I wonder if the move to Friday is killing the TAR thread participation. For me, I see it live about half the time and watch it on the DVR sometime over the weekend the rest of the time. So I’m often late to the thread.
Also, no Taxi Assessment yet from zut and those usually generate some discussion.
Are we not doing separate episode threads?
I assumed the “Party Night” was because they keep wanting the blind date couples to bang but not having enough rooms for all teams seemed to contradict that.
Phil asking about “love” has descended into Creepy Uncle territory.
The love connection nonsense is so annoying I am thinking of bailing on this season. Also, why did they have two dance routine challenges in a row?
I had thought about doing one last week, but this thread popped back up. This week I just went ahead and bumped this one.
I thought the “Party Night” was really a way for any other teams to catch up from any missed flights and such. I didn’t understand the rooms at all. They were supposed to share rooms but did any of the couples?
The Amazing Race has been my favorite television show for years. And even I am considering bailing. This finely tuned eight cylinder race car (heh, heh) is misfiring on only a couple cylinders.
Phil asking about whether or not the blind date couples are feeling a connection with their date is awful. Hate it, hate it, hate it. I don’t want to be watching The Bachelor. I hope Phil hates it as much as I do.
And the tasks have been less than compelling. When they are interesting, the detour tasks seem to be wildly mismatched (ie - one being much easier than the other).
And while I have always appreciated the race teams who take a few minutes to enjoy the experience, someone else mentioned above that it doesn’t seem like any of the teams are being competitive.
Sigh.
I wonder if some production assistant just looked at their profiles and said “They’re both looking for the same thing in a partner! They’re a perfect match!” without realizing they’re both looking for someone completely different from themselves.
That kind of thing happens at least once or twice a season - everyone tries to get the best flight possible, only to slowly trickle in to their destination at nighttime to find that they have to come back at 8:00 in the morning. The only thing different about this episode is we saw what they did while waiting.
I miss the ratings. Can we bring back the ratings?
Yeah, this season seems off. It’s not necessarily terrible, though. They’re trying something new and it’s not working - like TAR Family.
StG
That’s how I see it. TAR Family Edition was a failed experiment. So far, this seems to be another one. After 25 seasons I don’t blame them for tinkering, as long as they recognize that no one likes it and they return to their regular formula next season.
I think that’s why they did only 5 teams, to see how it would work out. Honestly, I kind of like the idea, and so far I haven’t had a problem with it. Though the “dating” aspect is pretty bad, they could have just gone with random teams and done away with the dating part.
I’d like to see them try random teams. Start with 22 people, and pair them up on the starting line.
Or have them race individually to some location, and let the first 11 people who get there choose their partners from among the second 11…thus creating ‘drama’.
Don’t let them choose. Pair the first with the last, the second with the second to last, and so on.
I think the worst thing about this format is the homogeneity. There are no parent-child; no BFF’s; no siblings; and now, no old married couples. Just pretty young people.
If it weren’t for the #teamname under every team identification, I would have completely forgotten which team has what back-story.
^ This. Both points. This.
I just caught up.
2 strangers on a blind date? Cheesy but not bad. Phil, playing “Sleazy Love-Tester Philbot”? Creepy as hell.
That said, it’s giving us back the “Eat, sleep and mingle” stuff that really added a TON of charm to the early seasons, so I’m pretty happy about that.
Up 'till now I’ve liked the nurse and didn’t like the Dr, but now? They deserve each other. Geez lady, shut UP already.
Team “New Kid”. Is the tiny little guy the New Kid? Is the bigger, slightly pushy (in a good way) a New Kid too? How many New Kids are there on this race? One with a boyfriend? Or two (who are both New Kids and also boyfriends)?
For reasons that completely elude me, I really like the hairstylists.
So far, I’m enjoying this season a lot more than I thought I would. Between this season and last, I love the fact that there’s no obvious psychotic villian casting (Jonathon the wife-beater comes right to mind). The show is so much better when it’s about normal people (for varying degrees of normal).
For an experiment, it’s far better than Family Edition (because: A) Kids can’t do many of the exciting challenges (“Stop and look at the REALLY BIG DESK CHAIR” challenge–remember that?) and B) seeing Phil telling a 6 year old that she’s out of the race isn’t fun)
Overall, I’m looking forward to the rest of this season.
There was an older dating couple, but they didn’t make it past the first leg.
Ooooh. I like this idea.
Unfortunately, I think disfunctional teams are the most entertaining. And I think that established relationships would be more disfunctional than two strangers. I know that doesn’t seem logical, but strangers would work harder to cooperate and strangers don’t have emotional buttons to push. I think this is why the dating teams are doing quite well.
Only one New Kid is on the race, the pudgy one. The tiny little one is not a New Kid.
I can’t tell the two guys on Team New Kid apart.
StG
There’s the tall one and the short one. I think the tall one is the actual New Kid.
Short one - fitness trainer. Tall one, band member.
Can’t tell the other teams apart except truck stop neither can dance and blond blabber mouth I’m always right while he stays diplomatically silent because the camera tells all.