Author Topic: TAR 30 EPISODES 4 & 5 LIVE UPDATES/COMMENTARY WED 1/24/18 8-10PM EST  (Read 21035 times)

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Offline RachelLeVega

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Re: TAR 30 EPISODES 4 & 5 LIVE UPDATES/COMMENTARY WED 1/24/18 8-10PM EST
« Reply #50 on: January 24, 2018, 09:09:25 PM »
FRANZ! <3
Honestly, that was a rather simple Roadblock. I was surprised Flight Time was confused with the concept of this task. CHEKHOV is still my favorite.
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Offline NumfarPTB

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Re: TAR 30 EPISODES 4 & 5 LIVE UPDATES/COMMENTARY WED 1/24/18 8-10PM EST
« Reply #51 on: January 24, 2018, 09:22:32 PM »
Really enjoyed the tasks from both legs, still hate that they just made the head-to-head a part of the Pit Stop Route Info, instead of it having an icon of it's own.
Instead of simply travel to Pit Stop, they have to do the challenge there, and also the fact that it seems that whenever they pop-up the leg is also an elimination leg, by default.


Offline theschnauzers

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Re: TAR 30 EPISODES 4 & 5 LIVE UPDATES/COMMENTARY WED 1/24/18 8-10PM EST
« Reply #52 on: January 24, 2018, 09:25:33 PM »
This was a great two hours: the tasks weren’t cookie-cutter at all, quite challenging and location/culture appropriate. Sorry to lose both those teams, but it is a really well cast season.
-- theschnauzers

Offline BourkieBoy

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Re: TAR 30 EPISODES 4 & 5 LIVE UPDATES/COMMENTARY WED 1/24/18 8-10PM EST
« Reply #53 on: January 25, 2018, 12:12:05 AM »
This sounds like a very good episode!

Can't wait to watch it!!

Offline NELs

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Re: TAR 30 EPISODES 4 & 5 LIVE UPDATES/COMMENTARY WED 1/24/18 8-10PM EST
« Reply #54 on: January 25, 2018, 12:22:49 AM »
I'll start off with talking about the first half first. The first half was okay, the Roadblock and Speed Bump were boring and took way too much time of the first half. the Detour was the only enjoyable part of this whole episode and was culturally relevant. The "Head-to-Head" was horrible. I do not want to see this task at the pit stop, it makes it unfair because it is the determination of elimination. I honestly don't want to see this task again until it's placed better like at the very first task of the leg. Alright now on to the second half.

The second half was way better than the first half. When i was watching this episode and they announced where they go first. I was like "Hey, they went here in season 1, I wonder if they will make a callback to it." I was later doubting it and I was honestly surprised when they brought it up. The Roadblock was actually better than the one in the first half, because it wasn't boring to watch. I thought the stop at the cafe was pointless and should have been reserved for something famous in that area. The Detour was enjoyable too because it included a very well-known artist and I learned how they bullfight in France.

First 1/2: 3/5
Second 1/2: 5/5


Offline Xoruz

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Re: TAR 30 EPISODES 4 & 5 LIVE UPDATES/COMMENTARY WED 1/24/18 8-10PM EST
« Reply #55 on: January 25, 2018, 02:48:18 PM »
Leg 4

Loved that this leg was self driving. Between multiple teams getting lost to teams not know how to drive stick. I feel bad, but that is what I love to see.

Eric & Daniel's driving woes. :funny:

Doors closing in front of Brittany :funny:

Trevor's obsession with Martha Stewart :funny:

Curious as to why they chose the same name for this Detour as the Yerevan Detour.

Sailing: The Roadblock was so much fun to watch. There was a bit of a learning curve, and teams that figure the technique benefited.
Stacking: Tedious work, not too much to say
Bread: Shaping dough isn't too hard, but the fact that they had to make 50 made this a decent challenge.
Thread: Pretty intricate where even a small mistake could result in failure.
Pétanque: To talk just of the task itself, we didn't get anyone who suffered as much as Henry & Evan last time. No team had an inherent advantage, which made this a pretty fair task.

I've been think over this since 2 legs ago, I don't hate the Head-to-Head at the Pit Stop if there is a task that is fair to all teams. Bringing up the argument that there needs to be another task, more-often-than-not on TARC, any subsequent task after a Face Off has teams arrive and depart in the same order, so it just delays the inevitable. I would like to see some variance if the Head-to-Head returns, but I don't hate it.

4.5/5


Leg 5

Self-driving in the middle of the night (albeit briefly). Still, nice to see back-to-back self-driving.

Season 1 reference   :cheer:

The stockade :funny:

Van Gogh's shade :funny:

Congratulations Lucas & Brittany  :luvya: :conf:

Trebuchet: Some many small details teams could trip up on. The judge gave them nothing when they were wrong. The stockade was random & hilarious.
Bull: Straightforward, no one really seemed to struggle.
Colorful: Phil said it best when he said, "Easy when you know how to do it." The task was fine since it was a puzzle, but it didn't pair well with the Bull Detour.

My main issue with this leg was that while the Roadblock was great, teams settled in their placements after that task. It also doesn't help that we had an unbalanced Detour on an elimination leg.

2.5/5


Love that after 5 legs, 5 different teams have won. Next looks like fun with a Double U-Turn and a Switchback  :cheer:

Offline Musicon

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Re: TAR 30 EPISODES 4 & 5 LIVE UPDATES/COMMENTARY WED 1/24/18 8-10PM EST
« Reply #56 on: January 25, 2018, 03:17:02 PM »
There's plenty of navigation and some of the tasks seem difficult enough and all of that is helping the season.  The second episode profited greatly from a team taking the puzzle detour, it meant that the teams at the back had no idea who was last and it created more genuine suspense as to who might be eliminated.  The head to head at least had a decent result this time with the team at the back being sent home.

Offline Marionete

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Re: TAR 30 EPISODES 4 & 5 LIVE UPDATES/COMMENTARY WED 1/24/18 8-10PM EST
« Reply #57 on: January 25, 2018, 04:55:54 PM »
I am watching the double episode now and oh my god.
Phil is so cringy and annoying with his commentary, that I'd rather not have a host at all.

He's so obviously camerawhoring for dat Emmy.

Offline wvrnsson

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Re: TAR 30 EPISODES 4 & 5 LIVE UPDATES/COMMENTARY WED 1/24/18 8-10PM EST
« Reply #58 on: January 25, 2018, 05:19:35 PM »
Just started watching and love the first line of the first clue "Do you know the way to St. Tropez?"  Dionne Warwick could make a hit with that remake

Offline dryedmangoez

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Re: TAR 30 EPISODES 4 & 5 LIVE UPDATES/COMMENTARY WED 1/24/18 8-10PM EST
« Reply #59 on: January 25, 2018, 05:59:24 PM »
I was legit shocked when they opened the clue after the Detour and it said Pit Stop. Like, that's it? No other tasks this Leg?

The show probably spent a minute or two more minutes than they needed to with Lucas & Brittany's engagement. Though I guess it was unavoidable with teams arriving within minutes and Phil needing to tell them about it. But still.

Interestingly enough, I thought the second episode felt much more full than the first episode even with less tasks. I think it's because half of the first episode was all the Road Block and it got a little tedious after a while, even with teams struggling. I think also partly the fault of the editing which previously could make even the most boring tasks exciting. Lately? The editing almost seems like a detriment to whatever action is happening on-screen.



Offline Maanca

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Re: TAR 30 EPISODES 4 & 5 LIVE UPDATES/COMMENTARY WED 1/24/18 8-10PM EST
« Reply #60 on: January 25, 2018, 06:01:54 PM »
I'm kinda glad to knock out the two France legs in the same week. It overtook Germany as the #1 most frequent European country with Season 28.

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Re: TAR 30 EPISODES 4 & 5 LIVE UPDATES/COMMENTARY WED 1/24/18 8-10PM EST
« Reply #61 on: January 25, 2018, 07:13:43 PM »
Just started watching and love the first line of the first clue "Do you know the way to St. Tropez?"  Dionne Warwick could make a hit with that remake

:hiya, wvrnsson!  :welcome2: to the  :Animation1:
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Offline violetb1911

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Re: TAR 30 EPISODES 4 & 5 LIVE UPDATES/COMMENTARY WED 1/24/18 8-10PM EST
« Reply #62 on: January 26, 2018, 03:12:21 AM »
I have conflicting opinions about this season. While the first 3 legs were absolutely phenomenal, these 2 legs were severely lackluster.

LEG 4 :
The highlight of this leg was definitely when Brittany and Lucas were in the middle of a meltdown and then the door shut Brittany out. But nonetheless it was a picturesque leg.
ROADBLOCK : It was by far one of the most hilarious ones I've seen; so much panic and chaos and Cedric capsizing his boat, Evan chipping her tooth and Alex returning to the mainland without going to both the buoys; all in all such a beautiful disaster. I also loved the scenery, so that's a plus point!
 
DETOUR: The detour was relatively a drag. I actually liked how it pertained to the local culture, and I like how in 30 seasons of AR contestants have never baked baguettes xD , besides both the detours were quite okay-ish.

SPEED BUMP: It was so namesake. I definitely feel that they should step up the quality of speed bumps but then again in this case it was justified granted that Cedric and Shawn were doing it.

HEAD2HEAD: It was fun! I frankly don't know why this receives so much flak. I just really wish Phil could ease his commentary, but nonetheless I look forward to more head-to-head(s) in this and upcoming seasons.

WINNERS AND LOOSERS:
WINNER: Alex and Conor - Even though they just won the titular first place Conor just lucked out in the head-to-head. Nonetheless they won and they're a relatively nice team anyways.

WINNER: Kristi and Jen - Team Xtreme keeps on winning, if not the legs they win our hearts. They show that women, if aren't equal, are actually greater than men. They constantly outdo their performances on each leg and persevere. They're an exemplary team and I hope they move onto the final 3 !!!

WINNER: Tim and Joey - This was the first leg where they came within the top 5! And it was a field day for the duo, so that's that.

LOSER: Henry and Evan - Kudos to them for getting the Head-to-Head on their first attempt, but the roadblock went down absolutely miserable for Evan. Science did win though, as Evan was the only one who applied a scientific approach to completing the task.

LOSER: Cedric and Shawn - Remember when on the 1st leg Phil told that Cedric and Shawn told him to "just sign the cheque"? Well overconfidence is a bitter fruit to swallow kids.

LOSER: Lucas and Brittany - One of the most chaotically beautiful fights this season and honestly they couldn't get a grip of themselves on the head-to-head. Brittany's face when they won the last head-to-head was GOLD.

LOSER: Trevor and Chris - Okay they didn't really lose per se but they moved down their comfortable spot of 4th place to 5th place.

LOSER: Eric and Daniel - I'm quite honestly surprised they survived this leg. The last time a team was stuck because they couldn't drive was in season 26, and that resulted in Bergen and Kurt's elimination, so good for them I guess. It doesn't really help when you can't reverse your car and you're lost, no?

LEG 5:

ROADBLOCK: That's about it. I really loved the concept of the stockade to hold the other team member prisoner, but the trebuchet construction was all there was to the roadblock. There was some medieval duels going on in the background (reminds me of s23 leg 3 roadblock in Portugal!) but it was okay I guess? I can't complain I didn't mind it that much.

DETOUR: By far the most uninteresting detour of the season. It reminded me of season 29's Leg 5 detour and this just showcased a really boring detour with a lot of relevance to the place but a lot less probing into the detour itself. Besides, it was unbalanced and there was literally no other task on this leg, so it had the potential to be better.

WINNERS AND LOSERS:

WINNER: Lucas and Brittany - This leg was constructed for them. Lucas aced the roadblock and they maintained their early lead throughout the course of the leg. They even resolved their issues and fights and what more - THEY GOT ENGAGED! Remember s26e3 when Matt proposed to Ashley! Yeah except that time there were like 8 teams on the mat, when Lucas and Brittany got engaged only 5 teams were there to witness it.

WINNER: Kristi and Jen - The only remaining FF team keeps on winning every leg and are my favorites - they run an honest race, they work hard and exhibit skill in each task. Even though they finished the roadblock 3rd Kristi was the first person to get the trebuchet correct on her first attempt, adding to my point that these women are way better than the men! I really hoped they would get 1st (It was awkwardly cute when Jen broke down on the mat with Brittany unbeknown to the fact that Lucas was going to propose.) but they win hearts anyways.

WINNER: Eric and Daniel - They fared way better than their previous leg and they even secured a spot within the top 3! a construction task was all that Eric needed to grind his gears.

WINNER: Henry and Evan - They didn't really win but Evan got her tooth fixed and she DIDN'T sink a boat in this leg, and all in all they had a smooth run so I guess they win? PLUS: Henry and Evan should get engaged!!!

LOSER: Alex and Conor - Alex didn't exactly have the smoothest run on the roadblock and Conor is bound to remain single even after the race, they also think that speed limits are unnecessary and need to be followed, so...

LOSER: Cody and Jessica - Jessica was tuned out by Cory and she mock strangled him (Fun!). Besides they couldn't keep up and placed 6th out of 8th, so they lose in a way (They weren't there for the engagement also!)

LOSER: Trevor and Chris - Even though they weren't eliminated, it was safe to say that they ended up the biggest failures this leg. They started their day off by saying that they find it annoying when teams encourage each other and by saying that it gets you nowhere; subsequently they performed badly in the roadblock, went severely off track on way to the detour and had a catastrophic leg in total. I wonder who did worse?

LOSER: Tim and Joey - Tim and Joey had a normal leg but all things fell apart on the detour when they couldn't find the exact location and couldn't figure out the working of the puzzle. And that's the story of how they got beat and were sent home. Bye bye team chomp, y'all weren't as funny as I thought y'all would be anyways.

UPCOMING LEG: Prague !!! It's fun because there's a U-turn, Jody finally go back to their dramatic ways, and a switchback to the dreaded s15e11 roadblock that wrecked flight time and big easy.








« Last Edit: March 05, 2018, 05:37:07 AM by violetb1911 »

Offline ianthebalance

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Re: TAR 30 EPISODES 4 & 5 LIVE UPDATES/COMMENTARY WED 1/24/18 8-10PM EST
« Reply #63 on: January 26, 2018, 10:37:58 AM »
I liked Leg 4 but I felt another task was needed in Leg 5

Offline NMC

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Re: TAR 30 EPISODES 4 & 5 LIVE UPDATES/COMMENTARY WED 1/24/18 8-10PM EST
« Reply #64 on: January 27, 2018, 12:05:46 PM »
Two better legs of this Season. Still not sure what to make of the race as a whole.

I'm convinced Tim & Joey did something to piss off production after the race, because apart from their elimination Leg they got absolutely no air time, and were the only team not even shown before the first task in both Leg 3, and 4.

Overall, sad to see NBA, and Eaters go, as they were two of my favourite teams.

Great to see 5 different 1st place teams though!  :cheer:
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Offline Marionete

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Re: TAR 30 EPISODES 4 & 5 LIVE UPDATES/COMMENTARY WED 1/24/18 8-10PM EST
« Reply #65 on: January 27, 2018, 12:58:36 PM »
Umm, why are you convinced that something happened between production and Eaters?
Plenty of teams get underedited if they leave earlier in the race.

I'm more confused why Violinists haven't been getting more airtime, and in my mind I've seen even less of them in these 5 legs.

Offline TARUSAFan

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Re: TAR 30 EPISODES 4 & 5 LIVE UPDATES/COMMENTARY WED 1/24/18 8-10PM EST
« Reply #66 on: January 27, 2018, 04:56:25 PM »
The St. Tropez leg was beautiful, very picturesque. Great tasks for both the Detour and the Roadblock very cultural. Props to the Roadblock, sailing is no easy thing and the scenery with the turquoise waters, wow and the French Riviera, makes me want to go there soon. France being the most visited European country on the Race in 30 Seasons and finally we get a task involving teams making the iconic French baguette. Excellent as well with the sandals, the company that makes those celebrated its 90 years last year. This leg provided drama with the self-driving element and the Roablock. Bummed at having the NBA Players gone, they aced the Speed Bump, did the Detour fine but failed at the Head to Head. For the Arles Leg 5, great Roablock but I feel that the Race became predictable after Leg 5. Both Detours were very easy and quite imbalanced. Like what ianthebalance has said, Leg 5 needed another task, like an ARI. Everyone in the cast this season. Flawless.

> Dad jokes were abundant in St. Tropez
> Congratulations to Lucas & Brittany
> Different Teams winning 5 Legs
> Self-Driving Leg.
> Twins teasing Henry to propose to Evan next Leg.
> New region visited in France
> Homage to the 1st Season, Chateau Des Baux

Leg 4 - 9/10
Leg 5 - 7/10
« Last Edit: January 27, 2018, 05:04:40 PM by TARUSAFan »

Offline ianthebalance

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Re: TAR 30 EPISODES 4 & 5 LIVE UPDATES/COMMENTARY WED 1/24/18 8-10PM EST
« Reply #67 on: January 27, 2018, 07:50:01 PM »
If I was planning Leg 5, I would have done this:
Keep the roadblock the same
Have the painting puzzle be a second roadblock
Then have the bull task but have there be something else to do with the three colors after you find them
Pit Stop

Offline Philimination

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Re: TAR 30 EPISODES 4 & 5 LIVE UPDATES/COMMENTARY WED 1/24/18 8-10PM EST
« Reply #68 on: January 29, 2018, 11:23:11 PM »
If I was planning Leg 5, I would have done this:
Keep the roadblock the same
Have the painting puzzle be a second roadblock
Then have the bull task but have there be something else to do with the three colors after you find them
Pit Stop

Reminds me of the TAR26 premiere which had the same problem in my opinion: It could have been better by just splitting up the unbalanced detour into two separate tasks that all teams have to do.
You are the last team to arrive.
This is a Philmination leg, so I'm sorry to tell you that you have been Philiminated from the race.



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Re: TAR 30 EPISODES 4 & 5 LIVE UPDATES/COMMENTARY WED 1/24/18 8-10PM EST
« Reply #70 on: January 30, 2018, 07:40:56 AM »
I think it would have been better if the Van Gogh dt was a rb and the bulls ARI.

Offline Marionete

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Re: TAR 30 EPISODES 4 & 5 LIVE UPDATES/COMMENTARY WED 1/24/18 8-10PM EST
« Reply #71 on: January 30, 2018, 09:03:09 AM »
Yeah, it's a shame that such a good task (the Van Gogh detour) was wasted, as only one team chose it.
If it was a RB, I'm sure we'd have seen some placement shifts, snd the leg would have been even more based on mavigation.

Offline georgiapeach

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Re: TAR 30 EPISODES 4 & 5 LIVE UPDATES/COMMENTARY WED 1/24/18 8-10PM EST
« Reply #72 on: January 31, 2018, 04:47:09 PM »
And we got a proposal!

FINALLY Brittany can wear her ring!




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Offline Platrium

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Re: TAR 30 EPISODES 4 & 5 LIVE UPDATES/COMMENTARY WED 1/24/18 8-10PM EST
« Reply #73 on: March 03, 2018, 01:01:28 AM »
Leg 4:

Speedbump: 10/10
(Lenient with this as long as it's not TAR27-style. It's a speedbump, which is designed to take time but not too much time.)
Physical but simple; straightforward but still takes time.

RB: 8.5/10
Sounds easy, looks difficult, from an audience's perspective. Actual? Could be harder. :funny:
Requires sailing skills.

Detour: 8/10
Balanced detour! Both require attention to detail, following a process. Similar and cultural both sides are. The shoe detour needs tools though, while the bread one requires more measurements.

HtH: 6/10
Unlike the frites race, this one was just okay. Players need good aim. Perhaps some knowledge on physics too?

Once in a while, a head-to-head at the pit stop is okay. Since this is the 2nd time it has happened, I'm not as thrilled as I was during the frites race. However, both head-to-heads this season made me see the difference of a physical one and a mental one. For the physical one, the losing team has to keep trying over and over until it wins. If the losing team keeps losing, both members may become more exhausted. However, on a mental head-to-head, the losing team who has played it at least once would have a strategy to beat the next team they're up against. So while a physical head-to-head gives the team who just entered an advantage in terms of the opposing team's exhaustion, a mental head-to-head gives the team who just entered a disadvantage for not having as much as experience as the opposing team.

Another thing that's not good about the head-to-head is that we won't get to see multiple teams racing to the pit stop. We saw multiple teams waiting for their turns on the head-to-head.

Others:

At shoe detour between the twins and NBA:
Twin: "You gotta put your sole into it."
Cedric: "You better hurry up, because we're right at your heels."
:funny: :funny: :funny: :funny: :funny:

Ironically, NBA were eliminated by a ball game. :o

Leg Design: 9/10
Episode: 9/10
Self-driving made a big impact here imho. Tasks were moderate enough for the 4th leg. Speedbump was straightforward but time-consuming. Roadblock shuffled placements effectively. Detour was balanced. Scenery was awesome. As someone who likes watching more teams race all at the same time, this is probably my favorite episode of the season. Perhaps if the head-to-head was not at the pit stop, I'd give this a 10/10.



Leg 5:

RB: 8/10
Building task; attention to detail; physical due to size; historical. Teams who sat out had some minor involvement.

Detour: 5/10
Not sure if both were balanced, since only the eaters attempted the colorful detour, and we don't know if they got lost or if the location is farther. Bull detour required searching and running. Colorful detour required puzzle-solving and experimenting.

Others:
I think Team Chomp should've gone for the bull detour since they were already there.
Phil to Team Chomp: "This must be a tough pill to swallow." :funny: :funny: :funny:
Yay proposal!  :conf:

Leg Design: 3/10
Roadblock was good. Detour was too easy. Leg design itself felt lacking with only 2 tasks and self-driving.

Episode: 6/10
I would've given it a 5/10 for leg design + self-driving, but yay proposal!  :conf: Self-driving did most of the work in shuffling placements after the roadblock. It was an okay leg that I think should've been a NEL due to its difficulty. ???