S10.E01: Dallas City Qualifiers 2018.05.30

[Lantern7]

Nobody set up a thread? Dang.

Well, we kick off one of the best summer series with people trying their best in Dallas . . . and that means Kacy Catenzaro drops by for commentary and a front row seat to Brent Steffensen wiping out. Big news this season is not only is there a plus-sized Warped Wall with a $10,000 prize for clearing it, the minimal age has been lowered to 19. That means hotshot proteges of established ninjas get to start on Midoriyama sooner than expected. Only guy to clear the Mega Wall (or whatever it's dubbed) is Daniel Gil. Run of the night? Jon Stewart. Yes, our favorite fiftysomething ninja returns (nickname: "Rock Man"?), and he manages to clear the course. Old Guy succeeding = major wood for Matt & Akbar. Oh, and two rookie lady ninjas made great impressions.

BTW, is there something wrong with the forums? I had to add the date and episode number manually.

[mlp]

I think I held my breath through Daniel Gil's whole run.  He not only cleared the mega wall, he finished 30 or 40 seconds ahead of the next guy.  Jon Stewart was impressive too.  

I suspect the guy in the boots will be a player when he gets a little more experience.  

If I understand it correctly, anyone who tries the mega wall and fails gets only one try on the regular wall whereas someone who skips the mega wall gets the usual three tries.  I imagine only people like Flip who know they have a good chance will risk it.

I am soooooooooo sick of Kacy.  Yes, she was the first to do something women are doing regularly now.  And yes, she completed a city final.  That was exciting then but she had her heyday and hasn't done anything remarkable since.  And she quit.  Enough already.

[slaterain]

that was an interesting episode. I could have done without the whole first half. the stories were over dramatized with reenactments and then we had a teen pageant queen and the dallas cowboy cheerleaders literally walk "their" contestant on to the platform?!?! I'm all for cheering and am excited to see their work colleagues support them but it just seemed way too staged and sensationalized when I watch ANW purely for the course and athleticism. That is what the sidelines are for. Did we really need to see a priest do a handstand walk down the aisle of his church and then genuflect as they put graphics up around him with his name? It just left a bad taste in my mouth. 

then we get to the second half - and my new fav contender - Quest!!! Yes!!! what a badass competitor! I literally shouted out loud after every obstacle that she passed. I haven't been that excited to watch a run in a long time. It was good to see us larger women represented and done so well!!! I loved how excited Akbar was about her run too!!!

I was glad to see Brent again but seriously wish they hadn't had Kacy on or at least not talking through his run. I'm over her. Maybe if they hadn't kept bringing her back out every single special then I would enjoy seeing her again. And I assume that the athletes can hear the commentary as they compete. just what you want to hear right as you are about to do an obstacle is your ex saying how you are worried about that one! 

Daniel Gil - damn that boy can run a course! and then up that mega wall - impressive! although what is with the Kingdom Ninja nickname? When did that happen and what the heck does it mean?

Edited May 31, 2018 by slaterain

[enoughcats]

Best things about the night: editors showed all (?) of the competitors and parts of their runs.  IIRC in previous years , they've just talked through A, B, and C competed with no pictures, and now here's Kacy.  

Question: at the end of the spider wall, when a trampoline jump was necessary to get the height to grasp the punching bags, did anyone land smoothly after grasping the bags, or did everyone use a leg over the two foot wall to pull themselves to safety.  I think I remember one guy who trampolined through the bags, but the pulling with leg muscles seemed to be the universal solution.  

I was surprised how well short women did.  I can say short because I am short, and many of them were 5'4" or more altitudinally challenged.  

Fast forward is my friend when they start on the human interest stories.  I like knowing how they got interested in training, and sometimes how they train, but the rest....not so much.

[Quilt Fairy]

5 minutes ago, enoughcats said:

Fast forward is my friend when they start on the human interest stories

Preach it!

[slf]

...Did I hear Daniel Gil right and his family had 6 houses? Are the Gil's rich? At one point he said "we were in the main house."

I thought the 19 year old was a little annoying but he did well. He visibly struggled a bit so I'm wondering how well he's going to do later on.

I wish ANW would learn that no one cares about the human interest stuff and a lot of it borders on tacky. Like when they just held the camera on poor Abel's face while he was clearly trying not to cry.

The only one I genuinely enjoyed was Quest. She had great energy.

[EllenB]

Yay for Jon Stewart!  Also for Quest and the 39-year-old woman, both very impressive.  I wish there had been a more even mix of known course veterans and rookies; seems like this was about 75% rookies.  I enjoy them, but I want to see my old favorites, too.

Boo on all the ooey gooey backstories.  They don't tug my heart, but activate my gag reflex.

Go AWAY, Kacy.  And the new look with all that make-up was kind of creepy.  

But I still get fangirl goosebumps when this show is on. ❤

[EllenB]

1 hour ago, slf said:

...Did I hear Daniel Gil right and his family had 6 houses? Are the Gil's rich? At one point he said "we were in the main house."

 

I wonder if the adult kids have all built on the same property.  I had some distant cousins who did that, and also knew another family that all built near the parents' house.

Urgh, that church he's with is all raptury.  Maybe they're not allowed to leave the nest in case one of them escapes.

[ClareWalks]

They really, really need to STFU about Kacy. She is "retired" (for the moment) and at this point she's not even one of the 20 best women in the game. They mentioned her so many times just in the first damn segment of the episode.

[LadyNebula]

4 hours ago, slaterain said:

 Daniel Gil - damn that boy can run a course! and then up that mega wall - impressive! although what is with the Kingdom Ninja nickname? When did that happen and what the heck does it mean?

I'm assuming it's somehow linked to his Christian faith. 

And being a Christian myself, I'm really sorry for the rest of this post.  NBC, no one cares about Kacy anymore. Please stop trotting her out. She did her thing, it was great, but her flame went out and she's done. Let's focus on those who are actually still competing!

[slaterain]

4 hours ago, LadyNebula said:

I'm assuming it's somehow linked to his Christian faith. 

And being a Christian myself, I'm really sorry for the rest of this post.  NBC, no one cares about Kacy anymore. Please stop trotting her out. She did her thing, it was great, but her flame went out and she's done. Let's focus on those who are actually still competing!

If that is true than that just makes me do the biggest eye roll!!! ugh. I understand that they think nicknames really sell the competitors but at times I just want them to stick with their actual names. 

I completely agree about Kacy! She was the pioneer so I understand her "value" but they could have just acknowledged her in the audience and that would have been great. They have been forcing her on us way too much! Let her and us move on!!! And the focus on Brent's shirt and their past dog - they haven't done any sort of foundation or anything right? They are just memorializing him? Another part of the Brent/Kacy saga and how they are exes that they don't need to bring up every darn time. Friends and business partners are enough! I always felt bad for how much they harp on those stories - especially the climber whose fiance died where every year the focus was on how he lost his fiance. I was so glad when he finally was able to move on and had a new girlfriend to support him so nbc would drop that backstory.  

[illini1959]

5 hours ago, LadyNebula said:

I'm assuming it's somehow linked to his Christian faith. 

And being a Christian myself, I'm really sorry for the rest of this post.  NBC, no one cares about Kacy anymore. Please stop trotting her out. She did her thing, it was great, but her flame went out and she's done. Let's focus on those who are actually still competing!

Amen to all the above.

I'm sure she's a very nice person but her day has been over for a long time.

Jessie and others have long surpassed her; move on already.

[Deianeira]

I love this show, but I get so frustrated with it.

The people I really want to see are the established Ninjas.  Most of them get the "while we were away" (Thomas Stillings?!) treatment, or we don't even get a clip of their run (Andrew Lowes, Nate Burkhalter) because almost all of the time is spent on rookies.

I don't want to see sob stories.  I want to see Ninjas hit the buzzer.  If someone hits the buzzer, we should be able to see their whole run.

"Mighty Kacy."  I was really hoping I'd never hear those words again.  When will it stop?

[MooCat Pretzel]

I cannot believe they are STILL trying to make Kacy happen.  If she shows up at the other city courses this season to "support her friends" and the cameras keep following her, I might be done with the show.  Yes.  My Kacy annoyance runs that deep.

Edited May 31, 2018 by MooCat Pretzel

[backgroundnoise]

Did PETA sign off that no frogs were harmed in the filming of this episode?

Poor things were probably terrified, plus got their middles squished.

[slaterain]

28 minutes ago, backgroundnoise said:

Did PETA sign off that no frogs were harmed in the filming of this episode?

Poor things were probably terrified, plus got their middles squished.

Seriously! I forgot to comment on that but I was cringing through the whole shrimp boot run as his friend held them up - They looked alive but they were not moving or shifting at all!!!

Edited May 31, 2018 by slaterain

[enoughcats]

2 hours ago, backgroundnoise said:

Did PETA sign off that no frogs were harmed in the filming of this episode?

Poor things were probably terrified, plus got their middles squished.

I really thought they were out gigging for a frog leg dinner the next night. 

Cajun Dude is going to be kidded for the rest of his life for having been said to have pet frogs. 

1 hour ago, slaterain said:

I forgot to comment on that but I was cringing through the whole shrimp boot run as his friend held them up - They looked alive but they were not moving or shifting at all!!!

Do you want to bet they flew to Dallas as Support Pets?

That would have been a ribbeting adventure. 

[backgroundnoise]

Maybe the frogs are trainers.  Showed him how to leap.

[saber5055]

25 minutes ago, enoughcats said:

I really thought they were out gigging for a frog leg dinner the next night. 

I'm positive that's what they were doing, just using hands instead of a gig. Those frogs weren't hopping after that night's dinner, if you know what I mean.

26 minutes ago, enoughcats said:

Cajun Dude is going to be kidded for the rest of his life for having been said to have pet frogs. 

Every boy had a pet frog to chase the girls with. At least in that part of the country. No big deal. (Then you eat their legs later.)

I know we need to get to know the rookies, but I wanted to see more of my favorites. And by that, I don't mean Kasey or Brent. If they are going to come back and get air time, then freaking be able to finish the course. I'd rather see Jessie in the interview box than Kasey. Heck, for that matter, ANYONE in the interview box than Kasey. Not that I hate her, it's just that she's been surpassed. And she's not that old. I can see her coming back to moderate if she were 50 or something, but she's only 28 and SHOULD still be competitive. She's just not. And what happened to Brent? He used to be the star of this thing. Maybe being associated with Kasey accounts for his bad skills lately.

Daniel Gil rocks. I thought he said they had three houses on their 24 acres. But no one knew they lived there? That's sort of weird. Still, getting flooded like that is a devastation. At least he has lots of family so they can pull together.

I like the extra-tall wall for $10,000. I thought ninjas were going that high in some of the competition episodes. But I guess after ALMOST making 18 feet, that shortie wall is simple. So there's that!

Glad this show is back. I still love Matt and Akbar. Best moderator team ever.

[backgroundnoise]

47 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

I still love Matt and Akbar. Best moderator team ever.

While I often roll my eyes at Akbar's comments--he tries waaaaayyy too hard to make puns--I do like their all-out-there enthusiasm for the sport.

[ams1001]

3 hours ago, backgroundnoise said:

While I often roll my eyes at Akbar's comments--he tries waaaaayyy too hard to make puns--I do like their all-out-there enthusiasm for the sport.

It's funny when you watch some of the early seasons and they were so much calmer. I discovered that binging Team Ninja on demand is a bad idea because Akbar gets to be a bit (lot) much after several back-to-back episodes.

[Destiny74]

I have come to understand that I don't dislike Kacy.  She seems like a very sweet, genuine person.  What I really hate is what NBC/ANW did with ( cue the spotlight, fireworks, and silk dancers) "KACY".  They took what she did 4 years ago (which was amazing and record breaking at the time) and morphed it into the Kacy Show that we all have seen enough of.  I would bet they signed her to contract as soon as she climbed down from the Dallas finals that night and have proceeded to ram Kacy and her accomplishment down our throats.  I think the limelight really messed with her head too because she hasn't done nearly as well since that night in Dallas.  She couldn't live up to the hype and you could tell that last season she was feeling pretty low.  I kinda do feel sorry for her.  Now, as for tonight?  I think she came back to cash a check.  I was hoping since she "retired" she'd be gone but no, I think she has an open invitation anytime she wants to return...even if only to commentate.  That's all on her though, any razzing she gets for being there this season, she totally deserves.

I can't believe Karsten, Brent, and Barclay went down on the balance element.  It was tough but it's hard to believe we won't see Karsten's mom on the sidelines.  (Honestly, I didn't catch the tail end of the show, did he make it to city finals?). 

I.agree with the above posters.  If someone makes it up the WW, I think we should see their whole run...Tremaine, Thomas!  Come on!  I would've loved to see their whole runs.  Do the WWWA to the ones who didn't make it.  I know they are trying to build up  fans for "the next generation" but don't forget who got you there initially.  I'd rather see them run than watch some guy hand pluck frogs from the bayou.

Speaking of which.  I thought the Cajun with the boots was a gimmick, he actually did really well.  Guess those boots were helpful.  

I wish I liked Quest better than you all.  I just didn't like her package before her run.  The story, ok, but the filmed parts in the warehouse area where she was spray painting...gimmicky.  It tainted her in my eyes.  She made it though, right?  Maybe I'll like her more later on?  That and I want to know what she got her degree in and why she is working as a waitress, I was just curious.

Matt and Akbar are a good team who do seem very excited about the sport they are commentating about.  That is always refreshing.  I agree that Akbar gets annoying after a while and I don't think I could binge watch.  However, Chris Rose and Kenny Florian of BattleBots are.my favorite commentating team.  They LOVE that stuff and have witty and smart comments.  Sorry, Matt and Akbar are #2.

Edited June 1, 2018 by Destiny74

[srpturtle80]

31 minutes ago, Destiny74 said:

I can't believe Karsten, Brent, and Barclay went down on the balance element.  It was tough but it's hard to believe we won't see Karsten's mom on the sidelines.  (Honestly, I didn't catch the tail end of the show, did he make it to city finals?). 

Yes, Karsten made it into the city finals. So never fear, we'll get to see his mom again.

Agree to what everyone has said about Kacy. I never had a problem with her but I now have Kacy-fatigue. I am ready for her to go away like yesterday.

Daniel Gil is one of my absolute favorites so I was thrilled to see him do so well and make it up the giant warped wall.

I had been introduced to "The Kid" during Ninja vs. Ninja as he is on Daniel's team. I get a cocky vibe from him and I haven't decided how I feel about him yet. However, Daniel has clearly taken him under his wing so he can't be all bad right?

I also love Barclay so I was devastated that she went out on those stupid tuning forks. Thankfully she made it through to the city finals as well.

Did they even show Tremayne Dortch's run? I heard Matt mention him "who we saw earlier" while he was on the sidelines during his friend's run, and I went "what?" I thought maybe Matt misspoke and he would be shown later, but alas, I never saw him. Or did I just black out for his run?

I just discovered this show 4 years ago (ironically, Kacy was the one who alerted me to it - I saw her run posted on Facebook and decided to check out the show, and was hooked). Now, I've become a giant fan of so many of these people and I love seeing all my favorites, and making some new ones along the way. I'm so happy my show is back!

Edited June 1, 2018 by srpturtle80

[ams1001]

21 minutes ago, srpturtle80 said:

I had been introduced to "The Kid" during Ninja vs. Ninja as he is on Daniel's team. I get a cocky vibe from him and I haven't decided how I feel about him yet. However, Daniel has clearly taken him under his wing so he can't be all bad right?

Did they even show Tremayne Dortch's run? I heard Matt mention him "who we saw earlier" while he was on the sidelines during his friend's run, and I went "what?" I thought maybe Matt misspoke and he would be shown later, but alas, I never saw him. Or did I just black out for his run?

I just discovered this show 4 years ago (ironically, Kacy was the one who alerted me to it - I saw her run posted on Facebook and decided to check out the show, and was hooked). Now, I've become a giant fan of so many of these people and I love seeing all my favorites, and making some new ones along the way. I'm so happy my show is back!

"The Kid" reminds me of my friend's 14yo son with the longish hair (and the hat) and lanky build.

I just watched on demand and they only showed the very end of Tremayne's run, as he got up the wall.

I also discovered it around the same time, or maybe the year before. I'm not really a sports watcher in general, except gymnastics and a few other things during the Olympics, but I was at my parents' house one night and my dad had it on; I was hooked after that. I love that everyone is so supportive and cheering each other on, even while competing against each other.

[Kazzy25]

Random, but do you know who I feel bad for? Andrew Lowes! Granted, he’s not a super famous ninja, but he has consistently decent runs and didn’t even get the courtesy of a WWWA edit. I only knew he made the top 30 from watching the list scroll by at the end. I know he’s been on ANW for a few seasons now and I think he’s always been montaged/not shown at all.

 

Add me to the list of those so done with Kacy. Was not happy to see her return at all and it got really old really fast hearing about her historic run from 4 years ago.

[VartanFan]

Quote

I cannot believe they are STILL trying to make Kacy happen.

Kacy=Fetch, yes.  I mean, how can we miss her if she...won’t. Go. Away?

I’m sorry but Daniel Gil pings my phony baloney-cult leader radar.  I know most folks love him and he can run a damn course, but I just can’t warm up to him (and I can’t stand the wife’s shoveled-on makeup).  

I love my DVR, since I can get through this show (fast forward the stories and after-run interviewing) in no time.  I think like maybe less than an hour an a half.  

[Lantern7]

While I can understand the annoyance of Kacy stopping by, I don't see the problem. If she's from the area, and the producers want her behind the mic during Brent's run, I'm cool. I admit she could have turned the offer down, and that the producers and NBC still love her a little too much, but I was good with it. Now, if she goes to other qualifiers, and has to go out of her way to do so, then I get "Kacy = fetch." At least they showed the bit of Brent climbing up the side of the final obstacle to greet her. Still a grandstand move, as far as I'm concerned.

I'm good with Daniel . . . for now. I don't see him as a "God-botherer." And he probably doesn't need divine help on the course. I'm tickled that an actual priest showed up to run, as opposed to Sean Bryant. Didn't someone here call him an IT guy for his church? Oh, and Kevin Klein is/was a flag runner for the Dallas Cowboys, so I understood him being escorted by the team's cheerleaders. If only somebody came in riding the bull. Was that Bevo??

Edited June 1, 2018 by Lantern7

[ams1001]

43 minutes ago, VartanFan said:

I’m sorry but Daniel Gil pings my phony baloney-cult leader radar.  I know most folks love him and he can run a damn course, but I just can’t warm up to him (and I can’t stand the wife’s shoveled-on makeup).   

I do love him but I felt like we got a hint of his 'worship leader' persona when he was talking about the flooding on his family's property in his bio package. It had a very motivational-speakery vibe. I knew "Kingdom Ninja" was a religious reference but I never feel like they focus too much on that aspect with him. I probably wouldn't like him as much if they made it all about his faith. That kind of thing always gets me a little eye-rolly.

(What do they do that they have all this property with multiple houses and other buildings? Is that a church thing or something else?)

[Quilt Fairy]

Every reality show in the world needs to study The Great British Bake-off (aka The Great British Baking Show) when it comes to how to do a backstory.  Their contestant backstories are 15-30 seconds max and they tell you everything you need to know about the person.

[ProfCrash]

My husband and I laughed when they reinacted the cancer illness, to include the coughing in bed and her husband carrying her around the house. Cancer is not funny but the need to reinact her illness was way over the top. 

The Kid needs to put his hair behind his hat. I am sorry but having it fall into his face was stupid and problematic. 

I enjoy the show and the runs but far too many of the people are into developing a brand and not completing the course. For example, Goofy and the Shrimp Boot dude. It is their first time running and they have pre-fabbed shirts and are out there acting it up on the course. Just uggghhhhh

[Guest]

I think Daniel Gil was always Kingdom Ninja.  I don't mind it, especially compared to that Papal Ninja nickname.  At least Gil might make it into some kingdom.  Bryant is never going to be pope. 

Though aren't most people told to evacuate before major hurricanes?  And if you don't evacuate wouldn't your friends or family not in your town know you're home?  The whole "no one knew we were there" thing was kind of odd.  Assuming you pay property taxes, authorities do know where the homes in an area are.  

And, yeah, the cancer reenactment.  And she a doctor, claiming doctors told her she had weeks to live.  I really don't think doctors say that except in those cases where it's truly physically impossible to recover.  On this show, they seem to say it every time someone bumps their head or gets a lump.  

Shrimp boot dude had ran before.  Goofy put up a GoFundMe page to help fund his family's trip to Dallas.  Doesn't training with elite ninjas like Dortch also cost some money?  

They spoiled Gil's run by making it last and not having a 'run of the night' before it, but I'm used to that.  

I wish they'd quit montaging Thomas Stillings.  

The opening sequence was the eye-roll worthiest part to me.  Look, a ninja with a kid with Down syndrome!  One with a wife with a degenerative disease!  I don't mind casting but I feel bad for the athletes who are better than the ones that made the show but were just unwilling to pimp out their family secrets.  "My dad was an alcoholic who tried to kill himself!"  "My mom was an addict who neglected me!"  "I'm black, muscular and a lesbian!"  

That said, I love the show and am so glad it's back.  Wasn't there a red nose day ep recently?  I wonder why Hulu doesn't have that one.  

[ClareWalks]

Quest was a big surprise for me. As a tall woman who is not super-slim (I'm 5'11" and a very athletic 160 lb), I have just assumed that American Ninja Warrior isn't really for me. My stats would be ideal, if I were a man. But I never thought a woman over 140 lb would be able to pull it off. Quest is about my weight and did amazing. It was a real wakeup call that I shouldn't assume that taller/heavier women have a *huge* disadvantage.

[slaterain]

13 hours ago, Destiny74 said:

I wish I liked Quest better than you all.  I just didn't like her package before her run.  The story, ok, but the filmed parts in the warehouse area where she was spray painting...gimmicky.  It tainted her in my eyes.  She made it though, right?  Maybe I'll like her more later on?  That and I want to know what she got her degree in and why she is working as a waitress, I was just curious.

I totally fast-forwarded through Quest's back story as I do most of them if the remote is in reach! So totally missed the gimmicky intro and was purely enjoying her run. 

[srpturtle80]

1 hour ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

That said, I love the show and am so glad it's back.  Wasn't there a red nose day ep recently?  I wonder why Hulu doesn't have that one. 

Yes! It was on last week and it was fantastic. I hope you can find it somewhere! 

[BTBAM310]

I guess they'll never get the memo that halfway intelligent people want to see the competition and not the endless back story.  The fact they skip so many people who actually finish the course is ridiculous.

Daniel Gil annoys me to no end with his Kenny G hair (we call him Danny G) and overly fake looking smile. That being said he is an amazing competitor.

The only person I was rooting against was Goofy(?).

What was with the woman's scream - especially the one she did while walking away???

[Destiny74]

30 minutes ago, BTBAM310 said:

 

What was with the woman's scream - especially the one she did while walking away???

Yes!  I totally forgot to mention her.  Her scream was shrill and annoying and she obviously thinks it's cute.  It's not.  I'm glad she's done and I don't have to hear that crap anymore.  Ugh.  Made my ears bleed.

[AZChristian]

Really?  A nun cheering for the hot priest, holding a sign that says, "Jesus is my homie"????  That's tied for tackiest with the cancer doctor who did the Carol-Burnett-fake-Love-Story cough while they "just happened" to be filming her during her "last two weeks" of life?

Could the producers just quit the stupidity and let us watch more actual, oh I don't know, COMPETITION!?!?

[VartanFan]

Quote

They spoiled Gil's run by making it last and not having a 'run of the night' before it, but I'm used to that. 

I always feel like it would be pretty great for them to show a finisher in the first 1/2 hour of the show. I mean, it’s a bummer for me when I actually like a runner but I know they can’t possibly finish because they’re among the first five or so runs. Come on, show, surprise me with a finisher right off the bat some night!  

[ams1001]

7 hours ago, Destiny74 said:

Yes!  I totally forgot to mention her.  Her scream was shrill and annoying and she obviously thinks it's cute.  It's not.  I'm glad she's done and I don't have to hear that crap anymore.  Ugh.  Made my ears bleed.

I was never so glad to see someone fall after she started screaming before each obstacle.

[EllenB]

I love Jon Stewart, but having just watched the rerun tonight, all I could think about was his hair.  Is he coloring it now?  It looked so fake, I thought there were going to be streaks of color running down his face.

And the schmucky backstories seem to be an NBC thing.  It gets really bad during the Olympics, "Joe Blow had a hangnail when he was seven, but he has courageously overcome this debilitating disease and with hard work and the support of his church and family, he is here today competing not just in his sport, but for the hearts he has touched with his bravery in the face of adversity." Cue shot of Joe Blow on his knees, with rapturous expression and a halo, while inspirational music plays.  Blech.

[enoughcats]

I tuned in the replay late so I missed the naming of the pet frogs.  I did note that Stephenson made it into the group of men advancing, so we may see the mighty Kacy go up the wall for the (at least) sixth time this season when he appears in the city finals.  

Where can I send the Gil husband and wife some industrial strength shampoo?  That hair, ,twice in one week, is way too much.  Did you notice incognito Kingdom ninja (hair pulled back, totally no curls) in the boat being rescued?  They just happened to get all that on film, lucky producers. (Snort).

And I really want the guys who make it up the wall to have their whole runs shown.  Period.

[SophiaD]

I also caught the replay.  I think the show is definitely going more mainstream, what with the endless backstories, next week's movie-tie, and so on.  It really seems as though they're trying to whet the interest of the casual viewer, showing some new rookies to catch peoples' interest, human interest stories for people who are into that, and just enough success stories to keep it interesting.  It's a savvy marketing strategy, although annoying for the die-hard fan.  They didn't even show the majority of people (men, tonight) who made it up the wall.

I actually like Kacy and didn't mind seeing her.  At least she had two friends to support and wasn't just randomly there, although I would rather have seen her for Barclay's segment than Brent's.  I do think that it's weird that they keep inviting her to comment about Brent, given that they broke up several years ago.  Doesn't he have any other friends or family to cheer him on?

(Speaking of unpopular opinions, I also think Kristine has gotten SO much better as an announcer than she was during her first year).  

It was great to see Abel Gonzalez's run - FINALLY - after several years of WYWA'ing him, although the backstory felt borderline exploitative.  Delighted to see Tremayne Dortch finish the course.  Jon Stewart is a beast, Karen Wilkins is very impressive, and so were the two young guys.  Glad to see Barclay make it through to the finals as well.

[Guest]

23 hours ago, srpturtle80 said:

Yes! It was on last week and it was fantastic. I hope you can find it somewhere! 

Thanks!  It is on Hulu, I watched it last night.  It was good, but short.  I could watch celebrities run the course all day, and the ninjas coaches are just icing.  

Those obstacles looked dumbed down for the celebs, which is fine, of course.  Did they say how high that warped wall was?  It looked like Akbar was 2/3 up it just from his body height. 

[ams1001]

1 hour ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

Those obstacles looked dumbed down for the celebs, which is fine, of course.  Did they say how high that warped wall was?  It looked like Akbar was 2/3 up it just from his body height. 

I don't know if they change the wall height, but google tells me Akbar is 6'6, so he's nearly half as tall as the regular wall. I'm pretty sure the floating steps (or whatever it is at the beginning) are closer together, though. Some of the taller guys look like they could almost just step across.

[saber5055]

On 5/31/2018 at 10:20 PM, ams1001 said:

I do love him but I felt like we got a hint of his 'worship leader' persona when he was talking about the flooding on his family's property in his bio package. It had a very motivational-speakery vibe. I knew "Kingdom Ninja" was a religious reference but I never feel like they focus too much on that aspect with him.

I caught part of the rerun last night. Daniel Gil's occupation was "Worship Leader." Which would explain the Kingdom Ninja thing. And yeah, maybe all those houses/buildings on his family's 24 acres are church-related. Who knows. Although if it is, someone in the congregation should have noticed they were missing/flooded in.

On 6/1/2018 at 6:22 AM, ProfCrash said:

My husband and I laughed when they reinacted the cancer illness, to include the coughing in bed and her husband carrying her around the house. Cancer is not funny but the need to reinact her illness was way over the top. 

I was really taken aback by this, especially the coughing and "can't get out of bed" thing. If it was filmed while she was sick, how offensive to air it. If it was reenacted, how offensive period. It was totally not needed.

On 6/1/2018 at 8:30 AM, Winston9-DT3 said:

Shrimp boot dude had ran before. 

Yeah, they showed a clip from his previous failed run. He fell because ... no shrimp boots, dude. Those boots actually were pretty helpful. Isaac Caldiero said he failed on the Jumping Spider the first time because he was wearing climbing shoes with no friction/tread on the bottom so he slid right off. Maybe shrimp boots will become a thing.

On 6/1/2018 at 8:30 AM, Winston9-DT3 said:

I don't mind casting but I feel bad for the athletes who are better than the ones that made the show but were just unwilling to pimp out their family secrets.  "My dad was an alcoholic who tried to kill himself!"  "My mom was an addict who neglected me!"  "I'm black, muscular and a lesbian!"  

LOL! So much this. Although the show would love to have all three of those contestants' backstories filmed. Although just wait ... the season is still young.

[Ciarrai]

It took  me a little while to figure out who the Kid reminded me of. Sadly, it's the Boston Marathon Bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

[Chaos Theory]

Every year people complain about the same things which are never going to change at least until this becomes an official sport and not just a completion or to put it another way sports entertainment.    It’s not choreographed like wrestling but it is often more about the story then the two minute run.   But yeah we often miss the good ones that make it up the wall to watch some nobody flop in the water but I do get it.  These are the guys who spend weeks standing in line so give them their two minutes of tv time.  

 

As for the actual run.  The Kid was as good as advertised.  I felt bad for Barkley.  The Priest Guy was fun to watch.   I do like it when one person makes others try out and they do well as well.  I also like the new double warped wall.  I am hoping at least one woman makes up the money wall.

Edited June 6, 2018 by Chaos Theory

[Destiny74]

1 hour ago, Chaos Theory said:

 

As for the actual run.  The Kid was as good as advertised.  I felt bad for Barkley.  The Priest Guy was fun to watch.   I do like it when one person makes others try out and they do well as well.  I also like the new double warped wall.  I am hoping at least one woman makes up the money wall.

I'd like to see that too.  I initially thought there would be more than one person make the money this week.  I hate to say it but if Tremaine Dortch can't make it up that wall, I'm not sure a woman will.  I can see Flip, Drew, Najee, and a few other seasoned ninjas doing it but mostly the ninjas who seem to have a very easy time getting up the wall.  Then again, I thought Tremaine would do it no problem.  

The trouble is the run up.  More could make it if they had more room to run up.

[enoughcats]

1 minute ago, Destiny74 said:

More could make it if they had more room to run up.

We see the runners going back and instinctively wanting to go further back. And they can't because the guys who designed this don't want multiple 10Ks going out each run. 

Or is it the first one up the wall each night's competition.  
Or will  Daniel Gill go up multiple times for multiple 10Ks?

[ClareWalks]

13 hours ago, Ciarrai said:

It took  me a little while to figure out who the Kid reminded me of. Sadly, it's the Boston Marathon Bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

Oh my god. That's it. What an unfortunate thing to remind people of! Poor guy.