S28.E01: I Should've Been A Boy Scout

[possibilities]

Racers standing outside the task, waiting:

--My partner would never quit!

--My partner won't quit either!

--None of our partners would quit!

 

Inside, at the task:

--Do you want to take the penalty together?

--One more try and I'm done.

 

I am among those who didn't know any of these people, so to me it's just a blur of mostly young kids and a few adults, and I am very grateful they were wearing team colors because otherwise I would not have been able to tell any of them apart at all. As it is, I have a vague idea that there is a red team that cries, two people with interesting hats who love the show and came in first, a dad who moves slowly and his daughter who kindly told him he did great anyway, two non-mugging brothers, and one blowhard who was yelling at the mariachi players and who needs to be eliminated right away (plus one of the red team was also yelling that shit but wasn't as much of a blowhard the rest of the time).

 

The amount of doofery on this leg bodes ill for those of us who enjoy watching awesomely capable racers, but it is a good omen for those of us who enjoy cringe humor or watching people with their personas askew.

 

I don't understand why the show says stuff like "they have no idea the race is about to start!"-- like seriously? Is that supposed to make it more exciting for viewers? All it does is make me wonder how long they had camera crews parked in their houses, how long they were packed, and how they were "on call" not knowing they were going to start? It doesn't add up, and it's just distracting. I had to rewind and watch the beginning of the show a second time because I was so thrown out of my suspension of disbelief that I missed the beginning of the race thinking about WTF?

Edited February 13, 2016 by possibilities

[fishcakes]

The thing is - there's going to be a lot of complaining about "mugging" and fame whores, but in a season with this kind of gimmick, that's going to be a given. That's what these people do - they mug for cameras.

 

I don't hate the mugging because it's a surprise (it isn't; obviously they were going to do it); I hate it because it's occurring. The fact that they're attention hogs in their normal lives doesn't make it any more tolerable for me.

Edited February 13, 2016 by fishcakes

[Haleth]

I don't understand why the show says stuff like "they have no idea the race is about to start!"-- like seriously? Is that supposed to make it more exciting for viewers? All it does is make me wonder how long they had camera crews parked in their houses, how long they were packed, and how they were "on call" not knowing they were going to start? It doesn't add up, and it's just distracting. I had to rewind and watch the beginning of the show a second time because I was so thrown out of my suspension of disbelief that I missed the beginning of the race thinking about WTF?

Ha! I know! The camera crews in their houses might have been their first clue.

[lianau]

Ha! I know! The camera crews in their houses might have been their first clue.

Maybe they were told this was some kind of PR shooting and not the real deal . Or filming their introduction video.

 

The only one I know is Tyler Oakley and not because of his videos. He's by far the one with the largest visibility outside his core fanbase

Edited February 13, 2016 by lianau

[Bad Example]

Just be glad this crew didn't get found by Probst!  They's be sprinkling the rice all over the beach, getting lost in the forest, burning down the shelter, impaling themselves with the spear, lopping off their own limbs with the cutlass, drowning on fishing expeditions, demanding the coconuts pick themselves, making a ball gown with the tarp, using the torches to paddle the canoe, crapping in the well, drinking from the latrine, using the cooking pot as a hat...  And that is just the clever ones!

 

Ha!  But I would enjoy all of that!  I like seeing stupid tortured on Survivor.... but I don't want ANY stupid on my race!  I want super-hard roadblocks and detours, and racers who aren't such babies that they think about giving up on a task that's A) not physically demanding, and B) in a covered, temperature-controlled area.   

 

I don't hate the mugging because it's a surprise (it isn't; obviously they were going to do it); I hate it because it's occurring. The fact that they're attention hogs in their normal lives doesn't make it any more tolerable for me.

 

THIS.  THISthisthisthisthisthisthis.  

And as for them not being recruited (as was suggested upthread), I bet they ALL were.  We only heard from a few teams that they are huge fans of the race.  That doesn't mean they weren't contacted in the first place.

In all honestly, I don't mind the NoHarvard brothers, they were so unobtrusive that I didn't even notice them moving up until they were suddenly in 4th, and I love competence.  And at least the dancers have a skill, and I do believe they're genuinely excited about the race, which gives them a few more points in my book.

But really, my dream is that for a team I hate to get eliminated because they were more interested in playing for the camera than taking care of the task at hand. 

[RCharter]

It seems to me that last season or the one before that, the teams were required to take selfies - didn't one team miss a train because they were busy taking a selfie?  I think that time they were only allowed to use the phones to take pictures. 

Yeah....Team Tuskegee, and it was hilarious.  I mean, I've never raced for a million dollars, but even for regular old me, I simply wouldn't want to wait for another train so I would make sure to have my butt in a seat at least 10-15 minutes before the scheduled departure.  I don't even understand the mentality.

[Netfoot]

We only heard from a few teams that they are huge fans of the race.  That doesn't mean they weren't contacted in the first place.

 

And it doesn't mean they aren't LYING about being TAR fans, for no reason other than maybe a few real TAR fans will "Friend" them for saying it.  And after all, they aren't going to say "Actually, I loathe TAR, but I agreed to run the race because I'm an attention-whore!"

[lianau]

Missing the train because of that selfie (and later getting eliminated ) was almost as bad as getting eliminated with an unused express pass in your pocket. 

 

I don't mind the mugging if the muggee (?) is generally a competent racer and not mean spirited about it . I can't stand those teams that feel like everyone is beneath them because they are physically strong and the race owes them something .

[Snappy]

My husband actually started singing the Frito Bandito song. Since we don't know the racers, except the flight attendant who he's flown with, this is a normal show for us. Unfortunately I found this first episode to be incredibly dragging and boring.

[numbnut]

I watch a lot of YouTubers but don't know any of these "stars." The videos of the magic vine guy are somewhat familiar. The Southern beauty queen and her dad are toast. So are the models. (They would have a better shot if there was a brain between them.) Not rooting for anyone at this point, especially not the guy with the matted tuft of blond hair.

[gibasi]

 

Not rooting for anyone at this point, especially not the guy with the matted tuft of blond hair.

 

The guy with the matted tuft of blond hair is the teen heartthrob according to the team info.

 

When I watch YouTube I am watching a clip from the Ellen show or Jimmy Kimmel or something.  I certain cannot see subscribing to any of these people.  I've seen some of the frisbee guys' tricks but there are a million of that kind of thing out there.  I certainly would not go to YouTube for a beauty or makeup tip.  I'll go ask the friendly Clinique lady at Macy's or one of the Ulta workers.  Someone who can see me and know what I need.  The models?  Please.  Do they model anything other than swimsuits?  Is anyone other than horny boys watching them?  

 

I just don't get it.  And it is like most of the teams never bothered to even watch the Amazing Race before.  They seemed pretty clueless.

[Big Mother]

The only person on this cast I heard of, is Zach king of the magical-video-editing vines. Been following his vines for years, theyre amazing. I am excited to follow someone on TAR that I actually hear of before.

[viajero]

I actually had to pause the episode so I could ask Mr. EB why in the hell a 17 year old girl needs to LEAVE HOME to make youtube videos. Mr. EB's explanation: "Daddy only had dial up so she had to get the fuck out of there."

 

I'm no expert, but I can think of very good reasons why many successful YouTubers tend to congregate in places like LA and London.  As I understand it, these include:

 

• The best way to make money off YouTube is to get sponsors for product placement purposes. It helps to be physically located where you can make contacts that lead to those sponsors.

 

• One of the best ways to increase your numbers of views, likes and subscribers (and thus, sponsors) is to collaborate frequently with other popular YouTubers. It helps if you are physically located in a place where you can have frequent in-person contact with them.  While you can use conventions like VidCon to try to develop those relationships, I doubt its the same as actually living where where there are vibrant communities of YouTubers who frequently socialize together.

 

Becoming a successful YouTuber is not as easy as people like to joke it is.  There are millions of starry-eyed kids out there who start YouTube channels and only a very few who manage to turn them into a successful business.  It suspect it takes a combination of talent in front of the camera, hard work, and a lot of luck.  You also have to have the right idea at the right time; usually something that is not being done better on TV or by other YouTubers.  Furthermore, it has to be something that is sustainable over time and not just a one-off that is going to get you 10 million views for one video and then nothing after that. 

 

As a middle-aged guy, I personally find the content of a lot of the most successful YouTubers to be really cheesy, unimaginative or simply not something of interest (for example, make-up tutorials).  But I have also found a few that have turned out to be well worth checking out when I have 5 or 10 minutes free to do so.  These usually fall into the following categories:

 

1. Those who appeal to my somewhat dry and cynical sense of humor (most of these happen to be British and/or Lesbians for some reason)
2. Those who occasionally put out videos that are quite thought provoking, in that they provide social, cultural, philosophical or political insights that you won't necessarily find on TV (at least not on the shows I watch). 
3. Musicians (and a few poets) who happen to appeal to me.

 

Even in those cases where I find nothing appealing about a particular YouTuber's content, I can usually tell why they have been successful in finding an audience.

 

Having said all of the above, most of this season's cast on TAR do not really fall into the most successful category.  Tyler Oakley might, but most of the rest have much more modest claims to on-line success.  I'm not surprised, because taking months off to run the race can represent a huge loss in potential income. Plus the most successful already well established social media personalities don't necessarily need the publicity.  With multiple appearances on the daytime and nighttime talk shows on their resumes,TAR might not seem quite so valuable as promotional tool.  For instance, take someone like Ingrid Nilson.  During about the time the race was being filmed, she was busy making YouTube videos of herself interviewing the likes of President Obama and Shay Mitchell.  It will be interesting to see what effects TAR has on the careers of some of these lesser known racers.

[vousviou]

Ha!  But I would enjoy all of that!  I like seeing stupid tortured on Survivor.... but I don't want ANY stupid on my race!  I want super-hard roadblocks and detours, and racers who aren't such babies that they think about giving up on a task that's A) not physically demanding, and B) in a covered, temperature-controlled area.   

 

 

In all honestly, I don't mind the NoHarvard brothers, they were so unobtrusive that I didn't even notice them moving up until they were suddenly in 4th, and I love competence.  And at least the dancers have a skill, and I do believe they're genuinely excited about the race, which gives them a few more points in my book.

My initial gut instinct is that they are going deep in the race.  The way they got almost no camera time despite doing well in the fireworks challenge (definitely far more time consuming than the mariachi hunt) and crushing the mask making leads me to guess that they are going to get their time later on.   Either that, or they are so boring that they got forgotten by the producers.  But it looks like they're good at puzzles and construction and are probably fit enough for physical challenges, so I wouldn't be surprised if they go on for many legs.

 

I expected to hate more of the teams, although there are so many potential candidates these days that it's probably not impossible to find at least six decent ones. Also, in general it's probably far easier for social media types to drop what they're doing than it is for people with regular 9-5 jobs, so it may have been easier than I thought at first to find an adequate group of teams for this race.

[millennium]

 

 

Becoming a successful YouTuber is not as easy as people like to joke it is.  There are millions of starry-eyed kids out there who start YouTube channels and only a very few who manage to turn them into a successful business.  It suspect it takes a combination of talent in front of the camera, hard work, and a lot of luck.  You also have to have the right idea at the right time; usually something that is not being done better on TV or by other YouTubers.  Furthermore, it has to be something that is sustainable over time and not just a one-off that is going to get you 10 million views for one video and then nothing after that. 

 

Being a gaping asshole doesn't seem to hurt either.

Edited February 14, 2016 by millennium

[waldrons]

 

Have never heard of any of these people. I am old.

This!  The thing that really caught my attention was in the intro, when the voiceover called these people something like "social media influencers" --- does that mean that people are looking at them as more than entertainment?   Makeup, magic, dance (which I thought originally was a version of Zoomba), and Frisbee -- these are not social leaders!!

 

But, I will say that I didn't hate as many of them as I expected (well, except for "Who's not playing?" guy) (and maybe droppin' Dad).   Maybe when everyone is screaming, it becomes white noise.  

[Artsda]

I hated this premiere and the theme. I rather have the blind daters back and that says a lot.

[Rick Kitchen]

Tyler Oakley has almost 8 million subscribers.  He has raised over a million dollars for LGBTQ youth and suicide prevention.  He has interviewed both President and Mrs. Obama, and several celebrities on award show red carpets.  He has over 4.8 million subscribers on Twitter and over 5 million on Instagram. He has performed on stage with One Direction.  At a One Direction concert a couple of years ago, while the audience (mostly girls) were waiting for the show to start, somebody noticed him sitting in the box seats and started a "Tyler" chant that delayed the start of the concert.

 

His book, Binge, is rated number 2 most purchased in Amazon's LGBT category.

 

He has won two Teen Choice awards and has been nominated for two others.  He has won two Streamy awards (YouTube awards) and has been nominated for two others.  He was nominated for an MTV award.

[RCharter]

My initial gut instinct is that they are going deep in the race.  The way they got almost no camera time despite doing well in the fireworks challenge (definitely far more time consuming than the mariachi hunt) and crushing the mask making leads me to guess that they are going to get their time later on.   Either that, or they are so boring that they got forgotten by the producers.  But it looks like they're good at puzzles and construction and are probably fit enough for physical challenges, so I wouldn't be surprised if they go on for many legs.

 

I expected to hate more of the teams, although there are so many potential candidates these days that it's probably not impossible to find at least six decent ones. Also, in general it's probably far easier for social media types to drop what they're doing than it is for people with regular 9-5 jobs, so it may have been easier than I thought at first to find an adequate group of teams for this race.

I hope so, I like them.  The snippet of their YouTube video seemed to show an intelligent and goofy sense of humor.  And while I know only their mother went to Harvard, one of them said something that makes me think they are both well educated.  And of course, there is that quiet but impressive jump from last to 4th.  

Tyler Oakley has almost 8 million subscribers.  He has raised over a million dollars for LGBTQ youth and suicide prevention.  He has interviewed both President and Mrs. Obama, and several celebrities on award show red carpets.  He has over 4.8 million subscribers on Twitter and over 5 million on Instagram. He has performed on stage with One Direction.  At a One Direction concert a couple of years ago, while the audience (mostly girls) were waiting for the show to start, somebody noticed him sitting in the box seats and started a "Tyler" chant that delayed the start of the concert.

 

His book, Binge, is rated number 2 most purchased in Amazon's LGBT category.

 

He has won two Teen Choice awards and has been nominated for two others.  He has won two Streamy awards (YouTube awards) and has been nominated for two others.  He was nominated for an MTV award.

Wow, I had no idea YouTube was such a career.  Good on him, he seems like a nice enough guy, and he seems very intelligent.  There wasn't a task that he wasn't crushing on this leg of the race.

[LotusFlower]

For guy whose newly married wife is the first woman he kissed (which makes it in his late teens or even early twenties right?) are Duggars even allowed to do magic?

Only on their sisters.

(Sorry, but you set me up!)

[RCharter]

Only on their sisters.

(Sorry, but you set me up!)

ZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Smitty227]

I've been a fan since season 1.  Watched the introductions this episode then turned it off.  I'll check out season 29.

 

Congrats CBS!  You've officially made this show boring.  It's bad enough when you cast a few media whores on AR or Survivor, but a whole show full of them???  See you next year...

[Kromm]

Tyler Oakley is a FAR bigger star than the rest. It's very imbalanced in terms of real world impact between him and the others.
 

EDIT - actually, to be fair, both Clevver Media and Rooster Teeth also get a SHITLOAD of notice/views, even if they aren't as fixated on a single personality, as Oakley's channel is.

That said, although I've HATED the individual YouTube teams they've had on previous seasons, I kind of like this all Social-Media Season idea. It's an interesting idea, and definitely takes most of these people out of their comfort zones (which makes for good TV).

The downside might be if they're all too stupid to manage this. We shall see. I mean the pure number of teams who had no idea how to navigate/find things just inside a city makes me scared of other basic tasks coming up, like driving manual transmissions, or swimming.

 

Now as to who's irritating? Two words: Instagram Models.

 

While the fake first leg was bullshit, I DID love that first Mariachi Task.  It was epic, getting hundreds of mariachi players going at once, and interesting--even if it was essentially a simple task.  I actually like tasks that play out on a big scale, and this certainly qualified. The other task on the rooftop seemed so meager and small in comparison.

Edited February 14, 2016 by Kromm

[Netfoot]

Tyler Oakley has almost 8 million subscribers. [yada yada yada]  He was nominated for an MTV award.

 

All of which confirms what I already knew:  There are a lot of fools out there.

[Merneith]

This particular pack of fools are going to be hard to take, for ten more episodes. But complaining about YouTubers not being "Real Stars" is like people in 1950 complaining that the Boob Toob was going to turn Americans into glassy eyed zombies. The internet and indie productions are the future. That's where the younger viewers are. That's where the younger money is. In fifty years, "cable tv" will be as weird to our grandchildren as the idea of life with three broadcast channels is to us.

Tyler did seem like one of the better ones, at least.

[Wandering Snark]

Missing the train because of that selfie (and later getting eliminated ) was almost as bad as getting eliminated with an unused express pass in your pocket.

 

Oy vey.

[LotusFlower]

Tyler Oakley has almost 8 million subscribers.  He has raised over a million dollars for LGBTQ youth and suicide prevention.  He has interviewed both President and Mrs. Obama, and several celebrities on award show red carpets.  He has over 4.8 million subscribers on Twitter and over 5 million on Instagram. He has performed on stage with One Direction.  At a One Direction concert a couple of years ago, while the audience (mostly girls) were waiting for the show to start, somebody noticed him sitting in the box seats and started a "Tyler" chant that delayed the start of the concert.

 

His book, Binge, is rated number 2 most purchased in Amazon's LGBT category.

 

He has won two Teen Choice awards and has been nominated for two others.  He has won two Streamy awards (YouTube awards) and has been nominated for two others.  He was nominated for an MTV award.

All of which confirms what I already knew:  There are a lot of fools out there.

Just to jump on the first post and counter all the sneers, I thought what Tyler said about using his YouTube channel to connect to gay youth, something he didn't have growing up, was really important. It's a new world, guys. A lot of the social media stuff (and personalities) can be crap, but it's not all bad. And this is coming from someone who doesn't know a single one of these "stars."

[millennium]

My objection has nothing to do with their youtube status, only that they seem like a bunch of loud-mouthed, narcissistic jerks.  And don't even get me started on the crying idiot.

 

Hard to find a positive comment on The Amazing Race facebook page.

[LotusFlower]

I think their social media status (and overall hammy behavior from some of them) is prejudicing folks against them from just one episode. Who knows? They could all come across as the same narcissistic jerks on the last leg as they appear to some after just one leg, but I think it takes a few weeks/episodes to get a good sense of their personalities. After all, Justin started out during last season's race.....oh, wait...

[aemom]

I have to say that I was impressed by Tyler. He seems to have his head screwed on pretty well, was not loud or obnoxious, and appeared approachable and genuine. The mom in me mentally tagged "he seems like a nice boy."

The only others who gave the impression that they won't be mugging attention whores the entire race are the Roosters, the brothers, the dancers, and possibly the magic guy. So far Cole and Brodie are beyond aggravating.

[thelonerafter]

I was busy Friday night and came here to read through what happened before watching it from my DVR (what can I say, I live for spoilers) and from what I'd read here I was expecting much worse. Maybe I should preface this by saying I actually do like some seasons that are universally hated (like the family edition). I mean yes there are people who are whiney, but didn't Justin cry the first leg too? He definitely got flack for it as well, but no one was blaming it on his profession. Some people are just more emotional and annoying than others, it is a sad fact of life.

 

I recognized most of the people, or at least had heard of the channels they were a part of, and don't mind most of them. I definitely do go to YouTube for makeup tutorials or information (it never hurts to watch a few swatches before buying something, especially if it's a drugstore product you cannot swatch in the store) but I did not recognize the beauty guru they featured at all, and her voice is very grating. 

 

The only real downside I can think of to having a 'celebrity' of any caliber on the race is that people may base their favorite teams off of who they already know and like, but in a way for TAR it doesn't matter because there isn't any kind of voting or donating that drives who wins. But I do know that I already dislike some of the teams (such as Cole and his mom) due to how their content just isn't for me. I am definitely rooting for Darius and his brother right now, it is nice to see that not only are they amusing online, they seem to be competent as well, and while I never learned his name until the episode, I love the guy who does the "magic" on vine, that's some great editing. I used to really like Tyler a few years ago, I've since drifted away from being a big fan of vlog videos, but I still hope he does well and I like how he brought up the fact that people can turn to YouTube or other platforms for examples of people who are like them in the media. I remember a friend in high school saying how they did not realize they were gay for so long just because none of the media their family consumed really had any gay people in them, and when they did they were always portrayed in a negative light. 

 

One thing I did not really understand was how they were saying everyone was a social media star, but then it looks like the single mom and daughter team, the SW flight attendant, only had 1 viral video, which is far different than someone like Tyler Oakley with a huge following. 

 

Also, am I the only one who missed the prize at the end, or was there not one? 

[netlyon2]

^^^ No prize at the end of the leg.  I wonder if that means they've eliminated prizes all throughout this race, or will award them more selectively.  It will be interesting to see how/if that affects gameplay in terms of always pushing to be first.

 

ETA my other thoughts on the premier:

• Like several others, I enjoyed the episode more than I thought I would.  The number of mugging racers and the level of mugging was comparable to past seasons, so I wasn't any more or less irritated on that front. 
• While I'm more digital migrant than native and don't really know who any of these people are, I don't have any hatred or disdain for people whose careers (and/or celebrity) are based in new media.  In addition to the very valid points made by other posters, I will point out that platforms like YouTube offer a space for content that is often ignored by the traditional media outlets, or even traditional brick-and-mortar experiences.  So while some consumers are fortunate enough to have access to styling tips, validation, representation, or what have you in their immediate vicinity, others are only able to access that content online.  This is getting kind of deep for a TAR post, but I'll just add that many of these people act as their own writers, onscreen talent, choreographers, directors, producers, and promoters; just because the work is different doesn't mean there isn't work involved.
• My early favorites, I think, are Tyler/Korey, Zach/Rachel, and HarvardMomBros.  I don't really dislike anyone; although that yelling at the mariachi task has put a couple of teams on my stink-eye list.  I anticipate the race quickly putting Scott out of our misery, and I look forward to the day when I can easily differentiate between RedBlondMom (Sheri) and PinkBlondMom (Marty?).

Edited February 14, 2016 by netlyon2

[Dobian]

Youtube celebrities, really great cross-section of the population there.  Mostly a bunch of doofy millenials with a couple of parents thrown in.  The teams seem mostly likable so far.  I don't even know their names yet, but the girl on the last place team never getting angry with her dad when he was screwing up all over the place, and calling him her best friend was sweet.

 

I had to wonder how the way they started this race with teams flying in from different cities and then starting the detour right on their arrival wasn't giving some teams a huge advantage because of the flight times.  Then the playing field was leveled somewhat when the road block was the next morning, but still the teams that arrived earliest got a ten minute advantage.  Then it made sense when Phil said it was a non-elimination leg.  I liked that - you live your dream of being on that show, it has to suck hard to get eliminated on the first leg.  And then there are those seasons where they have a challenge right at the starting line where a team gets eliminated immediately and doesn't even get to run a single leg.  That's absolutely cruel and pretty unfair.  I hope they never do that again.

Edited February 14, 2016 by Dobian

[possibilities]

I find it hard to tell the teams apart because they all look very similar to me, and they all have nearly identical hooks (not being given nicknames that are as different from each other as usual), but that doesn't mean I think they are inherently moronic just because they got there by being on YouTube. I worry that the season's gimmick will make the race design all gimmick all the time-- previous gimmicks have been heavy-handed from production's side, like with Phil trying to force romance at the mat-- but the race itself has been a weak shadow of its former ruggedness for many seasons now, with or without gimmicks. I agree that YouTube is a very big place, with a very wide variety of types of people, talent, and levels of smartness or idiocy.

 

The fact that they've got a mostly all very young cast this time might mean they think they can make the race more physically challenging again, or it might not. Production might decide to cater the tasks to highlight the subject areas these particular people are known for, or they might not. And the teams might turn out to be all dummies or not. We just don't know yet.

 

I think there has long been a habit of casting mactors, and that's not really any less annoying (and in a lot of ways it's more "establishment") than casting YouTubers, it's just that usually it's not ALL mactors with so little variation in veneer, so it's easy to be suspicious of the way things are going to be, since the marketing priority this season is so spelled out and clear, and the race may be catering more narrowly than it usually pretends to, to one demographic. But we don't know after one episode, really. They always want to market something, that's how TV works, so maybe having it in the open will just make it more honest, not more stupid-- we don't know. 

[Netfoot]

A lot of the social media stuff (and personalities) can be crap, but it's not all bad.

 

Of course not.  For example, Matthias Wandel is a fucking genius!  But these losers?  

 

the level of mugging was comparable to past seasons...

 

Yes, well, we've had some point-concentrations in the past.  Example: Justin.  And The Hippies.  Who were so assy on their own, they were comparable to eleven teams of YouTubers.

[NurseGiGi]

The one thing I liked about the episode was that it was a NEL.  I hate to see people eliminated right out of the chute before they've had a chance to get over those beginning of the race jitters.

 

I don't like the gimmick but then I tend to not like gimmicky seasons of TAR or Survivor which I think sets me up for disappointment before the season even begins because I don't see this type of format going away anytime soon.  I'm an old fuddy-duddy, I know, but the constant mugging and squealing really got on my nerves. I hope they settle down soon or I'll have to watch the season on mute so that I can at least enjoy the scenery.

[iMonrey]

 

And as for them not being recruited (as was suggested upthread), I bet they ALL were.  We only heard from a few teams that they are huge fans of the race.  That doesn't mean they weren't contacted in the first place.

 

Well yes, they were all recruited, in the sense that the show decided to have a "special" season where all 11 teams were known social media personalities. What I meant was that they were not cast from the usual Central Casting Agency for Reality TV - so they have at least taken a one-season break from going out and filling the roles they always seem to have on this show with the same type of people every year. Usually it's a mix of people who actually applied to be on the show, and model/actor wannabes who have audition tapes floating around in a pool reality TV casts from. 

 

Ironically that seems to have leveled the playing field somewhat, because they all seem to have an equal understanding of how this works. None of them are strangers to playing to the cameras while they're performing tasks, etc.

 

My one gripe is that I wish they had done a better job finding an alternate team for either Erin and Joslyn or Jessica and Brittany (i.e. the Models, or the other Models). Both teams are interchangeable and I'm never going to be able to tell them apart. The rest of them I have a pretty good handle on, after only one episode. That's impressive casting, for this show lately.

 

I think Tyler and Corey are going to be a strong team. They weren't the first ones at the Detour but they were the first ones out. And they weren't the first ones to the Roadblock but they were the second ones out, only minutes after the first. They seem pretty competent. 

 

Cole reminds me of the kid who ran the race with his father who had a cast on his leg - who am I thinking of?

[Kromm]

My one gripe is that I wish they had done a better job finding an alternate team for either Erin and Joslyn or Jessica and Brittany (i.e. the Models, or the other Models). Both teams are interchangeable and I'm never going to be able to tell them apart. 

One big difference might be that Erin and Joslyn aren't models. They're Entertainment Journalists for Clevver Media (which is far more of a real job than "Instagram Model").

They are however, still somewhat annoying Millennials, as this video reveals:

 

 

Clevver doesn't put out particularly enlightening or smart stuff though, to be clear. They basically do non-stop equivalents to those links you never click on that have pointless "Listicals" about celebrities. Even so... it's still more of a real thing than whatever the fuck an Instagram model "does" (and those 2 are among a group of like a dozen other similar millennials who pop up on that channel doing the exact same thing--but I guess that's how Clevver manages to put out about a dozen new (pointless) videos per day. 

 

I've always assumed that someone with a sharp sense of irony founded the channel and named it "Clevver" and then seeded it with the dumbest content possible.

 

EDIT - Furthering the irony... I've apparently been getting the name slightly wrong. It's Clevver News, not Clever Media. Because you know... these days Listicals are "News". 

Edited February 14, 2016 by Kromm

[oakLeaf]

From a lot of comments on this thread, it seems like the folk here skew older (I'm certainly one of them since I was born in the 60s), and it seems there are more folk here that aren't too thrilled with this new cast (and hadn't heard of most of them). I was checking out Reddit comments (Reddit tends to skew pretty young), and it's the opposite. Most of the commenters there seemed to know exactly who these people were and seemed to be really into their personalities. So, I guess CBS is getting what they want.

 

I clearly don't understand how TV advertising works because I would have thought that (for a travel related show) sponsors would be more interested in older folk who could afford to spend money with those advertisers traveling/buying cars, etc., than the younger generation who are currently economically strapped (in general as a demographic - clearly not all Millennials are living in their parents' basement watching YouTube).

 

ETA: If they are trying to attract a younger audience, why is it still on Friday night this season?

Edited February 14, 2016 by oakLeaf

[TheFinalRose]

Way too little diversity of life experience in this cast, and the shrieking and OMG!!! ing was so annoying!  And throwing a few random parents into the mix just to avoid the criticism of ageism doesn't cut it for me.  What genius thought this cast experiment would be a good idea?  I wouldn't be surprised if the production notes encouraged the players to scream as much as they wanted, because this season was going to be new! and diffferent! and loud! and fast paced!

 

Sigh. I wish I was one of those people that turned off a show in protest --- but I'm not. I love this show but casting teams which are practically the same age removes an important component of what makes this show great -- diverse people in terms of age, nationality, lifestyle -- are thrown into a race that will expose them to different cultures and settings and test their physical endurance.  Watching the older team outrun the cocky younger team, watching the long married smugs who think they know it all get passed up by the "dumb" team of young women is what this show excels at.  

 

And why did they cast another older blonde mom and son combo like we had last season?

 

The only thing that was good is that since it was the NEL we didn't lose one of the diverse teams right off the bat. I'll suffer through for one season, but if this is the TAR of the future then no thank you.

[Hera]

Helluva Detour . .. either arts & crafts or potential hearing loss. I don't consider 350 mariachi players to be my personal hell, but I'd understand if anybody disagrees with me.

When I saw that, I immediately thought, "There is no way I would choose the mariachi task if I were playing." A shame, since it seems like it was the one that was easier to do—fewer people got lost trying to find it and they seemed to get through it faster, but I'm not sure it's worth the permanent loss of hearing for one challenge so early on (not to mention I am not someone who does well in loud environments).

 

I did like that it was a non-elimination - I've always hated that teams go out after just one leg, when you barely know who anyone is.  And it's much better than the time they eliminated a team at the starting line!

And then there are those seasons where they have a challenge right at the starting line where a team gets eliminated immediately and doesn't even get to run a single leg. That's absolutely cruel and pretty unfair. I hope they never do that again.

I was surprised at the non-elimination leg in the very first episode, but I'd much rather see them done early on, to give us time to get to know the players and agree that they're head and shoulders above the really cruel, "One team won't even be allowed to compete, even though they've presumably reorganized their lives for the next few weeks in order to be on the show."

 

IHaving said all of the above, most of this season's cast on TAR do not really fall into the most successful category.  Tyler Oakley might, but most of the rest have much more modest claims to on-line success.  I'm not surprised, because taking months off to run the race can represent a huge loss in potential income. Plus the most successful already well established social media personalities don't necessarily need the publicity.  With multiple appearances on the daytime and nighttime talk shows on their resumes,TAR might not seem quite so valuable as promotional tool.  For instance, take someone like Ingrid Nilson.  During about the time the race was being filmed, she was busy making YouTube videos of herself interviewing the likes of President Obama and Shay Mitchell.  It will be interesting to see what effects TAR has on the careers of some of these lesser known racers.

I assume the reason why the lesser known racers agreed to take the immediate hit to their income (aside from the ones who are fans of the show, who presumably would have jumped at the chance, however it came about) is because this may be a chance to broaden their audiences. For people who have broad appeal, like Zach King (magic Vines) or Darius Benson (comedy Vines), this could give them audiences who might not have come across them otherwise.

 

Speaking of Darius Benson, he's the only one I had heard of. I'm glad that he and his brother weren't obnoxious and, at least as far as the first episode goes, I can feel good about the fact that they are my default favorites. Darius was barely shown completing that road block, so I guess he must have had an easier time than most doing it. In his thread, I speculated that he either got lucky with the pieces he found or if he read the clue more carefully than anyone else, but it also occurs to me that since he was in the last group of people to start, he probably saw people coming back and looking for more pieces. He may have figured out that he needed to keep sifting and find all the pieces there were in his sand pit.

 

I got a sense that I might enjoy Burnie/Ashley (Rooster Teeth), while Zach/Rachel and Dana/Matt (dancing videos) seemed low-key and fine. I really can't stand Brodie: "WHO'S FAKE PLAYING? WHO'S FAKE PLAYING?" He is, by far, my least favorite. I suspect that Kurt actually isn't that bad, but I am more than willing to see him lose the race early on if it means Brodie won't be around. Cole is my next least favorite, but he gets credit from me for being nice to his mom when they thought they were in last and she was apologizing for "screwing up". Also, Brodie has about nine years on Cole. That level of noisy attention-seeking in a 28 year old is far more offensive to me than it is in a 19 year old.

 

ETA: Forgot to add Tyler and Korey to my list of potentially rootable teams.

Edited February 14, 2016 by Hera

[TheFinalRose]

A longer translation in my house is "the boys whose mother went to Harvard...but they didn't"

 

 

Is this funny?  Because my husband graduated from Harvard .... but our kids didn't. Cue hilarious laughter.  Probably because having been to the school, Mr. Final Rose was not impressed enough by his experience to sacrifice our children's childhoods on the altar of "getting into Harvard" one day. And thank god he felt like that, because the era in which he got admitted to the school was 180 degrees different from today's admissions rat race. My kids are lucky their dad was a balanced, humble guy who let them choose their own paths in life and not pressure them to repeat his path. They are pretty fabulous kids, each talented in their own way, and no one has ever called them "the kids whose dad went to Harvard ... but they didn't."  

 

I think that Darius and Cameron Benson, (their real names) are doing just fine despite having missed out on Harvard.  

Edited February 14, 2016 by TheFinalRose

[Wandering Snark]

this season was going to be new! and diffferent! and loud! and fast paced!

That's what I sensed from it and I was not so down with the quick slash/dash editing... but these are people that live their lives in six second (Vine) increments so that target audience isn't exactly being lauded for their attention spans.

[azshadowwalker]

I go to YouTube to see videos about software or how to troubleshoot computer hardware. Couldn't care less about the individuals who produce the videos. I only care about the medium as far as it's useful. And, sorry, but make-up tips and Frisbee tricks are worse than useless. The casting of the season is the equivalent of putting actors and models from TV ads on the show.

[RCharter]

Is this funny?  Because my husband graduated from Harvard .... but our kids didn't. Cue hilarious laughter.  Probably because having been to the school, Mr. Final Rose was not impressed enough by his experience to sacrifice our children's childhoods on the altar of "getting into Harvard" one day. And thank god he felt like that, because the era in which he got admitted to the school was 180 degrees different from today's admissions rat race. My kids are lucky their dad was a balanced, humble guy who let them choose their own paths in life and not pressure them to repeat his path. They are pretty fabulous kids, each talented in their own way, and no one has ever called them "the kids whose dad went to Harvard ... but they didn't."  

 

I think that Darius and Cameron Benson, (their real names) are doing just fine despite having missed out on Harvard.  

My brother attended Harvard, and when I visited him there, it surprised me how truly humble and down to earth the people were.  I'm not sure if its the same at all the Ivies but I know I was surprised.  When we attended his graduation, I damn near bought every single cute shirt in the Coop but I don't think my brother has one solitary item of clothing from Harvard.

 

I've never met anyone from an Ivy League school who has been anything other than humble and down to earth.  Most won't even mention it.  But I'm sure your boys are proud to have a father that attended Harvard, the same way I'm super proud of my brother.  Their mother probably never talks about having gone to Harvard, but her boys are proud and wanted to share it with the world.  Sounds like your husband is probably cut from the same cloth.  Good for him.

Edited February 14, 2016 by RCharter

[green]

Having said all of the above, most of this season's cast on TAR do not really fall into the most successful category.  Tyler Oakley might, but most of the rest have much more modest claims to on-line success.  I'm not surprised, because taking months off to run the race can represent a huge loss in potential income. Plus the most successful already well established social media personalities don't necessarily need the publicity.  With multiple appearances on the daytime and nighttime talk shows on their resumes,TAR might not seem quite so valuable as promotional tool.  For instance, take someone like Ingrid Nilson.  During about the time the race was being filmed, she was busy making YouTube videos of herself interviewing the likes of President Obama and Shay Mitchell.  It will be interesting to see what effects TAR has on the careers of some of these lesser known racers.

 

It's about three and a half weeks; not months.  And these guys can do canned videos in advance and have some friend release them during that period.  They lost nothing.

 

Tyler Oakley has almost 8 million subscribers.  ...

 

He has won two Teen Choice awards and has been nominated for two others.  He has won two Streamy awards (YouTube awards) and has been nominated for two others.  He was nominated for an MTV award.

 

And that should impress me how?  I could give a rat's ass about the endless new "awards" people make up for themselves each year.  And subscribers aka "followers" are but easy one click, herd mentality types.

 

And to the person that said that these formats are the future and TV is dead?  I doubt that.  By the time TV dies (it is already morphing with the internet into a combo ... not one or the other ... package already) these formats will seem old and quaint and will be made fun of by the next generation who will be into something like virtual play along hologram dramas. 

 

Or the same where everyone can "play" like they are in the Amazing Race.  Each Race room (separate races) will have a dozen teams and they will virtually run around the world from their couches.  Endless "races" so millions can all play at the same time.  Just pay up front for "the experience of a lifetime."  Maybe with AI partners too.  Don't know to be happy about that or weep but that is where things are heading.

 

In fact given how cheesy the YouTube stuff is it will go down as the 8 track tape of entertainment.   And this season of the Amazing Race will become the laughing stock of the franchise.  Which is hard to do after the luuuuvvvv connection garbage they had on recently.  At least it makes The Family Edition look good by comparison and who knew that would ever happen.

Edited February 14, 2016 by green

[RCharter]

I go to YouTube to see videos about software or how to troubleshoot computer hardware. Couldn't care less about the individuals who produce the videos. I only care about the medium as far as it's useful. And, sorry, but make-up tips and Frisbee tricks are worse than useless. The casting of the season is the equivalent of putting actors and models from TV ads on the show.

I'm the same way...generally for tips on how to cook something, or if I'm going to have to try to fix something.  I find makeup tips and hair tips somewhat useful because I'm a girl, so those help me.  I do however think that its starting to get so that companies are starting to pay for reviews, which makes the reviews incredibly suspicious to me.

 

But there are a few very funny vloggers....I'm a fan of FunkyDineva and it would have been awesome to see her on the race.

[auntlada]

I certainly would not go to YouTube for a beauty or makeup tip.  I'll go ask the friendly Clinique lady at Macy's or one of the Ulta workers.

 

I thought that originally, but if YouTube and beauty and makeup videos had been around when I was 15, I would have watched them for tips. It would have been way more helpful than reading Seventeen.

 

Is this funny?  Because my husband graduated from Harvard .... but our kids didn't. 

 

I think it's because they said something like, "People think we're dumb, but we're not. Our mom went to Harvard." As though where your parent went to school reflects on your intelligence. It might, or it might not.

 

Cole (I think -- is that the kid from Alabama racing with his mom?) is a doofus. He seems like a nice doofus right now, although that could change, but he's a doofus nevertheless. (In Alabama language, bless his heart, he's a little goofy.)

 

I'm not sure who everyone is yet. I kept getting the two girl teams confused. (They're probably actually old enough I should call them women, but compared to the other teams, they seem young enough to me to be girls.) I think I liked it, though. I don't know any of them outside the race. I don't subscribe to YouTube channels and barely watch it, except for occasional music videos when I'm trying to remember if I know a song. If they can make a living doing this, though, good for them. It sounds like fun. I would have liked to have tried it when I was younger (again, if it had existed then).

[Kromm]

And that should impress me how?  I could give a rat's ass about the endless new "awards" people make up for themselves each year.  And subscribers aka "followers" are but easy one click, herd mentality types.

I think the point is that while there are a lot of social media stars and you can perhaps be dismissive of some of them, Oakley is at a much bigger level than most of them. Most people under a certain age probably identify him as readily as you might identify one of the actors who appeared on Friends. And he's a big brand ambassador--he appears on behalf of the whole service on/in a lot of mainstream media (magazines, talk shows, etc.)

 

He's kind of the ultimate "just because you haven't heard of him..." type of new media personality. 

 

I personally run into that problem with Vine stars. I know most of the YouTubers but wouldn't know a Vine star if I walked into one. It kind of makes me feel old (then again I barely use Facebook and don't use Twitter at all, so I'm already a Social Media Luddite in some ways). 

[RCharter]

I thought that originally, but if YouTube and beauty and makeup videos had been around when I was 15, I would have watched them for tips. It would have been way more helpful than reading Seventeen.

Oh, I wouldn't go to the Ulta, or Clinque counter to get makeup tips.  Those men and women are looking to make a sale, and I don't blame them.  They probably aren't going to want to spend half an hour giving me a tutorial about which makeup brushes I need, and why.  And I would feel bad taking up their time unless I was going to buy something. I wouldn't expect them to show me how to apply the products I already have at home.  And while I love MAC shadows those girls apply their eye makeup so heavy that I do not want a tutorial from them.  Sephora has classes, and those are cool, but they fill up way too quick.  I like being able to see a variety of new looks/techniques that you can see on YouTube.