S29.E07: Have Fun and Get It Done

[iMonrey]

Why on earth did Scott decide Brooke should do the Roadblock when they were in last place? That was potentially a game-losing decision right there. Everyone knows Brooke has a melt-down and starts screaming "I can't do it" whenever she's faced with . . . any challenge - nobody knows it better than Scott. So why choose Brooke to do it when they had everything riding on her? I can see maybe, strategically, they figured Scott should do the more physical tasks and Brooke should do painting and puzzles, but still . . . when you're in last place you don't send in you weakest, most panicky partner.

Even more puzzling is how the hell Brooke managed to calm down and actually finish ahead of Liz and London. WTF? I missed something. I think she was even the only one of the six that got it right on the first try!

Overall, I feel like this was a waste of an hour. A non-elimination right after a TBC? Boo. Hiss.

[Rachel RSL]

@valen It is very clearly posted here that there is to be no preview talk in the episode threads. A lot of us don't want to be spoiled.

[sinycalone]

I think some of the teams have bonded and are enjoying their partnerships....Team Fun, Tara/Joey come to mind.  I don't need a lot of drama....just people who are enjoying the Race experience....and COMPETING.

London was right to mislead and/or not assist the other teams...Race time, not party time.

Joey was impressive with the luggage...and very few seemed to fall off at any point.  Redmond's mask was hardly "beautiful", but I guess it was close enough.  Then again, non of the masks came really close to the originals.  

Loved seeing Venice....been a long time between TAR visits!

[RealReality]

21 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Why on earth did Scott decide Brooke should do the Roadblock when they were in last place? That was potentially a game-losing decision right there. Everyone knows Brooke has a melt-down and starts screaming "I can't do it" whenever she's faced with . . . any challenge - nobody knows it better than Scott. So why choose Brooke to do it when they had everything riding on her? I can see maybe, strategically, they figured Scott should do the more physical tasks and Brooke should do painting and puzzles, but still . . . when you're in last place you don't send in you weakest, most panicky partner.

Even more puzzling is how the hell Brooke managed to calm down and actually finish ahead of Liz and London. WTF? I missed something. I think she was even the only one of the six that got it right on the first try!

Overall, I feel like this was a waste of an hour. A non-elimination right after a TBC? Boo. Hiss.

 

Isn't the rule that one person can't do too many roadblocks?  Because that would explain it.  Brooke can't do anything that requires strength or a great deal of mental fortitude, or patience, or food she doesn't like.  And her elbow hurts, and its too hard, and why didn't Scott just do it for her?

Painting a mask was probably the one thing she could MAYBE do, so Scott may be saving himself for the many, many, many, many roadblocks Brooke can't do

[blackwing]

Loved seeing Venice again.  The scenery was pretty amazing.  The tasks themselves weren't that interesting to watch though.  I think part of the issue for me is that with the singing/delivering tasks, we had no idea where they actually were or how far they were from where they needed to be.  It wasn't that fun listening to bad singing while they sat in boats going aimlessly round and round.  And the luggage task might have been better if we had some appreciation of how far they were trying to go.  Watching them turn corners and go up steps and narrow passages that all look the same... not interesting.  The mask task seemed cool on paper but it's really not fun watching people try and paint something.  The snipping between the teams was more interesting.

As soon as the show opened up with the pointless discussion between Michael and Liz about regrouping, and then him crying about his daughter, I knew that they were either getting eliminated or saved by NEL.  Why show it otherwise?  

13 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

Michael may be the worst for me, even worse than Brooke. He's so aggressive and he speaks down upon the women. I noticed a small moment when him and Liz are practicing the Sing It and he asks the woman if they're ready, and then didn't wait for her to try to translate her answer into English. I get you're racing and impatient, but this is becoming a pattern with him. 

I fully agree.  I dislike Michael much more than Brooke.  Brooke is whiny and irritating but she's easy to just ignore and shut out.  I love how Scott described how he deals with her.  I also found it hilarious on the bus when he was sitting right next to her and talked about how maybe they could find love in Venice and then made this face about how it would never be possible for her (out of her sightline).  

On the other hand, Michael is just a huge jerk.  He's nasty to just about everyone and really seems to have this entitlement streak.  How dare Logan and London not tell him where the street cleaner was.  That square was practically empty.  I know it's a big square, but with so few people in it, how hard is it to find a guy sweeping the floor?  It's not like he was surrounded by people and was hard to spot.  Then he kept on complaining about it to Joey and whoever else was there when he was waiting for Liz at the mask task.   I noticed that when Logan showed up, I was expecting a confrontation but I didn't hear Michael say anything at all to him.  Probably because Logan is a big tall strong man.  I have no doubt if London had shown up in the waiting area instead that he would have ripped into her, Rupert Boneham style.

I found it ironic that Liz and Michael were so mad at Logan and London for not sharing information or helping them out.  Then at the mask task, when Brooke was whining to everyone and asking for help, Liz sits there and says something like "why don't you just suck it up and run your own race".  Then Liz is crying about how she doesn't know what she's doing wrong.  Karma.  Especially after how Liz told us how great she is at painting and how she painted a cow skull just before she left for the race.  As Nelson Muntz would say.... har har!

1 hour ago, RealReality said:

Personally, its why I would have done the singing challenge.  Most of the "expert" challenges will give it to you by the third try no matter how much you suck.  You won't get it on the first, because then the detour would be uneven......if you're doing good, maybe you'll get it on the second.....but by the third you should have it.  Even when the detours are more objective, like with the boat racing....by the third time, the teams were like given 150 yard headstart so they could get it down.

Versus the luggage thing that just looked super heavy and hard to navigate, so much of the luggage kept falling off!

I'm not sure if I agree.  I remember the season from some seasons back, that team of guys from Kentucky... middle aged black male and middle aged white male, kept going on and on about how PAWR they were and how much they needed the money.  Can't for the life of me remember their names.  They were going to be on the all star season but the white guy had some kind of heart defect so they paired up the other guy with the blonde beauty queen daughter and they didn't get along and when they lost, the guy said something like "It's sad that God doesn't want me to win a million dollars".   Anyhoo, there was a dance in India in like 110 degree heat where that guy failed over and over and over again.  And wasn't there a singing challenge in Germany on the season with Tim and Marie where some teams failed repeatedly?  Something like 10 tries or so.  I'd be wary of any kind of task that requires judging based on talent.

Edited May 5, 2017 by blackwing

[Lady Calypso]

1 minute ago, blackwing said:

I found it ironic that Liz and Michael were so mad at Logan and London for not sharing information or helping them out.  Then at the mask task, when Brooke was whining to everyone and asking for help, Liz sits there and says something like "why don't you just suck it up and run your own race".  Then Liz is crying about how she doesn't know what she's doing wrong.  Karma.  Especially after how Liz told us how great she is at painting and how she painted a cow skull just before she left for the race.  As Nelson Muntz would say.... har har!

I don't know if Liz was actually mad at London/Logan, though. Sure, she kind of agreed with Michael's statement about having helped out LoLo "tons of times", but I don't remember her expressing how much she didn't like LoLo lying. I could be totally forgetting, though, if she had. Feel free to correct me if Liz actually did say something about her being mad at LoLo. If I was paired with an aggressive man like Michael who's already gotten passive aggressive on me, I'd probably just nod my head in agreement to not get him angrier. 

[RealReality]

3 minutes ago, blackwing said:

 

I'm not sure if I agree.  I remember the season from some seasons back, that team of guys from Kentucky... middle aged black male and middle aged white male, kept going on and on about how PAWR they were and how much they needed the money.  Can't for the life of me remember their names.  They were going to be on the all star season but the white guy had some kind of heart defect so they paired up the other guy with the blonde beauty queen daughter and they didn't get along and when they lost, the guy said something like "It's sad that God doesn't want me to win a million dollars".   Anyhoo, there was a dance in India in like 110 degree heat where that guy failed over and over and over again.  And wasn't there a singing challenge on the season with Tim and Marie where some teams failed repeatedly?  Something like 10 tries or so.  I'd be wary of any kind of task that requires judging based on talent.

3

I think those are the exceptions that prove the rule.  They are so rare, like with the mother/son rapping thing when they did social media stars and they got it in seven tries.  It was a rarity, and maybe a few of the "local judges" just do their own thing and ignore the producer advice.  And I think dancing is a little more difficult because if you're really, really, really bad its hard to justify passing someone.  

But for the most part, by the third time, you're gonna pass less you're like the literal worst.

[valen]

52 minutes ago, Rachel RSL said:

@valen It is very clearly posted here that there is to be no preview talk in the episode threads. A lot of us don't want to be spoiled.

I haven't seen that post, so thank you. I have edited my post.

[shura]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

Why on earth did Scott decide Brooke should do the Roadblock when they were in last place? That was potentially a game-losing decision right there. Everyone knows Brooke has a melt-down and starts screaming "I can't do it" whenever she's faced with . . . any challenge - nobody knows it better than Scott. So why choose Brooke to do it when they had everything riding on her? I can see maybe, strategically, they figured Scott should do the more physical tasks and Brooke should do painting and puzzles, but still . . . when you're in last place you don't send in you weakest, most panicky partner.

Unless you actually want it to end right then and there. I mean, Scott probably doesn't believe they can ultimately win it with Brook's temperament, nor does he enjoy having to interact with her. So why prolong it?

[netlyon2]

General Thoughts:

• Well, if Matt and Redmond were going to get first, it would be on a leg like this--one with a physical Detour option and a fairly lenient Roadblock judge.  Redmond is still firmly on my "Ain't Shit" list, even though he managed to go the whole leg without making a disparaging remark about female racers (bonus points for not needing to rely on a female racer's insight to finish a task).
• Also remaining on my "Ain't Shit" list?  Brooke, Brooke, Brooke.  How Scott refrained from encouraging her to jump in the canal, I will never know.  My strategy for dealing with watching her is to pretend that Scott is actually Stephen Amell and then imagine Brooke racing with Oliver Queen in his least patient Hood/Green Arrow mode.
• Of course, Mike remains the king of the list, with this episode just adding to his ickiness.  Like Redmond, he's nice enough when things are going his way, but a little difficulty is all that's needed to rub away the facade.  I'm generally of the "Free Liz" sentiment, and I was definitely picking up what she was putting down about Brooke needing to suck it up and deal, but I'm more than fine with them being eliminated ASAP.
• Since I can't have my FireCop2 win (seriously, I still mourn Seth and Olive when I see them in the intro), I'm down with Tara and Joey taking it all.  No-nonsense, mutually respectful, and able to bounce back from errors?  My kind of people!  That said, I'm ready for them to leave Italy so Tara will quit showing how much Italian she knows.
• Lastly, I'm glad to see that LoLo finally got the old TWOP memo that this is not Amazing Kindergarten.  I shed a tear of joyful pride when they decided not to help the others at the back of the pack.  [Unless and until I see some receipts, I choose to believe that the "tons of times" that Mike and Liz have helped LoLo consists of answering questions like "Have you seen London?" and "Would you pass this to Logan, please?".]  As I've resigned myself to Matt and Redmond making the finale, I'm hoping that this team rounds out the top three.  They just need to (1) keep racing and not holding hands with other teams, (2) survive whatever version of the TwinHunt the other teams cook up, and (3) stop slipping into that SloLo mode where they bleed time for no real reason.

1 hour ago, RealReality said:

And I think dancing is a little more difficult because if you're really, really, really bad its hard to justify passing someone.  

or, say, marching *giggles uncontrollably*

Edited May 5, 2017 by netlyon2

[Lamb18]

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

 I remember the season from some seasons back, that team of guys from Kentucky... middle aged black male and middle aged white male, kept going on and on about how PAWR they were and how much they needed the money.  Can't for the life of me remember their names.

That was Mark and Bopper.

[iMonrey]

Quote

London was right to mislead and/or not assist the other teams...Race time, not party time.

It doesn't really bother me that they did this - and personally I don't think you should help another team when you're at the back of the pack. That's just good sense. However, I do see a distinction between saying "I don't know" and deliberately misleading someone and sending them in the wrong direction. The latter is just more dickish. And while it still doesn't necessarily bother me (depending on who's doing it, and who they're doing it to), it might come back to bite them in the ass. Not helping someone is one thing but making enemies might not be a strategic move.

Quote

Painting a mask was probably the one thing she could MAYBE do, so Scott may be saving himself for the many, many, many, many roadblocks Brooke can't do

I get that but if they're in last place and relying on Brooke to save them, they're probably not going to have any more Roadblocks to do. And it sounded like an impromptu decision, nothing something they agreed on beforehand. You don't send in your weakest when you're in last place. That was dumb. (And, as it turned out, dumb luck.)

[zoey1996]

I still like all the teams still in the race, but I don't like Brooke.  At all.  

I thought sure that Michael and Liz would be out based on the talking early in the episode, and I was glad it was an NEL.  That said, with self-navigating and the speed bump they have coming, it wouldn't surprise me if they didn't last much longer.  Not sorry "the guys" came in first.  It's always more interesting when there's not one or two teams that dominate.  

[azshadowwalker]

14 hours ago, ShadowSixx said:

For her to ask the lady to start from scratch was just stupid, just look at what she's doing and go from there. Glad the lady didn't start over and just kept painting.

I don't think it was stupid at all. I also found it really fucked up that getting full instructions depended on when you arrived. It was obvious that you needed to get all the steps, since the wiping part tripped all of them up until Floyd pointed it out. If people are required to follow specific steps to get the correct product, it's bullshit that only some of the racers are even given the opportunity to know what those steps are. 

The only people worth a shit this season are Floyd and Becca. This isn't making me want to watch another season. 

The NEL was so telegraphed. There are so few teams left, it had to happen. Sorry it saved Michael.

[etagloh]

7 hours ago, Haleth said:

The musicians were surely told to make the teams sing 3 or 4 times before rewarding them, probably to balance the luggage task.

I'm sure that technical considerations about the final edit go into the task planning, as well as more obvious stuff like timing.

Having to repeat short tasks gives the editors more material to work with. Nail the song on the first attempt, and you'll see the same backdrop for all the teams, and there might be footage you can't use. (It also gives the Amazing Crew a chance to get the camera angles and sound right while sitting in a gondola.) Repeat it a few times and you end up in different places, and the editors can also cut between teams for the shots we saw on this leg without it looking forced or messy.

[proserpina65]

16 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I love how positive Becca and Floyd are after having recovered from the little incident earlier.  (It's nice that they do recaps on YouTube too.)

I laughed out loud at how surprised Scott was when Brooke finished ahead of others.  I think I was equally as surprised considering how much she was struggling.  And really, it was silly of her to ask for help when it was clear that she would have better luck paying attention to the experts than her fellow contestants. 

One thing I loved about this leg was how much it reminded me of being in Venice and how hella confusing it is to navigate, especially on foot.  You head down an alley thinking you're going to a main thoroughfare only to run into another darn canal and have to turn around to try another route.

Yeah, that's what I thought would be the real difficulty in the luggage task.  I tried to find a restaurant recommended by my guidebook when I was in Venice, and it took me forever.  I was starving by the time I got there, but the gnocchi really were divine.

15 hours ago, dgpolo said:

I think I'm really beginning to see/feel exactly why this season of strangers isn't working. When you put aside the actual tasks, there's nothing there. There's no parent consoling their children (or vice versa) no marriages imploding, no couples proposing or breaking up, nothing. We know no matter how tempers flare during a task, it means nothing, because at the end they are all just going to walk away from each other. It really shows in team like LoLo and Tara and Joey and Seth and ? (forgot her name) they are strangers working together to complete a task and nothing more.

I'm actually glad not to have all that other drama.  That's not part of what makes AR entertaining for me.  So I'm enjoying this season quite a bit.

[proserpina65]

13 hours ago, mertensia said:

Water taxis are expensive; they must have gotten a huge chunk of money at the start of the leg. Also why, probably, that family was willing to share. We took one from right in front of the train station to the Piazza San Marcos on the tour I was on, so I was reliving memories. Also I think I spotted the outside of the Natural History Museum (which is very good) during one of the gondola trips.

The vaporetti are much less expensive, but they have a set route and, like busses on dry land, you have to wait for them.  But they're good for meeting other people.

[Rachel RSL]

1 hour ago, azshadowwalker said:

I don't think it was stupid at all. I also found it really fucked up that getting full instructions depended on when you arrived. It was obvious that you needed to get all the steps, since the wiping part tripped all of them up until Floyd pointed it out. If people are required to follow specific steps to get the correct product, it's bullshit that only some of the racers are even given the opportunity to know what those steps are. 

This really really bugged me too! There should have been several instructors there to accommodate all the different arrival times and all the different masks. 

[etagloh]

1 hour ago, azshadowwalker said:

If people are required to follow specific steps to get the correct product, it's bullshit that only some of the racers are even given the opportunity to know what those steps are. 

Was that the case with the coconut-leaf bag weaving in Zanzibar? It didn't seem like the demonstrators there were waiting for teams to show up in order to begin on a new one: they were just weaving bags one at a time from start to finish, and were at different points in the process when teams showed up.

It feels like more of a deal here because the racers turned it into a deal, and that made it into the final edit.

[Tara Ariano]

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

 

The Amazing Racers Find It Hard To Mask Their Emotions

Venice brings the expected gondolas and fancy masks; teams bring the expected petty bickering over tiny perceived slights.

[pinguina]

I enjoyed the whole episode! The only speedbumps were Michael and Brooke (it would have been a grand sight if they had been partners - I'd pay money to see that.)
I really like Floyd and Becca - they seem to have respect for each other and such a positive attitude to every roadblock or detour they face. Okay - that one time Becca lost it with Floyd; but it was ONE time. How many times in only one episode have Brooke and Michael done way worse! And don't they still have a fast pass??
I also like how Tara and Joey interact with each other.
Team Lolo were right not to share where to get info - as others have said, "It's a RACE." Plus they weren't jerks about it. They didn't point others in a different or wrong direction. They just kind of sneaked away.
I do have to say that I don't like the idea of strangers - there isn't a personal connection (although, Floyd and Becca seemed to have bonded).
I feel bad for Liz and Scott - I think that they wouldn't be disappointed to be eliminated just to get away from their partners.

[amazingracefan]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

It doesn't really bother me that they did this - and personally I don't think you should help another team when you're at the back of the pack. That's just good sense. However, I do see a distinction between saying "I don't know" and deliberately misleading someone and sending them in the wrong direction. The latter is just more dickish. And while it still doesn't necessarily bother me (depending on who's doing it, and who they're doing it to), it might come back to bite them in the ass. Not helping someone is one thing but making enemies might not be a strategic move.

But if someone is stupid enough to take the help of a competitor (who of course can't be totally trustworthy) rather than working things out for themselves then maybe they have to expect to meet some pitfalls.

Edited May 5, 2017 by amazingracefan

[blackwing]

It was more of a deal because there was only one demonstration, and the task required a specific series of steps and it took a while to complete from start to finish.  So if you missed the beginning, you were screwed.  I don't think the racers "turned it into a deal".  Brooke was whiny about it, but I think her point was valid.  If they weren't going to have multiple demonstrations at different points throughout the process, the woman should at least have answered questions about what the steps were.

[shura]

1 hour ago, azshadowwalker said:

I also found it really fucked up that getting full instructions depended on when you arrived. It was obvious that you needed to get all the steps, since the wiping part tripped all of them up until Floyd pointed it out. If people are required to follow specific steps to get the correct product, it's bullshit that only some of the racers are even given the opportunity to know what those steps are.

To me, it's like missing the ferry from Zanzibar - if you arrive later than the other teams, you just have to wait until the next ferry. Brooke was welcome to wait until the next demonstration started and see all the required steps.

[amazingracefan]

3 hours ago, blackwing said:

The tasks themselves weren't that interesting to watch though.  I think part of the issue for me is that with the singing/delivering tasks, we had no idea where they actually were or how far they were from where they needed to be.  It wasn't that fun listening to bad singing while they sat in boats going aimlessly round and round.  And the luggage task might have been better if we had some appreciation of how far they were trying to go.  Watching them turn corners and go up steps and narrow passages that all look the same... not interesting.  The mask task seemed cool on paper but it's really not fun watching people try and paint something.  The snipping between the teams was more interesting.

Maybe there could have been a broader map of the tasks and progress.  But I think another point is that tasks used to be tougher, now the schedule is for them not to take that long with the challenges.  So it doesn't matter if luggage falls off, they don't have to start again.  It doesn't matter if the singing is wrong first time, they don't have to go back to the start anyway.

[holly4755]

7 hours ago, Bryce Lynch said:

Thanks for pointing that out.  Now, I like Redmond and Matt with no reservations at all.  I am rooting from either them or Team Fun to win, though LoLo or Tara and Joey would be fine as well.  

except that Redmond does not seem to like or respect women much. Only a male team like his can win.

 

I know this was interesting but I was in Venice with a nor'easter and they had to put up saw horses and planks to walk on. you were supposed to be careful easing by people walking in the other directions One woman came along ina fur coat and was pushing people going the other way into the water so she could walk unimpeded, but you know those pesky americans,I did in realize what she was doing until she tried to push me off and reacted without thinking and pushed back. splat, she was pretty pissed off and the guy behind her, we kind of ran away on the platforms,. ha ha . Now being there in a nor'easter could have posed several interesting challenges for the races.  but not very predictable. Ido think the challenges are easier and people are getting away with less perfect work, almost as if they are trying to contain each task to one day and keeping race expenses down. 

[Novel8]

Michael is a jerk...did he not know by signing on, he would be away from his daughter for a spell? He should not have signed on if he can't take some time away. Think of our soldiers that are away from their 'daughters' for a year or more, and may not ever see them again. Also, this was the second time that they were last and got a break...which is a joke in itself. I think back perhaps the 3rd elimation where Seth and his partner were last and never got such a break, and they were formidable players..going 1,2,3 in finishing. Even the guys knew they were a threat and gave them the uturn which proved their undoing. If Michael and Liz win, it would be the last time I will watch this show...one break is enough.

[fishcakes]

1 hour ago, amazingracefan said:

But I think another point is that tasks used to be tougher, now the schedule is for them not to take that long with the challenges.

I was wondering about this with the gondola task. In the past when teams had to sing or recite something, didn't they have to memorize it? Both last night and earlier in the fire troll task where they had to recite the poem, they were able to read it off a piece of paper. I don't remember seeing it done that way before this season.

I had to laugh at Phil saying the luggage task required that they go up and down stairs using a "special method," when all it required was enough common sense to know you tilt the wheels up to get them over the next step. Pretty much anyone who's ever wheeled a baby stroller or a lawn mower around should be able to do it. But then zero of the teams figured it out, instead relying on, "this weighs 500 pounds, let's pick it up entirely off the ground and carry it," or, "I'll just pull it really fast down these steps; what could go wrong?"

Best moment was when Becca and Floyd started singing and the gondola driver immediately turned to the camera with a look of alarm on his face.

[Rachel RSL]

1 hour ago, fishcakes said:

I was wondering about this with the gondola task. In the past when teams had to sing or recite something, didn't they have to memorize it? Both last night and earlier in the fire troll task where they had to recite the poem, they were able to read it off a piece of paper. I don't remember seeing it done that way before this season.

I think you're correct. I was really surprised when I saw Becca & Floyd reading off the paper.

 

1 hour ago, fishcakes said:

Best moment was when Becca and Floyd started singing and the gondola driver immediately turned to the camera with a look of alarm on his face.

Ha! Another fun moment was when LoLo dropped the luggage down a flight of stairs, almost bowling over a lady coming up. London is like "Sorry, ma'am!" and you can practically see the thought bubble over her head: "Fucking tourists!". 

[vousviou]

8 hours ago, RealReality said:

I think Brooke is almost a caricature of an attorney.  I think attorneys like rules and exact parameters, so I knew that she would want to see the demonstration from the beginning.  I would too.  But if the woman wasn't going to start from the beginning, stop asking her to, or just try to figure it out with your own mask.

I also suspected she would do well, because attorneys are supposed to be detail oriented.

And her constant blaming of Scott for her "inability" to do things mimics some attorneys I know who, when they are losing, look to see who else they can blame for the loss.

A very type A special snowflake personality that quite a few people in law school have.

In my experience there are two types of attorneys.  The first go straight from college to law school. They have no real world experience and go straight to working in a law firm.  The second type takes time between college and law school and works for at least a few years, possibly attending law school at night.  The second type is often decent, but avoid like the plague the ones who only know the law and other lawyers.

[Rachel RSL]

21 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

I noticed a small moment when him and Liz are practicing the Sing It and he asks the woman if they're ready, and then didn't wait for her to try to translate her answer into English. I get you're racing and impatient, but this is becoming a pattern with him.

I'm no huge fan of Michael but, in all fairness, this isn't correct. They ask her if they're ready, she nods and says "I think so." and he says "Alright, let's rock and roll!" He's a passive-aggressive jerk a lot of the time but not in this particular instance. Not to sound like a know-it-all, I just happen to be re-watching the episode at the moment. (Maybe I'm just getting old but I always seem to have to watch the episodes twice to pick up all the things I missed the first time.)

[vousviou]

4 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

I'm actually glad not to have all that other drama.  That's not part of what makes AR entertaining for me.  So I'm enjoying this season quite a bit.

For me, teams like Brendan and Rachel were far worse than teams that barely know one another.  I think what has caused some problems in the presentation of this season is that it's hard to get a sense of how teams been adjusting -- there just haven't been many times when you've seen teams putting their heads together between legs and planning how to improve next time.  I realize it's hard to squeeze in those kinds of scenes and still show the race, but the talking head sequences where they say some bland bits about needing to communicate don't convey a lot -- it would be more interesting to see them in the middle of real conversations instead.

[Cardie]

I don't have a great ability to recognize faces and when the three young women with their long hair tied back in pony tails (and not in the company of their partners) were all at the mask challenge, I couldn't tell them apart at moments. So I was sure for a while that whiny Brooke had to be the one left alone struggling, when it was actually Liz.

Team Fun is my favorite but I'm fine also if Tara and Joey win. These four seem like good human beings who don't sweat the small stuff or get petty about perceived slights.

I do not like Team Testosterone but am pretty sure they will make it to the finals. With that, Redmond's physical prowess as an amputee is amazing.

[vousviou]

4 hours ago, amazingracefan said:

But if someone is stupid enough to take the help of a competitor (who of course can't be totally trustworthy) rather than working things out for themselves then maybe they have to expect to meet some pitfalls.

I don't know if it's being telegraphed or not, but there's a hint that some of the weaker teams will target London and Logan next time.  Which is probably a dumb move since they're looking to be only middling competitors, and at this point if you're a weaker team hoping to squeak through into the finals, you're probably better aiming at knocking off the boys, Team Fun or Joey and Tara.

I don't get the sense that the weaker teams are very good at this kind of strategic thinking, though.

[Nalan]

37 minutes ago, vousviou said:

I don't know if it's being telegraphed or not, but there's a hint that some of the weaker teams will target London and Logan next time.  Which is probably a dumb move since they're looking to be only middling competitors, and at this point if you're a weaker team hoping to squeak through into the finals, you're probably better aiming at knocking off the boys, Team Fun or Joey and Tara.

I don't get the sense that the weaker teams are very good at this kind of strategic thinking, though.

Unfortunately, I think that Vanck & Ashton's elimination illustrates that exact point.

[scowl]

3 hours ago, fishcakes said:

I was wondering about this with the gondola task. In the past when teams had to sing or recite something, didn't they have to memorize it? Both last night and earlier in the fire troll task where they had to recite the poem, they were able to read it off a piece of paper. I don't remember seeing it done that way before this season.

During the Blind Date season, the guys had to serenade their blind dates with a German song which was on a piece of paper.

[J-Man]

If TAR were more popular, there would be office betting pools on how many minutes into each episode Brooke would have her first meltdown.

I liked that all of the tasks were very location-specific and not generic, but as several have said, they weren't all that interesting to watch. 

Two of the teams that did the singing kept their gondolier costumes on for the rest of the leg but Liz and Michael did not. Any reason?

[CaioF]

I can really root for the older team... Team Fun could also win and I would be fine.. Lolo... I would like them if they stop to keep attached on the back right with Brooke and Scott... I was expecting them to finally put ahead o this leg after play smart on not tell other teams about the clue (shut up Michael!) but once again they found a way to still come close to last (guess its their navegation..).

BTW, did Lolo and Brooke and Scott stepped on the map at the same time? What would have happpened if there were no teams behind them and specially if this was a elimination leg?

[Wandering Snark]

I can only hope that wasn't "real" baggage that belonged to people that were waiting for it to arrive only to find out the treatment it had received on the way there... yikes.

[Dobian]

I love Venice so I loved this episode.  London's mask almost looked at good as the professional one.  The others' were pretty amateur but they were pretty lenient with the judging, you just need to have done the process correctly.  Gondola singing was pretty awful, those poor tourists.  If I was running this race I wouldn't expect other teams to help me at all, and wouldn't be offended if they didn't.  I mean, duh.

[amazingracefan]

6 hours ago, Wandering Snark said:

I can only hope that wasn't "real" baggage that belonged to people that were waiting for it to arrive only to find out the treatment it had received on the way there... yikes.

I expect most viewers will have just taken it as an assumed fact that it wasn't real luggage, there was no reason for it to be and with the weight being carried it was obviously assumed stuff would fall off.

edit: not just weight, it was the number of items as much as anything

Edited May 6, 2017 by amazingracefan

[mertensia]

That luggage  cart reminds me that when we arrived in Venice on the train our Venice tour guide (whom we met at the station) had hired one of the cart guys. We loaded up our luggage and walked.... 25 yards from the exit of the train station to the hotel. The Boscolo Bellini. As the 4 of us (honest) on the tour had only one reasonably sized bag apiece we felt really silly, but the tour guide, of course, did not know how much luggage we were hauling.

[Lady Calypso]

13 hours ago, fishcakes said:

I was wondering about this with the gondola task. In the past when teams had to sing or recite something, didn't they have to memorize it? Both last night and earlier in the fire troll task where they had to recite the poem, they were able to read it off a piece of paper. I don't remember seeing it done that way before this season.

It feels like for these last two Italy legs, they had some sort of time limit/time constraint to get the entire leg done. There's a lot of leniency and rushing through to finish tasks, hence why they're easy. I wonder if there are other factors that had production make these two Italy legs easy and fast to complete. I don't know enough about the behind the scenes work for this show, so I can't think of many reasons to speculate why. Or it could be that this season is just where they're going easier on the tasks. 

12 hours ago, Rachel RSL said:

I'm no huge fan of Michael but, in all fairness, this isn't correct. They ask her if they're ready, she nods and says "I think so." and he says "Alright, let's rock and roll!" He's a passive-aggressive jerk a lot of the time but not in this particular instance. Not to sound like a know-it-all, I just happen to be re-watching the episode at the moment. (Maybe I'm just getting old but I always seem to have to watch the episodes twice to pick up all the things I missed the first time.)

Oh, ok. I knew there was a chance I was overreacting and reading too much into things. It did seem like she was trying to finish her sentence, and I don't necessarily put this moment as a major point against Michael, because he was probably just wanting to get to the task to finish it so they could move on.

9 hours ago, CaioF said:

BTW, did Lolo and Brooke and Scott stepped on the map at the same time? What would have happpened if there were no teams behind them and specially if this was a elimination leg?

Then I believe Lolo would have gotten eliminated, since London finished the Roadblock after Brooke. I do wonder the exact circumstances that had LoLo go with Brooke/Scott to the finish line. I don't think they would have if Liz finished before them, but it is interesting that they chose to. I do sideeye them a bit because of LoLo wanting to not be at the back of the pack, and here they are once again at the back of the pack. If they had raced Brooke/Scott, they probably would have gotten to the mat before them, since Brooke is incapable of pretty much everything. 

6 hours ago, Dobian said:

London's mask almost looked at good as the professional one.  The others' were pretty amateur but they were pretty lenient with the judging, you just need to have done the process correctly

I guess that's why it took her longer than everyone else. She probably assumed it had to be perfectly done or else she'd have to start over. I don't blame her for taking her time and getting it right, especially since she's an artist herself. How was she supposed to know beforehand that she could do a half ass job and pass? Maybe she wouldn't have done a half ass job regardless, because this was her area of expertise. 

[seacliffsal]

I don't know about the rest of the year, but during the summer and during high tide the piazza floods.  When I've been in Venice, I love sitting in the outdoors area of the cafes and restaurants that line the piazza (for a cover charge, of course...), and the planks come out when the high tide comes, and the musicians have to relocate.  As I only really travel during the summer, I don't know about the other seasons.

Also?  You have to pay way extra to get the gondolier to sing while taking a gondola.

This episode really made me want to go back to Venice.

[tvfanatic13]

18 hours ago, vousviou said:

In my experience there are two types of attorneys.  The first go straight from college to law school. They have no real world experience and go straight to working in a law firm.  The second type takes time between college and law school and works for at least a few years, possibly attending law school at night.  The second type is often decent, but avoid like the plague the ones who only know the law and other lawyers.

I take offense. I am the first type and I am absolutely NOTHING like Brooke!!! LOL

[tunajune]

I don't take offense.  I am the second type (having worked 8 years in between), and have been told that I am a decent person!  I do know some Brooke-like attorneys though, generally on the younger side, so time might help.

[vousviou]

5 hours ago, tvfanatic13 said:

I take offense. I am the first type and I am absolutely NOTHING like Brooke!!! LOL

Sorry, I should have known better than to make such a blanket statement...

I'm catching up on Better Call Saul and I can't help but be reminded of the categories I've invented when I see the difference between Jimmy/Saul and the blue blood big firm lawyers. No question who you would rather have a drink with.

To be fair, considering what Saul did in Breaking Bad, I can see why it might be a bad idea to hang out with him for very long.

[greyhorse]

On 5/5/2017 at 9:53 AM, blackwing said:

Loved seeing Venice again.  The scenery was pretty amazing.  The tasks themselves weren't that interesting to watch though.  I think part of the issue for me is that with the singing/delivering tasks, we had no idea where they actually were or how far they were from where they needed to be.  It wasn't that fun listening to bad singing while they sat in boats going aimlessly round and round.  And the luggage task might have been better if we had some appreciation of how far they were trying to go.  Watching them turn corners and go up steps and narrow passages that all look the same... not interesting.  The mask task seemed cool on paper but it's really not fun watching people try and paint something.  The snipping between the teams was more interesting.

I found it ironic that Liz and Michael were so mad at Logan and London for not sharing information or helping them out.  Then at the mask task, when Brooke was whining to everyone and asking for help, Liz sits there and says something like "why don't you just suck it up and run your own race".  Then Liz is crying about how she doesn't know what she's doing wrong.  Karma.  Especially after how Liz told us how great she is at painting and how she painted a cow skull just before she left for the race.  As Nelson Muntz would say.... har har!

I'm not sure if I agree.  I remember the season from some seasons back, that team of guys from Kentucky... middle aged black male and middle aged white male, kept going on and on about how PAWR they were and how much they needed the money.  Can't for the life of me remember their names.  They were going to be on the all star season but the white guy had some kind of heart defect so they paired up the other guy with the blonde beauty queen daughter and they didn't get along and when they lost, the guy said something like "It's sad that God doesn't want me to win a million dollars".   Anyhoo, there was a dance in India in like 110 degree heat where that guy failed over and over and over again.  And wasn't there a singing challenge in Germany on the season with Tim and Marie where some teams failed repeatedly?  Something like 10 tries or so.  I'd be wary of any kind of task that requires judging based on talent.

Word to your entire post.

I was so excited to see Venice again and relive some vacation memories.  But I agree about the detour and roadblock tasks.  Venice is known for being a really confusing city to walk around, not only because of course the canals and the bridges but also because the streets aren't set-up in a grid system.  I know we got lost when we were there, and that was with a map as well.  It would have been nice if they had a superimposed map showing point A to point B so we got a sense of what the distance was or how confusing it was to find the hotel.  For all we know, it was just a block around the corner and two bridges.  Likewise, the gondola task would have been more interesting if they had to do the navigating and tell the gondolier where they wanted to go, rather than doing some stupid singing.  And the mask painting was about as exciting as watching paint dry.

I knew Liz would have trouble the minute she said she was great at painting and in fact painted a cow's mask right before she came on the race.  Because who knows, just in case there is a mask painting task on the race, you should practice at home first.  What baffles me is why she didn't even bother to look at the demonstration.  She had such a big lead and just blew it.  It was enjoyable watching her all snippy saying to Brooke "Oh, are you talking to me?" and saying that she should just figure it out on her own... to "I'm getting worried"... to full on panic and crying mode.  So satisfying.  What would have been more satisfying would have been if this was not a non-slim,

I also agree that not all of these "performance" tasks are automatic after three tries.  There have been multiple instances besides the one you list where the racers have had to retry over and over.  Surely some of the ones that Mother and deaf Luke had to do, with the requisite "WHHHHYYYY?" and crying by Luke that he can't do it, were of that nature.

[vousviou]

5 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

I don't know about the rest of the year, but during the summer and during high tide the piazza floods.  When I've been in Venice, I love sitting in the outdoors area of the cafes and restaurants that line the piazza (for a cover charge, of course...), and the planks come out when the high tide comes, and the musicians have to relocate.  As I only really travel during the summer, I don't know about the other seasons.

Also?  You have to pay way extra to get the gondolier to sing while taking a gondola.

This episode really made me want to go back to Venice.

I was there in the dead of winter and it was dry, but I've read it can flood any time, and it was definitely a risk to have a leg there. Maybe they had some other backup plan for high water?

At any rate, what struck me was how uncrowded it was. San Marco was very empty. I have to think they filmed very early in the day to beat the crowds, or else that luggage hauling would have been impossible.

[Babalu]

In addition to the Chris/Amanda mask callback, there was another reminder of Season 4's Venice leg when they showed a couple of the actors/clowns pulling "intestines" out of someone's stomach. Wasn't that the Fast Forward in S4 completed by the air traffic controllers a.k.a. the BFGs a.k.a. Steve and Dave?