The Amazing Race - Season 30

[Tsylyst]

I feel like I might have less of a problem with the race thing if it came in the middle of a leg, like in place of a Road Block ... or better yet, at the beginning of the leg where you were racing to see who got to start the leg first. Or maybe when they all get off a plane ride together, they have to do the race to see who gets to leave the airport first. Or when they are bunched up waiting for a museum to open, they have to spend those couple hours overnight racing to see in what order they will enter the place instead of just grabbing a number off the sign.

But coming at the end of a leg, it basically invalidates all the hard work (or, in some cases, luck) the teams have put in to finish Road Blocks and Detours and get to the mat.

[tlh9]

Yes, my Aunt and I noted how that did totally suck that teams who had worked smart and hard (or been lucky) to get to the mat got put in a different order (and even eliminated) by the frites race thing.

But the concept itself was interesting.  I like the other ideas for where to use it though.

[copssister]

All that exhaustion - such grueling challenges - only to be a non-elim leg. 

Nothing wrong with what Jessica did (or didn't do) with the other team's gnome.  It's not like she stole or hid the gnome from Brittany (as the previews made you believe).  I'm not able to figure out why the hell Brittany was running through the streets screaming Jessica's name regarding the gnome - was there something I missed?

All this talk about Team Yale being so smart is certain foreshadowing for them making an amazingly stupid decision within the next few legs.  

So hard to watch those teams which opted to deliver groceries after having just raced around Tangier looking for their zip-lined gnomes.

[Tsylyst]

Brittany thought Jessica still had the gnome because Jessica took it from her saying "I'll hold this for you" and (I guess) Brittany never saw Jessica set it down. But like you said, that's on Brittany, not Jessica. If there's something you need for your team, don't entrust it to someone else. Always keep an eye on it -- if you don't, you deserve what you get.

What was so hard for me about watching the groceries challenge was watching them DRAG chicken on the HOT GROUND. Gross! If it had been packaged first or on ice, maybe I could be OK with that. But it was just open to the air in the hot sun, which is just not sanitary or safe.

[AVorlon]

I like the NBA players, but they are so inconsistent. They looked like they would win this leg of the race, only to drop behind and finish last. Luckily for them this was a non-elimination leg, but I'm still not convinced that is just luck. 

I'm still going to contend that the non-elimination legs are decided on the spot by the producers, depending on who is about to be eliminated. 

[MrsGryn]

I just don't understand why he didn't leave his pack with his partner! I'm not sure they wouldn't have ended up in the same spot but it might have helped a bit. Glad it was an NEL.

Cody is much less of an a-hole out in the wild. 

[gforce]

So, if these head-to-head comps are now going to be a thing, could they at least make them marginally exciting?   Even Phil’s thrilling commentary (*snort*) can’t really make that bocce ball type thing interesting. They’re leaving it up to the editors to try to make these contests engaging, and it clearly isn’t easy.   If they make it to Scotland, are they going to have to do 18 rounds of golf?

Also, I’ve definitely been let down by the absolute lack of Jessica/Cody meltdowns.   They’re actually kind of boring.

[copssister]

Interesting to note that not one comment has been posted since the show aired 1 and it was a double episode.  Is the race less than Amazing this year?

Did Jessica say she can't drive?  At all?  I can almost understand not knowing how to find REVERSE on a stick shift, but racing without knowing at all how to drive, or swim, or steer an ox on a yoke just seems silly to me.  

I have an idea for the head-to-head comps - have those at the end of the non-elim legs.....with the last team receiving a hour penalty plus the additional task on the next round.  The race has always been about beating your own demons and working together, not about direct competition on a challenge.

It's not often that someone has a story about the time they had dental work done in Saint-Tropez.....so there's that, Yale.  

 

Side note:  I've been in a certification class all week which covered the topic of associate engagement.  One of the discussions was about holding off-site, team building meetings.  Don't you know that one of these Midwest yahoos suggested GOAT YOGA as a team building activity!  

[MrsGryn]

I was surprised by the "can't drive" thing either but it was pointed out to me she probably meant drive a standard shift.

GOAT YOGA! Not. 

 

[karolm]

Or a few DUI's.

Sorry but I think the worst of Jessica.  Left over feelings from months

of BB does that to you.

[MrsGryn]

PTSD, karolm.

 

[nixiechick]

Either Jessica has a special Cody wrangling power or he's had some sort of personality transplant, because AR Cody is nothing like BB Cody. This one is, dare I say it, almost likable? And yes, boring. 

The head to head thing is not grabbing me so far. There's just something about it that seems pointless and not really in the spirt of the show. It's one thing if you or your partner really sucks at something and you end up repeating the same thing 29 times, but I don't know, I'm just not liking this new bit. And I'd love to know what would have happened if the now engaged team wouldn't have beat the basketball players and got the boot. Would he have proposed as they were told they were eliminated? Although, I think he realized how close they came and came prepared no matter what the next time. 

[AVorlon]

I didn't say anything about this episode until now, because I recorded it  and only now finished watching it.  I was sorry to see the NBA guys go, but they kind of sucked at this game. Also,  if you're not even 50 years old and you've already had three heart attacks, maybe you should think about staying at home and relaxing.  Maybe you can practice that game in the park, which was like horseshoes meets shuffleboard.  

As for Jessica not being able to drive, I'm not sure what to make out of that.    There are plenty of people who live in places like New York City and Philadelphia who don't drive, because they have no need for it. I don't think that applies to Jessica though..

[copssister]

Again, I'm questioning my sanity because I feel the need to defend Jessica.  She was 5 words into the challenge when the others teamed up with her.  While I may have chosen to keep one word secret and reveal the others, I'm okay with her approach of replacing one of the words with a general pronoun.  She gave them the complete phrase immediately after she received the clue.  Sly like a fox, that one.....yet dumb as a box of rocks to believe the Czech classroom was the proper lecture hall.  

I hate the Double U-Turn more than I hate the Head to Head challenges.  I'll likely hate the partner swaps even more than both of those combined.  

[gforce]

I’m not liking the idea of the partner swap.  I’m not sure of the point as far as the race goes.  To create more drama?  Mess up their strategy?  TAR was only ever a strategic game on the most basic level.  It’s (still) mostly about the challenges quickly and navigation.  It feels like they’re just throwing a bunch of stuff at the wall to see if anything sticks.