The Amazing Race 20 (1 Viewer)

[Josh Dial]

Missing a task has happened before--missing a task in the final leg and showing up at the finish line has not (unless it occurred in the first few seasons, which I didn't watch).

 

[Stan]

Can someone explain the missing of a task? I must not have been paying attention because it flew right past me.
If Dave/Rachel won, it couldn't have been very important, yet I thought contestants had to finish all tasks assigned.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

You know, the fact that everyone missed the fact that
Dave and Rachel did not complete a task is the direct
result of blatant manipulation on the part of the show.

We were meant to get that shock at the finish line, and
the only way to do it was to confuse the viewers as to
what exactly the tasks were.

In most every case, the audience is well aware of the
tasks that need to be completed in advance of them
being done. In this case, we were cleverly diverted
from having all the information in front of us, and thus,
everyone is asking "what did I miss?"

 

[Garrett Adams]

We were meant to get that shock at the finish line, and
the only way to do it was to confuse the viewers as to
what exactly the tasks were.

Actually prior to the finish line. It was around the dock paddle board scene that the show cut to the slide challenge. I thought, ohhh they missed something. The finishing line was just the confirmation. I did think they were dead in the water at that point. The fact that they won shows that they were the best.
I did think it was unusual that in the final race, the three top contenders all made big mistakes. Most egregious was Big Brothers as their mistake was simply not reading the clue properly.

 

[Stan]

Maybe some slick editing, but I trust in the final outcome. Can't imagine them risking the ratings and future shows by cheating to let a "favorite" team win.
I already erased the show,so now way to go back and check it out, but in the end probably worked out the way it would have honestly, even with some editing to heighten the suspense.

 

[Ken Chan]

It seems like they show events in the order they actually occur, except sometimes at the very end when they try to manufacture tension.
The two teams are both searching for Coral Kingdom Gate. Dave&Rachel get dropped off somewhere, but with no signs, and the zing of doom. Art&JJ get dropped off and see the banner at the gate, and the marked path. D&R stumble upon the paddle boards, with the make-shift instruction sign, and head off. Art&JJ find the clue, and when they rip it, they are said to be "in 1st place".
That's about as explicit as the show gets to indicate that D&R missed something, until Phil actually has a chance to say something out loud at the finish line. Someone has to say/do something that can be shown, plus they have the music cues, and the chyron. That's it. Phil does occasionally voice-over interstitial updates -- "having completed..." or "all teams are now..." -- but the show does not have live color commentary or a telestrator (which might be fun).
It might have been confusing, but it was neither blatant nor manipulative.

 

[Stan]

Ken, what in the hell is the chyron?
Looked it up on Wiki and it refers to the lower portion of the screen. Do they mean the section with subtitles, news crawlers, etc.? Must be one of those new invented terms, but first time I've ever heard of it. Does it actually have some kind of background or is it just a silly word like spam or jello which has become so popular the original meaning is lost.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Stan:

Chyron doesn't refer to the lower-third of the screen...but the super-imposed titles which usually appear on the lower-third of the screen. Chyron is the brand name of a popular character generator which creates the words which appear on screen. As you noted, the name Chyron has become synonymous in some circles with the phrase character generator...much like Kleenex has become interchangeable with tissues for many people.

And amongst some people, the phrase lower third has come to mean the actual super-imposed titles that appear on the lower-third of the screen. I suppose it's all a bit confusing.

 

[Walter C]

Originally Posted by Stan /t/318012/the-amazing-race-20/90#post_3924383
Can't imagine them risking the ratings and future shows by cheating to let a "favorite" team win.

I thought they did back in Season 7, to make sure it did not turn into a 1-team race.

For me, what threw me off was due to watching the preview last week. Had I not watched that, I probably would have not been as confused.

 

[Ken Chan]

So as per Mike's explanation, the chyrons on the show are either descriptive or show status and placement:
Vanessa & Ralph
Dating Divorcees
Rachel & Dave
1st to depart, 1:51pm
Art & JJ
Currently in 1st place
Brendon & Rachel
Getting yelled at while putting on makeup
I made up that last one.

 

[Walter C]

For Dave & Rachel, I would put any of Dave's quotes telling Rachel to shut up, under their names. In the last episode, it would have been "silence is golden".

Some interesting reading, the interviews of some of the teams on TV Guide, showing what we saw on TV is exactly who they are.


[SIZE= 12px]Amazing Race's Brendon and Rachel: Vanessa Is Mean Just to Be Mean[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 12px]Amazing Race's Vanessa and Ralph: Rachel Is a "Weak Personality"[/SIZE]


[SIZE= 12px]Amazing Race's Art and JJ: We Don't Care If People Think We're Jerks[/SIZE]

 

[David_Jr]

You know, the fact that everyone missed the fact that
Dave and Rachel did not complete a task is the direct
result of blatant manipulation on the part of the show.

For the people new the the show, they have probably not seen a missed clue box before. I have been watching since the first season and recognized it after it started unfolding, but not immediately. I don't really see how they could have edited it out without ruining a lot of the tension payoff. I think what makes the AR so engaging is that the producers stay within the original formula but are constantly working to make it fresh by changing up little things here and there. In earlier seasons they spent a ton of time at airports showing the players jockeying for position on flights and sleeping on the benches. Now they hardly show the airports at all unless something of significance to placement happens and I don't really miss it.

 

[Stan]

So as per Mike's explanation, the chyrons on the show are either descriptive or show status and placement:
Vanessa & Ralph
Dating Divorcees
Rachel & Dave
1st to depart, 1:51pm
Art & JJ
Currently in 1st place
Brendon & Rachel
Getting yelled at while putting on makeup
I made up that last one.

Thanks for the info, now it makes sense to me, just had never heard that word before.

 

[Stan]

You know, the fact that everyone missed the fact that
Dave and Rachel did not complete a task is the direct
result of blatant manipulation on the part of the show.
We were meant to get that shock at the finish line, and
the only way to do it was to confuse the viewers as to
what exactly the tasks were.
In most every case, the audience is well aware of the
tasks that need to be completed in advance of them 
being done.  In this case, we were cleverly diverted
from having all the information in front of us, and thus,
everyone is asking "what did I miss?"

Ron, how could you ruin the show for me like that. I feel so "used".
Just kidding, but a very valid point you're making.

 

[LeArtistTerribl]

Ron, how could you ruin the show for me like that. I feel so "used".
Just kidding, but a very valid point you're making.

I'll be honest, I was a little annoyed that they gave it away in the preview for the finale. I'd like to think that I would have picked up on the fact that they missed one of the challenges had it not been for the fact that I KNEW someone was going to miss them. Never the less, I was really impressed that even despite that mix up the end result was the same. Towards the end of the season, they were the only two that I really liked anyway.

 

[Walter C]

Originally Posted by LeArtistTerribl /t/318012/the-amazing-race-20/90#post_3925785
I'll be honest, I was a little annoyed that they gave it away in the preview for the finale. I'd like to think that I would have picked up on the fact that they missed one of the challenges had it not been for the fact that I KNEW someone was going to miss them. Never the less, I was really impressed that even despite that mix up the end result was the same. Towards the end of the season, they were the only two that I really liked anyway.

I like to believe that I'll stop watching previews for now on, but I know that I can't resist the urge.

 

[Stan]

I like to believe that I'll stop watching previews for now on, but I know that I can't resist the urge.

I kind of glance at the previews, not really paying attention. After so many years of Survivor manipulating the previews into enticing teasers for the next episode, I don't trust them any longer and basically ignore them.
Didn't realize they gave away the ending in one of the finale previews. Good thing I don't pay much attention to them.