The Amazing Race International Versions > TAR Canada

TARC 5-Final Thoughts

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georgiapeach:
Talking Points: ( feel free to add your own!)

Did you like/love/tolerate this season?

Thoughts on the cast?

What about the Route?

Enough/too much/just right International?

Twists: Express Pass, Face Off, Uturn, Fast Forward-- are you happy with them?
Thoughts on which work, which don't? Which should be dumped? How could they be better?

What would you like to see moving forward?

Let's make this an intelligent well thought out discussion.

You never know who might be reading! :hrt:

Maanca:
Alright, here comes my essay.

Personally, I'd rank this one at the bottom in almost a tie with Season 3. Then it goes 4, 1, 2 - 4 had competitive, fierce personalities (BB crossovers, 'nuff said. And some badass female racers. 1 was full domestic, yes but they still had all their freshest ideas and a good cast. Still blew Family Edition out of the water).

It feels like I know more about this country than the task planners, everytime I theorize a great new place to go still left in Canada, or the things to do there, we got the opposite. Almost every time (well, I got a couple this season. That Algoma train, I had a yearning to ride that thing back when my family and I moved west and I saw it in a guidebook. And the best part of Newfoundland, Gros Morne. Very let down in what was shown of Moose Jaw, as it's my favourite western city. None of the cool 1920's/Capone gangster stuff that lends to its "Little Chicago nickname". Just can stacking). And it kinda frustrated me everytime I was wrong for that reason, because I know it could have been better. On a lot of the tasks, it feels like they're phoning it in for ideas.

If there is another one...My deepest sympathies to the xenophobic casuals, but it's time, time to up the international. I whipped this up Friday night out of having not much else to do, and have been saving it to post until after this thread came up. A map of all the visited cities colour-coded by season - note, though, poor Manitoba and Nunavut with one lone dot, and none in Labrador. There's all the "showcasing this great country" they've done in black and white (this is what that post was going to be earlier, Peach, that I made then changed to "nvm". Was too soon :) )

If true that CTV signed on for 6 seasons, yeah, more intl, and maybe an All-Stars to go out with. If it's their last season, I'd think they'll want to go out with a bang and we'll actually get some of the best that they've been saving for it. If you read those news articles where the producers gush about international legs, you can just sense they put more care and effort into designing them than it feels like the US producers have for a few years now (a lot of legs are little more than Roadblock, Detour, Pit Stops. Canada ALWAYS puts 1, 2, sometimes 3 extra tasks into the leg). If those took up more of the race course, this would be a damn good franchise!

Still holding out hope. If you get one more chance with a season 6...please, PLEASE don't waste it!!

stunami:
This season in general was okay, I would rank it before Season 3, but after the others.

For the route:

I like the mix of Canada/International (I would prefer all international but that's not going to happen). Loved both Asian legs, and the Panama leg was good also (the tasks).  I would prefer 6 legs in Canada and 5 international.
As for the Canadian Legs:

Love: Western Newfoundland, Fort McMurray, Sault Ste Marie
meh: Castelgar (Like it was nice but SOO many BC legs, like it's ridiculous), Regina/Moose Jaw
No: Ottawa/Gatineau, Vancouver, Québec City

I liked the starting line, but I really didn't understand the logic behind it... Why not start in another province if you are going to come back to Newfoundland later in the race? They should have started in Fredericton, New-Brunswick (the only provincial capital not visited), and that would have check another province on the list for this season. This was also the thirst time for Vancouver and Quebec city... And I wished they would have went to the north (Jon said coast to coast to coast, but that was a bit of a lie). Maybe a visit in Nunavut after Ottawa?

The tasks:

Some good and some bad... I liked the concept of Canada 150, but i think they should have done them also at the international level (Play Hockey in Beijing, Eat at the Montreal Deli in Shangai, something in Panama). I didn't mind the product placement (The campbell soup was good, and the sinorama was not THAT bad)

Loved the tasks of the premiere and the finale. In between there was some good task : Puppet show in Thailand, the medicine task in Beijing, helicopter task in Alberta, etc. It's fun to have task are not 100% physical or dancing all the time. What makes a good route in my opinion is a mix of physical, logic, luck, knowledge, agility, etc.

The teams:

I don't really know what the problem with the teams this year was... For some reason they were all nice but there was no big personalities (beside Giver's, which I was not a fan).

I think the mother/son and the cousins had potential but they left too soon. I hated the youtubers, father/son were bland (Nice team but bland). Same with the girls (Ebonie and Andrea), we saw them as a little fiesty with the U-Turn drama, but that was it. Likes Adam and Andrea and Karen and Burt. Korey and Ivana, I don't know I just didn't relate that much to them.. I think the fact that Sam and Paul won 6 legs didn't help, and when I team dominates like that, it takes away the fun a little. Sam and Paul were okay also,but not like OMG my favorite team ever. It was a bit redundant to see them win (and sometime they got super lucky, like in Saskatchewan, and to a limit in Panama)

I feel like the only 2 teams that could come back are giver and Adam/Andrea...

Overall, was a good season and I hope we get a season 6, (not All-Star)

Season Ranking:

- Season 2 (the best in my mind)
- Season 1
- Season 4
- Season 5 (close to 4)
- Season 3 (the worst one IMO)

Winners Ranking:

- Tie: Steph/Kristen and Sam/Paul (Both teams are similar: young good-looking LGBT couple who dominated)
- Mickey and Pete
- Tim and Tim
- Gino and Jesse (not that they didn't deserve it, it's just a team I don't like)

TARUSAFan:
I've nothing much to say but:



Route - Canada's 150th Anniversary is a truly milestone for the country. I think that they should have at least visited a majority of the provinces of Canada rather than doubling visits to provinces. Also, they should focused more on tasks that really focused on Canadian heritage and something that really defines Canada both modern and historic, although the 150 Challenges nailed some, some were lacking in substance for me. For the overseas visits, it was a surprise that we've had 3 international visits. This was the best, the tasks and everything about it. Honestly, China should have been 2 legs (Beijing & Shanghai) and Thailand a separate. The Panama leg puts the US Season 29's Leg 1 to shame. Also, they could have visited another country with deep ties to Canada.


Tasks - TAR Canada nails this one for me all the time. Other than being abundant per leg, the tasks are diverse and are suited for everybody, it is just a matter on how the teams will complete it. It combines both brains and brawn. Most of the tasks really pit teams together, some may seem physical and some may not be but it is an even playing field.

Teams - In terms of casting, it was really halfway for me. Adam & Andrea (the team that I rooted for in the beginning), Megan & Courtney, Karen & Bert, Korey & Ivana and Aaron & Deb were my favorites, they were all standouts. Zed & Shabbir were likable but were missing something. Andrea & Ebonie were boring, I expected them to be alpha females but no, The Giver's were too loud in my opinion. Not much for Dan & Riya, got Joey & Meghan vibes but not enough (maybe edits??). When Sam & Paul were winning legs straight, I already thought Steph & Kristen reversed/gender-swapped. It's now time for M/F team to win.


Overall:


Season 2 & 4 still ranks as my top seasons. Season 5 was decent but it was not as great as I had hoped it to be. Season 3 still ranks as the worst for me.


Moving Forward:

Go back to the old formula, 12 Legs, 6 Canadian 6 International or better yet more international. We need 11 teams, that are fun, relatable, diverse and memorable.

fossil-racer:
Talking Points:

Did you like/love/tolerate this season?

The season was ok overall. I would rank it 4-2-1-5-3. The season had its moments but I feel like it wasn't memorable enough. The route was quite dull and the cast took some time to get acquainted with.

Thoughts on the cast?

There were 7 real contenders. When I first saw the cast in the contestant thread, it was easy to figure out who were the "duds" were and predict the placements. The "duds" were actually eliminated pretty quickly. The cast didn't pop as much as season 4's cast.

What about the Route?

We need more international legs. Legs 4 and 8 were some of the best legs this season! The route was awful when it came to the Canada legs because everything felt reused/filler.  More international please! Those legs are the best!  :conf:


What would you like to see moving forward?

More international legs!

More teams! Do the classic 11 teams and 12 legs!

Better cast! (Season 2 and 4 awesomeness)

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