S28.E10: Monkey Dance

[Jillibean]

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I am puzzled at the drive to get out Kurt and Brodie.  Last episode, didn't several of the teams gleefully remark that Brodie would have to do all the roadblocks from here on out?  They were implying that he was too dumb or incompetent to get through it.   If so, why wouldn't Tyler target Burnie and Ashley, who are always right near the top?

My understanding was that Brodie had to do all the roadblocks until the final leg, when Kurt could probably jump in again. Given Kurt's record of extreme efficiency, maybe they just didn't want to give him the chance to go there. Not every roadblock is a puzzle or task that involves planning--this one being an excellent illustration--so it was certainly a possibility that Brodie could knock out two well enough to set them up for the final leg.

To me, the irony is that the cliff jumping task is the exact sort of roadblock that is ideal for Brodie. If the roadblock HAD been something more elaborate that allowed for shuffling of the order, it likely wouldn't have worked to Brodie's benefit. He clearly struggles under pressure and also doesn't have great task approach skills. Anything other than a completely spelled-out, step-by-step activity was going to be difficult for him, from what we've seen.

I imagine one of the reasons teams kept talking about Cole possibly not jumping (other than trying to build up suspense around something that ended up being a non-event) was that they had JUST done that waterslide task in Dubai, so they were all primed with the Mika story. From my couch at home, I never thought there was a chance Cole wouldn't do it or would take a long time to do it. I don't like his antics, but he's pretty good at getting things done, apart from navigating. I also didn't think it was necessarily an indication that the U-turn was pre-planned between teams--both teams are savvy enough to think of things on the spot that could interfere with the U-Turn they had set up behind them. 

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However, I do remember teams (most likely in the blind u-turns) accidentally u-turning someone in front with the belief they were behind. If they changed the rules and made teams in-active once they pass through the area, I think that would be just as unfair. The whole suspense of it is the fact that sometimes they have no idea who is behind them so it's a bit of a risk. 

I imagine that's why it's still within the rules now. They've gotten a fair amount of drama out of the fact that teams don't always know who is behind them when they have to make the U-Turn decision, specifically when Kent and Vyxsin accidentally used it on a team that was already ahead of them which led to their own demise (I think). That also means that teams can purposely U-Turn someone ahead of them, but I agree that taking out that element completely loses some of the risk inherent in making a U-Turn decision. I'm not sure what the compromise is.  

[needschocolate]

36 minutes ago, raven said:

I don't like the double-U turn because it's purpose is to hinder another team.  I'd rather teams rise or fall on their own merits.  If it's going to be there, I'd rather it not be able to be used the way it was here, to block the first u-turned team from using it.  At least with two teams u-turned, it levels the playing field  a bit more for me.   Jumping off a cliff didn't really give things a chance to shake up the order.

I suppose one could go with the theory that a team of good racers will get to the u-turn first and so they are still rising on their own merits (doesn't work as well for teams that are poor racers falling on their own merits). However, I think the real purpose of the U-turns is to add drama and excitement to the show - "Will they be able to catch up?" But it generally doesn't make the episode more thrilling, instead it usually makes it more predictable.  That certainly was the case with single U-turns - one team would end up so far behind the pack that they couldn't catch up.  The W-turn was probably intended to prevent that, it it seemed to in the beginning, but teams have been more savvy lately and they end up turning the W-turn into a single U-turn, as they did in this episode.  

They also placed the u/w-turn in places that didn't help create excitement - like putting a u-turn in an episode where there was no bunching, and a team already had to do a speed bump - or putting the u-turn after the last task (or before a last task that doesn't allow for a change in order) so that the u-turned team(s) don't have a chance to overtake another team.  

This was the first u-turn of this season and, although I mentioned it once, I didn't miss it.  I would be fine with them never having them again.  However, I am a fair weather friend when it comes to u-turns - if Justin would have been out last season because he was u-turned the way the frisbee guys were this time, I would have been very happy with having u-turns.  

[raven]

21 minutes ago, needschocolate said:

I suppose one could go with the theory that a team of good racers will get to the u-turn first and so they are still rising on their own merits (doesn't work as well for teams that are poor racers falling on their own merits)

Yeah, I wasn't clear - I meant that the u-turned team will then fall because they were "hindered" by another team; they lost time and had to do more work specifically because of someone else.  I know teams have overcome the u-turn so it's not a guarantee of elimination.  Either it should be placed strategically or not used at all; the drama for me would be "can the team overcome it" not "oooh team x did that to team y".  My personal preference is not to watch that kind of manipulation (would by my term), but I know TAR put it in to add drama and it's probably here to stay. 

 

26 minutes ago, needschocolate said:

if Justin would have been out last season because he was u-turned the way the frisbee guys were this time, I would have been very happy with having u-turns.  

LOL, well this is usually the case.  Justin didn't bother me but most reality show people don't.  There's usually people I would prefer to see win, but they usually don't, so I'm "whatever" about everyone else.  I like seeing people solve puzzles, get tasks done, and in the case of TAR, see new sights. 

47 minutes ago, Jillibean said:

They've gotten a fair amount of drama out of the fact that teams don't always know who is behind them when they have to make the U-Turn decision, specifically when Kent and Vyxsin accidentally used it on a team that was already ahead of them which led to their own demise (I think).

I think you're right, though I remember a yoga speed bump. 

I would rather see the fast forward come back, unless it's here and no one's using it.  That was based on team's choice, strategy and performance.

Specific to this episode, I did appreciate that T/K and B/A both used the u-turn to be strategic and not petty. 

[iMonrey]

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But it seems like TPTB have desperately been trying for years, to introduce inter-team rivalries, opportunities for back-stabbing, strategizing between weaker teams to eliminate stronger teams, Hidden Immunity Express Passes, phasing the eat/sleep/mingle that gave teams a chance to become friends, and numerous attempts, past and present, to cause inter-team conflict and draaaama!

And romance - don't forget romance. They couldn't even eliminate Kurt and Brodie without a final mention of the date Blair and Brodie are supposed to go on. Let it go already, show. No one cares.

I think the U-turn in this particular instance would have seemed more "fair" if the ensuing Roadblock was something that a team could conceivably mess up or get stuck on, like building something or finding something. This one, "get here, jump off, leave here" wasn't ever going to hold a team back and allow another to pass.

[Chyna]

I thought the double U-turn in this episode was pretty awesome -- I don't think we've ever seen teams use it quite so strategically. It's certainly possible that T/K and B/A discussed it ahead of time, but if so, we would have seen it. TAR producers love a good team alliance scheme. I think it's more likely that they just arrived at the same conclusion because they're the only two teams that have been racing with any sort of strategy in mind, and they're certainly the smartest teams left. Brodie and Kurt's plan seemed to be "muscle through every task," which worked to a point -- until Brodie got stymied by a puzzle that parents use to keep their 6-year-olds occupied on road trips and burned off a valuable strategic tool (the Express Pass), as well as a kite that didn't seem to cause anyone else significant difficulty. 

[shura]

14 hours ago, sportsgirl said:

Dana wasn't only just a sweetheart to the chickens, she was actually nice to and supportive of Matt (for perhaps the first time all Race) when holding a chicken. Perhaps she can carry fowl the rest of the race? 

Or for the rest of their life together. Maybe Matt should consider turning into a chicken farmer after they get married.

[holly4755]

13 hours ago, backformore said:

I agree.  I always liked TAR because it seemed more pure competition - no voting, no sabotage, just RACE.   And along the way,  We get to experience the culture of a bunch of different places.  AND - I liked observing the partners, to see how they handled stress, how they worked together and dealt with their differences.  The last few seasons have been less enjoyable for a number of reasons.  The tasks don't give enough of the "local flavor",  and sometimes the tasks are just too easy, or boring and generic.   

I distinctly remember a hard puzzle on the race with the cowboys. One person figured it out and shared it with everyone ,told them to pass it along to everyone except the cowboys and they all told the people behind them except for the cowboys - ,. if that isn't a sabotage, what is? The funny thing is, the cowboys would have never made it to the end, they were superb at some tasks and not very good at others. I would have taken them to the end because the memory or puzzle clues always confused them, There is always one of the memory things at the very end,. 

[whiporee]

4 hours ago, raven said:

I don't like the double-U turn because it's purpose is to hinder another team. 

I think it's purpose was to prevent a non-suspenseful finish -- if two teams have to repeat the Detour tasks, the chances are there'll be a race to the finish. The single UTurn -- like it was used last year -- and the way this is used, usually means the end for one particular team. The way it was designed, I'm sure, was to make for a more suspenseful ending. The way it was used this episode, when there wasn't any chance to catch up because of the ordered Road Block, just meant the team being targeted is done.

I think it would be cool to come up with a Uturn that gives the chance to penalizing the team using it -- if you choose to use the UTurn, then you run the risk of having turned on you instead. Or if you use it, you have to do it, too. That way if you had a big enough lead and wanted to get ride of another team,you might be willing to risk it. The way it is now, there's no risk at all in using it and really no reason to even make a decision whether to use it. That's unlike anything else in the race, and I'd like there to be some sort of risk in using it. 

[RCharter]

I think Dana has replaced Cole as "most useless race partner," although Cole at least generally has a good attitude even while being useless.  

[biakbiak]

On 4/30/2016 at 5:49 AM, weightyghost said:

I don't remember when someone has purporsely u-turned a team in front to prevent the uturned team from doing it, but my historical knowledge of this show deletes itself as soon as the seasons end. However, I do remember teams (most likely in the blind u-turns) accidentally u-turning someone in front with the belief they were behind. If they changed the rules and made teams in-active once they pass through the area, I think that would be just as unfair. The whole suspense of it is the fact that sometimes they have no idea who is behind them so it's a bit of a risk. 

The one thing I think we can all agree on though is that it's removed all together... I did prefer it when the show didn't have it at all. 

Season 21. The Chippendales uturned Abbie and Ryan and Trey and Lexie unturned the Chippendales, that season they show ed the teams discussing the strategy to eliminate them. Abbie and Ryan were eliminated and the Beekmans went on to win the race.

Edited May 1, 2016 by biakbiak

[Rick Kitchen]

11 minutes ago, RCharter said:

I think Dana has replaced Cole as "most useless race partner," although Cole at least generally has a good attitude even while being useless.  

 

Cole killed the carrying coconuts and jumping off the cliff tasks.

[RCharter]

Just now, Rick Kitchen said:

 

Cole killed the carrying coconuts and jumping off the cliff tasks.

agreed, he did a great job this leg.  Which is why Dana, in my opinion, has taken his place as most useless race partner.  I don't know how everyone else could manage two chickens, but she was maybe doing one chicken and one coconut at a time....maybe two coconuts.

But even when Cole has been useless, he has had a good attitude, I can't say the same for Dana.

1 hour ago, whiporee said:

I think it would be cool to come up with a Uturn that gives the chance to penalizing the team using it -- if you choose to use the UTurn, then you run the risk of having turned on you instead. Or if you use it, you have to do it, too. That way if you had a big enough lead and wanted to get ride of another team,you might be willing to risk it. The way it is now, there's no risk at all in using it and really no reason to even make a decision whether to use it. That's unlike anything else in the race, and I'd like there to be some sort of risk in using it. 

I agree with this, there should be some penalty to using the U-Turn on a team that is ahead of you.  Either the team you U-Turned has to incur a penalty in the next leg or in the current leg, or the team that U-Turned a team that is ahead has to have a penalty of some sort.  

[RCharter]

On 4/30/2016 at 7:32 AM, blackwing said:

I find his laugh very irritating, and I don't think it has anything to do with acoustics, as I've seen it on various TVs in my house, in other people's houses, and online on the CBS site.  I also can't stand when he does that "OMG open mouth" look or when he mugs for the camera.  He is just annoying.  

I was on the fence with Tyler until I read his FB posts on TAR page.  He is defensive, dismissive, snarky, passive aggressive, and just plain bitchy.

He has put himself on social media and on this show for exposure....and he benefits from that exposure.  For him to get as bitchy as he does when someone simply expresses any opinion that is even mildly critical is unnecessary, and ugly.  You can't put yourself out there to millions of people and get snarky when some people decide they don't like you.  Its annoying to me and so he can kick rocks with his socks off.

However, reading the FB posts have raised my respect for Ashley about a million times over.  She has responded to criticism with such honesty and kindness that I have truly been impressed.

[Rick Kitchen]

4 minutes ago, RCharter said:

I was on the fence with Tyler until I read his FB posts on TAR page.  He is defensive, dismissive, snarky, passive aggressive, and just plain bitchy.

He has put himself on social media and on this show for exposure....and he benefits from that exposure.  For him to get as bitchy as he does when someone simply expresses any opinion that is even mildly critical is unnecessary, and ugly.  You can't put yourself out there to millions of people and get snarky when some people decide they don't like you.  Its annoying to me and so he can kick rocks with his socks off.

However, reading the FB posts have raised my respect for Ashley about a million times over.  She has responded to criticism with such honesty and kindness that I have truly been impressed.

Nonsense.  Tyler is not in need of exposure.  He's already got tons of exposure.  Somebody who's visited the White House twice and interviewed the First Lady doesn't need exposure.

Edited May 1, 2016 by Rick Kitchen

[RCharter]

3 minutes ago, Rick Kitchen said:

Nonsense.  Tyler is not in need of exposure.  He's already got tones of exposure.  Somebody who's visited the White House twice and interviewed the First Lady doesn't need exposure.

Oh please, Tyler Oakley is not well known by the masses.  My brother AND parents visited the White House and my brother spoke to the POTUS.  Interviewing the first lady is something that elementary schoolkids have done as well.  Neither of those things make him any less needy of exposure.  

I only knew OF Tyler Oakley because he had been on a commercial for MTV and an episode of Catfish.  

Nor is there anything to say that people who are attention hungry don't "need" all the exposure/publicity they can get. 

Edited May 1, 2016 by RCharter

[Rick Kitchen]

OK, how about raising over a million dollars for charity?

[needschocolate]

10 minutes ago, RCharter said:

I agree with this, there should be some penalty to using the U-Turn on a team that is ahead of you.  Either the team you U-Turned has to incur a penalty in the next leg or in the current leg, or the team that U-Turned a team that is ahead has to have a penalty of some sort.  

I completely agree with penalizing a team that u-turns someone ahead of them.  However, it u-turning a team that is ahead of you results in penalizing the team that was ahead, it would encourage teams U-turn teams ahead of them.  There should be benefits to getting there first, not the risk of being penalized. 

I would be okay with u-turning a team ahead of u resulting in the team that was ahead getting some sort of bonus - like a 30 minute head start, but that wouldn't do much for making the next leg less predictable. 

I think if you U-turn a team ahead of you, then you also have to do the other task - it would be like u-turning yourself.  And then make it a blind U-turn, so that you don't know who has already been there.  But that may be too extreme.

[RCharter]

5 minutes ago, Rick Kitchen said:

OK, how about raising over a million dollars for charity?

what charity?  Most charities already have donors that are willing to give large amounts, so no, again, that doesn't particularly say anything about him needing exposure/attention.  

In fact, many people who raise large amounts for charity aren't well known at all.  However, there are a certain subset who are really using it as a way to get attention.

Edited May 1, 2016 by RCharter

[Rick Kitchen]

22 minutes ago, RCharter said:

what charity?  Most charities already have donors that are willing to give large amounts, so no, again, that doesn't particularly say anything about him needing exposure/attention.  

In fact, many people who raise large amounts for charity aren't well known at all.  However, there are a certain subset who are really using it as a way to get attention.

 

The Trevor Foundation, which is for gay youth.  He raised the money on his own, not through the foundation, getting the money from his subscribers.

[RCharter]

2 minutes ago, Rick Kitchen said:

 

The Trevor Foundation, which is for gay youth.  He raised the money on his own, not through the foundation, getting the money from his subscribers.

The Trevor Foundation is big enough to already have built in, big money donors.  Who I'm sure could subscribe and donate.  A million dollars for such a big charity doesn't say anything about his need for exposure/attention to me.   

Now, if it had been his own foundation?  Or if he had raised it for a smaller foundation?  That might have said something more to me, but the Trevor Foundation has been around since the 80's.

[Rick Kitchen]

Whatever.  I see there is no point in continuing this discussion.

[RCharter]

1 minute ago, Rick Kitchen said:

Whatever.  I see there is no point in continuing this discussion.

I understand, I also did a short google search.

Tyler's 2014 fundraiser raised a little over $500k, not a million dollars.....$500k is great, but its just not a million dollars.

and the Trevor Foundation has only been around since the 90's....not the 80's as I thought.

[blackwing]

Of course TPTB want the double U Turns to be used.  But I have been thinking of ways to make it less about two teams working together to handpick who goes home.  If they aren't going to make it a nonelimination, then I think the teams using the U Turns should incur a small time delay.  Maybe like 15 minutes.  

This would make the use of them much more strategic.  Do the leading teams think they are far enough ahead of the team they want out to delay themselves slightly?  How badly do they want that team out?  Are they willing to possibly sacrifice first place (and the trip/money) in order to nearly guarantee getting rid of their toughest competition?

[scrb]

Would be interesting to find out which detour task the Frisbee bros did faster, the coconuts or the seaweed.

Maybe if they did the seaweed detour first, they might have had a chance to get to the U-Turn second.

But if not, then the nature of the leg, with the dependency on boats to get between the missions, really prevented those who started later from catching up.

IIRC, the Frisbee guys started just 6 minutes later than the first guys who U-turned them.  Would also be interesting to see if they arrived at the U-turn the same amount of time they started.  Since they were the third team to arrive, versus starting out in 5th place, they might have arrived at the U-Turn fewer than 6 minutes behind the first place team and maybe just 2-3 minutes behind the second-place team which burned the second U-Turn.

That would suck for the Frisbee guys.

Also surprising no previous team decided to burn the second U-turn.  The fact that nobody thought to do it before suggests collusion and/or, the producers dropping the idea to the teams.

Edited May 1, 2016 by scrb

[K.M.]

Maybe they should put the U-Turn pictures in a simple puzzle box, or other small speed-bump-like task. How much do you want to U-Turn someone? Enough to sit and fiddle with the box or do the task? Is it worth slowing yourself down or losing a few minutes of your lead? I think I'd prefer it if they dropped the idea of hitting another team with a disadvantage and simply gave optional advantages. Here are some possibilities that occurred to me:

Everyone gets one Express Pass to use during the Race. This would go back to the "choose when it's most advantageous to go for it" of the early seasons without the expense of setting up Express Pass tasks. You would probably get some legs where several teams would burn their passes so as not to be left behind, but those strong or crafty enough to keep theirs would earn the advantage it could give them later in the race.

Or maybe they should introduce a new kind of pass:

Team Pass - Allow teams to turn a Roadblock into a Detour, so they wouldn't skip it, but the team members would both be allowed to work on it and presumably finish faster than the other teams.

Switch Pass - Allow teams to switch which member is doing the Roadblock. This might save some teams which get completely stuck because the one member is physically or otherwise unable to do the task.

[Lantern7]

K.M. . . . . there's a thread about "suggesting" stuff for TAR. I like the idea of a U-Turn with a puzzle.

[Jobiska]

5 hours ago, RCharter said:

I don't know how everyone else could manage two chickens,

Dana had trouble with the leftover, more ornery and riled-up chickens, and couldn't see how she could catch one who was flapping around in that state while she was holding on to the one she had previously caught.  Her strategy didn't bother me.  Sure, other trailing teams also didn't get to pick out the most docile ones, but she assessed her limits pretty quickly and they got the task done.  

Impressed with Sheri handling two chickens and a coconut on at least one of her trips--I don't think anyone else did that.

[PreBabylonia]

13 hours ago, Haleth said:

I'm rooting for Burnie and Ashley at this point, but a year from now I'll be hard pressed to tell you who won.  I can't remember who won last season.  TAR used to be my favorite show but it's all starting to run together into a big ball of sameness.

Unfortunately, I can't remember the winner of ANY reality competition show. Richard Hatch won the first Survivor, Tina won the second, Bill Rancic won the first The Apprentice (although Kwame should have won!) and Annie Duke was robbed in The Celebrity Apprentice by that quitter Joan Rivers. And that's it, I just can't remember any other winners from Big Brother and The Amazing Race, despite watching every episode and being deeply invested at the time.

I agree that Burnie and Ashley will be my #1 pick for this year, but I also won't remember them after the season ends. Maybe it's Reality Fatigue?

[Madding crowd]

I liked the frisbee guys and felt bad they were eliminated. I always tend to like teams that are positive and having fun and are not nasty to or about other teams. Tyler and Korey are on the edge about this I think; they have made comments about the frisbee guys. My biggest problem with the U-turn was that in this case, there was no suspense for me in watching the episode. I knew as soon as they used the U-turn that Brodie and Kurt would be eliminated and that in this and probably all future tasks, Tyler and Korey or Burnie and Ashley will be first. Part of my enjoyment is watching to see who will come in first and who will come in last. There is really no suspense anymore, unless something really unlucky happens to the first two team. 

[RCharter]

52 minutes ago, PreBabylonia said:

Unfortunately, I can't remember the winner of ANY reality competition show. Richard Hatch won the first Survivor, Tina won the second, Bill Rancic won the first The Apprentice (although Kwame should have won!) and Annie Duke was robbed in The Celebrity Apprentice by that quitter Joan Rivers. And that's it, I just can't remember any other winners from Big Brother and The Amazing Race, despite watching every episode and being deeply invested at the time.

I agree that Burnie and Ashley will be my #1 pick for this year, but I also won't remember them after the season ends. Maybe it's Reality Fatigue?

I can only remember that last years winner was not Justin, and the winner in the year before that was not Hayley.  

I like Burnie and Ashley.  I agree....Kwame was robbed!!!!  But I felt like I read somewhere that he was doing some pretty big stuff in the world of finance, so I'm sure he is sitting on his piles of money like Scrooge McDuck.

Edited May 2, 2016 by RCharter

[etagloh]

10 hours ago, Chyna said:

I thought the double U-turn in this episode was pretty awesome -- I don't think we've ever seen teams use it quite so strategically. 

Abbie and Ryan were eliminated in Amsterdam in the final-5 leg of TAR 21 through an explicit three-team agreement to single them out at the W-Turn: the Chippendales reluctantly put them on the board, and Trey and Lexi then U-turned the Chippendales. The Twinnies were part of the agreement but got the Fast Forward and so bypassed the U-Turn board.

This time was quite different, with no apparent plotting. Perhaps that was down to the edit, but I don't believe so: it just looked like they knew how to burn the second U-Turn, probably from watching previous seasons. (You can get them on Hulu these days.)

52 minutes ago, PreBabylonia said:

I agree that Burnie and Ashley will be my #1 pick for this year, but I also won't remember them after the season ends. Maybe it's Reality Fatigue?

I think it's partly because TAR final legs have become more constrained and less memorable than ones with 5-7 teams remaining. Those mid-way legs are usually the 'Emmy Legs' because the pack's been reduced to a decent size, the location is usually somewhere spectacular, and TPTB can set things like self-drive and also not worry about real-time spoilers.

[Guest]

I say the same thing every week, not sure why I read, but I like Tyler and Cole and Brodie.  I'm kind of mystified that any of these people invoke such strong reactions.  

I also don't find u-turning to be chicken shit.  If Brodie and Kurt hadn't won like 5 legs, they wouldn't have been targeted by two competing teams.  

[biakbiak]

9 hours ago, RCharter said:

I understand, I also did a short google search.

Tyler's 2014 fundraiser raised a little over $500k, not a million dollars.....$500k is great, but its just not a million dollars.

and the Trevor Foundation has only been around since the 90's....not the 80's as I thought.

If you Googled more you would see he raised in additional  532,000 in 2015 and the reason people donated through that particular fundraiser in both 2014 and 2015 was specially to enter them into a chance to have a one on one meeting with Tyler, not just the overall awesome charity.

[RCharter]

1 hour ago, biakbiak said:

If you Googled more you would see he raised in additional  532,000 in 2015 and the reason people donated through that particular fundraiser in both 2014 and 2015 was specially to enter them into a chance to have a one on one meeting with Tyler, not just the overall awesome charity.

So....each year he raised approximately the same amount?  Which is really not that large an amount.  Never mind that the Trevor Foundation has institutional donors and big money donors that would again, simply "subscribe" and "donate."  Especially over two years as the funds available for donation replenish as the FY closes and a new one starts. Its the same thing that happens when someone uses the American Red Cross as their charity of choice on Celebrity Apprentice.  A large charity has large institutional donors that are going to donate, regardless, but if they can donate in a way that can also gain some publicity...why not?

The reason SOME people donated was to win a meeting, but that doesn't mean that that was the reason that the majority of the campaign money came in.  All I can suss out is that the meeting was the prize, not that it is what drove the majority of the money donated.  

What I can say is that the revenues for FY 2014 (reflective of TO's campaign) were not significantly higher than the revenues for FY 2013 (before Tyler Oakley's involvement).  In 2014, the Trevor Foundation brought in about $224k more.....not even $500k more.  Which suggests to me that it is mostly the same large institutional donors and big money donors that have always donated and maybe a little more brought in the the smaller donations from TO's campaign and from other grassroots efforts.  I can also say that in looking through the donation lists, it appears as though at least 88% of the revenues come from institutional donations, grants, or larger private donations.  And that is not even taking into account those gifts that come through bequests

And none of this changes my initial point that TO went on TAR for exposure, and now he is salty with people who express any slight criticism of him.  If he wants the benefits of being a public figure and getting exposure on a show like TAR, he should better handle the negatives....like people having an opinion of him that isn't 100% positive.

And none of this takes away from the fact that he has done something great for a great cause.  But to suggest that he somehow "doesn't need exposure" because he has single handedly raised over a million dollars for charity doesn't make much sense to me.

Edited May 2, 2016 by RCharter

[fib]

Brodie and Kurt were really foolish - and that's what led to their elimination.  Not the Wturn.

For one, they raced for first repeatedly in early legs, showing off their foot speed and ability to outrun other racers to the mat.  While the prizes are valuable, not making yourself appear to be unbeatable is also important in a race where helping other teams does sometimes come into play. They put a target on their back by highlighting how strong they were in the races for the mat. It was smart of the other teams to target them. 

Secondly, If Brodie was as bad at tasks as the other racers indicated (and his two most recent performances indicated too), they should have let him do roadblocks when they were ahead.  Its smarter to be in the middle of the pack early in the race than late in the race when more competent racers are left. 

Thirdly, using the express pass to guarantee a first place finish in leg 8 was stupid.  That should only have been done if they were flat out of time to use it. But instead, they used it when there were plenty of racers left behind them, and they could have at least waited until it was clear Brodie wouldn't succeed before giving up. This resulted in them not having the express pass when it could have been more helpful in the kite task in leg 9 to prevent a near the end of the pack finish. 

Yes - the Wturn ultimately did the damage, but they knew it was coming later in the race and they should have known it was a possibility they would be targeted.  I'm not sympathetic because smart racing could have saved them.  But ultimately, it seems like they were all brawn and no brains.  And I like that the race doesn't blindly reward that like it has sometimes in the past. 

[Netfoot]

3 hours ago, fib said:

Thirdly, using the express pass to guarantee a first place finish in leg 8 was stupid.

Indeed.  They didn't use it because they were in danger of a last-place finish.  They used it because they wanted to be first!  And not in any sense like Justin from last season wanting to break a record.  They just wanted another first-place leg prize.  And for this, they gave up an EP that could have kept them from being Tail-End Charlie at back-end of the race, where the competition can be expected to be stronger due to weaker teams having been eliminated.  

 

I hope they enjoy that prize.  What was it?  A trip to Helinski?  :)

[Jersey Guy 87]

On 4/30/2016 at 2:25 PM, blackwing said:

We have seen teams in the past overcome a U-Turn, so I find fault with this one, because it was essentially "first place team handpicks who they want eliminated".

 

If Burnsie and Ashley had not burned the second u-turn on Tyler and Corey then Kurt and Brodie would still be in the game.  So i don't think the first place team handpicked who they wanted eliminated at all.

12 hours ago, PreBabylonia said:

Unfortunately, I can't remember the winner of ANY reality competition show. Richard Hatch won the first Survivor, Tina won the second, Bill Rancic won the first The Apprentice (although Kwame should have won!) and Annie Duke was robbed in The Celebrity Apprentice by that quitter Joan Rivers. And that's it, I just can't remember any other winners from Big Brother and The Amazing Race, despite watching every episode and being deeply invested at the time.

I agree that Burnie and Ashley will be my #1 pick for this year, but I also won't remember them after the season ends. Maybe it's Reality Fatigue?

Hah, that's a better memory of reality show winners than I have. Although I do remember Annie Duke getting robbed by Joan Rivers in the Celebrity Apprentice and stopped watching the show because of it.  Joan (and her daughter) were vile, petty people and Annie kicked her butt only to lose because Trump apparently preferred Joan.

[survivinmt]

Brodie and Kurt REALLY needed to save the Express Pass for when the clue said, "Watch out - U-turn ahead!" The show always tells them that and then they could have used the EP then and gotten to the U-Turn board first - especially in this case as they knew all the teams were very close.

This only seemed like a lame use of the W-turn, when actually a lot of things had to fall into place for it to work just this way. And most of it had to do with poor planning on Brodie and Kurt's part.

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

A U-Turn Ruffles Feathers On The Amazing Race

Racers spend a second leg in Indonesia enjoying the crystal-clear water, debating the U-Turn, and getting up close and personal with the local poultry.

[gunderda]

On 4/30/2016 at 9:06 AM, mojoween said:

I can't help it, Cole is growing on me after being absolutely annoyed with him in the beginning.

Me too!! I really disliked them at the beginning.  Now I'm usually rooting for them. Not that I think they have any chance of winning lol

On 5/1/2016 at 9:45 PM, snarktini said:

Having never heard of him before this, I like Tyler! I perceive his constant laughing as genuine -- a reaction of joy rather than hilarity. He seems absolutely delighted by the whole experience. 

Then again, some people find me annoying, too. :)

I like him too.  He always has a great attitude.  

On 5/1/2016 at 0:23 AM, snarktini said:

Also: How did the Dancers get ahead of Cole and Sherry? They couldn't find the clue. She took one chicken/coconut at at time. Cole didn't even freeze on the cliff. HOW?! I do tend to watch with one eye and a finger on the fast forward button so I assume I missed a snag of some sort...

 

On 5/1/2016 at 0:58 AM, J-Man said:

Probably bad luck with taxis.

Yep, it was the taxis.  Some of the boats had fasters drivers than others.  That nearly happened with Tyler/Korey and Burnie/Ashley. Burnie/Ashley almost caught up to Tyler/Korey because their boat driver was faster.  I think the stretches they had to do allowed teams to catch up.

So Cole and Sheri got to the land about the same time as the dancers and the dancers found a taxi faster. 

I seriously thought cole and Sheri weren't going to be able to find a taxi and Kurt/Brodie would pass them.

[piequinn35]

I wished they u-turned Dana and Matt instead coz they are annoying as hell LOL

anyways, good u-turn by Tyler/Corey and rooster teeth. ;)

kudos to Cole for this leg! 

Go rooster teeth!

[gunderda]

Forgot to mention that I also LOVED the double u-turn.   I think it was a great spot in the game to have it used.  These people are probably exhausted by this point and add to that, they are all very close in time to each other so it's a good time to see which teams can think quickly on their feet and use it to the maximum advantage.  Which Tyler/Korey and Bernie/Ashley obviously did. 

[Madding crowd]

Brodie and Kurt could not have saved the express pass for this leg, they had to use by the last one. It would have benefited them more to use it for the kite leg, but you have have no way of knowing what's ahead. As far as them being foolish for trying to be first place-isn't that what everyone does? Pretty much everyone wants to and try's to be first on the mat. I can't imagine a team that really wants to stay aiming for third or fourth. 

[Jersey Guy 87]

1 hour ago, gunderda said:

Forgot to mention that I also LOVED the double u-turn.   I think it was a great spot in the game to have it used.  These people are probably exhausted by this point and add to that, they are all very close in time to each other so it's a good time to see which teams can think quickly on their feet and use it to the maximum advantage.  Which Tyler/Korey and Bernie/Ashley obviously did. 

For Tyler/Korey it was a no-brainer.  U-turn Kurt and Brodie and hope that's enough.  Bernie and Ashley had to think on their feet.

[meep.meep]

On 5/1/2016 at 9:29 PM, backformore said:

I agree.  I always liked TAR because it seemed more pure competition - no voting, no sabotage, just RACE.   And along the way,  We get to experience the culture of a bunch of different places.  AND - I liked observing the partners, to see how they handled stress, how they worked together and dealt with their differences.  The last few seasons have been less enjoyable for a number of reasons.  The tasks don't give enough of the "local flavor",  and sometimes the tasks are just too easy, or boring and generic.   

I like TAR because of the lack of voting and that kind of strategy, but to believe that there's no sabotage is not right.  Off the top of my head, Season 1, the Guidos blocked all the other teams from getting on a flight because they hadn't gotten tickets for it and would have been eliminated.  Season 2 (?), the Gutsy Grannies slept in and no one woke them up for their departure time.  Season ?, won by the hippies - one team cancelled all the taxis ordered by the rest of the teams.  And on and on.  So, yeah, it's just RACE or RAACE or RAAAAAAACE or whatever.  But the U turn is Puuuure Evvvvvvilll.

[scrb]

If they do another all-star season, the Frisbee guys deserve a shot.  Though they don't have distinctive personalities, they were performing really well but took two teams to knock them out.  And they had good attitudes.

[Netfoot]

Pure sabotage like taxi-cancelling, passport-stealing, and gate-blocking should result in a penalty.  (And I recall how angry I was at the Guidos and Gategate!) But I don't think any team is responsible for, or should be expected to ensure that another team makes their departure time, gets onto their flight, or is in any way to be expected to offer succour to other teams.  

I've always said that should I be on TAR, not a word of truth would leave my mouth for the entire race. (Where is the cluebox?  Waaaaay over there!)  If someone asked me what time it was, I'd lie about it.  In fact, the only way I'd ever tell the truth is if I thought that somehow it would lead to more confusion and disruption to the other teams, than lying.  Of course, it would all be entirely in the spirit of the competition! 

[PreBabylonia]

23 hours ago, RCharter said:

I can only remember that last years winner was not Justin, and the winner in the year before that was not Hayley.  

I like Burnie and Ashley.  I agree....Kwame was robbed!!!!  But I felt like I read somewhere that he was doing some pretty big stuff in the world of finance, so I'm sure he is sitting on his piles of money like Scrooge McDuck.

You're doing better than me. I can't even remember Justin OR Hayley! I didn't even remember Dandrew, until I clicked on the Youtube link someone here posted, and it brought back memories of the most uncoordinated dancers (marchers as well) I have ever seen.

[aradia22]

I don't think it was a great leg with it was a fine episode. You didn't have to suffer through any of the racers' frustrating stupidity. It wasn't an NEL. I didn't feel too bad about the eliminated team. And because of the U-turn we got to see both tasks. I wish we could have spent more time at the pit stop. That building looked beautiful.

My perfect finale would be everyone but the dancers. I'm not sure if they'll go with three or four teams this year. As I have been the whole race, I'm rooting for Tyler and Korey but I'm not against anyone else winning.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

I'm still totally on board with how T/K and B/A used the w-turn....but the more I think about the design of the leg, I really feel like they could have made the roadblock something other than an "order of arrival" procedural task. Barring a Mika like meltdown at the waterslide the positions weren't going to change unless you ran into travel issues after you jumped. With the chauffeured boat rides to and from the jump point that seriously limited the possibilities of a travel disaster getting to the mat.

Broadly speaking, the make-up of how the teams are actually challenged now in S28 compared to S1....you might as well be talking about a different show. At the beginning, self-navigation and the opportunity to gain time transporting yourself (via multiple plane, train, or bus options) were critical. Now...you can be a horribly challenged navigation team like Sherri and Cole (and if you catch a NEL break here or there) make the final four. The little bit of self-driving they did in Dubai should have crushed them if not for the NEL. That's the only self-driving the teams have done through the whole season!

Even intra-location travel seems to just be down to taxi luck 4 out of every 5 legs. We haven't even had an example of teams needing to decide between taxis or a subway getting out of an international airport this season.

That's why I'm ok with u-turns and w-turns and any strategy that comes with them. TAR has become so skewed towards task ability and taxi luck....I like something else thrown in the mix every now and then. I'd love to see various legs have taxi's off limits (but not a Chamonix situation, let's have it in a major European or Japanese/Korean city). I'd totally co-sign the idea of having every team start with 1 express pass that they must use before the final 5 or 6 as well. Something to jazz up the strategy aspects of the game going forward. Especially as the detours seem to get more and more lopsided by the season.  

Edited May 3, 2016 by PhD-Purgatory15