Race To Escape - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

A place to discuss particular episodes, arcs and moments from Race to Escape.

[Quilt Fairy]

Every summer it seems like there's one interesting treasure hunt/escape/puzzle show and this year it looks like Race to Escape is it. The only episode I've seen in it's entirety so far is the Chinese Restaurant, but I really like the premise of the show, as described in this press release:

Two groups of strangers. Two identical rooms. One goal: GET OUT! In Science Channel's psychological game show RACE TO ESCAPE, hosted by Jimmy Pardo, contestants are armed with only their minds and knowledge as they race against the clock and an opposing team to solve puzzles and unravel cryptic clues hidden inside themed escape rooms. On the other side of the door is a cash prize of $25,000, and as the clock ticks away, so does the cash. Find out what happens when RACE TO ESCAPE premieres Saturday, July 25 at 10PM ET/PT.

Each episode of RACE TO ESCAPE features an entirely different setting, ranging from a 1960s Barbershop complete with barber chairs and sinks, to an ornately decorated Chinese restaurant. However, all the rooms have two things in common: no windows and a single door with five giant locks, each of which can only be opened by cracking the code contained in the clues. The two teams will have one hour to race against each other and solve five different puzzles and challenges to win the prize.

 

From the one episode I've seen, it seems like some of the puzzles are damn hard: the one with the flower vases I would have never gotten and both teams had to pay to get the answer to that one. I do wish that there was a graduated system of answer clues ranging from a little hint to a bigger hint to the answer with a graduated cost. To flat out get the answer takes away from the suspense IMO. 

 

I like that it's strictly brain teasers and there's no imminent physical threat like water flooding the room or the walls moving in. I think the thread of losing money as each minute passes and racing against another team is more than enough to keep the teams motivated.

[blackwing]

I will check this out.  I'm going to have to see if I even have "The Science Channel".

 

I really liked the concept of "The Great Escape" from several years ago, but I guess it fared poorly with viewers.

[Quilt Fairy]

If you have Discovery and A&E, you probably have the Science Channel.

 

Which one was The Great Escape? I don't remember the titles, but 2 I liked in the last few years (that each only lasted one season) were the one with Steve Valentine on that creepy estate ( it's suddenly come back to me that that one was called Estate of Panic) and another one that had 4 teams of 2 trying to get out of a different setup - one week it was an industrial facility, another week it was an abandoned mental hospital - and in the last challenge they were racing towards a locked box of cash.

Edited August 6, 2015 by Quilt Fairy

[mansonlamps]

I watched the first two episodes after I heard of it when the host was interviewed on my local radio station. I would have never heard of it otherwise. I can't imagine how all these zillions of shows find an audience when the odds of people even hearing of them are so slim.

Anyway I liked it pretty much. Agree that different levels of hints would be more interesting and I never ever would have gotten the vase thing in the Chinese restaurant episode.

[blackwing]

Which one was The Great Escape? I don't remember the titles, but 2 I liked in the last few years (that each only lasted one season) were the one with Steve Valentine on that creepy estate ( it's suddenly come back to me that that one was called Estate of Panic) and another one that had 4 teams of 2 trying to get out of a different setup - one week it was an industrial facility, another week it was an abandoned mental hospital - and in the last challenge they were racing towards a locked box of cash.

"The Great Escape" was the second one you described.  Three teams of two, wearing different colours (the red team, the green team, the blue team) and the setup was always some different locale.  Produced by the same team that does Amazing Race.  I enjoyed it a lot and was sorry to see it get cancelled.

 

So I've watched one episode of this series so far, "The Explorer's Study".  I really enjoyed it.  Although it's frustrating to me how idiotic some of these people are.  I wanted to throw things at my TV when the one team saw the XII for the cuckoo clock and started inputting 1011 and 1110 into the machine.  And then with adding up the numbers for that typewriter code.  Seems like people tend to overthink things too much.

 

Another puzzle show I miss a lot is "Whodunnit".  I loathed the winner intensely, but the concept was fantastic.

[dgpolo]

Yes! I was hoping someone would start a thread for this! I've been checking back since it started, I even looked into starting one myself but creating the actual threads intimidated me:( so thank you whoever did this.

 

ETA: the one that got me last week was the huge black numbers on the wall of the maze that everyone overlooked for so long, even as one girl kept saying 'it has to be somewhere that we just were'

Edited August 9, 2015 by dgpolo

[breezy424]

I really do enjoy this show but, darn, it gives me such anxiety.....

[dgpolo]

If this show makes it I'll be interested to see the teams that come on -after- watching the show. How seeing how other teams overlooked clues or entered too many bad codes or got distracted by something would help them. I think they would at least learn to look up more.

[Quilt Fairy]

I think it's pretty clear at this point that if you have 4 numbers but no clear order, those probably aren't the right 4 numbers. Also if you only have 3 numbers, don't just add zero to make it 4.

 

Teams seem way too anxious to use the codebreaker and it's such a huge price, tonight's 'winners' didn't even win any money!  

Edited August 9, 2015 by Quilt Fairy

[dgpolo]

I think it's pretty clear at this point that if you have 4 numbers but no clear order, those probably aren't the right 4 numbers. Also if you only have 3 numbers, don't just add zero to make it 4.

 

Quilt Fairy, exactly the kind of thing I was thinking of when I said any teams coming after the show airs will at least have these kind of things as a base to build on.

[mansonlamps]

I know that they are under pressure, but to think the show would give them four numbers and expect the team to figure out what order to enter them in when they get locked out after three tries is just ludicrous. But the one team tried it again and again, so frustrating to watch.

[sleepyjean]

I like this show a lot, although I also support the idea of graduated clues. I think the clues are too lengthy sometimes with going though too many convoluted steps to get to the code. (see the alabama license plates, turn up the thermostat, see the black light, get the poster, read the message, kick the drum, read the message, follow the instructions, and on and on.) I wish they'd trial run some of this because after a while it gets boring watching the people spin their wheels.

 

I wish they'd start out with more money. $25,000 split three ways isn't much of a prize, and they don't even get that much.

Edited August 9, 2015 by sleepyjean

[blackwing]

ETA: the one that got me last week was the huge black numbers on the wall of the maze that everyone overlooked for so long, even as one girl kept saying 'it has to be somewhere that we just were'

Yes, "The Chinese Restaurant", that drove me nuts.  I think it's always easy for us to criticise people on TV for being stupid (Wheel of Fortune is a classic example), and to think "if I were on the show I wouldn't be doing such stupid things" without considering the "pressure of being on TV" etc.  But still.   The two people that weren't blindfolded were doing practically nothing but staring at that maze the entire time.  I noticed the numbers immediately.  How could they not have?

[Quilt Fairy]

We never did see the maze from their point of view, which was blocked by a large plant, and 2 people moving back and forth and waving their arms. And at that point looking for a number wasn't the answer, they were trying to free their teammates from the maze. So initially at least I give them a pass on that.

Edited August 10, 2015 by Quilt Fairy

[SnideAsides]

But even then, those people could stand up a little bit to get around the plant, and once one teammate was free they should have at least seen the two numbers from their half of the maze. And that's assuming the freed player didn't immediately remove their blindfold and see it.

 

I realise this is a pretty low-budget show, but I wish it was more plausible that a team could win a decent amount of money. I know the maximum prize is $25,000, but between the cash drain starting so early, the first puzzle typically taking about five minutes to get through even if you immediately know what you're doing (and they never do), and at least one element later on being so unintuitive that teams are pretty much forced to buy the answer (for example, rubbing the chalk on the pool table), I don't see any team ever winning more than $15,000. And when you're dividing that among three people...

[blackwing]

For the Chinese Restaurant maze, I would have assumed that they at least would have noticed the huge black number 3.  It was really obvious.  And once they knew they were looking for a number, it took them a long time wandering around the room before anyone noticed it.

 

Watched the Bar episode last night,  I'd like to think that I would have noticed the blacklight turning on (it was right above the thermostat) and looked for something black that fit with the Alabama licence plate clue.  But I think covering the pool table in chalk was ridiculously difficult to figure out.  How were they even supposed to figure that out?  They had the configuration of the balls on the side of the table.  There were so many numbers there.  I suppose they could have put chalk on the cues, played a game and then noticed that the chalk was leaving weird marks on the table.  But still.  There could have been at least another clue on the chalk.  Like maybe calling it "sidewalk chalk" and saying "rub me".

 

I agree that the teams should start with more money.  I guess they are doing it for the love of the game and just to "win" but it does seem poor that there's almost no chance of winning a significant prize.

 

Have there only been three episodes?  Chinese Restaurant, Explorer's Study and Bar?  If so, I am caught up.

[Quilt Fairy]

Yes, just the 3.

 

The only way to determine that there was something 'off' with the pool table was to roll the balls on it. One team noticed this, but they thought that the balls were not round. Then they noticed something different with the table, but didn't make a connection to use the chalk. I agree that seems a stretch to connect those 2 things together.

 

ETA: Found a link to a review: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/race-escape-review-decent-entertainment-article-1.2301002

I enjoyed the title:" Decent entertainment, more payoff for you than for the contestants".

Edited August 13, 2015 by Quilt Fairy

[dgpolo]

Well, I think that was the best I've seen a team work and the worst I've seen a team...attempt. I really though the Red team was still going to be shackled when the other team got out. How much of 'let's totally ignore the keys we can see' can one team do? And then blaming the guy who can't use his hands for not popping the balloons? Really bad.

[Quilt Fairy]

Yes, the schoolroom episode was the best and also the most painful to watch. The blue team was THE example of how a team should work together. They didn't even use a codebreaker, and IIRC every other team in every other episode has used at least one. The red team might have had a chance if the 'puzzle expert'  had not hijacked them at the beginning.

 

And as good as the blue team was, they still only won $17K. The Science channel needs to up the prize money, or have separate amount just for winning.

[mansonlamps]

Finally an episode in which none of the puzzles was nearly impossible. Good job blue team. Puzzle expert on red team derailed any momentum they might have achieved right from the outset, they never had a chance. I would blame him and his arrogance, but the others went along so it was a full team fail.

[Trip]

Agreed, that was a great episode.  It's a pleasure watching a smart team work together and not make any serious mistakes.  (And, of course, a pleasure to watch a know-it-all on the other team get his comeuppance.)  Also, all the puzzles made sense, with no real red herrings like the pool table that had a specific arrangement of pool balls shown on the side for absolutely no reason.

 

[dgpolo]

Yes, I think the hardest was the musical notes and they managed to work around that by just using the bit they worked out and guessing the rest.

[blackwing]

Good episode.  I absolutely loved seeing "Puzzle Master" Bob and "Natural Born Genius" Yoffi completely fail on the first puzzle.  Bob was an asswipe when he blamed Yoffi and just threw a stack of paper at him and said "it's you".

 

Blue team did work well together, although I feel like their team was completely dominated by Light Blue Shirt guy.  I don't recall one significant thing the girl did, apart from find the stuffed lamb, and I just finished watching the episode.  

 

This show annoys me to some extent because I feel like every week, each of the six people seems to believe that they are the Smartest Person in the Room.  I particularly disliked how Light Blue Shirt had to loudly proclaim when he thought he should "get credit" for the cockroach and the Mary Had a Little Lamb.  Does it matter?  They were supposed to work as a team.  It shouldn't matter who solved it.  I'm surprised he didn't claim "credit" for finding the big red ball.

Edited August 17, 2015 by blackwing

[SnideAsides]

It was so much fun watching that team lose so catastrophically, especially since it was by far the easiest set of puzzles we've seen. Nothing really stuck out as impossible (but the tile puzzle + "these letters are musical notes if you read them from this grid in the right order!" came close), but at the same time... finishing with over 20 minutes left, without taking any hints, and without ever getting locked out, and with the other team also making quick progress once they freed themselves? This week was too easy. Which I guess suits the room theme, but still, you know? A few little tweaks - for example, something to make the science fair part a bit less "follow these written instructions" - would have made this one the right difficulty.
 

It was still a better episode than the Chinese restaurant though.

[Kromm]

Jimmy Pardo is the part of this show I don't get. The only reason to employ a comedian is to let him joke and interact with people.  Pardo in a room alone, and mostly being factual/serious?  What a waste.  How boring. I mean I get where he's SUPPOSED to be joking, but it's mostly exasperation, explanation, and narrative, not comedy.  He's barely trying, IMO.

 

Given that we KNOW he's actually literally next door to them (unless the part with them encountering him at the end is faked on another set), I don't get why they don't have him pop up on a video screen inside the puzzle area to taunt the contestants. That seems like the natural use of him.

 

I do like the puzzle solutions that are right in people's faces that they fail to see (like the "1438" code in the maze in the Chinese Restaurant").  Even if Pardo isn't bringing the comedy much, those kinds of situations can.  Also the discrepancies between how people describe themselves and their actions.  That can be funny too.

Good episode.  I absolutely loved seeing "Puzzle Master" Bob and "Natural Born Genius" Yoffi completely fail on the first puzzle.  Bob was an asswipe when he blamed Yoffi and just threw a stack of paper at him and said "it's you".

Bob might be a perfectly nice fellow in real life, and maybe not even a bad thinker, but man... he's a calcified thinker. I'm sure the show's off-screen psychologists/game theory people have a fancy term for that they could feed to Jimmy Pardo to explain. I can't help but think of the saying about how "Insanity is repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results". By that standard, Bob is insane. Edited August 17, 2015 by Kromm

[blackwing]

Jimmy Pardo is the part of this show I don't get. The only reason to employ a comedian is to let him joke and interact with people.  Pardo in a room alone, and mostly being factual/serious?  What a waste.  How boring. I mean I get where he's SUPPOSED to be joking, but it's mostly exasperation, explanation, and narrative, not comedy.  He's barely trying, IMO.

 

Given that we KNOW he's actually literally next door to them (unless the part with them encountering him at the end is faked on another set), I don't get why they don't have him pop up on a video screen inside the puzzle area to taunt the contestants. That seems like the natural use of him.

 

I do like the puzzle solutions that are right in people's faces that they fail to see (like the "1438" code in the maze in the Chinese Restaurant").  Even if Pardo isn't bringing the comedy much, those kinds of situations can.  Also the discrepancies between how people describe themselves and their actions.  That can be funny too.

Bob might be a perfectly nice fellow in real life, and maybe not even a bad thinker, but man... he's a calcified thinker. I'm sure the show's off-screen psychologists/game theory people have a fancy term for that they could feed to Jimmy Pardo to explain. I can't help but think of the saying about how "Insanity is repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results". By that standard, Bob is insane.

He's obviously being fed all the science information.  I wouldn't be at all surprised if all of his bits are taped after the fact.  He stands there at the end and the teams come out.  Then they tape his science bits and comments and make it look like he's actually saying the things in real time.  Of course, he could have an earpiece and someone feeds him lines to say instantly, but it seems too smooth.  Like when a team makes a mistake and the camera freezes and zooms in and goes black and white.  That kind of thing can only be done in editing.

 

I wanted some sort of acknowledgement from Bob that he was wrong.  I thought it was hilarious that he was throwing these de-stuffed animal shells that would have gone a lot farther had they actually still had stuffing in them.

[Twilight Man]

The blue team was THE example of how a team should work together. They didn't even use a codebreaker, and IIRC every other team in every other episode has used at least one.

Consider what happens when some sports teams start to "rout" an opponent.

In baseball, the leading team keeps the starting pitcher in the game clear to the end, regardless if he's starting to allow more hits in the final two innings. The pitcher also starts to ignore the runner(s) on base, and just focus more on the batter.

In football, the starting QB (and a few other key players) are told to sit on the bench to avoid injury, and the defense sometimes tends to ease up, to allow the offense some more time off the field.

 

The blue team had solved three of the puzzles before the red team had solved their first.

After a while, they clearly began to feel that this was a "rout", and didn't believe they needed to rush at all.

[Quilt Fairy]

Consider what happens when some sports teams start to "rout" an opponent.

In baseball, the leading team keeps the starting pitcher in the game clear to the end, regardless if he's starting to allow more hits in the final two innings. The pitcher also starts to ignore the runner(s) on base, and just focus more on the batter.

In football, the starting QB (and a few other key players) are told to sit on the bench to avoid injury, and the defense sometimes tends to ease up, to allow the offense some more time off the field.

 

The blue team had solved three of the puzzles before the red team had solved their first.

After a while, they clearly began to feel that this was a "rout", and didn't believe they needed to rush at all.

Your analogy works in the sense that the Blue team did work as a team and built up a momentum. They were able to bounce ideas off one another and generally acted as equals. But I don't agree that they saw it as a rout. Maybe their lead helped them be a little less frantic, but no matter what the other team does, every extra minute it takes to get the answer costs you money.

[sleepyjean]

I particularly disliked how Light Blue Shirt had to loudly proclaim when he thought he should "get credit" for the cockroach and the Mary Had a Little Lamb.  Does it matter?

 

This bothered me so much, even though he was instrumental in solving most of the clues. He must do this in his daily life. People who make a competition out out every little thing and crow about their little wins (even when nobody else even knew it was a contest to begin with) are so annoying. ("I got to the door first, I get credit!" "Mom liked my gift best, I get credit!" "I found a closer parking spot than you did. I get credit!")

 

Bob might be a perfectly nice fellow in real life, and maybe not even a bad thinker, but man... he's a calcified thinker.

He was dead certain he was right. Not a hint of doubt in his mind. It kind of fascinating in a way, his refusal to consider anything that wasn't his idea.

 

It was so much fun watching that team lose so catastrophically, especially since it was by far the easiest set of puzzles we've seen.

It was fun...until it wasn't fun. Once they were SO far behind, there was really no contest, and at that point the show got a little boring.

 

The only reason to employ a comedian is to let him joke and interact with people.

He's a comedian? I had no idea. Certainly wouldn't have figured that out from this show.

 

He stands there at the end and the teams come out. 

He also gets to dramatically throw the switch to start the game. Don't forget about that!

I would like to have a switch like that to turn the lights on in my house.

[Kromm]

He's a comedian? I had no idea. Certainly wouldn't have figured that out from this show.

Yup. That's what I meant. I'm not even saying he's a great comedian, but what talent he DOES have is wasted with this non-interactive format.

 

Here's his website by the way: http://jimmypardo.com 

 

Note the very top. The first word on his entire website is "Comedian". 

 

Here are his stand-up comedy dates: http://jimmypardo.com/tour.html

 

Admittedly a few times per month doesn't sound like a lot, but when you actively are shooting a TV show (unless the production run of this show is done already), I suppose this low number of dates isn't that unusual (since he has to travel all over the country for them).

 

He also has a well known podcast called "Never Not Funny".  Which is ironic since that contradicts his performance on this show. Where he's for the most part not funny.

[BellaLugosi]

Jimmy has also hosted things before. He is a comedian, but he's not supposed to be trying to be hilarious in this job, just an interesting host.

 

He's actually one of the funniest guys in the world.  I first heard him on an episode of his podcast. I listened because Jon Hamm was on, and I ended up as a huge fan of Jimmy.  

 

He doesn't do a lot of standup dates because he used to work on Conan as the warmup, but since moved into development with Conan's company. He also has a wife and young son and he'd rather be home with them than on the road. And he tapes the podcast 2 days a week. He does some local LA shows that aren't usually listed on his website. 

 

As you can tell, I'm a huge fan of the guy. He's not only funny, but a quality human being.  I watched the show because he was involved, but I do love it. I'm so happy that more people get to see him do what he loves. He's a huge game show fan. 

 

I'm assuming in Season 1, there was some sort of open call in the LA area. I recognized a few contestants as bit actors, comedians and podcasters. (Jimmy had nothing to do with casting, though one of the losing contestants was a guest on his podcast 8 or 9 years ago) 

 

(sorry for the gushing!)

Edited August 21, 2015 by BellaLugosi

[blackwing]

I thought the Auto Shop episode was the weakest one so far.  The puzzles were largely uninteresting and relatively simple compared to puzzles on other episodes.  The only one remotely challenging was the spray paint one.  They also weren't very fun to watch.  While that key through the pipe maze was a cool concept, it wasn't particularly interesting watching them push it through with a broom.  Also not fun?  Watching them sift through paper looking for someone's name.

 

There's only one episode left?  I'm sad, I've really liked this series.

[Quilt Fairy]

Yeah, I was strangely under-whelmed as well. Both teams seemed to be working reasonably well together, no one went off on a stupid tangent, but they still couldn't work out the puzzles.

 

One thing occurred to me last night: I agree that $25K is a small prize since it probably will be reduced and then divided by 3, but wouldn't you think they'd at least start with an amount that was divisible by 3?

Edited August 23, 2015 by Quilt Fairy

[mansonlamps]

I like the idea of the show better than the actual show for some reason. I really don't care for the host. Maybe he's a terrific comedian, but I don't care for him in this role.

[SnideAsides]

Watching it now, I'm getting the distinct impression this episode was the pilot.

[dgpolo]

One thing I didn't quite get, when they were trying to get the key around the pipes and things the girl mentioned standing on the counter? but then someone said something about not being able to do that? was there a sign or something or just a rule they'd been told? I also wondered if they'd been told that (for example) the girl couldn't get up on one of the guys shoulders to guide the key? insurance purposes maybe?

[SnideAsides]

There were signs on the counters that specifically told them not to stand on it. (I don't get why none of them tried the step ladder that they'd already been using to get in and out of the car, though.)

[blackwing]

I believe they said that the ladder was bolted to the ground and couldn't be moved.

[Quilt Fairy]

Watching it now, I'm getting the distinct impression this episode was the pilot.

I hadn't thought of it, but that seems possible because there's just something different about this episode. The first half of each puzzle was reasonably hard, but in the second half where they get the code, they were always given the code straight up, all 4 digits in the right order.

[dgpolo]

When have they ever been given the 4 digit code NOT in order? as long as they figured out the clue correctly I believe the code was given in order.

[SnideAsides]

Not even that so much, but the stages seemed much shorter than they usually are (two weeks ago in the bar, the third part was "find the Alabama plates, turn up the thermostat, find the blacklight, put the fire poster underneath it, kick a hole in the drum, find the song numbers on the jukebox", this week it was "use the provided blacklight on the black spray can, spray it on the green bonnet") and it felt like there was a lot more of the host than there has been in the past.

 

I could be wrong, but to me it seems as if they filmed this episode, realised they were going to struggle to get a full episode out of the footage unless they made the puzzles harder and more time consuming (as well as all of the host segments explaining the puzzles to us before the teams got to them, I also noticed a scene shown out of order when the red team had 41 minutes on their clock after the cash drain had already started), and then compensated a little bit too much. If I had to guess, I'd suspect they filmed this room first, then the school, then the restaurant, then the study, then the bar.

[Kromm]

Yeah, I was strangely under-whelmed as well. Both teams seemed to be working reasonably well together, no one went off on a stupid tangent, but they still couldn't work out the puzzles.

 

One thing occurred to me last night: I agree that $25K is a small prize since it probably will be reduced and then divided by 3, but wouldn't you think they'd at least start with an amount that was divisible by 3?

So if some team managed to get 100% of the money, they'd either be screwing them each out of 1/3rd of a cent each, or be giving them a bonus of 2/3rd of a cent each. I think that's survivable, and I'm sure 25,000 was mostly used because that "25" numbering (and all multiples of that, including those of 50 and 75) is what people are used to seeing as a prize calculation. We're trained as a society I think to think that's a good amount--due no doubt to us splitting things by default off of 100 into quarters. I'm sure the psychologists who feed Pardo information probably even know the name for whatever is behind that.

Edited August 24, 2015 by Kromm

[Quilt Fairy]

When have they ever been given the 4 digit code NOT in order? as long as they figured out the clue correctly I believe the code was given in order.

In the Chinese restaurant they had to pull the screens down to the correct level (provided by the amount of water in the vases) and then count the number of flowers showing on each screen, and that was the code. Compare that to solve the spare tire clue, unscrew the spare tire, and there's a slip with the 4 numbers. No comparison, IMO.

 

ETA: It's not about being screwed out of 1/3 of a cent. I don't think $25K resonates with people any more or less than say, $30K. Then the host can say "They each have a chance of winning $10,000!" which is easier to understand than "They each have a chance of winning $8, 333.33". And that was my point.

Edited August 24, 2015 by Quilt Fairy

[Kromm]

The Chinese Screen task was just impossible. I have a feeling if you locked someone in that room for real and gave them a month they still wouldn't solve that. There are too many logic leaps you have to make.

 

One mode of thinking it seems you have to engage in a lot with this show (and I suppose people who see these current episodes might have a better chance if they go on a future season) is to look for things that look like other things.  It would be interesting to catalogue how often the show has used this.  So you have to notice that the lines on the vases look vaguely sort of like the lines on the wall.  THEN you need to make the second logic leap that the number of them varies on the vases. Then you need to make the THIRD logic leap that you can vary the bars on the wall by blocking them with the screens (not an easy leap to make at all). Then and only then do you need to connect back to what was probably your initial logic leap--that the number of flowers on the screens is the answer--so that's a fourth logic leap (because having dismissed that idea up front when it didn't work the new leap is that you need to apply it again).

 

That's a lot of leaps for one timed puzzle.

[blackwing]

I agree that the codes here were so straight forward.  Push the key through the pipe maze, unlock the tool chest, and there's the code.  Spray paint on the green hood, and there's the code.  Start the car, there's the code.  For the Classroom one, they had to find the rebuses in the lids of the desk, solve the rebus, flip the desks over, arrange the gum to form numbers, then go back to the game box to find the correct order of the numbers.

 

The whole thing just seemed so easy.  Guy is locked in a car.  Oh look, there's a matching coloured key right on a chain.  The unlocking task seemed so much easier than others.  Like the blindfolded Chinese Restaurant pole maze.

 

If this was indeed the first episode filmed, they should have aired it first.  I think the newness of it would still have attracted us to the point where we would watch subsequent episodes.  Then we'd find the next episodes even more cool.

[BellaLugosi]

If they are aired out of order, I can see why they didn't air this one first. The others had a more exciting, down to the wire ending. 

[sleepyjean]

It does make sense that they're showing these out of order. The auto shop episode was pretty weak. I don't know if I would've watched more than one episode if that had been the first one.

[mansonlamps]

The Barbershop one was painful to watch. First, the red team was so incredibly inept, they had the first clue and all three of them disregarded it. Even though it was wrong, the one woman's idea of trying the numbers corresponding to the letters of "lamp" was a million percent more logical than constantly punching in random numbers which is pretty much all they did. But, nope, the guy, who never had one useful idea, just nixed it and that was that. How did they possibly get on the show?

Then the blue team uses two $5,000 clues when the red team hadn't even solved a single puzzle. Why?!! At least the self professed "smartest guy in the room" did pretty well. It's always embarrassing when someone like that then proceeds to be useless.

Was that the last episode? When I just discovered the online contest?

Edited August 30, 2015 by mansonlamps

[dgpolo]

Yeah, it was one thing when they were just ignoring the 'capes' but another when they finally looked at them, spelled out LAMP and then totally ignored them! They truly misunderstood the instructions. I'm sure there had to be some kind of instruction about solving CLUES that would lead to 4 digit CODES, right?

I did enjoy that they brought the blue team in to rub it in at how bad they were but I think it would have been better if, instead of starting with the lamp and then having the red team ask- but how did you know it was the lamp and the blue team showing them the capes, it could have been the other way around. Lay the capes out to show the word LAMP, have the red team say, yeah we saw that- then point to the lamp, turn it on and show the numbers.

 

Given how badly they ignored the word LAMP I don't think they would have fared well in the rest of the challenges. What would they have done with BOB? for instance.

This reinforces my thoughts that a 2nd season will have advantages for it's players. Knowing that they must follow clues until they end in a 4 digit code, knowing they can't just keep punching in random numbers that they find around the room etc. Of course that could also mean that the clues will be more difficult and that they might incorporate decoy clues or something?

 

In one of the background videos on the Science Channel site they talk about making a concerted effort to REMOVE anything on the items used that might be construed as a clue when it isn't. Those video's are pretty interesting. You can find them here under Behind Race to Escape, there are 6 of them, only a few minutes long each.

 

http://www.sciencechannel.com/tv-shows/race-to-escape/