S31.E02: Knock the Newbie Out of Us

[Richness]

I don't remember being annoyed by Rupert previously, other than him being too boisterous for my tastes. However, i was definitely glad to see him go this time. Laura, unfortunately, just happens to be attached to him. Wish their spot had went to better racers.

I was also put off by the Afghanimals in this episode. Again, I don't remember disliking them from their previous appearance. But again, they're just way to boisterous. I'm also not a fan of Team Fun for some reason. Not sure why, but it's always been the case. I think it's a dislike of Becca and both of their theatrics. 

I still despise Rachel with extreme viterol, and hope her and her sister are gone next. Elissa's overly inflated lips will give me nightmares. Not fond of either of the other all female teams.

I'm starting to like Victor and Nicole despite them being from Big Brother. His unbridled enthusiasm for her riding the elephants was a pleasure. Too bad it was somewhat spoiled by her in the talking head segment later.

Tyler and Korey haven't annoyed me too much yet, but I'm not exactly rooting for them either. I don't recall liking or hating them from their previous appearance. And this version of Colin and Christie is just sort of there. Guess I prefer this incarnation to their previous one.

I guess that leaves Chris and Bret to root for. I  find them to be a couple of adorable bears appearance-wise.  Love the "Bret" the elephant joke. Don't remember liking or disliking them from Survivor though. However, I don't think they stand much of a chance of going very far.

[Rachel RSL]

14 hours ago, Haleth said:

The two blondes who are more than a bit ditzy can leave any time though. 

Janelle totally comes across as a ditzy blonde but she’s actually really smart. She was a comp beast on Big Brother and not just the physical ones. Now, how well those Jedi skills will work under the stress and pace of the race remains to be seen.

On 4/24/2019 at 10:53 PM, burntheflaws said:

It seems like a lot of people here hate Rupert and Laura. I know nothing about them (I've watched maybe one season of Survivor, where Yul the puppet master won), but honestly, they seem like a really nice, supportive couple. Even when they were behind they never got frustrated at each other, they didn't say anything ignorant about the locals (Pet Peeve #1; low bar, but it's one of my biggest pet peeves because racers do it all the freakin' time), and they just genuinely seemed really sweet together.

My main issue with Rupert is exactly what we saw last night when they wandered around the park for hours because he refused to listen to Laura: he can be unbelievably condescending and dismissive because he thinks he always knows best. I don’t think he’s, in any way, a bad person but I’m glad we don’t have to sit through an entire season of him.

[LittleIggy]

Is Colin the guy that shoved his wife?

[displayname]

19 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

Is Colin the guy that shoved his wife?

That was J*na*h*n.

[theschnauzers]

37 minutes ago, displayname said:

That was J*na*h*n.

That was the following season as well.

[Ilovepie]

6 hours ago, illdoc said:

Yes. I believe the first 2 times left at 12:42 & 12:45, the next 6 between 1 & 1:15, the next to last team at 2:45 or so & Rupert & Laura around 4:25. Of course, there seemed to be only one flight out, so everyone was on it and any advantage for early start times was lost.

Yes, and this is really starting to bug me. A lot. Last week it was digging in the sand for a clue to get to the airport.......to all be on the same flight. This week staggered start times to get to the airport.........to all be on the same flight. Why not just have them all leave at the same time? Are they just keeping up the pretense that there is some advantage to having to get up at the crack of dawn when in reality it’s just to sit around the airport waiting for all the other teams to show up and get on the same plane?!? Now that I m writing this it’s making me pissed about it. Talk about a downgrade in the show.......

And ditto the U-turn. I HATE the placement right at the start. It was better when it was the first team to complete the first task gets first crack at it- they at least earned the right. This is just for petty drama. Again, I hate it!!!

I am glad Funstoppable and Tyler and Korey got through it. I would have been bummed if either had been eliminated already. Rachel and her scary looking sister can go anytime as far as I’m concerned. 

Still trying to sort out the other non-TAR teams bc I don’t watch those shows. The only ones who stand out so far are the ones in second place with the boring girl with the bf who looks a little like Alan from DWTS, and the two bitches who pissed off the Afghanimals. It doesn’t help that most were all bunched up together.......

I feel like Colin is a ticking time bomb. All the meditation talk and how yelling doesn’t help. It’s going to be glorious when he blows.......

[FinnishViewer]

On 4/25/2019 at 5:30 AM, Eolivet said:

Okay, so you have a double U-Turn, you have several teams who are like "what is a race?" (due to inexperience or lack of competitive edge) and you choose to U-Turn ... two experienced Amazing Race teams? Not the bumbling Survivors or the inconsistent Big Brother teams, who probably would've crumbled had they had to do two Detours, let alone one? Seems like a massive miscalculation to me.

Actually it does make sense, if you want to try to knock out experienced teams and have just the newbies, that you believe you can beat easily.

[SVNBob]

On 4/24/2019 at 10:09 PM, chaifan said:

I thought it was odd that Becca/Floyd and Tyler/Corey were U turned because they were "strong teams", but no one thought to U turn Colin & Christie.

11 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Colin and Christie were standing right behind Rachel and her sister at the Uturn, I can’t imagine anyone being the first team to arrive and than Uturning the team standing next to them.

That's one reason.  The only real reason to U-Turn a team right behind you is if you're "certain" you're in 2nd-to-last place.

But I think there were other reasons.

First off, recency bias.  The teams that were U-Turned were from seasons 29 and 28, respectively.  I'm pretty sure that the Survivor and BB teams were given those two seasons to watch to understand how TAR works.  Season 5 was run under a different rule-set, so they wouldn't necessarily have encouraged teams to watch that one.  So teams may not be aware of how strong Colin and Christie can really be.

Second, that change in rule-set I just mentioned.  Back in Season 5, there was no U-Turn.  The Yield had just been introduced, and Colin and Christie were the first recipients.  There was also no Speed Bump.  A penalty for arriving last on NELs was also first introduced in Season 5, but that penalty was strictly monetary.  Phil took all of the last place team's saved monies from previous legs, and they started the next leg without the usual fund provided.   In a sense, Colin and Christie are just as new to the Race as the Survivor and BB teams.  Why "penalize" them?

But I think the biggest reason is that Rachel is a petty bitch.  She thought Team Fun deliberately ditched them at the start of the leg, so she wanted "revenge".  And she unwisely took it at the first chance they were given.

20 hours ago, Fake Jan Brady said:

Somebody at CBS made up a completely random million dollar prize to give Rupert when he was first on Survivor;

1. It wasn't random.  That was when Survivor had a sponsor for a "votes from the viewing audience" prize to be given to a cast-member at the finale.  Most times before or after Rupert won it was a $100K prize.  But when he did, it was the first All-Star season, so it got bumped to the million.
2. It wasn't his first appearance.  It was his second.  Granted, it was shortly after his first, so he had the benefit of recency bias then.

14 hours ago, blackwing said:

The very fact that he said he considers himself "one of the strongest Survivors" says it all.  Really Stupert?  You're one of the strongest Survivors?

10 hours ago, blackwing said:

Yes.  I was trying to figure out what he meant by "one of the strongest".  If it's strongest as in physically strongest, then yeah, maybe.

I had no doubt that he meant "strongest" in the physical sense.  Even he's not delusional enough to think he's a strong strategist.  But if you look back at his first Survivor appearances, he is a physical powerhouse.  In tribal challenges, he was matched up against a man at least 10 years younger and with more obvious muscles from going to the gym constantly, and Rupert outclassed him every time. 

Combine that with his reverence of the elephants and his stated "desire to have their strength", and I can't see "strongest" meaning anything but physical strength.

6 hours ago, Richness said:

I still despise Rachel with extreme viterol, and hope her and her sister are gone next.

[snip]

I'm starting to like Victor and Nicole despite them being from Big Brother. His unbridled enthusiasm for her riding the elephants was a pleasure.

Concur with both these statements.  Nicole and Victor are the most tolerable of the BB teams.  And currently, I can get behind them making the Final Leg.  Not winning though.  I want a (pure) TAR team to win this war.

[Bryce Lynch]

14 hours ago, lexington11 said:

Or Corinne & Eliza...not picky about the order as long as those two are the next teams to go

I'd rather see Rachel and her sister go out first.  I dislike Corrine and Eliza (especially Corrine) but they are somewhat entertaining villains.  

[blackwing]

7 hours ago, Ilovepie said:

I feel like Colin is a ticking time bomb. All the meditation talk and how yelling doesn’t help. It’s going to be glorious when he blows.......

I've been wondering if Christie's job title of "life coach" is just one of those euphemisms for "housewife" that people use like "domestic engineer".  Because I could see her viewing herself as his "life coach" and he is her only client.  This was two episodes in a row where he talked about meditation... we actually saw them doing it in their taped intro in the first episode, why the need to talk about it again?  Is it foreshadowing a spectacular meltdown?

I don't think I am buying his "I'm older and zen now" persona either.  This got me wondering if he's on Xanax or something.  And if you are on any kind of meds before the Race, are you allowed to stay on them?  Something like Ritalin or Adderall might help with focus and combat fatigue.

[ByaNose]

I just don't want Corrine & Eliza to win. They can be in the Final 3 but I don't want them to win I couldn't handle Corrine winning that much money. LOL!!! They haven't finished in the top yet and I'm not sure if they ever will. I already forgotten what place they came in but they did better then I expected and they handled the "Spelling Bee" rather well.

[displayname]

9 hours ago, theschnauzers said:

That was the following season as well.

That was... Look, people hate multiple people on this show while others love them and I'm fine with that, just as long as no J*na*h*n, because EVERYONE hated him. That includes Phil, mercifully, which means it truly won't ever happen.

[Tryangle]

22 hours ago, Miles said:

Becca and Flyod made a massive strategic blunder today. If you've been U-Turned and you are fighting to survive, you want to U-Turn a weak team, you know will struggle with the tasks, not a strong team that might blast through them faster than you can. They were only saved by Rupert being shit with elephants. I would have expected more from fans of the race.

My impression is that Team Fun panicked a bit when their names were seen and they let themselves get convinced to U-turn a strong team (who else was there at the time, was it the Afghanimals?) rather than take a minute to weigh up the options.

Because otherwise I agree, the safer option would be to target a weaker team.

Oh, and this Race will never get old when they keep having scenes of smiling children. Those students watching and cheering (and yes, laughing at on occasion at) the contestants was a delight.

Edited April 26, 2019 by Tryangle
added a paragraph on the Laos schoolkids

[iMonrey]

Quote

In the universe of "people I want to go" Afghanimals are next on my list. Them calling Corrine and Eliza sneaky snakes for daring to out run their tuk tuk  and cut them off, so totally unlike the AAs sending Natalie and Victor the wrong way - okay, dudes. This is why I stopped liking you the last two times. Don't be holier than thou about it. 

I think that's what I couldn't put my finger on. They think it's hilarious when they dupe other teams (and sure, all's fair in Amazing Race) but when someone passes them or beats them or is ahead of them they get kind of nasty about it and complain that those teams aren't playing fair or are cheating or morally inferior somehow. They have their own sense of entitlement.

[fishcakes]

I've always liked the Afghanimals anyway, but the fact that they've become the nemeses to Corrine and Eliza only makes me like them more. It was especially rich to hear Corrine and Eliza complaining about how Leo and Jamal aren't "fun or helpful or nice." As opposed to the two of them? Fun Corrine? Helpful Eliza? Naaaah. Leo's hat bothered me, though. BUY A VOWEL.

"Their ABCs are nothing like our ABCs." Yes, Rupert. It's like those Laotians have a different letter for everything.

I too sense the murderous rage building up in Colin. Some hapless local judging a roadblock will reject his birdhouse or window display one too many times and then we'll have an international incident on our hands.

[joanne3482]

2 hours ago, Tryangle said:

My impression is that Team Fun panicked a bit when their names were seen and they let themselves get convinced to U-turn a strong team (who else was there at the time, was it the Afghanimals?) rather than take a minute to weigh up the options.

It was the Afghanimals.  They were about to U-Turn Tyler and Korey but then they realized Team Fun was running up right behind them and they handed the Tyler/Korey tile to them and encouraged them to do it instead.  I agree that if Team Fun hadn't panicked and had that spoon fed to them they would have chosen a different team. 

11 hours ago, Ilovepie said:

This week staggered start times to get to the airport.........to all be on the same flight. Why not just have them all leave at the same time? Are they just keeping up the pretense that there is some advantage to having to get up at the crack of dawn when in reality it’s just to sit around the airport waiting for all the other teams to show up and get on the same plane?!?

It may have been related to flight times.  Possibly those later may have had to take a later flight if they got lost or something?  I do miss the jockeying for flight times that folks used to do.  But I feel like there was one racing team in years past who got majorly screwed due to that - like their flight got in after everyone had already checked in I think (or almost everyone had).  Maybe they're trying to avoid that kind of situation again. 

[HurricaneVal]

I'm really starting to wonder if all this emphasis on how "changed" and "zen" Colin is now is just a whole lot of foreshadowing from the editors to prepare us for the explosion to come....  They certainly know how this all plays out, so why keep wasting screen time going back to that (zen) well if there isn't some sort of payoff later on?

A girl can hope...

[4N6MAL]

On 4/24/2019 at 10:04 PM, InDueTime said:

I'm ambivalent towards Rupert, and have no problem with Laura. However, it has to suck to end up out of the race because your elephant decided to take a lunch break. 

I like Rupert. But they were given clear instructions on how to make the elephants do what they wanted. And saying, "please, for the love of God" to the elephant was not one of the commands! 

[Ilovepie]

1 hour ago, joanne3482 said:

It may have been related to flight times. 

I think it's just that the show is booking the travel for all the teams, and I think it diminishes the race aspect of the show overall. There is no benefit to getting to the mat earlier other than first place earning a prize, and avoiding last place to escape elimination, obviously, but other than that the rest of their placements are irrelevant if they are all just going to leave at the same time on the same flight in the morning. In fact, to me it seemed like the first place teams were actually sort of penalized having to get up super early for nothing!

This is the second episode in a row where there was a "race" to the airport only to be put on one flight together. Sure, maybe there were limited flights from Japan to Laos, but that was definitely not true for the first episode when they were going from L.A. to Japan!

[jhlipton]

If there's going to bunching (and there nearly always will be, for logistic reasons -- they have to keep the teams pretty much together), I'd rather have it at the start of the leg than anywhere along the leg.

[Ilovepie]

1 hour ago, jhlipton said:

If there's going to bunching (and there nearly always will be, for logistic reasons -- they have to keep the teams pretty much together), I'd rather have it at the start of the leg than anywhere along the leg.

I understand what you mean, but I prefer for the mat placement to have meaning. If the show is going to book all the travel, then they should just drop the staggered start and treat each day as new start with Phil giving them instructions and saying "Go!" It's less interesting, and I don't like it as much as everyone scrambling for a good flight, but the reality is that the leg really didn't start until they all raced off the plane at the same time, and that's been true of both episodes so far this season.......

[SnideAsides]

4 hours ago, Ilovepie said:

I think it's just that the show is booking the travel for all the teams, and I think it diminishes the race aspect of the show overall. There is no benefit to getting to the mat earlier other than first place earning a prize, and avoiding last place to escape elimination, obviously, but other than that the rest of their placements are irrelevant if they are all just going to leave at the same time on the same flight in the morning. In fact, to me it seemed like the first place teams were actually sort of penalized having to get up super early for nothing!

This is the second episode in a row where there was a "race" to the airport only to be put on one flight together. Sure, maybe there were limited flights from Japan to Laos, but that was definitely not true for the first episode when they were going from L.A. to Japan!

I don't doubt the show does book tickets for teams, but at least in these two cases it kind of makes sense - there aren't a lot of flights to Luang Prabang, especially early in the morning and especially avoiding connections that could cause issues later in the race, and it seems very likely Tokyo was a last-minute replacement for another location and it could have been the only flight that was available at the right time of day.

[Ilovepie]

1 hour ago, SnideAsides said:

it seems very likely Tokyo was a last-minute replacement for another location

That seems unlikely to me since it was the starting point for the whole season, but as I said in the post you referred to I could see there being limited flights to Laos. I guess we’ll have to see how the rest of the season plays out - it is only the second episode after all. I hope they are allowed to schedule their own travel and navigate themselves in cars sometimes at least!

[SnideAsides]

40 minutes ago, Ilovepie said:

That seems unlikely to me since it was the starting point for the whole season, but as I said in the post you referred to I could see there being limited flights to Laos. I guess we’ll have to see how the rest of the season plays out - it is only the second episode after all. I hope they are allowed to schedule their own travel and navigate themselves in cars sometimes at least!

I'm sticking this under spoilers just in case (it doesn't affect the rest of this season), but

Spoiler

supposedly the season was originally supposed to be five TAR teams, five BB teams, and Rachel/Elissa as a mixed team for even numbers, but a few BB teams were replaced at short notice because they found out and leaked Papua New Guinea was the first destination. And that's already the sort of place you wouldn't want to go to unless it was absolutely 100% safe, so if the producers were worried about players being tracked down, I can totally see them replacing it with Tokyo as a safer alternative. Especially given that leg was, not to put too fine a point on it, noticeably low-budget.

[North of Eden]

Janelle! In the world of BIG BROTHER, there are superstars, and she's a card-carrying member of that club. So it feels so strange to see her as basically a background player with zero screen time...of course, the more time devoted to other racers the less screen time would be allocated to Tyler mugging for the camera and we can't have that can we?

Victor...he's just one of those people where you really can't put a finger on it, but you simply dislike them. If he weren't joined at the hip with Nicole, then there is no way this guy would have been recruited.

Honestly, I'm surprised that big lug Rupert isn't still at the alphabet task as I type this...I thought he would be so abysmal at it that he'd never get it.

Why do Leo and Jamal have to be in the "on" position 24/7

Two highlights of the night for me were the caption "Tyler and Korey Currently in Last Place" too bad it didn't stick and Elisa's subtle guilt trip "It's my first race" well-done girl!

[Quilt Fairy]

If the teams are going to get bunched on a flight right at the beginning of the leg, I would rather that they be "released" at the destination airport according to the order and times they arrived at the prior pitstop.  

[mertensia]

It must be so nice to do a task without Probst doing a play by play. 

Not going to miss Rupert and his wife.

[Morrissey]

I've been enjoying Rupert oscillating between flaunting his overinflated ego, being unintentionally hilarious, and doing his best impression of a crazy eyed psycho ever since Pearl Islands. I'm sad to see them go, mostly because I find a majority of the teams very bland and forgettable. 

Very lovely elephant challenge, though!

Edited April 27, 2019 by Morrissey

[Gabs66]

On 4/25/2019 at 12:59 PM, HurricaneVal said:

That's Rupert's problem, he's bought into the "Cult of Rupert" built by the Survivor franchise and he doesn't listen. 

Don't forget, Rupert is the genius that thought digging down in the sand on the beach to build a " log cabin" would be  great for a shelter. 
He is a dunderhead whom I had assumed would be out first. Second works for me, too.

[Booklady1017]

On 4/24/2019 at 10:04 PM, truthaboutluv said:

I'm sure Rupert and his wife are lovely people but cannot say I'm sad to see them go. I couldn't do a season of Rupert's crazy, too intense eyes over every damn thing. Like has no one told him how he comes across when doing that? 

So anyone else think the "judges" allowed those teams to half-ass the alphabet? Because if it is as challenging as they made it appear to get the pronunciation, no way these teams all got it that quickly. I don't buy that. 

And once again, Tyler and Korey manage to jump ahead of a few teams and I have no idea how that happened but I'm glad because I adore them.

I get that winning individual legs of the race come with incentives but I think a team like Leo and Jamal are just the type to burn out and just burn bridges for no reason, that will screw them in the end. 

Was being first again, when they were clearly the first two teams, so in no danger of being eliminated, so important that it was worth pulling that whole lie? Granted, girlfriend was an idiot for believing them, especially as her boyfriend kept telling her to keep moving, but still. 

Enjoying the season so far. 

I wonder about that alphabet challenge too. I never watched Survivor and don't know much about Rupert but figured that they would not make it too long because he's too clueless when it comes to directions and such. i have to agree that girl wasn't that bright if she believed Leo and Jamal.

[Booklady1017]

On 4/24/2019 at 10:04 PM, mojoween said:

So Colin is totally going to snap and murder someone before the race is concluded, yes?

Although it was nice to see Christie give Laura, of all people, a rather genuine hug.  

Victooooorrrrrrr, I love him so very much.  He was frustrated, didn’t take it out on Nicole, and was still so stoked to be team two.  He’s so dreamy.

Sir, please do not stand on the back of the elephant, they were not made for your amusement.  Also, lady half of Team Fun whose name I cannot remember right now, do not bark at your elephant.

Corrine, even your tuk-tuk driver knows what an awful person you are.

I think Nicole and Victor are a cute couple.  LOL about Corinne.

On 4/24/2019 at 10:04 PM, Browncoat said:

Is Laos a new country for them?  I really dug those instruments they were playing in the forest.  Anyone have any idea what they are?

Who are these Colin and Christie?  They really are being all Zen and mellow!  But, if they don't stop collaborating with Rachel and her sister, they will be dead to me. 

Gotta love that the U-turned teams survived the challenge, even though it seemed like Becca might be done in by her elephant.  On the other hand, yay, elephants!  It looked like the elephant masters were encouraging the elephants to play in the water.

Bye, Rupert!  I knew they wouldn't last much longer.  They should have been out last week.

The elephant challenge looked like fun and those instruments were cool. I don't remember them being in Laos before.

[Hera]

I realized last week that this had started airing and now I'm finally caught up. Like so may of you, I've missed this show. I was also really jealous of everyone who got to do that elephant task this episode, especially the ones who got there first because it meant they could enjoy the task rather than worrying about being last. As is often the case with animal tasks, it seems like the animals pick up on the racers' stress and become less cooperative, as well.

On 4/26/2019 at 3:03 PM, Ilovepie said:

This is the second episode in a row where there was a "race" to the airport only to be put on one flight together. Sure, maybe there were limited flights from Japan to Laos, but that was definitely not true for the first episode when they were going from L.A. to Japan! 

This is something about the way the show has evolved that I don't like. I also wish there was more self-navigation and use of local infrastructure (in a way that isn't spoonfed—people have to look up bus and train schedules themselves). Someone posted a video somewhere about Colin and Christie's first race that reminded me they once got a 12 hour jump on all the other teams (and potentially arrived even before the producers) by being good/lucky at choosing flights. I would love to see teams rewarded for being good at that stuff again.

However, from a production standpoint, I get why they've moved away from that. The more you leave it up to the racers to get themselves from Point A to Point B, the more variance you introduce into how long it takes everyone to complete the leg and the harder they become to plan. And I imagine filming people on buses and subways (especially during rush hour in cities) is a real headache.

Furthermore, when a team manages to get a 12 hour lead on everyone else, they've either won the race then and there because no one can ever catch up (if a team is good enough to get a 12 hour lead, chances are, they'll find a way to increase as the race progresses), or production has to introduce some way of slowing them down so that everyone else can catch up. Both options are unsatisfying in some way, so I can see why they make sure everyone is on the same flight or same two flights when they travel long distances. I still don't like it, but I get it.

[lexington11]

23 hours ago, North of Eden said:

Janelle! In the world of BIG BROTHER, there are superstars, and she's a card-carrying member of that club. So it feels so strange to see her as basically a background player with zero screen time...of course, the more time devoted to other racers the less screen time would be allocated to Tyler mugging for the camera and we can't have that can we?

Victor...he's just one of those people where you really can't put a finger on it, but you simply dislike them. If he weren't joined at the hip with Nicole, then there is no way this guy would have been recruited.

Honestly, I'm surprised that big lug Rupert isn't still at the alphabet task as I type this...I thought he would be so abysmal at it that he'd never get it.

Why do Leo and Jamal have to be in the "on" position 24/7

Two highlights of the night for me were the caption "Tyler and Korey Currently in Last Place" too bad it didn't stick and Elisa's subtle guilt trip "It's my first race" well-done girl!

I disagree that it's only because of his relationship with Nicole that Victor was recruited for TAR, because he was one of the fan favorites from BB18, so why wouldn't CBS want to cast a BB fan favorite if they want to attract the BB viewers to TAR?

[ByaNose]

Leo & Jamal are always on. It’s so annoying. It’s too bad since normally I would root for a team with back to back 1st place finishes. You’d think being a lot older would have matured them but it hasn’t. It will be interesting to see if they go for three in a row. The other teams surely are going to see them as a major threat but they have catch up to them first. 

[SVNBob]

4 hours ago, Hera said:

when a team manages to get a 12 hour lead on everyone else, they've either won the race then and there because no one can ever catch up (if a team is good enough to get a 12 hour lead, chances are, they'll find a way to increase as the race progresses),

This line of thought is why Rob and Brennan took the FF in the first leg of TAR1.  They thought they'd be able to parlay that into an insurmountable lead over the rest of the Race.  They didn't count on Hours of Operation, or Airport Bunching, or the like.

[Rinaldo]

10 hours ago, SVNBob said:

This line of thought is why Rob and Brennan took the FF in the first leg of TAR1.  They thought they'd be able to parlay that into an insurmountable lead over the rest of the Race.  They didn't count on Hours of Operation, or Airport Bunching, or the like.

Very true, and I recall "preview" articles in magazines like Entertainment Weekly reporting a bit of Leg 5 or something similar (in general terms and without names) being surprised that "after all this time, the teams are this close together," and probably many viewers (like me) also assumed beforehand that after a few legs the teams would be spread around the globe (which is what the rival reality series Lost, that premiered at the same time, allowed to happen).

And in fact later in TAR1, two teams did get 12 hours ahead of the other teams, far enough to be a full hours-of-operation cycle ahead of the others, so the gap kept widening if anything. After that, the producers took steps to try to prevent that from happening again. One can certainly understand why they did, but it still makes watching TAR1 a singular pleasure, because things happened on that race that never did again.

[spanana]

18 hours ago, lexington11 said:

I disagree that it's only because of his relationship with Nicole that Victor was recruited for TAR, because he was one of the fan favorites from BB18, so why wouldn't CBS want to cast a BB fan favorite if they want to attract the BB viewers to TAR?

Not to mention Victor won the America's fave prize that season which would insinuate at least at the time he had more fan support than likely even his fiancee.  Mind you she was still in the house at the time and in contention to win, and often fan feelings are fleeting on BB, but he became one of the faves in his season.  I'd say there weren't a lot of likable people that season, but I digress.

If people hate him, that's cool.  But he was popular at the time.

Edited April 28, 2019 by spanana

[lexington11]

3 hours ago, spanana said:

Not to mention Victor won the America's fave prize that season which would insinuate at least at the time he had more fan support than likely even his fiancee.  Mind you she was still in the house at the time and in contention to win, and often fan feelings are fleeting on BB, but he became one of the faves in his season.  I'd say there weren't a lot of likable people that season, but I digress.

If people hate him, that's cool.  But he was popular at the time.

And from what I've seen in the BB fandom, she didn't seem to be that popular until she started dating Victor, so I'd say he really is more of a ratings draw than she is.

[Kel Varnsen]

On 4/25/2019 at 7:12 PM, meatball77 said:

U-turning only makes sense when you're on the verge of being eliminated.  Doing it when you're in first place just means you are stupid.  She's playing Big Brother and not TAR.  It's always better to have other teams like you on TAR because they might help you.  As for team Fun, they needed to Uturn someone and may not have known that Rupert and Laura were behind them. 

But also think of the prizes for winning a leg. If you are a team at the front of the pack, slowing down another serious competitir with a U turn increases your chances of winning that prize.

On 4/26/2019 at 10:10 AM, ByaNose said:

I just don't want Corrine & Eliza to win. They can be in the Final 3 but I don't want them to win I couldn't handle Corrine winning that much money. LOL!!! They haven't finished in the top yet and I'm not sure if they ever will. I already forgotten what place they came in but they did better then I expected and they handled the "Spelling Bee" rather well.

I would like them to stick aroud. Their trick for memorizing the alphabet was really good and i thought running in front of the tuk tuk was a smart play.

[Brookside]

I can't remember her name (bottle blonde), but it's sad to me that any woman would be so uneducated (for different reasons) as to say "I'm so grateful Victor let me do that" (about elephant riding), and "I choosed him".

[Dmarie019]

On 4/25/2019 at 3:26 PM, SomeTameGazelle said:

I thought the time she snapped at her sister was because the sister was giving the judge a hard time about not passing them and Rachel knew that there were no appeals or whining and they should just buckle down and fix their mistake. I was with Rachel on that one.

Rachel's sister said something like "Rachel, you've done this race 2 times!"  like giving her shit that she should no to pay more attention to details and get it right on the first go.  It was a bit of a low-blow.

On 4/25/2019 at 6:59 PM, Quilt Fairy said:

Did anyone else prick their ears up when Phil said "may be eliminated" rather than the "will be eliminated" from last week?  I know he's been using "may" almost exclusively for some time, but after last week's "will" I was wondering, especially in a double U-turn episode, if it might be a non-elimination leg.

I was kind of surprised it was an elimination leg... only because the elephants were TOTALLY out of their control. 

On 4/25/2019 at 10:03 PM, Rachel RSL said:

My main issue with Rupert is exactly what we saw last night when they wandered around the park for hours because he refused to listen to Laura: he can be unbelievably condescending and dismissive because he thinks he always knows best. I don’t think he’s, in any way, a bad person but I’m glad we don’t have to sit through an entire season of him.

That's my issue with him.  I'm sure Rupert is a nice, teddy bear, type of guy UNTIL he doesn't get what he wants. And then he turns into scary Rupert and I think we've seen that before and I believe his wife has seen it many of times. In the park you could tell she knew not to make him upset and didn't want to tell him what to do and was trying ways to get him to think of other options without her just spitting it out herself.

However I did love it that he didn't get angry at the elephant. I was waiting for it but then he said "i want to be mad... but I can't because I love you too much"  

On 4/26/2019 at 10:18 PM, North of Eden said:

Honestly, I'm surprised that big lug Rupert isn't still at the alphabet task as I type this...I thought he would be so abysmal at it that he'd never get it.

I wasn't paying attention when they finished but I assume his wife probably finished that task on her own.  No way would Rupert get any of that. They didn't seem to have to take turns or do it together when in front of the kids. 

[lexington11]

9 hours ago, Brookside said:

I can't remember her name (bottle blonde), but it's sad to me that any woman would be so uneducated (for different reasons) as to say "I'm so grateful Victor let me do that" (about elephant riding), and "I choosed him".

Nicole

[BarneySays]

On 4/24/2019 at 11:57 PM, SomeTameGazelle said:

It seemed to me that Rachel's primary reason for u turning Becca and Floyd was retaliation for not working with her, and calling them a strong team was to pretend it was tactical.

I actually thought it was done for camera time.  She seems really thirsty for the camera.  The constant preening, repeating a past line as if it's a memorable catch-phrase, and the over the top energy are too much.  She is a grown woman.  it's time to start acting like one.

[snarktini]

On 4/25/2019 at 10:39 PM, Ilovepie said:

Yes, and this is really starting to bug me. A lot. Last week it was digging in the sand for a clue to get to the airport.......to all be on the same flight. This week staggered start times to get to the airport.........to all be on the same flight. Why not just have them all leave at the same time? Are they just keeping up the pretense that there is some advantage to having to get up at the crack of dawn when in reality it’s just to sit around the airport waiting for all the other teams to show up and get on the same plane?!? Now that I m writing this it’s making me pissed about it. Talk about a downgrade in the show.......

Right. My BF (who's pretty new to TAR) kept insisting leaving early was still an advantage, despite the bunching. Finally the penny dropped for him, and he realized they had to spend their entire 4-hour lead in the airport. Then he was all "that's bullshit!". Yes, yes it is. It was not only not an advantage, it was a solid disadvantage. They had to spend all that time in the airport when they could have been in the hotel (?) sleeping or resting, where their packs were safe and it was quiet. Airports are terrible places to spend time.

On 4/26/2019 at 9:25 AM, fishcakes said:

I've always liked the Afghanimals anyway, but the fact that they've become the nemeses to Corrine and Eliza only makes me like them more. It was especially rich to hear Corrine and Eliza complaining about how Leo and Jamal aren't "fun or helpful or nice." As opposed to the two of them? Fun Corrine? Helpful Eliza? Naaaah. Leo's hat bothered me, though. BUY A VOWEL.

"Their ABCs are nothing like our ABCs." Yes, Rupert. It's like those Laotians have a different letter for everything.

Their "I thought they were fun" killed me. No, Leo and Jamal never seemed "fun" IMO. They seemed like they were having fun and they definitely crack each other -- and themselves -- up. But fun for other racers to be around? Nope. 

LOL on what Rupert said, too...I had the same reaction.

[Booklady1017]

On 4/27/2019 at 8:56 PM, Hera said:

I realized last week that this had started airing and now I'm finally caught up. Like so may of you, I've missed this show. I was also really jealous of everyone who got to do that elephant task this episode, especially the ones who got there first because it meant they could enjoy the task rather than worrying about being last. As is often the case with animal tasks, it seems like the animals pick up on the racers' stress and become less cooperative, as well.

This is something about the way the show has evolved that I don't like. I also wish there was more self-navigation and use of local infrastructure (in a way that isn't spoonfed—people have to look up bus and train schedules themselves). Someone posted a video somewhere about Colin and Christie's first race that reminded me they once got a 12 hour jump on all the other teams (and potentially arrived even before the producers) by being good/lucky at choosing flights. I would love to see teams rewarded for being good at that stuff again.

However, from a production standpoint, I get why they've moved away from that. The more you leave it up to the racers to get themselves from Point A to Point B, the more variance you introduce into how long it takes everyone to complete the leg and the harder they become to plan. And I imagine filming people on buses and subways (especially during rush hour in cities) is a real headache.

Furthermore, when a team manages to get a 12 hour lead on everyone else, they've either won the race then and there because no one can ever catch up (if a team is good enough to get a 12 hour lead, chances are, they'll find a way to increase as the race progresses), or production has to introduce some way of slowing them down so that everyone else can catch up. Both options are unsatisfying in some way, so I can see why they make sure everyone is on the same flight or same two flights when they travel long distances. I still don't like it, but I get it.

You make very good points for both sides of the transportation scheduling situation. 

[Booklady1017]

On 4/24/2019 at 10:04 PM, InDueTime said:

I was worried for Becca and Floyd when they fell behind. I hope they place higher next episode.

I'm ambivalent towards Rupert, and have no problem with Laura. However, it has to suck to end up out of the race because your elephant decided to take a lunch break. 

Is this the 1st time the race went to Laos? I enjoyed it and the challenges this time. 

I'm ready for Rachel and Elissa's exit.

I agree about all your comments. I was worried for Becca and Floyd too. I have no feelings for Rupert because I haven't watched Survivor. I want Rachel and Elissa to leave too. They are annoying. 

[Booklady1017]

On 4/24/2019 at 10:09 PM, TheRabbi said:

'I consider myself one of the strongest Survivors. Amazing Race kicked my ass.' You're damn right!

Oddly, I didn't mind Rupert. I haven't watched Survivor in years so I also haven't seen his endless appearances there to get tired of them. 

I still don't like that the u-turn is before the detour, as I feel like that power should be earned by completing your own, but I suppose complaining about that won't change anything.

Good on Tyler and Korey and Becca and Floyd for powering through that uturn. I enjoyed the episode. 

I'm glad both teams powered through the U Turn. I was disappointed that Becca and Floyd were uturned but I get why both teams were uturned because they are both very strong.

[Booklady1017]

On 4/25/2019 at 1:20 AM, J-Man said:

Too bad Colin didn't do the elephant task. We could have been treated to "My elephant is broken!"

That would have been great!!!! LOL

On 4/25/2019 at 6:10 AM, Browncoat said:

My Colin and Christie are broken!  LOL

LOL indeed!!

[lexington11]

22 hours ago, BarneySays said:

I actually thought it was done for camera time.  She seems really thirsty for the camera.  The constant preening, repeating a past line as if it's a memorable catch-phrase, and the over the top energy are too much.  She is a grown woman.  it's time to start acting like one.

For the camera and for reality TV in general, because this season marks her 7th appearance on any reality show on any network

[Booklady1017]

On 4/26/2019 at 12:25 PM, fishcakes said:

I've always liked the Afghanimals anyway, but the fact that they've become the nemeses to Corrine and Eliza only makes me like them more. It was especially rich to hear Corrine and Eliza complaining about how Leo and Jamal aren't "fun or helpful or nice." As opposed to the two of them? Fun Corrine? Helpful Eliza? Naaaah. Leo's hat bothered me, though. BUY A VOWEL.

"Their ABCs are nothing like our ABCs." Yes, Rupert. It's like those Laotians have a different letter for everything.

I too sense the murderous rage building up in Colin. Some hapless local judging a roadblock will reject his birdhouse or window display one too many times and then we'll have an international incident on our hands.

I agree. I'm not a big fan of the Afghanimals, but they are entertaining and fun to watch and it is a plus that they don't like Corinne and Eliza. LOL about your comments on them.