S31.E03: Here Fishy, Fishy, Fishy

[iMonrey]

The light-up dancing made it really easy to see whether teams were following the back-up dancers' moves, provided that the camera was directly in front of them in a full body shot. From what I could tell, Becca and Floyd did the best job of staying in sync and doing the moves correctly, whereas it looked like other teams got a pass. So I think there were just specific points in the dance that had to match rather than every move.

Anyone who listens to a word the Afghanimals say from now on is a total idiot. 

Quote

Having never watched Big Brother, I don't really know much about them but they both seem like nice and mellow people. That said, anyone else get the sense that he seems more into her than she is into him?

Yeah, wasn't Nicole into some other guy during that season? Wasn't it COR-EEEEEEEEE? Or am I confusing my seasons? Easy to do, generic casts.

Quote

Like Becca and Floyd (more Floyd) and am getting tired of Tyler's camera-mugging.

Can you explain the difference between the way "Team Fun" is constantly "on" for the camera crew and doing "bits" like with their "fun meters" and the way Tyler just happens to giggle a lot and look at the camera? And why the latter is so offensive whereas the former is enjoyable? I see so much complaining about Tyler in particular like he's the only person who ever looked directly into the camera and somehow that's "mugging" but other teams that are constantly doing bits and trying WAY too hard to be "characters" get a free pass. 

[truthaboutluv]

Just now, iMonrey said:

Can you explain the difference between the way "Team Fun" is constantly "on" for the camera crew and doing "bits" like with their "fun meters" and the way Tyler just happens to giggle a lot and look at the camera? And why the latter is so offensive whereas the former is enjoyable? I see so much complaining about Tyler in particular like he's the only person who ever looked directly into the camera and somehow that's "mugging" but other teams that are constantly doing bits and trying WAY too hard to be "characters" get a free pass. 

Good point. Personally, ymmv but I cracked up laughing when Tyler turned and did his dramatic pose to the camera after catching their final prawn. Like he was so proud of himself despite his contribution of a whopping two to Korey's actually catching six. 

[meep.meep]

I liked them just because they said the "Fishy fishy fishy" line.

[eel21788]

14 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

  Also, why did nobody trawl the line?  Was that prohibited, or did nobody think to do it?

I think that is sort of what Chris and Bret were doing. When they caught one, they left their other line in the water. While one of them took the hook out, the other one prepped the next line. Maybe there was a limit to how many poles they could use at one time.

[Quilt Fairy]

1 hour ago, survivinmt said:

Yelling FAST FAST to a cab driver who obviously has no clue what you're talking about is just lazy in my opinion.

We also heard the classic "We're in a race for a million dollars!".  The cab driver isn't getting any of it, why should he care?

[UniqueHandle]

I am rooting for everyone because I am so freaking happy The Amazing Race is back on. I am glad Rupert and Laura went home when they did and Art and JJ left at the appropriate time, as well.

I'm not a super huge fan of Nicole and Victor, they are probably my least favorite. I also don't like the game play of Leo and Jamal but my 12 year old daughter likes them because they always stop and appreciate the scenery and the country they are in so I try not to judge them in front of her because I want her to be less like me (I am a judgy bitch). 

[dgpolo]

12 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

14 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

  Also, why did nobody trawl the line?  Was that prohibited, or did nobody think to do it?

I think that is sort of what Chris and Bret were doing. When they caught one, they left their other line in the water. While one of them took the hook out, the other one prepped the next line. Maybe there was a limit to how many poles they could use at one time.

To trawl would be to move the hook through the water? (scooping them up with a net would be too easy), but I don't think that moving the line through the water would work with prawns that are walking around on the bottom of the tank, not swimming. And I think each were only allowed one pole apiece. And I think the locals just did what Tyler did, let the pole sit there until you saw it had a nibble.

11 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

We also heard the classic "We're in a race for a million dollars!".  The cab driver isn't getting any of it, why should he care? 

At least they seem to have stopped saying 'It's an emergency', maybe they made a rule about that, the early seasons did it all the time.

Edited May 2, 2019 by dgpolo
clarification and spelling

[eel21788]

2 minutes ago, dgpolo said:

To trawl would be to move the hook through the water, 

I thought it meant dangling a bunch of  lines in the water at the same time.

[Haleth]

I didn’t know Floyd had been a drum major in college. Of course he always seems to be in hyper fun mode— he’s used to performing for a crowd. 

[spanana]

1 hour ago, lexington11 said:

I think that's just how Nicole is, because even on her two BB stints, she seemed very self conscious and not at all into the camera mugging that everyone else on that show seems to love, and she's the first to admit that she suffers from serious anxiety and that the race was the first time she's been anywhere outside of the USA. When she and Victor are alone without cameras on them, like in their social media videos, she seems far more relaxed than she does on the show.

That's what I was going to say.  I'm not a Nicole apologist as I wasn't the biggest fan of her on BB (though didn't have the over the top hate for her others did either), but I think she's sort of closed off in general and just really out of her comfort zone here.  To me she reads not comfortable with the cameras period, which is weird considering she's a 2x BB player, but maybe it's a different level of anxiety when you can actually see the cameras versus on BB when they are more hidden in the decor of the house and you can pretend to forget about them to a degree.  The only moment we've seen where she seemed comfortable was with the elephants.

What I had noticed last night was how Nicole barely said a word in any of their talking heads while Victor talked.  Which is a combo his boisterous natural personality and hers less so.  

I get why people would think he's way more into her and that may be true, but I agree that she's way more comfortable on her own social media or even on their podcast.  I'm hoping she will relax as the season progresses, assuming they don't get knocked out.  And if they keep racing as they have been, they probably will outlast some others.

Anyway, I get why it was cut for time but I wanted to see more of the dancing fails.  Even the people that did pretty well with it still had some fails before getting it right though I'm with others that I LOVED Team Fun's excitement when they realized they failed the first time for not having enough energy.  This whole leg was made for them.  I like them both fine but I really like Floyd. 

Outside of being annoyed with Corrine and her partner (the Survivor women) at times and somewhat wanting to slap Rachel/Elissa, I don't have strong negative feelings about anyone.  And even within that, the Survivor women have moments where I'm on board with them and Rachel makes good television, so while I wouldn't want to deal with her in real life i don't mind watching her here.

Edited May 2, 2019 by spanana

[La Traviata]

I will never tire of the Afganimals tricking the other racers into believing their lies.  You'd think the others would have learned by now.  Don't trust the Afganimals!.  And yet they do.  Pure entertainment.

Victor's doing a great job considering he's racing all alone.

Can't wait for next week's cat fight.  

[spanana]

1 minute ago, La Traviata said:

I will never tire of the Afganimals tricking the other racers into believing their lies.  You'd think the others would have learned by now.  Don't trust the Afganimals!.  And yet they do.  Pure entertainment.

It's also funny because I get in the moment emotions are high and peoples nerves are on edge, but they aren't particularly good actors either.  If anyone paid attention, they would see a bunch of hammy acting.

[La Traviata]

6 minutes ago, spanana said:

It's also funny because I get in the moment emotions are high and peoples nerves are on edge, but they aren't particularly good actors either.  If anyone paid attention, they would see a bunch of hammy acting.

True.  I think that's why I'm entertained by their acting.  It's so obviously awful and yet the heat of the moment fools the others.  Now, if they were condescending like Elisa & Corinne or the Reilly's, then I'd see it different.

Edited May 2, 2019 by La Traviata

[EllenB]

Team fun trying to cross the street reminded me of the scene in Galaxy Quest when Tim Allen and Sigourney Weaver are going through The Chompers.

Edited May 2, 2019 by EllenB
Autocorrect hates me. It's mutual.

[chaifan]

4 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Can you explain the difference between the way "Team Fun" is constantly "on" for the camera crew and doing "bits" like with their "fun meters" and the way Tyler just happens to giggle a lot and look at the camera? And why the latter is so offensive whereas the former is enjoyable? I see so much complaining about Tyler in particular like he's the only person who ever looked directly into the camera and somehow that's "mugging" but other teams that are constantly doing bits and trying WAY too hard to be "characters" get a free pass. 

So here's how I see the difference...  My guess is Becca and Floyd are the exact same "constantly on" whether there's a camera on them or not.  The "bits" they do are in the talking head segments, or when they know a camera is directly on them and they're supposed to be talking about what they're doing, how they're feeling, etc.  To me, that is not mugging.  Mugging (to me) is doing something specifically for the camera when that is not supposed to be what is going on, when contestants are supposed to be ignoring the cameras.  Tyler's cute smirk directly to the camera when he got his last prawn is Exhibit A of mugging for the camera.  Which I actually thought was adorable, and also Exhibit A of how to do mugging right.  To me, mugging isn't always a bad thing, it really depends on how/when it's done. 

[HeShallBMySquishy]

So I'd never watched Colin and Christie during their initial run but, based on the clips I have watched on YouTube, it seems angry unhinged Colin is considered far more entertaining? Different strokes I know, I just find it oddly amusing that someone with (seemingly) so much rage is considered the "preferable" Colin.

9 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

That said, I still adore those two. I like their friendship and dynamic and I cannot remember their ever snapping at each other or getting mad at each other. They don't seem to be out to get other teams and I believed Tyler when he told Team Fun at the start that honestly they were just interested in running their own race and not gunning for anyone.

I like Tyler and Korey here as well as their initial run, even if Tyler's incessant giggle started getting on my nerves. I thought it was cute at first, but every single time was becoming irritating and, thankfully, the editors this season haven't showcased it very much. Beyond that, I too enjoy their friendship dynamic very much, and they are my current favourites to win.

6 hours ago, ImpinAintEasy said:

It’s Team Fun and The Afghanimals or bust for me. I love those two teams. I’m unapologetic in my love of Leo and Jamal. They’ve always been really good at this game and I would love to see them finally win. So they joke around and troll the other contestants? That’s one of the things I love about them. And it does sometimes work. 

Yes! I've also loved the Afghanimals since their first run. I can certainly see why others are annoyed by them, and the constant lying just for the hell of it can be grating for sure, but I just enjoy how much fun they seem to be having all the time. Plus, I think Jamal is so handsome, although I do miss his curls. If Tyler and Korey don't win, these two would be my other favourites. (At least for now. It's still early.)

As for Team Fun, I like them more this time around. I've always liked him, but with Becca, I had a growing sense during their first Race that the whole "Fun" thing was more of an act for her, whereas I never got that with Floyd. Still, a great leg for them, and nice to see how much fun they were having.

I found Nicole and Victor annoying during their first runs on Big Brother, but moreso for who they decided to pair up with (Nicole with that hag-witch Christine, Victor with the repugnant Paul). Liked Nicole much more when she won BB18, and with this show, no Diary Rooms!! Nicole had a tendency to dial her nasally whine up to 13 during her DR segments, which, thankfully, hasn't happened here.

I still have some residual goodwill for Elissa, mostly due to her being one of the few decent bright spots during the vile, abhorrent, repulsive Big Brother 15, AKA The Summer of Racism. It was so horrific that summer it even made the evening news! When was the last time any of these competitive reality shows make multiple evening news broadcasts? (That was also the summer of Paula Deen's racism scandal, if I remember correctly.)

[HeShallBMySquishy]

3 hours ago, EllenB said:

Team fun trying to cross the street reminded me of the scene in Galaxy Quest when Tim Allen and Sigourney Weaver are going through The Chompers.

LOVE that movie! "Whoever wrote this episode should DIE!!" Hard to believe this Christmas will mark 20 years for Galaxy Quest. And after Becca and Floyd crossed the street, all I could think was, "Damn, now the camera crew has to do the exact same thing!"

1 hour ago, chaifan said:

Mugging (to me) is doing something specifically for the camera when that is not supposed to be what is going on, when contestants are supposed to be ignoring the cameras.  Tyler's cute smirk directly to the camera when he got his last prawn is Exhibit A of mugging for the camera.  Which I actually thought was adorable, and also Exhibit A of how to do mugging right.  To me, mugging isn't always a bad thing, it really depends on how/when it's done. 

Agree 100%, and thank you for putting so succinctly the differences in mugging. I'd never actually considered that viewpoint, but seeing you break it down like that, it makes total sense why some mugging bothers me, and other mugging doesn't. And I also thought Tyler's smirk was cute and adorable.

I also fully agree with @spanana's post above regarding Victor and especially Nicole.

Before last night's episode, I caught my boyfriend up with the first two On Demand, as he was not aware this season had started. And I found out he is a huge Rupert fan! We've been together since April 2008, and have watched Rupert on Survivor since then, but I had no idea that he's rooted quite hard for Rupert to win every time. As soon as he saw Rupert and Laura in the first episode, he called them as his favourites to win, so he was really bummed that Rupert and Wife were eliminated here in Episode 2. Ah, the surprises you learn about your partner, even after 11 years together!

This was definitely a fun episode, and I really wish The Amazing Race would go back to two seasons a year, but that doesn't seem likely, seeing as how the last time that was done was in 2015. Yikes.

[driver18]

I guess I'm honestly the only one who was upset with Becca/Floyd in this episode. They brought a peace offering to Tyler/Korey for U-turning them, all sincere, really meaning it. And then when Rachel/Elissa did the same thing, Becca/Floyd found them fake and didn't buy it at all, coming up with an excuse why they, of course, couldn't POSSIBLY mean it. Even though Becca and Floyd had JUST DONE THE SAME THING.

And going back to the last episode... when Tyler and Korey came by Becca and Floyd after they'd been U-turned by them, T/K said 'hey friend' which gave Becca and Floyd leeway to smile and be chill about it. On the other hand, Becca/Floyd were icy to Rachel/Elissa, wouldn't look at them at all. And Rachel commented that they felt bad about U-turning them and wanted to apologize, but felt uncomfortable about it because of the way Becca/Floyd were acting.

Going back to the beginning of that episode, Becca/Floyd had agreed to work with Rachel/Elissa and then had just ditched them, leaving them high and dry. Of course, Rachel/Elissa were upset. So when they were working with Colin/Christie at the U-Turn sign with teams coming up, Rachel was being pushed with little time to think things through: 'U-turn someone, U-turn someone.' There were a bunch of teams on their heels, of course she's going to grab the team that is a good one, and had just done them wrong earlier. It was a hurried, emotional decision, yes, but again, Floyd/Becca are one of the stronger teams.

Yet, somehow, despite the fact that Becca/Floyd, made a deal with Rachel/Elissa, then ditched them almost immediately, got U-Turned (which is part of the game), casually went along with the Afganimals to U-Turn another team, ignored the team that U-Turned them while being all cool with the team they U-Turned, made nice with that team the next day, then bitched about the team who U-turned them for doing the exact same thing... Becca/Floyd are victims in all of this somehow?

I don't get it. I'm so for the Reillys... well, Rachel, at least. Team "Fun" (especially Becca) lost a lot of their allure for me over the last two episodes.

Tyler/Korey were great, Victor/Nicole are a lot of fun too (mostly Victor, but she seems sweet), and while he's definitely a better person now, Colin/Christie are just boring. And, eh, I still like the Afganimals. As for Corrine/Eliza... gah, I can't believe I ever liked her on Survivor.

[Netfoot]

1 hour ago, HeShallBMySquishy said:

Different strokes I know, I just find it oddly amusing that someone with (seemingly) so much rage is considered the "preferable" Colin.

I think the point is that Colin was an extremely efficient, effective racer.  Many liked and applauded him for this.  When Crazy!Colin emerged later in the race, it was amusing... in the same way that a YT video of someone dropping a wedding cake on the floor is amusing...

[Rinaldo]

1 hour ago, HeShallBMySquishy said:

it seems angry unhinged Colin is considered far more entertaining? Different strokes I know, I just find it oddly amusing that someone with (seemingly) so much rage is considered the "preferable" Colin.

It's probably unwise to assume that any particular opinion posted here is universally, or even necessarily widely, shared. My impression is that there's a wide range of opinion about Colin. (And that was true even on his first race, I think.) I myself like the Colin we're seeing now, and find any prediction that he's going to "blow" later in the race to be wildly unfounded. But that too is only one person's reaction. Time will tell, of course.

32 minutes ago, driver18 said:

I guess I'm honestly the only one who was upset with Becca/Floyd in this episode. They brought a peace offering to Tyler/Korey for U-turning them, all sincere, really meaning it. And then when Rachel/Elissa did the same thing, Becca/Floyd found them fake and didn't buy it at all, coming up with an excuse why they, of course, couldn't POSSIBLY mean it. Even though Becca and Floyd had JUST DONE THE SAME THING....

I wasn't crazy about them for that moment, but I don't find it terribly important. My assumption is that they're reacting on the basis of vibes they get from their impression of the other time, and therefore didn't think it was sincere. They may be mistaken, of course, but to me that's not a capital offense. Most of the teams I've liked have an occasional moment where they don't come off at their best.

[spanana]

I agree on the definition of mugging, but I have yet to be bothered here by any mugging.  Though I may be in the minority that wasn't overly bothered by Tyler his first time around either.

While I do think Team Fun need to get over the u-turn situation, I can understand their dislike of the Reilly sisters and I do think there is a bit of a difference in the peace offering situations.  Team Fun seemingly had zero intention of u-turning anyone, but only chose a team after they had been u-turned.  At that point they pretty much had to choose someone behind them to try and give themselves a better shot of staying in the race.  Sure they could have chosen someone else (I honestly forget what racers were behind them and how much they knew who was behind them), but they were put in a situation not of their own accord.

The Reilly sisters were in first (I think?) and chose to u-turn someone.  They didn't have to do that and while it's part of the game, I think the annoyance with them is a sense of that they chose to u-turn for no real need.

Also I could understand to some extent people thinking the Reilly sisters, particularly Rachel, are insincere.  Just in the way she talks and such.  I know, I know...never judge a book by its cover and all that but they don't come off super sincere on face value.

Edited May 3, 2019 by spanana

[biakbiak]

1 minute ago, Rinaldo said:

think.) I myself like the Colin we're seeing now, and find any prediction that he's going to "blow" later in the race to be wildly unfounded. But that too is only one person's reaction. Time will tell, of course.

Me too! He smiled when Team Fun ran ahead of them looking for the best dance teacher, RageColin would have blocked them with his body or thrown Christie at him! I find both entertaining to watch and just marvel at the difference!

[biakbiak]

44 minutes ago, driver18 said:

Yet, somehow, despite the fact that Becca/Floyd, made a deal with Rachel/Elissa, then ditched them almost immediately, got U-Turned (which is part of the game), casually went along with the Afganimals to U-Turn another team, ignored the team that U-Turned them while being all cool with the team they U-Turned, made nice with that team the next day, then bitched about the team who U-turned them for doing the exact same thing... Becca/Floyd are victims in all of this somehow?

But it wasn’t the same. Becca/Floyd HAD to uturn someone to survive Rachel/Elissa were in first place they didn’t have to uturn anyone.

[Fake Jan Brady]

10 hours ago, chaifan said:

Kudos to the editors who didn't waste time on airport drama when there was a flight bunch.  There was a lot to pack in on this episode, so I'm glad they used the air time for the challenges instead.  I hope they keep that trend going if there are future bunches, especially airport/transit ones.

No need for airport drama when you have the fast and easy Travelocity mobile app! Slide to purchase! SO EASY!! 

1 hour ago, HeShallBMySquishy said:

Before last night's episode, I caught my boyfriend up with the first two On Demand, as he was not aware this season had started. And I found out he is a huge Rupert fan! We've been together since April 2008, and have watched Rupert on Survivor since then, but I had no idea that he's rooted quite hard for Rupert to win every time. As soon as he saw Rupert and Laura in the first episode, he called them as his favourites to win, so he was really bummed that Rupert and Wife were eliminated here in Episode 2. Ah, the surprises you learn about your partner, even after 11 years together!

I hope the break-up isn't too painful.

[MVFrostsMyPie]

8 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

Good point. Personally, ymmv but I cracked up laughing when Tyler turned and did his dramatic pose to the camera after catching their final prawn. Like he was so proud of himself despite his contribution of a whopping two to Korey's actually catching six. 

That was probably the only time I've found Tyler to be tolerable.

[Kelda Feegle]

13 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

I enjoyed that episode.  The tasks were mostly fun (I totally would've done the dance and the karaoke), and most of the teams didn't annoy me.  Hell, I'm even starting to come around about Colin & Christie.  And I love that Becca & Floyd were able to use their particular set of skills to get so far ahead.

Oops, meant to add: having seen the episode of Top Gear where Jeremy, James & Richard travel by motorbike through Vietnam, I wasn't surprised by the scooter/motorbike traffic, but I would definitely not have wanted to try crossing those streets the way Becca & Floyd did.

Becca and Floyd did the crossing exactly right, if you move slowly but confidently across the road the traffic will adjust,  you get in to trouble trying to predict the traffic or being hesitant. Strangely enough I thought there was a lot less traffic than usual on the road, based on previous experiences in Vietnam. 

[RoadFullOfPromise]

4 hours ago, spanana said:

Also I could understand to some extent people thinking the Reilly sisters, particularly Rachel, are insincere.  Just in the way she talks and such.  I know, I know...never judge a book by its cover and all that but they don't come off super sincere on face value.

Granted, I only know Rachel from her times on TAR (as I don’t think it is possible for me to give less of a shit about BB), but the impression I get of her is that she does not have a sincere bone in her body. In real life, I’m sure she does, but on TAR, it’s all about being on camera. I find her completely insufferable, and if I were around her in situations like this, I would absolutely think everything she says/does is completely staged.

[laserlady]

5 hours ago, Rinaldo said:

It's probably unwise to assume that any particular opinion posted here is universally, or even necessarily widely, shared. My impression is that there's a wide range of opinion about Colin. (And that was true even on his first race, I think.) I myself like the Colin we're seeing now, and find any prediction that he's going to "blow" later in the race to be wildly unfounded. But that too is only one person's reaction. Time will tell, of course.

Calm Colin reminds me a lot of my favorite brother, while Crazy Colin reminded me a lot of the brother I have the most difficult relationship with, so I'm enjoying this version of Colin much more.  To me, he's got a good balance between competitive focus and enjoyment of the experience, and I find his current attitude of calm maturity both pleasant to watch and hilarious in the context of his previous behavior.

[SVNBob]

On 5/1/2019 at 9:13 PM, Lantern7 said:

After three legs, it looks like the most consistent performers have been Colin & Christie (second, fourth, third).

Which should come as no surprise.  In TAR5: 8 consecutive finishes in the top 2; 6 of those in 1st place; and 3 of those consecutive (first team to set those last two records).  It took a Yield and a Broken Ox to end that streak.  Consistency is what they do. 
 

Quote

Anybody find the video of the karaoke online anywhere?

The Race performance, or the video of the original song?  Because apparently Eliza asked about the latter in the V-pop subReddit, around nine months ago, with very little to go on (and no mention of the exact circumstances; just that she'd "heard" it "recently").  And a Redditor was able to find it for her.

5 hours ago, spanana said:

Team Fun seemingly had zero intention of u-turning anyone, but only chose a team after they had been u-turned.  At that point they pretty much had to choose someone behind them to try and give themselves a better shot of staying in the race.  Sure they could have chosen someone else (I honestly forget what racers were behind them and how much they knew who was behind them), but they were put in a situation not of their own accord.

That's mostly what they said on their Episode 2 recap on their YouTube channel (link in their team thread.)  They said that they probably would have U-Turned Bret and Chris, but didn't know where they were.  They only knew of one team for sure behind them; Tyler and Korey (since Team Fun saw them go the wrong way first).  And with the Afghanimals handing them the picture for the U-Turn, Becca and Floyd were thinking that those two knew something they didn't about other teams.  So they went ahead and did use the U-Turn as shown.

[theschnauzers]

One thing came out in the post episode clips on the official TAR YT account (there quite a bunch this week) is that while Colin and Christie were walking down a block Colin was struck by an 8 inch nail from roofing or construction work on the roof of  a five story building on the other side of the street. It did gash his scalp and forehead, but did not require medical attention. The camera crew caught it, and Colin was quite calm and once his head got cleaned up, he and Christie continued wherever they were headed to at that point. I think there was a point where they left in place place and reached the next point in daylight in IIRC, in 5th.

Two things.

15 years ago Colin might have reacted more strongly to that, which did not happen, and it shows how efficient they continue to be.  Oddly, they both took the time to master both their dancing and Karaoke challenges before attempting them, IIRC, they only took four attempts to complete the detour, and it seems Colin only needed two attempts on the roadblock. 

Second but for that nail, they might have been first this leg. As it is after three legs they are the only team that never finished those legs below 4th place to check in every other team did so on at least one of the legs.

Hopefully I’ll have time to rewatch over the weekend and double check.

Edited May 3, 2019 by theschnauzers
Apple induced autocorrect typos.

[Miles]

9 hours ago, driver18 said:

I guess I'm honestly the only one who was upset with Becca/Floyd in this episode. They brought a peace offering to Tyler/Korey for U-turning them, all sincere, really meaning it. And then when Rachel/Elissa did the same thing, Becca/Floyd found them fake and didn't buy it at all, coming up with an excuse why they, of course, couldn't POSSIBLY mean it. Even though Becca and Floyd had JUST DONE THE SAME THING.

Except you know Becca and Floyd mean it, while Rachel and sister don't and just said it for strategic reasons.

9 hours ago, driver18 said:

Going back to the beginning of that episode, Becca/Floyd had agreed to work with Rachel/Elissa and then had just ditched them, leaving them high and dry. Of course, Rachel/Elissa were upset. So when they were working with Colin/Christie at the U-Turn sign with teams coming up, Rachel was being pushed with little time to think things through: 'U-turn someone, U-turn someone.' There were a bunch of teams on their heels, of course she's going to grab the team that is a good one, and had just done them wrong earlier. It was a hurried, emotional decision, yes, but again, Floyd/Becca are one of the stronger teams.

Just diched them? They wandered 10 meters away and the Riley sisters decided then and there, that this was the ultimate betrayel and they were now the enemy, Becca and Floyd didn't run away from them or hid from them or anything,. The main problem here seems to be the huge ego of the Riley's that makes them believe that working together means, the other team has to follow them like sad puppies every step of the way.

25 minutes ago, theschnauzers said:

Second but for that nail, they might have been first this leg. As it is after three legs they are the only team that never finished those legs below 4th place to check in every other team did so on at least one of the legs.

How? Becca and Floyd blasted through these challanges. There is no way Coling and Christie could have cought up to them. Also from your description it doesn't sound like the nail cost them more than  five minutes.

Edited May 3, 2019 by Miles

[burntheflaws]

I have yet to visit Ho Chi Minh City, but I visited Hanoi a few years ago and it was one of my favorite vacations to date, so this episode brought back fond memories of Vietnam. Both the dance and karaoke songs were so damn catchy.

I'm so jazzed that my favorite team Becca/Floyd ran a really strong leg. It was a huge advantage to have tasks that played to their strengths, and Floyd's excitement and energy was so cute and infectious. It was nice to have Victor/Nicole come in second. I'm also rooting for Tyler/Korey, but Tyler did annoy me during the fishing task. Glad Korey stayed focused and caught so many of their damn prawns.

Corinne/Eliza can miss me with their bullshit, namely Corinne's "Cam on, or whatever it is. Cam on style." Korea is not Vietnam, and Asians are not a monolith, you idiot. Your Ignorant American-ism is showing.

Also, can contestants please stop grabbing and hugging locals? Not everyone's a hugger, and most certainly do not want to be pushed up against your sweaty, stranger danger selves.

The Afghanimals continue to be obnoxious and annoying. They're definitely strong competitors, so I was hoping they'd be gone after this leg, but it was a non-elim anyway. I'm starting to like Chris/Bret, so I'm glad they're sticking around for a bit longer.

[Squirrely]

@SVNBob you are my hero! My 13 year-old has been obsessing over finding the karoake song with absolutely no luck until now. 

I loved this episode, aside from the shoe horned Travelocity app ad. I hope that's all we see of that. Hustling for flights is part of the race, though we don't see that like we used to. 

Otherwise it was enjoyable to watch, with fun and engaging tasks. I felt sorry for some of the teams who chose dancing, but I do love picky judges! They should have to work for it.

[blackwing]

I love that they went back to Vietnam.  I have clear memories of Ian from TAR 3 relentlessly barking "DIDIMAU, DIDIMAU" at the cab drivers which I presume means "faster".  So I was glad that I don't think there was a "didimau" heard at all this episode.

Loved the tasks, although I thought it was interesting that one of the detours and the roadblock were both judged performance tasks.  The dancing judge seemed way stricter than the karaoke judge.

On 5/1/2019 at 9:24 PM, Runningwild said:

Anyone else got that song stuck in their heads?

On 5/1/2019 at 9:37 PM, PaperTree said:

Thankfully no, it's gone forever 🙂

"Nyong Now!  Nyong Now!  Nyong nowaowowowow."  Not gone for me. 😞

On 5/2/2019 at 6:49 AM, ByaNose said:

I thought Chris & Bret would be better then this. They haven't found their footing in the race at all. Now, they have a speed bump. They aren't usually that hard but they haven't been racing well either. I'm a little worried. 

They both seem like nice guys, but Chris is a beast and seems like he has maintained himself.  If I recall correctly, he played on an Oklahoma football team that won the national championship (I remember Zeke geeking out about it).  However, Bret seems way out of shape (especially for a cop) and completely unfit for this race.  The only reason why they've survived thus far is because the teams with the only other out-of-shape people got eliminated first.  I'm curious about the casting of these two.  Every TAR season always has one or two cannon fodder teams but this is almost like an All Star season and I am curious as to why they didn't find a more fit Survivor pair.

20 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Can you explain the difference between the way "Team Fun" is constantly "on" for the camera crew and doing "bits" like with their "fun meters" and the way Tyler just happens to giggle a lot and look at the camera? And why the latter is so offensive whereas the former is enjoyable? I see so much complaining about Tyler in particular like he's the only person who ever looked directly into the camera and somehow that's "mugging" but other teams that are constantly doing bits and trying WAY too hard to be "characters" get a free pass. 

Tyler annoys me a little but I can tolerate him for the most part.  He does seem very pleased with himself most of the time but overall he seems like a little kid and I find it hard to take him too seriously.

Becca on the other hand, annoys me greatly.  I found her very fake last time especially after her meltdown over Floyd's mistakes and exhaustion.  And this time, she was bitching about the elephants with an angry tone.  I think her "fun" thing is all an act.  Of course she's fun when things are going her way, but when things are not going as smoothly, the negative attitude is all too apparent.  This indicates to me that "fun" is not her natural state and attitude.

18 hours ago, La Traviata said:

I will never tire of the Afganimals tricking the other racers into believing their lies.  You'd think the others would have learned by now.  Don't trust the Afganimals!.  And yet they do.  Pure entertainment.

I hated them a lot during their initial appearance, a little less so in their second, and less so this time around.  But I am not really liking their hypocrisy.  I'm not sure if this is all tongue in cheek of them or not, but I find it interesting that they go around decrying Corinne for being a "sneaky snake" by running and blocking them, and then yet they go around lying to people all the time.  Everyone is trying to win, they seem to be decrying others for daring to play the game, but when they play it in a similar manner, of course it's ok, because they're trying to win.

[fishcakes]

So far, this is looking like a great season. I've been bored by TAR the last few years and annoyed by stunts like the Blind Date racers, but all three of the episodes this year have been so much fun. I'm hoping for an Afganimals win (because Pablo needs his nip) but I would also be happy if Colin and Christie took it, both for the nostalgia factor and because they really are very good racers.

I guessed the prawns would be faster because didn't Phil say it was part of a restaurant where you catch your own dinner? I wouldn't think people would want to be fishing for hours just for a plateful of shrimp. Also the tasks with subjective judging always seem to take longer, and the dance judge in this task was definitely not a pushover. I was glad Chris and Bret cut their losses because Bret probably would have had a heart attack if he'd had to do that one over and over again.

Becca and Floyd crossing the street cracked me up. Their plan seemed to be "don't show fear and they won't hit us," and it worked.

5 hours ago, theschnauzers said:

One thing came out in the post episode clips on the official TAR YT account (there Everett a bunch this week) is that while Colin and Christie were walking down a block Colin was struck by an 8 inch nail from roofing or construction work on the roof of five story building on the other side of the street. It did gash his scalp and forehead, but dis not require medical attention crew.

Ah that explains what looked like a bead of blood on his head at the Pit Stop mat. I thought he might have been bitten by a particularly gnarly bug.

1 hour ago, burntheflaws said:

Corinne/Eliza can miss me with their bullshit, namely Corinne's "Cam on, or whatever it is. Cam on style." Korea is not Vietnam, and Asians are not a monolith, you idiot. Your Ignorant American-ism is showing.

Yeah, that made me mad too. I couldn't believe she seriously confused Gangnam Style from South Korea with saying thank you in Vietnam, which is what I think she was trying to do. Or maybe she wasn't trying to say thank you; she is an ungrateful hag, after all. Maybe she just figured something that sounds randomly Asian would be good enough. In the earlier seasons, we used to talk about Taxi Karma a lot because teams that didn't tip their cabbies often had bad luck with later drivers, and after the way Eliza and Corinne have blamed and insulted their cabbies these last two episodes, I really hope a taxi is a big part of their undoing. Also, WTF with Eliza's loud nonsense noises at the beginning of the karaoke task? Did she think trying to mess up Colin and Victor was a better strategy than just learning the song that she was going to have to learn anyway? She's such an unpleasant child.

[proserpina65]

22 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Can you explain the difference between the way "Team Fun" is constantly "on" for the camera crew and doing "bits" like with their "fun meters" and the way Tyler just happens to giggle a lot and look at the camera? And why the latter is so offensive whereas the former is enjoyable? I see so much complaining about Tyler in particular like he's the only person who ever looked directly into the camera and somehow that's "mugging" but other teams that are constantly doing bits and trying WAY too hard to be "characters" get a free pass. 

To me, the difference is: that's just an extension of who Floyd and Becca are, whereas for Tyler it seems entirely put on, not like he's giggling and just happens to look at the camera; he was 100% like this in the first race he and Korey ran as well.  His posing after the fishing was, to me, absolutely mugging for the camera.  As always, mileage varys.  If we all liked the same teams, we'd have very little to argue about. :-)

[proserpina65]

16 hours ago, HeShallBMySquishy said:

So I'd never watched Colin and Christie during their initial run but, based on the clips I have watched on YouTube, it seems angry unhinged Colin is considered far more entertaining? Different strokes I know, I just find it oddly amusing that someone with (seemingly) so much rage is considered the "preferable" Colin.

I wouldn't have wanted to be around him in real life, but it was more entertaining to watch in short bursts.

[Quilt Fairy]

Did Rachael and her sister say they had both been professional cheerleaders?  I've only got 2 seasons of DCC:MTT under my belt to judge by, but they looked pretty uncoordinated, which was easy to spot with the lighted suits.  And it took them 17-18 attempts, longer than anyone except Leo and Jamal.  Kelly and Judy would not be amused.

[proserpina65]

12 hours ago, Kelda Feegle said:

Becca and Floyd did the crossing exactly right, if you move slowly but confidently across the road the traffic will adjust,  you get in to trouble trying to predict the traffic or being hesitant. Strangely enough I thought there was a lot less traffic than usual on the road, based on previous experiences in Vietnam. 

Oh, they absolutely did it the right way.  I just meant I wouldn't have wanted to try crossing one of those busy streets at all.  And I agree that traffic looked lighter than it could've been, based on other things I seen filmed there.

[lexington11]

11 hours ago, RoadFullOfPromise said:

Granted, I only know Rachel from her times on TAR (as I don’t think it is possible for me to give less of a shit about BB), but the impression I get of her is that she does not have a sincere bone in her body. In real life, I’m sure she does, but on TAR, it’s all about being on camera. I find her completely insufferable, and if I were around her in situations like this, I would absolutely think everything she says/does is completely staged.

Not much of a difference between BB Rachel and TAR Rachel, because she's always been this over the top any time a TV camera is on her

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I love when the tasks really shake up the standings. Becca and Floyd went from last in the previous leg to first this week while the Afghanimals did the opposite.

When Becca said she did musical theater as a kid and Floyd said he was a drum major in college, I was like OMG I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE THEM KILL THIS DANCE CHALLENGE! I loved how genuinely excited Floyd was about the light up costumes. He was like a kid in a candy store.

On 5/1/2019 at 8:42 PM, SHD said:

I hope the light-up dance crew swapped in new people every once in awhile. If not, those dancers were performing that dance over 50 times in a row with no breaks.

True, but the choreography was so basic that I'm guessing it wasn't difficult for them to do the dance repeatedly, especially since the judge was nice enough to stop the racers immediately after they made a mistake (rather than waiting until they finished the entire dance to say they didn't satisfy the requirements).

22 hours ago, UniqueHandle said:

I also don't like the game play of Leo and Jamal but my 12 year old daughter likes them because they always stop and appreciate the scenery and the country they are in so I try not to judge them in front of her because I want her to be less like me (I am a judgy bitch). 

Although I'm not a huge fan of them either, I do appreciate that they clearly prepared for the race. So far they have been able to say basic things to the cab drivers/locals in each of the countries they visited (Japan, Laos, Vietnam). I know you can't know with 100% certainty which countries you'll be visiting on TAR and become fluent in every language that exists, but learning how to say please, thank you, faster, etc. is smart. I always appreciate whenever a team doesn't insist on screaming at the locals in English.

7 hours ago, Miles said:

Except you know Becca and Floyd mean it, while Rachel and sister don't and just said it for strategic reasons.

Just diched them? They wandered 10 meters away and the Riley sisters decided then and there, that this was the ultimate betrayel and they were now the enemy, Becca and Floyd didn't run away from them or hid from them or anything,. The main problem here seems to be the huge ego of the Riley's that makes them believe that working together means, the other team has to follow them like sad puppies every step of the way.

ITA with all of this. The reason I was fine with Becca and Floyd apologizing to Tyler and Korey was that they seemed like they meant it (and it seemed like they didn't really want to u-turn them to begin with) whereas Rachel and her sister sounded like fake bitchy sorority girls saying, "Omigawd, you guys, we're SO SORRY that we have to haze you!" and then gleefully hazing the shit out of people. Anyone can say anything, but that doesn't mean that they're sincere about it. Rachel comes across as so fake when she tries to act nice (or even not actively hostile) to the other teams.

And I thought the same thing when Rachel and her sister accused Becca and Floyd of ditching them right after they'd all agreed to work together to find the next place. What I saw was Rachel and her sister weren't paying attention to where Becca and Floyd were going so they interpreted that as "they abandoned us!" rather than taking responsibility for the fact that they had their heads so far up their asses that they failed to notice two people walking a few feet away. It was not Becca and Floyd's job to say, "Um, guys? We're trying to find where we're supposed to go so could you maybe wake up and actively participate or at least just walk behind us?"

1 hour ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Did Rachael and her sister say they had both been professional cheerleaders?  I've only got 2 seasons of DCC:MTT under my belt to judge by, but they looked pretty uncoordinated, which was easy to spot with the lighted suits.  And it took them 17-18 attempts, longer than anyone except Leo and Jamal.  Kelly and Judy would not be amused.

Professional cheerleaders AND a yoga teacher! But seriously, not all pro cheer teams are created equal. Some of them do not have what you would consider to be good dancers/attractive girls. People assume that pro cheerleader means an NFL or NBA squad, but there are cheerleaders for things like arena football, hockey teams (many of the girls who don't make the DCC end up as Ice Angels for the Allen Americans, a lower tier hockey team in Dallas), indoor soccer (have you ever heard of the Ontario Fury? Me neither but they have cheerleaders!), professional lacrosse, rugby, minor league baseball, and mixed gender team tennis. One girl I knew cheered for the San Diego Enforcers, a non profit football organization comprised of public safety personnel who play football to raise money for chosen charities. So yeah, there are a lot of opportunities to call yourself a professional cheerleader but that doesn't necessarily translate to being a great dancer.

My half-assed google search to see what teams Rachel and her sister cheered for turned up nothing. Elissa's old biography on her website said that she was a cheerleader in middle school and high school. All I found for Rachel was an old picture she posted on Twitter of her middle school cheer team.

But like I said, this choreography was REALLY basic. Like if you've gone to Zumba, you should be able to do this routine. The fact that two (alleged) professional cheerleaders had to try 18 times to perform it correctly means they were definitely not cheering/dancing for a top tier NFL or NBA team.

Edited May 3, 2019 by ElectricBoogaloo

[displayname]

1 hour ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

indoor soccer

Well, at least it's not Foosball.

[PierreMonet]

4 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

To me, the difference is: that's just an extension of who Floyd and Becca are, whereas for Tyler it seems entirely put on, not like he's giggling and just happens to look at the camera; he was 100% like this in the first race he and Korey ran as well.  His posing after the fishing was, to me, absolutely mugging for the camera.  As always, mileage varys.  If we all liked the same teams, we'd have very little to argue about. :-)

On the other hand, I can almost guarantee that Tyler 100% giggles in his "real life" whereas B/F almost certainly DO NOT run around with fake giant circles of paper indicating how much fun they are having at any given moment.

Decide for yourself which one is "mugging for the camera".

[green]

On 5/2/2019 at 1:49 PM, ImpinAintEasy said:

It’s Team Fun and The Afghanimals or bust for me. I love those two teams. I’m unapologetic in my love of Leo and Jamal. They’ve always been really good at this game and I would love to see them finally win. So they joke around and troll the other contestants? That’s one of the things I love about them. And it does sometimes work. 

I agree as I think the Afghanibles are just having fun.  I still want Colin & Christie to win on behalf of awesome Classic TAR but these two teams above I'd love to see come in right behind them.

On 5/2/2019 at 2:32 PM, iMonrey said:

Can you explain the difference between the way "Team Fun" is constantly "on" for the camera crew and doing "bits" like with their "fun meters" and the way Tyler just happens to giggle a lot and look at the camera? And why the latter is so offensive whereas the former is enjoyable?

My turn.  To me it is real joy vs artificial mugging.  Joy is something special and cannot be faked.

On 5/2/2019 at 8:15 PM, HeShallBMySquishy said:

So I'd never watched Colin and Christie during their initial run but, based on the clips I have watched on YouTube, it seems angry unhinged Colin is considered far more entertaining? Different strokes I know, I just find it oddly amusing that someone with (seemingly) so much rage is considered the "preferable" Colin.

Context is everything. 

Colin was unique as in he was in some ways TAR5's villain that some still rooted for because he was so damn good while many others rooted against but admitted he was TAR's best overall Racer to date. 

He self-declared himself the most INTENSE Racer ever at that time and he was not lying.  So being foiled through half the race by Charla & Mirna and then Yielded and later upset by highly likeable Chip -- as well as a broken ox -- was pure entertainment.

I like Zen Colin but zen isn't as entertaining as Intense Colin so far though I want this team representin' Classic TAR to win.   Though the emphasis on Colin's new zen seems to be a set-up in editing for the Intense Colin to reemerge at some point.

On 5/3/2019 at 6:43 AM, theschnauzers said:

Colin was struck by an 8 inch nail from roofing or construction work on the roof of five story building on the other side of the street.

I clearly saw the gash on his forehead so thanks for explaining same.  That could have been far worse as in only inches from his eye.

Edited May 6, 2019 by green

[dgpolo]

I thought that Becca and Floyd's first try was better than every other teams winning try and they should have been passed through right then.

[chaifan]

1 minute ago, dgpolo said:

I thought that Becca and Floyd's first try was better than every other teams winning try and they should have been passed through right then.

Same here - I didn't see any errors in their dance.  I was surprised when they weren't passed through on the first try.  My guess is that the judge knew they had it, but felt he had to critique something, so said it needed more energy.  Even that critique was lame, in my opinion, but I'm glad they had the "bring it on" attitude and just did it. 

[laserlady]

46 minutes ago, dgpolo said:

I thought that Becca and Floyd's first try was better than every other teams winning try and they should have been passed through right then.

Probably a sign that the judge had unrealistically high expectations going in.  If Becca and Floyd had done their first try after one of the other teams flailed their way across the stage, I think they would have passed immediately.

[Miles]

2 hours ago, dgpolo said:

I thought that Becca and Floyd's first try was better than every other teams winning try and they should have been passed through right then.

Yeah, but that's par for the course. Racers are basically never let through on their first try, even if they are near perfect. The amazing producers (who are the real judges behind the camera) want to see teams struggle a bit.

Usually teams don't even get a pass on their second try, but Becca's and Floyd's was just too perfect.

1 hour ago, laserlady said:

Probably a sign that the judge had unrealistically high expectations going in.  If Becca and Floyd had done their first try after one of the other teams flailed their way across the stage, I think they would have passed immediately.

You guys/gals, the judges don't actually judge anything. That's why you often see them looking past the cameras to the producers before they say yes or no.

Edited May 3, 2019 by Miles

[kaygeeret]

There was a lot to enjoy in this episode even if I actually remember all the players, some with less fondness than others.

I did notice tho' that Rachel is up to her old tricks of getting others to show her how to do something or feeding off of them in some way.  Then put her with that sister....yuck times 2!

I am really sick of already familiar people coming back over and over (or so it seems).

Go Becca and Floyd!

[spanana]

I listened to part of Nicole and Victor's podcast this week because I wanted to hear their interview with Phil, but before Phil came on Nicole did address how she's coming across.  Not sure if she just doesn't like watching herself or if someone said something to her, but she said in the talking heads when Victor was talking, she always felt so uncomfortable staring directly at the camera when she wasn't talking so she just wound up making dumb faces on the side.  

She also in general said she was a mess of exhaustion, anxiety and being super competitive.  I don't think she was complaining, but just said there was a sense of never being able to calm down for not knowing what was coming next.  Maybe in part because they were newbie racers and she admired how Team Fun was able to find some well...fun, during the race.

They also said they went with Leo and Jamal to some gorgeous waterfall (I think it was a waterfall?) before the start of this leg.  So when everyone else was heading to the airport to wait, they were doing that?  And Nicole was a ball of anxiety the whole time that they wouldn't make it back in time for the start of the leg.  But they did.  While it's nice that people find time to do other things, I'm not 100% sure I'd ever trust Leo and Jamal if they tried to goad my team into an extra excursion.