S29.E01: We're Coming for You, Phil!

[Geenee]

Quote

The race commences in Panama by way of Los Angeles.

https://www.cbspressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/shows/the-amazing-race/photos?episode=11526

[weightyghost]

I'm not going to know these names for awhile so forgive me

I find it funny how even though they're strangers, people teamed up in a way that made sense as if it were a regular season. The cop and the firefighter, the two 'weirdos' (who I hated in the first five minutes and now I love them), the two pretty people with the pretty names, the model and the surfer, the butcher and the auctioneer. 

Lots of uniforms this year - marines, cops, firefighters, drill sergeants, K-9 whatever.... 

The girl with the gay Harvard guy was the other Type A right? So they're going to implode. (I wrote this before the rowing and wow did not take long). 

Seth and Olive - I thought they wouldn't work well because cop + firefighter might be too hot headed but he seems super chill which chillled her out, so I like them. Also like snowboarder and army dude, also both chill. 

I have hopes for the all girl team - they may murder each other but they're also tough as shit and would be great if they would get it together. Also thought that them getting to ride with Phil would benefit them in some way, but they still got 2nd flight. 

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the stranger theme but also I still love the show I'm okay so far. 

[DasFlavorPup]

When this show started mostly casting teams that were young attractive people, it sometimes was hard to keep them straight and as a result frequently hard to find them compelling or rootable in the first few episodes, especially during the all-dating season.  Now that it's still heavy on the young attractive people, now randomly mixed, with no hook/pre-existing relationship, I'm worried that I'm going to have an even harder time finding most of these teams collectively rootable or memorable, which does not bode well for my future enjoyment of the season.  Some of these teams are mismatched to an extent that it's uncomfortable to watch (Vanck and Ashton in particular).    One thing that DOES bode well for this season is that so far, the most compatible and likeable teams are the ones doing the best, with one exception (SHUT UP, BROOKE), and one of my least favorite teams was eliminated (although points to Jenn for being gracious to the 10th place team).

As for the content of the episode, there really isn't much to say.  First 10 minutes devoted to a boring, simple task to set up the gimmick for the season, and then 10 minutes before we get to the only team task of the episode, and then halfway in we've got teams heading to the Pit Stop and a clear separation of two groups of teams based on flight issues, with teams suddenly being shown arriving at the Pit Stop with no sense of how close they are to each other, which really kills any tension or urgency.  Given the fact that they actually had to close the Detour at the end, I'm guessing these teams are pretty spaced out now.

I'll give it a shot because the teams I like are doing well, but the legs need to be WAY better designed than this one or this season's going to be a slog.

P.S. - was I the only person who initially read the team handle "SandSExpress" as "Sand Sexpress", like they were a pair of horny beach bums?

[InDueTime]

Welcome back, TAR!

Even though there was the suitcase stuff in the beginning, I was still missing a Roadblock.  Maybe a two hour season premiere would've been better for that and to get to know the racers.

While everyone kind of blend together for now, I'm liking Team America and Team Fun. Maybe the Sholes Sisters if they continue to get along.

Kevin and Jenn seemed interesting, so it's a shame they couldn't go farther in the game.

[merylinkid]

pro:

Phil driving the team to the airport.

High IQ almost being the first team out.   Clearly doesn't watch the show because posting about how smart you are is the kiss of death on this show.

Cons:

Pretty much everything else.

Not thrilled about watching a season of strangers try to figure out each other's racing styles -- while fighting about not knowing each other's styled.

 

Neutral:
Finding out they will stop a detour for safety reasons.   But still a penalty.

[Lamb18]

Hurray, the Race is back! I was kind of, oh well, I guess I'll watch it. Then I heard the music and Phil saying, "The world awaits you!", then I was excited again. I missed the first few minutes, but saw the team pick. It's sort of like the dating season, but I'm curious to see how the partnerships will work out. So far Becca and Floyd are my favorite.

[Michichick]

34 minutes ago, weightyghost said:

I have hopes for the all girl team - they may murder each other but they're also tough as shit and would be great if they would get it together. Also thought that them getting to ride with Phil would benefit them in some way, but they still got 2nd flight.

The benefit of riding with Phil is spending time with Phil. Dream come true! :)

[Wouldofshouldof]

Woot woot! Welcome back TAR!  I will take it any way I can get it.  And the right team went out first.

[Nidratime]

Quote

The benefit of riding with Phil is spending time with Phil. Dream come true! :)

To be honest, I thought having Phil volunteer to drive you would be a guarantee of getting on the first plane.  After all, you're taking a measure of control away from the team, so I was very surprised about that.

Edited March 31, 2017 by Nidratime

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Pros:

Phil playing chauffeur!

Pre-team picking task that at least tested endurance, direction-ability, and a little geographic knowledge.

SELF DRIVING!! Right out of the gate...

Team Kooky lucking into the Express Pass

Reasonably balanced detour tasks which led to tons of teams reversing course

Cons:

The 2nd flight being delayed

One of the few Type B teams getting knocked off, right off the bat. I feel like their low key, not freakishly driven personalities will be missed as the season goes on.

Lots of passive aggressiveness between the attorney and the Harvard "achiever"

Ashton and Vanck actively hating each other within seconds of landing in Panama. That's a total no hope partnership for sure

[Lantern7]

Thinking good thoughts. Thinking good thoughts. I know it's hard to beat the witchery of Sandra, but TAR is trying.

"I got an IQ of 140." "Sure, Rupert." "Dammit, I'm not Rupert! I'm Michael!" "Of course you are, Rupert." "Hey, I looked normal once! I can shave!" "You think you're bright, and you came in tenth. Can't wait for your third-party candidacy for governor of Indiana, Rupert."

Dunno who's who for the most part. The teams with the basic "and" nicknames? Can't be a good sign. The ones that sing out to me are Floyd and Vanck because they come across as unrepentant nerds. "Vanck"? Whatever. Liked how the dumbass who came to Phil with a Czech flag (I'm guessing) wound up rebounding nicely. And I liked the "draft," especially since it could have gone first/second, third/fourth, etc.

There can be only one "Long Hair Don't Care," and that's James & Abba. Kevin & Jenn had good chemistry and were cute together, but they couldn't race well. I can see them being friends. And Michael? Lots of Racers have thought of quitting ten times in a leg. Did you not see Flo? Especially in the final two legs of a season that she won?!?

Liked the intro, mostly because I'm good with the teams shown. I can hear the gagging over Luke and Dave sobbing, but I'm cool with them. Hey, we also got Bopper comforting a 90-percent-dead Mark. And no Justin! We all wanna run the Race someday, but we don't wanna look like that.

ETA: Shamir can do the eyebrow pop. I know, more associated with Dwayne Johnson than Phil, but Shamir can stay.

[chaifan]

My worst fear for this season came true - Phil trying to play matchmaker on the mat.  Please stop it, just stop.  It didn't look good on him in the dating season, and just looks worse now. 

[ShadowSixx]

Finally this show is back on the air.

When Phil said that the two strong women will ride with him, I thought they were gonna zip by and get on the 1st flight or have the advantage of getting on the first flight. He got them there to where they had to be on the 2nd flight, so my joy on riding with Phil would be canceled out since I would have to get on the 2nd flight lol.

TeamFun would kind of get on my nerves. Yes, I enjoy fun just as much as the next person but continuous happiness like we're shooting rainbows out of our asses would get under my skin real quickly.

TeamWill&Grace, they're just gonna continue to implode with their personalities. Team TrainImplosion is more like it.

I'm glad TeamLongHairDontCare was eliminated. They were pretty much annoying and can't stand people who say they're gonna use their looks to get ahead. That's just a major eyeroll and side eye. 

Both of those detours would suck ass for me. I'm not good at archery and trying to defeat a professional pair of rowers would do me in lol.

No clear cut favorites yet, well maybe towards TeamBoys guys in blue. I'm always sympathetic to those who have a handicap but we'll see, depends on personality.

[vb68]

50 minutes ago, weightyghost said:

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the stranger theme but also I still love the show I'm okay so far. 

I was skeptical too, but honestly, I'm just so excited the show is back that I didn't even mind.

I thought it was  super fun. 

Edited March 31, 2017 by vb68

[hendersonrocks]

I was pleasantly surprised! Some cringeworthy moments and awfully matched teams, but also some that I can totally see rooting for. The Amazing Race is just so much better than other shows, even when gimmicks are involved.

[Quilt Fairy]

That was...... not a terrible first episode.  We've seen a lot of pre-existing-relationship teams implode under the pressure of the race, so this honestly felt no different to me.

And a big YES! to having to drive yourself.

[Stardancer Supreme]

Becca and Floyd are my clear favorites because they clearly came to raaaaaace and they plan to have fun doing it!

Being pretty doesn't help much on the Amazing Race.  Bye Kevin and Asian Barbie!

Seth and Olive seem strong. I cackled when she deadpanned in the airport about no romance with her partner. "Siiiigh. He likes dick."

Jessie and Francesca will probably steamroll challenges now that are getting along better. 

My show is back!

[sinycalone]

TeamFun might be more tolerable if they turn it down a notch.  It will be hard to keep track of these teams....but at least some of them seem to be well matched.  Then there are a few that will probably try to toss each other in the river intentionally.

The luggage idea was a good one because it challenged their sense of direction, knowledge of flags, and endurance.  I like the Cop's (team Mom/Dad) just racing right back to the store with a good attitude.

Edited March 31, 2017 by sinycalone

[Lady Calypso]

So, this is the first season that I'm watching in years. The last time I must have watched was season 22. Not that I wanted to quit the show, but real life got in the way and I just kind of stopped.

I'm still debating whether or not I like this strangers twist. The unique part about this show is the fact that the teams know each other, so there's both advantages and disadvantages with that. So this feels like any other reality show, romance angles and all. I've seen "oh I'm going to pick the cute guy or girl" angle so many times. However, it still felt like the show I remember, so having strangers paired up may not be so different.

I'm still learning names, though some of the #teamnames don't help. I think I like Logan and London, mostly because I'm kind of endeared by their name #TeamLolo. I don't even know why I like it so much. #TeamFun is probably going to get on my nerves. They were already bugging me a bit this episode. Um....Wrong Flag Guy and his partner could be a fun team. I ended up liking him. And I like Seth and Olive, and Matt and Redmond. I think it shows with me remembering their names. 

Team Will and Grace are on my short list. Same with Michael and Liz, although they aren't as bad. Ashton and her partner are such a mismatched pair who are probably going to implode sooner rather than later. 

Ultimately a fun premiere overall. 

Man, I really have missed this show. Maybe I should be going back to the seasons I've missed to see what's up. 

[Wandering Snark]

Well, I was bracing for worse... I don't really think this beginning feels much different than with regular teams, which is good.

I love that right out of the gate they are driving themselves (or Phil is driving them).

I do instantly feel sorry for anyone being saddled with Venck as he was the obvious oddball that would have problems/be a problem to whoever ended up on his team and that sucks.

I am going to have a hard time with the guy who finished as the last safe team. He starts with a negative score because his hair and some actions remind me of a past Survivor contestant who shall not be mentioned (but: hint he had baddd tattoos.). I also kinda am sick of "I'm doing this for my ____ because they mean the world/are the world to me." Played out.

Kudos to That Happy Team for her doing the roadblock nobody could. Her arm was seriously chewed up from the bow but she hung in there. I may grow to hate them like a certain laughing hyena from the previous season but for know we're good.

I like that Amazon woman and her small but fierce partner. I dig they are a competent all female team.

I'll give it a shot, it earned at least another episode to make judgements on the overall season.

[Mumbles]

Quote

Harvard "achiever"

Ugh, this guy. He brags how he went to Harvard University and graduated at the top of his class. He was trying to imply he went to Harvard for college. But he didn't. Per his LinkedIn, went to the Harvard professional school for education. Nothing to turn your nose up at, but he was purposefully misleading about it. And he's not even a teacher. He's a recruiter.

From the way he treats his partner, I predict that he's going to be someone to hate-watch.

I do also laugh at the women who brag how they're going to use their amazingly hot looks to get ahead and you look at them and say, really?

[Rachel RSL]

Team Fun FTW! Their reaction to getting the Express Pass was adorable!

I'm also iffy on the strangers concept but, I have to admit, I'm highly amused by the people who hate their partners. That blonde chick is clearly so pissed at getting stuck with Asian Sheldon Cooper. 

31 minutes ago, merylinkid said:

Finding out they will stop a detour for safety reasons.   But still a penalty.

That bugged me too.  But maybe there was something in the instructions that said the Detour would close at night, then it's forgivable.

[Quilt Fairy]

One thing I do not like is when they send them to someplace really significant and sight-seeing-worthy (in this case the Panama Canal) and all they do there is pick up a clue and leave.

[Lantern7]

22 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

And a big YES! to having to drive yourself.

Complete strangers navigating? I would've expected cabs in the first leg. My big fear? "The teams have arrived in Madrid, the capital of- [sound of screeching, following by a crash, and a tire bouncing behind Phil] And now I'm unemployed. I survived Jonathan Baker, but not this. Perfect."

16 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

So, this is the first season that I'm watching in years. The last time I must have watched was season 22. Not that I wanted to quit the show, but real life got in the way and I just kind of stopped.

Welcome back. If you want to catch up, may I suggest TAR25?

5 minutes ago, Wandering Snark said:

I am going to have a hard time with the guy who finished as the last safe team. He starts with a negative score because his hair and some actions remind me of a past Survivor contestant who shall not be mentioned (but: hint he had baddd tattoos.). I also kinda am sick of "I'm doing this for my ____ because they mean the world/are the world to me." Played out.

I was thinking of the original bearded jackass. I hope Michael isn't anywhere near as bad as the guy you're thinking of. And now I'm imagining him running with Lurch. Brrrrrrrrr.

[enlightenedbum]

Marine with the "I'm With Stumpy" tattoo pointing to his amputated leg?  Comedy gold.  Obvious, but still funny.

The two people from Boulder are trying way too hard.  Take it down several notches and they could be likeable.  Amazing how the try hards find each other instantly though.

I was dreading the twist but it's not as awful as it could have been.  Confused by the rules.  All but one person picking opposite gender surprised me and I thought it was a rule except there's the one all guy team leaving the two women picked last.  Weird.  Only the team that finished 10th and the uncomfortably nerdy dude/math is icky! pairings were really uncomfortable.  Teams that deserved to suck mostly did, basically functional people did well, so that's promising.

Conspiracy theorist in me thought the pros were instructed to take it easy on the third run, plus the 100m head start.  Which is fine, presumably you spent a ton of time on the task so whatever.  But I suspect learning the technique would not make up for the exhaustion factor and it seemed like the pros were smoking them by well more than 100m in the first race.

Not bad, and the race is the race.  Going to be way harder to actually learn who these people are so my investment until we're down to six or so might suffer.  That's the major flaw with this decision.

[green]

Bad.  Just bad.  Bad gimmick.  Bad in there was no age diversity.  Bad that most were either alpha-physical types from military/police/fire or the usual mactors some of whom got their usual other monikers like real estate agent etc.

The vet/fire/cop people all blended together in who-knows-who-they-are.  If there were 2 of 3 of those types you could keep them straight and get into their background.  But way too many of them so they all get wasted by being blended together which is a shame.  It is like Survivor was going to go with some gimmick for a whole tribe of these types and abandoned the idea and TAR just scooped them up instead since they were already in the CBS casting system.

I hate hate hate they are all pretty much young.  One guy seemed to have some gray showing but everyone else looked to be 20-somethings or early 30's.  Not only is there serious age discrimination going on but they lack so many of the life experiences that make older couples and parents, grandparents etc so interesting on the Race.

Only a handful didn't fit into either category.  The guy, can't remember who, who watched TAR from the 5th grade on, the math nerd who had the ony funny line of the whole night (turn 135 degrees) and the guy who grew his beard out to look like a Viking or Mountain Man or Biker or whatever he was going for.  I did like that he is smart.  I'm glad he stuck a fork into the "smart people have to look like pretty, fake gym-buffed, urbanites who work in cubicles" prejudice we suffer in this shallow society.  But those three aren't enough to carry the show for me.. 

The Gimmick Race is no long my show.

Edited March 31, 2017 by green

[ByaNose]

Yup! No old Mom & Dads here. They were obviously casting a certain age range. Even on a regular season they have older people and I guess they figured none of the youngins' would pick one of the old geezers. I'm 52 and I don't think I would have made the cut in casting for this season. 

[Knuckles]

I love TAR...even when I dislike most of the racers. It just is fun and great visuals. As for the racers, Vanck and Ashton...seriously uncomfortable to watch this. I am sympathetic to Ashton..her partner had very limited physical skills, and yes, limited personal skills. He seemed not to understand her discomfort. And his saying, with all seriousness, that he took archery in camp in 8th grade, brushing off her crossbow experience...the guy does not read social signals. No surprise watching his arrow visibly shake as he tried to use the bow. This is going to be a muster cluck.

And red beard and his partner...not a great start...and please, no stories about your beloved child and the money...heard it too many times before. We would all enjoy the cash...children or no children. 

The firefighter and the cop...with apologies, looks like a match made in heaven.

[LittleIggy]

I like Becca and Urkel (sorry, can't remember his name). I'm surprised that nobody picked the 6'8" police woman. Looks  as if she would be a plus on physical challenges.

[Cotypubby]

That penalty at the end was weird. Granted, it was my least liked team (if you say you're going to rely on your looks to get ahead, I'm immediately rooting for you to lose) so I'm happy they are gone, but did anyone else think it strange and unfair to penalize them by two hours when it wasn't their decision to not finish the detour? There's no way it took teams two hours to do that detour, all teams finished by the time they got the 100m advantage. I'd be surprised if teams spent more than 30 mins doing that. That they arrived at the mat before Team Redbeard means they could likely have finished the detour and actually passed them as Beard Team must have really gotten lost.

[Artsda]

There's a lot of people in service on this season. 

The Lawyer and the first in his class at Harvard are going to kill each other. Both type A.

I didn't like the twist at all, instead of being able to focus on a team to watch them like brothers, friends, child-parent. It was way too much strangers. 

The canoe challenge was stopped due to weather. It got dark, so why was the last team punished for that? They're not supposed to be punished because it got dark. Unless there was some type of time frame they had to make it to the challenge by. If that was the case, it should have been in the clue.

[Fretful]

One advantage to Phil driving you is saving the cost of taxi fare

[jumper sage]

2 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

"I got an IQ of 140."

Did he really say that?  140 is good but I wouldn't be tossing my number around.  You just know there are probably a few people in the cast/crew with higher number than that.  Ass!

2 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

There can be only one "Long Hair Don't Care," and that's James & Abba. Kevin & Jenn had good chemistry and were cute together, but they couldn't race well.

I don't know, this season Long Hair Don't Care really didn't care and are out.  Watch, next year we'll find out they hooked up, had a kid.............

1 hour ago, Lantern7 said:

Complete strangers navigating? I would've expected cabs in the first leg. My big fear? "The teams have arrived in Madrid, the capital of- [sound of screeching, following by a crash, and a tire bouncing behind Phil] And now I'm unemployed. I survived Jonathan Baker, but not this. Perfect."

I am crowning you winner of old school knowledge!  Awesome!

I was wary about this season's gimmick especially after the social media season.  I was impressed and really like the opener.  Sure some teams will just crash and burn.  I don't feel sorry for anyone on this season.  If they went on the show without a partner then they get what they get.

Phil being a cabby?  LOVED!

[vb68]

1 hour ago, enlightenedbum said:

Conspiracy theorist in me thought the pros were instructed to take it easy on the third run, plus the 100m head start.

That's what it looked like to me.

I always kinda hate when one team gets singled out as TeamAmerica because not only is it unfair, especially with so many service people in the cast, but it's obnoxious.

Brooke got on my nerves, but her partner looks to be very easily irritable too.  

[mertensia]

I was ecstatic as I have been to many of these places: Miraflores Locks, the "Embera village", and the stretch of the Chagres that they used to get to the aforementioned Embera village. It's very close to the Gamboa resort and I think that beach must have been the Gambia resort.

[enlightenedbum]

1 hour ago, Cotypubby said:

That penalty at the end was weird. Granted, it was my least liked team (if you say you're going to rely on your looks to get ahead, I'm immediately rooting for you to lose) so I'm happy they are gone, but did anyone else think it strange and unfair to penalize them by two hours when it wasn't their decision to not finish the detour? There's no way it took teams two hours to do that detour, all teams finished by the time they got the 100m advantage. I'd be surprised if teams spent more than 30 mins doing that. That they arrived at the mat before Team Redbeard means they could likely have finished the detour and actually passed them as Beard Team must have really gotten lost.

Penalties are pretty standard on this show, not completing the detour has been two hours for a while.  Used to be four, which you waited out before they gave you the clue.  And way back in the day it was "you lose, go home, unless someone gets lost for an entire day."  Momily I think is the only team to get the 24 hour penalty.

If you get so lost that the carefully scripted first leg can't be completed, you deserve to go home.

[shortsummers]

Some things I like about the cast this season:

There are no celebrities, especially no former Big Brother contestants.

There are no beauty queens and only one model and she is already gone.

There aren't that many contestants from California.  One of my pet peeves of TAR casting is that there are usually way too many people from there.  I like geographical diversity.

The contestants are generally likable.  The only person I dislike so far is Harvard, though 140 IQ is close.

Things I don't like about the casting:

The contestants are too close to the same age.  Among other things it makes it harder to tell them apart.

The singles concept also makes it harder to tell the teams apart.  I had to go back and look at the first 10 minutes again to get the teams straight.

The best line of the night was Jenn saying "How can two Asians get so lost?  I don't understand."  The funniest part was that she was completely serious when she said it.

[GaT]

Too many people to keep straight yet, but I'm glad the show is back & no surprise that the first team out is the one who seemed the most, let's say, intelligence challenged to me.

[scrb]

Quote

Lots of uniforms this year - marines, cops, firefighters, drill sergeants, K-9 whatever....

Yeah are these the type of people to apply as singles?

How would they even know that TAR were looking for singles to be paired up during the race?

Maybe they applied as teams but TAR cherry-picked people out of those team applicants?

I'm not put off by them attempting this new thing.  Any way they can get the show on the air ...

[Silver Raven]

Far too many high strung people right off the bat. And all of the cops and military and firefighters.  This is going to be war.

Well, we have one celeb - X Games guy.

"If you're not here to have fun, then what are you doing here?"  That's so my take on things.

Why is it every time we have a person from Boston on reality shows, they're cops?

"All Asians look like they're twelve." Flash to the Asian taxi driver.

Can we not do the rap any more?

Having to compete against pros was ridiculous.  They should have just had to run the course.

Damn, the greeter was hot!

That water looked so nasty, there's no way I would have wanted to wind up dunking in it.

Beardy butcher guy is annoying.

What a bummer way to be eliminated.

[Vyk]

2 hours ago, enlightenedbum said:

Penalties are pretty standard on this show, not completing the detour has been two hours for a while.  Used to be four, which you waited out before they gave you the clue.  And way back in the day it was "you lose, go home, unless someone gets lost for an entire day."  Momily I think is the only team to get the 24 hour penalty.

No, Detours used to be twenty-four-hour penalties up until season seventeen, when they changed it to just six hours (and no, Maria & Tiffany from TAR15 also got the twenty-four-hour penalty on what would've been an NEL, but because it would've put them so far behind going into the next leg, they were eliminated).  Roadblocks have always been four, and regular tasks have always been two.

I still need some time to get used to the premise of this season.  Because even with strangers, it felt like a normal season with actual teams.  But there are more names to learn (even though I think I know the names already, which is odd).  Good opening challenge that tested mental abilities more than physical ones.  I imagine some racers helped each other find the Panama flag.

So the teams:

Seth & Olive: Boldly established themselves as the team to beat.  They seemed to work well together, and their jobs as everyday heroes might help them bond together closely.

Becca & Floyd: Already enjoying them.  Was happy that these two fun-lovers got the Express, and I give them major props for being the only team to finish the Shoot Detour.  Well-deserved second place.

Matt & Redmond: I respect Redmond for running the race despite having an artificial leg, but I think they're going to end up being the alpha-male team who boringly dominates a la Tanner & Josh and Brodie & Kurt, and I just can't have that.  So watch them do just that, anyway.

Brooke & Scott: Eh, I'll handle their irritability factor for a few episodes since they're still racing well in spite of the petty bickering.  But eventually, something will have to give.

Shamir & Sara: Need more time on them, but they seem cooperative and competent enough.

Tara & Joey: Really sad that the only two racers in their upper thirties are considered "Mom and Dad."  Like . . . WTF, Show?!  That said, they seemed to be doing just fine together and may make a good team.

Vanck & Ashton: Just as others have been saying, I feel so bad for Ashton, being stuck with Vanck, who clearly is overanalytical with next to zero social skills.  I think this team will be a trainwreck and not in a good way.  They'll implode before too long.

London & Logan: Quiet and calm, with nothing too distinctive about them yet.  Hopefully, we'll see more of their personalities as the season progresses.

Jessie & Francesca: Jessie must be the tallest woman ever to race.  I'm glad that she and Francesca got over their initial tiff and are working well together.  I hope this keeps up since they're the only women's team in the game.

Liz & Michael: I like Liz, and I want to like Michael.  But he has to calm down and let Liz speak up when she has something to say.  He really has to listen to her.

Kevin & Jenn: Well, they both seemed nice enough, but I can't believe they got that lost.  Like @enlightenedbum said, though, if you could get this lost on practically a gift-wrapped leg, you deserve to go home.  They seemed very friendly with each other, though, and I can see them keeping in touch after the season's over.  Lame that the only Asian team was eliminated first, though.

Willing to give this season a shot, but it'd get moving along fast.

[shura]

What on Earth kind of name is Vanck? With the "ck" and on an Asian guy? I tried to google, and it seems this guy is the only person ever with that name. "Take a 135 degree turn"? Yeah, hold on, let me break out my protractor...

1 hour ago, Silver Raven said:

Why is it every time we have a person from Boston on reality shows, they're cops?

Well, they can't very well cast mobsters. It's a family show! Although, at 10 pm on Thursday, I'm not so sure anymore.

[Brynnjk]

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So happy to have TAR back.  I miss it so much when it's off the air.  And while I prefer Classic TAR, if this is the kind of thing they have to do to keep the show on the air, I don't mind.  I don't really have a favorite yet but I was so happy to see they had to drive themselves.  That's always so much more fun than taking a taxi.  I like the mix of likable racers and others that seem destined to implode.  Because the classic race seasons always have those you are rooting for and those you are rooting against.  I still cherish Season 2 and 3 (Danny and Oswald versus Will and Tara) (Bald Snark/Doublemint twins against Flo).

[Merneith]

I like this season, so far, as long as Phil doesn't try to make it all about Blind Dates again. I think they have a good mix of people. I don't mind the lack of older contestants, in this instance, since with a couple glaring exceptions, everyone else seems reasonably competitive.

Team Fun - I don't dislike them but they will be easier to take once Killer Fatigue arrives.

Team Boys - I would have picked Redmond, too, if I were choosing a partner from that lot (and then immediately doomed him, because of course, I'm not anything close to Race material.) A fit Marine who's not going to do any whining is a strong candidate. The other guy's the X games snowboarder, right? Strong team.

Team Olive and that other guy  - Olive was the other top pick, I think. The other guy is good but didn't really stand out to me. Still, together, I think it was smart of him to choose Olive, so they'd have a range of strengths and sizes.

Team Swole Sisters - also kind of a lot to take, but they have potential.

Team Vanck, Vanck's Ego, and the Blonde he thought was hot - Sorry, lady. You seem cool but there was too much load in that boat.

Team Butcher and whoever else that was - yeah. He's annoying but she's was useless.

Team Lolo - too much competition to be the showgirl, here.

Team Longhair - they earned that penalty fair and square.

That's all I remember. So happy to have the race back!

[feverfew]

TAR is back! Yay! And I didn't hate the concept nearly as much as I thought I would have. One of the reasons is actually that the people racing are so obviously matched in terms of age and physical abilities - less of the school yard last-picks I feared. That said, Vanck and Ashton is reaaaally mismatched (I'd feel sorry for him if it wasn't for the fact he himself chose the hot!girl. Be smarter, dude).

My favourites so far are Becca&Floyd and Matt&Redmond - the first for their obvious delight in being part of TAR and the second pair because I'm shallow and Redmond's hot (and also a cool human being from what we've seen so far).

Edited March 31, 2017 by feverfew

[TheRabbi]

If ever there was a season that begged for a 90 minute premiere, this was the one. Damn that moved fast.

I went in very pessimistic about the gimmick, due to the taste still in my mouth from the blind date season, but so far this is on the right track. I actually really enjoyed it. Going to really struggle with names this season, likely until just the final few teams left, but I did like the rock climber that thanked the academy, and the guy with the prosthetic leg and his partner, as well as the cop/firefighter.

Love that teams had to drive themselves right in the first leg. That is one reason why we needed a longer premiere. Just a quick 30 second montage of teams getting lost into the first commercial break doesn't really sell these teams getting lost for hours and hours, combined with the extended starting line sequence means we needed 90 minutes.

But so far I'm in. It was just so dang nice to have this show back on my television.

[CrashTextDummie]

Random teams make this a different show, but based on the first episode not necessarily a bad show. Self driving right off the gate is fun, but I think it also illustrated why the showrunners tended to shy away from it lately. It diminishes the importance of tasks because evidently a lot of people are bad enough at navigation that they screw themselves over before they even get to the task.

Snowboarder/Army Vet look like an alpha male team, but they're not also bros so I see myself rooting for them anyway. Asian Dude/Blonde are actively uncomfortable to watch and I hope they go soon. I don't usually have to feel bad for teams with mismatching personalities because they had the bad sense to sign up together but I can't help but feel sympathy for the blonde despite her immediately giving her partner a bitchy attitude because it must really suck to get on a show like this and be stuck with a partner you clearly won't find success with or even enjoy traveling the world together with.

Not much of an opinion on any other team yet. On an individual basis, I'm fascinated by Amazon Woman because she's unlike any other contestant I remember and I'm curious to see how her obvious physical skills translate to race proficiency.

[Primetimer]

Teams of total strangers head to Panama; some immediately wish they'd tried a little bit harder to convince their moms to fill out that application with them.

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[TAG42481]

I feel like we've had people before who feel like they'll do well because of their looks, but it seemed to me like Jenn went a little past that and that she felt "entitled" to do well because of her looks.  She is a very pretty lady, but with that attitude, I won't miss her being on the show.

[Boilergal]

I misunderstood how they were going to do the stranger race.  I thought they would all show up with their friend/family/spouse, they would swap them all up and you wouldn't race with who you came with.  

I'm shocked the only guy that picked the wrong flag and had to go back was picked before either of Team Swole Sister.

Ashton wanted a super hot macho guy and got Vanck - her disappointment made me chuckle.