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georgiapeach:
Phil Keoghan responds to criticism that The Amazing Race is no longer really amazing
by Andy Dehnart / October 31, 2010, 5:27 PM
comment »Well before season 17 of The Amazing Race began, I talked to its host, Phil Keoghan about what I think is the series general decline over the past few seasons. (We also talked about why it isn’t in HD and its streak of Emmy wins, which of course was broken soon after that.)
While my suggestions for how the show should fix itself got enough feedback here and elsewhere to suggest that I’m not alone in thinking this, Phil seemed surprised by the suggestion. “That’s not good if you feel that way,” he told me. “I haven’t felt that personally. There’s an incredible team of people who work on the show, and the feedback that I get generally is that they just love how fresh and exciting it is, so I’m sorry that you’ve felt that way.” When I suggested the challenges now are a lot weaker, he said, simply, “wow.”
I mentioned that the show has become predictable, which is the worst possible thing for an adrenaline-fueled series like The Amazing Race, and he kind of conceded that point. “When a show has been on the air for a while, it definitely—you know, look, we’re making a reality television show. There’s a lot of things you can never predict.” Phil told me that at the beginning of the series, it felt “fresher just because you’re doing a lot of things for the first time. I think that’s one of the things we have to strive for. If you’re feeling like that, it’s our responsibility to try to make sure that we do keep it fresh, that we do make it feel for the viewer like it’s always changing up.”
When we talked, the Express Pass of Power was still a secret, but Phil said the new twist had “quite an impact on the teams throughout the race” and a “dramatic impact on the race.” Unless it is going to reappear, that is the opposite of what happened: it was a complete dud. (That he felt like it worked so well makes me think that either it played out differently in real life and the formula the editing now follows minimized the drama it caused, or he and I disagree about what “a dramatic impact” means.)
Phil also told me that “the changes that we made this season definitely helped. … What you’re saying, I really don’t feel like that about this particular season that we just shot. The teams are strong, the locations that we went are really strong. Hopefully, you’ll feel like if we got off track we’re back on track this season, because I felt like that.”
Alas, the answer is no: the train hasn’t yet derailed, but it’s dragging and sparks are flying. When I asked specifically about the shorter production schedule—the race seems to take fewer and fewer days to complete every subsequent season—and the way actual legs are very short and result in no pack movement at all, Phil said that this season’s “schedule was really brutal” because it had “a lot of overnight flights” which “really wears you out. Your rest is on a plane overnight.” But he added, “that’s actually was a good sign, because when we’re exhausted, we know they’re exhausted, and when it’s hard for us we know it’s hard for them, and that generally translates into exciting television.”
Whole article here:
http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/the_amazing_race_17/2010_Oct_31_phil_interview
Prama:
I found the episode's 9 synopsis, but the title hasn't appeared yet.
Episode 9: The Race continues in Bangladesh
:yess:
Source: http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/Amazing-Race-2010/episode-9-season-17/amazing-race-17/306700
Cocoa:
Amazing Race’s missing task: there never was a speed bump for Nick and Vicki
The Amazing Race 17 »
by Andy Dehnart / November 8, 2010, 8:06 AM
comment »
The Amazing Race 17 has minor controversy on its hands, as last week’s episode ended in a non-elimination for Nick DeCarlo and Vicki Casciola, but the team didn’t complete the required punishment, a speed bump task, this episode.
The answer lies in last week’s episode: There never was a speed bump task. At the end of the episode, when Nick and Vicki arrive at the mat, Phil says, “This is a non-elimination leg and you will get to race another day.” That’s all he said.
Why didn’t he give them a task? Now comes speculation, because, annoyingly, the episode didn’t tell us, but it seems like they weren’t given an extra task probably because last week shouldn’t have even been a non-elimination leg—or if it actually was a pre-scheduled non-elimination leg, they were given a pass because of a production error. The rather ridiculous equalizer at the start of the leg plus the lack of start times in this week’s episode clearly suggests that production made sure that everyone was even at the beginning of this leg to compensate for a screw-up.
HitFix’s Dan Fienberg summarizes a theory from an IMDB message board discussion that says “Nick had posted on his personal Facebook page that in the Classical Music Detour in the previous leg, there’d been a judging error. Apparently they’d been giving a correct answer, but a judge had been telling them that they were wrong.”
Naturally, that person’s post is a summary of a summary of something someone else read. Why the hell can’t people, you know, include a link or quote from something they’ve read? It’s the Internet after all. Nick’s actual Facebook profile is locked down so his posts aren’t visible, and there is nothing of interest on their team Facebook page. Perhaps we’ll get more clarity later.
from: http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/the_amazing_race_17/2010_Nov_08_speed_bump
slayton:
Excerpt from Victor's take on Episode 7
--- Quote ---Why can't teams read?!? Any student of The Race knows that taking a taxicab when you are not supposed to is a classic blunder. It is even more shocking since Brook told Kevin they had made a mistake. When Kevin arrived at the tower, he asked Brook why they have their bags with them. Brook told Kevin that they were supposed to leave their cabs and walk. Instead of realizing their mistake, Michael and Kevin once again took a cab even though the clue said to walk.
So why can't teams read? They're exhausted and stressed out. Under these circumstances, even the best teams (see Brook and Claire) will make stupid mistakes. So I do not fault Kevin for failing to read the clues correctly. No one is perfect. Instead, I blame Michael. Michael seemed to have fallen into the role of doting father, happily following the lead of his son in every decision and task without question. As Michael and Kevin sat out their hour-long penalty, Kevin reread the clues and said, "Oh, I didn't even see that." Michael laughed and responded, "You didn't read it." That scene spoke volumes. The problem was not that Kevin "didn't read it." The problem was that Michael "didn't read it" either.
Brook and Claire make a similar mistake but recovered – thanks to Claire. Like Michael, Claire often follows Brook as she runs ahead. But unlike Michael, Claire quietly double-checks their decisions, reads the clues herself and makes sure Brook isn't leading them astray. Mistakes are inevitable, so it is unwise to expect one leader to always make the right decision. It takes two to win The Race.
--- End quote ---
Full article here--Victor's Amazing Race Blog: It Takes Two to Win
(I never noticed it before, but, from episode 7 and the picture on Victor's latest blog, Nat & Kat remind me of Blake & Paige, smile-wise and even appearance-wise slightly.)
Prama:
Leg 10 and 11:
No title yet, but at least we know that Hong Kong and Seoul are confirmed :tup:
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