Topic: Let's Talk About Disappointments of TAR-Aus S1 Here!

[SuperTux]

Sadly S1 is over:( Generally speaking, this Australian season has definitely exceeded our expectations!

But concerning postproduction, contestant choosing, mission designing, etc., is there anything that has disappointed you? In your opinion, what are shortcomings of this season? And what aspect do you think still needs improving?

Share your opinion here!

[SuperTux]

IMHO

1. The designing of tasks lacks originality.

2. The crew should have had a second thought about Detours. Most Detours became Route-Info as a matter of fact. 

[tarflyonthewall]

1. The Fast Forward. They need more than one. It's not as if they don't have extra tasks on this version, so why not use a couple of them as FFs instead?

2. Arrange the NELs better. First-leg NELs are anticlimactic and boring (plus I'm sick of them), and towards the end it felt like we were padding for time. I'd love to see a Leg 2 NEL (which gets rid of the anticlimax of a Leg 1 NEL while still keeping the basic premise), then maybe one in the middle (F7-ish) and one at F5 or F4.

3. The casting. Too many dull teams, to be honest, especially with the three worst offenders all making it to the finale. I get why each of them was cast, but at least try and find examples of their gimmick who are less boring. The surfers in particular came across as though they were reading from an autocue in most of their confessionals.

4. The Road Blocks. Too many tasks that were similar. The lanterns was the same basic "arrange these in order using the provided hints" task we got the week before with the coins, and the bungy, skydive, and two identical-in-all-but-location abseiling challenge was just repetitive.

5. A set penalty structure. None of this "you get 20 minutes at the Pit Stop for doing it wrong here, but you get 10 minutes right now for doing it wrong here" crap. Go back to the old structure: Penalise them any time they gained, plus 30 minutes for the mistake itself. No excuses.

6. The lack of North America. Not even necessarily the US itself, but it seems odd that the only foreign version with a big enough budget to handle it, plus the strong exchange rate, still stayed to the Eastern Hemisphere.

7. No "If you fail to do this in X attempts you get a penalty" tasks. It's not racing if they're just sitting around waiting for the penalty to end. Just let them keep going until they get it, regardless of how long it takes. The lost time will be enough of a penalty on its own.

Don't get me wrong, it looks like a long list, but there's more to like about the season than there was to hate. Far more.

[Best Loser]

I don't mind task repetition since I haven't seen the other foreign versions, but I understand why people wouldn't like it.

I thought the cast was great and all the teams felt three-dimensional, unlike the US version, but it was obvious who would be the first teams gone.

There were way too many luck tasks in the finale.

Thrill tasks that the teams come and go in the same order should be detours.

The pit stops were a little disappointing. It's almost like Grant was shooing the teams away once they got there.

The finish line interviews and reunion felt underwelming for some reason. Anybody else feel this way?

[Prophet]

I would have liked to see them come up with original tasks rather than copy old ones, but perhaps this is only for the first season to get things started off.

[calphin]

All of above simply concludes most of my thoughts.
For me, the most disappointing thing is the tasks that are copied off at most of first 3 legs, (not really paying attention to others) and based on the 4 first legs that I only watched so far (thanks to not-so-good Internet connection), lack of conflict between teams I say (Richard & Joey who seems antagonistic even gone in this leg  ).
Too peaceful is bad for your health, need a little drah-mah. 

[Jobby]

All-male team winning first season.

[SuperTux]

All of above simply concludes most of my thoughts.
For me, the most disappointing thing is the tasks that are copied off at most of first 3 legs, (not really paying attention to others) and based on the 4 first legs that I only watched so far (thanks to not-so-good Internet connection), lack of conflict between teams I say (Richard & Joey who seems antagonistic even gone in this leg  ).
Too peaceful is bad for your health, need a little drah-mah. 

I don't understand why so many Aussies, both contestants and netizens on Facebook, hated Richard & Joey

[RichInSydney]

I don't understand why so many Aussies, both contestants and netizens on Facebook, hated Richard & Joey

Aussies hate arrogant people, people who show off, self driven and self centred. Richard and Joey appeared to be all that (due to a lot of TV editing however). There is a tall-poppy syndrome here as well that the rich and powerful and people with high status are seen as the enemy. In the US, it often seems people look up to the rich and powerful as someone to admire. Its opposite here.

[RichInSydney]

The question was asked about re-using tasks from TAR Asia and Israel, and to be fair, its only the hardcore fans like us who would notice. I personally dont mind as it keeps costs down too. To see Israel was wonderful and refreshing.

However season 2 will have an issue if they do this again, because contestants would most likely study TAR Asia on Youtube to get some clues on the route and tasks!

The main issue I had with this season was the dominance of all-male teams. The tasks were too strength/coordination driven. Not enough skills tasks. (appart from the last leg which was mostly luck).

Also Grant Bowler was a little underwelming.

[Aussie]

For me, it was the boringness of the original tasks. *coughIsraelcough*

[SuperTux]

Also, I don't like the idea of setting the finale location in the city where the contestants live.

[chill_sd]

Also, I don't like the idea of setting the finale location in the city where the contestants live.

As I understand it, the contestants were from all over Australia, so it would have been pretty hard to avoid all those cities as finish line locations.

[Jobby]

Not hearing Ann Marie and Tracy laughter at the finale.

[Aussie]

Not hearing Ann Marie and Tracy laughter at the finale.

Yes!  But I did see one of them give Chris a huge hug 

[eragon]

I already watched 9 episodes of TAR:Australia. I'm loving it although I'm a bit disappointed because the tasks weren't original. Maybe because TARA and TAR:Australia have the same producers and it would definitely cut the costs of production by re-using the same old tasks that were featured in the Asian version.

[Jobby]

Like this if you knew Nathan and Tyler will be the winners when you saw the cast.

[kevin2012]

Grant Bowler is very underwhelming and at times, pretty robotic

[Aussie]

Grant Bowler is very underwhelming and at times, pretty robotic

  

[Prophet]

Grant Bowler is very underwhelming and at times, pretty robotic

  

I agree, but I'll give him another season to work on his skills.

[mswood]

The only problem I had with this season was Grant.  I pretty much liked or loved almost everything about this season.  The only other thing is I would have only cast three all male teams ( I strongly believe in equal all male and all female teams).

But thats a rather mild quibble.

As far as repeated tasks, not a big problem most of them were still done well, and had drama and were visually interesting so no harm no foul.

[weihen]

The copy tasks...and the cast gave me a feeling similar to the US vesion cast(Nathan/Tyler reminds me Tyler/James,Models reminds me BQ, and Cowboys...I hope they can choose some teams who will give me feeling that this is TARAU,not TARUS or something...)

[kevin2012]

Besides being pretty robotic, Grant has a voice that's pretty cringe-worthy at times. No offense to the man, but it's true (at least for me)

the editing at times feels "too safe", usually a generic happy/sad/sucess!/failure music plays whenever something happens. The show rarely tries really unique and complex editing techniques, it's a little disappointing, but not really a huge deal, a little more variety in editing would have been better though.

TARAsia is terrible imo, please stop copying, even if the tasks copied are a million (nay, a billion) times better rendered.

less obvious "cannon fodder" teams and strong teams, the season's boot order was very predictable

A little better leg structure planning (remember the dumb intersection right before the pistop? or 3 stinkin' luck task in the finale)

Shorter recaps at the start of the episode, why do they need to be so long?

The show's a little cheesy at times, it's rare, but it happens.

subtitle for people with an australian accent as strong as Matt's (btw, they were my favorite team, Matt and Tom, if only I could understand Matt more).

Less emphasis on scenery (too many zoom shots) and more on the teams and on the race.

Don't lose the Marked for Elimination penalty, it's the perfect penalty, the speedbump is progessively getting worse and worse.

That's all I have to say for now, I still love the show, it's the best TAR rendition yet, nothing else came close.

[theamazingracer21]

i loved it but grant could have been a little more exited 

[Dom]

One thing that got to me, i dont know why, is that despite grants voiceovers usually being replicated word for word from phils, he says 'in OUR race around the world' whereas phil clearly say 'in A race..'.

Im guessing that this was a concious change, but i much prefer phils line!

[Prophet]

One thing that got to me, i dont know why, is that despite grants voiceovers usually being replicated word for word from phils, he says 'in OUR race around the world' whereas phil clearly say 'in A race..'.

Im guessing that this was a concious change, but i much prefer phils line!

That's odd. I never noticed that. They should use the "a race" line.

[Best Loser]

I just thought of another disappointment: Chris not getting angry at the Carabao task. It was such a perfect opportunity!

[StephenWasHere]

1. (Minor disappointment)- They did this in TARAsia too, but in the opening voiceover, when they say "THE race around the world". Its not a race around the world and if it was, it wasn't the only one. That for some reason always bugs me and I don't know why!

2. Task copying. I like that Poland and Israel were new, unvisited countries from TARAsia, but the Poland leg seemed to have a lot of generic tasks (woodcutting). The only thing in Poland that was really different from other tasks I had seen was the Roadblock (which was VERY cool might I add.) Both Israel legs were great imo!

3. I probably shouldn't gripe about this one, but locations. I mean, if we're having new tasks, can we have new locations at least? We had Poland and Israel, and to a much lesser extent, The Netherlands, and to an even lesser extent, Germany (still don't know why they counted it). Hopefully in Season 2, we get new locations *coughUSspecificallyDCcough*. Again though, this may come from being a TAR US fan first and being used to having at least one new location and if not, at least new tasks.

4. The gender imbalance. I like equal numbers of M/M, F/F, and M/F teams if possible (thus why I love 12 team races).

Other than that, I thought it was a fabulous season. I mean, I had AM/Tracy, Alana/Mel <33333, Matt/Tom, and Sam/Renae getting robbed but it was still a fun season. Also, I LOVE Grant Bowler as the host. I don't know what it is, but he's done a fabulous job. Definitely no Phil, but I still really like his style of hosting.

[Dom]

Well said Stephen! But I think the line is 'in OUR race around the world which is even worse.. I guess those of us that have seen both TARA and TARAus are in an extreme minority so they probably wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

As for Grant, well I preferred him as the boat captain on 'Lost'

[Glamazon Racer]

Well, to sum up what I didn't enjoy about TAR Australia 1:

1. NEL Placements: Having one on Leg 1 is something I absolutely hate, unless, like TAR19, Leg 2 happens to be a Double Elimination leg. However, at least that first NEL saved Mo & Mos who we certainly needed to keep around for a few more episodes!

2. My biggest problem was the winners. Tyler & Nathan seemed so dull and they seemed to have an amazing amount of luck, such as finding passports after leaving them carelessly to be stolen. Surely someone would have the intellect to sleep with the little bag ON. I really hated them, and in fact, they were the only team I didn't like.

3. The casting was great, as we had a lot of lovely teams. But any season with three all-male teams in the Top Four is already anticlimatic. Look at TAR16, which is the most abysmal TAR ever, in my opinion of course.

4. Too many strength-based challenges, such as the saws that killed off Anastasia & Chris, or the carriage pulling in Prague.

5. I was really looking forward to the Czech Republic when I first heard the route, as I personally find Prague to be one of the most beautiful places on Earth. But the legs in the Czech Republic were awful in my opinion, especially compared to TAR15's visit.

6. In my honest opinion, we had five great legs to start the race, followed by a bland remainder of the race. The legs in Europe had bad task-design for my liking and Israel lacked the suspense factor, although the tasks were good for the most part.

7. This one isn't a criticism about Season 1, but it is a must for Season 2  - we need to see the Americas being visited. It is understandable that Season 1 didn't do it, but Season 2 must do it.

8. In my opinion, the Final Leg should not be half-half in two different places. I prefer teams flying straight to the Final Destination City and all tasks taking place there. That thing on the Singapore Flyer was one of the most ridiculous challenges I have ever seen, especially as it was on the last leg!

Well, I hope you have endured my ranting without sustaining any serious injuries  and that just about sums it up for me. My major criticism is the winners and the M/M dominance, although I really loved Matt & Tom and Jeff & Luke.

[starrynight]

Only major disappointment was I found the 3rd place team a bit boring, a bit like the 3rd place team in the American 12th season.  Would have preferred the cowboys in the final.

Mo and Mos did last too long, and though the enterpreuner couple were a bit annoying I really don't think they were the villains the program wanted to paint them as.  They could have gone to the Americas and had a cold climate country as well.  I also prefer double u-turn over single uturns which I think have been shown to be a failure. 

But I don't want to complain too much as I liked this one.

[starrynight]

7. This one isn't a criticism about Season 1, but it is a must for Season 2  - we need to see the Americas being visited. It is understandable that Season 1 didn't do it, but Season 2 must do it.

8. In my opinion, the Final Leg should not be half-half in two different places. I prefer teams flying straight to the Final Destination City and all tasks taking place there. That thing on the Singapore Flyer was one of the most ridiculous challenges I have ever seen, especially as it was on the last leg!

I don't think the Americas has to be done next time, though Americans will think that way.    But they do definitely need a cold climate location.

And I'm not bothered with splitting legs between places, I really wish I saw that on the American version now.  More should be packed into legs to make it more of a challenge.

[Glamazon Racer]

7. This one isn't a criticism about Season 1, but it is a must for Season 2  - we need to see the Americas being visited. It is understandable that Season 1 didn't do it, but Season 2 must do it.

8. In my opinion, the Final Leg should not be half-half in two different places. I prefer teams flying straight to the Final Destination City and all tasks taking place there. That thing on the Singapore Flyer was one of the most ridiculous challenges I have ever seen, especially as it was on the last leg!

I don't think the Americas has to be done next time, though Americans will think that way.    But they do definitely need a cold climate location.

And I'm not bothered with splitting legs between places, I really wish I saw that on the American version now.  More should be packed into legs to make it more of a challenge.

I actually don't mind the finale being split in two places - it created a few interesting finales in old TAR seasons - but the Singapore Flyer task thing completely killed Sam & Renae. That terrible luck-based task cost them the race.

[starrynight]

Any luck based tasks should be near the start of long legs imo.  Although they do still favour people who arrive at the task first, and those who are more competant at carrying out a task (like opening prison cell doors).  I suppose the quicker you start a task or carry it out the quicker you are likely to finish it even if it has a luck element to it.

[Glamazon Racer]

Any luck based tasks should be near the start of long legs imo.  Although they do still favour people who arrive at the task first, and those who are more competant at carrying out a task (like opening prison cell doors).  I suppose the quicker you start a task or carry it out the quicker you are likely to finish it even if it has a luck element to it.

Yeah, that's definitely true in most cases. Like rolling out the haybales on TAR6/15 - you'd be likely to finish quickly if you rolled them faster. But with the Singapore Flyer task on the TARAus finale, there's very little skill involved and you can't really do much to finish faster.

[Air]

We need this to be done with ALL SEASONS of the race. It's a great Idea!