S05.E01: Who Wants to Be the Python?

[Rachel RSL]

I've missed this show! And Jon! That was a pretty good first episode.  I love that they went from coast to coast in one leg.

My favourites so far are the dad & son and the brother & sister.  They seem fun.  Most of the teams actually seem ok, except the annoying YouTubers. (Sorry. I'm officially old because people getting rich by making stupid videos instead of getting a job really irks me. You kids get off my lawn!)  The jury is still out on the 2 hosers from Collingwood. I wish the Montreal girls had been eliminated.  They seem nice enough but I have no use for a team that gives up and takes a penalty on the first freaking challenge.

I'm also not excited about there being THREE Express Passes.

Edited July 5, 2017 by Rachel RSL

[Artsda]

I felt bad for the mom & son, the team that took the penalty on the first challenge should go. Not the team that actually did it.

[shok]

Good show...again. TARC certainly dreams up some interesting challenges. I missed the first five minutes so missed the introductions of the teams except for the last two. I like the pair (from Montreal, you say?) who took the penalty and I must say I don't blame them. Most of the other teams didn't solve the puzzle either, just one or two did, and they shared the answer with the rest. Otherwise, half of them would still be in Nfld. so I didn't mind those two thinking ahead and making an independent decision. I hope they continue to do well.

I like the father and son from Vancouver but couldn't stand the two guys who won the leg. Unfortunately, they look pretty athletic so they'll probably be around for awhile. So many yellers in this group. You guys have mics on, no need to yell everything at the top of your voice. Anyway, I'm looking forward to the rest of the season and to getting to know who all the teams are and picking out a couple of them to root for.

[looksee]

So many obnoxious teams. Whatever happened to teams consisting of normal average people who aren't athletic?

[Rachel RSL]

4 hours ago, shok said:

Most of the other teams didn't solve the puzzle either, just one or two did, and they shared the answer with the rest. Otherwise, half of them would still be in Nfld. so I didn't mind those two thinking ahead and making an independent decision. I hope they continue to do well.

Most of the teams were on the right track and would have figured it out. (Most of them knew it was Vancouver.) The girls didn't even try. Can't respect that.

[buffynut]

I know they can't show us times, as then they wouldn't be able to do creative editing, but I'd love to know how long the girls stuck it out before bailing on the Morse Code challenge.  And how long it took the others to solve the puzzle.

[TV Anonymous]

Can CTV just get away with the real-time challenge polls? It is distracting, annoying and adding no value to the enjoyment of watching the show.

[lizzie3]

I always enjoy this show!  I agree that it was lame to take a penalty on the very first race challenge.  Granted, the editing can be misleading in terms of how long they attempted the challenge, but it just seemed like giving up right from the start.  It's too bad that the mother/son team got eliminated first round; I thought the mom was extremely brave to conquer that tightrope, especially considering that she's not as young as many of the other competitors. I usually like the parent/child team dynamic, and they seemed quirky and fun.

[Marvin]

I got bored with this one. So many reality style teams crying to the cameras for attention !! I like normal people - not these celebrity wannabes ! And the cheesy team catch phrases - no.

[Blackie]

So much behind the scenes stuff I want to know.  Like they never did show the last few teams solving the morse code challenge.  So because the teams have to make a specific time for the flight do they just say "times up, move on" and let them go to catch the plane?  I was kind of pissed because the team took the penalty so soon, but they really had to work hard to make up time on all the other events which was important because of the flight times,  which in the end didn't give them very much of an advantage,

 

I also wonder if when walking the tightrope, when you are on your second and subsequent tries if they tighten up the rope to make it easier.  I just can't see if someone doesn't have the balance to walk across a wobbly rope the first time, that they would all of a sudden be able to do it on the second or third try.  There was some challenge last year that I thought the same thing, that after the first two tries, they tweak the cahallenge to make it a bit easier.

I am sorry the mom and son gone so soon, I thought they would have been fun.  Son should have never let mom do the challenge, old ladies prone to vertigo (I can say since I am one).

Last night I thought team Giver were kind of funny, I am sure that will wear thin though.

[La Dee Da]

I feel for the teams who flew from BC to St. John's to start the race, only to fly all the way back home - hope they get to keep the air miles! Beautiful scenery as always.

I try to reserve judgment on teams for the first couple of episodes - it must be hard to be yourself and to let the moment or reaction come naturally when you're so conscious of the cameras - but the jury is itching to start deliberating on some of them.

I'm skeptical about the multiple express passes, given how the infinity plus number of immunity idols has impacted Survivor.  Maybe the producers feel they will lessen the temptation for penalties?

[Ciarrai]

I'm already a fan of the father and son from Vancouver (of course, being from Vancouver myself), and the brother-sister. The rest are either non-descript or I dislike them immediately (the guys who came in first, the cousins from Newfoundland, and the Youtube creators).

The show would have to bleep me every five seconds if I had done that roadblock. Definitely not for me!

[Kanaloa]

So continues the tradition of "good, not great" odd-numbered TARCAN premieres. 

Alas, there are also signs of an encroaching influence from the now-heavily-flawed American edition: the font used for teammate names in the intro corresponding to the two latest gimmick seasons (social media stars and total strangers) as well as the first-ever instance of a triple Express Pass, the counterpoint to the first-ever three W-Turns* earlier this year. 

* Season 27's two single U-Turns on separate legs were the equivalent of one W-Turn, thus keeping its count on par with all other late/modern-era TARUS seasons (Unfinished Business inclusive) unlike Season 29's unprecedented trio of W-Turns

Edited July 6, 2017 by Kanaloa

[etagloh]

Welcome back, TAR: Hard Edition. Also, TAR: Don't Be Getting All American Edition. Also TAR: Let's Take A Penalty Edition. (Which is a weird TARCan tradition.)

Really, taking a penalty on the very first task should trigger Jon showing up and eliminating you on the spot. You should assume there will be two spoonfed flights with a relatively short gap, so the best you get out of a penalty is a tiny advantage and the worst from flailing at the task is being in a bunch of five at the back.

A pity that the mother/son pair went out first, because this feels more like a gym class cast than previous seasons. (TARCan's tasks tend to favour a more athletic team, so them's the breaks.) Can't stand the bro-sers, have my guesses who'll be gone quickly, but withholding judgement mostly. 

[Kelda Feegle]

So.Much.Shouting!

[aemom]

I was really surprised that the penalty was only 2 hours.  I was expecting it to be 4.  I was really irked that they took the penalty on the first bloody task!

I was sad to see the mom and son go.  The mom reminded me so much of Andrea Martin.  They seemed nice and fun and not as screamy as some of the other teams.  The hosers need to tone it down a few notches.

I was surprised that they started with a coast to coast flight.  TARCan keeps to it's tradition of trying to wear out and push the competitors hard.

[muffkins]

I was wondering why no one took the Skytrain from the airport to downtown and then the Seabus over to North Van. But it seems the train only runs every half hour, so missing it would put you in a bad spot.    So far the only team that bugs me are the adventure bros.  Oh and the fitness guy reminds me of Keith Hamilton Cobb, the guy who played Tyr Anasazi on Andromeda.

Edited July 7, 2017 by muffkins

[grooveshinney]

4 hours ago, AEMom said:

I was really surprised that the penalty was only 2 hours.  I was expecting it to be 4.  I was really irked that they took the penalty on the first bloody task!

I was sad to see the mom and son go.  The mom reminded me so much of Andrea Martin.  They seemed nice and fun and not as screamy as some of the other teams.  The hosers need to tone it down a few notches.

I was surprised that they started with a coast to coast flight.  TARCan keeps to it's tradition of trying to wear out and push the competitors hard.

Ahhh, Andrea Martin!  Of course!  She reminded me of someone and I just couldn't put my finger on who.  Thanks for the brain free-er, lol.

[Kanaloa]

18 hours ago, etagloh said:

Welcome back, TAR: Hard Edition. Also, TAR: Don't Be Getting All American Edition.

Right on!

It feels so refreshing to come back to the real version of the show, not the over-gimmicky hot mess that the original down south has become. 

Nonetheless, did anyone else strongly dislike the appearance of the Detour in the premiere when the opening legs of all four previous seasons did just fine as Roadblock-only episodes?

(TARUS screwed up the good momentum it had built between Seasons 14 to 25 by reintroducing the Detour on the blind date season's first leg and clinging to it ever since.)

Edited July 7, 2017 by Kanaloa

[piequinn35]

On 2017-07-07 at 10:30 AM, muffkins said:

I was wondering why no one took the Skytrain from the airport to downtown and then the Seabus over to North Van. But it seems the train only runs every half hour, so missing it would put you in a bad spot.    So far the only team that bugs me are the adventure bros.  Oh and the fitness guy reminds me of Keith Hamilton Cobb, the guy who played Tyr Anasazi on Andromeda.

Taxi all the way is faster. Seabus in north van is far from capilano bridge, they will have to take a taxi from there.

They didn't show how the others solved the morse task, did they just share the answer? Lol

Taking the penalty on the first task meant you are dead to me!

[TVbitch]

Yay, Amazing race Canada!

Oh no, YouTubers! ... (still scarred from the U.S. social media "celebrities" season) 

I hate when they put audience votes and stuff on screen. I do not need watching TV to be interactive!  

The boys will drive me nuts. Maybe when they get tired, they will stop over-acting for the camera.

Wish there had been an older couple to root for. 

[amazingracefan]

My problem on the first challenge wasn't so much the team taking the penalty as another team giving the answer to several others.  Quite a few didn't have to complete the task themselves but didn't have a penalty either.  The morse code task could have been more tension filled and exciting had it ended the leg rather than just deciding which of two flights the teams boarded.

The other task with potential was the tightrope one as several teams seemed to need a few attempts and there were different tactics used.  I noticed though that some teams were dragged across onto the end platform.

One express pass is enough, so 3 is way too many.

[kingshearte]

I have never been opposed to strategic use of penalty-taking, but I definitely prefer it to be genuinely strategic, rather than simply giving up. They kind of tried to frame it almost like there was some strategic thought, with the mention that there was no way the other teams were going to get it, but that seemed like a stretch, and I was not a fan. We'll see how things go with future tasks, I guess.

Aside from that, I have no particularly strong impressions of anyone else yet.