S31.E10: Chugga Chugga Choo Choo!

[mertensia]

I like Becca, but man. That was not a good look. 

Nicole, please stop whining.

Giethoorn looks like a great place to live but man, the tourists would be a real drag after a while, I think.

I think in order for the pole vault to count you had to launch yourself up and off. All Nicole was doing at first was just sliding down the pole.

[displayname]

So with the next leg, the Afghanimals become the most traveled instead of Rachel Reilly (33 to her 32). Also, last leg, we had Tyler and Korey win the most cumulative legs (9, to Rachel and Dave's 8).

Rooting for C/C to get 10 leg wins over the next two 😉

Edited June 20, 2019 by displayname

[30 Helens]

3 hours ago, MVFrostsMyPie said:

I don't know how Christie can leave her weave down like that and not have it drive her crazy during some of the more physical tasks. I'm one of those people who, second thing when I come home is put my hair up in a messy bun - off my neck and away from my face (first thing I do is chucking off the bra, of course). 

Ha! I think we are the same person.

Disappointed in Team Fun. I don’t have the problem with Becca that many of you do; I think a lot of her frustration comes off as way more aggressive than it’s intended to be.  (I can relate to that, actually. And I can attest that having flashes of temper does not preclude one from having a genuinely fun-loving spirit!)  I was shouting at them to check the eggs— it looked like she landed on top of the bag a little, and I knew there was a good chance some eggs on the bottom were at least cracked. I was surprised it was only one egg.

My favorite part was the boatload of grannies (and their dog), floating down the canal, singing in perfect harmony. That was perhaps the most charming thing I’ve ever seen.

Go Colin & Christie!

[antfitz]

1 hour ago, mertensia said:

I like Becca, but man. That was not a good look. 

Nicole, please stop whining.

Giethoorn looks like a great place to live but man, the tourists would be a real drag after a while, I think.

I think in order for the pole vault to count you had to launch yourself up and off. All Nicole was doing at first was just sliding down the pole.

 OMG  I cannot stand nicole because of her whiny voice.

[Fake Jan Brady]

From the kid that was nearly beheaded in the boat Tyler and Korey rammed into to the guy on the motorbike that Team Fun cut off, I don't think I've ever seen an episode where so many locals were in danger!

I'm adding Smit Giethoorn to my list of dream destinations but maybe on a less busy day.

[Melina22]

25 minutes ago, Fake Jan Brady said:

From the kid that was nearly beheaded in the boat Tyler and Korey rammed into to the guy on the motorbike that Team Fun cut off, I don't think I've ever seen an episode where so many locals were in danger!

When Tyler and Korey were drifting helplessly into the path of that big tourist boat it looked like someone was going to get seriously injured. I don't think the people who planned the task realized the ramifications of teams in boats towing two other boats through incredibly crowded, narrow canals full of holidaymakers. It could have been a lot worse than a bunch of annoyed locals. At one point you could see a huge lineup of boats gridlocked on a canal while one of the teams struggled with their third boat. 

[Kelda Feegle]

5 hours ago, NUguy514 said:

God, how awful that those two boys are so open about and comfortable with their gayness.  I must have missed the lewd comment they made; I'll have to go back and watch for that and make the necessary six leaps to lewdness to be very offended by it.

Seriously, though, I invite any non-LGBT viewers who are that offended by Tyler and Korey to live even a single day as an LGBT person; then, we can talk about having anyone's sexuality thrown in your face.  Let me tell you, I'm reminded multiple times every single day in overt and covert ways that I'm not straight; the only time non-LGBT folks are reminded that they're not LGBT is when they see overt displays of LGBT-ness, which they tend to blow out of proportion because it makes them uncomfortable.  Nothing Tyler and Korey did or said has been that bad, and I will come to their defense until they say or do something that is worthy of a reprimand.  And I don't even like Tyler that much!

I find Tyler offensive and I do not feel that I need to disclose my sexuality to justify my feelings.

I thought Becca was totally deapan and not threatening and I am sorry to see Team Fun go.

[Haleth]

6 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

The editing had me really confused.  It looked like they were on 3 different flights to Amsterdam, yet they all arrived at the tandem bikes at the same time. 

It was an HoO situation.

7 hours ago, theschnauzers said:

The vaulting. The key was lifting your legs up to a horizontal level during the jump. That was also the case when this task previously appeared in seasons 12 and 21.

That's a good hint to know should I ever find myself in that position.

I'm sad the finale is next week and we'll have to wait another year for another race.  (I assume CBS will renew TAR?)  This one has been glorious-- beautiful locations and fun tasks to watch (even if there have been a few repeats from past seasons).  I'd felt that the last few seasons had been kind of blah, but this one has been very entertaining.

[ByaNose]

Why does Tyler bug me so much? Another week to ponder that thought. I was kind of hoping that Nicole and Victor would be last. Of course, the edit gave it away early on that they weren't in last place. I wanted Becca & Floyd in the finals but they had a bad legg just like Bret & Chris. It would be pretty amazing if Nicole & Victor were able to beat the final TAR teams left. Then if they did win they would be the second BB Team to win. I'm hoping that doesn't happen. I couldn't handle that. LOL!!!

[sunshine23]

1. I was shocked, and greatly disappointed, in Becca's comment about smashing an egg in the guy's face. SHE's the one who broke the egg. SHE's one of the ones who chose not to check said eggs. If anyone had the right to be upset it was Floyd, and he should have been upset with Becca. Started not liking her so much the last few episodes.

2. LOVE Victor! HATE Nicole's whining and lack of ability to do anything HE pedaled the bicycle. HE hoisted the cow by himself the first time. HE's done most of the challenges without her help, and when she's done a challenge she's gotten help from someone. Can he dump her in a canal and be the sole winner?

3. LOVE Christie's hair.

4. Want to love the Afganimals more, but their fun side hasn'tbeen showing as much. The one that made me laugh today was when one of them asked to go back and see the cat.

5. Tyler and Korey, while doing amazing, don't resonate with me. I don't love them, but I don't dislike them either. They're meh.

6. In the earlier season where they had to jump canals, did it count if you fell in the water? I want to say no.

[Halting Hex]

22 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

It would be pretty amazing if Nicole & Victor were able to beat the final TAR teams left. Then if they did win they would be the second BB Team to win.

More specifically, it would make Nicole the first person to win two of the three CBS shows featured here.  (There have only been a few to win on a show other than their original series. Natalie Anderson won Survivor, but she was last seen on TAR screeching her way to being the first out in TAR 24. [Conversely, her "twinny", Nadiya, is the only person to finish last on two shows. 🙂 ] And My Girl Jessica <------ and Cody won last season, but they were more noted on Big Brother for enduring than for winning. [Although Cody did win the "America's Favorite" consolation prize.])

I definitely think they will make the Final 3, with all the talk about "are they a Big Brother team or are they an Amazing Race team?", but I'm not sure the persistence of this question in their edit points to a win, necessarily.  It could cut either way, IMO.

[ByaNose]

9 minutes ago, Halting Hex said:

More specifically, it would make Nicole the first person to win two of the three CBS shows featured here.  (There have only been a few to win on a show other than their original series. Natalie Anderson won Survivor, but she was last seen on TAR screeching her way to being the first out in TAR 24. [Conversely, her "twinny", Nadiya, is the only person to finish last on two shows. 🙂 ] And My Girl Jessica <------ and Cody won last season, but they were more noted on Big Brother for enduring than for winning. [Although Cody did win the "America's Favorite" consolation prize.])

I definitely think they will make the Final 3, with all the talk about "are they a Big Brother team or are they an Amazing Race team?", but I'm not sure the persistence of this question in their edit points to a win, necessarily.  It could cut either way, IMO.

Yeah, I could see more a Final 3 visit then a win.

[TaraS1]

I couldn't stand the Afghanimals the first time they ran the race and they've done nothing to change my opinion.  So freaking obnoxious.  I want to sit them down in a room with Tyler and tell them that none of them are as entertaining and adorable as they think they are.

I'm rooting for Victor and Nicole at this point because I really, really like Victor.  He seems like such a good guy.  Nicole is...well, Nicole.  I'm a huge Big Brother fan, so I'm used to her.

I hated to see Floyd go because I love him and his positive spirit, but I was never sold on Becca.  I definitely don't think she's some horrible, fake person, but she can be annoyingly over-the-top with the "TEAM FUN!!!!!!" persona when things go her away and just as annoying when things don't. 

[displayname]

I actually do think the Afghanimals were being particularly unbearable and hyper this time.

[Lady Calypso]

So, I'm not totally disappointed that Team Fun got eliminated...although it turns out I actually would have preferred the Afghanimals to go this time. They were more obnoxious this episode than usual with their obsession over Nicole/Victor. Granted, the two strongest teams WERE in front of them so they couldn't U-Turn them, but it didn't sound like they even considered it, which annoys me. They used the U-Turn on Nic/Vic because of petty revenge tactics. Which didn't work because Nicole/Victor caught up to them and, had the local not helped Leo/Jamal with their boat, they would have gotten eliminated. 

I usually get annoyed with Becca, who definitely is not my favourite racer, but I totally understood her frustration in this episode. What she said about smashing the egg in the face of the guy collecting their eggs and cheese wasn't appropriate, but I wasn't really that annoyed by her, otherwise. I do feel bad for Floyd, who is truly the epitome of Team Fun. Well, I guess now they're both even (Floyd for the unfortunate circumstances in their first season; Becca for her mistake in the eggs here). 

I like Victor a lot. Nicole is...a lot, but I've gotten used to her voice and her whining. Plus, I remind myself that she cannot be any worse than TAR29 Brooke, who was way way worse. 

I loved that the boat task was essentially their Roadblock. Plus, I was surprised at the show leaving the rude locals in the episode.

Rooting for Colin/Christie, at this point. I do genuinely like Tyler/Korey (I knew who Tyler was first out of every other person here) but I'm way more invested in Colin/Christie....and now definitely need to watch their first season. 

[mookster]

Not sad that Team Fun is gone, although I will miss Floyd. Becca's in-your-face personality reminds me way too much of a new in-law of mine and don't need that on my TV! One question: Just as they tossed the cheeses across the canal, could they have tossed the eggs one by one? I thought gently lofting the eggs to one's partner across the canal would have been a safer bet than landing on a sack of eggs in the water.

Funny, I really liked the Afghanimals in their debut season, but now not so much. They're not particularly good racers and they were pretty obnoxious in this ep. Anyone but Afghanimals?

Victor seems like a nice guy, Nicole's a little whiny. I don't watch BB, but I wouldn't be sad if they won.

Tyler and Korey are fine, although their constant puns can be exhausting. I'd be ok if they won.

Which leaves Colin and Christie - who'd a thunk I'd be rooting for them after their boorish behavior in their first season? But I really like both of them now. And because I'm really bad at noticing these things: Is Christie's hair really a weave? Like posters above, I'd have to have that off my neck throughout these legs, but I thought it was her real hair! No?

[Special K]

11 minutes ago, mookster said:

 One question: Just as they tossed the cheeses across the canal, could they have tossed the eggs one by one? I thought gently lofting the eggs to one's partner across the canal would have been a safer bet than landing on a sack of eggs in the water.

I thought that too.  And even if one or two broke in the toss, the one person could go back to the stand and replace those eggs.  Also, if it were me, I would have taken a few extra eggs in the bag just in case.  Were they not allowed to?

[Whimsy]

12 hours ago, jabRI said:

I thought some of the locals were a little crabby, I mean they must have known they'd be filming and racing

I would've been crabby too if I were a local and my daily routine was seriously disrupted by a bunch of reality TV teams and crews.  But...

9 hours ago, greyhorse said:

Surprised that some of the locals were so unfriendly.  "Are you guys idiots or something?"  You would think that would be edited out.

I think they would've edited it out because, while somewhat funny, it shows the locals in a bad light and one thing I like about this show is showing me all these places I'd like to visit one day.  Don't get me wrong, I still want to visit as I know I won't be doing these shenanigans so I won't be treated with such disdain (hopefully). 

[Special K]

1 minute ago, Whimsy said:

I think they would've edited it out because, while somewhat funny, it shows the locals in a bad light

It was mighty funny, though: 

Q:  "Are you idiots?" (said in a crabby yet somewhat genteel way)

A:  "Well, we're not trying to be."

LOL.

[AuntieDiane6]

Quote

Becca is okay I guess, but she shows her true colors here and there, but their big stupid mistake was not checking the eggs.  I can't imagine jumping with eggs of all things and not stopping to check they were all in one piece.

I think she DID open the bag but didn't check them individually for little hairline cracks.  I think she thought "crack" meant broken open with yolks or whites spilling out.  

Quote

That random Dutch guy was an unnecessary dick to Tyler and Korey, too.  Like, they're being followed by a camera crew and are clearly not locals (or even Dutch).  Also, no one asked him for his assy feedback to begin with.

The irony is that The Amazing Race originated in the Netherlands.  Ironically, so did Big Brother.

Quote

Becca, I wouldn't be able to tolerate. Her fun feels very much INYOURFACE and if you don't like her brand of humor and HER FUN-NESS, she'd call you a wet blanket with no sense of humor. She'd probably "jokingly" threaten you with a knife if you pissed her off, but you'd still want to sleep with one eye open that night.

She (and Floyd) were both thrilled with so many of the challenges.  Ziplining in Singapore? "How fun!"  Bungee jumping in Switzerland?  "Greatest thing EVER!"  Compare them to that stupid nasal Nicole:  "I'm scarrrreeeddd of heights!"  "I can't DDDDDOOOO that!"  "That's too harrrrdddd!"  Even when Becca and Floyd got lost (like overshooting the road), they NEVER said "It's your fault!"  Unlike Nicole, who said to Victor at least once, "If you had only listened to me .... "  And Becca was very supportive last time they were on TAR and Floyd  had that bike problem.  

[Special K]

4 minutes ago, AuntieDiane6 said:

 Compare them to that stupid nasal Nicole:  "I'm scarrrreeeddd of heights!"  "I can't DDDDDOOOO that!"  "That's too harrrrdddd!"  Even when Becca and Floyd got lost (like overshooting the road), they NEVER said "It's your fault!"  Unlike Nicole, who said to Victor at least once, "If you had only listened to me .... "  And Becca was very supportive last time they were on TAR and Floyd  had that bike problem.  

The best was when she whined to the lady at the top of the tower:  "is there an easier way down?!?" 

I was like, Yes.  It's called going down the stairs. 

She does realize that going up stairs is harder than down, right??  Because honestly I wasn't sure.

[Fukui San]

Honestly if you told me that that wasn't a real town but a Wes Anderson film set I would believe you.  It's so unbelievably quaint I"m shocked this is the first I've heard of this place.

I don't see the locals as rude! The racers were actually messing up people's transits. It wasn't their fault, exactly, and the racers were properly contrite, but it was still messing up people's days. 

To the poster upthread wondering if recent racers were more in shape than racers of the past, I dunno.  The border agents seemed pretty out of shape. Team Bromance didn't seem terribly fit though to be fair I don't remember them struggling physically at any point.  Corinne and Eliza didn't seem to be the most physically gifted team. I think this seemed to be an average to above average cast, physically. It was a surprise when Victor revealed that he had a pole vaulting background.

I generally support Becca, but she's gotta learn some self control when she's dealt with adversity so that the first thing out of her mouth isn't a "joking" threat of assault. If her reaction was to step away and yell "Dammit! We're so stupid!" for two minutes that's one thing. But externalizing her mistake (and Floyd's) into someone else who's just doing his job isn't cool.

[Rinaldo]

29 minutes ago, Whimsy said:

I think they would've edited it out because, while somewhat funny, it shows the locals in a bad light

I don't think it shows locals in a bad light at all. It shows them as actual people, not cheery paid greeters in a theme park (which this impossibly pretty town almost seemed to be at times!). People who had maybe planned a nice afternoon out, which was being interfered with by these American clods (in the sense they didn't know how to handle the boats), complete with camera crew. Even so, most of them were indeed cheerful and gracious, and I'm glad the one crabby guy was left in, especially as the reply showed Tyler at his best, acknowledging he was, however unintentionally, at fault ("Well, we don't mean to be").

I enjoy the occasional acknowledgment that willingness of the locals to have their day disrupted is a generous gesture, not an entitlement, and not everyone is required to feel it. (Recalling an all-time favorite moment from TAR2, when racers begged to jump to the head of a taxi-dispatch line, saying "We're in a race for a million dollars," to which Taxi Dispatch Guy said "I don't care, I'm not getting any of it."

[proserpina65]

Other than my favorite team getting eliminated, I loved this episode.  The tasks were great, the scenery was great, and even the U-Turn drama wasn't too bad.  Nicole was a little whiny but seemed to take getting U-turned in stride.

So now I guess I'm rooting for Colin & Christie, and I would never have imagined that in a million years.

[biakbiak]

46 minutes ago, AuntieDiane6 said:

hink she DID open the bag but didn't check them individually for little hairline cracks.  I think she thought "crack" meant broken open with yolks or whites spilling out.  

She actually handed the bag to Floyd when she was getting out of the canal and he is the one who opened the bag and did a cursory look but didn’t notice the crack,

[spanana]

8 hours ago, NUguy514 said:

Becca's comment to the Detour judge seemed 100% serious to me, and if she meant to be deadpan, her absolutely murderous look belied that.  I found it a very ugly moment and grossly out of line.  I really enjoyed Floyd, but I'm not sorry to see Becca go.  Similarly, while I'm exceedingly sorry Nicole is still around, I like Victor well enough.  It's too bad Victor can't trade Nicole for Floyd for the last few legs.

All I want for Christmas is for Colin and Christie to win.

(OK, that's a lie, but I do want them to win really, really badly!)

This is mostly where I'm at and even if I want to give Becca the benefit of the doubt that she was being deadpan in that moment, as a fellow sarcastic and deadpan person, one of the biggest lessons I've learned in life so far is knowing when to shut it off.  I'm sure that is harder in the high stress situation of the race, but a lot of people don't get it and won't take it as deadpan/sarcasm and I would think you would want to particularly be careful of that when a guest in another country and trying to be respectful of cultural differences and such.

Also I'd argue if she meant it as deadpan, it didn't necessarily sound deadpan to me.  But obviously we all interpret things differently.

I do think Becca was mad at herself and that comment was really the only time she rubbed me the wrong way in this leg, but it's just going back to what I've said in previous threads that Becca strikes me as having a streak of mean in her when things don't go her way.  And that's fine I guess if you own it and realize those things about yourself, but she also plays up her I'm so light hearteded and fun persona at the same time.

[proserpina65]

13 hours ago, Archery said:

Disappointed about Floyd and Becca. (I was muttering, check the eggs.) Floyd is lovely, but Becca kind of showed her ass. I get it, but it was tough to watch. 

Colin and Christie FTW.  

She definitely let her frustration get to her.

11 hours ago, North of Eden said:

You seriously cannot see she's playing a "character" posing as this non-stop sunshine and rainbows facsimile and that persona was dropped when the tides went against her? We must not be watching the same Becca.

You think she's playing a character.  I do not.  I see a normally upbeat person having a particularly bad day.  It happens.

[Quilt Fairy]

17 minutes ago, Rinaldo said:

I don't think it shows locals in a bad light at all. It shows them as actual people, not cheery paid greeters in a theme park (which this impossibly pretty town almost seemed to be at times!). People who had maybe planned a nice afternoon out, which was being interfered with by these American clods (in the sense they didn't know how to handle the boats), complete with camera crew. Even so, most of them were indeed cheerful and gracious, and I'm glad the one crabby guy was left in, especially as the reply showed Tyler at his best, acknowledging he was, however unintentionally, at fault ("Well, we don't mean to be").

I enjoy the occasional acknowledgment that willingness of the locals to have their day disrupted is a generous gesture, not an entitlement, and not everyone is required to feel it. (Recalling an all-time favorite moment from TAR2, when racers begged to jump to the head of a taxi-dispatch line, saying "We're in a race for a million dollars," to which Taxi Dispatch Guy said "I don't care, I'm not getting any of it."

This.  Many of the situations the teams got into, while looking like slap-stick from my side of the TV screen, were in fact potentially dangerous.  I liked that old guy, he could have been me. 

Does anyone know what day of the week that segment was filmed?  I'm wondering if it was a Sunday afternoon, which would normally have more people out than a week day, and the Race handlers did not account for that. 

[proserpina65]

4 hours ago, Kelda Feegle said:

I find Tyler offensive and I do not feel that I need to disclose my sexuality to justify my feelings.

I find him to be a bit much, although he had toned it down some since Uganda.  I like Korey, though.

[proserpina65]

1 hour ago, Fukui San said:

To the poster upthread wondering if recent racers were more in shape than racers of the past, I dunno.  The border agents seemed pretty out of shape. Team Bromance didn't seem terribly fit though to be fair I don't remember them struggling physically at any point.  Corinne and Eliza didn't seem to be the most physically gifted team. I think this seemed to be an average to above average cast, physically. It was a surprise when Victor revealed that he had a pole vaulting background.

I do think the teams have become younger, on average, over the last several seasons.

[proserpina65]

20 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Does anyone know what day of the week that segment was filmed?  I'm wondering if it was a Sunday afternoon, which would normally have more people out than a week day, and the Race handlers did not account for that. 

I wondered if the weather was expected to be cooler or rainy, and it turned out to be unseasonably warm and sunny instead, which meant more locals were out enjoying the canal.

[spanana]

1 minute ago, proserpina65 said:

I do think the teams have become younger, on average, over the last several seasons.

I don't have enough Amazing Race knowledge of every season to compare between previous seasons, but it's interesting in the sense that even the people that remain that we consider less up to certain physical tasks, like Nicole, aren't really unfit.  Yes, she's not suited to certain things and doesn't have the upper body strength (see pole vault), but she's still generally fit enough to run a race that involves a lot of physical activity and well, a lot of running.   Also the whole bike thing, at least before Victor told her not to pedal because of the eggs, I do think it was harder for her because of her height.

Also in retrospect, it's probably better that Chris/Bret went out when they did because I expect they might have had a lot of issues with this leg.  Bret especially.  There was a lot of running an biking and they definitely did not excel at the former.

[alihart41]

27 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Does anyone know what day of the week that segment was filmed?  I'm wondering if it was a Sunday afternoon, which would normally have more people out than a week day, and the Race handlers did not account for that. 

It was filmed on Nicole's birthday, June 30, which was a Saturday last year. So yes, there would be more people out, but they plan the race months in advance, so they would've considered that factor already (hell, they probably liked that it fell on the weekend for maximum canal chaos). It's not like they suddenly decided on the Netherlands the night before.

I don't get how Team Fun got so lost looking for the cows. They and the Afghanimals left the cluebox at the same time, and the Afghanimals caught up to Colin and Christie and Tyler and Korey at the cows.

[hendersonrocks]

I commented last night that I wondered what the not-shown Roadblock must have been, and now I'm second guessing the assumption that there was one. I remembered afterwards Christie's look of shock upon reading the clue that said they were to go find Phil at the pitstop (while picking up boats in the canal along the way), and I wonder if that was because she was expecting a Roadblock and not a Pit Stop - albeit one with a task to do along the way.

I also cannot imagine how on earth Tyler is offensive, but hey, that's just me. Annoying, maybe (though I still like him!), but offensive? That seems like a real stretch if you're only going based off of what's been shown on TV and not whatever else you might be projecting onto him.

[green]

4 hours ago, Haleth said:

I'm sad the finale is next week and we'll have to wait another year for another race.  (I assume CBS will renew TAR?) ...

I don't know about renewals or not but they have been running one season ahead by a bunch for some time.  As you can tell from it's look, this season we are seeing was filmed last summer.  (Actually alihart41 just posted while I was writing this and got the exact date, thanks).

And I understand another "season" was filmed last fall (maybe?) so there is now one in the can waiting it's turn next year.

2 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

I loved that the boat task was essentially their Roadblock. ...

There have been some legs in recent years that don't have roadblocks like one each season as I recall.  So I don't think a roadblock was edited out of this leg.  With a double u-turn and this added "task" with the boats at the end the producers knew they had more than enough material for this leg and wouldn't be able to squeeze in a RB as well is my guess.

1 hour ago, AuntieDiane6 said:

The irony is that The Amazing Race originated in the Netherlands.  Ironically, so did Big Brother. ...

I think you are thinking about Survivor, not TAR.  (Wasn't Survivor Swedish though??).  TAR was totally the original creation of the husband/wife team of Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri and wasn't based on any other show.  So credit where credit is due.

The short, dumbed-down story as I recall was that van Munster (he created "Cops") came back from a TV insiders convention in Europe telling his wife there was nothing new to see that year idea-wise over there.  She basically said how hard is it to just think up a show and he said really hard and challenged her to come up with an idea.  She remembered the fun she had backpacking through Europe with a friend back in her college days and they took that raw seed idea and developed it into The Amazing Race.

"As the original version of the Amazing Race franchise, the CBS program has been on-air since 2001. Created by Elise Doganieri and Bertram van Munster ..." from https://amazingrace.fandom.com/wiki/The_Amazing_Race_(US)

1 hour ago, Fukui San said:

I don't see the locals as rude! The racers were actually messing up people's transits. It wasn't their fault, exactly, and the racers were properly contrite, but it was still messing up people's days.  ...

TAR has to get local filming permits months ahead when planning a race and work with locals on times and routes in this task situation.  And a production advance set-up team runs ahead of the main Race anyway setting up the boats to be taken and the ones to be towed etc.  And I am sure the whole town knew what day they were coming etc because everyone in a small town knows what is going on. 

And though they may well be out and about most days given there are no roads in the town I am also sure even more people than normal were out to be part of TAR and maybe get on camera even.  Like the Singing Granny boat may well have planned their day around this "big" event.  I mean the show is popular over there and it is a big deal for this town.

Except for Grumpy Guy most people were really nice when getting their boats rammed.  "Oh it is fine" etc etc.  And Grumpy Guy wasn't even in a boat.  He seemed more like the local "Get off my grass you stupid kids" guy of that town.

And Racers in boats on canals or small rivers are always fun since TAR3's punting on the Cam days onward through the years.  Come to think of it that TAR3 episode also featured a first ever tandem bike task.  The choice was between boat or bike as I recall.  This season's leg the teams had to do both.

Nice to have an episode I didn't have to worry about Colin & Christie being eliminated since the breakout of the hours of operation bunch onward.  And another cat sighting for Leo.  Wouldn't be an episode this season without seeing Pablo's long lost relations throughout the world, hah.

And I agree with others they gave away Team Fun being the one eliminated by those interview inserts.  Nicole was way way too happy and Fun was way too sad in those.

Edited June 20, 2019 by green

[alihart41]

10 minutes ago, green said:

I don't know about renewals or not but they have been running one season ahead by a bunch for some time.  As you can tell from it's look, this season we are seeing was filmed last summer.  And I understand another "season" was filmed last fall (maybe?) so there is now one in the can waiting it's turn next year.

Yeah, season 32 was filmed in the fall and will premiere midseason again. Phil talks about next season and a yet-to-be-ordered 33rd season here: https://www.goldderby.com/article/2019/phil-keoghan-the-amazing-race-31-video-interview/

The article says he's in post-production on season 32 now.

[Haleth]

2 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

But I'm way more invested in Colin/Christie....and now definitely need to watch their first season. 

That was one of my fav TARs ever. You won’t believe he’s the same Colin. 

1 hour ago, Fukui San said:

To the poster upthread wondering if recent racers were more in shape than racers of the past, I dunno.  The border agents seemed pretty out of shape. Team Bromance didn't seem terribly fit though to be fair I don't remember them struggling physically at any point.  Corinne and Eliza didn't seem to be the most physically gifted team.

Rupert and Laura

17 minutes ago, green said:

don't know about renewals or not but they have been running one season ahead by a bunch for some time.  As you can tell from it's look, this season we are seeing was filmed last summer.  And I understand another "season" was filmed last fall (maybe?) so there is now one in the can waiting it's turn next year.

Yay!

[ML89]

13 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

Julie does the majority of her work live.  I'd like to see Phil and Probst try that.

Since Phil and Probst were both on Breakfast Time on FX with Tom Bergeron and I've seen Probst jump in for Tom on Dancing with the Stars and Phil was on a MTV type show in New Zealand (with the most amazing hair you've ever seen), I think they'd do okay.

As for TAR renewal, yes, they did. They'll be back mid season next year. I think it's already been shot.

The canal ride was fantastic - I loved the overhead map too. I can't wait until next week based on the previews...

Re: canal jumping. They were a lot more lenient this time that the other time I remember, the season with the grandfather-grandson team, because I remember them jumping across in underwear because they'd gotten so muddy...

I'm a Team Fun fan and I will miss them. I was hoping we'd lose the Afghanimals.

Go Colin & Christie and I never thought I'd say that! Too bad they didn't drop the cow, tho, because it really could have been broken.

[lexington11]

15 hours ago, spanana said:

I spent much of this episode laughing at the ineptitude of Leo/Jamal.  I don't begrudge them using the u-turn and voting for Nicole/Victor.  It's F5, they voted for them previously and etc.  But maybe don't be such cocky bastards about it crowing about how you're going to win the leg only to royally screw up and almost get passed up by the u-turned teams.  

Those were my exact feelings on Leo & Jamal. As much as I'm a Nicole & Victor fan, U-Turns are part of the game, so that itself didn't bother me. What got on my nerves was Leo & Jamal gloating about it and seeming like they were rubbing salt in the wound. We get it, you want to win/want revenge, but don't be cocky dbags about it

[NUguy514]

5 hours ago, Kelda Feegle said:

I find Tyler offensive and I do not feel that I need to disclose my sexuality to justify my feelings.

That's a misinterpretation of what I was responding to, but OK.

[Fukui San]

BTW, I liked the tactical decision that C&C and T&C made at the U-Turn. Someone was going to use it from the teams running behind them, and they didn't care who, so leave it alone and stay out of the crossfire. Good read of the other teams.

[Halting Hex]

1 hour ago, Special K said:

The best was when [Nicole] whined to the lady at the top of the tower:  "is there an easier way down?!?" 

I was like, Yes.  It's called going down the stairs. 

She does realize that going up stairs is harder than down, right??  Because honestly I wasn't sure.

Well, Nicole was pretty much beat from all the exertion, as was Victor.  (We saw them struggling to complete the task.)  "Climb the stairs to receive your next clue" was presumably part of the task instructions. 

But the next clue didn't begin with "Descend the stairs".  Indeed, the clue wasn't to be opened until the partner who climbed the stairs had returned to their partner.  If the clue didn't specify that the Racer had to return by using the same stairs, it makes perfect sense for Nicole to ask if there was an elevator around.

Because not only would it be "easier", it would also be faster.  I'd feel a fool if I was wasting time dragging my tired ass down all those stairs when I could have taken the elevator, instead.  But JMO.

[iMonrey]

Much as I loathe to defend Nicole, she was in fact pedaling the tandem bike on the way to the detour. It was on the way back that they decided only Victor should pedal while Nicole guarded the eggs. 

Quote

The best was when she whined to the lady at the top of the tower:  "is there an easier way down?!?" 

Yes. Jump.

It's mostly editing, I'm sure, but I'm sensing a definite "karma" theme to this season. Chris and Bret get eliminated right after causing Rachel and Elissa to get eliminated. Leo and Jamal U-Turn Nicole and Victor because N&V nominated them for the previous U-Turn. Nicole and Victor survive the leg ahead of Becca and Floyd after a perceived slight by Becca and Floyd at the airport. I'm wondering who's due for a karmic slap next. Leo and Jamal for U-Turning Nicole and Victor, maybe?

I won't hate it if Colin and Christie win, but I feel nothing for them. They're just sort of there. Without Colin's trademark rage he's just . . . blah. They're like unbuttered toast. Just sort of innocuous. Sure, it's their race to lose. But my reaction to them winning would be a mild shrug.

[meep.meep]

15 hours ago, PaperTree said:

Aaaaah, Amsterdam.  $88 Cool!  When did they last mention money for a leg?  Then it didn't matter.  Maybe next leg?

My daughter always comes in the room when TAR starts and asks if they are going to be bunny racing.  Last night I said, they're going to Amsterdam, it's possible.  Instead we got ditch vaulting again.

I need more bunny racing!

14 hours ago, Rinaldo said:

That was indeed a bit puzzling, but the difference seemed to be that the second time she made some contact with the other shore (got her arms on the grass), where the first time she hit nothing but water.

I think it was because she finally actually got onto the pole.  She said something about jumping.

3 hours ago, Special K said:

I thought that too.  And even if one or two broke in the toss, the one person could go back to the stand and replace those eggs.  Also, if it were me, I would have taken a few extra eggs in the bag just in case.  Were they not allowed to?

I'm positive they couldn't take extra eggs just in case. Kind of like taking an extra clue, or moving what another team needs to complete the task.  Completely verboten.   I was amazed anyone got across without the eggs cracking in the first place.

2 hours ago, Special K said:

The best was when she whined to the lady at the top of the tower:  "is there an easier way down?!?" 

That was Floyd.

Give Nicole credit - she did the tower climb unlike Christie or Becca.  Or even Tyler since he's clearly the weakest member of his team.

[HurricaneVal]

I suspect that when the TAR production staff test-drove that boat challenge, it was midweek and off season.  I doubt the lovely weather and weekend crowds were taken into account.  I also really can't blame the Afghanimals for missing the second set of boats--those red and yellow flags were very subtle, and when limply hanging along the staff, away from the line of sight, they were darn near invisible.  Most of the time the marked boats weren't spotted in their backwater canals until the racers had gone past the entrance, and looked back and saw the tiny flags in profile.

That said, what an awesome challenge!  That, my friends, was old skool TAR right there.  So was the cow hoisting (thank gawd it wasn't a real cow) and the egg and cheese delivery.

Becca is only "fun" when she's having fun.  When she's not having fun, she is very un-fun.  Which is what normal people are like, it is just that normal people don't have their moments of transition broadcast to the world.  I'm not defending her, and I do feel like a lot of the time the "fun" is forced (much like a camp counselor who must be up-up-UP for the kids) but I'm going to cut her a little slack there.  She did recover her attitude here better than she did with the lost passports.  Just...for the love of gawd...no more white girl beatboxing.  It is...unseemly.

I also don't blame them for their optimism at the mat.  Yes, it was announced that there were no more non-elimination legs, but a lot of the time, the penultimate leg before the final four is a "this is a false mat, continue racing!" leg, and I think that's what Becca and Floyd were hoping for.  Particularly since there was no Roadblock comp, so the racers might have assumed the leg continues with an epic Roadblock and another Detour.

And it is unbelievable to me, but Colin truly does seem to be a changed man.  He was very task oriented, seems to be keeping a good sense of humor and self awareness about himself, and is enthusiastic about whatever he's setting himself to.  He was also really sweet to the lady at the top of the bell tower.  Who'da thunk it?

[Halting Hex]

1 hour ago, hendersonrocks said:

I also cannot imagine how on earth Tyler is offensive, but hey, that's just me. Annoying, maybe (though I still like him!), but offensive?

As the poster who raised the subject of Korey's "making a train" remark, I should note that I never said it was "offensive".  We didn't see Korey when he said it; for all I know, he was joking to his camera and sound crew (whom he and Tyler have been with for a while, right? Or do they change the tech guys out?) about the "group sex" implication of "train", adding "who wants to be part of it?" to specify he was talking about people rather than boats. 

(Although he did call it out rather loudly, now that I double-check, so it seems as though he was soliciting the locals, but that's only a guess.)

It just seemed a touch inappropriate to leave jokes about group sex (gay or straight) in the edit, given the show's general audience.  And perhaps a bit off-topic for Korey to be doing, since he was supposed to be working on the task, after all.  But "offensive" would be a bit of a stretch, IMO.

Although they do seem to define themselves a bit more by their sexuality than Bret did.  (He mostly joked about his police work and his love of beer, in contrast.)  But perhaps it's a good thing that they feel free to express themselves in ways a possibly-closeted Floyd or Leo (I have nothing near "proof", I've merely wondered) might not be able to do.  I personally would hesitate before taking a general "offense" beyond my questioning that particular joke.  But JMO.

[spanana]

30 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Much as I loathe to defend Nicole, she was in fact pedaling the tandem bike on the way to the detour. It was on the way back that they decided only Victor should pedal while Nicole guarded the eggs.

Yes, I think going to the detour she was.  I just think having shorter legs it was harder for her and one can argue whether or not it was dumb for her not to on the way back.  On the one had it exhausted Victor, perhaps prematurely not knowing they were going to have to do the other half of the detour.  On the other hand they transported their eggs to the market in one piece on the first try, which Team Fun didn't do. 

[Halting Hex]

22 minutes ago, HurricaneVal said:

Becca is only "fun" when she's having fun.  When she's not having fun, she is very un-fun.  Which is what normal people are like, it is just that normal people don't have their moments of transition broadcast to the world.

And most people don't call themselves "Team Fun" and wear "Team Fun" shirts and have "Fun" props to reinforce the image.  If you're going to create an image for yourself, it's on you to be true to it.  At least, IMO.

You can say a lot of things about the Afghanimals and their "wild and crazy" image.  But I don't really recall Leo doing a lot of pouting and sulking, for example.  He's pretty much "on", full-time.  Which personally turns me off, but I do find him more authentic than I do Becca.  

[HurricaneVal]

5 minutes ago, Halting Hex said:

Which personally turns me off, but I do find him more authentic than I do Becca.

Truth.

Is Leo the one with Pablo the cat?  And the one who was exclaiming over the kitty in the other boat?  And the goats in the boat?  And the dogs on the boat?  And the dogs at the quaysides?  I'm not overly fond of the Afghanimals--though I'd be OK if they won--but all those exclamations were obviously spontaneous and completely involuntary.  Did you see how he spun in his seat to keep looking at the kitty, and the correspondingly exasperated fond look Jamal gave him?  That all read genuine to me. 

[Halting Hex]

1 minute ago, HurricaneVal said:

Is Leo the one with Pablo the cat? 

Yes.