The Amazing Race > The Amazing Race Discussion

Best/Worst Legs, Ever.

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Coutzy:

--- Quote from: Neobie on May 25, 2009, 09:56:49 PM ---9. TAR 7.7: Botswana II
Linear leg that gave Brian and Greg no chance to catch up, and with only one change in standings throughout the episode.

--- End quote ---

Personally, I prefer the linear legs and I think that all seasons should have at least one (despite the fact that Brian and Greg are my third favourite team of all time.)

People that finish first should get some sort of advantage for finishing first, and a purely linear leg achieves this.

As for no opportunity to catch up, Brian and Greg climbed up the wrong water tower in the legs beginning, and two teams made errors at the Roadblock that gave them a sporting chance at least. Had B/G not made the initial water tower mistake, and not stopped to take their clothes off prior to the Pit Stop, things may have been completely different. The Detour in the leg was also a chance to catch up; it was a classic "Task that will be faster if you can complete it" vs. "Task that is slower but just about anybody can do it", in the form of balancing items on your head or milking a goat.

Neobie:
Choosing the best was much harder than choosing the worst, as there are so many great ones, but all with their little bit of imperfection. (I do love a huge majority of the legs listed upthread!) Anyway, using a half-arbitrary weightage scale, here are my best-planned legs, ever.

10. TAR 10.2: Mongolia
One of the countries you never expected to happen. Difficult tasks (handling hyniks and dismantling a yurt), driving challenges, a totally new landscape, and the awesomeness of shooting flaming arrows across the steppe.

9. TAR 1.2: Zambia/Paris
From the thrills of the Zambezi River to the epicness of the Arc de Triomphe, with simple but potent clues like "Songwe Village" and the Eiffel Tower figurine. Add in airport madness and you have the makings of a great leg.

8. TAR 2.5: Bangkok
Brought out the chaos and complexity that is Bangkok. Making teams take public transportation allowed us to meet the original Fern, and the interaction that ensued was a delight to watch.

7. TAR 12.7: Tuscany
As ZackAttack308, I loved the varied modes of transport. This was a leg that tested teams mentally in a variety of ways, from sleep deprivation to finding out the best way across Italy to the microlight searching to figuring out da Vinci's devices. Genius!

6. TAR 5.5: Cairo
I didn't really like the Fast Forward, but the general cultural relevance of the tasks, a little bit of puzzle solving, the coolness of the Sphinx and archeology and camels and all, made this an all-rounded great leg.

5. TAR 5.2: Buenos Aires
After the random Shake Mega Disco, we were treated to a great combination of fun and challenging tasks in the Detour, intra-city navigation, direct/earlier bus choices, conflict over limited cabs in a small town, and the feeling that Buenos Aires is a great place to visit.

4. TAR 1.7: Delhi
Dragged down by the Italian portion with a boring Detour and Fast Forward, but the Indian part more than made up for it. Extreme culture shock, impossible clues, the Milan/Rome dilemma and the Taj Mahal - I was in awe after this episode.

3. TAR 3.11: Ho Chi Minh City and 2. 3.12: Central Vietnam
Two great legs in a row, could this be possible? Location-unique tasks that were fiendishly difficult (and hilarious to watch), yet each solvable using a bit of mental flexibility. Long train rides inducing mental breakdowns, and helping both the racers and the audience develop a changed feeling for Vietnam. Beautiful.

1. TAR 1.4: Tunisia I
Understated episode that combined everything that makes TAR great. Awesome locations (the El Jem Coliseum, the Tunis bazaar), a Detour revolving around a central theme, interesting and relevant experiences, the need to use one's brain throughout the episode (the flag clue, cargo ships from Marseilles, the arch, the lighter, running the Coliseum, retrieving the sword), language and currency difficulties, various transport options and the smooth transition from one clue to the next. This is as close to a perfectly-planned leg I can think of. Bravo.

apskip:
It is time for my three favorite legs from all Amazing Races. I consider AR2 to be the finest season ever. The finale race to the finish line is the most riveting segment of all of the Amazing Races, but that finishes 4th in this season. Here are my best ever legs of Amazing Races:

2-8 Sydney, where the ROADBLOCK with the Aussie slang terms was the ultimate in cross-cultural communication tests

2-9 Cooper Pedy, the DETOUR choices of playing golf in the extreme heat and opal mining underground were both fascinating

2-10 Queenstown, the sheepherding task was incredible for such a simple task design; the bungy jump was the first of many in Amazing Races and the best

Coutzy:

--- Quote from: apskip on May 26, 2009, 07:22:34 AM ---2-8 Sydney, where the ROADBLOCK with teh Aussie slang terms was the ultimate in cross-cultural communication test

--- End quote ---

I'm going to have to, as an Australian, dispute the authenticity of that task.

The only word that I had terms that I had heard of from that task were "daks", "sheila" and "cossie", and I had only heard of Cossie in a relatively old song.

To me, it seemed like it was a "This is what American's think Australians act like" task.

Zack.:

--- Quote ---3. TAR 3.11: Ho Chi Minh City and 2. 3.12: Central Vietnam
Two great legs in a row, could this be possible? Location-unique tasks that were fiendishly difficult (and hilarious to watch), yet each solvable using a bit of mental flexibility. Long train rides inducing mental breakdowns, and helping both the racers and the audience develop a changed feeling for Vietnam. Beautiful.
--- End quote ---

And this is my favorite set of episodes ever. Not one of the best leg designs IMO, but definitely some amazing character insight/growth/destruction.

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