S10.E07: Los Angeles City Finals: 2018.07.16

[Lantern7]

Didn't see a thread. Kevin Bull rebounded from the qualifier, completing the course. Derek Miyamoto -- "Ninja Ambassador" -- also cleared the course. Bad news: Eskimo Ninja's run is being shown in a small box while the commercials run. That doesn't seem right.

"Mazal Tough"? I whole-heartedly approve. Also, Josh Levin's run to completion was WWWA.

Edited July 17, 2018 by Lantern7

[mtlchick]

The Godfather and Nicholas both finished and they get the "while you were away" treatment? Pffft.

[enoughcats]

ITA with the "if you finish the course, I want to see your entire effort" audience.

But they showed us every wiggle of the Dude (Hawaii ? dude) as he progressed. And then didn't make the cut of 15. 

Can't forget the female Ninja's face (?Natalie?) who the camera couldn't get enough of during his run, but, strangely perhaps, we didn't see her cheering on any women contestants, just him.  

Which brings up the question of, "are there cliques in ANW?" or are we seeing the experienced competitors rooting less for the new guys? (Although the other women competitors there seem to be supporting each other, but maybe not the first timers as much)

[Quilt Fairy]

Once again, my beautiful Nicholas Coolridge - fastest time of the night, BTW - gets WWWA treatment.  Did he like run over Matt's puppy or something?  This has happened every year except when he was a rookie. 

Does anyone remember the distant past when places like Disneyworld would have picturesque places noted with a plaque that said "Kodak photo spot" so you wouldn't miss it?  That's what I felt must have been at the Floating Cubes when it seemed like everyone who got that far decided to stop and wave to their family at the same spot. 

[Taeolas]

Interesting changes to the course. They simplified the floating steps and replaced the third obstacle, probably to give the ninjas more energy for the later half of the course. The Doorknob gripper had springs or hydraulics installed so it didn't just fall but gently lowered them down. Considering how many wiped out on it before, that makes sense. 

I did like the back half of the course. The floating blocks are challenging and have a few ways to approach it, but still easy to mess up. 

I wish we could've seen more of the 9th obstacle. It did look challenging and easy to mess up. What was annoying is while Flip was on that stage, they kept with the overhead blimp shots so we couldn't see him actually working the obstacle. :( When an obstacle needs fine manipulation like that, it should be shown up close. 

The new climb obstacle, I think they finally nailed it. A spider climb with heavy doors; that's going to drain you out. it's also going to use the legs more which normally don't get much use in the last half. It is beatable as we saw, but if you're out of gas, you aren't going to make it up. 

[SophiaD]

I thought the course was a really good finals course - just taxing enough, and anyone who makes it through that crazy 9th obstacle deserves to make it through Vegas. 

But what odd editing choices!  Most of the actual finishers got the WWWA treatment, including some major fan favorites, like David Campbell and Nicholas Coolridge.  I also felt badly for Nick Hanson that his entire run was relegated to a tiny box during the commercial break.  I don't think they even mentioned him during the WWWA section.

I wonder how the women are going to do with the new Spider Climb?  Speaking of which, I was really happy for both women who made it to Vegas.  I really like Tianna, and Anna is very impressive.  It's great to see more and more women making it farther each yet.  I did feel a bit badly for Grant McCartney, but maybe he needs to (with apologies to Lin-Manuel Miranda), "Run more.  Dance less."

[LadyNebula]

I knew Grant was done before Sean Bryan even started. That guy is so consistent. I knew he'd finish and finish fast. I'm starting to not like Grant as much. It's not his attitude or ability - it's that you see him every episode, front and center, cheering on another ninja. At first I thought,"Aw, that's really nice!"  But now I wonder if it's for camera time. Of course, the producers could be doing it because they know he's popular, and he does seem well liked by other ninjas, so... who knows?

 

I'm really pissed for Nick Hansen. WTF was that??

[kili]

Quote

That's what I felt must have been at the Floating Cubes when it seemed like everyone who got that far decided to stop and wave to their family at the same spot. 

Convenient spot to rest your hands for a few seconds before finishing the cubes.

Quote

But they showed us every wiggle of the Dude (Hawaii ? dude) as he progressed. And then didn't make the cut of 15. 

I guess their thinking was that we would get to see more of the athletes who qualified, but it was their last chance to showcase him?  He's pretty popular. Plus, it builds a bit of suspense in the last run - who will make it? They are trying to balance between the hardcore fans and the casual watchers. It's annoying to have good runs cut, but 9 people completed the course. It took them in the 7+ minute range - that would have taken up the bulk of the show. IDK. I don't envy the editors.

[enoughcats]

1 hour ago, kili said:

but 9 people completed the course. It took them in the 7+ minute range - that would have taken up the bulk of the show

Good point about the total time.  I lost count of the number of finishers.

Mr. Ecats wondered about the two who pushed the heavy ?glass doors open with their heads/necks.  The first guy, especially we worried what would happen if he slipped.  No points for a decapitation.  I wondered if the weights were counterweighted or aligned with gears so that once open "x" degrees, they couldn't fall back to closed?

[Chaos Theory]

There are ALOT of popular ninjas and for better and worse Grant McCarthy is a popular one both on and off the course.  I actually felt bad for him coming in 16.  I like him in large part because I love his dad.   

Personally I am big on watching anyone who has “the run of their lives” regardless if they finish or not so Tianna was fun to watch even though she didn’t finish.

Honestly I have no interest in watching anyone who blows through the course like it’s nothing nothing.  Watching someone who always wins gets kinda old after awhile.  

[CrazyDog]

I continue to wonder what the heck Nicholas Coolridge did to piss off the producers. He is amazing,  graceful and fun to watch. With the second fastest run of the night, we should have seen him. Damn. 

I felt to bad for Nick, but glad he made it through.

I like Grant and hopefully he comes back next year. He seemed really hesitant and more focused on getting through his troublesome obstacles than really doing a solid run. I'd rather have seen him go on than the boring Papal Ninja. 

The two woman who made it were pretty awesome.

[ClareWalks]

3 hours ago, enoughcats said:

Mr. Ecats wondered about the two who pushed the heavy ?glass doors open with their heads/necks.  The first guy, especially we worried what would happen if he slipped.  No points for a decapitation.  I wondered if the weights were counterweighted or aligned with gears so that once open "x" degrees, they couldn't fall back to closed?

I wondered about that too, I was like "stop sticking your damn heads through first, bitches!!!" They should make it an explicit rule that they cannot enter that way. Either use your back first or only up one side at a time.

[VartanFan]

Sorry - I feel terrible for people who’ve lost a loved one but the guy who ran first of the night....who was all dad, dad, dad, stop-between-every-obstacle....just annoying to me.  

What the F was that picture-in-picture nonsense for the Eskimo?  Also, there was a guy who finished in his rookie season and we didn’t get his full run?  

[healthnut]

Can they stop counting women who go up the wall already? 

Happy to see two women on the backside of the course. Was surprised Tianna struggled so much on the bar obstacle, she never even really got started. 

I wonder why they changed the final obstacle and made it easier. Maybe they want a women to finish...hmm...

[eel2178]

11 hours ago, Taeolas said:

The new climb obstacle, I think they finally nailed it. A spider climb with heavy doors; that's going to drain you out. it's also going to use the legs more which normally don't get much use in the last half. It is beatable as we saw, but if you're out of gas, you aren't going to make it up. 

I think they made it easier than the version they've had the last two years that relied entirely on the upper body.

[mlp]

Quote

the guy who ran first of the night....who was all dad, dad, dad, stop-between-every-obstacle....just annoying to me.  

I found a lot of that story greatly exaggerated.  Losing someone during 9/11 was awful, of course, but he said he was 3 y/o at the time then went on to talk about his dad never missing a soccer game and so on.  I just don't believe a 3 y/o would remember all that he claimed.

It has seemed to me all this season that the people running the course, in general, are playing to the crowds and the cameras far more than the serious contenders used to do.  They should be concentrating on their runs, not waving to Mom.

Something seemed to be up with Grant.  He has always done his "dancing" before and after his runs but this time he was acting silly between obstacles plus he was a lot slower than usual and more tentative.  He just seemed "off" to me.  

I agree with everyone above wrt Nicholas Coolridge and the others who got WWWA'd and showing Nick Hanson in miniature so we'd watch commercials.  Boo.

[eel2178]

5 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

.Honestly I have no interest in watching anyone who blows through the course like it’s nothing nothing.  Watching someone who always wins gets kinda old after awhile.  

Agree. I may be a sadist, but I like seeing people fall.

2 minutes ago, mlp said:

I found a lot of that story greatly exaggerated.  Losing someone during 9/11 was awful, of course, but he said he was 3 y/o at the time then went on to talk about his dad never missing a soccer game and so on.  I just don't believe a 3 y/o would remember all that he claimed.

If I remember right, I think he said he was in third grade when his dad died. Also, we know how much ANW loves to exploit a sob story.

[eel2178]

22 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

"Mazal Tough"? I whole-heartedly approve. 

That translates to "tough luck."

[Chaos Theory]

I really like the new end obstacle.     The spider climb with a little extra added.   I am really hoping at least one woman gets to it.  I really want to see Jessie Graff on it.  

[mlp]

Quote

If I remember right, I think he said he was in third grade when his dad died.

If that's the case, I stand corrected.  I thought he said he was 3.  I can't recall how old the guy was so I can't figure it from 2001.

[ams1001]

21 minutes ago, mlp said:

If that's the case, I stand corrected.  I thought he said he was 3.  I can't recall how old the guy was so I can't figure it from 2001.

I found his submission video; he's 24.

 

[mlp]

Quote

I found his submission video; he's 24.

Thanks for finding that, ams1001.  

If he was 3 in 2001, he'd be 20 or 21 now depending on what month he was born in.  If he was in 3rd grade in 2001, he would have been about 8 so he'd be 25 or 26 depending.  So neither scenario really adds up and I still don't know although 3rd grade seems a closer bet in which case he probably would have the memories.

[ams1001]

2 minutes ago, mlp said:

Thanks for finding that, ams1001.  

If he was 3 in 2001, he'd be 20 or 21 now depending on what month he was born in.  If he was in 3rd grade in 2001, he would have been about 8 so he'd be 25 or 26 depending.  So neither scenario really adds up and I still don't know although 3rd grade seems a closer bet in which case he probably would have the memories.

You're right; my math came up with 7 in 2001 if he's 24, but the video was posted on youtube in December (I just looked again), so I guess he's 25 by now, which would work.

[enoughcats]

The book on ANW said that they accumulate videos.  It could be that that was a previously submitted video which was more heart tugging that one submitted more recently.  

[sweetandsour]

I checked the times and while Grant was the first one knocked out in 16th place, it was by a pretty wide margin. 15th place finisher got to the Baton Pass in around 6 minutes; Grant got there around 7.  He might have played to the cameras and the crowd a lot, but I'm not sure if he would have taken his time anyway because he needed recovery. I feel fairly confident that he wouldn't have made up the minute-long gap if he'd cut down on the showiness. It was really more of the time he seemed to choose to take on the Salmon Ladder and the difficulty he had with the Cubes. So hopefully that makes him feel better - it's not like he didn't make the cut because of a few seconds of ego.

I really love seeing the womens' back and arm muscles.

The person I want to see complete courses, but they usually chose to WWWA or just show the end, is Josh Levin. Though he may fall into the category of so reliable and so low-key that there's no suspense in showing him.

Can you imagine that Spider Trap if Kacy went through it? Seeing her little tiny body and her tiny head and her tiny neck open those doors? It's ANW: Horror Story.

[Taeolas]

I'll have to watch the Spider climb in the next few finals. The doors definitely lock into place against the walls when they are high enough. If the designers were smart they will also have ratchets, so they'll lock as they are pushed open and minimize the decapitation risk (laughing a bit as I say this). The designers are usually good at figuring out the safety elements and adjusting before the course goes live; but this might be an element they missed or didn't think of off the bat. Instead of ratchets they could also use hydraulics, so the doors don't slam down if they are released but will close slowly (like the doorknob gripper now goes down slowly). 

[BTBAM310]

On 7/17/2018 at 8:03 AM, LadyNebula said:

I knew Grant was done before Sean Bryan even started. That guy is so consistent. I knew he'd finish and finish fast. I'm starting to not like Grant as much. It's not his attitude or ability - it's that you see him every episode, front and center, cheering on another ninja. At first I thought,"Aw, that's really nice!"  But now I wonder if it's for camera time. Of course, the producers could be doing it because they know he's popular, and he does seem well liked by other ninjas, so... who knows?

 

I'm really pissed for Nick Hansen. WTF was that??

Sean Bryan is my new favorite Ninja. So glad he knocked out Grant, who is my least favorite by far.

The WWWA, split screen with a commercial, and joining the course run halfway through while spending way too much time showing someone's backstory is getting really, really irritating.

[TiredMe]

Originally Grant rubbed me the wrong way. Then th past few seasons I liked him more after watching his interviews. So I was not expecting to want to throat punch him when he was dancing and jacking around on the course. 

[saber5055]

I didn't watch this episode but it will be rerun later this week. So I came here to see if my tv boyfriend Nick Coolridge was shown. I guess I'll have to hope I catch the 5 seconds the show devoted to him. AGAIN. WTH show. You guys are making long-time viewers mad by continuing to skip over Nick. And now Eskimo Ninja got the same crap treatment? The hell.

I guess TPTB are playing to viewers who just want to see people fall. Don't they realize we have long-time favs we want to see for as long as possible? *sigh*

[ClareWalks]

Grant McCartney never bothered me until recently. He put a video on his Instagram of him dancing around before the start of one of his ANW runs and the producer kept telling him to stand still for the shot and he WOULD NOT STOP dancing. He captioned it like "of course I can't stop dancing," as if it was charming and not a bizarre lack of impulse control for a grown man. Now I think he is either annoying as hell or possibly has an attention disorder. Or both, I don't discriminate.

[Chaos Theory]

I like Grant but I also understand that he rubs people the wrong way.  I kinda like that he just enjoys running the course but then he might just need to stop dancing so much and take it a bit more seriously but not too seriously if you get my meaning. 

As for the WWWA is might be a combination of things.  It might actually be order picked and if NBC sticks with it commercial breaks may actually cut into popular ninjas but if NBC does swap out ninjas then it might be them deciding to put on those who don’t move ahead because it is there fifteen minutes and popular ninjas will be seen next time.

Edited July 19, 2018 by Chaos Theory

[srpturtle80]

I don’t dislike Grant but he’s never been on my list of favorites. But if he really wants to be serious about this he needs to tone it down a bit. Look at Jake Murray (who I ADORE) - he had a disappointing exit last season and this year had a totally different and much more serious attitude. Granted, Jake pretty much saved his antics for the end of the course, but still. 

I was beyond irritated by Nick Hansen’s treatment. I had no idea how much time had elapsed during his run, so when he fell I wasn’t sure how he stood in relation to the other runs. And then they came back to the show and didn’t mention anything about him!! That was ridiculous. 

[emmy8ball]

I'm with everyone else on being frustrated with the WWWA treatment.   I watched on Sling, which skips over commercials, so I had no idea Nick Hansen even ran until he was pictured, captioned with how far he got, when Grant or someone else was running.  I get we can't see all of them, but at show us the run on either the qualifying or the city final!  And/or jump in halfway through the course on these ones, like on the salmon ladder. I think we saw less than half the finishers.

Also, my partner and I were cracking up when they kept saying everyone mastered the doorknob gripper this time.  They made it much easier!  It now gently lowered, rather than crashed down, making it much easier to hold onto.  I don't have an objection to them figuring out that task was too hard and fixing it for the final, but their shock at everyone figuring it out was annoying to me.

[jhlipton]

On 7/16/2018 at 7:46 PM, enoughcats said:

"are there cliques in ANW?"

We know there are -- the "Dog Pound" for example.

[realdancemom]

Does Tiana not train with Flip anymore?  They don't show either one cheering the other.  I'm sure they do just like they cheer for other Ninjas.  But they don't show him as a mentor anymore.

Agree with others.  Ugh with Nick Hansen's treatment.  That's worse than WWWA treatment.  If it wasn't for this forum, I would have fast forward through his run thinking that I was skipping the commercials. 

[Nonja]

On 7/22/2018 at 9:55 PM, jhlipton said:

We know there are -- the "Dog Pound" for example.

???  Enlighten me, please.

[jhlipton]

On 8/12/2018 at 9:55 PM, Nonja said:

???  Enlighten me, please.

The "Dog Pound" (or maybe "Wolf Pack, come to think of it) is a group of Ninjas that train together and come to each others runs.  They used to be far more annoying with the wolf calls but have toned down considerably.

[ProfCrash]

I think you mean the Wolf Pack. The Dog Pound is a section of the football stadium for the Browns.

[fivestone]

19 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

I think you mean the Wolf Pack. The Dog Pound is a section of the football stadium for the Browns.

Sure, normally, but this year, the friends and supporters of the "K9 Ninja" who ran in Minneapolis styled themselves the Dog Pound.

[Nonja]

11 hours ago, jhlipton said:

The "Dog Pound" (or maybe "Wolf Pack, come to think of it) is a group of Ninjas that train together and come to each others runs.  They used to be far more annoying with the wolf calls but have toned down considerably.

Yes, "The Wolfpack". For a minute I was like, how could I have never heard of this 'Dog Pound'? lol.   

[MelinaBallerina]

I thought the Dog Pound was the audience section on the Arsenio Hall Show?

[ProfCrash]

On ‎8‎/‎18‎/‎2018 at 9:50 AM, MelinaBallerina said:

I thought the Dog Pound was the audience section on the Arsenio Hall Show?

It was that as well. But the Browns have a group of fans who dress up with Dog masks and the like and sit together at football games. They have been doing it for ages.

[jhlipton]

On 8/15/2018 at 12:06 AM, Nonja said:

Yes, "The Wolfpack". For a minute I was like, how could I have never heard of this 'Dog Pound'? lol.   

D'oh!