Yuku free message boards

Note: I will be ranking TAR 15 (mainly because the season should be over by the time I get to it's logical place; in the event something horrific happens, I'll be sure to edit placements accordingly) but none of the foreign seasons (just know that, generally speaking, TARA1 = TAR:I > TARLA > TARA3 = TARB > TARA2). The format of these will be a brief description of the season and my opinion, followed by specifics regarding race route, cast, tasks, and game structure (ie leg design, twists).

Anyway, in 15th aka last place:

15. TAR 7



(fun fact: the first image entry of 'TAR7' in Google Images is Lynn/Alex at the meatblock =O)

So...TAR 7. Coming off of the heels of the wildly popular TAR5, WRP decided to shit out two more editions of TAR in under a year (TAR 6 pretty much started *right* after TAR 5 finished filming). The results were not surprising to anyone who isn't casually into the series. For the other viewers, there was an 'engaging' season-long conflict between Romber and everyone else, culminating in the former teams stunning upset to 'likeable' 'underdogs' Uchenna and Joyce, whose marital troubles, babymaking troubles and head shaving filled the audience with awe, not realizing that they were, in essence, a less awesome version of Chip and Kim. Many regard it as the best season ever, while I regard it as the worst. Here's why:

Route

TAR 7 was filmed in the winter, which led to the decision to emphasize the Southern Hemisphere/Equator. This isn't really a bad thing; the previous times this had been done (TAR 2, TAR 5), the routes were fairly interesting (New Zealand in TAR 2 aside). It was certainly a better decision than TAR 4's choice to spend 5 legs in snowy Europe (which wouldn't have been an issue since Europe is pretty, were it not for the fact that they were all assholes, but that's for another time), then 4 legs in tropical India/Malaysia, then a leg in frigid South Korea, then 3 legs in the subtropics.

But the problem with TAR 7's route is that the practical application of the route left much to be desired.
First, compare the route *visually* to TAR 2 and you'll see a difference. TAR 2 looked sunny (and, in fact, it was; every leg had sunshine except for Sydney and (I think) Hong Kong). TAR 7 looked dreary and dull and heck, even a little dirty.

4 legs in South America, which is fine given how Euro-centric TAR 6 was, except for the fact that they went to Peru and...dug through sand and hiked with the hills and mountains as a backdrop? Without going to Machu Picchu despite being so close? Then they went to Santi- hold up, they need to randomly go to Arequipa to shine shoes with the hills and mountains as a backdrop . Then Santiago for books and fish with hills and valleys as a backdrop. Then a drive through the Andes, with, you guessed it, hills and mountains. Then a horse ranch, then Buenos Aires which I'll cover in the task portion of this. See what I mean? No geographic diversity (TAR 11, to its credit, had 4 distinct areas traveled in their first four legs).

Then, AFRICA! But...Lion King Africa. For three legs. Yeah.

Next, of course, India, but...Lucknow? Jodhpur? Whuh? Raaandom (and fairly similar looking to Africa, visually)

Then Turkey, which sort of - okay, for those who have ready access to TAR 7, notice how the first...9 legs (Peru to Turkey) are all sort of sepia-ish? Yeah. That was a big issue.

Lastly, London which was alright even though they could've easily gone to a new country, Jamaica which...I'll deal with in the task section, Puerto Rico which I'll deal with in the game mechanic section and Miami, which I'll deal with in the game mechanic section.

In conclusion, TAR 7 had mountains, dusty plains, London, islandy locales, and Miami. Yawn.

Teams, Tasks, and Game Mechanics to come tomorrow, because...I'm tired.

tullfan2 wrote:

---

Firstly, TAR FE should not be included in this ranking. IMO TAR FE was a completely different show.

Overall, I liked the cast of TAR 7 more than any of the following seasons but not as much as TAR 1-3 and TAR 5. The TBC leg and mugging by Phil for finishing last on a non-elimination leg twists were introduced in TAR 7.

TAR FE will be included for reasons which shall be explained when it gets ranked (one of the reasons being its cast). Speaking of cast...

My thoughts of the cast of TAR 7:

Let's go blow-by-blow, shall we?

Ryan and Chuck were a tragic first boot. Given the neutering of M/M teams since TAR 4 (Marshall/Lance? Avi/Joe?), it was a surprise to find that there were 3 M/M teams cast. It was not a surprise, however, to find that one was cannonfodder, one was token gay, and the others were mactors. It was an even bigger surprise to find the cannon fodder team to be a) charming, b) fluent in Portuguese and c) the favorite team in the race between them and the All-American Couple.

Megan and Heidi were token blondes of little consequence.

ADC might wish to quit reading as I discuss Debbie and Bianca. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of Romber, stuntcasting, or the stuntcasting *of* Romber, but the anti-Romber sentiment was boring and tedious. Especially since for all of Romber's near rule violations, the people who really turned TAR into Survivor, which the anti-Romber brigade had implied had occured was Debbie and Bianca (and Susan and Patrick, and Lynn and Alex, and Meredith and Gretchen, and Ron and Kelly and even Uchenna and Joyce), what with all the moralizing, groupthink and hypocrisy. Oh, and they got lost a lot in their boot leg. Not exactly sad to see them go.

Susan and Patrick were also a part of the anti-Romber sentiment which I had discussed. The thing is, I think I would've liked them a lot had they stuck out of it. She was generally patient, and he was fun and smart (and closeted), much like the woefully underrated Josh of TAR 4. Still one of the top 10 most bullshit eliminations ever (though, off the top of my head, under the Aiellos, Linda and Karen, and TARAS Guido).

Ray and Deana were unpleasant to watch, both because both were fug, and because they were the second coming of Jonathan/Victimoria. Their only decent moment was losing a footrace to...

Brian and Greg, also known as the best team of the season. What's sad about this is that they were the second most obvious mactors of the cast (you should know who was first). But they had fun, they didn't dominate the competition, and they enjoyed each others company and the competition without getting petty, moralizing, or self-righteous, which puts them ahead of everyone but Ryan and Chuck and Megan and Heidi.

Lynn and Alex would've also been much better without hating on Romber (hey, a theme). The xenophobia in Santiago didn't help things either.

Meredith and Gretchen were the token oldies, and, as such, had token difficulties in physical tasks, token difficulties in finding clues, and token difficulties in complaining about these things. Still, they had a surprising amount of grit (Gretchen maing jokes after cracking her head open in Soweto = badass) and managed to outlast several unpleasant teams to get eliminated in fourth, along with several other teams I enjoyed (spoiler).

Ron and Kelly, I think, had not yet met each other before attempting the race. I say this because why else would she get surprised by how unemotional he was, what with him being a POW, and why else would he get so pissed by how c.unty she turned out to be, what with being a WASPy bitch and all. They're responsible for one of my least favorite moments ever (the POW conversation in Istanbul) and could've easily been eliminated leg 1, sparing the charming Southern boys and leaving with a legacy of American pride, dignity, and a relationship.

Romber Romber Romber Romber Romber. Romber. And Romber, Phil, Lynn and Alex, Susan and Patrick, Debbie and Bianca, Bertram, Jerry, and all of CBS don't want you to forget. American Airlines, however, wants you to know that they made up for that whole Kris/Jon incident in Honolulu by some dubious airport magic in Puerto Rico, but for everone else: Romber Rombering around the Romber.

Uchenna and Joyce were...oh, token blacks. Who...won? And she shaved her head (for nothing, lolz)? And they had marital troubles? And they had one of the shittiest episode titles ever? Are you sure?

Up next: Game mechanics, where I bitch about things including mugging, the Meatblock, the "Detour" in Buenos Aires, the silliness of a purely linear leg, the poorly handled TBC, and the San Juan Airport.