S31.E10: Chugga Chugga Choo Choo!

[theschnauzers]

Quote

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

Incorrect. The Survivor and Big Brother formats originated with Endermol, a Dutch production company.

TAR originated in the US. The story is well documented.

[Alice Mudgarden]

I live for the little things in life. Like Jamal saying during leg 10 that he and Leo are the strongest team in the race, they just haven't shown it for the last 8 or 9 legs, and the editors putting a snarky sound effect afterwards.

[ByaNose]

1 minute ago, Alice Mudgarden said:

I live for the little things in life. Like Jamal saying during leg 10 that he and Leo are the strongest team in the race, they just haven't shown it for the last 8 or 9 legs, and the editors putting a snarky sound effect afterwards.

They haven't been the strongest all season. They've really off their game this season. I thought they would be a lot better.

[ML89]

More tweets - this time from co creator Elise Dognieri, of a producer test driving the canal jump:

[Quilt Fairy]

27 minutes ago, spanana said:

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.

Don't you also have to pedal in sync on a tandem bike?  With 2 people of significantly different heights like Nicole and Victor, that might be very difficult.  In fact, they might have the most height difference of any of the remaining teams. Also, the bikes were preset and could not be adjusted by the teams (as far as we saw).  Even Christie had a problem getting on the first time.  I would think that the eggs would be safer in the box behind Nicole with the cheeses rather than in her lap, but I wasn't there, and they did transport the eggs safely. 

30 minutes ago, Halting Hex said:

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.

ITA.  When they were cycling back to get more eggs, Becca looked at the camera and said "I am pissed!"  with so much venom in her voice that  I thought "Whoa, girl, it was your fault for not checking the eggs after you jumped."

[Bryce Lynch]

I was sad to see Team Fun get eliminated, especially Floyd.

 I like Becca too, but I didn't appreciate her crack about wanting to throw the egg in the judge's face.  I'm sure she was joking, but the judge might not have know that and it is especially wrong to say something like that in another country.

I couldn't believe the didn't take a minute to check the eggs, especially given that Becca sort of landed on the bag of eggs.   

The final task was pretty suspenseful.  It seemed like the Afghanimals might have gotten so badly lost that they would blow the lead, and then they had the engine trouble.  

I thought it was funny that Leo and Jamal had to do a "U-turn" of their own, after they went the wrong way when they reentered the canal.  

Then when Team Fun was given the shortcut to the island I thought they might still have a chance.

I loved the location of that task, the canal the boats, the animals, etc and the idea of the task.  But, I didn't like the way it caused inconvenience and even danger to the locals.  One of the team almost ran the bow of their boat right into a kid's face.  Plus on the water, there is risk of drowning if a bunch of people being moron (though not trying to be) cause an accident.  

Edited June 20, 2019 by Bryce Lynch

[Bryce Lynch]

17 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.  Mind you I have no idea what the final times were and how far Leo/Jamal finished before Nicole/Victor.  I was going to laugh for days if they got passed up.  But I guess they proved they needed to u-turn teams cause if they hadn't they would have been in big trouble.

Other than that, I'm fine with it.  The Top 2 teams finished in the first two spots.  Leo/Jamal I would have been fine with going home, but I'm not too upset about Team Fun.  Could have done without Becca, even jokingly telling the local that she wanted to throw the eggs in their face.  I get she was frustrated and it was partially a joke, but still not cool.  

I loved how Leo and Jamal said they were the strongest team, but they have been struggling the past 8 or 9 legs. :)

[Bryce Lynch]

17 hours ago, Haleth said:

Omigosh, that was brutal trying to move boats through the congested canals. The locals were really annoyed. (Except for the singing grannies.)  I don’t remember any episode where the race so inconvenienced the locals. Calling the guys idiots?  Eek!

I remember when the did the vaulting over the canals before. 

It was pretty obvious from the start who was going home. Nic and Vic were upbeat in their confessionals and Fun were pretty dejected. 

It wasn't Tyler and Korey's fault that they were being "idiots", as the show put them in that position.  But, most of the teams were being idiots in the canal, given that they didn't know what they were doing or where they were going or the rules of the road.  

In many ways it was a great task, but I don't think it was right to design a take that would cause so much inconvenience and even some danger to the locals.  

[eel21788]

6 minutes ago, Bryce Lynch said:

I couldn't believe the didn't take a minute to check the eggs, especially given that Becca sort of landed on the bag of eggs.   

I doubt she would have found such a superficial crack in one egg if she had stopped to do a quick check. She also didn't seem to think a superficial crack would matter. 

[Bryce Lynch]

17 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

They had every right to be crabby.  

[eel21788]

10 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Don't you also have to pedal in sync on a tandem bike? 

Yes. The back person's stride has to match the front person's exactly. It is a task I have never been able to master even if I was riding with someone of my own height.

[Bryce Lynch]

11 hours ago, antfitz said:

 OMG  I cannot stand nicole because of her whiny voice.

Thank gosh the season will be over soon so we won't have to hear it anymore. 

Edited June 20, 2019 by Bryce Lynch

[eel21788]

17 hours ago, Pepper the Cat said:

I want to go down the canals in a boat.

I do not want to jump a canal.

When I was at a canal in the outskirts of The Netherlands, I got eaten alive by bugs (I presume mosquitos, although I never actually saw them). I'm wondering if on next week's episode anyone will mention getting bitten.

What I really wanted to see when I was in The Netherlands was an actual sea dike holding back the water. One-third of the country is below sea level on land reclaimed by building dikes and pumping out the water with windmills. Apparently, it isn't much of a tourist attraction, because I could find any group tours that went out to the sea dikes. Then again, I tend to be an "off the beaten path" type of tourist. I'm fascinated by the things other people find mundane.

Edited June 20, 2019 by eel21788

[GaT]

5 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

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

4 hours ago, Whimsy said:

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...

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). 

I'm surprised to see people thinking that the locals were rude, I didn't think they were rude at all, I thought they were justifiably mad. Those canals are their roads, if you were driving down the highway & someone came driving down the wrong way or turned around in the middle of the road, you would be yelling at them too. This was a terrible task, it put people in actual danger, & I'm not talking about the racers.

[TVbitch]

To be fair, when Becca returned with the second batch of eggs she addressed the greeter and told him she would never smash an egg in his face. So she must have thought about what she had said and at least offered some kind of amends. 

How were Victor and Nic so sure Team Fun was behind them at the U-turn? All the other racers chose the cow task and they were not in sight of each other. Garanimals were ahead of them (cuz they U-turned them) but that was all they knew. Maybe they felt Team Fun was the weakest of the rest and most likely to be behind. 

Phil was downright boisterous at the mat. Telling Tyler and Korey "C'mon have a little fun with me!" when he was trying to punk them about what place they were in. Asking Garanimals "What the hell happened?" In earlier season he was more like a newscaster, but I'm glad he is letting his hair down. 

[Twopper]

I am just bummed that this season is nearly over as I have really enjoyed it.

I am sorry that Floyd and Becca are gone, but I never thought they would win.   Maybe they have the "curse of the bicycle" on their lives.   I can't believe they didn't check the eggs more carefully.   I wasn't sure what the instructions said, but I would think any kind of crack would be disqualifying and it was.   I couldn't watch the tv until the last 5 minutes so when I went back to watch it on the dvr, I already knew that they were eliminated.  

So the Afghanimals survived despite their bungling.   I really don't think they have a chance, because they have been very disappointing as racers this time.  I am ok if they win, only because of Pablo the cat.

36 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

The back person's stride has to match the front person's exactly. It is a task I have never been able to master even if I was riding with someone of my own height.

I had several friends when I was growing up with tandem bikes; for some reason I think they must have really been popular in the latter half of the 60's.  We used to ride all over the neighborhood on them.  You have to adjust the seats so that each person's feet can comfortably reach the pedals.  Nicole complained that she could barely reach the pedals.  

I loved the scenery in this episode--especially in the canals.

I  don't expect Nic and Vic to win, but I could live with it, I guess.

I think Tyler and Korey have a very good chance to win;  they have been consistently good racers this season.

I will be happiest at this point for Colin and Christie to win.  I am shocked that I am saying this.  Maybe I just want them to win on behalf of us older people.  (I am considerably older than they are).

[morakot]

2 hours ago, meep.meep said:

 I was amazed anyone got across without the eggs cracking in the first place.

I noticed that Becca had some hay in her hand the second time they went for the eggs.  There was hay on the display table with the cheese and eggs. I would have stuffed the bag with hay so that the eggs were swaddled in it so they would have a better chance of getting across the ditch and to market without being cracked.  

From what I remember, the eggs were generally just loose in the sack -- right?

[Pepper Mostly]

18 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

They probably received a notice from the town council or whatever, telling them that there would be a film crew in town for the day, and to stay out of the way. I don't blame anyone for getting salty. If they were filming anything on my street and almost ran me over or drove up on the sidewalk, almost causing my neighbor injury, I might be salty too. Probably saltier.

14 hours ago, fishcakes said:

I was impressed with how calmly Tyler and Korey responded to the local asking them if they were idiots. As on edge as they must have been late in the leg and this late in the race as a whole, they stayed polite and didn't clap back at him, even though the guy could see the cameras, had to know that something out-of-the-ordinary was happening, and decided to be a jerk about it anyway.

These people were enjoying a sunny afternoon in their own town, and their day was disrupted by camera crews, production people, and asshole reality show contestants. I'd be pissed too, if I was out in my boat and someone came barrel-assing right at me down a one way waterway. I'd be pissed off if a couple of clueless tourists were disrupting traffic, crashing into my boat, and acting the fool. Why should the locals meekly stand aside?  Ever lived in a place where a movie or TV show is being filmed, even for a day? Its a mess, snarling traffic and causing all kinds of disruptions. Sure, its exciting for lots of people. But for lots of others, its a headache. And that's with street closures, detours, and keeping people not affiliated with the production away. The racers were bumbling right through the center of town, screwing with other peoples' day. I don't blame any pissed off local one bit. I'm surprised they didn't run into more of them.

[mikewho]

45 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

Then again, I tend to be an "off the beaten path" type of tourist. I'm fascinated by the things other people find mundane.

Same here. I guess I got it from my parents. Whenever they traveled, they'd see the 'touristy' things first, then get in a cab and ask to be taken to the non-touristy parts of town. They were more interested in what they called 'local color'. That might be a little more than 'mundane', but it's a lot more interesting.

58 minutes ago, Bryce Lynch said:

Thank gosh the season will be over soon so we won't have to hear it anymore.

Yeah, she has a whiny voice, but I don't recall her actually whining in this episode. At least, nothing that I picked up.

1 hour ago, Bryce Lynch said:

They had every right to be crabby.

I was glad they showed that. So many times people complain about the Racers being 'Ugly Americans' in foreign countries. As if the foreigners are always perfect? I was glad that foreigner gave somebody the smack-down, calling them Idiots. As quick as it was, that was more entertaining to me than those singing women.

[green]

1 hour ago, Bryce Lynch said:

It wasn't Tyler and Korey's fault that they were being "idiots", as the show put them in that position.  But, most of the teams were being idiots in the canal, given that they didn't know what they were doing or where they were going or the rules of the road.  

In many ways it was a great task, but I don't think it was right to design a take that would cause so much inconvenience and even some danger to the locals.  

Production gets filming permits and works with locals on tasks like this.  A poster above found out, based on when Nicole's birthday was, that this leg happened on a Sunday where it didn't interfere with business and jobs. 

The locals would know the Race was coming to their town due to the permits and stuff.  Production advance team would be setting up the boats and race course in advance of the teams.  Also during a task there would be area cameras set up as well. 

It wasn't like someone went out and was surprised to be caught up in all of this nor were they inconvenienced that I could see.  Anymore than when a Hollywood crew comes to some neighborhood for location shots.  It is a big deal and most people think it is awesome and embrace the event.

So the townspeople would all know in advance.  This is a VERY big deal for their little town.  I can see many of them going out on their boats just to be part of their town's big day.  TAR may have even encouraged them to in how boring would it look on TV if the canals were empty.  Like the Singing Grannies who I imagine planed that boat trip singalong just for this day. 

In other words it was more they were out celebrating to BE part of TAR if anything.  People would happily think maybe they could end up on footage broadcast since TAR is popular in the Netherlands.  At least see some of the teams and Phil.

This was like the county fair meets Old Home Day meets a big sports event for this tiny little town.  Their moment to shine before the whole world. This was their day of days and -- except for the token (and non boat riding) Grumpy Guy (Get off my grass you kids!) -- they seemed on the whole happy to get their boats rammed and "filmed" and be part of it all.

I'm sure the whole town -- minus Grump Guy -- is loving this episode and is right proud to have been on TAR.

Edited June 20, 2019 by green

[eel21788]

9 minutes ago, mikewho said:

Same here. I guess I got it from my parents. Whenever they traveled, they'd see the 'touristy' things first, then get in a cab and ask to be taken to the non-touristy parts of town. They were more interested in what they called 'local color'. That might be a little more than 'mundane', but it's a lot more interesting.

I always rely on public transportation when I'm in a foreign country. I feel I get a lot more out of the trip if I do it like the locals.

[proserpina65]

3 hours ago, alihart41 said:

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.

I don't know either, but Victor and Nicole had trouble finding the correct turn as well.

3 hours 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? 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.

I find him annoying and over the top, but probably not actively offensive.  But hey, we like who we like, so if you like him, no problem.

2 hours ago, meep.meep said:

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!

That was in Denmark, but yes, please, more bunny racing.  That was a really fun task.

[mikewho]

3 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

That was in Denmark, but yes, please, more bunny racing.  That was a really fun task.

Call me a Grump (Go ahead!) but I don't find tasks or even scenes involving animals amusing at all. In fact, I was glad the task involving cows used fake cows.

[aemom]

18 hours ago, ByaNose said:

BTW! The pole vaulting jump was so arbitrary. How was it that Nicole landed in the water and didn’t pass but then lands in the water & it was a thumbs up?!

My understanding was that you actually had to get some air.  If you just jumped and were leaning on the pole the whole time and collapsing into the water, it was a no-go.  But if you actually hoisted yourself up to an extent, you got credit, even if you didn't reach the other side.

15 hours ago, millennium said:

There was no fun or laughter in that face.   She was stone-cold serious.

I find Nicole's voice incredibly whiny, however I was actually hoping that they would be safe and that Team Fun would be gone - especially after this display by Becca.  I think Floyd is awesome, but Becca has been going down and down in likeability on my list and that display did nothing to change that.

Who knew that I would ever be cheering for C&C?

The Afghanimals.  I never liked them before, and they are so much more obnoxious now, not to mention, far more inept.  They can go anytime.  Tyler and Korey really don't bother me.  Tyler is a bit much, but I think that's just his default setting.

[AuntieDiane6]

Quote

  QUOTE

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

Incorrect. The Survivor and Big Brother formats originated with Endermol, a Dutch production company.

TAR originated in the US. The story is well documented.

I stand corrected.  The actual FIRST Survivor did start in Sweden as "Expedition: Robinson." THE VOICE started in the Netherlands. 

[Bryce Lynch]

48 minutes ago, green said:

Production gets filming permits and works with locals on tasks like this.  A poster above found out, based on when Nicole's birthday was, that this leg happened on a Sunday where it didn't interfere with business and jobs. 

The locals would know the Race was coming to their town due to the permits and stuff.  Production advance team would be setting up the boats and race course in advance of the teams.  Also during a task there would be area cameras set up as well. 

It wasn't like someone went out and was surprised to be caught up in all of this nor were they inconvenienced that I could see.  Anymore than when a Hollywood crew comes to some neighborhood for location shots.  It is a big deal and most people think it is awesome and embrace the event.

So the townspeople would all know in advance.  This is a VERY big deal for their little town.  I can see many of them going out on their boats just to be part of their town's big day.  TAR may have even encouraged them to in how boring would it look on TV if the canals were empty.  Like the Singing Grannies who I imagine planed that boat trip singalong just for this day. 

In other words it was more they were out celebrating to BE part of TAR if anything.  People would happily think maybe they could end up on footage broadcast since TAR is popular in the Netherlands.  At least see some of the teams and Phil.

This was like the county fair meets Old Home Day meets a big sports event for this tiny little town.  Their moment to shine before the whole world. This was their day of days and -- except for the token (and non boat riding) Grumpy Guy (Get off my grass you kids!) -- they seemed on the whole happy to get their boats rammed and "filmed" and be part of it all.

I'm sure the whole town -- minus Grump Guy -- is loving this episode and is right proud to have been on TAR.

I would resent a Hollywood crew coming into my neighborhood, severely interfering with the only mode of transportation and creating a dangerous situation, where a kid almost got decapitated and a fairly large boat with numerous passengers was almost in a serious collision (and that is just what we know of).

It wasn't Disneyland, it was a neighborhood where people live.  

If TAR was abiding by the terms of the permits and made it clear exactly what they intended to do, then whatever idiot local officials signed off on the permits deserves some blame as well. 

I believe some other locals seemed annoyed or frightened by what was going on.  Many seemed to be polite, but not happy.  
 

[Never Again]

16 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.

Lol I’m from NYC, to me this is definitely not unfriendly, it’s just another Tuesday. Anyone from here would have said “are you fkn guys fkn idiots or something, go fk yourselves get out of my fkn way you fkn scmbags“.   

When TAR decides to use New York as a location, now that’s when you’re going to get some editing!

[fishcakes]

27 minutes ago, Pepper Mostly said:

These people were enjoying a sunny afternoon in their own town, and their day was disrupted by camera crews, production people, and asshole reality show contestants. I'd be pissed too, if I was out in my boat and someone came barrel-assing right at me down a one way waterway. I'd be pissed off if a couple of clueless tourists were disrupting traffic, crashing into my boat, and acting the fool. Why should the locals meekly stand aside?  Ever lived in a place where a movie or TV show is being filmed, even for a day?

I have. About 20 years ago, an Eddie Murphy movie (Metro) filmed in the apartment building I lived in. The film crew took over the street with trailers and two of the building's three elevators for about six weeks. If Murphy was even just standing in the lobby when we arrived home, we had to wait outside the building until bodyguards checked our ID and cleared us to enter. (If Michael Rapaport was in the lobby we could walk right in, LOL.) While they were filming we couldn't enter or exit the building. It was a total pain in the ass and inconvenience, but as far as I know no one who lived there ever yelled at or insulted the cast or crew who were just doing their jobs. Our grievance would have been with the building's owners or managers who allowed the filming to happen there, and for the locals in last night's locale, their grievance would have been with their town officials who gave TAR permission to do that particular task there. It didn't appear to me that the racers were being assholes. The very nature of the task made gumming up the traffic inevitable and while they made mistakes that made things worse, they weren't trying to ruin anyone's day; they were just trying to get through the task. So while I get that the guy who called them idiots was irritated, maybe justifiably and maybe not, seeing as how he wasn't on the water himself, I thought that directing his irritation at Tyler and Korey was misplaced, and that they both handled the insult graciously.

(Postscript to my Eddie Murphy movie story: I saw the movie when it came out and after all time they spent there, my building was seen only in a couple of exterior shot that lasted about a minute. Heh. Show business!)

[Bryce Lynch]

1 hour ago, Pepper Mostly said:

They probably received a notice from the town council or whatever, telling them that there would be a film crew in town for the day, and to stay out of the way. I don't blame anyone for getting salty. If they were filming anything on my street and almost ran me over or drove up on the sidewalk, almost causing my neighbor injury, I might be salty too. Probably saltier.

These people were enjoying a sunny afternoon in their own town, and their day was disrupted by camera crews, production people, and asshole reality show contestants. I'd be pissed too, if I was out in my boat and someone came barrel-assing right at me down a one way waterway. I'd be pissed off if a couple of clueless tourists were disrupting traffic, crashing into my boat, and acting the fool. Why should the locals meekly stand aside?  Ever lived in a place where a movie or TV show is being filmed, even for a day? Its a mess, snarling traffic and causing all kinds of disruptions. Sure, its exciting for lots of people. But for lots of others, its a headache. And that's with street closures, detours, and keeping people not affiliated with the production away. The racers were bumbling right through the center of town, screwing with other peoples' day. I don't blame any pissed off local one bit. I'm surprised they didn't run into more of them.

I totally agree.  Plus, I'm sure they could have designed the task in a way that wouldn't create so much hassle and danger for the local boaters.  The "boat train" idea was kind of reckless, they should have known it would inevitably lead to collisions with locals.  

They could have had them ride in a single boat or better yet kayaks, which would require physical exertion by the racers while creating far less annoyance and danger for the locals.  

The should have had them search for marked signs with code words, count items, make deliveries, etc.,.   

[biakbiak]

3 hours ago, TVbitch said:

How were Victor and Nic so sure Team Fun was behind them at the U-turn? A

They didn’t know for sure they even mentioned that if they weren’t behind them they were screwed. 

Edited June 20, 2019 by biakbiak

[greyhorse]

19 minutes ago, Bryce Lynch said:

I totally agree.  Plus, I'm sure they could have designed the task in a way that wouldn't create so much hassle and danger for the local boaters.  The "boat train" idea was kind of reckless, they should have known it would inevitably lead to collisions with locals.  

They could have had them ride in a single boat or better yet kayaks, which would require physical exertion by the racers while creating far less annoyance and danger for the locals.  

The should have had them search for marked signs with code words, count items, make deliveries, etc.,.   

Agree with this.  I don't really understand the necessity of towing boats other than to make them do a task that was awkward.  They could have just had to pick up several marked items, etc.  The kayak would be tough because then they would have to kayak out to the island, after navigating through all the canals.  It would have been very tiring.

This is the first episode I can remember in a long time where we were treated to annoyance by the locals.  I'm surprised that the guy on the motorcycle that got cut-off didn't offer some choice words as well too.

[eel21788]

1 hour ago, greyhorse said:

-This is the first episode I can remember in a long time where we were treated to annoyance by the locals.  I'm surprised that the guy on the motorcycle that got cut-off didn't offer some choice words as well too.

At least The Race made its contestants wear bike helmets. I never saw a single bicyclist with a helmet the whole time I was in Amsterdam. I kept wondering if they have a higher incidence of traumatic brain injuries than the US does. I also wondered if they produce more organ donors per capita. 

Edited June 20, 2019 by eel21788

[spanana]

3 hours ago, biakbiak said:

They didn’t no for sure they even mentioned that if they weren’t behind them they were screwed. 

I'm listening to Nicole/Victor's podcast.  They have Team Fun on this week, unsurprisingly, but not at the same time.  At least to the point I'm at, Nic/Vic mentioned that they ran most of this leg by themselves without seeing other teams.

But it sounds like somebody warned them they got u-turned when they passed them on the bikes and said team told them to u-turn Team Fun.  Which I couldn't understand who they were talking about, but I assumed it has to be Leo/Jamal because how would C/C or T/K know that Vic/Nicole got u-turned.  They would have assumed it was likely, but they didn't know for sure.   If somebody else listened to the podcast, maybe you can understand it better than I did.  But sounds like SOMEONE gave them the heads up to u-turn Team Fun, but Victor/Nicole didn't of course know 100% that Team Fun was behind them.  They just had to take someone's word for it.

Sidenote: Literally the only eliminated racers they haven't had on their podcast this season were the Reilly sisters so I'm going to assume there is still no love lost there.  Despite any minor dust-ups, they have had both Team Fun and 1/2 of Leo/Jamal so far.  I don't think they had Rupert/Laura, but I don't think that was out of any dislike.

Additional sidetone: Vic/Nicole were lost for about an hour and half on the bike trying to find the second detour, so that explains why Victor was so exhausted.  

Edited June 21, 2019 by spanana

[hula-la]

For those of us sad to see the race end, the Canadian version begins July 2. I have no idea how American viewers would watch it (though I know that it's possible).  The challenges are often more difficult than the TAR, original recipe version.  Most of their travel is in Canada, but they do travel internationally too.

[meep.meep]

2 hours ago, mikewho said:

Call me a Grump (Go ahead!) but I don't find tasks or even scenes involving animals amusing at all. In fact, I was glad the task involving cows used fake cows.

Grump!

The bunny racing was exceptional!  And the bunnies appeared to be enjoying it. 

This was the third time they've done ditch vaulting (Nick and his grandpa and the poker playing women I remember), and it's not very interesting to watch.

[biakbiak]

51 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

I kept wondering if they have a higher incidence of traumatic brain injuries than the US does. I also wondered if the produce more organ donors per capita. 

The answer to both questions is no because biking is so central to the culture and so many people do it there is a lot more bike-centric infrastructure and motorists are much more aware of cyclists so a lot of accidents are avoided. The vast majority of bicycle accidents don’t result in head trauma helmet or not. Not to suggest if you do hit your head when you are in an accident a helmet isn’t useful it just is not what typically happens in bicycle accidents.

Edited June 20, 2019 by biakbiak

[seacliffsal]

I think that if they only had to tie off one other boat instead of two other boats there would have been less disruption for the locals.  But, I'm sure they wanted two boats due to the slapstick hilarity that would ensue...

While I was watching the episode and the tasks, I kept thinking of Miss Ally from the old TWOP and her analysis of "man strength" which was in reference to Tom Westman (?) on Survivor and how he had true strength versus gym strength.  I kept thinking of that while watching Colin handle the tasks (yes, Christie was actively participating), as it seemed like he just has a reserve of strength that doesn't give out.  And, I'll admit that when they first spoke about hoisting cows I was waiting for a "my cow is broken..."  Just me?  Okay...

[iMonrey]

Quote

 Just...for the love of gawd...no more white girl beatboxing.  It is...unseemly.

God yes. If I never have to hear these two rapping again it will be too soon. So glad they're gone for that reason alone.

Quote

And it is unbelievable to me, but Colin truly does seem to be a changed man. 

The problem is that he's not more interesting as a result. Odd to think his rage was the only defining character trait he had. Now he's just sort of there. I've found him and Christie oddly uncompelling this season. I just don't care about them one way or another. But perhaps I am alone in that.

Quote

At least The Race made its contestants wear bike helmets. I never saw a single bicyclist with a helmet the whole time I was in Amsterdam. I kept wondering if they have a higher incidence of traumatic brain injuries than the US does.

I think wearing a helmet while riding a bike is a uniquely American thing, although someone can correct me if I'm wrong. I grew up in an age where nobody wore helmets to ride their bikes. In fact to do so would have resulted in ridicule. 

Now get offa my lawn, you rotten kids.

[Brookside]

6 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

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.

Seriously, an elevator?  That would be like having an elevator for the Notre Dame bell tower.  Or an escalator at Lincoln's Memorial.

Edited June 20, 2019 by Brookside

[dgpolo]

2 minutes ago, Brookside said:

Seriously, an elevator?  That would be like having an elevator for the Notre Dame bell tower.  Or an escalator at Lincoln's Memorial.

And you would think they would have seen one on the way up it there had been.

[Hera]

4 hours ago, GaT said:

I'm surprised to see people thinking that the locals were rude, I didn't think they were rude at all, I thought they were justifiably mad. Those canals are their roads, if you were driving down the highway & someone came driving down the wrong way or turned around in the middle of the road, you would be yelling at them too. This was a terrible task, it put people in actual danger, & I'm not talking about the racers.

Not only that, but I would bet that not everyone was local enough to have been notified—some were probably people from further afield who thought it was a nice day for a boat ride on the canals and to the lake. I think it was a good task, but the racers should have been given some instruction about boat traffic/etiquette. This wouldn't have totally stopped the racers from causing problems, but probably would have prevented things like Leo and Jamal trying to go the wrong way in one-way traffic or Tyler and Korey nearly impaling that kid with the front of their boat.

I haven't seen any of Leo and Jamal's previous seasons, but based on this season, I'm not sure where they're getting their idea that they're a strong team; this isn't the first time they've suggested they have impressive racing abilities. Mostly what I can remember about their performance on tasks is all the times they've whiffed it (the dancing in Vietnam, the virtual reality quiz in Dubai, etc.). They were (and still are) clearly the weakest team left, despite their two first place finishes at the start of the race. Nicole and Victor have performed better than they have, which is especially impressive given that they've never been on the race before.

However, it's pretty clear to me that Colin/Christie and Tyler/Korey are on a completely different level than the Nicole/Victor, the Afghanimals, and Team Fun. I will be very surprised if the winner isn't one of those two teams.

[Pepper Mostly]

2 hours ago, Bryce Lynch said:

I would resent a Hollywood crew coming into my neighborhood, severely interfering with the only mode of transportation and creating a dangerous situation, where a kid almost got decapitated and a fairly large boat with numerous passengers was almost in a serious collision (and that is just what we know of).

It wasn't Disneyland, it was a neighborhood where people live.  

If TAR was abiding by the terms of the permits and made it clear exactly what they intended to do, then whatever idiot local officials signed off on the permits deserves some blame as well. 

I believe some other locals seemed annoyed or frightened by what was going on.  Many seemed to be polite, but not happy.  
 

Agreed. Permits were issued, residents were informed. Doesn't mean everyone was happy about it. And the racers were actively interfering with, and in some cases endangering, regular people who were just trying to enjoy a sunny day on the water. Not cool. 

2 hours ago, Rbonnie said:

Lol I’m from NYC, to me this is definitely not unfriendly, it’s just another Tuesday. Anyone from here would have said “are you fkn guys fkn idiots or something, go fk yourselves get out of my fkn way you fkn scmbags“.   

When TAR decides to use New York as a location, now that’s when you’re going to get some editing!

Right? I'm from Boston. A lot of filming has been done here in recent years. Sure, its exciting. (My bus home went right past the location for a scene from "Black Mass" one time, it was awesome! when I saw the movie I almost screamed aloud when I saw the scene.) Sure its exciting and fun for us. But it does also disrupt traffic and cause headaches. Some people surely complain about it and long for the old days. BUT a professional production isn't barging in to people's day.

No one was getting mad at production for doing their jobs. They were mad at the racers who did not know how to handle these boats and didn't know the area, who were like bulls in a china shop, bumbling around. Usually on TAR, racers are running through the streets or riding a train or going to a location that has been closed down to the public so that filming can take place there. That was not the case here. It was poorly thought out and managed in my opinion. I'm with Salty Grandpa. 

[raven]

16 minutes ago, Hera said:

I think it was a good task, but the racers should have been given some instruction about boat traffic/etiquette.

I don't think this was the issue at all.  Some of the racers were good at boating and some weren't; they weren't trying to bumble and bump into people.  I actually think the majority of the people on the water were already briefed as to to what could happen - and what, I would argue, the producers were hoping for - inexperienced boaters trying to navigate tight spots while towing stuff and causing chaos.    The racers were supposed to stay in the canals and most of the people they ran across didn't have their faces blurred out (unlike the guy who called T/K idiots, for example).  I think most of the people on the water had signed waivers beforehand and were probably instructed to be somewhat cranky.  Of course this doesn't apply to when L/J went way off course and in the wrong direction, just in the canal areas.  I would also guess that the area was restricted from having others enter after the racers (since the people already there were set up beforehand IMO).  Much like when a street is cordoned off for filming.

I would also think that there some kind of postings in the areas about filming.  There were comments about the large crowds which could be due to the weather, the filming, or both. 

So IMO the local people weren't suddenly surprised and inconvenienced by a bunch of inexperienced boaters being dropped into the midst of their local activities on a regular day.  It was an irregular day, carefully planned beforehand and probably with notices all around and again, my opinion that most of the people on the water were local people planted by production beforehand.  "Sign up as an extra, be on American TV, laugh at a bunch of boaters trying to win a contest".  That kind of thing.

Leo and Jamal were in the worst situation because they went the wrong way and off course.  Speaking of which, though I don't care about why they u-turned Nicole and Victor, they really aren't racing well.  Well enough to still be here I guess but I seem to remember them being better racers.  I don't dislike them but they are trending way downward with their abilities.

The editing with the interviews has not been good.  It was obvious that Becca and Floyd were eliminated.  It was last week as well; I thought Chris and Bret were so low key in their interviews that it was obvious to me they were the ones to go.

[dgpolo]

3 minutes ago, raven said:

and again, my opinion that most of the people on the water were local people planted by production beforehand. 

I had that thought also, that at least -some- if not most, were planted by production precisely to give the racers difficulty. And that everyone appearing on screen needs to sign a waiver.

[green]

Excellent points, raven.  Especially since I agree with you.  I didn't want to post that they were hired per se but thought they were encouraged to come out as to hedge my bets.  But forgot about the having to sign a waiver thing and indeed Grumpy Guy did get pixelated.

I think if they speak more than a few lines they have to get a waiver signed.  But not everyone just sitting in a boat had to.  Grumpy Guy had a full line or two so he either refused to sign  a waiver or just demanded his face not be shown on TV.

[eel21788]

11 minutes ago, green said:

I think if they speak more than a few lines they have to get a waiver signed.  

Anyone who can be recognized has to sign a release. If they just get the back of your head or from the neck down, you don't need a release. If they get you from the front or certain side views, you either sign the release or they pixilate you. That explains why they've never filmed in the Red Light District when they've been in Amsterdam.

[green]

15 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

Anyone who can be recognized has to sign a release. If they just get the back of your head or from the neck down, you don't need a release. If they get you from the front or certain side views, you either sign the release or they pixilate you. That explains why they've never filmed in the Red Light District when they've been in Amsterdam.

I think anyone seen at a certain distance too they don't need a waiver for.  Otherwise every single person they passed on a street in some crowded market district would have to sign.  And no way did they get all the people on all the boats signing waivers unless they ALL were hired.  Which they could be of course. 

But that wouldn't be possible (waiver signings) walking along and get lost on streets in Japan or Uganda or Vietnam.  You can't sign hundreds and hundreds in the middle of each leg of a race especially when most of them don't even speak English.

I'll defer to you of course but it would be interesting to find out the exact wording of who has to sign waivers and who doesn't.

[biakbiak]

23 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

Anyone who can be recognized has to sign a release. If they just get the back of your head or from the neck down, you don't need a release. If they get you from the front or certain side views, you either sign the release or they pixilate you. That explains why they've never filmed in the Red Light District when they've been in Amsterdam.

It depends. If there is a contained area with entrances you can just post that they are filming there and by being in the area you consent to filming. In this case they probably just had all the boat rental places have people sign a waiver when they picked up a boat.

Edited June 21, 2019 by biakbiak

[Halting Hex]

2 hours ago, Brookside said:

Seriously, an elevator?  That would be like having an elevator for the Notre Dame bell tower.  Or an escalator at Lincoln's Memorial.

Obviously the Tower was built before elevators, but many older buildings have had elevators added, I'd imagine.  It might have been placed at the rear of the building, for example.

2 hours ago, dgpolo said:

And you would think they would have seen one on the way up it there had been.

Not necessarily; as we saw, the doorways to the two sets of stairs opened directly off of the square.  The teams were never in the main part of the building at all.  So it's quite possible there could have been an elevator which Nicole didn't see on her way up.

And, after all, there's no harm in asking.

[Brookside]

48 minutes ago, Halting Hex said:

Obviously the Tower was built before elevators, but many older buildings have had elevators added, I'd imagine.  It might have been placed at the rear of the building, for example.

Not necessarily; as we saw, the doorways to the two sets of stairs opened directly off of the square.  The teams were never in the main part of the building at all.  So it's quite possible there could have been an elevator which Nicole didn't see on her way up.

And, after all, there's no harm in asking.

At this point I'm thinking I'm being punked.  😉

Edited June 21, 2019 by Brookside