Am rewatching Season 4. Episode 1 was amazing. It just makes me realize how great the older Amazing Race were compares to the suckie AR now. The teams were
much better, the tasks were so much harder and challenging and the LOCATIONS kicked ass! The new AR suck ass!
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Older Seasons > New Seasons
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 VentDeMilo |
Older Seasons > New Seasons |
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Posts: 1716 (10/20/08 11:12 PM) Dept of Redundant Threads Dept |
Last Edited By: VentDeMilo 10/22/08 08:40 PM.
Edited 1 time.
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platinumtlc |
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Posts: 5437 (10/20/08 11:13 PM) Registered User |
And this needed a new topic?
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john2017 |
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Posts: 136 (10/20/08 11:15 PM) |
OLN Canada started back at the very beginning and is airing an epi early evening each weekday, we're almost done with Flo and Season 3. I prefer to think
of it as an evolution with a few bumpy glitches along the way.
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Deadpool |
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Posts: 22 (10/21/08 12:40 AM) |
Not really
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A Dying Clown |
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Posts: 6749 (10/21/08 02:29 AM) Registered User |
Every post-TAR5 episode is better than the French leg and the entire second half of TAR4 (except the Malaysia leg). Even the World's Biggest Office Chair
looks good in comparison.
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James Barber |
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Posts: 14327 (10/21/08 02:30 AM) Registered User |
The biggest difference is the casting. I guess a decline in the quality of participants is only natural when a show has been on for this long, but if TAR1 or 2
had had a group half as boring and unpleasant and fake as this one I don't think it would be around today. That was also a time when their standby
caricatures (the "loveable" frat boy assholes, the couples in trouble, the female teams who were either edited as unsympathetic or as cannon fodder)
were not quite as grating.
Last Edited By: James Barber
10/21/08 02:33 AM.
Edited 1 times.
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VentDeMilo |
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Posts: 1719 (10/21/08 05:26 AM) Dept of Redundant Threads Dept |
But older TARs had different teams...unlike what we have now...every season, we have dumb blondes and a pair dress in pink and a hypie team.
And the locations...used to be wow for me...this season so far...let's say, I'd not care to visit the places they are going...nothing look impressive. The tasks have definately cheapen down. Those teams used to be so exhausted every task and they were quite good challenges...now, it's getting so freaking easy and lame! I thought they have hired someone who designed the Survivor challenges few seasons ago? Why Survivor's challenges can maintain fresh and exciting whereas TAR's challenges are getting worse and worse? |
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A Dying Clown |
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Posts: 6750 (10/21/08 05:53 AM) Registered User |
But older TARs had different teams.TAR4 sucked precisely because of the lack of diversity - the Final 3 were almost all bland California-based mactory alpha-males (with Jon/Al being almost identical, except for being a little older). The "different" teams got one-dimensional edits or were out early due to being cannon-fodder (Debra/Steve, Steve/Dave) or shitty race planning and bad luck (Amanda/Chris getting to the Roadblock first then not being allowed to wait because of the camerapeople wanting lunch HATE). TAR11 and TAR12 have had cousins, female friends, parents, grandparents etc all make the endgame. Similarly by TAR4 the tasks were so physical they automatically gave a free pass to the physically fit teams (which is why we repeatedly saw Reichen/Chip and David/Jeff could repeatedly screw up and pass teams who made no mistakes). And most of the tasks sucked anyway - the repeated Ropes vs. Slopes detour is arguably the worst ever. Didn't the TAR4 course only visit one new country (Holland?)? TAR13 has already matched that despite the challenge of finding new locations so many seasons into the show. The TAR5 total reboot of the franchise did lose some great things, but if it's a choice between TAR12 and another TAR4, it's hard not to be grateful for the changes. |
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Dan Down Under |
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Posts: 2789 (10/21/08 06:01 AM) Registered user |
VentDeMilo wrote: I know! Next week on TAR, let's hope they make them swim out and collect puzzle pieces then put them together! |
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Sil 80 |
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Posts: 40 (10/21/08 06:17 AM) |
I've enjoyed all the TARs
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TheEasyOne |
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Posts: 722 (10/21/08 03:59 PM) Registered user |
One thing I miss from the older seasons was how sometimes when a team was eliminated, instead of having the eliminated team soley talk about their experiences,
other cast members would say stuff they liked about the eliminated team. They had that for the gutsy grannies I remember.
Everyone from the early seasons like tar 2 were almost like family. Compared to the other seasons, where its all teams for themselves basically. |
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VentDeMilo |
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Posts: 1725 (10/21/08 05:44 PM) Dept of Redundant Threads Dept |
A Dying Clown wrote:You HATE Alpha Males doesn't make it a bad season! Tian/Jaree got a lot of dramas with themselves and other oldies. Virgins and Kelly/Jon had great rivalry Chip/Reinchen had alot of conflicts with other teams early on as well And I will take Debra/Steve over the hyppie bees from this season any day! Tian/Jaree > the pinks/divorces And the locations such as Vienna, Venice, Amsterdam, Milan, Mumbia etc were more superior than the places they are going now...
Last Edited By: VentDeMilo
10/21/08 05:46 PM.
Edited 1 times.
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Deadpool |
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Posts: 51 (10/21/08 05:53 PM) |
The early seasons weren't all that
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oh ehm gee |
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Posts: 1565 (10/21/08 10:45 PM) |
VentDeMilo wrote:The common theme behind the rivalries is that they all fizzled out by Malaysia 2, leaving us with Kelly/Jon as the only source of entertainment for 4(!) episodes. And tbh, they weren't that great in the grand scheme of things. You've got a point on Debra/Steve and Tian/Jaree > the divorcees, but that's mainly an editing decision. Also, Milan (as opposed to Cortina) was used only for a departure time pick-up. Amsterdam wasn't that great (and that was before Stave's elimination). Mumbai was okay. Vienna's Detour was great as was Venice's Roadblock. Malaysia 1 was boring, as was both Australia legs. The less said about Marseilles*, the better. And FWIW, TAR 4 sucks in the alpha male department. Rob/Brennan were more colorful than either David/Jeff OR Reichip (when they weren't being racist and/or assholes). *one more word on Marseilles: it's in my top 5 of the leg designs (along with South Carolina-Alabama, the second half of the Budapest leg, Barcelona, and the TARAS finale). |
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beatles20147 |
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Posts: 11852 (10/21/08 11:08 PM) Registered User |
A Dying Clown wrote:I didn't know about that but that'll always be the worst "Hours of Operation" for me--not just because it took out the best team of the season or because it was totally unnecessary--but because unlike most of them that take place at night, when the teams just wanna sleep anyway, nobody wanted to give up their spot in line (understandably) so you had 22 people standing outside a building in Italy just wasting time. Come on, it's Italy! Had Oswald and Danny been there, they probably would've gone sightseeing and still ended up in first place. |
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A Dying Clown |
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Posts: 6754 (10/22/08 03:16 AM) Registered User |
You HATE Alpha Males doesn't make it a bad season! I wouldn't say that, I'm one of the only Eric/Jeremy fans on Sucks  The TAR4 alphas were just douchey, boring or both. Since you obviously love
all alphas based on your other thread bitching about their absence, a successful season that would appeal to the majority would need a good mix of characters
(TAR2 and TAR3's final 3s of friends/family/coupleThe fact only couples made up the F6 of TAR6 and and F5 of TAR7 was equally bad.
Nick/Starr and Terence/Sarah's clashes with the teams aren't as painful to watch as Chip's entitlement issues writ large, Kelly/Christy are more endearing than Tian/Jaree since they aren't yelling at each other all the time and Andrew/Dan's fuck-ups are ten times more entertaining than David/Jeff's. Even Anita/Arthur are better than Debra/Steve since they actually knew how to drive to the airport without getting lost. I didn't know about that but that'll always be the worst "Hours of Operation" for me--not just because it took out the best team of the season or because it was totally unnecessary--Of all the times in the race, this was the most obvious one to have a 'Pick A Number' board. If they had one, Amanda/Chris would have been first in and, since Monica/Sheree would have come in a lot later, survived. It's definitely one of the dumbest moments in race-planning (just beating TAR10's Yield after the Hours of Operation bunch). Everyone from the early seasons like tar 2 were almost like family. Compared to the other seasons, where its all teams for themselves basicallyI'm not someone who hates MACTORS but casting more of them has been a big part in the lack of that bonding. TAR4 was the most extreme clash of mactors vs. regular people, but it's played a part in every season since (especially when they include deliberately divisive characters like Jonathan and Rob). |
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Elizabeth |
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Posts: 107 (10/22/08 07:21 AM) |
All mactors should die, or at least get off my TV screen. This season, I think I'd really only put Nick & Starr in that camp, although Aja is
supposedly an actress too (she gets a pass b/c I think she was actually cast for her snarky personality and tokenality rather than mactorness). The pinks are
repetitive, but Terence & Sarah remind me of Colin & Christy, contributing to my undying support of them. Mark & Bill were good characters too,
although we didn't get to see enough of their genuis.
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victalac |
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Posts: 1421 (10/22/08 07:41 AM) Registered user |
Lack of bonding might be the reason why this season is so bleh.
Another factor too, I think, is that most of these competitors are well-traveled. So there is no "awe" factor that goes along with the lack of bonding. So, casting folks, get teams that have never left the US. I know for a fact you could get an entire cast that has never even left the state of Texas. Make for a much better show. |
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oh ehm gee |
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Posts: 1566 (10/22/08 09:27 AM) |
I didn't know about that but that'll always be the worst "Hours of Operation" for me--not just because it took out the best team of the season or because it was totally unnecessary--but because unlike most of them that take place at night, when the teams just wanna sleep anyway, nobody wanted to give up their spot in line (understandably) so you had 22 people standing outside a building in Italy just wasting time. Worst HoO for me has to be Budapest, which would've been worse if Lori/Bolo had been with the pack. Let's discuss the leg design: - Start in the middle of the night. - Have a bunch at the roadblock which doesn't allow any opportunities for change in position. - Have flights that completely negate said roadblock. - Provide the teams with shitty cars to reach the Detour (which, whatever, I <3 shitty cars and the meltdowns that result). - ...but then make the teams take trains back to Budapest (which, again, whatever, since anti-bunching can be fun). - Make teams wait until 10 pm for the opening of the internet cafe. - Have a shitty product placement task that takes 60 seconds from start to finish. - Have teams travel THREE MILES to the Railway Museum. - Make teams wait until 10 AM for the opening of the Museum. So basically, they made the entire first part of the Hungary leg utterly worthless. Hell, Gus/Hera could've *walked* there and made it before it opened. One of the things I've liked about this season is that there hasn't really been a lot of bunching aside from flights (which are understandable). |
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Dr Will Hatch two point oh |
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Posts: 5554 (10/22/08 10:04 AM) Registered user |
One of the problems I have with new TAR seasons is all the regulation. They don't show it, but the rules are there. 6-6 roadblocks, you can't borrow
strangers cell phones I believe, yields, U Turns, Intersections, and a whole mess of other stuff. Also like the old poster said, the locations stink. You want
to be excited to visit these locations, that is why TAR9 is underrated in my book, that season had a very good race track. As far as casting goes, I don't
know why it went down the toilet. It is short sighted as self defeating to blame "mactors", because there are several really good mactor based teams,
and also, many teams which were praised in earlier seasons would be considered "mactors" today simply by their looks.
TAR peaked with season 3 imo. |
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kittymistress |
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Posts: 240 (10/22/08 10:52 AM) Registered User |
They have always had plenty of rules and regulations. As far as I am concerned, the 6-6 rule is the best one they ever put in. They did it, of course, to
prevent another repeat of TAR5, where the women did 1 or 2 tasks and the men did everything else (which was totally unfair to the Bowling Moms, since most
tasks were physically challenging). That change was long overdue.
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