard time, because Blair weighs a lot more than she does.  His immediate reaction:  "Are you calling me fat?"  Well, no.  It is a fact.  He weighs a lot more than she does.  He is a man, he is taller than she is, and the average man tends to have more muscle and weighs more than the average woman.  But of course, he immediately assumes she is being catty.

I agree. If he'd shown himself to have a sense of humor, I'd assume he was joking with her. He has no sense of humor though, as he proved with his comment that she was "being mean" when she guessed his age at 35 rather than 31.  That's a risk you take when you ask someone how old they think you are! He's obviously very vain and she touched a nerve in both of these incidences.  It's odd to see someone with no personality or sense of fun being cast in a show like this. 

Edited March 1, 2015 by Molly by golly

[ProfCrash]

I laughed when I saw that Libby was opening the box without the drummers. They came out when she was finishing. They were so far behind that they didn't make the challenge more difficult with the drumming.

[Rinaldo]

Also, I have never tried one of those puzzles but now I want to.

They were quite a thing in the US in the 1950s -- most families I knew (including ours) seemed to have one, sitting on the mantel, available for a guest to pick up and try if so inclined. They're really not hard: There's only one bit you can slide at first, and once you've done that it releases exactly one new bit to be movable, and so on. Just be methodical (make sure you're not going backwards in the series and undoing what you already did), and you'll get to the end.

[Zahdii]

I see it as two people who, for whatever reason, ended up on a reality show and have been partnered together by TPTB until they either get tossed or win the prize. 

 

The people who chose them for the show and put them together might have been trying to make a love match by pairing a doctor and a nurse together, or they might have said "Let's put an introvert doctor with an extrovert nurse and see what happens."

 

I don't put much stock into the introductory videos, because it's well known now that production companies require reality show contestants to film some pre-show footage before filming actually starts, and that footage is entirely producer driven.

 

When we see the good doctor in a room that seems to have been filmed in his hospital, we might actually have seen him filming in another location and fed lines from production.

 

Either way, Blair and Haley haven't formed an instant attraction to each other, and Blair does seem to be annoyed by Haley.  But being on The Amazing Race and being constantly filmed, and asked leading questions in their talking heads is going to have a huge impact on them.

 

As the race unfolds, we'll see more of Blair and Haley's true selves.  The stress and the fatigue will insure that.  But because they seem to be so prominently displayed in the show so far, it's very likely that they are eliminated soon.

[djlynch]

Blair has absolutely no sense of humour, and he is extremely sensitive about everything.  At the Chair Detour, Hayley commented that she had a hard time, because Blair weighs a lot more than she does.  His immediate reaction:  "Are you calling me fat?"  Well, no.  It is a fact.  He weighs a lot more than she does.  He is a man, he is taller than she is, and the average man tends to have more muscle and weighs more than the average woman.  But of course, he immediately assumes she is being catty.

 

I'm pretty sure he was joking. I know/am related to a lot of people like him who are deadpan enough that they joke about being offended by something in a similar tone of voice to actually being low-grade offended, but once you get to know them it's usually pretty obvious that when they truly are angry about something, they show it a lot more.

 

I was so glad that Kurt and Bergen were able to say on caamera how creepy it is to be paired with someone who looks like they could be your twin. They really, really do look like that, and with the German-sounding names besides, it's like the show deliberately cast them for maximum creepy twincest effect. The should both get makeovers, designed to differentiate, and see if that helps.

"Boyfriend twins" is a thing that happens often enough that someone decided to give the phenomenon a name. Not everyone is like that, but I have to admit that one of the body types I really go for is basically how I would be built if I had a faster metabolism and/or put more effort into working out and eating right.

[stopeslite]

I don't mind adding an extra gimmick, but I hate when they throw a bunch on at once to see what sticks. It's blind dates! And selfie sticks! And a u-turn right at the beginning! And a date card that gets you extras at the pit stop! And everybody has to wear fitbits! It's too much. :( 

 

The fan was to cool the noodles down as you eat, I think.So they could be served piping-hot but diners wouldn't have to wait forever to eat it. Plus, it's a bit of a schtick for that kind of restaurant to have its thing that makes it stand out, I guess.

[Puffaroo]

After reading the first two threads of this season I think everyone is being a little hard on Hayley. Her voice is not that annoying and the criticism is a little caty. So they don't seem to hit it off? That's not really her fault.

 

I beg to differ:  she needed to SHUT UP every now and then.  Fortunately, she seemed to clue in after a while.

[gator12]

I'm probably bad at reading body language b/c looking at this unair clip of Hayley and Blair, I'm not seeing Blair being turn-off and she's let him speak. http://www.cbs.com/shows/amazing_race/video/Ebf8wORrPvxOK8LYz2ZMyjHPv1GD4suy/the-amazing-race-skating-through/

[Kromm]

Last episode (when there was a big disparity between detours) one poster insisted that the teams are given very detailed descriptions before they choose. 

 

The same can't be true with the roadblocks (where they choose which teammember does it).  Because why would you ever pick Hayley to do the puzzle over Doctor Smartass?  They can't have had more than the vague clue about what it was rather than anything detailed.

 

Also, it seems to me that once again we got very unequal detours.  While not as extreme a difference as last episode, the noodle task seemed FAR easier than the chair one--unless you are an Olympic speed skater, that is. Or conversely are massively incompetent at using chopsticks.

Jackie is getting on my last nerve already.

Really?  Once again I thought she had a really great attitude.  She's kind of a fake tan Kardashian look-alike on the surface, but attitude-wise she's totally the opposite of that. Very positive, kind of sweet, and not either a wimp or a complainer.

Edited March 2, 2015 by Kromm

[susannot]

I love the lawyer team. If they don't live in the same city, I think it's very wise for them to not even consider going for a romance angle, and just race. I've been in long distance relationships where we started in person and then for whatever reason had to geographically separate, and it was not something I'd seek out on purpose. And the idea of having a time-limited fling with a stranger while running TAR is just ridiculous. FOCUS. RACE.

 

Completely agree.  They've already shown themselves to be intelligent rational people so I bet that at some point they had a discussion about the situation,and just deciced to race to win the million dollars. 

 

That said, I do think Jelani was open to the possibilities as at the beginning he said something like "I want to go on record, my partner is hot."

 

Saying that you want to go on record is a totally lawyerly thing to say.

[vousviou]

Lilabennet- Phil said in interviews that they did this blind date twist in part so they could cast people who wanted to be on the show but didn't have a partner. So that would also explain why few of them are looking for romance- they just agreed to the twist so they could race around the world and they didn't care if their partner became a lover or just a friend.

 

I'm not a long-term viewer -- have the teams always been two people who entered together?  (I remember the All-Stars had one team that wasn't due to a last minute medical issue, but that was presented as unusual).

 

I think it would be an interesting twist one season to have all of the teams made up of people who were strangers paired at the last minute -- you could come up with some very interesting results, such as two macho guys on the same team losing because they wouldn't yield to the other, or two people on the same team who were good followers who failed because neither one would take the lead.  If it's been done, was that what happened?

[vousviou]

I don't mind adding an extra gimmick, but I hate when they throw a bunch on at once to see what sticks. It's blind dates! And selfie sticks! And a u-turn right at the beginning! And a date card that gets you extras at the pit stop! And everybody has to wear fitbits! It's too much. :( 

 

It comes across as CBS execs hitting the show with a ton of notes and the poor producers of the show trying to accomodate them.  Or maybe trying to sabotage the execs by showing how the ratings fall compared to the previous season.

[vousviou]

-being a germaphobe, i was grossed out by the "noodle nazi" dipping her chopsticks into everybody's broth

 

 

Was she using the same pair for everyone, or just the same pair for a table?

 

Japanese restaurants tend to be pretty fastidious about being clean, usually more so than in the US, so unless they showed her going from table to table with the same chopsticks, I'd assume she was using a new pair every time she was testing a different team.

 

I suppose if you were one of the blind-matched teams that might be bit weird, but presumably not for the dating couples.  It's definitely less gross than following a water buffalo through a flooded rice patty.

[lilwhitelion]

 

Laura (the blonde who isn't Hayley) looks SO FAMILIAR. She really should get work as a stand in for her lookalike actress.

Possibilities, I posted before that I think Laura's a dead ringer for Amy Adams.  Could that be who you think she looks like?

[etagloh]

 

They could be anywhere, show me Japan. Do something that shows me how beautiful and amazing Japan is.

 

In honesty, taking the train to Nagano in autumn is the best scenery TAR has managed in its Japan legs in a long time. (See: fake 'Japanese game show' tasks in previous visits to Tokyo.) I don't think the setting's a problem this time round. 

 

The conceit is still wearisome, but I think PhD-Purgatory15 is right about how TPTB have unintentionally created well-matched 'opposite sex, heterosexual friendship' teams, which is not something we've seen often on TARs past, and is a really interesting dynamic that casting ought to take note of. My long bet for this one is that a blind date couple with no desire for a sexual relationship will get on gangbusters, work as a fantastic team, win the thing, and TPTB will be faced with the awkward conclusion of celebrating their victory and having to slap some kind of asterisk on it because they didn't decide to get married on the final mat.

 

The selfie stuff is a sponsorship deal with Nokia/Microsoft (Lumia 730 is 'the selfie phone' according to the branding) which is hard to pull off when you're disabling all the features apart from photo and video and 'ability to miss a train'. (I'll be sympathetic to Team Tuskegee: they were so far behind that they were the walking eliminated, and they've probably never been on a train ride to know that trains in Japan leave at the time they say they will.) 

 

The worst bit of it is Creepy Uncle Phil at the Pit Stop. #freePhil

 

Any thoughts on opening titles? The park backdrop looks similar for all of the blind-date couples, and some of the dating ones, while a few of the 'daters' have buildings in the background. I assume they're shot after the Race is over, though there's a hint of greenscreen for a couple of them. I only ask because title shots of teams in past seasons usually show at least a few of them doing something 'theme-y' (medics in scrubs, surfers at beach, etc.) but since there's only one theme this time round ('wuvv, twoo wuvv') we're not seeing that.

Edited March 2, 2015 by etagloh

[millennium]

 

That said, CJ and Libby deserved to lose just for the stupidity earlier in the hour, where they missed their bullet shuttle because they were so busy making a selfie and talking about how they were back in the game or whatever. I can't lie, the selfie fail hashtag did crack me up. 

 

 

Those two should have been gone last week, and would have if Lyda and the pilot guy didn't get U-turned.   How the hell did they ever get cast?   It really sucks, because I'm sure there were people passed by who would have at least made an effort to stay in the race.

[Netfoot]

I have to admit I liked these first two episodes way more than I thought I would, but I hope this is the first and last time they do the dating theme, or any other gimmick.

 

The dating theme has been surprisingly agreeable so far, admitting we only have two episodes to judge by.  And next season, they could have a cast of siblings-only teams, or a cast of parent/child teams, etc.  But I don't know that they'd want to do that.  Dating is different, because:  SEX!!

 

Last episode (when there was a big disparity between detours) one poster insisted that the teams are given very detailed descriptions before they choose. 

 

The same can't be true with the roadblocks (where they choose which teammember does it).

 

The norm for RBs is that they have a short, vague clue to hint at what follows, and have to choose the participant based upon that alone, before reading any more details.  In contrast, Detour clues can be read thoroughly before deciding which option will be pursued.

 

The new "Blind Roadblock" leaves me wondering, since you could pick an option, and Bald-Snark immediately, if the details of your choice sounded unsatisfactory.  I think they do it by giving two vague descriptions, and after you choose, you must travel to the detour site before getting details.  If you are unhappy, you still don't know if the alternative would make you more  unhappy, because you won't get the details of the other half of the Detour unless you travel to that site as well.

 

I'm not usually a fan of new gimicks like Intersection, etc, but the new "Blind Detour" is a pretty good variation on the original, I think.

[millennium]

The 1st Place "Fit Bits" prize seemed really cheap.

 

I would have been expecting a vacation trip, a new car, $5000 each ... instead, they get Fit Bits.  

 

Really lame.

[etagloh]

I would have been expecting a vacation trip, a new car, $5000 each ... instead, they get Fit Bits.  

 

The entire range. That's $600 of kit per person. Add in the cooking classes, gym membership (~$1000), option of a year's groceries. I'd say that's a few thousand each (taxable, of course). It's not Kodak Easyshare territory.

[HappyDancex2]

The DH asked why the controlling doc would let Hayley do the puzzle as well and my guess is that you take the opportunity to let the ladies do the less physical tasks when need be. Hayley seems conflicted to me. She identifies herself as the blonde one twice in the first episode and continues to minimize herself as the ditzy lesser one. Yet she cartoon dyes her hair to fit the image. Frankly she is an accomplished medical professional...if she would embrace her true hair color and omit the put on Barbie voice she could actually learn that she's a pretty smart lady and doesn't need to be blonde to get attention. (Not that all bottle blondes do this but the ones who apologize for it and minimize themselves for it drive me nuts!!)

[TheOriginalDonald]

Being a Derby fan, Snickerdoodle, I agree with you. That being said, pushing the chair involves use of the hands and wrists, so I can't blame Rochelle there.

[ProfCrash]

Hayley is a Pediatric nurse. She is a smart woman. A nursing degree, even one that is the equivalent of an associates degree, requires a great deal of work and study. The vast majority of nurses are RN's and have at minimum, a Bachelor's degree. Many programs require that students take classes in microbiology, anatomy and physiology, chemistry, sociology, psychology, nutrition, human development life span and statistics. A Certified Pediatric Nurse tends to have a Masters in Nursing with a specialized coursework in Pediatrics.

 

IE she is pretty well educated and probably pretty smart.

 

She strikes me as someone very outgoing and excitable but that does not mean she is not smart and not capable.

[tobysmom]

I hope we don't get any more unbalanced Detours. Or maybe it was unbalanced to me because I can't skate. I know teams had problems with the noodles, but it paled to pushing a chair (?!?) on ice. BTW, anybody else find it ironic that a team that sent their opponents on a U-Turn wound up doing both tasks this leg?

 

hee! that is true didn't think of that.  And it's funny that it seems like to the trucker team that it doesn't even dawn on them to do the other detour.  It took the other team coming in and asking if they did the noddle task before I think it even hit them to try it.

 

I agree too that I like that the Date Night thing is random.

 

 

and I cracked up once the #selfiefail came up on screen when I realized they missed their train.  While they were taking the pictures, I was like, they are going to miss their train - and yep, they did :)

Edited March 2, 2015 by tobysmom

[backformore]

The 1st Place "Fit Bits" prize seemed really cheap.

 

I would have been expecting a vacation trip, a new car, $5000 each ... instead, they get Fit Bits.  

 

Really lame.

Every season, some of the first place prizes have been better than others.  The prizes are tied to the sponsors.  It would be awkward to give the usual "vacation for two"  to a team who didn't meet until the race. 

What I didn't understand is the fitbit package.  You get every model?  What could someone possibly do with the whole line of products?  you only use one, to track your steps, you sync it to  your computer and phone.  The rest you'd have to give away. They did also get free groceries and/or cooking classes, which is a pretty cool prize.  

[needschocolate]

I'm not a long-term viewer -- have the teams always been two people who entered together?  (I remember the All-Stars had one team that wasn't due to a last minute medical issue, but that was presented as unusual).

 

I think it would be an interesting twist one season to have all of the teams made up of people who were strangers paired at the last minute -- you could come up with some very interesting results, such as two macho guys on the same team losing because they wouldn't yield to the other, or two people on the same team who were good followers who failed because neither one would take the lead.  If it's been done, was that what happened?

 

I have often thought it would be cool to have a bunch strangers paired up randomly, but I would want them to switch partners every leg, so no one is stuck with the obnoxious guy or the whiny gal the whole time. The last team would be philiminated, then everyone draws names/numbers/something and gets a new partner for the next leg.  They would all start out at the same time.  

 

However, I wouldn't want my idea to replace a season of TAR, I would want it to be an separate show - like a summer show, or a spin-off.  

[vousviou]

What I didn't understand is the fitbit package.  You get every model?  What could someone possibly do with the whole line of products?  you only use one, to track your steps, you sync it to  your computer and phone.  The rest you'd have to give away.

I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the prizes end up being given away or donated for tax reasons.  If you win a vacation to somewhere you don't want to go, it may well end up costing you thousands of dollars in taxes and whatever other costs might not be included.  Even things like cars aren't necessarily a good deal -- if you win a new Ford Focus but you already have a car you like, the taxes and cost of owning the new car can easily exceed its value to you.

[chaifan]

I have often thought it would be cool to have a bunch strangers paired up randomly, but I would want them to switch partners every leg, so no one is stuck with the obnoxious guy or the whiny gal the whole time. The last team would be philiminated, then everyone draws names/numbers/something and gets a new partner for the next leg.  They would all start out at the same time.  

 

However, I wouldn't want my idea to replace a season of TAR, I would want it to be an separate show - like a summer show, or a spin-off.  

 

I also think teams made of strangers would be a good theme, but I'd stick with the same partners for the whole race, because switching up would make it impossible to follow people/teams.  Start with 24 (or is it 22?) people, each has a card with the most basic info - name, age, profession, maybe one fun fact - and then treat it like picking teams for kickball.  Draw numbers for the right to pick first, and let people select their own teammate.  For the people being picked, you have one veto to use to decline being on a team, but after that's up, if you're chosen you're on that team.  It would take a little time in real life, but could be edited down to just a few minutes on screen.  Just don't have any obvious "last picks", aka significantly older, out of shape, etc.  I think it would be interesting to see who people would select, and whether they made the right choice in the end. 

[Jersey Guy 87]

Anybody else feel that Libby & CJ would qualify for an "Unfinished Business" return? They took a selfie at the wrong time, and they wound up akin to having a Charlie Brown moment. It should be interesting how far behind Hayley & Blair they were.

 

 

I think to qualify for unfinished business you have to have done something more memorable than be eliminated in part because you were too busy taking selfies to actually race.  Teams that get eliminated second don't deserve a second chance.

[ProfCrash]

You have a choice between the prize package or the cash value of the prize package. Yes, you have to pay taxes on them.

[AZChristian]

What I didn't understand is the fitbit package.  You get every model?  What could someone possibly do with the whole line of products?  you only use one, to track your steps, you sync it to  your computer and phone.  The rest you'd have to give away.

 

I'm on my third Fitbit . . . have lost two while on vacations.  And I have friends who have laundered them . . . to the detriment of the device.

 

I took part in a corporate health challenge where each participant was given a Fitbit Zip.  So we had two backups.  Now we have one backup, and no extra cases; we had to take the case off one of the extras due breakage of the clip.

 

If they want to give away any extras, I'd take them!

[Pepper Mostly]

"Try to make progress."  Gee, Blair, thanks for the encouragement.

 

"Noodle Nazi".  LOL

 

For a truck stop girl, Rochelle is really whiny.

 

The greeter at the pit stop was awesome.

Rochelle isn't a truck stop girl, though. She's an engineer, who does roller derby as a hobby. Their hook is that they're an "odd couple" I guess. I just thought she was tired and frustrated. I was glad to see her partner persuade her to switch. I like him a lot--he's very calm.

 

Loving the lawyers and the Olympians are cute. I continue to like Hayley but dislike Blair. Star of the episode? The cute accessories they got at the ice rink. Whenever they get accessories to put on for a task I always think "I would totally swipe that".

[lilabennet]

I have often thought it would be cool to have a bunch strangers paired up randomly, but I would want them to switch partners every leg, so no one is stuck with the obnoxious guy or the whiny gal the whole time. The last team would be philiminated, then everyone draws names/numbers/something and gets a new partner for the next leg.  They would all start out at the same time.  

 

However, I wouldn't want my idea to replace a season of TAR, I would want it to be an separate show - like a summer show, or a spin-off.  

 

 

I also think teams made of strangers would be a good theme, but I'd stick with the same partners for the whole race, because switching up would make it impossible to follow people/teams.  Start with 24 (or is it 22?) people, each has a card with the most basic info - name, age, profession, maybe one fun fact - and then treat it like picking teams for kickball.  Draw numbers for the right to pick first, and let people select their own teammate.  For the people being picked, you have one veto to use to decline being on a team, but after that's up, if you're chosen you're on that team.  It would take a little time in real life, but could be edited down to just a few minutes on screen.  Just don't have any obvious "last picks", aka significantly older, out of shape, etc.  I think it would be interesting to see who people would select, and whether they made the right choice in the end. 

I think both of these ideas might be interesting.  If we can assume that they will continue to mess with the TAR formula, then it would be nice if they would choose a theme that is less lame than "dating".  I proposed a battle of the sexes theme in the speculation thread and I still think that would be cool too.

[chaifan]

If they do the "dating" angle, or any type of matching up unknown people as teams, I think they need to introduce the "bump" card.  It would be awarded from an individual challenge (not team) in the first leg, and the person who wins it would have the ability to bump (switch places with) someone from another team at any point in the game.  Heading to the mat with the last place dread looming?  Play the bump, and switch places with the player of your choice on the first place team.  (Has to be played before final 3, of course.)