S29.E09: I Thought We Were Playing It Nice / S29.E10: Riding a Bike Is Like Riding a Bike

[fishcakes]

I took an almost instant dislike to Becca and I'm glad I don't have to listen to her, "yeeeahhh"s or Beavis and Butthead laugh for the rest of the season; however, I do think she was a good, supportive partner to Floyd (who I really liked), especially in their final leg. When she was fretting that she should have done the bike, I don't think she was criticizing or blaming him, or at least not any more than she was blaming herself for not realizing earlier she was better suited to it. I also really liked how after the task when he was struggling to bike to the Pit Stop, she took his backpack so he'd have an easier time. And after the medic got there, she understood immediately that they were done, but it was clear that Floyd's condition was the more important thing to her. She seems like a good person at heart, her irritating personality nothwithstanding, and I was surprised to find myself tearing up a bit at their elimination. But then they did that derpy rap and made me okay with it.

23 hours ago, Rinaldo said:

Do we have any evidence that Floyd was aware that anything had fallen off, until the checker told him so? He seemed to expect to have a complete count. It was only after he was told that he was missing some, that he hoped to be able to drop off what he had, and go back. Or that's what it seemed like to me. Did I miss something?

At one point during the ride he did say he knew he had dropped some but that it was okay because he could go back and pick them up.

21 hours ago, Browncoat said:

Obviously, it's too late now, but I wonder if Floyd could have unloaded his bike just out of view of the judge (like where they made the turn off the main road), gone back to get what he needed, then re-loaded again just before turning into the judging area.

I don't think he could have done that, but he probably could have unloaded his original load on the road, ridden back with an empty bike and then started over again with a full load, assuming that there were enough baskets at the starting point. It seems like the gist of the task was just to go from Point A to B with the required number of baskets, unlike in the mannequin task where the point was not carrying the mannequins but replicating the window, which is why Tara and Joey didn't have to carry the two mannequins back to the starting point when they went back for the third one.

14 hours ago, AussiesRule said:

I think Scott said the tasks had to be even by the end of that leg (Leg 9 but there's only been 8 roadblocks). That meant that either of them could do the next one. I seem to remember Phil explaining something like that when Connor did more road blocks than his dad (second time around because  I think he may have been injured the first time?) and everyone thought it was set up for them to win.

I don't think it was set up for Connor and Dave to win, but I do think someone in production messed up that season and they retroactively changed the rule so they wouldn't have to admit that Connor and Dave were not legitimate winners. After Season 5, the rule had been that each person on the team has to perform an equal number of roadblocks. In Connor and Dave's season, they each had done four roadblocks as of the eighth leg, but then Connor did the next four. Then there was a second roadblock in the finale and it specified that the other team member had to do it, meaning Dave. Even with the extra Roadblock, their team ended up with Connor having done 8 and Dave only 5. But before that, after the penultimate episode, it was obvious to viewers that they weren't going to have done an equal number of roadblocks and started asking Phil about it on twitter. That's when he said it only had to be an equal number up to a certain leg, but he didn't specify which one, and since that had never been the rule in the past, he was asked if was a new rule and he simply tweeted, "yes," with no explanation. I think this season is the first time we've heard it stated that the rule is that they each have to have done four of the first eight roadblocks, which is, oh what a coincidence, what Dave and Connor did.

I don't care who wins this season. Each team has things that make me unable to root for them. LoLo is a little too relaxed, Tara is dumb as a rock, Redmond is a dick, Brooke is Brooke. The good thing is that whoever wins, I won't feel bad for any of the teams that lost.

Edited May 20, 2017 by fishcakes

[iMonrey]

Quote

Better question... why were all the guys shirtless?

Who cares? 

Also, is nobody going to make a joke about Big Dong Temple? Yes, I know it was really Bich Dong temple but let me have this one. I did a spit-take when I heard Phil say that, and again when Floyd said "There's a sign that says Big Dong."

[JaimeRoberto]

Those Vietnamese names were cracking me up.  The Duc Phuc bus line and Big Dong Temple.  I was laughing like Bevis and Butthead.  Yes, I sometimes have an adolescent sense of humor.

[AWu1977]

I am sorry for this stupid question, but can competitors help each other during a roadblock? For instance, at the very beginning of the shrimp trap roadblock, Becca noticed right away that Floyd dropped one of the shrimp traps. Becca said she can not say anything, but can Redmond had alerted Floyd? Or when Matt already dropped off his load of shrimps traps and--while cycling back to Redmond---he saw Floyd's shrimp traps scattered all over the road, is he allowed to pick them up and bring them back to Floyd? Obviously, those two scenarios will never happen (because rraaaaaceee!), but is it still within the race's rules though? Just curious!☺

[Jobiska]

No, it's been covered above, but teammates can't do anything but shout general encouragement (or the opposite I suppose, if they hate them) during a roadblock.  Some seasons ago, didn't mom-who-had-trouble-accepting-gayness-of-blond-son call out actual instructions (turn the fish around or something) during a roadblock and thus earn a team penalty?  But that only applies to the teammate--yes, Matt or London *could* have helped.  (More below)

When they showed the flashback shot from below of Flo shrieking/fussing on the fishtrap bicycle, my son recollected, "Didn't you tape this episode on the same videotape you used to record Mystery Science Theater 3000's 'The Screaming Skull'?"  Indeed, that has always seemed quite serendipitous.

I don't know that London realized quite how much Floyd was struggling/bordering unwell already when she asked him for help; and when he caught up to her and steadied her, he then became unstable and she steadied him right back.  I'm not upset with her about her request.  And when she noticed his fallen trap, sure, I guess she could have run it back to him, but how was she to know that was the only one at that time?  "Should" she had run back all his other fallen traps, if he had scattered as many as on his first trip?  

I was yelling at Brooke to just stop whining/fussing/etc. the entire two hours, and yet--I'd rather hear that incessantly than the sanctimoniousness of Tara.  "Oh, NOW you care how he is?" (on top of "well they were so horrible to U-Turn Michael and Liz, so now we have to U-Turn someone else to give them a fighting chance.")   This self-righteousness is to me so much more annoying than even Brooke's learned-helplessness shrieking, and that is saying something.    Plus if Joey had stumbled and Brooke hadn't expressed concern, Tara would probably have held that over her head instead.  

And I'd be willing to chalk the missing mannequin up to Killer Fatigue if it wasn't just a magnified version of her sheer cluelessness at the fishing-lure task in Norway.  To me it had the same aura of totally, totally missing the point and even that there was a point (in that case, the point being that the lure was clearly marked in race colors).  
 

Edited May 20, 2017 by Jobiska

[ShadowSixx]

12 hours ago, Kenz said:

I love this show, but I always worry that someone will be killed or injured badly, either in a taxi or especially when they walking and darting about in high traffic areas. I worry about the camera people too. How do they avoid not getting run over in a place like Hanoi, especially when everyone is hot and  super fatigued? (Maybe I worry too much.)

I forgot which season it was but it was a team of brothers who were driving and crashed their car. I think the car flipped and their camera guy was injured. I can't remember if they were driving fast or not. The brothers made it out ok.

[ByaNose]

2 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

I think they should submit the second ep for the Emmys. It was perfection.

I am so over Joey and Tara. I was over Tara like 5 legs ago, but I was holding onto some Joey love because he's funny. But they're so self-righteous and entitled and I can't stand it.

I'm also over London/Logan. I was never a fan, but they seemed fine, I guess. Logan just gives me real creepy vibes and London was super annoying in this ep. Her constant "HELP!" like she was dying during the bike task was beyond irritating. And her whining about Brooke trying to get the ladder was ridiculous. I just can't stand her voice or face tbh.

I like Matt/Redmond more than I used to and I'm glad because they're totally going to win.

I really like Tara & Joey but they are getting a little annoying with the self-righteous-nis. They U-Turn someone and  it's okay but when someone else does it isn't?! They don't seem to understand the Amazing Race game part of it. That said, I think Joey is really funny & they are both beast competitors. I wouldn't be unhappy if they made the Final 3. I want Scott & Brooke eliminated because I hate Brooke that much. She.is.so.annoying!

[Never Again]

Can't find it now but somewhere above someone mentioned in passing about the racers being tired and stressed? Something like that..Anyway they mentioned them possibly sleeping in the same room.  So I am curious about this. Would the show really have two strangers sleep in the same room?  Especially opposite sex, or same sex if gay, or any combination of people that can become physically attracted to each other? Like Logan and London, Becca and Floyd ....but especially in cases like Tara and Joey where she is married?

I guess my old age is showing, but I'm not quite judging, I'm just asking...I mean if I were Tara's husband I don't know how I'd like her sharing a room with Joey every night.  I'm not saying she is doing anything wrong or can't be trusted or anything like that.  I am just talking about human nature.  Does anyone know the arrangements?

[AZChristian]

7 minutes ago, Rbonnie said:

Can't find it now but somewhere above someone mentioned in passing about the racers being tired and stressed? Something like that..Anyway they mentioned them possibly sleeping in the same room.  So I am curious about this. Would the show really have two strangers sleep in the same room?  Especially opposite sex, or same sex if gay, or any combination of people that can become physically attracted to each other? Like Logan and London, Becca and Floyd ....but especially in cases like Tara and Joey where she is married?

I guess my old age is showing, but I'm not quite judging, I'm just asking...I mean if I were Tara's husband I don't know how I'd like her sharing a room with Joey every night.  I'm not saying she is doing anything wrong or can't be trusted or anything like that.  I am just talking about human nature.  Does anyone know the arrangements?

Well, shucks.  On Survivor, they're all running around in their underwear (sometimes less), and they ALL sleep crammed in together.  Just from watching AR, I would think they get into a room and fall into bed, happy for a chance to sleep for a few hours.  Privacy can be attained in the bathroom.  It's not like they're forced to shower together.

I guess my old age is showing, too.  I would think that hanky-panky is low on the list of things these folks are thinking about.  My concern would be if someone felt unsafe with their partner . . . in that circumstance, I could see not wanting to share a room with them.

[watch2much]

On 5/19/2017 at 1:13 PM, backformore said:

I think the frustration of Tara, and some of the other teams, is that Brooke EXPECTS help, and gets it, but when the tables are turned, "It's a RACE!" 

EXACTLY!  Brooke doesn't just expect, she DEMANDS others help her. I give Tara a pass on that.  That leg of the race was grueling.  Joey was close to heat stroke himself.  

I'm sorry for Scott, but I so want Brooke to go home on her failure of a task.  I could not believe she was yelling at him after he overcame his pathological fear of heights and falling.  

So sad to see Team Fun go out like that.  I really liked them and I think their enthusiasm was real.  I also think Becca was truly concerned about Floyd's health over winning. I think she was mad early on because what he did was stupid and avoidable.  In this she realized he gave it his all to the point of hurting himself.  It was just bad luck.  I hope they bring them back sometime.

[sigmaforce86]

2 hours ago, AWu1977 said:

I am sorry for this stupid question, but can competitors help each other during a roadblock? For instance, at the very beginning of the shrimp trap roadblock, Becca noticed right away that Floyd dropped one of the shrimp traps. Becca said she can not say anything, but can Redmond had alerted Floyd? Or when Matt already dropped off his load of shrimps traps and--while cycling back to Redmond---he saw Floyd's shrimp traps scattered all over the road, is he allowed to pick them up and bring them back to Floyd? Obviously, those two scenarios will never happen (because rraaaaaceee!), but is it still within the race's rules though? Just curious!☺

The other teams could have told Floyd he dropped the traps.  Basically the rules come down to if you do something that slows you down or jeopardizes your chance of getting to the mat it's allowed and if you do something that gives you an extra advantage it's not allowed.  So Becca telling Floyd is an unfair advantage but if Matt, Redmond or anyone else told him they're only making it harder on themselves since they risk him finishing the task first so it's allowed.  There are some exceptions, usually when the clue tells them to do something a specific way and they don't even if the way they chose to do it slows them down more than the "right" way they can still get a penalty.................but mostly the rules come down to the line between advantage/no-advantage.

[holly4755]

the extras  videos are up in  tar media thread

Edited May 20, 2017 by holly4755

[sinycalone]

58 minutes ago, watch2much said:

EXACTLY!  Brooke doesn't just expect, she DEMANDS others help her. I give Tara a pass on that.  That leg of the race was grueling.  Joey was close to heat stroke himself.  

So totally agree with this....a true hypocrite.

[greyhorse]

Brooke must have difficulty in real life just making it out of her bed each morning to the toilet to have a morning poop.  Everything is a struggle for her.  She was complaining about riding the bike.  Scott said something like, "don't you take a spin class everyday?"  She complained about the stairs to the mat.  Come on, it's the finish line.  Climb the damn stairs and finish the leg.  I loved Scott's comments about giving birth, and then the second one about "now it's twins."  He's so snarky.

The balancing task obviously was challenging.  First, you had to know how many there were.  Then you had to make sure they were secured.  Why was everyone able to do it except Floyd?   Floyd leaves a trail of hats all the way to the dude at the end?  Why is the relatively same size snowboarder able to ride the bike and not Floyd?  Maybe he is just in better shape?  Joey I could see not having a problem because he is taller.  

Floyd and Becca were at a disadvantage because they arrived to the road block first.  I forget what the clue said, but maybe it wasn't that obvious what the challenge was.  Although looking at the bikes and those nets, it seemed rather obvious especially with the sample bike.  So even though Becca is the better bike rider, they didn't really have the chance to have her do it.  When Brooke and Scott arrived, they could clearly see the other teams working, so it was pretty obvious it was a physical challenge and thus of course why whiny Brooke didn't do it.

[pamplemousse]

Brooke is still here and Floyd is gone. Officially worst season of TAR in a very long time.

I hate how the teams have to come to expect help from each other and get so mad when they don't get that help. Just fucking race, you babies. This, along with Brooke, is ruining this season.

I was so annoyed with London shrieking for Floyd to help her when he was barely managing to stay upright himself.

I guess I hope Redmond and Matt win even though Redmond comes across as a jerk and his jokes about his prosthetic leg gain him *crickets* in my household every time. They've probably been the best team this season if we count pure racing.

[fishcakes]

16 minutes ago, greyhorse said:

Why was everyone able to do it except Floyd?   Floyd leaves a trail of hats all the way to the dude at the end?  Why is the relatively same size snowboarder able to ride the bike and not Floyd?

I think Floyd didn't have his traps secured properly. Someone upthread mentioned that you have to loop the cords over the bike or they can come unhooked and fall off. If that's the case, then once some of his traps started falling off, the bike would be unevenly weighted and he'd have an even harder time staying upright.

Edited May 20, 2017 by fishcakes

[Netfoot]

4 hours ago, Jobiska said:

When they showed the flashback shot from below of Flo shrieking/fussing on the fishtrap bicycle,

Wait, what?  Did I miss this?  When did that happen?  (I love Flo.)

27 minutes ago, greyhorse said:

I loved Scott's comments about giving birth, and then the second one about "now it's twins."  He's so snarky.

Yabut, he's not being snarky to try and chivy her along.  He's snarky for us to hear, trying to win popularity points with the viewers at the expense of his race partner.  That rubs me the wrong way. Brooke may be a cry-baby with a banshee harpy voice, but I really have come to dislike Scott nearly as much as her.  He shouldn't be bad-talking his partner behind her back.  No matter how much she deserves it.  That's our job!

32 minutes ago, greyhorse said:

Floyd leaves a trail of hats...

Uh, shrimp traps.

[Katy M]

13 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

Yabut, he's not being snarky to try and chivy her along.  He's snarky for us to hear, trying to win popularity points with the viewers at the expense of his race partner.  That rubs me the wrong way. Brooke may be a cry-baby with a banshee harpy voice, but I really have come to dislike Scott nearly as much as her.  He shouldn't be bad-talking his partner behind her back.  No matter how much she deserves it.  That's our job!

This is another reason I don't like the judge people by their reality show appearances.  I'm pretty sure the producers, or cameramen, or somebody asks them questions to get them to say snarky things.  Do they have to?  Probably not.  But, again, they're taking tired, cranky people and leading them in that direction.  They don't want to cast people (at least not more than 1 team and maybe a couple of singles form two different teams) that are always happy, positive people, never with a bad word to say.  That's not good ratings.  And, I almost guarantee you that if they had a someone who said 90% good things to the camera about their partner and then got frustrated and said 1 bad thing, that's what they're going to air.

I don't know if it's true or not, because she could have been lying, but just as a not quite to the point example, there was a woman on a dating show, something about there being nerds and good looking guys.  So, anyway, they had the nerds all come on one bus and they showed the girl with an expression of disgust.  She said in an interview that she didn't make that face when the nerds were getting off the bus but when she found out something about one of the other guys at a totally different point in the "game."  Sorry, for the lack of details.  this wasn't a show I watched and the interview was just on in the background.  My point is just that the show, while having to use people's actual words and facial expressions, can edit them in a more positive or more negative light as they so choose.

[AftermathTV]

Tara/Joey seems to be the team the edit is trying to make us want win. The dirty things they do are the most hand waved away out of this F4.

Was Scott cast just to take advantage of his height fear? Brooke's brat-o-meter was extra on the fritz today. Having the gall to say Scott was abusing her.

Was hoping Team Fun would continue beating those un-boy-lievable dips. Becca probably wouldn't have given London a second glance.

Still, I wish she had been the one to goof because seeing Floyd lose all his strength was heartbreaking. Dude was my favorite to win besides Liz.

[Rinaldo]

7 hours ago, chaifan said:

On 5/19/2017 at 3:57 PM, Dominii said:

[re: Becca not being a "nice person"]: I think she's one of those people that has mean thoughts and a bit of a temper but has learned to (mostly) fake it on the outside.

I think you just described 99% of the human race.  We all have mean thoughts sometimes, we all have a bit of a temper (some more than others), and those of us who want to get along with others learn to keep those to ourselves whenever possible.  I don't know why this makes Becca a "not nice" person. 

So very true. Learning to act like a nicer person than you (sometimes) really are is basically the secret to functional adulthood. That's how we all behave, isn't it? 

[Jobiska]

1 hour ago, Netfoot said:

Wait, what?  Did I miss this?  When did that happen?  (I love Flo.)

If you're able to watch the CBS site video, it's at about 9:15 to 9:20 or so (give or take a second or two).  

[Rancide]

Brooke looked soooooo painfully thin climbing those stairs at the end, part of me wonders if at least some of the problem isn't that she's suffering the general side effects (fatigue, mental confusion, weakness, lethargy) of being seriously underweight.  She was a slender girl when they started, but now she's looking downright skeletal.  They can't be eating all that regularly at this point.  I know my (otherwise very calm, very lovely) naturally skinny husband turns into a peevish, snapping nightmare when something comes up that results in our missing a meal.  Once yelled at me for 10 minutes for pulling up next to an empty gas pump that was 10 steps farther from the bathroom than the closest available empty gas pump, and I swear to God he does not do this AT ALL when properly nourished (and yes, he apologized profusely after he got some food in him).  

They need an "eat 5 cheeseburgers" challenge ASAP.  That girl looks like she's about to snap in half.  

Edited May 20, 2017 by Rancide

[Netfoot]

1 hour ago, Jobiska said:

it's at about 9:15 to 9:20 or so (give or take a second or two).

Found it.  And recall seeing it too, but didn't realize it was Zach & FLo.  (Has it been that long?!??)

[aradia22]

Quote

They need an "eat 5 cheeseburgers" challenge ASAP.  That girl looks like she's about to snap in half.  

She would probably complain about red meat. Or the taste of the cheese. Or the staleness of the buns.

[etagloh]

5 hours ago, greyhorse said:

Why was everyone able to do it except Floyd?   Floyd leaves a trail of [shrimp traps] all the way to the dude at the end?

I think it came down to the loading: follow the model and get all the traps looped on the nails so that bumps won't dislodge them and the question becomes whether you want to try cycling at speed or just Fred Flintstoning the bike to the destination. Even London made it there intact, though the bike itself was broken when she headed back.

That makes it a pretty subtle task: ostensibly a physical "delivery" challenge but in reality more of an "assembly" challenge.

[MVFrostsMyPie]

I had no idea Matt had blue in his hair because I can't recall having seen him without his baseball cap at this whole time. I also only just this episode saw the extra leg Redmond has strapped to his pack. Apparently I need to pay better attention!

Vietnam, so pretty! But I would have quit before I left Athens. Bungee jumping? Nope, can't do it. And if I did it, it's because someone pushes me over the edge against my will. And on the way down, I'd have my eyes closed the entire time. I'd be freaking out much more than Scott, and probably would accidentally pee a little in my pants, and I'm not even afraid of heights. 

Aside from all the physicality of the second leg (I just have too many health problems to have the endurance and strength to do most of the stuff they did), I think the heat would drive me nuts. I have such an intolerance of heat and I'd be sweating up a storm. 

[Vanderboom]

Wow. Brooke continues to be annoying, and it's only  going to get worse as the race winds down. I'm rooting for The Boys to win, even though I think Redmond is a jerk. Matt's been crushing his challenges, and has yet to be mean to anyone else. I wonder what it would have been like if he were paired with Floyd.

Poor Floyd! I've had heat exhaustion before. It sucks--especially when you really want to keep going. I'm sure he was nauseated as well as dizzy. I'm glad Becca was kind to him. Imagine if he had Michael or Brooke as partners.

[ByaNose]

I want Tara & Joey to win. They annoyed me the least. Matt & Redmond have been crushing it since Day 1. Even the edit now makes Redmond nicer. Maybe, it was just Ashton think?! I still think Brooke & Scott are going to win. It really is Flo & Zach redux. If they do win she should give her share to Scott. She has been so awful this season and I would love her to to get cut at the Final 4 but I really think they'll make the Final 3. As Donald would say, Sad. LOL!!! 

[iknow]

Wow, that was heartbreaking! I feel so bad for Team Fun, I was rooting for them to get to the final leg. I hope they come back for another All Star season!

I still like Tara and Joey, they're really solid and Tara handled Joey's crankiness on the boat beautifully. They are kind to locals and really appreciate the countries they visit. Epic fail on the mannequins though. Read the damn clue Tara! And Joey is a beast for finishing these exhausting legs while feeling unwell. I don't care if Mom&Dad dislike Brooke, I can't stand her either. What an awful racing partner. I feel so bad for Scott, he is basically carrying Brooke through the race. Scott is this season's MVP for me, he has the patience of a saint and I find his snark hilarious and not too mean-spirited. Matt and Redmond seem pretty much unstoppable at this point, and I don't mind them. I love how fun-loving they are, especially Matt, and they just live for this kind of stuff (unlike Brooke). Redmond comes off as a bit of an ass every now and then, but I don't actively dislike him either. 

London and Logan are somewhat boring and lack hustle, but they support each other through the tough parts. London kinda reminds me of Ellen DeGeneres with those twinkly blue eyes and kind smile. However, out of the final 4 they are my least favorite team. They took forever on the stupid ladder task!

I hope the teams get to a cooler climate soon, I'm sweating bullets through my Nordic skin just watching them suffer from that heat. 

[holly4755]

Just watched the Team fun recap and the whole thing was a lot scarier than they showed with Floyd hallucinating and losing his memory. and they are really pushing all stars, heh. Phil did say it was his favorite team this year.  

I posted the link to the recap in tar in the media. 

Edited May 21, 2017 by holly4755

[cujo]

2 minutes ago, holly4755 said:

Just watched the Team fun recap and the whole thing was a lot scarier than they showed with Floyd hallucinating and losing his memory. and they are really pushing all stars, heh. Phil did say it was his favorite team this year.  

Was just going to come out of the shadows to tell people to check it out so they would know what Team Fun was thinking, what went down and how London and Floyd were helping each other on the bikes. Pretty sure it'll change a lot of the negativity that's has been shown towards the two women on here for sure. Also Floyd gives a pretty good recap of what he was doing (or thought he was doing) for the 3ish hours he was doing the bike task.

 

Direct link to the recap from Team Fun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFNFZamYb6w

[Eolivet]

On 5/20/2017 at 2:46 AM, aradia22 said:

THE RACE IS NOT ABOUT BUILDING ALLIANCES.

I did an actual double-take at what Scott said. "We build alliances with teams and then drop them later." Yeah, you just described Survivor -- like if you looked up the dictionary definition of Survivor, that's it. Like, Rob and Amber just crawled out from under their piles of money in their big house in Florida and said "Dude. Even we weren't that obvious about it when we did TAR."

There is no way Scott originally tried out for Amazing Race. No. Way. This guy was a Survivor reject if ever there was one. He's the only one saying "this is for a million dollars" all the time, and very seldom does he say "I want to win the race." Like, there's some reality show that's going to give him a million dollars, but he can't remember which one it is now.

I think you also see it in the way teams keep checking in with each other. I can't remember a race where other teams were so concerned with what one another was doing. It's just raaaaaaaace. But every task, I see teams going out of their way to chat with other teams, like they're on the same tribe or building alliances or something. Maybe that's an effect of the strangers season, but it's weird.

ETA:

Just watched the Team fun recap and the whole thing was a lot scarier than they showed with Floyd hallucinating and losing his memory.

WHAT??? OK, that's on the producers. That's not Floyd. If your task is so impossible that one contestant starts hallucinating and losing his memory, that is a design flaw in  your task -- not a contestant problem. Because that should not happen. EVER.

Edited May 21, 2017 by Eolivet

[ByaNose]

47 minutes ago, Eolivet said:

I did an actual double-take at what Scott said. "We build alliances with teams and then drop them later." Yeah, you just described Survivor -- like if you looked up the dictionary definition of Survivor, that's it. Like, Rob and Amber just crawled out from under their piles of money in their big house in Florida and said "Dude. Even we weren't that obvious about it when we did TAR."

There is no way Scott originally tried out for Amazing Race. No. Way. This guy was a Survivor reject if ever there was one. He's the only one saying "this is for a million dollars" all the time, and very seldom does he say "I want to win the race." Like, there's some reality show that's going to give him a million dollars, but he can't remember which one it is now.

I think you also see it in the way teams keep checking in with each other. I can't remember a race where other teams were so concerned with what one another was doing. It's just raaaaaaaace. But every task, I see teams going out of their way to chat with other teams, like they're on the same tribe or building alliances or something. Maybe that's an effect of the strangers season, but it's weird.

ETA:

 

 

WHAT??? OK, that's on the producers. That's not Floyd. If your task is so impossible that one contestant starts hallucinating and losing his memory, that is a design flaw in  your task -- not a contestant problem. Because that should not happen. EVER.

I agree on your take of Scott & Survivor. He's definitely in Survivor mode more so then Amazing Race mode. He's even speaking Survivor jargon. I don't really like him but I hate Brooke a thousands time more. He has carried the team. I'm waffling between 4th place or the winners for them.

[UGAmp]

I finally figured it out. Floyd is a real life version of Richard Splett from Veep. Sunny disposition, encouraging, never has a bad thing to say about anyone, and just adorable! It was so sad to see him struggling so hard and still trying his best. Heat exhaustion is no joke and there was no way he could have finished this leg even if it was a NEL. Sad to see him go. I agree with others who think Becca's Team Fun!!! deal was more of an act for the cameras (whereas Floyd was genuine) but I think they will definitely be asked back for an all-stars season. Fingers crossed!

Scott is no saint but he deserves a medal for dealing with Brooke day after day and not just screaming at her at all times. I know he lost it a little bit during the mannequin challenge but I can't blame him. She whines about EVERYTHING. The weather. The traffic. The tasks. The other racers. Everything. I will be fine with any other team winning just so she can't (sorry Scott). 

Edited May 21, 2017 by UGAmp

[meep.meep]

19 hours ago, aradia22 said:

She would probably complain about red meat. Or the taste of the cheese. Or the staleness of the buns.

And somehow it would all be Scott's fault.

I don't care if he plays like this is Survivor - wait, lightbulb moment:  does he think she's a goat? -  Free Scott!

[aradia22]

Quote

And somehow it would all be Scott's fault.

Scott... why aren't you supporting me? (I ate 3 of the 5 burgers!) Scott, don't yell at me. Why are you yelling at me? Sccoootttt.... heellllp meeee! *cries* No, Scott. I can't. I can't do it. (Yes, you can.) Scott, I need you to encourage me. (I am encouraging you. Good job, Brooke.) Scott, it's impossible. I can't do it. (Brooke, God, it's a million dollars. Just do it.) How dare you? That's abusive.

[MVFrostsMyPie]

I felt bad for the person that had to sit in the boat with Brooke & Scott, literally stuck in the middle. 

I would like to be friends with Floyd, but not Becca. Nothing against her, but I like that his "fun"-ness/positivity is less forced and in your face, whereas Becca is IN. YOUR. FACE. WITH. HOW. MUCH. FUN. SHE. IS. That kind of person rubs me the wrong way, like they're always "on". 

This is one season that I would love to have a reunion show. 

Also, Logan is really pretty to look at, even though he just seems incredibly boring.

[Netfoot]

2 hours ago, Eolivet said:

If your task is so impossible that one contestant starts hallucinating and losing his memory, that is a design flaw in  your task -- not a contestant problem.

But it wasn't impossible.  As witnessed by the fact that locals do it every day and all the other contestants did it without a hitch.  If anything, it reflects upon Floyd's failure to hydrate and pace himself.  

I find myself in an unusual position.  I can't think of any team I would like to see win.  Let's see who's left:

Brooke & Scott:  Well, I can't stand Whiney McScreetchface at all, but Scott has managed to tick me off terribly as well.  I would be happy to see them eliminated before the final, and sorry to see them win.

Matt & Redmond:  They've raced well, and I suppose were I able to ignore everything else I ought to be happy with them winning, but Redmond has proven himself to be a complete dick, and while Matt has not actually displayed unpleasant characteristics, he hasn't impressed me much either.  So they could go next, and I'd be OK.  I don't want them to win.

London & Logan:  Neither of them impress me as particularly good racers, and on more than one occasion have left me thinking they are playing Survivor.  Don't particularly want them to win, or even make it to final three.

Tara & Joey:  Well, I wonder if even now, Tara gets what the race is all about.  Sometimes she responds to her surroundings, or to the instructions in a clue, in a way that leaves me shaking my head.  Example: the fishing lure challenge.  As for Joey, well, the righteous indignation over the use of the U/W-Turn and failure to comprehend that no team has an obligation to help another team beat them?  I'm not too happy with him either.  So if they went out 4th I'd be fine with it, and I don't want them to win.

To my surprise, I discover that I am sorry Becca & Floyd are out.  Because while I thought the #Funstoppable shit was layed on a little thick, neither of them were offensive to me.  On the couple occasions when the mask slipped and the real persons showed, it wasn't mortifyingly unpleasant, or even, really much of a surprise.  If they were in it, I'd be wishing them the win.  Instead, I'm resigned to the fact that unless there is an unprecedented four-team elimination, leaving no racers to run to the mat, I'm going to be disappointed at the finish, because I don't want any of them to even make the F3, far less win.

This has never happened to me before.

[Miles]

A few interesting things from Team Funs recap on youtube:

- They say they were too focused on a race for first place, so they didn't look around before deciding who would do the roadblock. Had they looked around, they would have seen the bikes and Becka would have done it.

- Apparently Floyd was in way worse shape than they showed in the episode. He fell off the bike a few more times and at the end he hallucinated a wind turbine (because he loves them) and didn't know what country they were in.

On 20.5.2017 at 4:45 PM, etagloh said:

It wasn't exactly a classic "deliver something from A to B" task; it was more "get a fully-laden bike from A to B". But you're right: being able to unload at the destination and re-load at the starting point would have been less gruelling -- and having to start from scratch and re-check the model would also have made it easier to grasp that you'd loaded things up incorrectly.

I think as long as you set out with all the traps and made it to the end with at least 90% that should be good enough to just get the remaining. It's not like that gets you any kind of advantage towards the other teams and you are bleeding a lot of time anyway. The mannequin task also had "deliver 3 mannequins" but you could still get them indeividually.

But yeah, your suggestion would also be a possibility. Just have extra traps at the start so at least the person doesn't have to go the same stretch 3 times now, with a bike full of traps.

[Rinaldo]

55 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

But it wasn't impossible.  As witnessed by the fact that locals do it every day and all the other contestants did it without a hitch.  If anything, it reflects upon Floyd's failure to hydrate and pace himself.  

I think more specifically, it reflects on Floyd's improper securing of the traps in the first place. There was a model to follow, and a specific fastening technique, and the others managed it so that nothing fell, and he didn't. (I'm saying this regretfully, as someone who liked and enjoyed Floyd without reservation.)

[Eolivet]

1 hour ago, Netfoot said:

But it wasn't impossible.  As witnessed by the fact that locals do it every day and all the other contestants did it without a hitch.

And millions upon millions of people drink McDonald's coffee every day without spilling it, and it still carries a warning label "Caution: Hot" because one person got third degree burns when they spilled it. While others may fault the person for spilling the coffee, McDonald's did make a coffee that's so hot, it caused third degree burns. Same thing with this leg design. It was irresponsibly designed and playing with contestants' health.

Forget the task for a minute, because that's not where Floyd collapsed. He collapsed because the asinine producers decided to make contestants do a heavy biking challenge and then bike to their next location in dangerous levels of heat. That's irresponsible leg design. They had to know that contestants might be exhausted after the task, but they kept pushing them to their limits and what did they get? A contestant who had hallucinations and didn't know what country he was in because of their borderline negligence.

And I still give them major side-eye for letting this happen after a Survivor challenge sent a contestant into septic shock on a similar hot day in a similar southeast Asian location. That incident aired in spring 2016, and TAR was filmed in June 2016. It's not like CBS didn't know it could happen again.

Edited May 21, 2017 by Eolivet

[Netfoot]

Just now, Eolivet said:

While others may fault the person for spilling the coffee, McDonald's did make a coffee that's so hot, it caused third degree burns.

Because to make coffee, you use boiling water.   Water boils at 100°C or 212°F and there is no practical way to make it boil at a lower temperature.  Even if you do climb Mt. Everest, the coffee or tea tastes wrong because it is brewed at the wrong temperature.  So, it is impossible to make a decent cup of coffee or tea at any temperature less than 100°C or 212°F, and every human being on the planet should know that a cup of coffee or tea could potentially come out of the pot at that temperature.  And that for this reason, they should avoid bathing their genitals in it.  

I see nothing wrong with the producers (asinine or otherwise) making competitors do difficult challenges in a contest with a megabuck purse.  Even multiple such challenges, one after the other.  I've said it before many times and I'll say it again many more before I'm through:  Grind their bones to make my bread! I'm tired of nothing but easy-peasy challenges.  It's supposed to be hard, and you don't get a prize for just showing up.

By the way, the temperature here this morning was 31°C in the shade, and I was engaged in hard physical labour in the blistering sun.  I'm also three times Floyd's age, and my personal cooling system doesn't work very well.  But I did drink 2 liters of water...

Of course, nobody has to agree with my opinion on the difficulty of challenges on The Amazing Race...

[Miles]

4 hours ago, Netfoot said:

But it wasn't impossible.  As witnessed by the fact that locals do it every day and all the other contestants did it without a hitch.  If anything, it reflects upon Floyd's failure to hydrate and pace himself.  

All the other contestants did it first try. If they had to do that for 3 hours, all of them would have gotten heat exhaustion.

Look there is no argument. Floyd had to redo because he didn't secure the traps properly. That's fine. What isn't fine is that the failure-option wasn't reasonable and completely unsave, given the temperature.

Also comparing trained locals who do this every day and know how to balance a bike to untrained racers... I don't think I really have to say more to this, do I? But I'm still going to remark that they are probably not doing this in the heat. They'll transport these traps in the morning and the evening. There is no hard labour in the midday sun in countries with such intense heat. Why do you think there is such a thing as a ciesta?

3 hours ago, Netfoot said:

By the way, the temperature here this morning was 31°C in the shade, and I was engaged in hard physical labour in the blistering sun.  I'm also three times Floyd's age, and my personal cooling system doesn't work very well.  But I did drink 2 liters of water...

What was the humidity? If it's too high sweat won't evaporate and you can't cool down. So you can drink as much as you want and it won't do you any good. And according to the racers the humidity in Vietnam was very high when they were there.

Edited May 22, 2017 by Miles

[millennium]

On 5/19/2017 at 0:46 PM, iMonrey said:

I'm so sick of the moral outrage over using the U-Turn or not helping another team, Tara and Joey. God forbid I have to defend Scott and Brooke but they are unarguably the weakest team left and knew it was down to them and Tara/Joey. Were they really supposed to help Tara and Joey at that point? It's not as if they lied or misled them or gave them wrong directions - they simply did not give them information. The way Tara and Joey got so bent out of shape over it was ridiculous - they are dead to me.

 

Brooke is nearly unbearable but Scott is a dick.   His smug bitchiness towards Tara and Joey at the mat made me wish for Scott/Brooke to go down in flames.  I also didn't appreciate Scott's  pontificating at the start of part two that the most important thing in TAR is building alliances.   Wrong show, asshole.   TAR (until the last couple seasons anyway) has never really been a social game.  

Add to that the broken promise from last week.   I know there's no obligation to help other teams, but don't say you promise not to U-Turn on national television and then go and do that very thing.   Overall I don't like the direction the show is taking.

Edited May 22, 2017 by millennium

[kingshearte]

13 hours ago, Eolivet said:

Forget the task for a minute, because that's not where Floyd collapsed. He collapsed because the asinine producers decided to make contestants do a heavy biking challenge and then bike to their next location in dangerous levels of heat. That's irresponsible leg design. They had to know that contestants might be exhausted after the task, but they kept pushing them to their limits and what did they get? A contestant who had hallucinations and didn't know what country he was in because of their borderline negligence.

I kind of agree with this. The fact that no one else got heat stroke is more lucky than good planning, because even if they only had to do the task once because they got it right, that was still a ton of really physical stuff, in insane heat, with basically no shade for most of it. Combine all that with the fact that it's a race, and contestants are therefore likely to push themselves as hard as they can, rather than pace themselves to a more reasonable level of exertion for that kind of heat, and you really are kind of asking for health problems.

In any case, I was sorry to see those two go, I guess? I don't know. I'm pretty indifferent to pretty much all of these contestants this season, so I find myself kind of sorry and kind of not at just about every team that goes home. I don't think it's fair to say that Becca's fun self is fake just because she has moments of not-funness. Admittedly, she does seem to go from one extreme to the other: either she's having a great time, or she's not having fun at all, and we rarely see her somewhere in the middle, but I still don't think that's an indication that she's faking the fun thing. The facts that (a) she was nothing but 100% supportive to his face, and (b) even when she was expressing her frustration, it was never blaming him, or talking about him like he was incompetent, or really being disrespectful of him in any way suggests to me that she's alright.

I have to admit that I'm amused by Scott's snark about Brooke. I can see why some find him obnoxious, and I don't know that I would like him as a person in general, but I can also understand the need to blow off some of his frustration with her, since he seems to have mostly figured out how to contain it when actually dealing with her (I think — I've missed the last two episodes, but it seems that way from the ones I have watched). I'd be less accepting of his behind-her-back snark if they were actually friends or in a relationship or whatever, because in that case, you chose to be with this person; if you dislike them that much, you should end the relationship. I'm prepared to give a little more latitude in this situation.

Matt and Redmond are actually growing on me a little. It's been a while since either of them have said/or done anything particularl assholeish.

London and Logan I still have no real read on. And Tara and Joey are definitely a little holier than thou (I picked up on that despite missing the last two episodes), but man do they power through challenges.

[Netfoot]

10 hours ago, Miles said:

What was the humidity? If it's too high sweat won't evaporate and you can't cool down.

Yesterday, the Humidity here was 83%.  I don't cool well through perspiration because I was briefly trapped in a burning building many years ago, and as a result have significant scarring and skin grafting.  (That's what I meant by "my personal cooling system doesn't work very well.")

The wind was blowing the occasional strong gust yesterday, which normally would help you stay cool by evaporating the perspiration.  But that doesn't help me much, and the gusts were actually making things even more difficult than ever, by blowing away the job I was working on.  

[Archery]

On ‎5‎/‎20‎/‎2017 at 1:48 AM, aradia22 said:

Generally I don't think Buddhist temples are as strict/don't have the moral hangups particularly about women's bodies as some Catholic churches, but I wonder if they had to clear it with the temple that the racers weren't going to be that appropriately dressed for a place of worship. I guess since the clue box was outside, it wasn't a problem.

The dig about Catholic churches was unnecessary, imo, but in prior Races, the teams have been given appropriate clothing (headscarves, etc.) and explicitly told "DO NOT RUN IN THE TEMPLE/ON THE GROUNDS" when visiting temples and other sacred sites. 

When Margery of "Margery and Luke" passed out at the Pit Stop a couple of seasons ago, was that in Southeast Asia as well?  In any event, I would have thought that the producer following Team Fun would be alert for signs of heatstroke, given both the conditions and the challenges.

[valen]

I don't think the traps were still there on the way back. Otherwise, he could have just picked them up, tied them on, and then gone back to the judge. I think producers removed them and made them go all the way back, which seems a little much.

[blackwing]

20 hours ago, Eolivet said:

And millions upon millions of people drink McDonald's coffee every day without spilling it, and it still carries a warning label "Caution: Hot" because one person got third degree burns when they spilled it. While others may fault the person for spilling the coffee, McDonald's did make a coffee that's so hot, it caused third degree burns. Same thing with this leg design. It was irresponsibly designed and playing with contestants' health.

Forget the task for a minute, because that's not where Floyd collapsed. He collapsed because the asinine producers decided to make contestants do a heavy biking challenge and then bike to their next location in dangerous levels of heat. That's irresponsible leg design. They had to know that contestants might be exhausted after the task, but they kept pushing them to their limits and what did they get? A contestant who had hallucinations and didn't know what country he was in because of their borderline negligence.

I disagree that the leg was irresponsibly designed.  The point of the task was to learn how to balance a bike like the locals do and then deliver the fully laden bike to the judge.  If they could just go back and gather the five traps they dropped, or do the task in shifts (half on the first trip and half on the second), well, that didn't seem to be the point of the task.  It was designed to be challenging.  The failure is completely with Floyd.  He failed at securing the traps properly, and not only that, he failed at simply being able to figure out how to accomplish the task.  London is a small woman, about the same size as Floyd, and once she got past the initial issues, she seemed to have no problem.

It does seem that having to go back twice did him in and made him even more exhausted.  However, there was nothing to stop him from walking the bike, was there?  I seem to recall Flo spending much of her time walking her bike, accompanied by young children.  London had to walk her bike on the way back.  If he was tired and exhausted why did he insist on riding the bike?  Yes, he would have lost some time, but if you are exhausted, maybe that is a better choice?  

Most of the racers commented on how hot it was in Vietnam.  Isn't it common sense that you should stay hydrated?  The issue with Caleb and Cydney and others passing out on Survivor was because I believe the producers wouldn't let them take breaks and get some water.  Once the challenge started, they weren't allowed to leave that sand pit until it finished.  I'm quite positive there would have been no such restriction on TAR.  If it's hot and humid, maybe stop at the local equivalent of a 7-11 and buy some Gatorade? 

You say that just because nobody else had an issue doesn't necessarily mean the leg was not poorly designed.  I disagree, I would say that because every other racer finished the task on the first try indicates that Floyd was just incompetent.  As they said in the interview, they were too fixated on getting first place.  He was so fixated on it that he didn't pay attention to how the traps were hung on the example bike.  Also, I can't remember, that one time when a teammate pointed out the upside down fish and got penalised, how much was the penalty?  Might have been worth it to risk the penalty in order to avoid having to do the task again, especially if it was only 30 minutes.  Could you say something like "pay attention to detail, make sure you are doing and have everything you need" and not incur a penalty?

Your coffee analogy doesn't hold water with me.  McDonald's put the warning on their cups not necessarily to prevent the one idiot from pouring hot coffee on their lap.  Everybody should know that coffee is made with boiling hot water.  The reason why the warning is on the cups is to disclaim legal liability.  I am pretty sure that the Racers are made to sign an extensive release prior to beginning the race.  They have to to absolve TPTB of any and all liability for a litany of effects, including probably death.  TAR is not exactly a walk in the park.  It is a grueling and intense race.  Racers will be sleep deprived and exhausted and facing difficult conditions.  They are responsible for knowing their limits, reacting to the conditions, and taking care of themselves.

3 hours ago, valen said:

I don't think the traps were still there on the way back. Otherwise, he could have just picked them up, tied them on, and then gone back to the judge. I think producers removed them and made them go all the way back, which seems a little much.

He had to go back twice.  The first time, he had dropped traps pretty much as soon as he started, so he had to go back all the way anyways.  The second time, I thought he did find the trap he had dropped in the middle of the road (the one the London saw and commented on).  But I could be mis-remembering.  At that point they were going to be eliminated anyways as everyone else had passed them.

Edited May 22, 2017 by blackwing

[proserpina65]

On ‎05‎/‎19‎/‎2017 at 0:04 AM, absolutelyido said:

When she first said she couldn't ride the bike, Scott said, "You do spin class every day!" How'd you like to be in that class? I can't imagine her getting through it without a breakdown. I seriously don't know how Brooke gets through her daily life. I hope she at least is embarrassed watching herself now.

In her defense (ugh - I can't believe I just typed that) spin class involves a stationary bike and doesn't require balancing.  But I'm sure she's whiny there, too.