S31.E01: You're In Our Race Now

[TV Anonymous]

I always wonder, why do we often have ex-Survivor racers on TAR but not ex-TAR castaways on Survivor?

[toodywoody]

I was prepared to not like this set up. But here I am. Hate all the Survivor teams. Get the hell off TAR. I laughed at all of them saying it was hard or having trouble. Yeah dumbasses you got to lay around your campsites, make alliances and vote people off, on TAR, it is all about direction, not quitting, not losing your shit and keeping up, not whining and getting lost.

Damn Christie still looks good and Colin, age must have mellowed him out. I am rooting for all the TAR teams except wussy fucking leg cramp dude, glad they left. 

Fucking Rachel and her annoying sister can go any day with their voices. They are annoying as hell. First sign of anything hard and Rachel will melt down. She doesn't have Brenden to carry her ass this season.

[mikewho]

2 minutes ago, TV Anonymous said:

I always wonder, why do we often have ex-Survivor racers on TAR but not ex-TAR castaways on Survivor?

The 'Twinnies' were on Survivor and one of them won. Sorry, can't remember their names.

[Haleth]

6 minutes ago, mikewho said:

That was Kendra, who won TAR 6.

Oh, right.  Thanks for the correction!

16 minutes ago, JudyObscure said:

Now reading here that he's gone I may give it another try.

Nope, not gone yet, but not likely to last.

[TV Anonymous]

10 hours ago, QuantumMechanic said:

Glad to see the team that lost, lost (rooting against them for reasons that are off-topic in this forum).

Would you care to explain in Art & JJ thread or are your reasons have nothing to do with the TV show at all?

[Lamb18]

15 minutes ago, mikewho said:

The 'Twinnies' were on Survivor and one of them won. Sorry, can't remember their names.

Natalie is the twin who won. The sister was Nadia, or a name similar to that.

[Whimsy]

28 minutes ago, JudyObscure said:

With a few exceptions, the show managed to pick  my least favorites from BB and Survivor. so I was not excited to watch.  Then Rupert spoke, within the first few minutes, managing to say, "Survieeey-Vor," about ten times in one sentence, so I had to turn off the TV.  Now reading here that he's gone I may give it another try.

Alas, wishful thinking.  He's still here but I can't imagine he'll last longer than one more leg of the race.  

I am with the person who mentioned that Becca got nasty towards Floyd a few times on their season.  I find her immensely fake and I can't stand her.  I really like Floyd, though, so I am rooting for him. 

I don't watch BB either, so I have no point of reference for anyone other than Rachel, who I could not STAND on TAR.  She started out ok, but I don't think that will last long.  As soon as something is really hard she will fall apart. 

I only vaguely remembered Art & JJ.  I remembered they had been on before, but don't remember any other specifics.  It's too bad that all that weight lost didn't equate actual physicality.  They don't really even seem like actual friends if they didn't talk about their previous mistakes for FIVE years and then JJ (I think?) muttering under his breath how embarrassing it all was made me really glad they came in last. 

I like Tyler and Korey.  I like that they look informidable but actually are a strong team.  Also loved how Phil teased Tyler about his newly buff arms. 

I don't like Corrine at all.  She was just nasty on her season of Survivor.  I never minded Eliza because I always felt she was underestimated, but I hate that their shtick was to belittle all the other teams.  In TAR you don't need to worry about the other teams, just RACE and you'll be fine.  

I don't remember Christie and Colin's season.  I did watch it, but not when it aired.  Later.  I remember Charla.  That was the season they were on, right?  I barely remember much about that one at all. 

[seacliffsal]

So, just like discussions on the Survivor thread about the current season, I don't like that they paired returning players with "newbees."  In spite of people having been on Survivor or BB they are newbees to the Race and so the returning racers have a huge advantage over the other teams.  I also don't like that they picked what I would consider to be non-starters to represent Survivor.  Rupert and Linda?  Really?  He couldn't figure out Survivor let alone figure out Tokyo.  Rupert seemed to expect someone to come up to him and help him out.  I wonder if he expects the kind of help that Rob and Amber received; if so, I think he is forgetting how long it's been since he was last on Survivor and that people may not remember him.  Rob and Amber (well, Rob at least) were fresh off of a Survivor season and so fresher in people's minds.  Linda did ask if the bright lights might be where they should go and Rupert shut her down quickly even though she ended up being right.  They never played together on Survivor as she was first voted out and he left instead of her.  It will be interesting to watch their dynamics but they're never going to win (IMO).  Bret and Chris?  I really don't remember much about them and I think they paired Eliza and Corrine hoping for snarky commentary.  There are SO many other Survivors they could have chosen which would have helped level the playing field as it were.  None of the ones they chose stand out as being potential winners to me.  I think that the TAR producers wanted to ensure that a returning TAR team would win this season.

I tire of the Afghanimals very quickly.  I do hope that they have matured a bit and will tone down their routines.  I didn't even recognize Colin and Christie.  We'll see how long their "zen" selves last.  I doubt there will ever be a better sentence uttered on TAR than "my ox is broken" and I was so happy they replayed that scene.  I agree with others that Becca can turn mean on Floyd (whom I adore).  I hope they are able to stay positive throughout the race. 

But, no matter what I think about the teams or casting in general, I am so glad the race is here.  

[piewarmer]

7 hours ago, Cotypubby said:

The laces on the chocolate shoes also looked like shiny plastic whereas the real shoes had fabric laces. Up close it was obvious, but I’m not sure if they could see that detail from where they were sitting.

I thought I noticed late in that segment that the chocolate shoe straps were thinner than the real ones but I didn't back up to double check.

Edited April 18, 2019 by piewarmer
It's not 1983

[Snickerdoodle]

Season 5 was the first season I really watched, so I have a soft spot for Colin and Christie.  I hated them on their season and I was glad they lost.  I thought Colin was just mean and angry and Christie could do better. I'm looking forward to Zen Colin and more replays of "MY OX IS BROKEN!"

Rupert and Laura.  My goodness, did they even try?  "Where should we go?" "I don't know."  Why didn't they try to find someone that spoke English.  And at the beginning Rupert was all, there's nothing more difficult than being on Survivor and toward the end he was like, TAR is HARD.

I hope that Team Fun will do well.  I laughed when Phil asked Floyd if he drank enough...water.  That was a sucky way for them to go out last time.

Glad the race is back! 

[Kelda Feegle]

I don't watch survivor or by so I don't know those people but the grateful dead tie dyed bloke needs a fern and fast.

Tasks were lame and there was a lot of faffing around with I don't know what to do ness.

Tyler you don't get to be lippy to our Phil. 

Welcome back racers!

[Writing Wrongs]

11 hours ago, green said:

But it was.  Observation.  All the shoes made of chocolate didn't have wood streaks and patterns on them.  They were totally monotone and looked a little lighter than the wooden ones.

Exactly. I was wondering why people were having such a hard time.

[chitowngirl]

12 minutes ago, Writing Wrongs said:

Exactly. I was wondering why people were having such a hard time.

Because they were sitting pretty far back and had to point to which one they wanted to try. We got to see the shoes close up.

[zscore]

1 hour ago, TV Anonymous said:

I always wonder, why do we often have ex-Survivor racers on TAR but not ex-TAR castaways on Survivor?

There have only been three teams of ex-Survivor racers on TAR (Rob/Amber, Ethan/Jenna, Whitney/Keith). It's actually not that often.

I think there have been three ex-TAR castaways on Survivor. The aforementioned Twinnes, and Mike White from last season.

[blackwing]

57 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

So, just like discussions on the Survivor thread about the current season, I don't like that they paired returning players with "newbees."  In spite of people having been on Survivor or BB they are newbees to the Race and so the returning racers have a huge advantage over the other teams.  I also don't like that they picked what I would consider to be non-starters to represent Survivor.  Rupert and Linda?  Really?  He couldn't figure out Survivor let alone figure out Tokyo.  Rupert seemed to expect someone to come up to him and help him out.  I wonder if he expects the kind of help that Rob and Amber received; if so, I think he is forgetting how long it's been since he was last on Survivor and that people may not remember him.  Rob and Amber (well, Rob at least) were fresh off of a Survivor season and so fresher in people's minds.  Linda did ask if the bright lights might be where they should go and Rupert shut her down quickly even though she ended up being right.  They never played together on Survivor as she was first voted out and he left instead of her.  It will be interesting to watch their dynamics but they're never going to win (IMO).  Bret and Chris?  I really don't remember much about them and I think they paired Eliza and Corrine hoping for snarky commentary.  There are SO many other Survivors they could have chosen which would have helped level the playing field as it were.  None of the ones they chose stand out as being potential winners to me.  I think that the TAR producers wanted to ensure that a returning TAR team would win this season.

I tire of the Afghanimals very quickly.  I do hope that they have matured a bit and will tone down their routines. 

Well, being TAR vets who apparently finished second in their season certainly didn't seem to help Art and JJ at all.  I truly can't even remember them.  I remember Major Dave and his wife and of course Rachel and Brendan.  Was that season the one that gave us Rachel uglysobbing "Amazing Race is supposed to be FUN!" or was it their second time?  In any event I thought it was hilarious that she and her sister recreated it and poked fun at herself.

How on earth did they make it to second place?  There was some comment from one of them about how much weight the other one had lost since they had been on the first time, and all I could think was, just exactly HOW fat were you the first time?

Stupert does look a little slimmed down from when he was on Survivor but he still looks unfit for the race.  And he's still talking like a pirate, growling all his words.  It gets really old really quickly.  And speaking of old, he's got to be in his mid 50s by now and looking every bit of it.  The "older couple" on TAR typically is out of shape and doesn't do well, and it's no different this time around.

I disliked Tyler and Corey last time around (well, just Tyler) and Tyler does seem toned down a bit.  Maybe it was the lack of that much airtime.  Tyler still seems like he could be annoying (not sure what it was he was doing with Phil in the beginning, fake flirting or what, but it didn't work).  But Corey is still great.

Brett and Chris from Survivor... they were on Millenials vs. Gen X.  Chris is the lawyer from Oklahoma.  Brett is a cop from Boston.  They were pretty close.  I think their other tight alliance member was this blonde woman named Sunday.  After Chris got voted out, Brett told Zeke (the transgender guy that Jeff Varner outed in a subsequent Second Chances season) that he too was gay and wanted to work together.  That's about pretty much all I remember of them.  Chris seemed like a nice guy but I didn't like Brett.

Aghanimals irritated me to no end the last two times they were on.  One of them said he is a father now, maybe they, like Colon and Chrasstie, have also mellowed out a little with age and parenthood.

[blackwing]

2 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

Because they were sitting pretty far back and had to point to which one they wanted to try. We got to see the shoes close up.

I wanted to know whether if any team had binoculars in their backpack, if they'd be allowed to use them.  To me it wouldn't be much different than pulling a head flashlight to help see in the dark.

[TV Anonymous]

7 minutes ago, zscore said:

There have only been three teams of ex-Survivor racers on TAR (Rob/Amber, Ethan/Jenna, Whitney/Keith). It's actually not that often.

I think there have been three ex-TAR castaways on Survivor. The aforementioned Twinnes, and Mike White from last season.

You need to count Rob and Amber twice, though. That is four seasons of TAR with ex-castaways vs two seasons of Survivor with ex-racers.

[blackwing]

16 minutes ago, TV Anonymous said:

You need to count Rob and Amber twice, though. That is four seasons of TAR with ex-castaways vs two seasons of Survivor with ex-racers.

Also, all the Big Brother people that have been on TAR prior to this season.  Besides Rachel and Brendon (twice) there has been Alison Irwin and her boyfriend Donny, Jeff and Jordan, Cody and Jessica.  Any others?  I haven't seen a season of Big Brother since the one with Evil Dick and his daughter Danielle.  Have TAR racers ever gone on to appear on Big Brother?

[ImpinAintEasy]

I always liked the Afghanimals. I don’t remember why so many  people don’t. Is it because they like to troll the other teams? I’ve always found them funny. 

Rupert is so not cut out for this competition. He can actually be decent at some of the road blocks, but his lack of navigation skills will doom him and his wife. 

I only know Victor from ‘The Challenge’, not BB.  He seemed far too innocent for that show, so he’ll probably do better on this one. 

I just realized I confused Corrine with Jerri Manthey, the one that was thirsty for Colby on Survivor: Australian Outback. I’ll always remember Eliza for ‘Its a fucking stick!’

I’m glad the border patrol guys are gone. I only know them by their occupation. That says it all. 

Edited April 18, 2019 by ImpinAintEasy

[TVbitch]

Was Art the same one who blew it for he and JJ last time? If so, they might not talk about it for 10 years this time. Perhaps he was not hydrating adequately, but he also looked out of shape. What were they spraying on the leg?

Is the episode title what Phil said when someone mentioned voting people out? I couldn't hear his reponse. 

Rupert is just so damn unlikeable, and to make it worse, he still thinks he is the fans' favorite. 

[SVNBob]

4 minutes ago, TVbitch said:

Is the episode title what Phil said when someone mentioned voting people out?

No.  The title quote came from one of the Afghanimals in a TH, shown right after everyone arrived in Shibuya and all the non-Racers were getting their first bit of culture shock.

10 minutes ago, TVbitch said:

Was Art the same one who blew it for he and JJ last time? If so, they might not talk about it for 10 years this time.

Technically yes, since he was the one having difficulty with both Roadblocks.  However, JJ made the call to quit and take the penalty.  This time, it's really on him.

[TVbitch]

Thanks! Then this begs the question "What DID Phil say at the matt when someone mentioned voting people off?"

It seemed like a deadpan Phil classic, something like "Wrong host." But I didn't really hear it. 

Edited April 18, 2019 by TVbitch

[SVNBob]

"Different place."  To Janelle and Britney.

[joanne3482]

The afghanimals won me over when the one who doesn't have a baby said he was running the race for his cat and then did a little hand gesture and called out the cat's name.  As someone who watches a ridiculous amount of 'reality' tv, I get sick of the "I'm doing it for my kids to show them blah blah blah" trope. 

I appreciated that Janelle attributed her shoe finding to luck and not some crazy skill. I presume she's known for having uncanny luck on her other show?

I really like Floyd and Becca. I don't remember her being surly to him.  I also forgot that they were a stranger team so I can imagine the stress of the race combined with racing with someone you barely know can make anyone a little surly. I liked how supportive he was of her climbing Mt. Fuji betting she could get up in under 30 seconds (or something like that) but then back pedaling that he wouldn't bet his whole half a million on that. It was cute. 

[proserpina65]

Oh god, I don't know if I'm going to be able to stick with this season.  What a bunch of fucking annoying teams!  I like Becca & Floyd, and that one BB team with the man-bun guy is okay.  I want to like Rupert & Laura, but they were so bad in this first leg that it's hard; same with Christ & Brett.  I might be able to tolerate the Afghanimals, maybe.  The rest, ugh.  Corey is okay, but Tyler makes me want to reach through the tv and strangle him.

Edited to note that while I won't miss Art & JJ, I do have sympathy for the one with the leg cramp.  If that was anything like the charley horses I sometimes get, I don't blame him for not being able to continue; those things can make me almost immobile and screaming with pain.

Oh, and Bertram van Munster?  Go back to the original concept of choosing teams of ordinary people, and stop doing these stupid theme races.  Hell, I could even take all mactors and sports people over this.

Edited April 18, 2019 by proserpina65

[Stardancer Supreme]

23 minutes ago, joanne3482 said:

The afghanimals won me over when the one who doesn't have a baby said he was running the race for his cat and then did a little hand gesture and called out the cat's name.  As someone who watches a ridiculous amount of 'reality' tv, I get sick of the "I'm doing it for my kids to show them blah blah blah" trope. 

I appreciated that Janelle attributed her shoe finding to luck and not some crazy skill. I presume she's known for having uncanny luck on her other show?

I really like Floyd and Becca. I don't remember her being surly to him.  I also forgot that they were a stranger team so I can imagine the stress of the race combined with racing with someone you barely know can make anyone a little surly. I liked how supportive he was of her climbing Mt. Fuji betting she could get up in under 30 seconds (or something like that) but then back pedaling that he wouldn't bet his whole half a million on that. It was cute. 

Janelle is the real life Domino for real.

Becca and Floyd were strangers racing together in their season.  I think it's almost cute that they are dating; Floyd has already seen the worst of Becca, so this race should be more fun!

I got a hearty cackle when Bret climbed the mountain, sat there, and asked what he was supposed to do with 4 clues right next to him.  Heh. Chris standing there dumbfounded and knowing he couldn't say anything just took me out.  Bret actually read the clue out loud and forgot what he was supposed to do.  Love it! My show is back and I will enjoy it more once the Survivor teams are shaken off. #NoMoreRupertCBS

[mookster]

I'm so happy this show is back, even with the reality "theme." I've never seen Survivor or Big Brother (aside from the endless commercials), so I'm left with rooting for former TAR teams. Although I can't stand Rachel, remembered hating C&C and didn't remember the two who were booted last night, so that leaves me with Becca and Floyd and the Afghanimals. I remembered liking the latter - and one has a cat - so I choose them. I do remember Becca getting surly toward the end of their season and she does seem a bit OTT, so I'm okay with my choice. 

As for the rest of the teams, whose names I'll never learn, ugh. Can't wait for the tie-dyed guy and wife to go home. The plasticized blondes can go too. The bitchy brunettes can go. The rest all kind of blur for now.

The tasks were underwhelming, and hordes of reality contestants descending on an unsuspecting foreign city shouting "English! English! Does anybody speak English?" will never cease to make me cringe. 

[dgpolo]

13 minutes ago, Stardancer Supreme said:

Becca and Floyd were strangers racing together in their season.  I think it's almost cute that they are dating;

You're the second person to say this in this thread but I really thought they were joking. He said it, waited a beat, then she elbowed him and they both laughed, right? They are listed as 'friends' not dating.

[proserpina65]

1 hour ago, TVbitch said:

What were they spraying on the leg?

Magic Spray!

Seriously though, it's probably a topical analgesic like they use for soccer players.  (And yes, we soccer fans refer to it as Magic Spray.)

Edited April 18, 2019 by proserpina65

[chaifan]

I am almost protest watching this season.  I absolutely hate the format.  I have always hated the Survivor/BB stunt casting.  Maybe I'm a TAR snob (OK, I know I'm a TAR snob), but my opinion is that TAR fans and the "true" racers (non-stunt casted) are a different breed of reality show contestants.  They're truly there for the RACE.  Whereas on Survivor (to a certain extent) and BB (almost 100%) the contestants are just fame whores. 

That said, I'm not terribly unhappy about Art & JJ being eliminated first, even though they are a TAR team.  I honestly don't remember them at all, and can't figure out why they were cast on this season in the first place.  I would have been most happy to see BB Rachel go - ugh, she's like fingernails on a blackboard to me.  (I only know her from TAR, have never watched BB.)

I'm indifferent on Colin & Christie.  Yeah, they were not the best human beings in their season, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that they've grown up in the last 15 years.  They may prove me wrong, but I'll wait and see.

I like Leo & Jamal.  I'm betting Leo had a harder time on the "mountain" because he was first and it looked much more taut at that point.  Others were able to grasp onto folds in the vinyl that weren't there when he was trying. So I think the vinyl loosened up a bit with more people climbing on it and gave people something to grab onto.  

And I'm a fan of Becca & Floyd.  As to her meltdown in her season, it wasn't her greatest moment, but it certainly was no worse than what we've seen of a lot of the racers.  Most racers have at least one meltdown per race, and we've seen a lot worse from others (mostly male racers) that haven't had such strong reactions.  Floyd certainly got over it, I think everyone else should, too. 

My dream would be a full TAR final three. 

[proserpina65]

33 minutes ago, Stardancer Supreme said:

Becca and Floyd were strangers racing together in their season.  I think it's almost cute that they are dating; Floyd has already seen the worst of Becca, so this race should be more fun!

I think the dating thing was a joke.

[Snickerdoodle]

1 hour ago, joanne3482 said:

The afghanimals won me over when the one who doesn't have a baby said he was running the race for his cat and then did a little hand gesture and called out the cat's name.  As someone who watches a ridiculous amount of 'reality' tv, I get sick of the "I'm doing it for my kids to show them blah blah blah" trope. 

The cat thing cracked me up, too.  And then when he was climbing "Mt. Fuji" the other guy yelled at him, "Do it for [cat's name]!"

[Whimsy]

4 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

I tire of the Afghanimals very quickly.  I do hope that they have matured a bit and will tone down their routines.  I didn't even recognize Colin and Christie.  We'll see how long their "zen" selves last.  I doubt there will ever be a better sentence uttered on TAR than "my ox is broken" and I was so happy they replayed that scene.  I agree with others that Becca can turn mean on Floyd (whom I adore).  I hope they are able to stay positive throughout the race. 

I remember tiring of them quickly the first time but not minding them the 2nd time.  I am ok with them this time and find "Do it for Pablo" pretty funny so far.  It may get old quickly, though. 

1 hour ago, joanne3482 said:

The afghanimals won me over when the one who doesn't have a baby said he was running the race for his cat and then did a little hand gesture and called out the cat's name.  As someone who watches a ridiculous amount of 'reality' tv, I get sick of the "I'm doing it for my kids to show them blah blah blah" trope.  

30 minutes ago, Snickerdoodle said:

The cat thing cracked me up, too.  And then when he was climbing "Mt. Fuji" the other guy yelled at him, "Do it for [cat's name]!"

Pablo!  I think Pablo is going to be my favorite contestant this season. 

3 hours ago, zscore said:

There have only been three teams of ex-Survivor racers on TAR (Rob/Amber, Ethan/Jenna, Whitney/Keith). It's actually not that often.

I think there have been three ex-TAR castaways on Survivor. The aforementioned Twinnes, and Mike White from last season.

Was it both Twinnies that started out that season, or was it only Nathalie?  For some reason, I thought it was only Nathalie, but maybe the other one (forget her name) just got voted out super fast. 

1 hour ago, Stardancer Supreme said:

Becca and Floyd were strangers racing together in their season.  I think it's almost cute that they are dating; Floyd has already seen the worst of Becca, so this race should be more fun!

They were definitely kidding.  Becca's shocked face that very quickly turned into hysterical laughing tells me he was 100% kidding.  I still stand by my judgement that Becca is fake "fun", but maybe she'll be better this race. 

[HurricaneVal]

Well, that answered that question.  Rachel influences Elissa's behavior rather than Elissa tempering Rachel's personality.  On her season, I could barely believe that Elissa was Rachel Reilly's sister.  Elissa was calm, zen, frustrated but not overly emotional, she dug in when she needed to, never whined, and mostly comported herself with grace and class as she was mired in such an untenable situation.  I always got the impressions she only did Big Brother because Rachel bullied her into it.  I never got the vibe from Elissa that she wanted to be there for herself, she was only there to continue the Rachel Reilly (TM) brand.

Last night Elissa was almost as screechy as Rachel, and apparently she lets Rachel do her makeup.  Lordy, half of their TAR backpacks must contain giant tubs o'face paint.  Don't get me started on Elissa's obviously inflated lips.  She used to be a more natural beauty, now she's almost a caricature.  I wonder what Rachel is going to do without Brendan to carry her bag for her....

I gotta say, I'm kind of rooting for Victor and Nicole.  I like Nicole, I just don't like her voice.  But I really like Victor, so that might balance things out for me.

Rupert, Rupert, Rupert....OMG.  I cackled with glee when after you say "Where should we go?" your long suffering wife points out the obvious lights and activity across the street as a good candidate for a destination, and you go "Nah, it can't be over there, there's too much going on, lets keep looking all around this dark and deserted area instead.  There can't be anything across the street..."  Then later, grudgingly, "OK, I guess we'll go across the street."  It must be exhausting to be married to him.

Remember, Becca has fun...until she doesn't...and when fun time is over fun time is over.

Pablo is my new favorite character.

I am extremely disappointed that none of the BB alums took one look at the Mount Fuji challenge and exclaimed "OTEV!"  Extremely disappointed...

Edited April 18, 2019 by HurricaneVal

[Netfoot]

16 hours ago, mojoween said:

I’m not pleased Phil!  Dammit Art!  Or JJ!  SO CLOSE to being rid of Rupert dammit.

Agreed, but Art/JJ really performed miserably, so they did deserve to go.

[theschnauzers]

5 hours ago, TV Anonymous said:

I always wonder, why do we often have ex-Survivor racers on TAR but not ex-TAR castaways on Survivor?

Actually there has been, once. The cousins from Sri Lanka. In that Survivor season, one of the cousins won. No originally TAR racer has ever been an houseguest.

[JerseyGirl]

Rooting for afghanimals, Janelle and Britney, and Becca and Floyd.

Loved Janelle and Britney on their seasons on Big Brother.

Loved the cat connection with the Afghanimals.

Loved Becca and Floyd from the past TAR season.

Also rooting for the 2 Survivor females, whatever their names are (and I watch Survivor!)  The cattiness is what I liked about them, statements made by them of the competition was so true.

GET RACHEL AND HER SISTER ELLISSA OFF MY SCREEN!  UGH!  I loved Rachel in her first season of Big Brother, was a huge fan!  When she played on TAR and returned to BB another season she was so cringy crying and needy.  Cannot stand her now!  Her sister too, watched her season of BB.  Both can GO!

Same with Rupert and his wife.  Loved Rupert his first season of Survivor, disliked him every other time I saw him after that. GO!

Edited April 18, 2019 by JerseyGirl

[Jaundiced Eye]

I am Team Colin and Christie all the way. As long as we get a clip of “I’M PACKING IT,” I will die a happy woman. 

[iMonrey]

It's good to know I'm not the only one who has no recollection of Art and JJ, whatsoever. I remember their season, I remember that final leg, and I even remember their professions. But them? I have no memory of them or what I thought of them at the time. Weird. They seem like an odd choice for a returning team given how few people seem to remember them.

I remember Eliza but not Corinne. Everyone else, I remember.

I'm usually not too crazy about stunt casts, but last season had all new teams and I stopped watching about four episodes in because I realized I just didn't care about anyone. The tasks have gotten increasingly lame and the casting has gotten increasingly generic and formulaic. Those two things add up to tiresome rehash. At least I like some of these reality teams.

I recall that Britney was considered something of a snark-master so that's probably why she's here, but I also recall she lost of lot of popularity points because of her support for some really awful people. I've always liked Janelle, she's a mad competitor. 

For those who've only seen Rachel with Brendon, she's actually much easier to take without him. The season she won BB, after Brendon left the house she became downright reasonable. It was almost eerie.

I think Eliza is supposed to bring the snark too but it seems to me she and Corinne are trying too hard to be characters. She's not wrong to label Nicole and Victor "Team Dum Dum" though. I like them but yeah - they're no mental giants.

I seem to recall I disliked Team Afghanimals but not exactly why. I remember souring on Becca and Floyd too - that's another team trying too hard to be characters.

Tyler, on the other hand, delights me despite being such a polarizing player. So many fans complain when competitors don't seem to appreciate the opportunity to be on the race and Tyler just embodies joy and enthusiasm.

Here's hoping Rupert goes next.

[mikewho]

9 minutes ago, green said:

1 hour ago, chaifan said:

Maybe I'm a TAR snob (OK, I know I'm a TAR snob), but my opinion is that TAR fans and the "true" racers (non-stunt casted) are a different breed of reality show contestants.  They're truly there for the RACE.

Stunt cast or not, why automatically assume that the Racers there are NOT actually there to RACE?

[Haleth]

You’d think by this time I’d know, but I don’t— when Rupert and Laura showed up at the mountain could Art or JJ (whichever was doing the task) have tried completing it again?  Or were they committed to the 4 hour wait?  I mean, at that point what was there to lose by trying and trying until it was over?

It looked like some of the teams were more disadvantaged by drizzle making the mountain extra slippery. 

28 minutes ago, green said:

Yes.  One Twinnie was first out.  The other won.  Bookends.  They and Mike White were the only TARs on Survivor and I loved that the one Twinnie comes in and wins right off.

And Mike White almost won last season. 

[HurricaneVal]

3 minutes ago, Haleth said:

You’d think by this time I’d know, but I don’t— when Rupert and Laura showed up at the mountain could Art or JJ (whichever was doing the task) have tried completing it again?  Or were they committed to the 4 hour wait?  I mean, at that point what was there to lose by trying and trying until it was over?

I don't know...when you commit to a penalty, are you stuck with it?  Maybe...probably?

At that point, the one guy (I can't remember which one is which) was done.  Done-done-done.  Even if he miraculously recovered from the cramps, he just flat out gave up. 

At that point, they were gambling that Rupert and Laura would get lost again on their way to the mat and they could finish their penalty and still beat them to the Phil greeting.  After having observed Rupert's total incompetence throughout the show, this was not a bad or ill-conceived gamble.

[zscore]

54 minutes ago, theschnauzers said:

No originally TAR racer has ever been an houseguest.

Jeff and Jackie from the blind dating season were on Big Brother Season 17. Phil also appeared on that season as part of the "BB takeover" twist. 

[Halting Hex]

8 hours ago, Bryce Lynch said:

The Japanese game show thing is pretty played out. 

True.  And I've never been to Japan, but I'm fairly certain they have other things of note besides game shows and Mt. Fuji.  At least, I hope so!

[slowpoked]

I'm glad Colin and Christie are finally back! Yes, they were assholes in S5 but they played a really strong game. I think it was because of Colin that TAR changed their rules regarding the limitations of one person doing the Roadblocks. I remember them being invited back for the first All-Stars but Christie was pregnant (?), so they couldn't make it. I was bummed that Colin couldn't go directly against Romber. 

At least the Survivor pack of teams didn't include Romber. Little favors!

But man, Christie looked so much different now than before. I barely recognized her. 

[Gummo]

Slowpoked, I'd take Rob & Amber over the Bonehams! Like a savvy commenter said upthread somewhere, I liked Rupert a lot in his very first Survivor appearance, then each time he came back his appeal diminished until now when I just roll my eyes every time he's on screen.

[PumpkinPK]

I'm embarrassed that I don't know this.  What is the name of the windowpane building in the opening credits, right acter Coling and Christie appear?  It is lit up in magenta.  Where is it?

[Bryce Lynch]

39 minutes ago, HurricaneVal said:

I don't know...when you commit to a penalty, are you stuck with it?  Maybe...probably?

At that point, the one guy (I can't remember which one is which) was done.  Done-done-done.  Even if he miraculously recovered from the cramps, he just flat out gave up. 

At that point, they were gambling that Rupert and Laura would get lost again on their way to the mat and they could finish their penalty and still beat them to the Phil greeting.  After having observed Rupert's total incompetence throughout the show, this was not a bad or ill-conceived gamble.

That is a good question.  I suspect you cannot go back and try the task once you have taken the penalty.

If you could do that, wouldn't it make sense to say, "we're taking the penalty" when you arrive at each task, just in case you can't complete it, and then try to do it?  That way the penalty clock would start right away, not when you decide to give up 30 minutes, and hour or how ever long into the task.   

[alihart41]

Haven't seen any other interviews with them yet, but Art says he couldn't walk for three days afterwards (emphasis mine):

https://www.goldderby.com/article/2019/the-amazing-race-31-art-velez-jj-carrell-exit-interview/

GD: Why did you have such a difficult time with it? Was it just the physical aspect and not the task itself?
Art: With the “Race,” there are so many nuances. We ran around Tokyo for probably two, two and a half hours. And just the sweating and not drinking enough water, and I think age probably [played a part]. I put on that suit and ran through the mud field to get there and by the time I got there, I was soaking wet. They only showed me doing it two or three times, but I probably tried to scale that thing close to 20-plus times and eventually my legs just gave out. They just didn’t work. I used to swim in high school and was going to be a collegiate swimmer. I’ve had things happen where my legs just cramp up in the water, but it’s not anything you can’t get over and you keep going. This just stayed; it didn’t go away. Even if we had completed this thing, I don’t know how I would’ve kept going because it took me about three days to be able to just walk. I couldn’t get out of bed, I couldn’t move. That stuff’s not shown. It looks like, oh, you have a cramp. It wasn’t just a cramp. If you looked at my leg, it looked like somebody took an ice pick and shoved it in the back of my calf.

He also says he still doesn't know how anyone was able to climb it, but I feel like if he hadn't been so tired by then and someone else had also been there doing it with him, he probably would've been able to do it from watching how the other person did it.

[Lakebum]

7 hours ago, mikewho said:

That was Kendra, who won TAR 6.

Or as she became know, "KKKendra."