Yeah I caught that too, and half expected him to get disqualified. It really looked like that technique was way easier.
FYI I am following the show and this thread. I am quite disappointed that it is a clip show tonight (even if it is “the best runs” - I’ve seen most if not all of them)
Brian
It’d be cool if tonight was mostly runs that were skipped with “while we were away” during the season, but I won’t be surprised if it’s all rehash with no previously-skipped runs.
Some odd choices for the “best of”.
No mention at all of that guy from Boston who was so amazing? Even while mentioning how well so many rookies did?
John Horton’s qualifying run as #2 run of the year? wtf?
And Lance Pekus was good and all, but didn’t seem historic or particularly thrilling in any way.
As always, intriguing glimpses of the new Mt. Midoriyama obstacles. Looks like the half pipe attack is being replaced by a steps from the quintuple steps in an arc, and there’s some insane thing involving small hanging fixed plates. Can’t wait!
The preview for Mr. Midoriyama showed……someone attempting stage 4!
(a) I didn’t think it did?
(b) If it did, I will assume that it was the testing-guy who they also showed attempting a bunch of the other obstacles, and who we have frequently seen demonstrating new obstacles on the various city courses
Man, what a boring episode. However, it did give a glimpse into the direction NBC is taking this.
The first thing I observed is the full-on American Idol-style arms race that’s developed. “40,000 applicants! 2,500 Beeh Daah Waaw-s! 875 death threats delivered to Akbar Gbajabiamila!” The second thing was the real reason we have two rounds of qualifying when, honestly, all you really need is Cityfinals…it’s so NBC has something positive to hype up. "Wow, Meagan Martin looked so impressive! Almost makes you forget about how she splashed down on the second freaking obstacle when it mattered!
See, that’s the harsh reality of the Vegas Finals, the actual contest. A lot of people are going to go out really fast, without producing any positive memories, and only the cream of the crop has a chance. It’s over in a heartbeat…two episodes for Stage 1, then 2-4 get wrapped up in the big finale. Everything that made the prelims so fun and free and open and positive and memorable and blissful and inspiring and joyous etc. etc. is blasted to the next county the instant Stage 1 kicks off.
It’s a jarring transition, and you have to wonder if NBC is really okay with this. I don’t expect the actual contest to get easier, but I can really seem them pulling strings to get more of the right people in and help them get more face time. Don’t be surprised if they added another Stage.
And speaking of which, the other interesting detail was the wildcards. No surprise that Catanzaro, Warnky, and Martin got nods, of course, but at least six other women are getting free passes as well. Remember, because of the addition of the military round, there are only 10 wildcards this time…are we seeing any men this time? I mean, they can do whatever they want, but I really would’ve liked to have seen John Alexis Jr. Or Reko Rivera, for that matter.
Ellis Dee - I’ll PM you on that football thing when I find the time. Definitely, definitely do not want to hijack this thread.
I’m not seeing any difference between the Vegas finals and the prelims.
Consider last year, when Brent Stefenson went out really fast in the prelims, without producing any positive memories. For him, last season was over in a heartbeat.
Stage 1 of Mt. Midoriyama tonight!
(I’m watching it with friends time-shifted tomorrow, so I’ll have to avoid this thread like the plague for 24 hours… which will not be easy.)
So… predictions?
I will guess:
2 women make it past the jumping spider, none finish stage 1 (would love to be wrong about that though)
31 men total make it past stage 1
6 make it past stage 2
1 makes it to stage 4, but fails
There should totally be a fantasy ANW draft. Who would you first pick? Brian Arnold? Joe Marovsky?
I think Graff will clear Stage 1 tonight. Maybe that is wishful thinking on my part. 
I just scared the heck out of my cats watching Tremaine (I literally was shouting “Come on! Come on! … YES!!!”. I love this show! There is nothing better than seeing somebody outdo themselves.
Prediction: Jessie Graff practices a half distance warped wall for the next year.
It just started here in Hawaii. I’ll have more when it’s done, but for now…
Ellis - But they didn’t need him. I seem to recall David “Flip” Rodriguez going out early one time. NBC just moved on to the next guy. That’s the kind of flexibility they have with hundreds of entrants. For that matter, we’re seeing far more footage of qualifying than City Finals for pretty much the same reason. If you want to see Meagan Martin or John Horton actually hitting a buzzer, well, not much choice, is there? I think it speaks volumes that NBC has “casting” and not “tryouts”… they’re looking for diversity, not the ones that have the best chance of triumphing.
Max - I’ve never had any freakin’ luck with predictions, and honestly, I find recapping a lot more enjoyable. If I was a betting man, though, I’d wager that there are going to be a few small surprises, but for the most part the status quo holds. I.e. the majority get clobbered on Stage 1, Stage 2 takes care of most of who remains, and if we’re VERY lucky, we’ll see our first Stage 3 finisher.
Some heartbreaking surprise exits as always… how can Sam Sann finish that brutal city finals course and never pass obstacle #2 in stage 1?
And brutal disappointments for Paul Casemir, David Campbell and James “The Beast” McGrath.
Geoff Britten continues to look incredibly strong.
I think Jessie Graff may have been the best hope for a woman finisher, glad to at least see her make it as far as she did.
Love the flowing hair dude. His run looked so graceful it was unreal.
Ryan Stratis’ run demonstrated the perfect, ideal way to broadcast: As we come back from commercial break, we join Ryan Stratis who is already on the course. Where is he on the course during the overhead camera shot while the announcer says this? The quintuple steps. More of that, please! No backstory, no rigamarole, joining in progress right at the start. Perfection.
We don’t get to see Travis Rosen run? Booo.
They hyped the hell out of the fireman in both the city finals and the clip show last week, and all he gets is a “while we were away” recap of him finally finishing stage 1? I just don’t get it.
No Lance Pekus after all his hype?
During the penultimate commercial break, a preview for the next week(s) reveals a insanely big spoiler if it’s true: [spoiler]Someone wins the $1 million, and as they say this they show someone who I recognize but can’t place the name at the top of the stage 4 tower celebrating.
Possibly Lance Pekus. Tallish, not a ton of body hair and a super short buzzcut type of look. But not hairless.[/spoiler]
As Stage 1 frontends go, I’d have to call this one…textbook. A bunch of solid successes, lots of largely predictable failures, and not a whole lot of buzzer-beater drama. Of the ones that made it, we got a good glimpse at who had a decent chance of besting Stage 2 and who’s going to get dunked in short order. (I will be shocked if Dustin McKinney or David Yarter make it.)
I would like to make a comparison between this year’s Stage 1 and the previous years’. It actually seems not only a bit easier this time around, but less chancy, so anyone who “should” be able to conquer it will. (And the mix of skills required is a definite breath of fresh air after the upper body-a-rama that was the Cityfinals.)
2nd - Giant Wheel / Propeller Bar
I actually thought that Propeller Bar would be a bit trickier since it has the added element of the jump to the rope. It looked like most of the contestants found it easier to grab a horizontal object than a vertical one (the fact that both hands are on the same elevation might also have something to do with it). In any case, definitely fewer spectacular wipeouts here.
5th - Halfpipe Attack / Sonic Curve
Definitely easier now, mainly because the guesswork’s been taken out. When running Halfpipe Attack, they had to decide how high on the rope to grab it, how high on the halfpipe to run, and the right launch angle. Lots of ways to screw this one up, almost like a poor man’s Metal Spin. For Sonic Curve, you just have to stay on your feet, no problem for anyone with decent agility.
7th - Spinning Bridge / Coin Flip
I don’t recall a lot of failures on the Spinning Bridge last year, but it will get you every time if you don’t have the right technique. For Coin Flip, the rotation is less severe, the distance between the objects is shorter, and there are only three of them. Definitely toned down.
8th - Final Climb / Swinging Bars
The major difference here is that with the former, a too-low swing could end a close run, where as now they’re already high up, so it’s no trouble getting a high jump. Does require more arm strength, but anyone who got through Cityfinals shouldn’t have trouble.
It looks like NBC really wants someone to win it all this year. (Which I have absolutely no idea if it will happen, but I wouldn’t be too astonished if it did.)
The people who failed on the giant wheel in the past were never people who really had a chance to make it very far anyhow… usually it was wildcards plus Sam Sann, who has continued his curse. This was always basically a gimme for any top-level competitor, and remains so.
I’m not sure I agree. The halfpipe attack didn’t force you into a particular stride or particular angle of attack, but that meant that you could do it however fit your style and speed and body type best. I feel like a fairly similar number of people failed. Plus there’s the factor that anytime the obstacle is new, that makes it harder, because people can’t have practiced it in their ninja gyms or backyard courses.
There’s also a major factor you may be overlooking, which is that people are just plain getting better. Cast your mind back to how many people couldn’t make it up warped walls in past season, compared to this season. If more people make it through rd 1 (and it’s not 100% clear that’s happening… does anyone remember how many stage 2 competitors there were last year?) that doesn’t necessarily mean rd 1 is getting easier. Certainly the jumping spider is unchanged, and I feel like it’s crushing somewhat fewer dreams than in previous seasons (although it did take out James “The Beast” McGrath).
This is the only one that definitely looks easier, although it did take out at least a few competitors, including David “The Godfather” Campbell.
This is clearly MUCH harder, in that at least one top competitor (Paul Casemir) actually failed here, whereas in past seasons all it ever did is slow people down.
I don’t really understand this level of cynicism. What would motivate NBC this year that didn’t motive them last year? And last year turned out to be WAY harder than the previous year, as far as people getting anywhere near finishing is concerned.
To the extent that I think NBC is trying to aim for anything, I would think they’d be tryin to aim to keep things about the same… maybe someone gets deep in stage 3, and if they do, then they clearly MIGHT win, but they’re perfectly satisfied if no one finishes. Why mess with a successful formula?
I wonder if there is somewhere I can get the 10 second warning klaxon sound from the show. It would make a cool ring tone.
Fewer big shocks this week… mainly Kacy Catanzaro missing the minitramp entirely and Elet Hall blowing the jumping spider.
Next week is going to be super packed… one episode only for more stage 1 finishers than ever before.
Anyone know if they’re doing a USA-vs-Japan or USA-vs-the-World this year?
Ellis Dee: was your spoiler either confirmed or disproved? I don’t want to click on it in case it’s still relevant one way or the other.
It was neither confirmed nor disproved by last night’s episode. We’ll have to wait until next week to find out if it’s true.
Next week is 3 hours, so there’s plenty of time to accommodate the larger field.