TAR 5 - overall assessment?

[pg13]

I have to say, though, one of my favorite parts of any season of TAR was the Zorb!! What an awesome toy.

-Dave_B

Zorbs were part of the very first Road Rules/Real World All-Stars show (in Australia) and I remember Eric Nies didn't want to stop Zorbing... Everyone else wanted to go back to town, but Eric kept riding it.

On that show, you could choose water or no water in the Zorb...and the experience was very different without water. Jon Brennan, the naive country singer, actually had his Zorb deflate on him...and got a bit banged up.

Seeing them again on TAR this year WAS awesome.

pg--seattle
But more awesome than "My ox is broken"??? I'm not sure.

[caragwapa]

i think this ar5 was so amazing because the casting was so good!! almost all the racers were such characters. loved it and eagerly waiting for ar6!

[Eskoska]

I think it was a grand season... as for some suggestions as to what I'd like to see in the future...
-put me in the camp of spacing out the NEL's... heck i wouldn't mind seeing one on the first leg even lol. I think that the reason they put them on later is they think well a team that's bad shouldn't be saved because of an NEL, we'd like to save a good team that gets a bad break (colin and christie).
-I'd like to bring back the fast forward as well, the only problem with having the yield and the fast forward on all the legs is the second you're yielded why not go for the fast forward. I'm mixed on the yield, I think it's good in concept, but not good in practice.
-I'm not a fan of all these couple teams, for the mere reason we always get these weak I can't do anything to save my life females. Yes I'm talking Flo, yes I'm talking Nicole. I was borderline against her until they came in first the second to last leg and that's when I really started to hate her. I'd like to see a more even split... 6 mixed, and 6 single sexed teams.
that's all for now...

[Jahim]

Alright.. mine is all about more and less...I loved all the locations and I loved the cast.. and no I don't think Charla was a gimmick.. I think the people who think that WANT to believe that.. I mean, how would you make it NOT a gimmick and still include these people? please explain it to me and get back to me on that one...

MORE

I want more FFs.. they were fun, and more interesting.. Maybe not even every leg, but certainly more then 2... Honestly, there should be a Fast forward for every team to have a chance at.. so if you have 12 racers and 15 legs (that means 3 NELs) then you need 3 legs that do NOT have a FF, plus that adds more excitement for the racers since, like the NELs, they don't know when the opportunity will come up for them..

I want more use of the Yield.. personally I thought the idea was good, just was not actively used.. then again, I liked Forever Eden.. so... maybe for the sake of THIS show, it shouldn't *shrug*

I want more Puzzle tasks.. I really liked the pyrmaid/sphinx puzzle, and I really wish Chip didn't help the twins out with their lack of any understanding.. really, you should have some sort of a clue when racing around the world...

I want more relationship types.. like most others said.. we had 4 couples.. I mean, if you really want to get into it, have dating, engaged and married.. and maybe ex's if you are going to do that.. at least then it makes sense to us why they are there, but really, 4 is too many... now that I think of it, an Ex couple would be highly entertaining I bet... have we had that yet? *shrug*.. I'd like more friends and co-workers too.. family is all good too..

I want more teams, 4 NELs is fine if you had more teams, but really I felt like this season was lacking some of the usual group roles we have and dominated by the couples, and Really I liked the idea of having Allie in there, but I wouldn't recommend duplicating..

LESS

I want Less fear factor.. really stuffing your face is less then entertaining to the viewer... it only works for Fear factor because, thats just what it is, Fear factor, and they make it usually something really really really gross... Having them eat 2 lbs of fish eggs is just not appealing.. and a waste of what is considered a delicacy (this includes the egg thing too) and a disgrace to the culture..

I want Less bible talk.. I mean really, do we need a team every year that thinks god actually cares if they can find a stone in the sand? lets go a year with out a bible team, lets get a Jewish team in there, or a hindu thing if you really feel its important to even talk abuot religion.. but really, I could do with out any of the above..

I want less dominant male teams.. I mean really this season did it PERFECT.. they had the one male team and they were not abercrombie fitch models and college football guys who are CLEARLY goign to be more fit and physical in what is an overall endurance challenge of a race.. so I guess its not really a less as much as I just want to fit in with my theme.. lol...

I want less "whiny bitches".. I don't need these girls that are whining all the time about their lack of ability.. the only reason I didn't care for Chip and Kim's team is every other episode Kim was like yea, I contribute nothing to this team.. she'd say it then do nothing about it anyway but complain more.. so.. lets get some more sporty girls for our "couples" or teams like the Moms.. they rocked! and Really even the twins were pretty good about that, just were far from the sharpest knife in the drawer...

[lalol]

More legs like Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan from TAR4. Almost purely based on navigating/driving. That episode was really one of the most exciting legs ever when Millie/Chuck and Jon/Kelly had to fight to stay alive.

The Yield was a bad decision and taking the Fast Forward out was worst. The NEL twist is ok I guess but why the hell do producers let teams beg for money during the mandatory rest period?, it's part of the race so it should be done when the actual leg starts (like the bowling moms)

Although this season was really good but that was just my $0.02

[Tickety]

I think the best thing about this season as compared to other seasons was the TEAMS. They were simply stupendous. I like Dennis and Erika too - given their brief appearance. So, YAY FOR THE TEAMS!!!

[lliannee]

I started watching AR one night when my night classes were cancelled. As I was flipping channels I saw the Alps in the background big, bold & beautiful on my high definition tv and said "wow this scenery is great, why are they in the Alps?" Had me hooked. Think it was three races ago.

As a new person watching that season, I wondered if the NEL was there to keep the producers favorite dramatic team in the race (Flo), the viewers have no idea if the elimination was planned in advance or at the last minute. Even though I thought it was set up , the show was great and I loved seeing all the different countries.

This season was was good, it seems like they keep the tense music going more to keep viewers on the edge of their seats. The teams were interesting and likable.

They traveled to more countries this season but I can't see a reason why. We got more of the airport drama which during the first few shows was confusing. Now I know its how some teams got the competitive edge over the other teams by looking at different flight options. Seems like they could find more things to do in the countries visited instead of finding a clue and rushing off to the airport to go to another country.


I'm glad they didn't drive as much though in rented cars like they did in the last two races. Thinking on how I would feel if people from another country(especially where they drive on the other side of the road) came fatigued yet pumped up to America to drive & race against each other makes me cringe. It wouldn't be appreciated, so I can't see how other countries would appreciate us doing it to them.

Didn't appreciate producers using India's overcrowded public transportation again. I think they should keep the contestants safe, especially from groping hands.

I liked how the teams were mostly couples in different age ranges. (and not as many models) The physical tasks in the last two hour episode seemed more extreme compared to the task in previous episodes. Didn't want to see Linda and Karen go. The cliff climb took allot of upper body strength, along with rowing. Later teams climbed part of the way up a mountain with lower oxygen in a cold climate. I was afraid C&K would be out of the race.

I enjoyed Charla. This is the first time I've seen a little person on tv portrayed like a human being and not like what little people are usually portrayed as ,freaks, a joke or bowling balls with no feelings. I was glad she made it as far as she did. She certainly was at a disadvantage while running but I liked how nothing held her back.

I didn't like the yield at first but in the long run it may be better than the ff. It kept the teams closer together. Just think with the ff, a team could have to wait for hours for others to arrive. It's a good chance to rest but if it were me, I would be itching to go onto the next leg. This time the teams kept together more by having them wait at the airport, wait for a clue place to open, or by waiting a few minutes with the yield.

Don't like them taking the teams money. When it happened to the twins and they were encouraging them to use their sex appeal to get money, it just seemed contrary to the twins nature. K & K seemed stiff and unnatural when they were begging.

This season was interesting and great.

[Leftcoaster]

I'd like to have a NEL built into the first leg, a free pass for initial errors before you even get settled into race mode. Somewhere about two thirds into the season I paid attention to the intro and wondered who the heck that team was I'd never seen.

At the beginning of the show I had to much focus on Alison, and can't recall the first elimination at all. I'd like to see that changed. Let the first laggers remain so we can see if they learned anything from their errors.

I'd prefer to see more physical tasks and less severe munchfests. With different type of physical tasks, you at least come up now and again with something like a broken ox, where even a machine like Colin runs into problems. With chow downs, if you have a horse like Chip, it gives him an undue advantage the more food comps you have.

I'd truly like to see them start off during the day sometime, particularly in a congested location where the choices you make in getting around might make a bit of difference. Why make it seem like a great thing to come in first only to have everyone catch up because its the middle of the night and transportatuion venues are closed?

If they keep the non-elimination round money surrender active, I think you ought to need to do your begging while on the clock, not during your rest period.

If there is a yield involved, I'd prefer that it is away from the task at hand so you aren't able to either intimidate others with death stares or pick up clues on how best to approach the task.

I believe that you shouldn't be able to get assistance like everyone did with pushing the dead cabs unless you take the time to negotiate and pay for it. That would allow for some to do better than others.

I also feel that encouraging your driver to break the law should count the same as if you were doing it yourself. Colin and Christie had the wisdom of seeking out someone prepared almost by contractual agreement to go to any length to get around traffic, legal or not. The other shmoes, stuck with law adhering drivers were at a disadvantage that ought not to exist. If YOU cannot speed, you shouldn't be rewarded for prompting your driver to do so.

ETA:

I believe that fast forwards ought to be reserved for tasks that you can reasonably expect people to do. The Indian head shave was way out of line, IMO. Maybe next time they'll be in a place where the producers will want to see if someone wants to undergo the traditional branding that the locals favor. A couple of guys I could see getting sheared. But even though both sexes LOCALLY do it at least once in their life, I can't believe that the producers seriously considered that the general American woman racer would go for it.

[CCL]

ETA:

I believe that fast forwards ought to be reserved for tasks that you can reasonably expect people to do. The Indian head shave was way out of line, IMO. Maybe next time they'll be in a place where the producers will want to see if someone wants to undergo the traditional branding that the locals favor. A couple of guys I could see getting sheared. But even though both sexes LOCALLY do it at least once in their life, I can't believe that the producers seriously considered that the general American woman racer would go for it.

I don't think the head shave was unreasonable...all the women I asked would have done it for the chance at a million. I think it was interesting to have a fast forward (potentially a lifesaver) be something that when the racer got to it they were suddenly faced with the very real possibility that they couldn't/wouldn't do it and would have to go back to the roadblock/detour.
As others have mentioned, I would like to bring the thinking element back more into the game. It did seem like there were too many chartered flights/waiting cabs/well-marked routes this year. Part of the fun of the race is seeing people try to make their way through the unknown/unfamiliar and that fun is negated when the racers don't have to work their way through on their own wits but instead can hop into a marked cab etc. Also I don't mind physical tasks but I think certain ones do work against female racers...like the last climbing challenge in the Phillipines (women typically have less upper body strength). I think I would go for more scary tasks or more endurance tasks than tasks based on sheer physicality. And more puzzles!
Also, the yield sucks. Much too Survivor-esque. I would get rid of the yield and return the fast forwards to the field of play.
As for the racers, they were a good mix. I hated C & C but it is good to have someone to root against. I like having a mixture of people; it would be boring having just 20-something athlete-types. I don't mind couples but it would be good to have more friends, co-workers, neighbours. Maybe then we would hear less "Baby" all the time!

[Bearcata]

PS--To those saying that Colin & Christie were the best team ever. Watch the season again. Colin made lots of airport mistakes--although only the last two mistakes really cost them a shot at winning, Christie was a detriment on nearly every task that she was involved in, and Colin's temper could have easily forced them out of the competition much earlier. To point merely at how many episodes they won is just a reflection of how teams now realize that there is little benefit in coming in first...as long as you don't come in last. I don't deny that Colin is a solid athlete and an intense competitor.

I've said the same thing, there have been many teams that have been very dominate in the TAR races. But just because you win a lot of legs what is important is who crosses the finnish line first. Brandon was a wush complaining about Chip lying. Chip was tired of Brandon riding his coattails and I don't blame hime one bit. There was a lot of coattailing in this show and if a team cannot think for its self it will not succeed. Yes, I do think some of the map reading and puzzles and clues should be brought back.

I totally agree with your views on C&C.