Topic: Joys and Disappointments of TAR 22

[Daniel]

I saw this thread in TARAus and I thought it would be fun to bring it here!

In my opinion:
Joys:
- GREAT route! One of the best of all time. (Bora Bora! New Zealand! Bali! Berlin!)
- The Germany night leg was one of the best legs in my opinion.
- A likable winner
- Strong teams were first boots, which makes this season unpredictable. Who would've thought the country girls and Chuck and Wynona could make it that far?
- Unpredictable teams made it far, starting from F6. (Except Bates & Anthony, of course.)

Disappointments:
- Tasks were not that great
- Casting was too OK. All the teams were likable, but where's the villains?
- Editing was bad, it's more like run, task, run, task, run, pit stop. I'd love to know the teams more, not just the tasks or the locations. Remember the days when they spent like 15 minutes on the airport?
- Heavy airtime of Dave & Connor in the first episodes. I love listening to their stories, but it's just way too much and it gets boring!
- Too much alliances.
- Switzerland leg was disappointing, especially because TAR always have GREAT Switzerland legs. (Season 3.. 14 premiere.. Unfinished business)
- No selling and eating tasks (especially eating), and the tasks were quite easy.

Overall, I think this was a good season, but definitely not one of the best seasons of all time.

[Declive]

Good one!

The one thing that makes me sad are those EASY Roadblocks.

[Daniel]

Good one!

The one thing that makes me sad are those EASY Roadblocks.

I know! Especially comparing to the last season's RBs. Where's the eating Roadblocks? Selling tasks? Tricky puzzle RBs like last season's timezones? This season's tasks were overall disappointing. The route is GREAT though!

[Declive]

Good one!

The one thing that makes me sad are those EASY Roadblocks.

I know! Especially comparing to the last season's RBs. Where's the eating Roadblocks? Selling tasks? Tricky puzzle RBs like last season's timezones? This season's tasks were overall disappointing. The route is GREAT though!

Shemozzle , Phrase finding , Scorpion Hunting , Montain "Climbing" , Acid Trip and both those UK ones just make me want to throw up. SO EASY AAA

[tarflyonthewall]

And the phrase finding was exactly the same "remember what you saw" task as the surfboards the leg before, as well.

Anyone else notice all of the terrible challenges this season were the Road Blocks?

[autowil]

The surfboard task was easy yet some teams take the wrong one 

The scorpion one is based on lucky, quite stupid..

[Daniel]

Bali RB would've been much better if it was like: find the correct surfboard -> surf with the surfboard they found to sort of a buoy in the sea with a clue/flag attached -> check in. That would have made much more sense.
The only RBs that were good/decent this season are just the Botswana 2nd leg (I somehow couldn't stop thinking of 'MIRNA! This one is the BAD one!' when watching it though), Berlin maze.. and that's it.

[MrDeerShank]

Disappointments: Max and Katie not winning TAR22

[Reilly Queens]

Disappointments: Max and Katie not winning TAR22

[gamerfan09]

Disappointments: Max and Katie not winning TAR22

[starrynight]

Casting has stank the last 2 seasons.  So frustrating the Australian one is on hiatus or been scrapped, the American one has been inferior in comparison ever since that ended.

Certainly some very quick tasks that teams finished in less than 5 minutes.  Also I hate ones where teams are just queued up, instead of being able to overtake each other.

[gamerfan09]

JOYS:
-Teams were better than TAR 21 casting. Almost all the teams were likable.

DISAPPOINTMENTS:
-Roadblocks were 50/50 good and bad.
-Detours were either horribly unbalanced or boring to watch. (SCOTLAND. BOTSWANA.  )
-The cheese Switchback wasn't as epic as TAR 14.
-A LOT of good teams were out first.
-MAXIE DIDNT WIN. 

[starrynight]

I wasn't that displeased with the early boot order, I was more worried about that in 21.

[TARFANINDONESIA]

joys 
- unpredictable
- leg in bali ( although the road block could've been better )
- Leg in germany ( could've been better if it was an elimination leg and there's a double u turn, but this is the third  best legs in the entire amazing race after ushuaia TAR 11 and xi an TAR 6)
- the teams are very diverse
- The locations are very diverse starting from tropical paradise, deserts, snowy mountains, asian evironment, etc )
-more drama than TAR 21
-thrilling and harder road blocks than TAR 21

disappointments
- dave and connor leaving in vietnam ( because i love them, and by them leaving making the uturn very meaningless)
- leg botswana 1 sucks so bad, at least the second leg is much better
- bad detours ( VIETNAM, BOTSWANA 2, REALLY  !!)
-very predictable winners
- not very thrilling finale

[starrynight]

A plus on this season was that I did have a team to root for in most of the season (Joey and Meghan).  Last season was a struggle rooting for anyone.

A negative is that the obsession with alliances just seems to be getting worse and worse.  We had some of it in season 20, but people were less like sheep then and didn't necessarily follow through with what Art and JJ wanted.  Now they are just sheep, and a weak team like the country girls get through the race based on the alliance.  Alliances probably cheat us at times of closer finishes and more unpredictability as well.

[Stylemikro]

+

Route (I'm still tired of those legs in China and India)
Likeable teams
Some nice challenges (New-Zealand, Berlin night leg, Titanic task, Detour in Indonesia, Sandcastles challenge)
Nice twist with the 2 express passes

-

Too much easy challenges (especially the last leg)
Queues in RoadBlocks. We can't have that "competitive" feeling, if you know that you are going to be the first in line and the first to complete it.
Bad position of the Fast-Forward: A free win for the team that arrived first in the previous leg, since the next leg would be in the same country.
3 teams quitting a task in the 1st leg of the race.
Leg in Swtizerland - Where could a team get a edge? B/A should thank Katie, otherwise, 3 teams would have come to the pit stop in a matter of 1-2 minutes.
Teams didn't realize who were their biggest threats and focused just on a word "Alliance"
Race that did not focus on the money that teams can spend.

[RaceUntilWeDie]

Joys:
-Amazing cast = So many teams to root for!
-Unexpected early boots
-Diverse route
-6 Self-driving legs!! (That is a huge deal for recent seasons )
-Berlin night leg!
-Double Express Pass twist played out well (I'm talking in terms of drama)
-Speaking of the Express Pass twist, I recalled that during the first two/three legs, there was a huge amount of team-interaction that we haven't gotten in a looong time!
-No starting line challenge

Disappointments:
-Obsession of alliances.. I want drama to be natural
-I don't recall ever complaining about how easy tasks were, but now that I think of it: they need to amp them up!
-The Cheese Switchback
-Underwhelming finale
-Mona & Beth's 1-minute airtime through the whole season...

This is all I can think of for now! I'm sure I'm supposed to have more joys than disappointments because this has been a great season and I'm sad to see it end

[starrynight]

More self driving and also taxis not causing elimination was definitely an improvement on 21.  Overall I thought this was better than 21 but still not one of the top races.  You need a better cast for that.

[Jobby]

You have fun singing country girls, competitive and snarky yet smart newlyweds, competitive roller derby moms, funny and charismatic hockey brothers, whiney but fun Youtube hosts, Lumelia underdogs Chuck and Wynona, Asian competitive godmode Pamela and Winnie, sob story Dave and Connor, egoistic Express Pass goner Jessica and John... that's 9 colourful teams which we can immediately remember off hand in many seasons to come.

Great casting this season! <3

[starrynight]

Youtube hosts, Chuck, Dave (cancer/injury), John (egotistical), maybe Max (snarky).  That's about it.

[WinTar]

Joys:

- Great cast
- Amazing route
- Express Pass x2
- Berlin leg

Disappointments:

- Easy tasks
- The alliance against Joey & Meghan, Mona & Beth and Jessica & John
- Dave & Connor getting more airtime because of their story, which got annoying as the Race progressed
- The FF in Botswana
- Switzerland leg (especially the Switchback)
- Boring finale
- Joey & Meghan not winning (Next All-Stars please! )

[themikko95]

Joys:

* The route! The route! The route is on fire!
* The night leg in Berlin like everyone says
* Underdogs taking over the Final 6 (except for Hockey)
* a great cast! 

Disappointments:

* Maxie not winning 
* Pam/Winnie getting screwed by animals
* too much alliance
* unthrilling finale 

But this season was great and I tought it was better than last season 

[BuuYaa]

JOYS :
-Basically THE CAST!
It's so much better I think since season 18
Bates&Anthony were described as threat. Apparently they were DUH!
Maxie claiming themselves very clever, which they are and prove
RollerDerbies never quit. Showed us how Mom Teams can pull a finish on the race.
and so on...
-The ROUTE. Bora-Bora, Berlin, Bali, Belfast, Botswana... SO MUCH B....
the route was AWESOME ... <3<3<3 if I were to run a race, this would be my perfect route.


DISAPPOINTMENTS :
-Alliance drama! Uugh like get over it it's an Amazing Race, alliances are almost futile
-Less screentime of rollerderby moms
-Final leg in Washington DC I was kind a hoping somewhere not so big-city this time, maybe a big town. last season they already had New York. but overall it's great 
-Kind a hoping they went to somewhere new around middle Asia or Western Asia, instead of South-East Asia, again.
-I was kind a hoping they're saving Bali for an All-Star or Unfinished Business season or some other special season, but all good 

[Daniel]

I can't stand alliances drama too, except the Colin's alliance VS Mirna's alliance drama at the airport. That one was a classic.

[ianthebalance]

This season was just amazing. I really don't have that many disappointments. I actually liked the Switzerland leg and the roadblock.

[Prophet]

Disappointments: Max and Katie not winning TAR22

[Jimmer]

Joys

-The Cast
-The Route
-Unexpected Boots
-Less Linear Legs that had less of an effect.

Disappointments

-Not enough airport drama.
-The Tasks weren't difficult.
-Alliance Drama

[JETandCORDfan]

Joys -

I feel like the best 6 teams of this particular cast made it to the final 6.

I feel like the route was fantastic for this season.

I really liked the finale, but that's just me...

Cons -

I noticed that the editing really wasn't as good as previous seasons. (TAR 16, TAR 17, etc..)

I wish they would bring back old route markers, such as the blind U-Turn, or Yield Marker, or finally, the Intersection.
(I think there should be 1 of these each season, like the fast forward.)

I really just wish they went back and did a season like The Amazing Race was at the very beginning of it's series. Maybe Amazing Race Old School or something...

[Jobby]

They did have a blind U-TURN this season...

[TARFansurvivor]

Joys

-Great route   
-Cool Tasks!!!!
-Super Final!!!!

Disappointments

-No villians
-Missing Famous landmarks in Edinburgh (The Edinburgh Castle, Grayfriers Bobby, Artuhur's Seat)  and in Belfast (Republican murals on the Falls Road). And they not went to The Giant's Causeway and Causeway Coast when they was in Northern Ireland. 
- Oblious Winners of the race.

[Kamineko]

Disappointments: Max and Katie not winning TAR22

[Belle Book]

Joys:

Very memorable cast.
Generally great locations.
Max & Katie didn't win!

Disappointments:

Pam & Winnie screwed by donkeys.
An alpha-male team won.  I don't like alpha-male teams much.  But they're better than Max & Katie!

[zythr]

Joys

-Great route   
-Cool Tasks!!!!
-Super Final!!!!

Disappointments

-No villians
-Missing Famous landmarks in Edinburgh (The Edinburgh Castle, Grayfriers Bobby, Artuhur's Seat)  and in Belfast (Republican murals on the Falls Road). And they not went to The Giant's Causeway and Causeway Coast when they was in Northern Ireland. 
- Oblious Winners of the race.

Well, Max/Katie could be considered a slight villain. Remember when Max loud enough for the viewers to hear that the Bushmen stunk?

[couchracer]

Silly-alliances where people way ahead u-turned slow teams way behind out of spite. Where's the competition?
All 3 teams in the finale were good.  If you had the chance to u-turn a competitive team would you? Why not?

[starrynight]

Well, Max/Katie could be considered a slight villain. Remember when Max loud enough for the viewers to hear that the Bushmen stunk?

They just came across as a bit shallow and snobby.  Very weak villains compared to Art and JJ, or maybe even the twins from last year.  Not that memorable for me, and I'm puzzled they have any popularity. 

[Hooky]

Reposting this here, because it generally sums up many of my feelings about the season as a whole.

Here's the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly for the Finale:

The Good:

• The Belfast leg was very well designed, featuring a good balance of smarts, luck, and physical skill that, in the end fulfilled its purpose in eliminating the team that was least qualified for the Final 3. Don't get me wrong here though: Caroline & Jennifer were a very likable team that definitely experienced what they were supposed to experience on the Race (see their elimination interview). But they were the weakest team overall (as I've said in the past, they should have been eliminated a long time ago), and probably the main reason Bates & Anthony didn't get U-turned at some point previously.
• Despite the above, I loved seeing Caroline & Jennifer support each other up to the very end, and get eliminated deservingly but very positively as well. These two were a very positive team, and I respect them a lot more now.
• I also enjoyed seeing a very real possibility of a comeback from Mona & Beth, which was really making me love the Final Leg. At least until...

The Bad:

• Once Bates & Anthony passed Max & Katie, the Race was all over. The teams were absolutely and indefinitely set in their positions, making for a "snoozefest" (as Joab said) for the Final Leg.
• The tasks were very poorly designed on Leg 11 (it's not 12 and I don't care what ANYBODY says on that matter). They were "eye candy" tasks that were meant merely to stimulate the average, casual tv viewer, while failing in every way to create excitement or unpredictability for me (a diehard TAR fan), or to separate the good racers from the great.

The Ugly:

• Finally (and perhaps this should be a subset of the previous point), the unfulfilled promise to the teams that they would meet the president of the United States. Honestly, I don't know what to say about this. It is very unacceptable, not only to me, but to the teams as well! Turning something that ought to have been a momentous and historic moment into a non-memorable joke is no way to create a truly amazing experience for anyone involved. It also demeans the sacredness of the presidential office (yes, I said it was sacred, even despite the fact I don't respect the man in the office myself. Props to Max for recognizing that.), making it seem as though meeting the President of the United States is merely a cheap, gift-shop-type, tourist event. Conclusion: If you can't get the president to meet with the teams in person then scrap the task entirely, and get a much better one. This lameness could very easily have been avoided.

Okay, I'm done now. On to another great season in the Fall!

Disclaimer: I'm sure my post will generate a lot of controversy, as my posts often do. Please remember that these are just my opinions, and there is obviously no real good reason why anyone has to agree with them. I state them without any intention of offending anyone. Remember that being offended is your own personal choice - I can't make you be offended. (Also, on that note, I did indeed choose to be offended about my "The Ugly" bullet-point above.)

[Belle Book]

Well, Max/Katie could be considered a slight villain. Remember when Max loud enough for the viewers to hear that the Bushmen stunk?

They just came across as a bit shallow and snobby.  Very weak villains compared to Art and JJ, or maybe even the twins from last year.  Not that memorable for me, and I'm puzzled they have any popularity.

Yeah, Max & Katie aren't even as villainous as Wil from Season 2, let alone Jonathan the Jerk from Season 6.  But they fit the villainous role here fairly well.

[zythr]

Well, Max/Katie could be considered a slight villain. Remember when Max loud enough for the viewers to hear that the Bushmen stunk?

They just came across as a bit shallow and snobby.  Very weak villains compared to Art and JJ, or maybe even the twins from last year.  Not that memorable for me, and I'm puzzled they have any popularity.

True, though they were upfront of how they felt about others, not just the other racers.

[Theo]

Joys:
- The route
- Some good teams (PWgoddesses, Supertan/F, and Chuck & Wynona )
- Good boot order (if 5th and 7th place are swapped, it's going to be much better)
- A good and deserving winner
- Self-driving legs
- Awesome scenery

Disappointments:
- Less airport drama
- Some bad teams

[Dånooky]

ever since Pam & Winnie got the boot, Bates & Anthony was the only competitive team that remained. I don't think Max & Katie would have gotten those three victories had Jessica & John or Pam & Winnie stayed. I feel that the final leg would have been more epic if it had been JJ vs. Hockey vs. Dave & Connor

[themikko95]

- Good boot order (if 5th and 7th place are swapped, it's going to be much better)

 

[Jobby]

The Ugly:
Finally (and perhaps this should be a subset of the previous point), the unfulfilled promise to the teams that they would meet the president of the United States. Honestly, I don't know what to say about this. It is very unacceptable, not only to me, but to the teams as well! Turning something that ought to have been a momentous and historic moment into a non-memorable joke is no way to create a truly amazing experience for anyone involved. It also demeans the sacredness of the presidential office (yes, I said it was sacred, even despite the fact I don't respect the man in the office myself. Props to Max for recognizing that.), making it seem as though meeting the President of the United States is merely a cheap, gift-shop-type, tourist event. Conclusion: If you can't get the president to meet with the teams in person then scrap the task entirely, and get a much better one. This lameness could very easily have been avoided.

Completely agree. It was this task that put Mona and Beth really behind due to a bad cabby too.

[Mug Costanza]

The Ugly:
Finally (and perhaps this should be a subset of the previous point), the unfulfilled promise to the teams that they would meet the president of the United States. Honestly, I don't know what to say about this. It is very unacceptable, not only to me, but to the teams as well! Turning something that ought to have been a momentous and historic moment into a non-memorable joke is no way to create a truly amazing experience for anyone involved. It also demeans the sacredness of the presidential office (yes, I said it was sacred, even despite the fact I don't respect the man in the office myself. Props to Max for recognizing that.), making it seem as though meeting the President of the United States is merely a cheap, gift-shop-type, tourist event. Conclusion: If you can't get the president to meet with the teams in person then scrap the task entirely, and get a much better one. This lameness could very easily have been avoided.

Completely agree. It was this task that put Mona and Beth really behind due to a bad cabby too.

But Mona & Beth also didn't give the cabby the right address. The clue said 1100 Pennsylvania Ave, but IIRC, they told the cabbie they were going to the White House, which is 1600 Pennsylvania.

That being said, I've been to DC a few times, and one time when I was there on a school trip, I actually did that "photo with the President" thing back when George W. was President, so honestly, I thought it was hilarious that that's what they ended up doing. (Plus it did include the classic TAR "clue on the back of a photo you took" element, so I liked that.)


The only real thing that I can think of this season that really grinds my gears was the fact that they had a luck task in the finale (the spy Roadblock). When there's a million dollars on the line, there's no room for a luck task.

[Jobby]

When there's a million dollars on the line, there's no room for a luck task.

Yes, or a small area of 50 spies and the same spy or the three spies carrying the brief case are at the same location or what. The key to open the briefcase can also be told to the teams such as in the example.. the total positions you placed in the first 11 legs x 10 and when they open the briefcase, there can be yet another clue which they have to solve or what. I just find the spy task pretty much lame and wasn't half as much fun when we saw it on TAR 8. I think the task should have been more of a memory challenge than a luck/physical task...

[RaceUntilWeDie]

This is quite late, but the way they changed the traditional positions of each team at the Finish Line bugs me… any classic TAR fan would outright assume that Pam & Winnie were one of the first 2 boots like any weak female-female team (had the fan not watched the season).

I believed this was changed last season… and all mixed up in 19, and normal in 20.

[APABLD]

Overall I thought it was a great season. I loved the destinations and the Switchbacks.

[Nyoman_SB1]

Joys:

- Exotic route 
- Great casts
- Self-driving legs
- Night leg

Disappointments:

- Bad editing (final leg) & PREDICTABLE winner
- Luck task in the final leg
- Personal U-Turn
- Dave & Connor got so many air time compared to F3 team (Mona & Beth) 

[Air]

Disappointments: Max and Katie not winning TAR22

[gamerfan09]

Disappointments: Max and Katie not winning TAR22

Let's keep this quoting going. lol

[AmazingRace]

Disappointments: Max and Katie not winning TAR22

Joy: Having 2 switchbacks this season! Hopefully there are more in the future seasons!

[Jimmer]

Disappointment: The switchbacks did not cause as much drama as in their original airings.

[David]

Disappointments: YouTubes not winning TAR22

U are right.

[Air]

Disappointments: Max & Katie not winning TAR22

U are right.

IKR David <3

[gamerfan09]

Disappointments: Max & Katie not winning TAR22 and YouTube not making F3

U are right.

IKR David <3

IKR Airlines. <3

[David]

Disappointments: YouTubes not winning TAR22.

U are right.

Youtubes WERE the best ones

IKR Airlines. <3

</3 at you editing quotes.

[Air]

Disappointments: Max & Katie not winning TAR22.

U are right.

Youtubes WERE the best ones

IKR Airlines. <3

</3 at you editing quotes.

It's so annoying when people do that isn't it?

[gamerfan09]

Disappointments: Max & Katie not winning TAR22.

U are right.

Youtubes WERE the best ones

IKR Airlines. <3

</3 at you editing quotes.

It's so annoying when people do that isn't it?

Yeah, David. ANNOYING

[David]

I kinda also wanted for Maxie to win. When I saw the Roller Derbies had it difficult, I root for them. Not hockeys, obviously. ew

[sharkshooter]

Reposting this here, because it generally sums up many of my feelings about the season as a whole.

Here's the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly for the Finale:
...The Ugly:

• Finally (and perhaps this should be a subset of the previous point), the unfulfilled promise to the teams that they would meet the president of the United States. ...

I can't believe anyone actually thought the President of the United States would be able to meet with the racers whenever they showed up.  Don't you think his time is a bit more important and scheduled than that?  I knew there had to be a twist, just wasn't sure what it was.

[georgiapeach]

Let's keep this quoting going. lol

Let's NOT. No reason to slow down the pages for everyone else reading...so NO.

[Jobby]

I think this season had the most number of Switchbacks, and now Switchbacks are no longer seen as UNIQUE/MEMORABLE/HARD/CRAZY tasks which happened on TAR in previous seasons, but just about any task in past seasons. So literally, the whole magic behind the idea of a "Switchback" is lost...

[BlooperGuy]

Disappointments: Max and Katie not winning TAR22

[Hooky]

One thing that is irritating to me is the editing. When I go back and watch the older seasons it feels much more smooth and there is much more time to get to know all the teams equally. But ever since Season 12 or so, the editing has focused more on some teams than others, resulting in teams that develop no personality whatsoever before being eliminated (or even making the Final 3).

Small changes bother me. For some reason this season always had a brief moment before the intro where it showed some random team making a "funny" quote. I don't think there is any good reason for this - it is much more epic and suspenseful to just say "four teams remain. Who will be eliminated...NEXT?" Then cut straight to the Intro. These quotes literally ruined the suspense for me.

Another thing that I think should be brought back is the narration by Phil where he says "Teams arrived here at the end of the last leg for a mandatory rest period. The 6 teams waiting here have no idea what's in store for them. Will [such and such team] be able to overcome the Speedbump and stay in the Race? And will [another team] be able to maintain their lead?"

Explanations of what a Detour or Roadblock is should still be necessary. "A Detour is a choice between two tasks, each with its own pros and cons." There are new viewers all the time, and I'm sure they would greatly appreciate knowing what these things mean.

Finally, the eliminations could be better as well. This season really didn't seem to show as much of the eliminated teams talking at the mat as past seasons have. I love watching those interviews with Phil and especially the confessionals given after the team was eliminated. I would love to see those be the same length as they used to be.

Reposting this here, because it generally sums up many of my feelings about the season as a whole.

Here's the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly for the Finale:
...The Ugly:

• Finally (and perhaps this should be a subset of the previous point), the unfulfilled promise to the teams that they would meet the president of the United States. ...

I can't believe anyone actually thought the President of the United States would be able to meet with the racers whenever they showed up.  Don't you think his time is a bit more important and scheduled than that?  I knew there had to be a twist, just wasn't sure what it was.

Don't worry: I definitely didn't believe it when I heard it (the task designers have pulled way too many tricks like this in the past for me to ever believe it anyway), but I just wish they would be honest in the clues, and quit trying to create ways to make the teams look like "dumb Americans." If they really are "dumb" it will manifest itself naturally (Nick & Vicki are an example).

I want to see TAR the way it actually happened, with as little "editing" or "slanting" of events as possible.

[RaceUntilWeDie]

One thing that is irritating to me is the editing. When I go back and watch the older seasons it feels much more smooth and there is much more time to get to know all the teams equally. But ever since Season 12 or so, the editing has focused more on some teams than others, resulting in teams that develop no personality whatsoever before being eliminated (or even making the Final 3).

Another thing that I think should be brought back is the narration by Phil where he says "Teams arrived here at the end of the last leg for a mandatory rest period. The 6 teams waiting here have no idea what's in store for them. Will [such and such team] be able to overcome the Speedbump and stay in the Race? And will [another team] be able to maintain their lead?"

Explanations of what a Detour or Roadblock is should still be necessary. "A Detour is a choice between two tasks, each with its own pros and cons." There are new viewers all the time, and I'm sure they would greatly appreciate knowing what these things mean.

Finally, the eliminations could be better as well. This season really didn't seem to show as much of the eliminated teams talking at the mat as past seasons have. I love watching those interviews with Phil and especially the confessionals given after the team was eliminated. I would love to see those be the same length as they used to be.

THIS.

I did notice in recent seasons that they always seem to shove the edits to the Final 5/4 or so, that it makes it very obvious. A great example would be TAR 21.. we never really got to know Caitlin & Brittany, Gary & Will, or Rob & Kelley.

Whenever I watch the older seasons online, I absolutely love it when Phil asks those questions "Will [team] be able to work their relationship out to help them stay in the Race?"

100% agreed on how an explanation on each type of task is still needed no matter what.

I thought I was the only one feeling that way about the eliminations this season. I really, really loved the cast this season and it sucked to see everyone go.. but they edited them all like in such a weird manner... I always loved the sad (not necessarily sad,) but those elimination speeches/confessionals that get to you. Joey & Meghan didn't even get a confessional at the end of their elimination episode.. Basically every eliminated team's endings just made me go "What just happened? I'm supposed to be sad because I loved that team!" ah well I didn't.

Boy, I sound sooo confusing. We complain about the smallest things

[Hooky]

One thing that is irritating to me is the editing. When I go back and watch the older seasons it feels much more smooth and there is much more time to get to know all the teams equally. But ever since Season 12 or so, the editing has focused more on some teams than others, resulting in teams that develop no personality whatsoever before being eliminated (or even making the Final 3).

Another thing that I think should be brought back is the narration by Phil where he says "Teams arrived here at the end of the last leg for a mandatory rest period. The 6 teams waiting here have no idea what's in store for them. Will [such and such team] be able to overcome the Speedbump and stay in the Race? And will [another team] be able to maintain their lead?"

Explanations of what a Detour or Roadblock is should still be necessary. "A Detour is a choice between two tasks, each with its own pros and cons." There are new viewers all the time, and I'm sure they would greatly appreciate knowing what these things mean.

Finally, the eliminations could be better as well. This season really didn't seem to show as much of the eliminated teams talking at the mat as past seasons have. I love watching those interviews with Phil and especially the confessionals given after the team was eliminated. I would love to see those be the same length as they used to be.

THIS.

I did notice in recent seasons that they always seem to shove the edits to the Final 5/4 or so, that it makes it very obvious. A great example would be TAR 21.. we never really got to know Caitlin & Brittany, Gary & Will, or Rob & Kelley.

Whenever I watch the older seasons online, I absolutely love it when Phil asks those questions "Will [team] be able to work their relationship out to help them stay in the Race?"

100% agreed on how an explanation on each type of task is still needed no matter what.

I thought I was the only one feeling that way about the eliminations this season. I really, really loved the cast this season and it sucked to see everyone go.. but they edited them all like in such a weird manner... I always loved the sad (not necessarily sad,) but those elimination speeches/confessionals that get to you. Joey & Meghan didn't even get a confessional at the end of their elimination episode.. Basically every eliminated team's endings just made me go "What just happened? I'm supposed to be sad because I loved that team!" ah well I didn't.

Boy, I sound sooo confusing. We complain about the smallest things

Yes, we sure are picky! But then again, it has always been the small things that have made the show so great.

BTW, the very next thing I was going to mention was the sadness of the eliminations. There just wasn't that feeling of sadness that another team just got eliminated. It felt more like "oh well, who cares, another team bites the dust." (Phil's "Oy Vey" was actually my least favorite moment of the entire season.)

[RaceUntilWeDie]

Exactly. That segues me to another thing I forgot to bring up: they didn't play those sad music during the teams' last-place arrivals or at least during their confessionals. Just another thing that can move the viewer, right?

[CYew]

Joys:

-The cast: The last three seasons have been very lackluster in that aspect. Season 22 had no unlikable teams at all, the worst thing were some boring ones *cough*Bates&Anthony*cough*;
-More airport scenes than before: Even though it wasn't like in earlier seasons, it had considerably more of them than on the last seasons we've had;
-Balanced editing: I don't remember anyone screenhogging this season;

 Disappointments:

-The Switzerland leg: It had a thousand pointless route markers, no detour, a bland roadblock and a disappointing switchback;
-The final leg: It was ridiculously anti-climatic and had terrible tasks.
-ALLIANCES >_>

Overall it was a pretty good season, and a step in the right direction after the last ones we've had ^^

[Daniel]

I totally agree on the elimination thing. Eliminations used to be SO sad. I usually even got sad on eliminations of teams that I actually hate or don't care at all. Nowadays they show montages, but only on some teams. And to be honest I miss that sad cheesy music they used to play on eliminations

And I thought I was the only one who misses things like 'Will (team name) be able to ...?' 'A Detour is a choice between...' 'A Roadblock is a task that only one...' 'Teams arrived here at the end of last leg for a mandatory rest period that allows them...'

[MrDeerShank]

-Balanced editing: I don't remember anyone screenhogging this season;

Pretty certain Dave and Connor quite a lot when they were in the race...

[Jimmer]

100% agree. There was way to much screentime for Dave with his broken achilles and his cancer surviving son.

[CYew]

Meh, they were eliminated so early I didn't really care.

[Washingtonian]

The best, finally finishing a leg in Washington, DC.  I have no idea why the producers took so long to do this, since they love to use LA as a starting point.  I was hoping for more running in DC than cabs though, it could made for some humor with the teams getting lost.  DC is not hard to get around, but I have lived here for 30 years.

[gamerfan09]

-Balanced editing: I don't remember anyone screenhogging this season;

Pretty certain Dave and Connor quite a lot when they were in the race...

The whole Leg 4 recap being all about them.

[RachelLeVega]

  JOYS
• Good country choices (French Polynesia, Botswana, and Switzerland had amazing scenery.)
• Casting MUCH more diverse than last season's (All teams were memorable as for the exception of Matt & Daniel)
• Unpredictability (Who knew Dave & Connor were going to quit without using spoilers? Who knew Pam & Winnie were going to fall so behind in Botswana?)
• Night leg in Germany (I always love night legs since they cause navigation problems.)

DISAPPOINTMENTS
• ZERO new countries like last season
• Generally weak and easy tasks
• Two Switchbacks (which proves the task creators are starting to lack creativity.)
• Unbalanced editing "favoritism" (Dave & Connor and somewhat Maxie)

[SamualDude]

Does Bora Bora not count as a new country?

[Air]

I'm on the Bora Bora is part of France boat, but it's been debated widely.

[Little Victory]

Joys 

-Cast! YouTube! Chucknona! Countrygirls!
- Nice first leg!
- Nice exp.pass twist!
- Night leg 
- unpredictable

Disappointment 
- Switzerland leg
- Easy FF
- Alliances
- i think Botswana legs weren't that interesting.

First series I watched and I loved it.

[MrDeerShank]

Joys 

-Cast! YouTube! Chucknona! Countrygirls!
- Nice first leg!
- Nice exp.pass twist!
- Night leg 
- unpredictable

Disappointment 
- Switzerland leg
- Easy FF
- Alliances
- i think Botswana legs weren't that interesting.

First series I watched and I loved it.

I think the whole point regarding the FF was to do with the fact that it is water skiing in crocodile-infested waters, so it was more of a psychological fear thing as opposed to sheer strength

Does Bora Bora not count as a new country?

Part of the French Polynesia, which is apparently part of France - it's like Northern Ireland, it's a constituency of the UK, not a country on its own