S05: Talk

[Whimsy]

Since some older seasons are available to view on different platforms, we are starting all episodes threads for each season.

[Lantern7]

I think of TAR5 as one of the better seasons in the show's history. The casting screamed "go for broke." You had a Big Brother runner-up and her idiot boyfriend. You had a new set of twins (third in five seasons) that seemed to share a single brain. You had two beauty queens and their matching boyfriends. You had Charla & Mirna, and I know the person who discovered them got a bonus. And not only did the show cast another grown man that let people call him "Chip," but he was the exact opposite of the first guy named "Chip."

 

So many memories. Charla getting shocked on the fence. The "feud" between Kami & Karli and Chip. Colin's arrogance and aggressiveness. Brendon & Nicole's overall godliness. Chip winning two legs on his eating prowess at Roadblocks. And, of course, the Broken Ox. Sure, there were missteps (the casting of Marshal & Lance, back-to-back non-elimination legs, the concept of Phil "mugging" last place teams), but you had some excellent racing. And you had the first full-on fan favorite team winning in the end, as Chip & Kim triumphed. Shit, the period between the last two episodes could be considered holy, what with Charla & Mirna appearing as themselves on MadTV and the show winning its first Emmy. Good times.

[Ducky]

This was the season I first started watching TAR so took me a while to learn everything especially what was added and not added etc. 

 

Will never forget the Yield with Colin hanging over the box and staring dagger eyed at Chip the entire time lol.

[Supay]

That adage "the sum > parts" has never been as fitting: the stretch from the Incarceration at Tanganyika to the Subterfuge in the Spanish East Indies was doomed to lose its momentum once the Cousins from Hayastan were robbed of a well-deserved F6 NEL, yet even after the Matronly Bowlers' martyrdom, the Baby Boomers were there to pick up the pieces and assemble them into triumph against fellow rival Lone Staters.

[scowl]

Oh my god I've never seen so much blood after Jim tore his knee open three seconds after the race started. 20+ stitches and he was back in the race!

[Supay]

I'm still quite unclear about that subplot between his and Marsha's grievance against Linda and Karen regarding Argentine currency - perhaps someone who saw the Innertube/Bonus-Vids/Insider-Clips a decade ago might recall the context?

[kittykat]

This was also the season that saved TAR.  I'm pretty sure after S4, it was on the verge of cancellation and this was their last chance.  It was one of the first shows that network TV introduced for a "summer lineup" and it worked in spades as the ratings and Emmys followed.

 

I haven't watched since Season 17 but this is still one of my faves.  Chip and Kim were nice people, solid racers.  In fact a decent Final 3 overall.

 

The downside: the introduction of the yield and the volume based eating roadblocks.  Thankfully these both stopped after only a few seasons.

 

Plus "MY OX IS BROKEN, THIS IS BULLSHIT" is forever engraved in the pantheon of classic reality TV moments.

[Mrs. P.]

Season 5 is the gold standard for TAR, in my opinion. Great characters, great challenges, great locations. Remember the Sphinx at night? There are other seasons that I love - like 17 - but none have reached the pinnacle of 5 for me.

[scowl]

I haven't watched since Season 17 but this is still one of my faves.  Chip and Kim were nice people, solid racers.  In fact a decent Final 3 overall.

 

I'm only up to episode three, but they're portrayed as backstabbers and Chip is badmouthing the other teams.

[Quilt Fairy]

I'm still quite unclear about that subplot between his and Marsha's grievance against Linda and Karen regarding Argentine currency - perhaps someone who saw the Innertube/Bonus-Vids/Insider-Clips a decade ago might recall the context?

I think the issue was Linda and Karen told them (knowing it wasn't true) that they couldn't use American dollars in Argentina so they wasted time at the airport at a currency exchange, only to find out that all the taxi drivers were only too happy to take US money.

[scowl]

Oh God, Charla and Mirna's whining is unbearable! Even when they're happy they're whining! 

 

I like how Chip makes a spectacle of himself but it's charming and not obnoxious like Justin was last season. 

 

I also like how teams win a trip to "exotic" Mexico.

 

Too many gross-out eating challenges. Two pounds of caviar was horrible and now they have to eat an ostrich egg?

 

My favorite moment so far was when the gorgeous K twins saw Phil on the island and instead of walking across the shallow water like everyone else, they tore off their clothes and swam to him. I could hear a producer saying, "That's the promo for this episode!"

Edited January 21, 2016 by scowl

[scowl]

I'm almost finished with season 5. This one has the most uncomfortable situations I've seen so far. Brandon and Nicole godbothering in every episode. Colin flipping out during the famous "My ox is broken!" scene was awful. Two teams ended up talking to cops when angry cab drivers disputed their fares. 

[Supay]

This one has the most uncomfortable situations I've seen so far.

 

Yea, as it was airing, several TwoPers noted how the teams themselves seemed to be having anything but fun, e.g. the entire F5 in the Kolkata leg.

 

What distinguishes its morbidity from Season 4's is a higher proportion of rootable teams in the endgame in an non-ironic sense (JoKe love aside).

[Hera]

I'm watching this season now. To be honest, I think Nicole would probably be fine if she were with anyone other than Brandon. He's awful—we get it Brandon, you're super-duper religious. Lots of people are without having to make a point of it all the time. Also, I don't see what your Christianity has to do with drinking a shot of vodka. I do enjoy how they managed to piss off a bunch of teams early on by agreeing to work together and then abandoning them the second it suited them.

I want to like Charla and Mirna, but I suspect I'd find them (especially Mirna) really hard to take if I ever had to deal with them personally. My favorite team is the Bowling Moms. I loved their reaction to the fight over the line for bus tickets—the just stood there and laughed while the teams around them argued. Then when other teams bitched about Colin and the others going to a travel agency, they just shrugged and said that it was smart play, especially since those teams had three hours to kill. They seem pretty competent at racing and I like their attitude.

[beeblebrox]

I'm rewatching this season now. Once I discovered that Hulu has almost all of the seasons streaming, it's become my go to streaming show. I forgot how much I loved this season when I was in my early 20's. I think this season was when reality tv was beginning to make real strides too. The eating challenges coincide with the gross out reality shows of time like Fear Factor. Once I started watching it, I said to myself, "Oh, I liked Chip and Kim." I love that Charla and Mirna were portrayed as the bad guys, but Colin was an epic jackass. Then, googled and remembered they won. So yeah, this has been my favorite binge rewatch so far.

[toodywoody]

Rewatching this and cannot wait for Colins freak out over the ox. I loved Sharla but not Mryna. The eating challenge in Russia I had forgotten about. I agree that this was a good season for TAR. I love the bowling moms and Marsha and Jim. I like Chip and Kim and their attitude.

[Roccos Brother]

My thoughts on this season -

Totally on the loving Chip and Kim bandwagon, especially when they were in Africa and Chip made the comment about seeing people that looked like him.

I didn't like that the roadblocks were all being completed by the same individuals. I'm glad they implemented a rule against that.

The twins flirting for money was funny.

Nicole was very pretty, I actually don't blame her for not shaving her head. I didn't think that was a fair "challenge" because it was obviously much easier for the men than the women.

Charla reminds me of Melissa Mccarthy.

[SVNBob]

Two years late but...

On 12/30/2015 at 8:32 PM, Lantern7 said:

You had a new set of twins (third in five seasons) that seemed to share a single brain.

Cell.  You left the word "cell" off the end of this sentence,

In addition to saving TAR, this is also the year that a TAR curse was broken.  In the first 4 seasons, the fan favorite team (ok, maybe just the TWoP/TARCon favorite team) kept getting knocked out in 4th place, just missing the final leg.  This year, there were two major favorite teams, the Bowling Moms, and Chip and Kim.  And with the Bowling Moms going out in 4th this time, the curse probably felt it was satisfied for the year, and started to get ready for the next Race.  But then...

I believe that the power of the collective cheer of the throng in that bar in MSG when Chip and Kim won knocked the curse back a couple of positions in the following years.

Also, I always have to give props to the Amazing Editors for the joke they put in in the binocular sequence in the finale.   Very well done.

[Marlin]

It’s too bad that so much of the audience hated Colin and loved Mirna when in real life people would likely discover the opposite. There's a reason why Colin & Christie relationship actually worked out unlike so many other couples on TAR.

Charla & Mirna were really entertaining on screen but there's 0% chance that I would actually like them in real life.

Edited January 29, 2018 by Marlin

[Whimsy]

As a reminder, discussion about moderation actions including the removal of posts is not allowed within threads. Those posts will also be removed without notification

[Lantern7]

I thought Charla came off as likable. If you consider her to be a pill, Mirna would be the entire bottle. I get putting Charla in parallel with the likes of Rupert Boneham, but I feel she's genuine, and I was happy with her (and Mirna) completing TAR11.

Now I'm wondering what would've happened if Charla & Mirna had to handle the ox. They probably would have gone with the ducks. Remember, that was a Detour; everyone opted for the ox.

Edited October 28, 2018 by Lantern7

[Lamb18]

I just finished rewatching this season. The last (and first) time I watched it was 10 years ago. I'd just started watching TAR during season 13, so I found the earlier seasons online and watched them. I'd read all of Miss Alli's recaps beforehand so I was introduced to the racers before seeing them on the show. I didn't realize how much those recaps shaped my perception of the racers during that first watching.

So, of the first five seasons, season 1 stands alone in its uniqueness; otherwise, season 5 is my favorite of 2-5. There was a good range of types in the casting and I didn't dislike Myrna/Charla and Colin/Christie like I did the first time. I ended up liking Colin and Christie quite a bit and thought Colin isn't that much different in this current season, except that he's older and has more perspective. He and Christie are still competitive but the anger isn't there now like there was in 5 (or at least it's hidden better). Colin had really high standards for himself and was so angry when he (and circumstances) let him down. Christie was super-competitive, too, but I wish she'd done more roadblocks. In the ox detour she was the only partner who did not lead the ox while the other tilled so of course Colin floundered. In watching it looked like the ox knew how to do the job and just followed his path no matter what Colin tried to do.

I enjoyed Myrna and Charla a lot more and they were fun to watch. I only was annoyed when they indulged in self-pity and self-victimizing as tactics for getting ahead. 

Now I'm starting season 6 and ugh.  The J-V team is particularly stomach-turning. They are worse than I remembered from 10 years ago.

[lexington11]

On 6/11/2016 at 6:26 PM, Hera said:

 Also, I don't see what your Christianity has to do with drinking a shot of vodka

In Brandon's defense, some Christians really do have that belief/conviction that any alcohol drinking whatsoever is a sin, while others, like Chip & Kim, seem to see no problem with drinking one shot as long as they don't get full out blitzed drunk

[sinycalone]

I just began rewatching this season.  I spent much of the first episode calling out to my screen:  that is MontayviDAYo...not Montee -video.  

[dgpolo]

The difference between this Colin and Christie and last's seasons Colin and Christie is almost unbelievable! They especially Colin is almost unrecognizable! He looks so young.

Chip and Kim are great and I think show more 'Christian' tendencies than Brandon and Nicole.

This was the season of really one-sided Roadblocks with the men of the 3 final teams doing almost all of them. I'm glad they changed the rule after this but the 'what ifs' are hard to contemplate.

This was also the first season of the 'mugging' of non-eliminated teams and I hate it. I was so glad when they stopped that. I've also heard that there is now a rule in place that they cannot beg or barter. Not sure where I read that so I don't know if it is true.

Soo many good shots of the twins and others walking right past the clue box.

Did not like the yield right there at the task, not so much because of the uncomfortableness of the yielded team staring at you but because the yielded team got an advantage of being able to see what the task entailed.

Maybe Mirna dancing with the tango dancer sparked the idea for future dance tasks.

Love! not having a FF for every leg, they were so random. Some you had to just jump in a pool to get and some you had to wrestle someone onto a surf board and some you just had to eat something. So random. I bet it saved production a lot of money too, not to have to have something set up for every leg.

72000 miles, is that the most for a season?

This season has the leg that if I could only run one leg in any season ever, I would run the one in Egypt with the pyramids and the Sphinx.

[doodlebug]

52 minutes ago, dgpolo said:

This was also the first season of the 'mugging' of non-eliminated teams and I hate it. I was so glad when they stopped that. I've also heard that there is now a rule in place that they cannot beg or barter. Not sure where I read that so I don't know if it is true.

Yes, the rule was eventually changed to forbid begging in airports and such.  It was kind of embarrassing to see a bunch of middle class Americans begging for spare change in underdeveloped countries with high rates of poverty.

[sinycalone]

Quote

Chip and Kim are great and I think show more 'Christian' tendencies than Brandon and Nicole.

Yes, it was rude for Colin to throw the money on the counter...but I think Nicole throwing her money on the ground was far worse.  (Brandon had the decency to pick it up and hand it to the driver.)

Also, Nicole made the comment that their mosques were like Starbucks...one on every corner.

I had forgotten that the Bowling Moms were taken aside by airport security -- after the taxi driver kept insisting on getting the fare.  Sorry, Bowling Moms you should have clarified beforehand whether the service was free or not before hopping in your car.

Edited July 12, 2019 by sinycalone

[SVNBob]

8 hours ago, dgpolo said:

This was also the first season of the 'mugging' of non-eliminated teams

I always preferred the term "Phil-ching" (read: filching).  But I never liked the act thereof in the Race.  It was never a good look for the Racers to have to beg.  At least most of them realized this and tried hitting up tourists and the other Race teams instead of locals who actually needed the money.

Spoiler

The fact that there are laws against begging in Hungary required the change of a NEL to the first KOR was the first major strike against this penalty, and that came in the very next season.  When the Philch got upgraded to "everything but passports and the clothes on your back" in S07, there was an easy and obvious workaround for that too. 

The Speed Bump really is the best iteration of a penalty for the last place team in a NEL.  It feels like a natural part of the Race, instead of the artificiality of the results of Philching.  Of all the changes to the Race since the beginning, it and the Roadblock split rule are the best.

8 hours ago, dgpolo said:

This was the season of really one-sided Roadblocks with the men of the 3 final teams doing almost all of them. I'm glad they changed the rule after this but the 'what ifs' are hard to contemplate.

Spoiler

Given that the rule was in place in S31, and Christie was able to hold her own in almost every Roadblock she did, they probably would have done just as well had it been the rule back here in S05

[dgpolo]

10 hours ago, SVNBob said:

19 hours ago, dgpolo said:

This was the season of really one-sided Roadblocks with the men of the 3 final teams doing almost all of them. I'm glad they changed the rule after this but the 'what ifs' are hard to contemplate.

  Hide contents

Given that the rule was in place in S31, and Christie was able to hold her own in almost every Roadblock she did, they probably would have done just as well had it been the rule back here in S05

I see no reason for spoilers, every episode of every available season has been aired on TV therefore there are no spoilers. If someone hasn't watched them yet it's up to them to keep away from threads that they don't want to be spoiled on. We only need to be careful to not talk exclusively about another season in a specific seasons thread, not because of spoilers but because of off topic-ness.

I think there were Roadblocks in Season 5 that all the women -could- have done with absolutely no problems, since the members of the all female teams did well. But if the female teams had to go head to head against another woman sometimes maybe placements on a leg would have been different with the all female teams maybe getting more chances to get ahead of the male/female teams.

The biggest break Colin and Christie got this season was that the leg they received the Yield which led to the big ox blow-out, was a non-elimination leg. I never did understand that, it completely negates having a Yield at all.

11 hours ago, SVNBob said:

The Speed Bump really is the best iteration of a penalty for the last place team in a NEL.  It feels like a natural part of the Race, instead of the artificiality of the results of Philching.  Of all the changes to the Race since the beginning, it and the Roadblock split rule are the best.

Absolutely agree with this! Exactly the right 'punishment' for coming in last but not being eliminated.

[Lantern7]

3 minutes ago, dgpolo said:

The biggest break Colin and Christie got this season was that the leg they received the Yield which led to the big ox blow-out, was a non-elimination leg. I never did understand that, it completely negates having a Yield at all.

If memory serves, the Yield was set up in every leg before the last two. And it had never been used before Leg 11 (or shown to be used).

The lack of Roadblock regulation only hurt the Bowling Moms, since the final three teams’ women only did one Roadblock apiece. I’m guessing that the producers were thinking about limits, and watching Colin literally pull himself and Christie into the final leg sealed the deal. I’ll give those two credit for running a hard race, and Christie wasn’t totally useless . . . but seeing Karen(?) struggle and watch a virtual demigod pass her was hard to watch.

[dgpolo]

9 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

The lack of Roadblock regulation only hurt the Bowling Moms, since the final three teams’ women only did one Roadblock apiece.

This is why I said 'what ifs' We -don't know- that the above would have been true. For instance in the 'Ribbon Roping' Roadblock where they had to rip a cloth from the neck of a calf/cow there was a scene where whichever twin was doing the task had a few in a corner, 2 had the cloth on I think? maybe only one. But Chip swoops in and manages to get the cloth off of one and the twin doesn't -what if- Kim had been the one doing that task. Could the twin have been faster at getting it than Kim (or Nicole)? could it have made a difference in the standings? could it have gotten another male/female team eliminated before the final?

It's really just a game the 'what ifs', they can be done for any task in any season. Especially when someone you don't like wins. And since I like Chip and Kim I'm glad everything worked out for them though I would rather have seen the Moms in the final rather than Brandon and Nicole.

[jette]

Just now backtracking to this season by long last..conventional wisdom says I'm supposed to hate Colin because of the now infamous ox detour, but Mirna is dead to me. The poor me whining and utter disrespect of other teams - especially the spitting! - is far, far worse IMHO.

Kudos to Colin for changing his life based on the watch back- but seriously, Mirna should've be embarrassed as well!

On to the finale...

[kaygeeret]

I had not realized how very much I loved this season.

I found most of the teams to be tolerable, with my favs being Chip/Kim (the woman agonized over her hair and finally bit the bullet - I do get the agonizing, but hair grow backs. Nicole, just an entitled broad who couldn't muster up anything for the good of the team).  PS I am a 'broad too, so...)

I enjoyed Mirna/Charla at the start, but they really start to wear on a viewer.  They are way to quick to take offense.  I also think the yelling is just stress release, they don't let it affect their relationship.  It's just the other teams they seem to get actually mad at.   Still, boy does it get tiring.  I really do admire Charla tho'.  She is tougher than any female I have ever seen, just wow!

Still, so many teams to really enjoy...including the brothers.

The team that I actually have disliked for the entire season is the twins.  Can't pinpoint it either, I just find them tiresome.

I haven't seen this season since it first aired and it is now 2020 - I am shocked at how much I remember.  The dog walking was hilarious.

[SVNBob]

4 hours ago, kaygeeret said:

(the woman agonized over her hair and finally bit the bullet -

Wrong season.

[kaygeeret]

Quote

18 hours ago, SVNBob said:

Wrong season.

 

Thank you SVNBob...I am on today to apologize for the error.

I was told that it was Joyce of Joyce/Uchena (hope I spelled that correctly). from season 7 - possibly season 7, I haven't rewatched that one yet.

I stand by my dislike of the sweet little flower who wouldn't cut her hair.  I get that she is a model - ever heard of wigs?

Also within a couple of months she will have a cute new "do" the will continue growing.  I guess I just don't like such delicate folks that they can't even carry their own luggage or do much of anything.... and he approves and enables that behavior.  So I was very glad to see them gone.

 

[SVNBob]

6 hours ago, kaygeeret said:

I stand by my dislike of the sweet little flower who wouldn't cut her hair.  I get that she is a model - ever heard of wigs?

While I agree with your dislike of that couple, and also acknowledge the existence of wigs  --

As I recall, both of them objected to doing that Fast Forward for the other's modeling career, not their own.  (As in, she was more concerned about his lack of hair affecting him getting jobs, and he about hers.)  Ok, yes, she did object to cutting her own hair first.  But her stated reason in a TH was his hair and his career, not her own.

Still stupid, and still somewhat vain, but ever-so-slightly mitigated by each them having more concern for the other than themselves.

[kaygeeret]

Dang SVNBob - - you sir, are right again!

I may have to hire you to fact check all my stuff.  I humbly give two thumbs up to you.  I really do appreciate your keeping the record straight.

Did I read that after this season they made it a rule that each team member had to do 6 Roadblocks?  I really wonder how the standings at the end might have changed if Kim and Brandon's lady had to do more   I remember that Kim did one I think, but maybe more.

Regardless of when it was done, it was a great rule change.

I didn't like the Yield then and I continued to dislike it, altho' some strategies did change due to that bump in the road.

Lord do I hate the begging, but I do love that most of the teams at least tried to hit up tourists or wealthier looking folks.  Not always possible tho'.

Onward to season 6........

 

[SVNBob]

6 hours ago, kaygeeret said:

Dang SVNBob - - you sir, are right again!

I may have to hire you to fact check all my stuff.  I humbly give two thumbs up to you.  I really do appreciate your keeping the record straight.

You're welcome. 

For some reason, I retain certain details from shows I watch better than other things; and some details more than others.  In this case, I had also done a rewatch of this season fairly recently (between 1-2 years ago), and Season 7 slightly more recently, so some details were refreshed more than others.  Plus, the old TWoP recaps are still available, which helps me to see if I'm remembering things correctly or not before I post anything.

And since you asked, it is indeed after this season (and speculated because of this season) that the Roadblock rule of 6 maximum per team member was instated.

We're also of like minds about the Yield and the begging.  I personally don't care for TAR rules that allow teams to interfere with other teams.  Run Your Own Race is the maxim I watch by.  And "wealthy" Americans begging for money, so they can continue in a competition for more money is just distasteful.  But I do also like that most of the teams that had to do so did try to hit up people that could afford to, like their fellow Racers and tourists, and tried to avoid taking money away from locals...even if a good portion of that money would stay within the local economy.

Edited August 10, 2020 by SVNBob

[sinycalone]

Rewatched season 5 recently...and one thing struck me.  Usually there is talk that the yield Chip/Kim used on Colin/Christie totally knocked them off their game.  Not sure about Christie....but Colin certainly recovered quickly.  I had forgotten him basically pulling Christie (using his ski poles) up the mountain to the top of the Continental Divide, then doing black flips (in full ski gear) down the mountain after getting their clue.  Granted I was happy Chip and Kim won at the time....but Colin (and Christie) were one tough, super competitive couple.

Edited November 7, 2020 by sinycalone

[jemklb]

On 8/8/2020 at 4:53 PM, kaygeeret said:

 

I stand by my dislike of the sweet little flower who wouldn't cut her hair.  I get that she is a model - ever heard of wigs?

 

 

They were models, it was their livelihood at the time.  There's no way they're going to shave their heads for a chance at winning a leg. It wouldn't guarantee they would win the race. They made it to the finals and didn't win the race.  They would not be allowed to wear a wig to model, and especially Brandon. His hair was his selling point.  Wigs have come a long ways since back then too. They weren't natural looking like some of them can be today.  I'm not a fan of Nicole but I give her a break on not wanting either of them to lose  jobs.

Edited November 9, 2020 by jemklb
clarity

[raven]

Nicole simpering about how she "hasn't done anything" makes me want to smack her. 

The Bowling Moms are even more impressive when put up against Nicole and Christie, both basically useless.  Kim also I suppose, though I like her so it doesn't stand out as much.   Honestly, it's the Brendan/Colin/Chip show essentially.   On the flip side, the changed roadblock rule brought us some great all female teams in future seasons.

I forgot that C&C were saved by a NEL.

Colin powering up the wall is legitimately impressive both physically and as an unscripted episode of television and this season has arguably the best TAR ending ever.  

I remember when I first watched this being astounded that Marshall & Lance quit because one of them had bad knees; let's just say that 15+ years later, I am much more sympathetic, heh.