Total Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Race - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

A place to discuss particular episodes, arcs and moments from the show's run.

[Donny Ketchum]

Well, it's great that a forum for this show has been created!  We're already five episodes in, but I like the show a lot.  Don, while he seems to have his douche-y moments, is still a lot nicer guy than Chris.  And just like Chris seems like a parody of Jeff Probst from Survivor, Don looks like a near-perfect parody of Phil Keoghan from TAR.  He's got the eyebrow pop Phil does, for one thing, and dresses the same way he does.  Only thing he has that Phil doesn't is a tendency to not hold back against teams he clearly doesn't like.  Phil holds back his dislike for teams and only expresses it in interviews.  Or at least hints at it.

 

One thing I like about this show is that there is more shuffling in the ranks than there is in TAR.  Yeah, part of it is the animated take on the show, so they have writers to move everyone's positions around.  There's no one or two teams dominating the race (there are strong and weak ones, but even the weaker ones get higher finishes, unlike the predictably low finishes the underdog teams get on TAR).

 

The one thing I don't love is the skipping of several teams' arrivals.  We see the first- and second-place teams arrive, and then just pictures of most of the other teams before they show the bottom group of teams check in.  I'd rather see their arrivals and reactions.  Then again, TAR is currently montaging team arrivals, too, so maybe they're on to something here.

 

Anyway, the cast is pretty good and diverse, though eighteen teams leaves plenty of room for several teams being under the radar in each episode.  I'm actually impressed that the show didn't go the route of the original TD series by only casting sixteen-year-olds.  The cast is mostly teens, but there are some twenty-somethings in the cast.  There is also an older woman, three older men, and, to hit the other extreme, even a prepubescent kid!  So nice age diversity!

 

I like a good number of the teams.  In fact, there's probably really only one I can't stand right now.  I'm generally a pundit for all-female teams, so I like Kelly & Taylor (the mother daughter who were probably named after the Melrose Place character of the same name), Emma & Kitty (the Asian sisters, with the untrusting, overachieving older sister and the sweet, fun-loving younger sister who wears her hair like a Japanese schoolgirl), Laurie & Miles (the vegans), and especially Sanders & MacArthur (the police cadets).  I also liked Mary & Ellody (the geniuses), but they're gone now.

 

There are six coed teams, and of them all, I think my favorite of them is Tom & Jen (the fashion bloggers).  But I also like Ennui & Crimson (the Goths), Carrie & Devin (the best friends, though she clearly wants to be more, even though he is involved with what sounds like a very crappy girlfriend back home), Jacques & Josee (the ice dancers, whom I think might be the villains of the season with their fake-ass smiles), and Ryan & Stephanie (the black dating couple that is so in love, despite being together for only two months, and her being way too intense for her own good at times).  I did like Leonard & Tammy (the LARPers), for the most part, even though Leonard clearly learned nothing from his time on Pahkitew Island and got eliminated again over magic that didn't exist.

 

There are seven all-male teams, and of them, I'd say my favorite of them is Dwayne & Junior (the father and son), though from what little we're allowed to see of them, I also enjoy Rock & Spud (the rockers, though one clearly contributes more than the other).  I'm also a fan of Jay & Mickey (the Adversity Twins, though they probably won't last too much longer), Owen & Noah (nice to see two TD contestants on the show, though we'll see how long they last), and Geoff & Brody (it'll be interesting to see Geoff without Bridgette since we got to see Bridgette without Geoff in TDWT).  I also liked Gerry & Pete (the tennis rivals), but they're gone now.  I absolutely cannot stand Lorenzo & Chet (the stepbrothers), though.  Just like on TAR, teams who bicker and fight like babies are not fun to watch in any way.  And they do so even more immaturely than teams on TAR.

 

So to start out the actual episodes, so far, I've liked the locations.  A nice first half of the first leg in Canada with a visit to the CN Tower, whatever that is.  The teams either go to the top via stairs or via elevator in an Either-Or, the equivalent of TAR's Detours.  It was then off to Morocco for an All-In, something both team members do, like a Route Info task in TAR.  The Botch or Watch task of eating soups made of spices picked out by the teams work like Roadblocks in TAR, and only one team member does them.  This task was mostly uneventful, other than watching one racer be so desperate for water, he drinks down camel drool!  (Barf!)  Carrie & Devin took the first win through amazing teamwork, while Leonard & Tammy's need to use magic every time resulted in them being booted first.

 

Paris comes next, and the first task here is to have the team member who didn't do the Botch and Watch in Morocco do the one here by drawing a caricature of his or her partner.  (I like that they're forced to alternate on these tasks.  On TAR, one person might do a string of Roadblocks before the other person might do one.)  Then, it's off to the catacombs of Paris (are there catacombs there?) to find a way out leading to large cheese wheels, which must be sailed to the Chill Zone (the equivalent of the Pit Stop) at the Louvre.  Sanders & MacArthur take the win here, while Owen & Noah incur a penalty that nearly eliminates them.  But they survive, and Gerry & Pete take their leave due to taxi troubles and a lack of physical strength in getting to the Chill Zone in time.

 

Next up is the Mediterranean, where the teams have to swim with sharks and get travel tips (the equivalent of clues in TAR) off the dorsal fins of these sharks.  Then, they must build sandcastles resembling the Palace of Versailles before riding jetskis to the Chill Zone in Iceland.  Jacques & Josee take the gold (something they want to do to make up for taking silver in the Olympics), while serious overthinking and overcomplicating things results in Mary & Ellody taking the loss without even reaching the Chill Zone.  Like they said, geniuses aren't always as smart as they think they are.

 

The next challenge (the equivalent of a leg in TAR) is a run through Iceland.  The teams must first memorize an Icelandic saying before then choosing an Either-Or between eating an Icelandic Thanksgiving feast or finding a fossil in ice.  Ennui & Crimson come out of the woodwork after hanging near the back of the pack and dominate the challenge, coming in first using their knowledge of Icelandic culture to memorize the sayiing right away and then plowing their way through the feast.  Dwayne & Junior fall behind early on due to Dwayne's inability to remember the saying, and are only saved through Junior remembering it later, and then being lucky to get the fossil that Laurie & Miles found when they stupidly put thanking the universe over trying to get it to the Chill Zone.  Kelly & Taylor incur a penalty when Kelly goes back to hear the phrase after they barely botch it, but Taylor refuses to go with her.  They barely overcome it.  Laurie & Miles find themselves in last place after then having to go back to eat the feast, even though they hate meat.  They then find out it's a non-elimination checkpoint, and that they didn't have to eat the meat.  But unlike TAR, there's no penalty imposed upon them.

 

So now we're at the present.  Can't wait to hear any thoughts about this.

Edited September 13, 2015 by Donny Ketchum

[Donny Ketchum]

So episode six took the teams to Brazil.

 

Once there, the teams had to face a Botch or Watch, in which one member of each team had to stick their hands into a sack in which some deadly ants were lurking to get a travel tip, which only Taylor avoided by simply blowing it out.  Some carelessness on Jay & Mickey's behalf results in Laurie's face getting bloated on ant bites.  Ennui clearly felt pain, but blew it off like it was nothing.  And Spud didn't register a thing.  Other teams' efforts were either not as spectacular or not shown as often.

 

The teams then have to get across a wide ravine to reach a hoard of coconuts, either by swinging it or stepping across a fallen tree.  Then, they'd have to crack open coconuts for their next travel tips.  About the highlight there was Jacques & Josee breaking coconuts with travel tips inside on Owen's face, and then next to Dwayne & Junior.  Ah, but their status as the villain team was all but confirmed when, out of desperation, Josee tackled Dwayne to try and get the travel tip, and when that didn't work, Jacques tried to attack Junior to get it.  Yep.  He tried to attack a little boy.  Not cool!  But Junior was thankfully saved when Josee tried to bean him with a coconut, but hit Jacques instead.  And it contained a travel tip, as well, so they could move on.

 

The next task was an All-In, and in this one, they had to put together feathered costumes for Carnivale.  Somehow, Jacques & Josee, despite ending up behind from the coconuts, jumped right toward the front of the group.  Other teams did well, too, with only Sanders & MacArthur faltering when MacArthur made a costume that was far too simple twice.  And Ennui & Crimson got through despite using darker colors.

 

Laurie & Miles arrived at the Chill Zone first, despite a lot of factors against them.  But at the All-In, only Miles had made the costume due to Laurie being unable to see all that well.  Nonetheless, she was supposed to have helped in some way with at least one component of it.  The penalty was for thirty minutes.  Easy to beat, right?  Well . . . not so much.  For one thing, Jacques & Josee managed to take first place despite being on the later-arriving flight and having the bad luck they did at the coconuts.  Ennui & Crimson were a close second, so they continued doing well after winning the Iceland challenge.  The other teams kept trickling into the Chill Zone during the Vegans' penalty until it was just down to their final seconds of said penalty and Rock & Spud.  It looked like the Rockers wouldn't make it, at first . . . but then, Spud suddenly got a kick in the pants when his ant bites started hurting, and he and Rock ran the rest of the way to the Chill Zone and checked in just in the nick of time to beat out the penalty.  So Laurie & Miles were eliminated, meaning that the second straight women's team was booted.

 

So far, I still like all of the teams except for Lorenzo & Chet.  I don't know if they'll ever stop fighting.  And I do wish that Kelly would be an actual mother and shut Taylor's brattiness down.  But other than that, this cast is pretty damn good.

[Christina]

Cartoon Network finally agreed that I could watch this On Demand. It was almost as frustrating as watching Amazing Race online, but with much less annoying commercials, that want to play every time you push pause.

 

I really enjoyed it. It seemed to nail The Amazing Race as far as the team reactions, tasks, locations, etc. I laughed several times, and rewound to rewatch Don's reaction to the Goth's coming in first so that I could laugh again. The script is just great, the voice actors are great, and the animation is great.  This show is great!

 

Right now I'm rooting for Sanders and McArthur (the Police Cadets) to come in number one, because I love those two together, followed by the Adversity Twins, Mickey and Jay. They will probably be gone next, but I'd love to see them go far, like Brent and Sean Sweeney in this years TAR Canada. Those two have really embodied the spirit of the race, and I would enjoy it if they went that way with Mickey and Jay.

[Donny Ketchum]

Cartoon Network finally agreed that I could watch this On Demand. It was almost as frustrating as watching Amazing Race online, but with much less annoying commercials, that want to play every time you push pause.

 

I really enjoyed it. It seemed to nail The Amazing Race as far as the team reactions, tasks, locations, etc. I laughed several times, and rewound to rewatch Don's reaction to the Goth's coming in first so that I could laugh again. The script is just great, the voice actors are great, and the animation is great.  This show is great!

 

Right now I'm rooting for Sanders and McArthur (the Police Cadets) to come in number one, because I love those two together, followed by the Adversity Twins, Mickey and Jay. They will probably be gone next, but I'd love to see them go far, like Brent and Sean Sweeney in this years TAR Canada. Those two have really embodied the spirit of the race, and I would enjoy it if they went that way with Mickey and Jay.

@Christina, would you say this is better or worse than the original series?  Because I think it's on the road to being substantially better. :)

[Lantern7]

I had TDI as background noise on and off. I figure that I should be more versed in the TDI-verse to get the complete picture. From what I gathered, this is basically The Challenge minus the booze and sex. And it's Canadian. How does it compare to TARCanada?

 

Saw parts of the Transylvania episode. Could totally see how TAR inspired this season. I hope Bert & Elise are tickled by this. And Phil.

 

ETA: I just realized . . . Kent & Vyxsin were eliminated from TAR18 while waiting out a penalty. You think the goth kids were inspired by those two?

 

ETA2: Didn't realize that CN was airing the episodes at 7:30 until tonight. I got the second ep on DVR. Saw a little bit of it. I can imagine Bert or Elise looking at the LARPers and screaming, "SONOFABITCH!!!!! I knew we were forgetting a key demographic!!!"

[Donny Ketchum]

I've only just caught up with Monday's episode.  So sorry to see Tom & Jen go.  But fighting over who should get credit for their blog really distracted them too much.  Even worse, it kept Ryan & Stephanie in, and while I like Ryan, Stephanie is starting to get to be too much.

ETA2: Didn't realize that CN was airing the episodes at 7:30 until tonight. I got the second ep on DVR. Saw a little bit of it. I can imagine Bert or Elise looking at the LARPers and screaming, "SONOFABITCH!!!!! I knew we were forgetting a key demographic!!!"

I'd imagine any LARPers brought on to the real show would be smart enough to know that magic doesn't really exist.  Unlike Leonard & Tammy.

[Lantern7]

You're right. Also, given the number of costumes Racers find themselves in, TAR can be considered a LARP show in itself.

 

Found out that I can watch the episodes On Demand. Wound up seeing the first episode. Can't believe I was thrilled to see the race start in Toronto (where I've been four times) and specifically the CN Tower (where I've been twice). Nitpick: isn't the CN Tower an actual tower with no stairs? And  since when is Toronto the capital of North America?!? The outdoor walk is totally a thing, though, albeit with safety features beyond a flimsy guard rail.

 

Also, it looks like I misspoke about this being like The Challenge. I thought there would be more TDI alumni. So far, I count three: Noah the smug, Owen the nice fat guy, and the surfer dude that also wears a cowboy hat. I don't know . . . because Canada, I guess.

[Christina]

This is my first Total Drama show so I can't compare it to the original. I saw it mentioned in The Amazing Race forum and decided to check it out. I watch On Demand and just finished the episode where my twin favorites leave.

 

I loved the dating couple deciding to hate each other and then finding out they were still in, the Goths losing their make-up, and I absolutely squealed with delight when a Dalek (from Doctor Who) appeared to serve the tennis balls.  This show is just good fun.

 

TAR Canada is going on right now. It seems that they only fly to places that Air Canada flies, which limits the out-of-country tasks. They also don't seem to edit in the fighting as much as the US version, and this cartoon does. I remember one married couple snapping at each other in the India heat, but mostly the teams are shown to be nice to each other.

[Lantern7]

Caught the Dubai episode. Dalek serving up tennis balls at deadly speeds? Inspired. More than makes up for Noah & Owen doing window washing. I mean, Owen on a rickety bench suspended waaaaaaaaay up in the air? It's like a Roadblock task that Big Easy couldn't perform because he was too darn big.

[Donny Ketchum]

So the Hawaii episode.  I was amused by the ring diving.  That was actually a fun challenge.  I was impressed by Stephanie fending off the shark that attacked her and Kitty.  Very Courtney-like of her.  Too bad it cost her the ring.

 

Jay & Mickey are even allergic to orchids?  Oy.

 

MacArthur truly is a guy's girl.  She likes to belch and fart, while Sanders wants no part of either.

 

So Kelly finally tells Taylor that she's not the special snowflake her father's let her think she is all her life, and she's ready to fall apart.

 

Junior has great strength to carry his father across hot coals.  Now, that's a strong kid!

 

Jacques & Josee are faltering now that Josee's lost her lucky rabbit's foot.  Instead, they're getting bad luck from a Hawaiian lava rock.

 

Noah & Owen are racing harder now, and Noah's fallen for Emma, which Kitty has noticed.

 

Kitty has also noticed that Carrie likes Devin!  But Carrie fails epically in confessing her feelings to him.

 

Ennui & Crimson have to have everything dark, don't they?

 

And Ryan & Stephanie's honeymoon phase is over . . . just as they get saved by a non-elimination point.

 

The Dubai episode:

 

So Owen and Kitty want to try and get Noah and Emma together.  So far, they seem well on their way.

 

Dwayne wants to align with Kelly & Taylor . . . but Junior, after observing them the whole race, is like, "Hell no!"  And Dwayne experiences why not firsthand when, after rightly telling Kelly that she gives Taylor no boundaries or discipline, she splashes him in the face and smacks him.  Dwayne backs off the alliance idea, and Junior is thrilled.

 

Ryan & Stephanie are now falling apart.  I knew they would at one point when their entire intro was about how in love they supposedly were.

 

Jay & Mickey actually do well, by accident, at a task.

 

Lorenzo & Chet continue fighting like babies, even to the point where everyone else is now noticing.  Also, Chet's kind of a bully toward other teams.

 

Carrie struggles with playing tennis with a robot while Devin at least does decently.

 

And Kelly finally has it out with how Taylor treats her.  But they finally come to an agreement that as long as Kelly doesn't embarrass Taylor, she'll let her mother hang out with her.  That's enough for Kelly.

 

And Emma & Kitty finish first, with Owen & Noah right behind!  Jay & Mickey come in third, with Jacques & Josee (especially Josee) spazzing out over coming in fourth, for the first time not finishing in the top three!  (Can you all believe it took until episode nine for them to finish out of the top three?!)

 

After other teams trickle into the Chill Zone, it all comes down to Carrie & Devin and Kelly & Taylor, and despite Kelly & Taylor arriving at the Gold Souk first, they take the time to go shopping, allowing Carrie & Devin to finish ahead of them.  Kelly & Taylor are then eliminated.

 

The all-female teams are kind dropping like flies.  Just like the real show.  We had five, and now there are only two left -- Sanders & MacArthur and Emma & Kitty.  Meanwhile, the all-male teams still have yet to take any hits but one.  There are still six of them left.  Writers, it's time for one or two to go.  My vote is Rock & Spud since they barely show up and thus have no storyline.

 

So, @Lantern7, you've never said anything yet.  Who do you like?  And don't like?

[Lantern7]

I'm away from home at the moment, but I am DVRing the Beijing episode. I might make motivational posters comparing the teams to noted TAR duos. For instance, the dating couple reminds me of Karyn & Lenny from TAR1. The cadets? That's easy . . . Art & JJ. As for Owen & Noah . . . I want to say Rob & Amber based on overexposure, but I don't know if I want to be that mean. Also, Surfers = Surfers (TAR25) in terms of being completely chill, as opposed to having faith in God.

 

ETA: Goths do NOT equate to Kynt/Kent and Vyxsin, because we're dealing with two distinct subsections of goth.

[Free]

As for Owen & Noah . . . I want to say Rob & Amber based on overexposure, but I don't know if I want to be that mean.

 

That seems accurate though, Owen was already overexposed in the first 2 seasons and Noah got turned into the designated lovesick fool for this season.

[NJ RadioGuy]

Also found this show courtesy of the main TAR thread, and man did they do a good job. Still just on episode 2 so it'll be a while before I catch up and I'm trying to avoid spoilers. A little too over-the-top in spots but they got the flavour of TAR just right and the teams really do mimic a few real-life contestants, or at least they get the stereotypes mostly right.

 

Without spoilers, are there any direct or obvious shout-outs to famous tasks from the main show, and do they hew closely to the other TAR staples, like U-turns, NELs, etc?

 

p.s. I dare anybody to catch a flight to Morocco from Toronto Island airport :)

[Donny Ketchum]

So the Beijing episode:

 

I found Noah's attempts at wooing Emma amusing, as well as Owen and Kitty's frustrations with how badly they were playing things.

 

Hey.  Jay & Mickey finished third on the Dubai leg.  How did they end up with the last four teams en route to China?!

 

Josee still doesn't realize that her lava rock is bringing her and Jacques bad luck, I see.

 

I don't know how Devin doesn't see that Carrie has the hots for him.  Seems like everyone else around them does.  I did like Carrie averting Devin's gaze so she could pump her fists at the camera during their confessional, though.  And I did like him encouraging her through the eating challenge.  But even so, she would be a better girlfriend for him than this Shelley would.

 

Ryan & Stephanie totally hate each other now.  Yet their mutual hatred drives them right into a win.  Crazy.

 

It was hinted at in Hawaii, but it's now on display here.  Brody is totally crushing on MacArthur, much to Geoff and Sanders's surprise.

 

Dwayne has to feel embarrassed right now.  He and Junior got stuck with the last group because he had to go to the bathroom before getting their flight, and then he's in a delirious state because of scorpion stings, forcing Junior to coax him through the rest of the leg while he's in said delirious state.  Junior's one strong, determined kid, and he's not even in his teens yet!

 

So this is the most we see of Rock & Spud.  Rock tries to motivate Spud with these chocolate pork snacks to finally get them up in the ranks and out of last.  It does get Spud moving, but it doesn't get them out of last.  And in the end, Spud gets them penalized when, in his sugar high, he does the Botch and Watch that Rock is supposed to do.  It's irrelevant because they come in last, anyway, but fortunately for them, it's a non-elimination episode, so they're still in it.  Honestly, they're the only team left with no real storyline, so they have to go in tomorrow's episode, right?  They have to.  I don't want an animated version of Andrew & Dan, Brian & Ericka, or Josh & Brent and see a cockroach team stick around while other, stronger, more deserving teams get tossed in favor of them.  Besides, the show needs to start trimming down the all-male teams.  Nearly halfway done, and we still have six of them in it!

 

Without spoilers, are there any direct or obvious shout-outs to famous tasks from the main show, and do they hew closely to the other TAR staples, like U-turns, NELs, etc?

There are no Yields or U-Turns, but there are NELs.  But they're treated like the ones of seasons one through four of TAR in that there is no non-elimination penalty.  No mugging of money (since the teams don't seem to have them, anyway), no mugging of possessions, no being marked for elimination, and no Speed Bumps.  Just being told they're still in it, and that's that.  And with twenty-five episodes leading up to the finale and likely only three teams making it to the end, that leaves room for fifteen elimination episodes and ten non-elimination episodes.  We've had four non-eliminations thus far (that saved Gerry & Pete in Canada, Laurie & Miles in Iceland, Ryan & Stephanie in Hawaii, and, most recently, Rock & Spud in China), as well as six eliminations (Leonard & Tammy in Morocco, Gerry & Pete in France, Mary & Ellody in the Mediterranean, Laurie & Miles in Brazil, Tom & Jen in Romania, and, most recently, Kelly & Taylor in Dubai).

 

All-Ins are the equivalent to Route Infos in that the teams must have both members complete the tasks.  Either-Ors are the equivalent of Detours in that the teams must choose between two tasks.  Botch and Watches are the equivalent of Roadblocks in that one member of each team must perform the task.  But unlike TAR, this show forces the teams to have their members take turns, which I think would be a nice change for TAR to implement.  It would prevent laziness from showing up in weaker team members.

Edited September 24, 2015 by Donny Ketchum

[Lantern7]

Caught the Finland episode last night. Can't remember TAR going there, because I can only remember so much. Saunas and air guitaring? Sure . . . why not? I'm guessing that there's weather-resistant makeup for goths in real life, and Crimson & Ennui  wouldn't have their faces and wigs fall off. Poor bastards. Oh, and Spud actually performs in a big way, taking himself and Rock to the top of the leaderboard. They're totally James & Abba, because I'm lazy.

 

Anybody want to make a parallel for the departed Adversity Twins? I'm thinking Karli & Kami from TAR5, in the sense that their great weakness was having half a brain between them. Or maybe Andrew & Dan, for sheer helplessness. Also . . . is it me, or does Junior have Bieber hair? I'd write that off as this being a Canadian show.

[Donny Ketchum]

Caught the Finland episode last night. Can't remember TAR going there, because I can only remember so much.

They went there in season ten.  They also had a rock task there, among other things.  The Cho Brothers, Erwin & Godwin, were eliminated there.  So far, it's the only visit they've made there.

 

So Spud finally performs and gets himself and Rock into first place after being in last place in the last episode.  But if anything could take them out in the future, it could be Spud's potential to go for any dare he's given.

 

Ennui & Crimson don't look half-bad without their makeup.  But after they got over the horror of losing it and just seeing themselves for who they are under it, they got right back to business.  I'm a bit shocked that they've been together three years without seeing each other under the makeup.

 

I wonder if Jacques & Josee are going to quit to send the Hawaiian lava rock back to Hawaii?

 

Ryan & Stephanie totally hate each other, yet they're going to remain in the race with each other?  Um . . . okay.

 

This episode was pretty light on most of the teams.  Seems like a lot of it surrounded the Owen & Noah/Emma & Kitty drama and Ennui & Crimson's drama, as well as Rock & Spud's rising underdog storyline.  Other than that, I heard some things from MacArthur, Junior, Carrie, and Devin, but not many others.

 

I was a little sad to lose Jay & Mickey.  With six men's teams left, though, we were due to finally lose another one.  And I'm glad that Emma at least felt bad that her trick basically eliminated them.

 

Well, now we wait out the weekend before the race goes on.

Edited September 24, 2015 by Donny Ketchum

[Lantern7]

Heads up: the show is going to have new episodes at 7:30 p.m. Also, we can think of the show more along the lines of TAR because eleven teams are left. Having eighteen teams would be a logistical nightmare. That's why it works better as a cartoon.

 

ETA: TAR went to Victoria Falls at least once, right? I'm amazed the Ice Dancers weren't detained for breaking into the friggin' cockpit of the plane. I know, it's a cartoon, real life stuff shouldn't be applied . . . but how funny would it have been for them to get eliminated while in jail? Anyway, they manage to barely finish last, which was a feat given their Helsinki-Hawaii-Zimbabwe route, but they're saved by a non-elimination leg. In other news, Junior has chest hair. As in, a singular hair. Okay, then. I'm willing to bet the Rockers would be next out, because I reckon we've gotten enough from them. Also, Spud probably wouldn't realize it until 2-3 legs later. 

[Lantern7]

Well, it looks like the Ice Dancers are the official villains of the show. I'd compare them to Team Guido, but I think there was more to Joe & Bill behind the surface. Also, the Ice Dancers don't have a cute mascot like Loki the Goth Bunny.

 

Wasn't surprised by the Rockers' dismissal. Was caught by the double elimination, which TAR would never pull on teams in a haphazard manner. Maybe Spud and Rock (okay, just Rock) can help the Stepbrothers with their theme song.

[Donny Ketchum]

So I've worked all week and have finally gotten to catch up on the episodes.

 

First, the Zimbabwe episode.  I think the episode did a great job showing not only how resourceful Junior is, but that despite everything, he and Dwayne do love each other.  The way Dwayne tried to fight his way back to Junior was actually kind of sweet.  And Jacques & Josee make a detour to Hawaii, yet still get to Zimbabwe in time to nearly make up the time and get out of last, only to finish last, anyway, but be saved by a non-elimination leg.  They are dangerous players.

 

Then, the first Australia episode.  Well, one highlight is Lorenzo & Chet finally deciding to stop hating each other.  So obviously, their storyline was close to concluding, since the main hook they had was how much they hated each other.  Also, Carrie & Devin manage to win their second leg, only to win a phone call home and discover that Devin's nightmare of a girlfriend, Shelley, dumped him for her tennis instructor.  Which . . . wow.  Whether Devin realizes it or not, he just got off easy.

 

Meanwhile, Jacques & Josee proceed to get worse when they do everything possible to try and get Sanders & MacArthur out of the race, including using the Boomerang (the equivalent of TAR's U-Turn, I think) on them.  But Sanders & MacArthur likewise use it on them, and they have to break out of the prison twice.  One fateful paddle to the face from Josee puts Sanders & MacArthur in last, but it's a back-to-back non-elimination round, so they're thankfully still in.  But Sanders & MacArthur want revenge, and rightly so.

 

The Australia/New Zealand episode.  This question is to @Lantern7 and @Lazlo, specifically.  You guys getting as tired of Carrie & Devin's "will they or won't they?" storyline as I am?  That said, I don't know how I feel about Carrie listening to Spud, of all people, in trying to force Devin through the stages of grief.  But at least she got him out of the denial stage.  Elsewhere, Sanders & MacArthur get totally skunked by Jacques & Josee once more, this time over an albino rabbit that . . . isn't albino.  Lorenzo & Chet get caught up in how much they like each other now and lose focus on the race.  And so many disasters happen to Rock & Spud (mainly to Rock), it's clear that Spud's making the team fall apart.

 

And Jacques & Josee win yet another leg.  Sanders & MacArthur barely recover from their trick to finish ninth.  Oh, and Brody is still crushing on MacArthur, which could make him and Geoff good allies to them.  And as for the double elimination, I think it was about time for both Lorenzo & Chet and Rock & Spud.  Neither had any story left.  In fact, I don't think Rock & Spud had a storyline.  I kinda didn't like Lorenzo & Chet laughing at Rock & Spud being eliminated with them, but I kinda see why.  At least they were comforted to know that they weren't eliminated alone.

 

Finally, the New Zealand episode.  Jacques & Josee seem unstoppable.  Went right through the Maori dancer Either-Or, and they won the leg.  Carrie & Devin managed to go from near the back to second place through Devin being in the anger stage and channeling it into completing the Jumping Around.  Sanders & MacArthur throw themselves out there and come in third, though they're not happy to still see Jacques & Josee doing better than they are.  Ennui & Crimson have been pretty silent for another episode, but solidly clock in fourth.  Ryan & Stephanie are still doing well in spite of being "the haters" and come in fifth.  Geoff & Brody, after winning over Junior's affections and nearly killing themselves bungee jumping, take sixth place.  Dwayne & Junior, after Dwayne tries too desperately to be cool to win Junior back over to him, come in seventh.  And once again, they have a sweet moment when Junior basically tells Dwayne that he's cool in his own way.  Emma & Kitty beat out Noah & Owen for eighth place after the former team nearly tanks their game due to Emma nearly moving too fast with Noah.  She realizes that the race is important right now.  Noah can be her focus afterwards.  Noah & Owen come in last, but are saved from by a non-elimination leg.  But perhaps it's not such a good thing for Noah, who basically got told by Emma that she couldn't be with him on the race.

 

Whew.  All caught up now.

 

Well, it looks like the Ice Dancers are the official villains of the show.

Um . . . did you pay attention, @Lantern7?  Jacques & Josee have pretty much been the villains ever since Brazil.  I even noted this at the time:

 

About the highlight there was Jacques & Josee breaking coconuts with travel tips inside on Owen's face, and then next to Dwayne & Junior.  Ah, but their status as the villain team was all but confirmed when, out of desperation, Josee tackled Dwayne to try and get the travel tip, and when that didn't work, Jacques tried to attack Junior to get it.  Yep.  He tried to attack a little boy.  Not cool!  But Junior was thankfully saved when Josee tried to bean him with a coconut, but hit Jacques instead.

So . . . yeah.  But I think we're getting the perfect downfall for Sanders & MacArthur or maybe even Carrie & Devin being the ones to take them down.  The writers foreshadowed it hard when Jacques & Josee gave that confessional saying that they consider their two teams their main enemies.

 

Whatever happens, Jacques & Josee need to go down, and it'll be interesting to see who makes it so.

 

So now that we're over halfway through the race, I'm gonna make some endgame predictions, based on storylines and "edits."

 

I think the F6 (final six for non-reality show watchers) will be, based on screentime and storyline development, Noah & Owen, Emma & Kitty, Sanders & MacArthur, Jacques & Josee (obviously), Carrie & Devin, and one of Dwayne & Junior and Geoff & Brody.  I give the edge to the father and son because they actually have a story, while the surfer dudes really don't.  Whichever one makes it, though, I think the other will come in seventh behind the predicted F6.  So with that said, I think Ryan & Stephanie, Ennui & Crimson, and whoever doesn't make it of Geoff & Brody and Dwayne & Junior will be the next three teams to go.

 

Just a prediction, though.  We'll see.

Edited September 26, 2015 by Donny Ketchum

[Twilight Man]

Goths do NOT equate to Kynt/Kent and Vyxsin, because we're dealing with two distinct subsections of goth

 

Dude, there's a BIG difference being being goth and being emo.

[Lantern7]

Kynt and Vyxsin were presented as goth. They're just not goth as Crimson and Ennui.

 

Speaking of the team that probably travels with a gallon of makeup apiece . . .  I figure they'll be next out. Or maybe the daters. It makes more sense for either of those teams to go as opposed to Noah & Owen (TDI alumni), Brody & Geoff (ditto), the Ice Dancers (evil), the cadets (rivalry), the sisters (Emma's relationship with Noah) or Devin & Carrie (he hasn't gone through all the Seven Stages Of Heartbreak). I think that's all the teams. Is it sad that I can remember the field without looking up the names?

 

As for the Alberta leg  . . .  did the bull resemble a Cyberman, or am I looking too hard into things? I'm okay with Dwayne & Junior getting bounced; even with Dwayne being a doofus, at least their relationship is more stable than the mother/daughter team.

 

PS: The Goths have Loki. I think he might buy them a few more episodes.

[Donny Ketchum]

I'm beyond pissed that even after all of Brody's epic fails at the Random Botch, he and Geoff still took an essentially unearned win.  Ennui & Crimson dominated that challenge and should've won that leg.

 

So Devin's moved into the desperation stage, huh?  I thought fear was stage three, not desperation.  Carrie at least doesn't have to deal with him crying anymore.

 

So Noah & Owen are back on their game now that Emma's admitted that she wants to try things with Noah after the race, since their minds really should be on trying to win while they're still in it.

 

Emma & Kitty did fabulously well, which surprised me.  I thought Kitty would biff that bull-riding task.

 

Ryan knows Stephanie's main motivator now and is driving her along perfectly.

 

I like Sanders & MacArthur, but MacArthur's starting to wear on my nerves a bit.  She almost get them penalized at the pork-and-bean-eating task because she wouldn't let Sanders eat any.  I get liking that a lot, but with the teams dwindling down, do you really want to risk giving your team a penalty that really could take you out of the game?

 

Jacques & Josee dropped dramatically, and neither one liked it one bit.  Oh, and their evil smiles in Sanders & MacArthur's back window were fucking scary!

I'm okay with Dwayne & Junior getting bounced;

Really?  I thought they were more likable than at least Ryan & Stephanie and Jacques & Josee.  I was sad to see them go, though at the same time, not surprised.  I think, of the F9, they were probably the weakest, largely because of Dwayne.  I'm quite surprised that, after just complaining about the survival of so many men's teams, a whopping four of them have fallen in a row -- Jay & Mickey, Lorenzo & Chet, Rock & Spud, and now Dwayne & Junior.  Only Geoff & Brody and Noah & Owen are left.

 

Ryan & Stephanie or Ennui & Crimson will probably be tossed next.  Ryan & Stephanie don't really have a storyline behind them "hating" each other (and obviously not really hating each other, as they still have their moments of adoration), and Ennui & Crimson have no story at all.

 

So the race has a good gender balance left -- two men's teams, two women's teams, and four coed teams for their F8.  Eight men, eight women.  Nice to see that things are more balanced again.

[Lantern7]

Another non-elimination leg? But I wanted the daters gone, and they wound up finishing in last in the latest episode. Just send them to wherever they sent booted teams so that Ryan & Stephanie can engage in the angry sex that they're building towards.

 

Apparently, the Seven Stages have a point that resembles goth behavior. And the Ice Dancers' mind games fall to the epic brodom of the Surfers.

 

I forget . . . has TAR ever been to the Arctic Circle? I think they've been close to it, and they wouldn't put in a "Ring Around the Narwhal" game, because that would be tacky.

 

ETA: Episodes are On Demand up to 20. I might check out an episode or two before bed.

 

ETA2:

Turns out komodo dragons are more fun to see in action than narwhals. Also, I was wrong about how bulletproof Owen & Noah were. At least Noah has Emma as a consolation prize . . . and I don't think a new love connection has ever been made on TAR.

[Paron Xanthis]

@Lantern7,

are you implying that Noah & Owen finally get the boot at one point?

Edited September 30, 2015 by Paron Xanthis

[Lantern7]

Paron Xanthis . .  .that happens in the episode airing today at 7:30.

 

ETA: Caught the episodes through the end of this week (#21).

Goths and Surfers are out, there's an alliance between the Ice Dancers, Cadets and Daters, and Devin has fallen for Carrie, but she's more or less over him. Oh, and she's bonding with Ryan, which . . . nice twist, show. Nothing hardcore given the demographic, but it forces a love triangle. Square, if you throw in Stephanie. I wasn't kidding about the angry sex.

[Paron Xanthis]

Yes, I just watched the episode tonight, @Lantern7.  Noah & Owen are gone, but not really sadly for me, as I thought the TDI vets were lasting a bit too long.  I'm kind of confused as to how they got booted, though, when Owen found the rug they needed pretty quickly.  But anyway, the men's teams are dropping like flies!  Jay & Mickey, Lorenzo & Chet, Rock & Spud, Dwayne & Junior, and now Noah & Owen?  Geoff & Brody are the only ones left!

 

I, too, have seen everything up to episode twenty-one via On Demand.

 

For the Vegas leg, I was very surprised that Devin finally realized his feelings for Carrie.  Too bad Carrie's over him, though she at least still wants to be his friend.  They came in last, but they're lucky to be saved by a non-elimination episode.  Meanwhile, Ennui & Crimson win their third leg and infuriate Jacques & Josee, who really want their sixth win.

 

The Mexico leg.  Ugh.  I just . . . UGH!  I knew I liked Ennui & Crimson.  But I never realized how much I loved them until Jacques & Josee got them eliminated.  Okay, okay.  So the fault can be laid at their own feet, too, for putting Loki over the race, but Jacques & Josee just needed to run their own race.  Using an innocent little rabbit in their plans to get rid of the Goths was just plain despicable.

 

As for episode twenty-one, I'm okay with Geoff & Brody getting the boot, though I'm surprised it wasn't a non-elimination right away.  But this puts all seven men's teams out of the race!  Carrie and Ryan?  Hmm.  I'm intrigued.  I'm a vore fetishist, so I got very happy in my pants to see the crocodile's belly after he ate Carrie & Devin, Emma & Kitty, and Geoff & Brody's fish.  Whoo-whee!  That got me hot! :)

 

So three coed teams (Jacques & Josee, Carrie & Devin, and Ryan & Stephanie) and two women's teams (Emma & Kitty and Sanders & MacArhtur) are our F5.  No men's teams at all.  If the "Axis of Evil" holds together and gets the remaining two teams on the outside out of the race, then Emma & Kitty and Carrie & Devin will likely exit before the end.  I can see Sanders & MacArthur, Jacques & Josee, and Ryan & Stephanie being our F3 this season, as it'd be a good way to set up Sanders & MacArthur and Jacques & Josee taking each other on in the end, and Ryan & Stephanie being the third-placers who fall out of it behind them both.

Edited September 30, 2015 by Paron Xanthis

[HunterHunted]

I wish I could substansively comment, but I honestly don't know where we are this season. 20 and 21 are on my on demand, but I'm never sure what has and has not aired.

[Paron Xanthis]

I wish I could substansively comment, but I honestly don't know where we are this season. 20 and 21 are on my on demand, but I'm never sure what has and has not aired.

Episode eighteen just aired yesterday.  Episode nineteen will air tonight.

[Lantern7]

So . . . "Axis of Evil": a fitting title for the latest alliance? All three teams are agro, sure, but only Josee & Jacque can be considered "evil." Even if her rap sheet wasn't exaggerated, I can't put that tag on Macarthur, and Sanders is obviously "Good Cop." Stephanie is a pain in the ass, but she directs her malice at Ryan, as opposed to screwing with anybody else's game. Ryan is a meathead . . . nothing more, nothing less.

 

Is it too much to ask for TRR to put the Ice Dancers in third place in the end? I know that finishing second would be appropriate, but it would be a fitting end for them if they got the "Guido Edit," where their race ends thousands of miles away from the final Comfort Zone.

[Paron Xanthis]

So . . . "Axis of Evil": a fitting title for the latest alliance? All three teams are agro, sure, but only Josee & Jacques can be considered "evil." Even if her rap sheet wasn't exaggerated, I can't put that tag on MacArthur, and Sanders is obviously "Good Cop." Stephanie is a pain in the ass, but she directs her malice at Ryan, as opposed to screwing with anybody else's game. Ryan is a meathead . . . nothing more, nothing less.

I think Sanders meant that mainly in the sense that their teams were the most aggressive.  But yeah, only Jacques & Josee are truly evil.  And even then, I'd really only consider Josee truly evil.  Jacques's only real contribution to their evil has been his use of innocent little Loki to get Ennui & Crimson eliminated in last night's episode.  But other than that, it's been mainly Josee.  MacArthur and Stephanie aren't necessarily evil, but both have proven to get mean on numerous occasions.  And Ryan has his own moments of meanness, but they're only in regards to Stephanie.  So I think that Sanders isn't too far off with the "Axis of Evil" label.

 

So next week airs the final five legs.  I'm very interested in seeing who the final two teams eliminated turn out to be.  I'm betting Emma & Kitty are getting booted, for sure.  But assuming Sanders & MacArthur and Jacques & Josee are being primed for a big showdown on the final leg, I don't know whom the writers will have preferred as the third-place team, and whom the other ousted team will be.  Ryan & Stephanie's current story is now mainly tied into Carrie & Devin's, but since the latter couple has had more story than the former, perhaps they'll be the third team, while the former will be eliminated.

[Lingo]

So after hearing this show mentioned in the TAR forums last weekend, I binged the whole season this week. I mean, the whole season up to this point. (I thought it was the whole season because Comcast On Demand describes Ep. 21 as the "season finale"! Did anyone else see that? I assume that's a mistake?)

 

So this show is fun! I do wish it were more like TAR -- more tasks, more taxis, more interaction with the locals, more TAR shout-outs -- but I'll take what I can get. Most of the show is silly jokes aimed at children, but once or twice an episode they get a REALLY good joke in that makes me glad I'm watching.

 

Macarthur is the best damn thing on this show. She is a shining jewel. I love that team and HATED seeing them lumped together with the Ice Dancers as "Team Evil", because as you guys said, they're not evil, Macarthur is just very enthusiastic about the race. If she and Sanders get an "evil" edit in the final 5 episodes I will be sorely disappointed.

 

I was SO glad to see Geoff and Brody finally eliminated because I couldn't take any more of their "dude/bro/gnarly" speech patterns (I had enough of that with the Rockers already). Given their screen time and plot lines, I was most surprised to see Dwayne and Junior, and Owen and Noah get eliminated as early as they were -- like Donny Ketchum, I'd assumed that they'd be in the final 6. As for the winners: based on the editing, I'd honestly assumed from the beginning that it was likely to be Carrie and Devin, because they're "good guys" and they've had the most drawn-out plotline. Though given the amount of screen time the sisters have gotten, at this point I wouldn't be very surprised if they won. I'd love to see Macarthur and Sanders win, though now that they've been branded "evil" I doubt they'll be allowed to win. They might even go out in a heart-breaking 4th place -- the traditional elimination point for fan favorites. The Ice Dancers will obviously get second or third. And I'm guessing the Daters/Haters will be out next -- not much story left to tell there.

[Lantern7]

One of the final episodes is titled "Last Tango In Buenos Aries." How funny would it be if there was a tango-related challenge? It would probably be wackier than what TAR showed on Friday.

[Paron Xanthis]

So after hearing this show mentioned in the TAR forums last weekend, I binged the whole season this week. I mean, the whole season up to this point. (I thought it was the whole season because Comcast On Demand describes Ep. 21 as the "season finale"! Did anyone else see that? I assume that's a mistake?)

 

So this show is fun! I do wish it were more like TAR -- more tasks, more taxis, more interaction with the locals, more TAR shout-outs -- but I'll take what I can get. Most of the show is silly jokes aimed at children, but once or twice an episode they get a REALLY good joke in that makes me glad I'm watching.

 

Macarthur is the best damn thing on this show. She is a shining jewel. I love that team and HATED seeing them lumped together with the Ice Dancers as "Team Evil", because as you guys said, they're not evil, Macarthur is just very enthusiastic about the race. If she and Sanders get an "evil" edit in the final 5 episodes I will be sorely disappointed.

 

I was SO glad to see Geoff and Brody finally eliminated because I couldn't take any more of their "dude/bro/gnarly" speech patterns (I had enough of that with the Rockers already). Given their screen time and plot lines, I was most surprised to see Dwayne and Junior, and Owen and Noah get eliminated as early as they were -- like Donny Ketchum, I'd assumed that they'd be in the final 6. As for the winners: based on the editing, I'd honestly assumed from the beginning that it was likely to be Carrie and Devin, because they're "good guys" and they've had the most drawn-out plotline. Though given the amount of screen time the sisters have gotten, at this point I wouldn't be very surprised if they won. I'd love to see Macarthur and Sanders win, though now that they've been branded "evil" I doubt they'll be allowed to win. They might even go out in a heart-breaking 4th place -- the traditional elimination point for fan favorites. The Ice Dancers will obviously get second or third. And I'm guessing the Daters/Haters will be out next -- not much story left to tell there.

So who did or didn't you like of those who've come and gone so far, @Lingo?

[Lingo]

Well as entertainment, I liked most of the teams. The ones I were particularly wishing would be eliminated were the Surfers, the Rockers, and to some extent the Stepbrothers, as they were boring and had annoying speech patterns. The Goths were a little one-note but provided some funny moments, particularly when they lost their makeup. Sanders and Macarthur rock. The Ice Dancers are excellent villains. Towards the end I was beginning to think that Carrie could do better than Devin, so it was a welcome twist when she got over him and started showing interest in Ryan. The Daters/Haters got annoying at times but Ryan also had some of the funniest lines. (My favorite was when he just left an interview saying nothing but "Nope nope nope..." over and over.) The romance storyline between Noah and the sister was drawn out a little too much, but I was surprised when he and Owen got eliminated. I liked the father/son storyline. I'm a tennis fan so I was initially tickled by the Tennis Pros, but their jokes were really corny so I was happy they were eliminated. Everyone else is kind of a blur.

[Lantern7]

Is it me, or would the Ice Dancers have their asses kicked if this was an actual reality show? I mean, somebody would snap and pummel them senseless. Maybe that's what we have to look forward to as the show hits the stretch run. Remember . . . Macarthur possesses Chekov's Taser. She wouldn't have mentioned it if she wasn't going to use it down the line.

 

As for the latest episode? Carrie and Ryan bond some more, but he winds up getting in some kissing time with Stephanie, which we haven't seen since the start of the show. Also, he winds up agreeing with her on all sorts of stuff, which annoys her to no end. Ice Dancer skullduggery does in the Cadets, but it's a non-elimination ep. Oh, and Macarthur's carelessness gets Sanders' arm broke, but the saner of the two decides to fight through it and keep racing.

 

ETA: Nice that a penalty can be assessed for tampering with a train. I don't think Phil has ever hated teams the way Don loathes the Ice Dancers. Also: I don't care how they raced in their last leg . . . Ryan & Stephanie are not healthy for each other. At least they didn't break like some TAR teams did in India.

[Paron Xanthis]

I don't think Phil has ever hated teams the way Don loathes the Ice Dancers.

Phil was actually pretty open about his dislike for TAR9's Eric & Jeremy.  They were both just too dumb to detect it.  That said, the look on Don's face when he anticipated Jacques & Josee not beating their penalty was priceless.  He really does hate them.  A lot.

 

I was conversely shocked to hear that Don liked Geoff & Brody.  I thought their "bro" nature annoyed him, and he seemed pretty happy to have crushed their hopes of being saved when they were eliminated.  Not surprised he hates Jacques & Josee, though.  Josee's freaking out over not winning legs has probably finally worn him down.  Plus, they've been nasty to him, too, not just the other teams.

 

Speaking of the other teams, it seems that despite not being victimized by Jacques & Josee, Ryan & Stephanie didn't even trust them.  And it appears that Emma & Kitty and Carrie & Devin don't, either.  Nor does either team like them, it seems.

 

The last two episodes were definitely exciting.  It was cool to see the two women's teams go from the bottom two on one leg to the top two of the next.  With Emma & Kitty winning the India leg, this means everyone left has won at least two legs.

 

Why did Don have to say the wrong word?  If he hadn't, Ryan & Stephanie probably would've knocked out Jacques & Josee.  Those Ice Dancers need to go down!

 

It's hard to tell whom the final eliminated team will be.  Part of me thinks it'll be Emma & Kitty.  The other part of me thinks Carrie & Devin will finally say their "I love you" utterances, and then get tossed.  But something tells me that elimination won't be decided till Thursday, and that Wednesday will be the final non-elimination episode.

[Lantern7]

Well . . . this is unexpected. We get a non-elimination leg, but Kitty inadvertently bumps Devin off a cliff. And he and Carrie get to name a team to take their place . . . and they go with the Surfers. Can you imagine this happening on TAR? There would be riots. They wouldn't take place in real life, but it would get so nasty. Also . . .  Brody has a thing for Macarthur. Okay, then. I would be willing to bet that chick can wreck guys.

 

On the bright side, Devin finally tells Carrie how he feels. And she reciprocates! Good for them. Nice to have a story where two people fall in love, and it doesn't come out slightly icky (lookin' at you, Ryan & Stephanie).

 

Anybody else flash back to the surfing Fast Forward from TAR25 while seeing the Ice Dancers do the tango? Doesn't seem fair. And they're still cheating their asses off. I'm willing to bet their comeuppance will happen in the next episode. Oh, and the tango action on TAR was wackier, even with all the injuries inflicted on the players. By which I mean "almost always Carrie."

[Paron Xanthis]

I'm not sure why the show wanted to bring back a team so late in the race.  It made no sense to me.  I could've accepted it had it occurred earlier in the race, but this late?  With only two more legs to go?  No way.

 

If Geoff & Brody had to come back in, they'd better not win.  I'd rather a team who actually made it this far and didn't get eliminated take it over a team who did.

[Paron Xanthis]

This was an infuriating penultimate leg.  So Geoff & Brody, the one technically illegimate team, beats out all three legitimate teams of competitors to come in first place going into the final leg, while all three teams who legally and fairly stuck it out fight for the final two spots.  In the end, Jacques & Josee take the second spot, and Sanders & MacArthur take the third and last one.  Meaning that sadly, Emma & Kitty fall victim to the final elimination.  And all because of a stupid angler fish.

 

Jacques & Josee really are terrible.  MacArthur saves Josee's life, and she's thanked with a coconut to the head?  Vile.  But entertaining, of course.

 

I'm gonna say it again.  I hope Geoff & Brody don't win.  They're nice guys, but there was no reason to bring back a team so late in the game.  If they had to do that, then it should've been the most recent eliminated team, which, at the time, was Ryan & Stephanie.  I'm all for the big showdown between Sanders & MacArthur and Jacques & Josee.  It'd better not be that case where the two feuding teams take each other out and the third team slides in for the million dollars.  I'd rather one of the two teams left who actually had to fight to get through the race whole race take it, not a team who missed three legs and got brought back right before the end.

Edited October 9, 2015 by Paron Xanthis

[Paron Xanthis]

So an otherwise good season gets thrown to the wolves when the writers apparently decide a TDI alum should win regardless of prior elimination status.  Final round goes to New York City, where Jacques & Josee finally get eliminated midway through the leg, and it all comes down to Sanders & MacArthur and Geoff & Brody.  In the end, Geoff & Brody, despite being eliminated earlier in the race and then benefiting from a return to the race so late in the game, win the million dollars by a nose.

 

Sanders & MacArthur . . . I fee bad for the girls.  The writers were clearly in love with their TDI alums and probably wanted at least one of them to win no matter what.  But they had heart, ran an awesome race, and should've taken it.

 

I hated this returning team twist.  The show had been NOT do it again.  Or if they do, NOT so late in the game.

 

This was a potentially great season that got ruined by this ending.  I'm hoping the next season doesn't do something so stupid like this.

[Lingo]

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!

 

I am BEYOND pissed that they allowed an ELIMINATED TEAM TO WIN THE RACE!!!! ARGH!!! AND IT WAS THOSE STUPID FUCKING SURFERS!!!! AUGH!!! WHAT AN UNSATISFYING ENDING! THEY MISSED 3 LEGS!!! I would have preferred to see the ICE DANCERS win than those two! Maybe!

 

Uggh, I can't believe they did that! Sanders and Macarthur were the bestest! The superhero team! They deserved to win!

 

Well I predicted the Haters would be eliminated next, but I was SO WRONG about the rest. I was sure either Carrie and Devin or the sisters would win, and if not either of them, then the cadets. I guess I'm not as good at predicting the minds of cartoon writers as I thought.

 

Ugh! I enjoyed this show a lot, but this ending blows.

[Lingo]

PS I did enjoy the fact that the show went to Argentina and did challenges so similar to what TAR just did there (tango, beef and horse stuff). Oh, it was cool that the penultimate chill zone was at the water fountain in Central Park where TAR began its first race. I don't know if it's a coincidence that this show went to so many places and did so many things that TAR did -- it may just be because both chose to go to the most obvious places and do the most obvious things -- but I prefer to think of them as shout-outs.

[Christina]

I really wanted the cadets to win, but enjoyed the season overall. I think I was more invested in this show than I am TAR this year. : )

[Lantern7]

Well, that was lame. Once again . . .  if a team got brought back on TAR, the fandom would be up in arms. And if that team won? The show would take a huge hit in the ratings. Cadets so should have won. Nothing against Brody & Geoff, but that was a bullshit ending, even with the Ice Dancers taking the bronze.

 

I haven't really followed the TDI franchise. What do y'all think they'd do for an encore? Or wound TRR be it?

[Lazlo]

Finally got around to watching the first two episodes (I've avoided reading the posts here to keep out spoilers!)

 

Overall I like it, though I'm sorry see the LARPers go rather than useless one-note goth types. A lot of characters to keep track at the moment so I haven't settled on any particular favourites yet.

[NJ RadioGuy]

Just finished the show tonight. Loved it and I hope they do a second season--hopefully with more shoutouts to TAR and TAR-C (since it's a Canadian production). I'd love to see Phil do a cameo just for fun. I didn't like the fact that there were so many NELs but with 18 teams and 26 episodes I guess you kinda gotta do it. I'm now officially referring to the Amazing Bathmat as the Carpet of Completion and the clue boxes as Don boxes when I watch the mothership show from now on.

 

And there is no subway at 81st and 3rd, nor is there a station at the ESB :). And why they'd be that far uptown coming in from JFK is silly...Midtown tunnel or the Battery Tunnel (or the 59th St. Bridge if the LIE is totally borked). They got the boathouse and Bethesda Fountains absolutely perfect (even the flags at the fountains are as pictured). OK, I'll shut up now :)

 

I think the thing that bugged me the most was that some of the tasks were so far over the top as to break the illusion. Yes, it's a cartoon, yes its intended audience is pre-teen, but mortal danger that would really kill an actual person several times over (Bahamian diving challenge, I'm looking at you) just took me right out of the episode...but I did love the speedboat from France to Iceland :). What I especially enjoyed was how they got the geography pretty well right on, or good enough for a kids show. I think the best animated aspect of the show was the animals and their expressions. Especially the rabbits. Loki for the million bucks next time!

 

Kudos to all involved and I hope they can do it again.

Edited October 20, 2015 by NJ RadioGuy

[Lazlo]

Okay after an epic episode binge I've finished the series.

 

To begin with I better explain I am not a fan of The Amazing Race and I've never seen an episode of that show. I am a fan of the Total Drama series (mostly) and was told about this show by Donny Ketchum because I've comented on the previous TD series. So I'm afraid I can't comment on how accurate a parody this was to TAR!

 

Anyway I'll say I liked the show a lot, with a few caveats. I wasn't happy with the ending for the same reasons as Paron Xanthis but I'm maybe not quite as unhappy - weak endings are a bit of a tradition in Total Drama and this is still far, far better than the ending of TD: All Stars! I liked most of the teams, with my favourites being Dwayne & Junior, Kitty & Emma and Saunders and MacArthur and i was strongly rooting for the Cadets in the finale. Josee and Jacques were fun villains though I might liked them to get worse comeuppance than they did.

 

On the other hand, sadly, Geoff and Brody were among my least favourite teams even before they came back. They had no story unless you count Brody's attraction to MacArthur and no inter group tension (Brody was slightly dumber but otherwise they could have been clones.) Mind you the same thing could be said of the Goths, but Crimson and Ennui (and Loki!) were at least different from the other racers. The Surfers were just a couple of dimwits like the Step-Brothers or the Rockers and for a lot of the show they got lost in the background. There really was no need to bring them back when far more interesting and funny characters were left at the wayside. Adding to this we had seen Geoff before, playing out almost the exact same arc in Total Drama Island - except there he had a modest character development getting together with Bridgitte. Here he didn't even have that.

 

The other team I had issues with were the Best Friends. Devin and Carrie got old fast, even with the unrequited love switchero.

 

Still despite those issues I did like the show a lot. I have other thoughts but I'll post them in the Island vs. the Race thread.

[Lantern7]

Any other TAR fans flash back to the Surfers getting eliminated for letting the Besties pass them on the way to the Chill Zone? I know I did.

[Taeolas]

Didn't realize this show existed, but picked it up because it's after the new PPG. And I'm loving it. I love Don more than Chris; he's got Andrew Young-Husband levels of snark, without being completely mean to the contestants (like Chris was/is). And the Challenges themselves are a mix of stuff we'd see on TAR, and stuff that's just over the top enough to be toonish. Love the mix of teams and the interactions, and callbacks to old TD as well. 

 

All in all, a fantastic season and hopefully we'll be seeing more of them. 

 

*Edit* And I just saw the finale up here in Canada, and up here the Cadets pulled off the win, continuing the TD Tradition of having multiple winners depending on what ep you see. :) 

 

I was a little disappointed that they missed the TAR tradition of a race summary challenge in the final ep, but maybe they'll do it for the next one.

Edited April 16, 2016 by Taeolas