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The Amazing Race International Versions => TAR Australia => Topic started by: BayBay on July 24, 2012, 08:04:34 PM

Title: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: BayBay on July 24, 2012, 08:04:34 PM
EP11: Canada to Beijing, China
EVIDENCE: Here (http://forum.realityfanforum.com/index.php/topic,26377.msg689235.html#msg689235)

Film Date: DEC 10/11? 
Air Date: 14th August

Leg Route/Tasks:
ROUTE INFO: Fly to Beijing, China
EVIDENCE: Here (http://forum.realityfanforum.com/index.php/topic,26377.msg690890.html#msg690890)

ROUTE INFO: Make your way to Guijie Street (Chinese Name:簋街)
EVIDENCE: Here (http://forum.realityfanforum.com/index.php/topic,26377.msg690890.html#msg690890)

DETOUR: Eat Chinese delicacies (Wheel of Fortune) OR ?
EVIDENCE: Promos

ROADBLOCK?: Chinese massages
EVIDENCE: Promos

ROUTE INFO?: Great Wall of China
EVIDENCE: Promos

PITSTOP?: Forbidden City
EVIDENCE: TV Guide

Safe from Elimination at End of Leg: Unknown
Possibly Eliminated: Shane & Andy, Paul & Steve, Grace & Joseph, Joanne & Michelle
Already Eliminated: Adam & Dane, Sam & Geoff, Sue & Theresa, James & Sarah,  Ross & Tarryn, Kym & Donna, Lucy & Emilia
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: BayBay on July 24, 2012, 08:06:16 PM
More to come!
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: BayBay on July 24, 2012, 08:06:57 PM
For Peach!  :luvya:
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: ovalorange on August 08, 2012, 10:44:38 PM
Episode description from the TV guide:

The remaining teams battle to make the top three in Beijing, China. The racers are in for a shock when they receive a massage, and on the way to the Great Wall, one team makes a mistake that could prove costly. Then, at the Forbidden City, teams will find out who's made it through to the final leg.
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: Air on August 10, 2012, 01:23:43 AM
Episode description from the TV guide:

The remaining teams battle to make the top three in Beijing, China. The racers are in for a shock when they receive a massage, and on the way to the Great Wall, one team makes a mistake that could prove costly. Then, at the Forbidden City, teams will find out who's made it through to the final leg.

The foot massage thing from  Season 14?

What I was thinking.
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: supah on August 12, 2012, 06:13:22 AM
Out of the final 3 episodes this week, the TV critics here is Aus are deeming this episode to be the best  :o Can't wait to see what they have in stall!  :conf:
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: kevin2012 on August 12, 2012, 07:32:21 AM
Out of the final 3 episodes this week, the TV critics here is Aus are deeming this episode to be the best  :o Can't wait to see what they have in stall!  :conf:

What did they think of the other two?
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: supah on August 12, 2012, 08:03:14 AM
Out of the final 3 episodes this week, the TV critics here is Aus are deeming this episode to be the best  :o Can't wait to see what they have in stall!  :conf:

What did they think of the other two?

I'm not sure if you've seen the Aussie TV Guide before, but usually the best episodes of TV during the week get highlighted and a special comment. If not then the show is just listed, which means it's not outstanding but it's not terrible, which is also a good thing :lol:
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: tarflyonthewall on August 12, 2012, 10:14:37 PM
That doesn't necessarily mean it's the best though (in fact from what I've seen and heard, the China episode is the worst of the three). There are a bunch of HUGE shows tonight - Big Brother relaunch (in the same timeslot), Underbelly premiere, Closing Ceremony - plus the smaller mainstays like Masterchef and Q&A, and they only have room to discuss one or two shows each night. I do think it's a bad omen the finale isn't being discussed instead though.
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: 123blueandwhite on August 14, 2012, 01:22:59 AM
Seems like this leg will be a repeat of TAR 14? Lots of similarities!
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: starrynight on August 15, 2012, 08:06:31 AM
The return of the crap taxi drivers (incompetant or corrupt).  This is really the reason this show (probably in any version) will be a near classic but never an absolute classic. :(  A damn shame as all they have to do is either have them self-driving, using public transport (this should be done FAR more) or have taxis which have been passed as knowing where to go.  Seeing anyone eliminated just because of bad taxis can just ruin the natural suspense of the show, and always leaves a sour taste to me.  And the whole begging thing normally stems from the cancer of the taxis as well.
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: Glamazon Racer on August 15, 2012, 08:25:13 AM
The return of the crap taxi drivers (incompetant or corrupt).  This is really the reason this show (probably in any version) will be a near classic but never an absolute classic. :(  A damn shame as all they have to do is either have them self-driving, using public transport (this should be done FAR more) or have taxis which have been passed as knowing where to go.  Seeing anyone eliminated just because of bad taxis can just ruin the natural suspense of the show, and always leaves a sour taste to me.  And the whole begging thing normally stems from the cancer of the taxis as well.

Well teams don't have to take taxis most of the time if they don't want to. They have the option of public transport since the clues usually say 'make your way to...' and they rarely explicitly state a mode of transportation, although they sometimes do. :tup: But I also wouldn't mind having more clues explicitly requiring teams to take public transport. :)
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: starrynight on August 15, 2012, 10:33:30 AM
Well clues could always stipulate public transport. As I said though a lottery of choosing any taxi driver (instead of having a choice of good ones) makes some of the exits pretty silly.  It's like providing them with cars with some of them basically being undriveable.  Also in a race people will obviously pick whichever way will be potentially quickest and that forces them to take a chance with potentially useless taxis.  I think they should always have a proper map anyway, with landmarks given on it so they can actually work out some things for themselves.

And isn't it ridiculous getting penalised twice, first the taxi driver going to the wrong place AND taking the money as well?  What are racers supposed to do, physically retrieve their money off the taxi driver?  I think the cameraman should at least reimburse them the money,otherwise it's doubly stupid.
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: Glamazon Racer on August 15, 2012, 10:58:35 AM
I get where you are coming from :tup: - I don't like seeing them have to beg for money either and it's something I probably wouldn't be able to do on the race personally :( - but if they had unlimited funds at their disposal, then it takes away the money management aspect of the race (plus we wouldn't get scenes like the one of James & Sarah fighting over Coke bottles :lol:).
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: starrynight on August 15, 2012, 05:16:04 PM
Yeh I don't mind some money management, but not if it just involves getting ripped off by taxis.
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: NorCalRacer on August 16, 2012, 02:15:39 AM
Seriously, this leg is okay for me cuz one of the scenes entertains me.
I replay the DisGrace-Saw-the-starfish-Screaming Scene 20 times
and laugh so badly! :lol3: :lol3: :lol3: :lol3: :lol3: :lol3: :lol3:
That must be one of collection in the race!
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: 123blueandwhite on August 16, 2012, 03:17:33 AM
I don't think they were necessarily ripped off, they just took a more expensive mode of transportation at the start of the leg. Didn't Paul & Steve realize that and jumped off right away?

Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: ovalorange on August 16, 2012, 03:24:19 AM
Well clues could always stipulate public transport. As I said though a lottery of choosing any taxi driver (instead of having a choice of good ones) makes some of the exits pretty silly.  It's like providing them with cars with some of them basically being undriveable.  Also in a race people will obviously pick whichever way will be potentially quickest and that forces them to take a chance with potentially useless taxis.  I think they should always have a proper map anyway, with landmarks given on it so they can actually work out some things for themselves.

And isn't it ridiculous getting penalised twice, first the taxi driver going to the wrong place AND taking the money as well?  What are racers supposed to do, physically retrieve their money off the taxi driver?  I think the cameraman should at least reimburse them the money,otherwise it's doubly stupid.

Yeh I don't mind some money management, but not if it just involves getting ripped off by taxis.

I honestly think that the biggest issue was that production was extremely tight on the money given to racers this time around and NOT the taxis. Think about it... Sticky and Sam ran out of money leg 1, Adam and Dane leg 2, Kym and Donna in leg 4, Sarah and James leg 9 and Joseph and Grace in legs 9 & 11. I think teams probably should have been given more money in general this season, teams ran out of cash way too much.
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: 123blueandwhite on August 16, 2012, 03:37:18 AM
Well clues could always stipulate public transport. As I said though a lottery of choosing any taxi driver (instead of having a choice of good ones) makes some of the exits pretty silly.  It's like providing them with cars with some of them basically being undriveable.  Also in a race people will obviously pick whichever way will be potentially quickest and that forces them to take a chance with potentially useless taxis.  I think they should always have a proper map anyway, with landmarks given on it so they can actually work out some things for themselves.

And isn't it ridiculous getting penalised twice, first the taxi driver going to the wrong place AND taking the money as well?  What are racers supposed to do, physically retrieve their money off the taxi driver?  I think the cameraman should at least reimburse them the money,otherwise it's doubly stupid.

Yeh I don't mind some money management, but not if it just involves getting ripped off by taxis.

I honestly think that the biggest issue was that production was extremely tight on the money given to racers this time around and NOT the taxis. Think about it... Sticky and Sam ran out of money leg 1, Adam and Dane leg 2, Kym and Donna in leg 4, Sarah and James leg 9 and Joseph and Grace in legs 9 & 11. I think teams probably should have been given more money in general this season, teams ran out of cash way too much.

I think Sticky & Sam ended up missing the decimal in the metre?

Teams with the best money management made it to the end this time around.
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: kiki on August 16, 2012, 06:07:02 AM

I honestly think that the biggest issue was that production was extremely tight on the money given to racers this time around and NOT the taxis. Think about it... Sticky and Sam ran out of money leg 1, Adam and Dane leg 2, Kym and Donna in leg 4, Sarah and James leg 9 and Joseph and Grace in legs 9 & 11. I think teams probably should have been given more money in general this season, teams ran out of cash way too much.

I got the impression that production gave the racers each leg the minimum of money they would need, providing they got the best and cheapest taxis (unlikely!). Production didn't really give them any leeway for errors, so any teams who miscalculated ended up having problems.
What is really amazing is how Shane and Andrew with all their bad luck with taxis didn't run out of money!
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: starrynight on August 16, 2012, 10:31:21 AM
I guess Andrew and Shane went to the wrong places but it turned out not to be too far away anyway and it was at times they could recover and because of that they survived.  I don't think taxis are a satisfactory way for someone to get eliminated.  Sticky and Sam and Kym and Donna got eliminated on bad self-navigation, I think that is a far more natural way to go out.
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: Dånooky on August 16, 2012, 04:51:36 PM
I don't think they were necessarily ripped off, they just took a more expensive mode of transportation at the start of the leg. Didn't Paul & Steve realize that and jumped off right away?



This^^

I mean, it was a huge mistake for Groseph to take a van since those are usually shared taxis, that's why they ended up paying 600 instead of the 70 everyone else did.
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: starrynight on August 16, 2012, 08:29:50 PM
I don't think they were eliminated because of the van.  The two other taxis later destroyed their chances, particularly the one that took them to a hotel and took their remaining money so they had to walk for hours to get to the next task.
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: 123blueandwhite on August 16, 2012, 09:28:51 PM
I don't think they were eliminated because of the van.  The two other taxis later destroyed their chances, particularly the one that took them to a hotel and took their remaining money so they had to walk for hours to get to the next task.

But since the van ate up such a huge chunk of their money, they couldn't have taken another taxi if they wanted to from the hotel. The van was probably what led to their eventual downfall.
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: amazing race fan on August 17, 2012, 02:01:03 AM
Does anyone with knowledge of China know just how far off Joseph and Grace wandered on that final leg? That has to be as lost as a team has ever gotten in the history of the TAR franchise. They wandered into another country, I really don't know how you do that.
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: supah on August 17, 2012, 02:14:13 AM
Does anyone with knowledge of China know just how far off Joseph and Grace wandered on that final leg? That has to be as lost as a team has ever gotten in the history of the TAR franchise. They wandered into another country, I really don't know how you do that.

They did NOT enter another country. Inner Mongolia is a PROVINCE of China!

We do know they did stop at the Badaling section of the Great Wall of China. If you want a rough idea, Badaling is about a 2 hour drive north WEST of Beijing, and Mutianyu (where they were supposed to be) is about a 2 hour drive north EAST of Beijing. In other words their taxi driver was WAY off. I imagine instead of turning around in the direction they came in, they continued on from Badaling and got closer and closer to Inner Mongolia.  :(
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: starrynight on August 17, 2012, 03:21:42 AM
I don't think they were eliminated because of the van.  The two other taxis later destroyed their chances, particularly the one that took them to a hotel and took their remaining money so they had to walk for hours to get to the next task.

But since the van ate up such a huge chunk of their money, they couldn't have taken another taxi if they wanted to from the hotel. The van was probably what led to their eventual downfall.

Except that they begged for money in another episode and got to the finish line, it was the final two taxi drivers who took them way off course and made getting to the finish before the others impossible.  I hate that teams are forced to beg but in the past racers have managed to get money like that and survived, however if you are taken many miles off-course you are pretty much finished.
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: amazing race fan on August 17, 2012, 03:37:38 AM
Does anyone with knowledge of China know just how far off Joseph and Grace wandered on that final leg? That has to be as lost as a team has ever gotten in the history of the TAR franchise. They wandered into another country, I really don't know how you do that.

They did NOT enter another country. Inner Mongolia is a PROVINCE of China!

We do know they did stop at the Badaling section of the Great Wall of China. If you want a rough idea, Badaling is about a 2 hour drive north WEST of Beijing, and Mutianyu (where they were supposed to be) is about a 2 hour drive north EAST of Beijing. In other words their taxi driver was WAY off. I imagine instead of turning around in the direction they came in, they continued on from Badaling and got closer and closer to Inner Mongolia.  :(

Thanks :tup:. I am not a real China expert, but I guess they were closer to Beijing than I thought. I got the impression that they were about five or six hours in the wrong direction. I bet The Amazing Race wasn't too happy with the taxi bill they had to pay once Joseph and Grace got eliminated.
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: 123blueandwhite on August 17, 2012, 04:47:51 AM
I don't think they were eliminated because of the van.  The two other taxis later destroyed their chances, particularly the one that took them to a hotel and took their remaining money so they had to walk for hours to get to the next task.

But since the van ate up such a huge chunk of their money, they couldn't have taken another taxi if they wanted to from the hotel. The van was probably what led to their eventual downfall.

Except that they begged for money in another episode and got to the finish line, it was the final two taxi drivers who took them way off course and made getting to the finish before the others impossible.  I hate that teams are forced to beg but in the past racers have managed to get money like that and survived, however if you are taken many miles off-course you are pretty much finished.

They really lucked out in that Vancouver leg. The people there are friendlier and are less adamant to give money to strangers. Even if the taxi driver took them to the wrong destination the first time, had they had enough money they could've just easily taken another taxi without having to walk for hours upon hours to the bridge. According to google maps, the walk from the hotel to the bridge was 4-5 hours.

From that point on, they already had no chance even if the 2nd taxi driver took them there successfully. Had they been more careful with their mode of transportation at the start of the leg, then the outcome for them would've been a lot more favourable and we would've likely had a different winner for TARAU2, considering how the cops started 2 hours behind the top 2 finishers in leg 11.
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: apskip on August 17, 2012, 09:40:56 AM
Does anyone with knowledge of China know just how far off Joseph and Grace wandered on that final leg? That has to be as lost as a team has ever gotten in the history of the TAR franchise. They wandered into another country, I really don't know how you do that.

They did NOT enter another country. Inner Mongolia is a PROVINCE of China!

We do know they did stop at the Badaling section of the Great Wall of China. If you want a rough idea, Badaling is about a 2 hour drive north WEST of Beijing, and Mutianyu (where they were supposed to be) is about a 2 hour drive north EAST of Beijing. In other words their taxi driver was WAY off. I imagine instead of turning around in the direction they came in, they continued on from Badaling and got closer and closer to Inner Mongolia.  :(

Thanks :tup:. I am not a real China expert, but I guess they were closer to Beijing than I thought. I got the impression that they were about five or six hours in the wrong direction. I bet The Amazing Race wasn't too happy with the taxi bill they had to pay once Joseph and Grace got eliminated.

I have been to China and went to the Badaling section of the Great Wall. It and all the other sections I am going to mention are within one hour of the outer edge of Beijing (traffic slows people down once inside Beijing's limits) in various directions of north. If you remember the part where Joseph and Grace are asleep in the taxi, they passed the turnoff for the Juyongguan section of the Great Wall. However, they wanted neither of the above, as the much-less-touristy Mutianyu section was the correct one. 
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: amazing race fan on August 17, 2012, 02:54:30 PM
Does anyone with knowledge of China know just how far off Joseph and Grace wandered on that final leg? That has to be as lost as a team has ever gotten in the history of the TAR franchise. They wandered into another country, I really don't know how you do that.

They did NOT enter another country. Inner Mongolia is a PROVINCE of China!

We do know they did stop at the Badaling section of the Great Wall of China. If you want a rough idea, Badaling is about a 2 hour drive north WEST of Beijing, and Mutianyu (where they were supposed to be) is about a 2 hour drive north EAST of Beijing. In other words their taxi driver was WAY off. I imagine instead of turning around in the direction they came in, they continued on from Badaling and got closer and closer to Inner Mongolia.  :(

Thanks :tup:. I am not a real China expert, but I guess they were closer to Beijing than I thought. I got the impression that they were about five or six hours in the wrong direction. I bet The Amazing Race wasn't too happy with the taxi bill they had to pay once Joseph and Grace got eliminated.

I have been to China and went to the Badaling section of the Great Wall. It and all the other sections I am going to mention are within one hour of the outer edge of Beijing (traffic slows people down once inside Beijing's limits) in various directions of north. If you remember the part where Joseph and Grace are asleep in the taxi, they passed the turnoff for the Juyongguan section of the Great Wall. However, they wanted neither of the above, as the much-less-touristy Mutianyu section was the correct one.

You just don't ever know how far lost a team is unless you know the area. TAR makes it so there is a vague area between about 1-6 hours where you just don't know how lost or far behind a team is. If a team is lost or in last place by less than an hour they edit it to make it seem close, but if its between an hour and six or so hours lost or behind its really vague and you can't tell. Like for example, The Cops were about three hours behind the second place team going into the final leg, but you would have never been able to guess they were three hours behind by the editing. You could have thought one hour or you could have thought five hours. Its obvious when a team is like half a day behind, but they usually try something to catch them up a little bit, but when you are so far behind you know there is no shot you will catch up.
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: SuperTux on August 19, 2012, 08:28:05 PM
I haven't watched this episode. People on Weibo.com say that one team got ripped off--a van trip that iniquitously cost 650 yuan?  :groan: I see many Chinese fans are ashamed of that driver... :lol:
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: SuperTux on August 20, 2012, 06:44:51 AM
I'm watching this episode now.

I think everyone who wants to travel in China should be reminded that please NEVER TAKE A VAN! To some extent vans are private cars. They'll charge you highly. Just choose a common taxi!

Haha, those contestants' Chinese was so bad :)

The only sentences I understood were Grace's "west Lake beef broth" (xihu niurou geng), twins' "stir fried shredded potato with soy sauce" (jiangyou tudou si) and "thank you" (xiexie)
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: Slowhatch on August 20, 2012, 08:07:03 PM
The JoGrace van (650 yuan, later 600) had no markings, just a small taxi sign on top. The van that Paul/Steve picked asked for 700 yuan before they bailed out; this sign was on the side.
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: starrynight on August 26, 2012, 05:08:43 PM
I thought Grace did bargain down the amount for the van, but obviously the last taxi finished them anyway.  And I vaguely remember Shane and Andrew telling a taxi driver he wouldn't get paid for taking them to a wrong place?  A lot of it is luck and if you can get away with not paying a bad taxi driver sometimes, particularly with the amount of money they seem to have to spend on taxis on some of these legs.  As it is a crooked taxi driver can demand payment and singlehandedly take a team out of the race.
Title: Re: TARAus2 Episode 11 (China) Discussion *SPOILERS*
Post by: SuperTux on September 11, 2012, 01:05:00 AM
Why didn't Joseph and Grace choose the subway or bus instead? :lol: It'd be way cheaper. In Beijing one subway ticket costs 2 yuan (=0.3 Australian dollar), no matter how far you go. As to the bus, it costs no more than 3 yuan.