Sunday, April 25, 2010

CAN WE GET SOME SHOOTING? KICK A DOOR IN? CHASE A CRACKHEAD? It's been a month (at least) since I've written about The Amazing Race, and my relative lack of having anything to say after this week's well-constructed Shanghai leg just leads me to wonder whether, unlike Survivor, we've just hit a point where we already have seen it all when it comes to the Race.

To be clear, structurally this was a good leg. Loved the noodle challenge (RIP He Pingping), the fashion needle-in-a-haystack, the Survivor-level puzzle roadblock with added wind terror. (Questions: (1) did any rule stop a team from solving the puzzle on the reverse side? (2) given the wind, why not stack each row once completed rather than leave them all subject to the gusts?) But even with three relatively likable teams left, I just don't care that much. Should I?

16 comments:

  1. The amount that I care about the remaining teams is, generally, directly proportional to my interesting a TAR season.  And I *really* like two of the final four teams... Jet/Cord and Louie/Michael, obviously.  So, yes, I remain invested in the show this year; I think it's still a solid enough franchise that, when well-cast, it gets the job done.  (Now that they've stopped casting lots of teams of alpha-males, and lots of dating/models, at least.)

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  2. This has been an uncommonly boring Race, due to the combination of a boring group of teams, no terribly interesting challenges, and racing that's neither been ultra-competent nor ultra-incompetent.  I did enjoy Phil jerking the cops around, though.

    And also, especially for the cops, why not just put up a partial puzzle and search the appropriate section?  (Though, I, too, had the question about why not just work from the back.)

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  3. Meghan8:54 AM

    I'm enjoying this season and wish we had had a discussion on last week's episode, because Carol and Brandy's outrage at being U-Turned was phenomenal.  I loved that they were calling Brent/Caite dumb because they didn't U-Turn the strongest teams.  While it's true that that would be a better strategic move, it was awesome how they were implying that they weren't that good a team. 

    I think the days of being impressed/overwhelmed/grossed out over the tasks are gone.  But the scenery is still amazing, by and large.  And you never know when you're going to get one of those "My ox is broken!" moments.  So it's still worth tuning in for me.

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  4. J. Bowman10:35 AM

    I can't have been the only one who saw the "In Memory of He Pingping" and immediately thought of Ass Dan.
    I know it makes me a bad person.

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  5. Matt, I suspect that there were rules about having to complete the whole puzzle, and I certainly about having to solve it from the front side.

    As for this season, I've enjoyed the lack of intra-team bickering a lot.  I find it annyoing, not entertaining.  Other than Carol/Brandy this has been a drama free season, which, while probably not the best for ratings, is exactly what I like to see.  For example, I loved the hug between the brothers during the noodle task, and that they high fived and wished the cops luck as they were leaving the stadium.  Obviously though, anything other than a Jet/Cord win will be a travesty.  I love them boys. 

    BTW, up until yesterday I thought they were cousins, not brothers.  I was trying to figure out why I would have made that mistake, when I realized its because I keep thinking of them as Bo and Luke Duke!

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  6. That doesn't make you a bad person, but many other things do.  Was He really smoking?

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  7. Andrew11:47 AM

    Part of what's making this season less engaging than some others is that the teams aren't especially appealing or great racers. But, to have these 4 teams as the final four isn't bad. I do like the cowboys and the cops, and find the brothers alternatively incredibly annoying and very funny. But I think part of the problem is that the producers have gotten so good at planning the Race that there aren't nearly as many opportunities for teams to really push the edge of the envelope with flights, Colin/Christie-style or unexpected travel clusterf&*s, TAR1 teams attempting to get to Rome. 

    If they ever manage to produce in HD, that season will feel fresh and exciting, even if the Race itself isn't.

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  8. Or just completely exploit the edges of the rules, Rob and Amber-style. 

    I miss having regular, challenging FFs which can be contested simultaneously.

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  9. The Pathetic Earthling11:56 AM

    Some more train/bus legs might help.  That was great bus schedule mojo in Chile on this season, and the logistics of putting groups of four (the team plus the crew) on a given random bus or train has to be easier than getting them on a flight. 

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  10. Anonymous11:59 AM

    Same here, Lou. My husband and I didn't even know Jet and Cord were related, let alone brothers, until last night's episode. We'll be disappointed if they don't win. They've run a solid race with no bickering, and I love their gentlemanly manner and a calm can-do attitude.

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  11. Marsha1:22 PM

    Based on how they read the clue, I'm guessing they had to have the puzzle show up correctly in the hands of the people in the stands before they'd be allowed to turn it over (and you'd be allowed to go get the clue. Even if you assembled the back side, you'd still have all the while squares at the edges that would have to be fit in from the front side. So you'd have to assemble on the back part way, then turn it over, assemble the rest, then go through running it up there to the people anyway. Not sure how much time you'd save.

    Regardless, the rules likely required assembly on the picture side, becuase it's too easy an idea to try the other way for *someone* not to have tried it.

    I'm enjoying the Race, but it's not knocking my socks off. I think, ager 16 seasons, that would be hard to do.

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  12. I think they could jazz this up by slowing it down a little bit.  I know they want to get to a lot of countries, but how about some more driving?  Or some buses?  Or trains? Or bicycles?  Or ANYTHING but airplanes?

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  13. Meghan4:15 PM

    KR, interesting point.  One of the best scenes ever was Milie falling asleep while Chuck got lost for 2 hours.  It allowed Kelly and Jon back in the race, thanks to some serious roadwork screw-up.

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  14. C'mon, don't you watch The Soup, where Joel McHale mocked that they had won a "romantic vacation" as one of their prizes with a "Brokeback Mountain"/incest joke?

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  15. Genevieve11:43 AM

    As a more recent convert to AR (this is the third season I've watched), I'm still energized and excited by it.  I loved the cops' comment that you used as the post title, was perplexed at how it could take Michael so long to do the puzzle, and very glad that it was a NEL.  Mostly rooting for Jet and Cord, though, but would be happy to see the cops go to the finish.

    I agree on more buses and things that break up an airport bunch. 

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  16. Travis7:22 PM

    loved the cowboy saying "bitching & complaining about the wind ain't gonna get the puzzle done any faster" after watching Brent do exactly that. And the scen of him tossing the folding chairs to use as paperweights was genious.

    I would still love to know how the Non-elimination legs are determined... anyone?

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