S30.E02: You're The Best French-Fry Ever!

[PreBabylonia]

I didn't mind this episode and I found the Frite race kind of funny, although I was terribly worried for Even and Henry until he finally won. I am probably influenced by my relief that Goat Yoga is done. My impression was that Sarah wanted April to go again because she was just plain lazy or didn't want to do the race herself. April is clearly the more energetic in this team. (April was the one that stayed up while Sarah slept). Pretty odd for a yoga instructor. I am wondering if their bickering performance will have an impact on their brand in the real world.

[Dobian]

While I found the French fry race amusing, I don't like the concept.  Basically you can completely suck on the whole leg and in theory could arrive at the mat hours after everyone else, but if you win the race against the remaining team you're in and they go home.  Meh.

[iMonrey]

Quote

So, my problem with this twist is that it reminds me of those insurmountable moments in that the less physical competitors are at an insurmountable disadvantage. 

But at the end of the day, it's a Race. Speed and dexterity are going to be a factor, even without the head-to-head competition. Whether you're a 98-pound weakling or overweight and out of shape, you know that going into the race, and you still chose to go and take your chances against people you know will be physically stronger, and that there will be physical challenges you just might not be able to do. I wouldn't want challenges anyone can do even if they are physically weak or compromised. There's too many of those and they're boring to watch. 

This wasn't an insurmountable disadvantage either - if they had to go multiple times they got practice that newly arriving teams did not. 

[green]

1 hour ago, PreBabylonia said:

I didn't mind this episode and I found the Frite race kind of funny, although I was terribly worried for Even and Henry until he finally won. I am probably influenced by my relief that Goat Yoga is done. My impression was that Sarah wanted April to go again because she was just plain lazy or didn't want to do the race herself. April is clearly the more energetic in this team. (April was the one that stayed up while Sarah slept). Pretty odd for a yoga instructor. I am wondering if their bickering performance will have an impact on their brand in the real world.

If you read back in the thread you will see there was THREE hours between the 2 races that team did so selecting April to do the race again had nothing to do with Sarah being lazy.  It was a tactical decision based on April having a lower center of gravity -- which we saw helped other teams' racers -- as well as April having garnered some experience with having done the race once before.  It was a good call but neither would have won against the fire fighters most likely since fire fighters are usually in really good physical condition.

I am becoming convinced that the Goat Yoga team got an especially bad edit in leg one (where probably a lot of teams got snappy with each other since they all drove for hours and hours) so that no one would mind the stupid and totally unfair race at the end of leg two.  If the Yale team had been eliminated I'm sure they would have gotten a more negative edit in leg one and the one lone argument we saw the Goat Yoga ladies get into would have been edited out.

[LadyArcadia]

Mr. Arcadia: What's our secret word?

Me: Fuck you.

Mr. Arcadia: I don't think that'll work.

Son Arcadia: Mom! You say that anyway!

Me: See? That's why it's brilliant!

 

Also... French Freyeshhh....

We are evil, evil people.

[tessat]

Loved this episode and the head to head at the end. It actually was an even challenge as although it did require some strength it was more about agility, midset and concentration. Just because you're big - doesn't mean that you could handle the cart around the curves. This was actually more set for women as some of the shopping carts we've had to put up with thru the years should have given us an advantage.

I don't think they show enough off BB - AR has been very mindful of showing all the teams thru out the legs and I commend them on that. The rope ladder was another good task as far as I'm concerned - especially if it was windy - it's hard enough to maintain your footing with it swinging around. 

Can't wait to see what else they have in store for us - I'm glad they are switching things up this year!

Glad the goat yoga ladies are gone - this is the first year in forever that I'm really good with all the teams.

[ByaNose]

I'm looking forward to next week since there only 9 teams left. It's a more manageable to watch and everyone is seen a little more. I don't think I really know the TeamWellStrung very well. Also, I can tell TeamOceanRescue are going to be a train wreck (mostly the wife) and, they are already getting on my nerves and I want to see more of that. LOL!!! I am also curious to see if TeamBigBrother can hold on to their first place status. Yup! I can't wait till next Wednesday.

[BarneySays]

Quote

But at the end of the day, it's a Race. Speed and dexterity are going to be a factor, even without the head-to-head competition. Whether you're a 98-pound weakling or overweight and out of shape, you know that going into the race, and you still chose to go and take your chances against people you know will be physically stronger, and that there will be physical challenges you just might not be able to do. I wouldn't want challenges anyone can do even if they are physically weak or compromised. There's too many of those and they're boring to watch. 

This wasn't an insurmountable disadvantage either - if they had to go multiple times they got practice that newly arriving teams did not. 

 

I think you miss my point.  First, I said the twist reminded me of those insurmountable challenge moments.  I did not say that it was in fact insurmountable.  I also understand that physical dexterity (and swimming and driving stick) and stamina are key elements of the race.  But so are skill with directions, a keen eye and attention to detail, an ability to pick up movements/directions, etc.  My point is that these various skills counterbalance each other over the course of the race.  Whereas this twist reduced the entire leg to a wheelbarrow race in a frite suit.  I find that an unappealing as witnessing a team not be able to finish a task because of impossibility (see, eg, the gamblers).  YMMV.

 

Quote

 

Loved this episode and the head to head at the end. It actually was an even challenge as although it did require some strength it was more about agility, midset and concentration. Just because you're big - doesn't mean that you could handle the cart around the curves.

 

That activity was about core and arm strength.  You can see that in play in particular with the skier.  Watch how she runs through the course.  It's also why the debaters were flying all over the place.  The yogi actually could have beaten henry, but for the fact that once he pushed his way in front of her there was no room for her (or any competitor) to pass the leader until the ramp near the very end. 

Edited January 12, 2018 by BarneySays

[iMonrey]

Quote

 I don't think I really know the TeamWellStrung very well. 

They've definitely gotten the least amount of screen time in the past 2 episodes. I'm not sure what to make of that. It may just be that they aren't providing any juicy drama, it may be that the show is more invested in other teams. I certainly get the impression that Phil is sort of obsessed with the competitive eaters, and I'm sure the show is giddy about the basketball players, the racecar drivers, and the Big Brother couple. I just ope it doesn't mean the violin players are early eliminations because they're two of the least objectionable racers.

Quote

I think you miss my point.  First, I said the twist reminded me of those insurmountable challenge moments.  I did not say that it was in fact insurmountable.  I also understand that physical dexterity (and swimming and driving stick) and stamina are key elements of the race.  But so are skill with directions, a keen eye and attention to detail, an ability to pick up movements/directions, etc.  My point is that these various skills counterbalance each other over the course of the race.  Whereas this twist reduced the entire leg to a wheelbarrow race in a frite suit.  I find that an unappealing as witnessing a team not be able to finish a task because of impossibility (see, eg, the gamblers).  YMMV.

I conceded earlier that the head-to-head made the Roadblock and Detour more or less irrelevant so we're sorta on the same page about that. But there have always been mental challenges, there have always been luck-based challenges, and there have always been purely physical challenges, and there always will be. I can understand people being frustrated with it but it is what is. (I, for one, would never kid myself that I could go on The Amazing Race - and if I did so and then completely wiped out because I couldn't finish a physical challenge I couldn't rightly call shenanigans or complain it should have been more fair because, well, I've seen the show before.)

[OldWiseOne]

1 hour ago, tessat said:

This was actually more set for women as some of the shopping carts we've had to put up with thru the years should have given us an advantage.

Didn't realise men weren't allowed to use shopping carts...

[PreBabylonia]

2 hours ago, green said:

If you read back in the thread you will see there was THREE hours between the 2 races that team did so selecting April to do the race again had nothing to do with Sarah being lazy.  It was a tactical decision based on April having a lower center of gravity -- which we saw helped other teams' racers -- as well as April having garnered some experience with having done the race once before.  It was a good call but neither would have won against the fire fighters most likely since fire fighters are usually in really good physical condition.

I am becoming convinced that the Goat Yoga team got an especially bad edit in leg one (where probably a lot of teams got snappy with each other since they all drove for hours and hours) so that no one would mind the stupid and totally unfair race at the end of leg two.  If the Yale team had been eliminated I'm sure they would have gotten a more negative edit in leg one and the one lone argument we saw the Goat Yoga ladies get into would have been edited out.

I did read the entire thread, thank you, as I do before I make any comment. I don't think the three-hour wait made Sarah any less lazy, since she ALSO shared that three-hour wait. What exactly, has she been doing during this race except bitch and moan? I would have thought the yoga expert would have made a better choice than a goat herder. She looks more muscular but I haven't seen any sign of athletic ability from her at all. Good riddance that she's gone though.

1 hour ago, tessat said:

Loved this episode and the head to head at the end. It actually was an even challenge as although it did require some strength it was more about agility, midset and concentration. Just because you're big - doesn't mean that you could handle the cart around the curves. This was actually more set for women as some of the shopping carts we've had to put up with thru the years should have given us an advantage.

I don't think they show enough off BB - AR has been very mindful of showing all the teams thru out the legs and I commend them on that. The rope ladder was another good task as far as I'm concerned - especially if it was windy - it's hard enough to maintain your footing with it swinging around. 

Can't wait to see what else they have in store for us - I'm glad they are switching things up this year!

Glad the goat yoga ladies are gone - this is the first year in forever that I'm really good with all the teams.

I think the task was a combination of agility (around the turns) and core strength. Momentum would help to get the cart down the straightaways but then you have to slow down to make the turns. I noticed that Henry miscalculated the one turn several times and ran into the divider, and dropped bags of frites as a result.

[tessat]

Although there was strength involved - it's pretty easy moving an object that is heavy on a dolly - it's much harder trying to get the dolly on a path of twist and turns - this from a 60 yr old woman who's moved many a heavy item by herself on a dolly.

 

Sorry forgot about the PC crowd - but you have to admit - many more women use shopping carts with funky wheels than men.

TY - if it was all core strength and arm strength - the basketball players would have won the 1st round - but we have to figure in agility as well as height and the ability to control the cart.

[Brookside]

It's possible the Amazing Bath Mat was so close to the race course because the city authorities of Antwerp wouldn't give permission to shut down/trash any more of their beautiful city..

I too loved the Greeter's reaction to the six pounds of fries (and took unkind pleasure in the "eater's" offended and defensive reaction).  In reality, it was probably because she had no idea what six pounds is, having never known anything but kilos.

[Geenee]

The correctly done clue at the end of the Old Print Detour translated from Dutch into English:

Quote

Op deze grote openbare plek vind je het stadhuis en Silvius Brabo. Zoek de spandoeken, neem een nummer, en start de Frietrace!

At this large public place you('ll) find the city hall and Silvius Brabo*. Search for the banners, take a number, and start the Fry-Race!

* Legendary hero who gave the city its name: "hand werpen" = "Antwerpen".

[greyhorse]

I'm not liking the idea of the Head to Head like many have posted.  For one, you have to sit around doing nothing until somebody else shows up.  Could Henry and Evan have at least practiced while waiting?  Work out the way to steer the dolly, navigate the corners, do the bridge, etc.?  Would have also liked to see you get a "x" number of seconds head-start for each time you tried but lost a race.  So if it was 5 seconds, then Henry and Evan would get 30 seconds on their 7th try.  That would have made it at least a little more fair and given some "reward" for arriving to the fries ahead of the subsequent teams.

Every time I see Henry, I can't help but think that I'm looking at Vanck.

Surprised so many had trouble with the backward printing.  And surprised that nobody thought to hold the paper to the light except the skiers.

[Snappy]

So far, I haven't been impressed with any of the obstacles. It seems as thought they have been watered down since the show began. We no longer have the "eat a local food" that is gross to you"  or "live a day in the shoes of _____" obstacles.The head to head was okay. I didn't hate it, and at least it had a connection to the locale.

[HurricaneVal]

I kind of hope we don't get a "eat a local food that is gross to you" challenge on this season.  The competitive eater guys would unfairly clean up on that one.  It would be just as unfair if there were a "learn to play 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' on the violin" competition while Team WellStrung was still in the race, or "do yoga with goats" competitions while that team was still here.

I do hope that the TAR producers keep such things in mind when designing the season.  I hope they vet the racers life experiences vs. the destinations and challenges.  "Whoops, this guy lived in Tanzania for five years after college, either we switch out that leg, or we cast that team next season..."

[dgpolo]

2 minutes ago, HurricaneVal said:

I kind of hope we don't get a "eat a local food that is gross to you" challenge on this season.  The competitive eater guys would unfairly clean up on that one.  It would be just as unfair if there were a "learn to play 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' on the violin" competition while Team WellStrung was still in the race, or "do yoga with goats" competitions while that team was still here.

I do hope that the TAR producers keep such things in mind when designing the season.  I hope they vet the racers life experiences vs. the destinations and challenges.  "Whoops, this guy lived in Tanzania for five years after college, either we switch out that leg, or we cast that team next season..."

They had a surfing challenge when surfers were on the race. The Guidos had lived in Paris (didn't help them) Frank and Margarita lived in NY, didn't help them on the final leg, Wil and Tara lived in San Francisco, didn't help them on final leg. I'm sure there are other instances because every time it happens people cry 'Foul'.

[chitowngirl]

Agreed. I'm sure the group that is setting up stuff around the world has little or nothing to do with the casting people. You can't tailor make the challenges against the strength and weaknesses of the contestants. That's cheating and there have been strict rules in place since the Quiz Show Scandal.

Edited January 15, 2018 by chitowngirl

[Netfoot]

2 hours ago, HurricaneVal said:

 

I kind of hope we don't get a "eat a local food that is gross to you" challenge on this season.  The competitive eater guys would unfairly clean up on that one.  It would be just as unfair if there were a "learn to play 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' on the violin" competition while Team WellStrung was still in the race, or "do yoga with goats" competitions while that team was still here.

 

Or surf in a WavePool when one of the racers was a professional surfer?  Sometimes a team gets a break.  Like when a Chinese-speaking team find themselves in China.  TPTB can't be expected to make everything Even-Stephens for all teams, all the time.  In fact, I believe the team group that sets the race has nothing to do with selecting racers, nor vice versa.  So...

Edited January 16, 2018 by Netfoot

[limecoke]

Quote

I loved Phil’s commentary on the race and I thought it was funny and entertaining especially when he compared it to slalom skiing. I can’t stand Jeff’s commentary since it is so nerve wracking and must be so distracting to the contestants especially with him yelling so much.

I didn’t like the fritte race but did enjoy Phil’s running commentary.  “So-in-so lost his frittes”, just made me laugh. I agree that it was totally different from Probst.  Side note: check out the first couple of seasons of Survivor, Jeff is silent during challenges and it’s quite nice.  Besides, Phil is a lot more fun to listen to than Probst.

Not a bit fan of the goat girls so wasn’t sad to see them go. 

[chaifan]

11 hours ago, Snappy said:

So far, I haven't been impressed with any of the obstacles. It seems as thought they have been watered down since the show began. We no longer have the "eat a local food" that is gross to you"  or "live a day in the shoes of _____" obstacles.The head to head was okay. I didn't hate it, and at least it had a connection to the locale.

I'm not a fan of the "eat a local food" challenges, as it translates into "eat a gross food", and I find that inherently disparaging to the host country.   Every once in a while they've had a "eat a disgusting amount of a relatively normal food"  (caviar, spicy soup), but in those cases I have no desire to see/hear contestants puke, and again, that's still pretty disrespectful of the host country.  I did think the identify the tea challenge (sorry, don't remember the season) was pretty interesting.

[Haleth]

The cod liver oil and whatever that liqueur was were bad enough.  Nix the gross food/mass quantities of food challenges.

I would guess that the route and challenges of each season are mapped out well before the racers are selected.  It would be a PITA to have to make changes to remove an unexpected advantage for some teams.

[Netfoot]

How are you going to eliminate all advantages?  Some people are smart, and some are stupid.  Some people are tall, and some are shorter.  The race usually contains a mix of female and male racers.  Some have hair, and some are bald.  Some have two left feet and some are professional dancers.  Inevitably, at each challenge someone will be the best suited to perform that challenge.  

So long as they mix up the challenges, to avoid skinny people (or strong people, or dexterous people) having the advantage in all the challenges, that's good enough for me.

[iMonrey]

Quote

I kind of hope we don't get a "eat a local food that is gross to you" challenge on this season. 

I very much doubt the show would be all over the competitive eaters the way they are if they were not planning on having an eating challenge at some point. You know they won't be able to resist. No doubt there will be a race car challenge at some point too.

[aradia22]

I think the producers are asking bad leading questions or the editors are putting it together poorly. Because I find everyone annoying in TH's. And I think it must be that they're making everyone mention their "thing" (Big Brother, Yale, NBA, etc.) and it makes it seem like that's all they talk about. One detail of your background is not always the most relevant aspect of how you think, make decisions, interact with people, etc. 

Another heights challenge? Sigh... I was expecting something with the chocolate.

Is it me or do tall people tend to have issues with heights? Or maybe I only notice it when it seems ironic.

I would probably want to murder the guy playing the recorder if I was trying to concentrate. I would have still picked that task though. Diamond appraisal seems way less straightforward if you don't know what you're doing.

I am... intrigued by the Head to Head challenge idea. I do think it goes against the spirit of the race a bit. I like that teams don't always bunch up and a team can be way out ahead or way behind. On the other hand, having some challenges that directly pit teams against each other could be interesting. I'm curious if these will all be physical challenges because that definitely puts less athletic teams at a disadvantage. They could arrive early and still be the slowest, weakest, etc. in a physical challenge.

Also, I REALLY did not need Phil describing what was happening. I have eyes.

Phil's friend at the mat was beautiful. She looked like a very fresh-faced model.

I'm thinking the NBA players are actually the bro-y team. I think they take themselves a little too seriously and might have trouble with things like if there's ever a dance challenge where one of them has to dress up in a female costume.

I like Big Brother for racing relatively well. No one has a ton of personality so far but Competitive Eating and Well-Strung are the most likable to me. I could happily ditch Dysfunctional Couple and 

I'm curious about the weight of all the uncooked frites. That many potatoes seems like it would be heavy but not impossible to manage (given that they were propped on a dolly and you didn't have to bear the full weight of them). Still, there were a couple of teams that just blasted through. They had really good control of the dolly. Like the racecar driver? That was masterful. It didn't seem to be a brute strength or speed challenge.

All the suffering has made Team Yale more likable. I mean, they're not my favorites but it's hard to not be sympathetic after they were so severely humbled.

Maybe it's because I'm watching around dinner time but now I want frites. And chocolate.

Quote

"Pineapple" safe word? Huh? You just can't tell the other person to relax or something?

I get the feeling it's more of an emergency "you're being a dick on national TV" kind of safe word to snap someone out of it more than a regular request.

[Miles]

On 11.1.2018 at 6:07 AM, Lantern7 said:

I didn't think that. I thought of the guy from TAR5, who was also . . . Charla-sized. No, really, she hugged him and everything. A look into Wikipedia tells me that the chocolatier was based in Argentina.

I only vaguely remember the TAR5 guy, but I'm pretty sure that this one was a lot hotter.

 

On 11.1.2018 at 5:39 PM, Netfoot said:

I quite understand that the race can be compromised too much, but I've seen teams of four, blind dating teams, teams of "social media enablers", an entire field of strangers, and yet TAR has come back from all of that crap and remain essentially unchanged at it's heart.  

And yet this head to head was worse than all of those other twists combined (the family edition might have been worse though). It should mean something when you accumilated a huge lead throughout the leg. The intersection was bad enough for the wait time the first teams incured, this was way worse. You shouldn't be able to lose it all, because you have to wait hours for the other teams and get a disadvantage every time, because you get more and more tired.

The race shouldn't be a 1:1. This isn't survivor. You do the same tasks at the same time and whoever is slower loses only the time they were slower, not a few additional hours. That's just not fair.

 

On 15.1.2018 at 10:22 PM, dgpolo said:

They had a surfing challenge when surfers were on the race. The Guidos had lived in Paris (didn't help them) Frank and Margarita lived in NY, didn't help them on the final leg, Wil and Tara lived in San Francisco, didn't help them on final leg. I'm sure there are other instances because every time it happens people cry 'Foul'.

You are a very old school fan. My hat goes off to you. I would have gone with last season where Becka was a rock climbing instructor and they had a rock climbing road block.

But really, you have about one of these per season. It can't be helped when you have so many different professions on the race.

Edited January 21, 2018 by Miles

[Netfoot]

21 minutes ago, Miles said:

And yet this head to head was worse than all of those other twists combined (the family edition might have been worse though). It should mean something when you accumilated a huge lead throughout the leg. You shouldn't be able to lose it all, because you have to wait hours for the other teams and get a disadvantage every time, because you get more and more tired.

I agree to a certain extent.  But the point I was making is that while I dislike the Head to Head, I am confident that TAR will survive it.  Unless it proves wildly popular and boosts ratings by a huge degree (which I doubt will happen), it is unlikely to become a permanent fixture.  I can endure the H2H for a few episodes if I must.  

21 minutes ago, Miles said:

And yet this head to head was worse than all of those other twists combined (the family edition might have been worse though). It should mean something when you accumilated a huge lead throughout the leg. You shouldn't be able to lose it all, because you have to wait hours for the other teams and get a disadvantage every time, because you get more and more tired.

I agree to a certain extent.  But the point I was making is that while I dislike the Head to Head, I am confident that TAR will survive it.  Unless it proves wildly popular and boosts ratings by a huge degree (which I doubt will happen), it is unlikely to become a permanent fixture.  I can endure the H2H for a few episodes if I must.  

[Netfoot]

Hmm.   I wonder why it doubled up like that!

[Nidratime]

Somehow, I managed to miss that the Amazing Race had started, and so I have all of January's episodes to catch up on. (Thank heaven for online episodes!) Anyway, I just watched this episode last night, and I didn't really have a big problem with the last challenge (twist?). It keeps the show fresh if they switch the challenges up every now and then and I vastly prefer this to double U-turns which are almost always deadly for the affected team. I might have felt differently if Henry and Evan hadn't managed to finally win a race, but as someone said, the fact that they came in early and had numerous opportunities to compete was a plus. Granted, they were both tired, but they also had the opportunity to switch out, giving each of them a break to rest. (I think the brutal tasks that fall to just one person, who cannot switch out, can be the most painful to watch and usually end up being race-enders.) They also, through repetition, finally learned what was their best strategy. If they had come in later and only had a couple of chances, I think they would've been out for sure. So, in that regard, being poorer racers did impose a penalty. One or two shots, and you're out!