On original AG, there used to be points awarded for how many seconds you won by in the Eliminator. So if the person who’s down 8 points wins by 5 seconds and each second is worth 2 points they would come from behind.
Otherwise it didn’t matter who finished first in the Eliminator.
I’m not sure which way I like better.
The original was like that at the beginning, but they switched to the head-start method at some point during the course of the show.
With good reason, too. The competitors would finish, and the host would give their names, and times, and point totals. Usually it was obvious if you were paying attention (especially if the contestant who finished first was already leading the points), or you could have a stopwatch and figure it out. But even if it was close, it’s exciting to watch a race and boring to listen to someone reciting numbers. The current method is better, hands down.
There was a reality show called Treasure Hunters, a few years ago. They were careful to never announce what the prize was. On the last show, we saw one team win the hunt (taped well in advance), and then the live reunion where they found out how much they won. Only a show sponsored by accountants would think that following clues and travelling around the world was the buildup, and a number was the big finale
The new Eliminator looks like it takes a freakish amount of cardio conditioning and upper body strength. I kind of like that it all comes down to the final competition, although I’m not sure 1/2 second per point makes it worth it. I agree that they should have some bigger penalty for falling off/wimping out of the pedal through the sky thing. Just falling and having to climb out doesn’t seem like a big deal if you’re already having trouble.
Also agree that more action and less talking would be a big help. And there has to have been some editing. The contestants should be a lot more winded post event, especially after the swing across the rings one. Maybe it’s my own incredible lack of upper body strength, but swinging across rings is hard.
They have one of those standard disclaimers at the end: “Portions of the show not effecting the outcome have been edited”.
The editing seems pretty obvious to me, but it’s kinda my profession. I noticed things like sped up pans from one place to another and it takes no time at all to change from the Gladiator intro costumes to more practical and armoured outfits in, for example, the Gauntlet.