The Amazing Race season 17 thread (1 Viewer)

[Mike Frezon]

Originally Posted by Paul D G /forum/thread/304061/the-amazing-race-season-17-premiere-9-26-201#post_3733246


It's funny I ended up watching last night's Race tonight...the same day Pardon the Interruption makes the move to HD. Seriously, if Survivor can do HD, there's no reason the Race can't. Don't tell me it doesn't warrant the money it would take to film in high def. Not with an armful of Emmy's under their belt and on their 17th season. Shows don't get that far without being "worth it" to their network.

 

I've been singing that tune the last three or four seasons now. HD cameras just aren't that expensive and are incredibly small and portable. A couple of seasons ago, Bertram van Munster tried to make the case in an interview that they free-lance some of the work to crews in the various countries...not all of whom had HD gear. Each season the excuses seem to get less viable and less comprehensible. They must be one of the last SD shows on the air.
 

Networks like TLC have been shooting in HD for many years. I'm surprised CBS is allowing this to happen. So much for being the "Tiffany Network."

 

[Walter C]

The show has been operating under a tighter budget since All-Stars, so I'm going to guess that's the main reason why it's not in HD.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Originally Posted by Walter C

 

[SIZE= 9px]And, regardless, HD gear is really cheap these days...especially for a show which must be a huge money-maker for its production company and network.[/SIZE]

 

[Walter C]

[Never mind]

 

[Walter C]

Double post.

 

[David_Jr]

My wife and I have been following this so far. Not a bad crew. The tattoo guy does seem to be a real jerk though when pressure is on. No "old" couple this year. Father son Chinese team are hard to dislike, but I doubt they'll be around too much longer.

 

[Walter C]

The Arctic Circle and the Ice Hotel - very cool to visit indeed (pun intended)


Hated to see Connor & Jonathan go, as I was really starting to like them. Kind of reminding me of the cowboys from last season, with their level-headedness.


Remarkable recovery for Michael & Kevin and Nat & Kat, going from the back to the front of the pack. It was interesting to see 4 teams connecting through Frankfurt with only an hour to spare, as I had to do the same myself a couple weeks ago. I would say one of the worst airports to connect in, and hopefully, I won't have to connect through there again.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Look, TAR in HD next year!


http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/blogs/live-feed/amazing-race-getting-hd-upgrade-34512

 

[Mike Frezon]

About freakin' time.


Thanks for the good news, Pat.

 

[Walter C]

Boy, not much talk about this season's race itself. Probably because none of the teams are really hateful to each other, unlike the past few seasons. I do hope to see 2 of the dating couples gone, as I've had enough of them.


Just saw the Norway episode, and thought it sucked that there was no chance for Katie & Rachel to catch up. Pretty much, the order seemed identical from one pit stop to another.


I thought it was funny when Vicki was not sure what "Fast Forward Taken" meant. That team may be dumb as a bag of rocks, but they sure make up for it, in the physical challenges. Speaking of the Fast Forward, I have to give it to Kat, for eating meat, which she has not done for 20 years.


Look forward to the St. Pete episode (from 10/31), which I hope to get around watching soon.

 

[Walter C]

A nice episode, and not just because it was in St. Petersburg (which itself, looks very nice with the historical buildings).


That detour just seemed impossible, with those needle in the haystack challenges in both.


I'm definitely surprised that Nick & Vicki have lasted this long in the race, although with the upcoming Speed Bump, I see them being the next ones gone. But I would rather see Chad & Stephanie gone instead.


So far...


Like: Gary & Mallory, Nat & Kat, Brook & Clarie, Kevin & Michael, Nick & Vicki


Don't like: Jill & Thomas, Chad & Stephanie

 

[Paul D G]

Why didn't Nick and Vicki (Team Stupid/Tattoo) have to do a Speed Bump this week? They were saved last week by a non elimination leg so they should have been forced to do one but it didn't come up.

Originally Posted by Walter C
Speaking of the Fast Forward, I have to give it to Kat, for eating meat, which she has not done for 20 years.

Yeah... about that. My wife and I both found it odd that a vegetarian would just dive into not only a plate of meat, but a freaking animal's HEAD! And she didn't seem that bothered about doing so either.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Originally Posted by Paul D G

Why didn't Nick and Vicki (Team Stupid/Tattoo) have to do a Speed Bump this week? They were saved last week by a non elimination leg so they should have been forced to do one but it didn't come up.

My wife and I were wondering this same thing. Not only weren't they shown doing a speed bump...but they did not show us Phil (the week earlier) telling them they'd have to do a speed bump. Now the audience is left to wonder--did they NOT have to do one...or did they just decide not to show us?

Personally, stuff like this ticks me off...because they should have had a brief explanation either way...because they should realize the audience has certain expectations about how the "game is played." If things start happening differently, they need to explain that.

I realize there's LOTS of stuff we don't see due to the obvious time constraints of airing a show of this magnitude...but omissions such as this "take me out of the game" and make me wonder about the legitimacy of the contest.

 

[Mike Frezon]

UPDATE:


I found a fan site which had the following explanation:

The seventh leg of the race brought female team, Nat & Kat, their third first place win. Dating couple, Nick & Vicki, who were saved by the non-elimination in leg 6, did NOT have to do a Speed Bump because of a problem in the Music Challenge in Leg 5 (they DID correctly complete the challenge but the judge told them they didn't). Sadly, father and son team, Michael & Kevin, came in last place and were eliminated from the race.

 

[Jason_V]

Just last week I was thinking no team had broken a rule to get a time penalty. And then Sunday's episode happens. If it hadn't been for the time penalty, Michael and Kevin would still be in the game and the uber-annoying Chad would be gone.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Here's another bit of unofficial speculation from another site:

**The following is just something I read and is by no means official**

There are rumors at s***** that there was no Speedbump as a credit due to a production mistake during the last leg in which one of the judges at the Piano Detour had told Nick & Vicki they were wrong when they were in fact right. They say Nick posted it in his FB.

Other participants say Nick's FB doesn't have any entry to that effect but that maybe he had to remove it since it would have violated the confidentiality requirements held in place until the season is over.

 

[Walter C]

Originally Posted by Mike Frezon

Personally, stuff like this ticks me off...because they should have had a brief explanation either way...because they should realize the audience has certain expectations about how the "game is played." If things start happening differently, they need to explain that.

I realize there's LOTS of stuff we don't see due to the obvious time constraints of airing a show of this magnitude...but omissions such as this "take me out of the game" and make me wonder about the legitimacy of the contest.

You know, they used to do that in the earlier seasons, I don't quite understand why they stopped doing that. I can only assume they received additional time credit as well. Speaking of legitimacy, I remember feeling the same way, when it turned out that the winners of All-Stars pretended to be a couple just to get in the race.


Besides, the Speed Bump would have sucked anyway, like sitting on ice for 10 minutes.

Originally Posted by Jason_V

Just last week I was thinking no team had broken a rule to get a time penalty. And then Sunday's episode happens. If it hadn't been for the time penalty, Michael and Kevin would still be in the game and the uber-annoying Chad would be gone.

Yeah, their elimination made it so maddening for that reason. When Phil mentioned that teams are not allowed to have a taxi assist them, I just knew one of them would break that rule, but which one that actually did, surprised me.


At this point, I can't see how one of the all-female teams can not make it to the Final 3.


And it was funny to see Phil get knocked over, after explaining the roadblock.

 

[Jason_V]

Originally Posted by Walter C


When Phil got knocked over in demonstrating the roadblock, all I thought was there's a potential injury lawsuit for the producers right there. Twist an ankle, fall the wrong way and break something...that was terribly ill advised.

 

[Paul D G]

Originally Posted by Mike Frezon

[COLOR= rgb(51, 51, 51)]they DID correctly complete the challenge but the judge told them they didn't[/COLOR]

Really, would it have been that hard for them to say "Due to a technical issue which caused Nick and Vicki to unfairly stay longer at a challenge they will not have to perform a Speed Bump"


What they're probably planning to do, tho, is remove one of the future non-elimination legs in place of this one.

 

[Paul D G]

I think the activity level of this thread is a pretty good indicator of this season. While enjoyable, there hasn't really been anyone to root for or against. At times I find myself leaning towards Brook and Claire, but then I'm reminded of Brook's annoyance of Claire's lack of atheticism and then I'm kind of torn.


Tonight's episode lacked zero excitement for the outcome since we knew ten minutes in who the final three were going to be.


I'm going to end this by making a mean comment. I hate Kat's face. Her sharp, angular features that intensifies when she smiles just bugs the hell out of me for some reason. I've been wishing them gone for ages despite their being a pretty decent team.


There. I feel better now.


Edit: oh, and I desperately wanted to see Nick's forehead. I wonder what he'll wear at the finale.