# The Amazing Race 31 premieres April 17th **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 6, 2019, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-31-premieres-april-17th/832113 "2019-04-06T00:49:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-31-premieres-april-17th/832113/61 "2019-05-03T15:29:31Z")
It looks like they have been teasing us the last couple weeks with some almost-meltdowns from Rachel. (Who then seems to get all snarky about her sister in asides to the camera.) I assume this is just foreshadowing to a full-blown eruption any time now. And is it just me, or do about half of the women in the race look like they’ve had some work done on their faces? Several seem to have that tight-skin puffy-lip too-much-Botox look. ---
**Author:** ![UndisputedKingofNothing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b3f665/32.png) [@UndisputedKingofNothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UndisputedKingofNothing)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-31-premieres-april-17th/832113/62 "2019-05-03T18:11:53Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > The period ranging from Colin and Christie’s season where Colin nearly got thrown into jail because the cabbie changed rates (or Colin misunderstood the rates) to the season where those “dwarf”\* stunt men who kept scamming drivers by taking the cab ride and then saying “Oopsie! We don’t have the cash. How about a watch instead?” drama has died completely > > … > > \*I don’t know the appropriate term. The word you’re looking for is _asshole_. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-31-premieres-april-17th/832113/63 "2019-05-07T17:13:05Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > The 218 Dance Crew were featured in this episode. They’re somewhat well-known in the region after they appeared in [Asia’s Got Talent](https://youtu.be/zqyWbSC4iR4). You know, I never thought about how on these various performance challenges, how the local team has to do it over and over again, nearly a hundred times. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-31-premieres-april-17th/832113/64 "2019-05-07T19:04:17Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I wish someone would tell the producers of _The Amazing Race_ that they’re making _The Amazing Race_. If I wanted to see all the backstabbing and conniving of _Survivor_, I’d watch _Survivor_. This is pretty much how I feel about this entire season. I don’t watch Survivor or Big Brother for good reasons. I really don’t need them infecting one of the few reality competitions I find to be sort of worth watching. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-31-premieres-april-17th/832113/65 "2019-05-08T04:31:48Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > If it’s back to Wednesdays instead of Friday purgatory, I’m hoping for as high as 6 million. Over 5 at least. Well it started off promising: [Ratings: CBS’ ‘Survivor,’ ‘Amazing Race’ Season Premiere Are Wednesday’s Top 2 Shows](https://www.thewrap.com/survivor-empire-amazing-race-season-premiere-ratings/) > [@](#): > > “Survivor” at 8 p.m. posted a 1.5 and 7.8 million viewers. “The Amazing Race” season premiere at 9 landed a 1.2 and 5.8 million viewers. But then the next episode dropped precipitously to around 4.5 million viewers and stayed that way the following week. (Numbers from [this page](https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/amazing-race-spring-2019-ratings-season-31/) on [noparse][tvseriesfinale.com](http://tvseriesfinale.com)[/noparse].) > [@](#): > > For comparisons: The 30th season of The Amazing Race (Spring 2018) averaged a 1.15 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 5.514 million total viewers. Last season was Fridays, right? Maybe Friday wasn’t so bad after all. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-31-premieres-april-17th/832113/66 "2019-05-08T04:39:20Z")
> [@duality72](#): > > This is pretty much how I feel about this entire season. I don’t watch Survivor or Big Brother for good reasons. I really don’t need them infecting one of the few reality competitions I find to be sort of worth watching. Didn’t one of the teams take 27 attempts? ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-31-premieres-april-17th/832113/67 "2019-05-09T13:18:08Z")
I don’t like the Reilly sisters, but good riddance to Corinne and Eliza. Now if only the preview is right and the Reilly sisters have a meltdown in the next episode which is preempted because of the Survivor finale. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-31-premieres-april-17th/832113/68 "2019-05-09T14:57:52Z")
How many times was Rachel ready to give up on building the water wheel? I was quite ready for them to go home. Though Corinne and Eliza wasn’t such a bad elimination either. They did get one thing right: Survivors seem to be amazingly bad at the race. The Afghanimals started out typically strong, but made a poor choice of detour. I don’t know if I could have made the optimal decision on that detour either. I agree with the previous poster that new Zen Colin is kinda freaky. The Amazing Editors seem to be setting him up for an epic future meltdown. But so far their Zen attitude are serving Colin & Christie well. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-31-premieres-april-17th/832113/69 "2019-05-09T15:12:07Z")
I didn’t expect the “Survivor” Teams to do well on this race. But not because they were on Survivor. None of them were Physical Challenge Beasts in their Survivor appearances. Rob Cesternino (Amazon, AllStars) and Stephen Fishbach (Tocantins, 2nd Chances) were asked to be on this season but couldn’t go because Fishbach was getting married (among other reasons). I think they would have done well. I am guessing Brett and Chris were their replacements. Lots of potential survivor teams would be stronger teams (On paper). Malcolm and Denise, Spencer and Tasha, etc. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-31-premieres-april-17th/832113/70 "2019-05-09T15:43:17Z")
So far the last place teams have been: 1. TAR (cops?) 2. Survivor (Rupert & Laura) 3. Survivor (Chris & Brett) - NEL 4. Survivor (good riddance) Yeah that’s not great. For the Big Brother teams, I think Britney and Janelle aren’t long for this game unless they learn to navigate post-haste. The Reilly sisters could hang around for a while, and Victor & Nicole are racing solidly. I’m liking them much more than on their previous shows. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-31-premieres-april-17th/832113/71 "2019-05-09T16:30:36Z")
I realized last night that Britney is giving me serious Zoe Lister-Jones (Jen on Life In Pieces) vibes. Other than one being blonde and one brunette, they’re strangely similar. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-31-premieres-april-17th/832113/72 "2019-05-09T17:09:22Z")
Great comparison, and I love that show. In the open this episode, they showed her elbowing one of the Survivor villains out of her way and then accidentally mowing down the polar bear costume dude at the bottom of the ramp. And then she did nothing at all for the rest of the leg. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2019, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-31-premieres-april-17th/832113/73 "2019-05-10T00:11:43Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > I didn’t expect the “Survivor” Teams to do well on this race. But not because they were on Survivor. None of them were Physical Challenge Beasts in their Survivor appearances. I seem to recall Rupert being pretty good at physical challenges while he was on Survivor. Besides, you don’t need to be that physically good to do well on the race. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2019, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-31-premieres-april-17th/832113/74 "2019-05-10T03:27:23Z")
Apparently there was an unaired segment involving a Head-to-Head right before the Pit Stop. Teams had to play badminton against each other. The winners got to run to Phil at the mat, while the losers had to wait for the next team and try to beat them. Rachel & Elissa had already lost two previous matches before finally beating Corinne & Eliza and edging them out at the Pit Stop. This undoubtedly accounts for the Survivors’ downtrodden appearance and why the two last place teams were so close together. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2019, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-31-premieres-april-17th/832113/75 "2019-05-10T03:37:58Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Great comparison, and I love that show. In the open this episode, they showed her elbowing one of the Survivor villains out of her way and then accidentally mowing down the polar bear costume dude at the bottom of the ramp. And then she did nothing at all for the rest of the leg. Hey, now! She played the part of ballast admirably. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2019, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-31-premieres-april-17th/832113/76 "2019-05-10T12:02:38Z")
I was surprised that they allowed them to ride mopeds around like that. They can be dangerous enough, even at those speeds, to get hurt. In the US they make you wear at least jeans, a long sleeved shirt, and gloves. I cringed when one of the women laid hers down, glad no one was hurt. They also didn’t seem to get any instruction at all on how to ride. Had they gotten any I think a couple of them would have gotten through faster. Too bad about Eliza, she might have been nasty, but she was eye candy. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2019, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-31-premieres-april-17th/832113/77 "2019-05-10T12:04:54Z")
Speaking of ballast, I think my favorite part of the episode was when Corinne and Eliza took a header out of their boat, got back in and continued to paddle standing up. _They’re showing us how to do it, so we stand up!_ Too good. ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2019, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-31-premieres-april-17th/832113/78 "2019-05-10T18:32:59Z")
Corinne and Eliza’s exit must have been one of the most negative ones I’ve seen on TAR. Obviously the people eliminated are disappointed but usually Phil gets them to say something inspiring like “well I’ve still learned so much and it was so amazing blah blah blah” but here we just had lots of crying and bitterness. Not surprising though, that was basically Corinne and Eliza’s whole schtick and while it may be entertaining on a game where you betray people it doesn’t work here. > [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > Apparently there was an unaired segment involving a Head-to-Head right before the Pit Stop. Teams had to play badminton against each other. The winners got to run to Phil at the mat, while the losers had to wait for the next team and try to beat them. Rachel & Elissa had already lost two previous matches before finally beating Corinne & Eliza and edging them out at the Pit Stop. This undoubtedly accounts for the Survivors’ downtrodden appearance and why the two last place teams were so close together. Wow, that’s a pretty big thing to cut. ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2019, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-31-premieres-april-17th/832113/79 "2019-05-10T20:10:53Z")
> [@Edward\_The\_Head](#): > > Too bad about Eliza, she might have been nasty, but she was eye candy. I like eye candy as much as the next guy (and gay woman, I guess), but I was more than glad to see their whiny, bitchy, self-involved, vindictive asses kicked out. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2019, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-31-premieres-april-17th/832113/80 "2019-05-10T20:37:42Z")
I remember Corrine and Eliza both all too clearly in their respective seasons and had a hunch that they were going to be a toxic dumpster fire before the end of their run. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-31-premieres-april-17th/832113.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-31-premieres-april-17th/832113.md?page=5)