S10: Talk

[Whimsy]

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

[ApprenticeFan]

The first race circumnavigating through westward of the globe from the Pacific and across the Atlantic with memorable teams (Tyler & James, Lyn & Karlyn "(Ala)bama", Erwin & Godwin (Cho Bros) and Rob & Kim(berly).)

Another non-LA start takes place in the Pacific Northwest, a reused location from a season past, traveling to Beijing for a first eating challenge, a first aired first leg Roadblock. Most of the new countries are in sparsely population dense land (Mongolia, Kuwait, Madagascar and Finland), with the exceptions of Mauritius and Ukraine.

Edited January 15, 2016 by ApprenticeFan

[Supay]

If Season 5 was greater than the sum of its parts, then this one is even more so.

The first four boots are among the most infuriating possible, the arc between the Indian Ocean and Continental-Climate Europe is a chore to sit through, and the F2 are simply the two worst teams in the cast; nonetheless, the other finalist is the first F/F team to get that far, the final eliminees (and the sixth-placers to an ever so slightly lesser extent) make for worthy All-Star representatives, and the route is one whose eccentric and innovative grandeur manages to overcome its individual shortcomings.

All in all, it's the superior of the two least light-hearted warm-weather Northern Hemisphere seasons (the other being the abomination with the all-couple F6).

[scowl]

I started watching this one (since my Tivo insists that Amazon Prime doesn't offer Season 9) and I noticed that something was missing. Where are the jerks? Everyone seems to be nice and most of the teams are even nice to each other. Yeah, the partners scream at each other but they get over it. I think I'm going to like this season.

 

Climbing up the Great Wall with a hoop ladder looked very difficult. I don't know how every team did that.

[Supay]

I noticed that something was missing. Where are the jerks? Everyone seems to be nice and most of the teams are even nice to each other. Yeah, the partners scream at each other but they get over it. I think I'm going to like this season.

 

Heh, that sort of drama-free trajectory would've raised this season well above its actual result. *sigh*

[scowl]

OK so Peter is going to be the jerk of the season but only to his one-legged partner, Sarah. I like how he shot off his mouth a couple of times at her and then in an interview Sarah says effectively, "I'm rockin' one leg so I don't need this jerk on my ass."

[TheRabbi]

I love Peter and Sarah's story arc. He is such a jerk to her that it's great to see her rise above it.

Season 10 will never be topped in regards to most countries visited. That route map is relentless. And almost every new country from that season they have never been to since, which is kind of amazing (Mongolia, Kuwait, Mauritius, Madagascar, Finland, Ukraine).

The route map is fantastic, the cast is diverse, and the tasks pleasant enough, but the season suffers from the six-pack arc in the middle, the single worst final city segment in the show's 27 season run, and winners I couldn't stand. The first third of the season is fantastic, and then it kind of tapers off for me. Love the tomato throwing though.

Edited February 22, 2016 by TheRabbi

[Supay]

Very much the original Season 22 in having an over-ambitious scope that collapsed on itself around their respective halfway points.

[scowl]

The final three weren't my favorites but this wasn't too bad. I liked the Cho brothers' idea of aligning with, uh, less agile teams so they could always win a foot race. 

 

This season must have set the record for kidnapping locals for help. The blondes had no problem finding guys who were willing to hop in their car and give them directions all day.

[Supay]

^ The unofficial subtitle for this season ought to be "Where the Red Ferns Grew". ;)

Edited March 11, 2016 by Supay

[limecoke]

Just rewatching this season and, as much as I love the Cho's, I'm hoarse at screaming "It's a RACE!!"  Why on earth they thought their everlasting waiting and waiting for the rest of the six-pack was a good strategy.  I can only conclude they either did not need or want the million.  Drove me nuts.

Edited April 16, 2017 by limecoke

[Roccos Brother]

A good cast, overall. Appeared to be one of the most diverse in TAR history, as far as I’ve seen – Muslims, Koreans, Indians, Blacks, gays, etc.

I was rooting for the “backpack” – later the “six-pack” the entire time. I found their friendships to be endearing. I don’t think the fact that they were all made up of teams of “minorities” was intentional, but it might have been a factor in their ability to bond as well as they did.

I was surprised at how much I ended up liking David and Mary. I liked Mary’s exit speech when she said she wanted her kids to be able to go out into the world and explore, instead of staying in one place like she had.

I wanted to root for the Cho brothers, especially as one of the few East Asian teams ever to be on TAR, but I found myself getting SO frustrated at how embarrassingly bad they were at being competitors.

Challenges were a little boring, but I’m glad they got rid of the begging aspect. The detour in Barcelona was amusing though – both the giant dolls and the tomatoes.

Disappointed that the models won, and that it came down to a cab driver, but oh well. Glad that they allowed Alabama to make it to the finish line, instead of leaving them hanging at the airport or something.

[theschnauzers]

With the news this evening of the passing of Sen. John McCain, I was reminded of the Route marker task that sent teams to the prison cell where he was held for 5 1/2 years during the Vietnam War. The site is still referred to as the “Hanoi Hilton,” and was visited by the teams in leg 3 of TAR 10.

[dgpolo]

Just finished my re-watch and... I find that I'm not that upset with Tyler and James winning. I wish Dustin and Kandace had made it to the final. But I dislike Rob & Kim, I liked Lyn but not Karlyn so much. I think before I just didn't like another 'alpha male' team winning but they weren't really objectionable in themselves the way Eric and Jeremy were. Only one big disagreement between them and that was on the last leg. So of the three, I'm good with them winning

Too much running in NY. And how much were those cab rides!

Don't like Mary's treatment of Dave (and it was funny when she said she loved him more than she had at the start of the leg! thought she would say than when she first met him or something but it was only from the start of the leg)

The Cho's needed to race a bit more and not worry about other teams.

Peter was a jerk, Sarah deserved better. Also I wondered why her hydraulic fluid problem wasn't treated like a medical problem? Like when Gretchen cut her head, or Jim needed, was it 27? stitches in his leg?

At least there was no more mugging for coming in last.

[limecoke]

So I read an article interviewing Sarah and it seems she and Peter were never a couple, before, during or after the race.  It was a fiction made-up in order to get cast as the show was looking for another "dating couple."  She said it was hard to have people reach out to her because they thought she was in an abusive relationship and it was never a relationship to start with. They kept up the fiction during talking heads and in interviews after they were eliminated.  Dumb.  They both worked for the same company so I can't see why they weren't cast as "Co-workers"?  

[Stiggs]

On 9/9/2019 at 3:50 PM, limecoke said:

So I read an article interviewing Sarah and it seems she and Peter were never a couple, before, during or after the race.  It was a fiction made-up in order to get cast as the show was looking for another "dating couple."  She said it was hard to have people reach out to her because they thought she was in an abusive relationship and it was never a relationship to start with. They kept up the fiction during talking heads and in interviews after they were eliminated.  Dumb.  They both worked for the same company so I can't see why they weren't cast as "Co-workers"?  

I’m so glad you mentioned this because I am on episode 5 and I was wondering if Peter was legit trying to kill her in some sort of creative “Snapped” sort of way. At first I thought maybe they’d agreed that she wanted to do the most difficult tasks, then I realized he just gave no shits about her and seemed to enjoy her struggling. He gives me some insanely creepy vibes. I’m glad she always prevailed. If they had been labeled as coworkers it would have made so much more sense. 
I am a WV coal miner’s daughter so Mary and Dave are very familiar to me. I loved that they were enjoying meeting different types of people than they were used to. 
A few of the teams either run together or I forget they exist most times. If feel like some of the more interesting teams have gone home. 

 

[kaygeeret]

This is a season with some of my favorite teams - the Cho's, Kentucky, the gay partners and a few others.

I genuinely grew to dislike the beauty queens (TBQS) just for their entitlement - not something I noticed the first time around.

I grew to hate Peter and am glad they were never a couple, he was awful.  No friend should ever behave that way toward another friend - romantic or not.

Did this season have the toughest challenges ever?

Also, and this I remembered from the initial airing, I thought the first elimination was an excruciating trick and absolutely unnecessary to anyone.  Also humiliating to be that team, also never repeated, also there were no other "surprises" on the race....so what was the point?  As far as I could tell there was no point except to humiliate one team.

It was doubly awful watching many years later with all that is going on.

[SVNBob]

I also recently finished a re-watch of this season.

On 8/16/2020 at 9:18 PM, kaygeeret said:

Also, and this I remembered from the initial airing, I thought the first elimination was an excruciating trick and absolutely unnecessary to anyone.  Also humiliating to be that team, also never repeated, also there were no other "surprises" on the race....so what was the point?  As far as I could tell there was no point except to humiliate one team.

There were other surprises.  First (and admittedly weakest) of all, this was the first TARUS to have a westerly route; as in going to Asia first.  All previous TARs (except TAR8, the ultimate exception) either went east to Europe first, or to Central/South America first, then east to Europe or Africa.

This was also the season that introduced the Marked for Elimination penalty for coming in last on a NEL, replacing the Philching of all monies and personal belongings.  And the last big surprise was the first Intersection in TAR history.  So there were some new, surprising elements.

As for the team that got eliminated at the Halfway point of Leg 1, I'm of two minds about it.  I agree that it's a nasty, unnecessary trick and that it probably shouldn't have been a thing at all.  That said, I'm somewhat glad that it happened to the team that it did.  I liked Bilal and Sa'eed, and it would have been great back in 2006 to see a team of affable Muslim men compete throughout more of a season of TAR, and show the other Racers (David and Mary as the best examples), and thus a good portion of America, a positive example of real Muslim people that we hadn't seen for...oh, at least 5 years or so.  But, since they said in their opening TH-interview that they were planning on staying devout and true to their religion, including stopping Racing 5 times a day to do their prayers, they weren't really going to be long for TAR in the first place.  It was probably better they got twist-fucked immediately than screwed over by their own respectful and respectable decision.

[kaygeeret]

Thanks SVNBob.

I guess having seen all seasons when they first aired, I was immune to the 'newness' of the stuff that you mentioned.

Also, good points to think about regarding the first elimination.  I do wonder if it had anything to do with the fact that they were Muslim?  I think I could imagine some real blowback considering that Sept 11 had happened 4 years prior to this season.

I wonder if they were ordered to get rid of the Muslim team and they chose to do it this way rather than announce them as participants and then remove them.

It is also possible that the current virus climate has allowed me to search out conspiracy theories wherever I look 🙂

 

[dgpolo]

17 hours ago, SVNBob said:

I also recently finished a re-watch of this season.

On 8/16/2020 at 9:18 PM, kaygeeret said:

Also, and this I remembered from the initial airing, I thought the first elimination was an excruciating trick and absolutely unnecessary to anyone.  Also humiliating to be that team, also never repeated, also there were no other "surprises" on the race....so what was the point?  As far as I could tell there was no point except to humiliate one team.

Wait until Season 15

[SVNBob]

6 hours ago, kaygeeret said:

I wonder if they were ordered to get rid of the Muslim team and they chose to do it this way rather than announce them as participants and then remove them.

Doubtful, since there was no guarantee that they'd be the last team to the Halfway Point.   They actually left the Roadblock, which was before the Halfway point, before the Cho Bros.  (2nd to last place, but there was a team behind them.) It seems like it was just taxicab luck that got the brothers to the Point first.

Besides, this took place after the Palau season of Survivor (shot in 2004 and aired in 2005), and one of the contestants on that season was Ibreheim, a devout Muslim man who was shown at least once doing his daily prayers.  AFAIK, there were no issues with his presence on Survivor, so there probably wouldn't have been any with Bilal and Sa'eed either.

 

6 hours ago, kaygeeret said:

It is also possible that the current virus climate has allowed me to search out conspiracy theories wherever I look 🙂

This seems more likely.  😉