S01: Talk

[BuyMoreAndSave]

On 9/22/2019 at 3:05 PM, kittykat said:

Leg 9 is truly when the race came down to only Rob/Brennan and Frank/Margarita.  A few factors come into play: Kevin and Drew bailed on the car detour and took the bus to the tigers after two hours; they then took a bus to Krabi, while R/B and F/M hired private cars extending their lead; Guido squandered their FF lead (again, overconfidence and lack of funds THEIR FAULT); Nancy and Emily didn't complete the detour (WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST TAKE THE DAMN BUS!!!) and were eliminated over Guido.  How do you change this?  Most of the clues limited modes of transportation; sometimes bus was faster and sometimes train was.  If the clue to go to Krabi had told them to take a bus or train then the top two wouldn't have amassed such a huge lead and the anti-bunch of legs 10 and 11 wouldn't have happened.  Then again part of the reason the Top 2 were able to hire cars was because they were good with their money.

This season offers a lot of What ifs... with regards to leg designs and the flights.  I definitely see why there is more bunching in later seasons since it's not really dramatic to have two teams clearly in the lead in the final four episodes.  And yet they are also in the lead because they are good racers.  As mentioned above if Team Guido had managed to overcome a 24 hour deficit because of some contrived bunching and came back to win the whole thing, the forums probably would've crashed.  FYI I love this show.

Coming up on Part Three: The Thailand Triathlon, Heartbreak at the South Gate, and Alaskan Adventures.

I mentioned this before, but Team Guido actually was interviewed about this later, and they said that they would have been able to afford to hire a car with their money and it would have cost only about $140 USD. However, they assumed it would be prohibitively expensive because the person at the ticket counter said it would be, and only later they realized that it would be expensive by Thailand standards, but not by American standards. TBH I would have made the same mistake. I wouldn't think it would even be possible to take a cab 500 miles either, let alone for that cheap.

From what I've heard Season 1 had a ton of production and technical issues behind the scenes, and came very close to falling apart completely, and I think the badly spaced equalizers were the worst manifestation of that. I don't think they intended for it to happen but they just packed too many activities into Leg 10 (it had the most interesting activities and aesthetically beautiful scenery out of all of them!) without thinking that the timing of Leg 9 would cause that issue. I don't think the producers expected that people would be spending 2-3+ hours to find the car, or taking modes of transportation to Krabi with vastly different arrival times. And they couldn't have predicted the people with the Fast Forward would have been the last to get there.

EDIT: Actually if you think about it, in a way, Margarita singlehandedly saved the entire Amazing Race franchise. Because Frank originally didn't want to take a cab to Krabi because it was too expensive and she was like "but everyone else is going to" and convinced him to do it. If that hadn't happened, Rob and Brennan would have been way ahead of everyone else, and the end of the race would have been very boring, and it probably wouldn't have gotten a Season 2, let alone a Season 31+. They should give her an extra bonus for that!

Edited September 24, 2019 by BuyMoreAndSave

[kittykat]

I think Leg 10 is a great leg activity wise.  Leg 9 is kind of the weak one logistics wise. 

First task was get to Temple of Dawn (or Reclining Buddha for FF) where the Detour awaited.  The Detour itself is kind of weak.  Instead of perform a task to a degree of difficulty to get transportation it was just "find the car or get a bus." Then Kanchanaburi the location of the tiger roadblock, which at most took 15-20 min, then pit stop.  Although editing doesn't present it that way essentially most of the time spent on the leg was the 500 mile drive to Krabi.  There were no extra locations or blue route info.

Team Guido to an extent had a point that they thought they had downtime because of extra tasks and locations the other teams had to do but in this case, it kind of wasn't.  But still they earned the FF at about 8am so it was too big of a risk to wait around Bangkok for a 6:30 pm bus.  If anything they should have taken a bus that morning and tried to get a transfer somewhere.  Even if they had started travelling in the morning they probably would only have had maybe an hour lead on Rob and Brennan because the non FF teams only had two tasks before Krabi.  Even if they lasted 3 1/2 more legs, this decision was still their fatal blow.

And then the other what if?  If Kevin and Drew decided to go immediately for the bus like Rob and Brennan they likely would have been together the whole time then you have three teams on even footing on leg 10 and they wouldn't have gotten hosed on the operation hours at Sea, Land and Trek.  Guido gets eliminated in Beijing and you have three teams on equal footing.   

Yes in conclusion both legs should have been planned better. But I'll go back to my original idea that instead of being able to hire private cars to the Krabi pit stop that you have to take public transportation.  There were plenty of clues in S1 that required that's so it wouldn't have been unusual.

Officially finished the S1 rewatch.  There will never be another one like it and that's kind of a good thing.  Production wise there were definitely some errors and I'm glad they had future chances to fix those.  The locations were outstanding and the teams actually seemed like real people and not types trying to play to the camera.  While bunching may suck at times it does keep the game interesting and there were only a few true points where everyone was on equal footing.  No matter how many copycats came there will never be another Kevin and Drew.

I know it was probably a budget thing but I think two final legs is too much filler.  Leg 12 is fine and maybe it's because I knew the outcome but it was much Ado about nothing. I'm glad they dropped the penultimate NEL leg at one point.

Season Two awaits as I get ready to hate Wil and love the Cha all over again.

Edited September 25, 2019 by kittykat

[Omeletsmom]

I just started rewatching this one and I am surprised at what an abusive dick Frank is.  I didn't recall him being that bad. Did she ever get fully away from him?

[WhereThereIsLife]

Frank remarried.  I think they would have broken up even if they had won the race.  Frank struck me as someone who always had to have his way and get in the last word.  I suspect that Margarita realized at the end of the show and after any promotional appearances they were obligated to make together, that Frank would never accept her as an equal.  She was strong enough to make it without him; he would have to have a new partner to support his ego.  JMO of course.

[Babalu]

They did reconcile for a few months after the race, though, before they broke up.

[Giuseppe]

I can't remember the last time I watched season 1, and I hadn't planned on re-watching anytime soon, but I've been spending a lot of time on Amazon Prime lately watching movies, and while scrolling through suggested programming, TAR came up. So I figured I'd take a quick break from movies and relive some great TAR memories before the new season starts...whenever CBS finally decides to air it.

The opening credits for this season STILL give me goosebumps. The fact that they dumbed them down so much in subsequent seasons still disappoints me greatly. And I miss the original theme music without all the bells and whistles.

I've gotten through episode 6. I think we've hashed out enough in this thread all the things that make season 1 so special, but one thing that really stands out to me now is just how much the early seasons focused on the relationships of the pairs, whereas now the focus seems to be more on whatever unique occupation/hook they have. I mean, that's been happening since season 4 or so, but even back then they still seemed to provide a good balance between highlighting the relationship and the 'claim to fame'. In this season, it's so refreshing to see Paul and Amie and Lenny and Karyn labeled as just "dating" instead of "dating models/entrepreneurs". Matt and Ana are just "married", etc. The editors focused so much on the relationships that we really felt like we were getting to know everyone. These days everyone seems to be just cast as characters to be portrayed and we don't get to know them as real people, at least IMO. Thus, they're mostly forgettable except for those who got big story arcs. I recently went through the cast lists of every season, and honest to god don't remember 90% of the teams from season 12 on.

God I miss the simplicity of TAR Classic. We'll never have it this good again. Can't believe it's nearly 20 years since season 1 filmed.

Edited August 24, 2020 by Giuseppe

[auntlada]

I've been rewatching season 1 and just finished the episode in India in which the ticket seller at the train station would not sell tickets to Nancy and Emily because they were women. They were asking men in the station to help them, and then somehow they had tickets. I may have missed exactly how they got them, but I didn't see anyone buy the tickets for them. Does anyone know how they got tickets? (I wondered if at some point, the crew with them bought the tickets for them because they weren't going to get them any other way, they were so far behind already, and it was circumstances outside race control that made them unable to get tickets.) I googled it, but couldn't find any answers.

[joanne3482]

I came into TAR late and I'm not sure I ever saw the first few seasons so I'm rewatching Season 1 right now. It is so different! Now I understand in the current season forum why there's discussion about spoon feeding the racers. I also spent time googling where are they now to ensure Frank and Margarita weren't still together and Lenny and Karyn. I was surprised they actually seemed to break up right there at the mat. Wow. Also I now understand the Team Guido hate from the All Stars season they were on. They're kind of dicks. 

[Netfoot]

I too, have just begin a rewatch. Only a few episodes in, but some things are already becoming clear. And resurfacing in my memories.

• Frank really was a bit of a dick.
• Lenny was woodenheaded and Karyn was a shrew.
• The Guidos -- who I hated with the power of a thousand nuns -- really are sort of cartoonish villeins when considered in the light of those to come.

Also, it is a bit alien, watching for the original TAR colours. And the greeter alone at the mat (except for the eliminated team, for whom Phil puts in an appearance) just seems wrong.

 

[SVNBob]

Per a post from Brennan's Instagram: yesterday, April 8 2021, marked the 20th anniversary of he and Rob crossing the Finish Line and becoming the first winners of TAR.

What a long, strange trip it has been.  And here's to more to come.🍹

[raven]

So I've been watching this off and on and some random thoughts.

I actually find the Guidos entertaining.  I can see why they would have pissed people off when first aired (which I didn't watch back then) but I kinda like them.  Also, anyone who names their team after their dog is generally going to be OK by me.

Frank is a raging asshole.  Wow. 

Emily constantly berating her mom to go faster, etc. gets on my nerves.  I know Nancy (RIP) volunteered to come along but Emily knew her physical limits.  Even with all that, I find them a very likable team and their exit is still affecting.

The difficulty divide between the tasks then and now is huge.   I know we're all aware but to see how much everyone had to figure out on their own back then really illustrates how dumbed down the show has become.

It is so, so weird to not to see Phil at the mat at the end of each leg.  Also weird that there's not much music.   Phil was so much younger (so were most of us , though).  I still think Phil has the best job on TV, even if logistically it's a PITA.

[Hera]

I've been watching the first season for the first time and agree with pretty much every @raven said. And to be fair to Emily, the nagging her mother to go faster stopped after the first couple of episodes (or at least stopped being shown).

I really wanted to highlight this in particular:

On 4/11/2021 at 10:02 AM, raven said:

The difficulty divide between the tasks then and now is huge.   I know we're all aware but to see how much everyone had to figure out on their own back then really illustrates how dumbed down the show has become.

I was also struck by the leg construction: teams would have to do a task (they seemed keener on route markers in this season as well, instead of all tasks being either a Detour or Roadblock) in the vicinity of the pit stop they were leaving, and then would have to travel to the next country (or across the country) in the middle of the leg and do another task before going to the next pit stop. There's far more tension and interest even though there was a pretty clear division between the top finishing teams and everyone else, just like on Season 32. That said, there are also a lot of bunches due to hours of operation, and—like more recent seasons—there are occasions when being the first team out isn't really an advantage. Frank and Margarita had a massive lead on the other teams getting to the hotel next to the Taj Mahal, but then had to leave in the evening (possibly before the other teams even arrived) and had to figure out where to sleep, while everyone else presumably got more restful sleep back at the hotel.

As for the Guidos, I think they come across as a little smug, especially in the first few legs, where they had a language advantage over everyone else (except maybe Margarita), but they definitely aren't remarkable compared to some of the awful people who came later.

On 4/11/2021 at 10:02 AM, raven said:

Frank is a raging asshole.  Wow. 

For sure. Margarita, on the other hand, seemed great. I'd happily work with her any day. I'm also 0% surprised that their reconciliation was short-lived.

Edited May 19, 2021 by Hera
Because a "Roadbloak" isn't a thing.

[Kel Varnsen]

Rewatching season 1 with my kids while at the same time watching the current COVID season. I watched S1 years ago on DVD but I totally forgot how brutal it all was. We just watched the episode where Nancy and Emily got eliminated and just watching it is exhausting. From Italy to India to Thailand was crazy. The flight they got from Copenhagen to New Delhi was like 11 hours then from there it was all like 10 hour train rides, 8 hour bus rides and 6 hour cab rides. All with sleeping outside or not sleeping for good measure. By the end of the leg I just watched I am amazed anyone is even standing.

[Thalia]

I decided to watch the early seasons, and as someone who just finished season 33, I certainly agree that the differences between season 1 and season 33 tasks was startling.  

One thing about Nancy and Emily, even if they had escaped elimination when they did, I don't think there is any way they would have been able to perform the physical tasks in the next episode, which required tremendous upper body strength.   I would have liked to see them try however. 

[Kel Varnsen]

I finished season 1 last night and I was impressed by how dramatic they were able to make that final race to the mat, even though you knew who was going to win the minute the doors closed on Rob and Brennan's train. 

Also I wonder if they changed the rules to make it so a racer couldn't pull what Brennan did and offer someone $300 to rent their phone. I mean I am sure they give racers less money now, but with the cost of phones these days, especially in developing countries someone might have enough cash to do that in certain places.