Topic: Where are the ROADBLOCKS??

[georgiapeach]

Leg 3...and not a RB in sight!!
 
What is UP??
 
And do you LOVE it or HATE it??
 
 
 

[Lemontail]

It may because of Bethany. Probably to avoid RB controversy like last season, see Dave & Connor. I hope this isn't rigging for Bethany.

[Theo]

I guess it's unfair for Adam & Bethany if there's Roadblock and Bethany is forced to do something she's not possible to do, especially in last legs when the Roablock count matters. So, they probably try to reduce the number of Roadblocks (?)

I dislike it, though

[georgiapeach]

I HATE it. And I personally don't think Bethany would like that.

[stekay]

Previous contestants have been able to do roadblocks like Sticky, Sarah etc so I doubt it's for the sake of Bethany!

[Bookworm]

I HATE the lack of Roadblocks! I doubt its because of Bethany, though.
I like the challenging ARIs, but would it kill WRP to have a good DT, RB, and ARI in the same leg?

[georgiapeach]

I HATE the lack of Roadblocks! I doubt its because of Bethany, though.
I like the challenging ARIs, but would it kill WRP to have a good DT, RB, and ARI in the same leg?

Exactly.

[Alenaveda]

This remind me of the beginning of TARLA's last season, pure RB and no Detours. 

[RachelLeVega]

I'm with the majority about the lack of Detour + Roadblock Legs. I strongly dislike how easy this race is becoming with fewer tasks by the season. I guess this is the main reason why placements haven't essentially changed. Navigation has played a larger role in someone's demise than tasks.

[RaceUntilWeDie]

It's not really fewer tasks. For recent seasons, it's basically been: a Detour, a Roadblock, and a Pit Stop with route info's in between (no active route info task though).

For these past 2 legs it's been: a Detour, an Active Route Info task, and a Pit Stop with route info's in between.

Don't understand why they can't just put a Detour, Roadblock, and extra task all in one leg.

[georgiapeach]

Part of the RACE is intelligently choosing who does what and when. AND balancing the RB numbers each must do.

This feels like "dumbing down the race" to me.

And I. DO. NOT. LIKE. IT.

[Jobby]

RIP olden days TAR.

[Jobby]

Part of the RACE is intelligently choosing who does what and when. AND balancing the RB numbers each must do.

This feels like "dumbing down the race" to me.

And I. DO. NOT. LIKE. IT.

I hated it. I love the ARI but seriously, half the fun of watching TAR comes from the Roadblock challenges all these years.

Remember:

Gretchen's bloody head?
The girls chomping down a whole bowl of caviar in TAR 5 and because of that, refused to do another Roadblock the entire season ever again?
The girls chomping down a bowl of ostrich egg in TAR 5?
The teams chomping down 4kg of meat in TAR 7?
Lena going through 8 hours of haybales in TAR 6?
Tammy searching through a whole pile of coffee bean for a red bean in TAR 8?
Hayden and Rebecca looking for the lock in TAR 6 penultimate leg?
Mirna VS Rob VS Uchenna searching for letters in TAR Allstars?
Luke crashing and burning at the final RB in TAR 14?

AND SO MANY MORE. PLEASE BRING BACK OUR ROADBLOCKS.

[theamazingracer21]

What if the Sheep task was a RB but they thought it was too hard for 1 person?

[RachelLeVega]

What if the Sheep task was a RB but they thought it was too hard for 1 person?

Then they would think the punting task was too hard with one person and as in the words of Tim, "Your only job is to look good waving the flag."

[georgiapeach]

Sandcastles EP 1.... none since? So bizarre.

[Declive]

I miss the roadblocks.

[georgiapeach]

I am grieving.
 

What we did see though, on our second morning here, was a huge herd of more than
a hundred Shetland ponies wearing knitted sweaters greeting us when we looked
out our window in "fair Isle". They were delightfully lined up in rows on the
lawn waiting to get "dressed up" by contestants of The amazing Race, who had to
match the right knitwear design to the pony's mane. Sadly I doubt we'd see it
again, as a staff told me it was a one-off event for the American travel show.

http://dailypicksandflicks.com/2013/01/23/visit-scotland-shetland-ponies-in-cardigan-sweaters-photos-video/
 
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/yfybEEWnYSI" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/yfybEEWnYSI</a>

[RaceUntilWeDie]

Wait.. so the Roadblock went unaired, or...?

[Zack.]

What if the Sheep task was a RB but they thought it was too hard for 1 person?

They've had this task as an RB before though 

[albiegato]

I'm guessing this is the Race's reaction to the backlash from last season about stupid old Dave (already gone and is still causing trouble ). But maybe future legs would have 2 RBs instead of 1.

The sheep herding task is way too hard for just one person to perform, especially with the specific instruction of all sheep having to go through the center isle before entering the corral. However, the punting task last leg should have been a Roadblock in my opinion.

[redskevin88]

It may because of Bethany. Probably to avoid RB controversy like last season, see Dave & Connor. I hope this isn't rigging for Bethany.

Not to mention Luke's inability to do the Welsh roadblock last season...if Margie & Luke had made it that far, they would have possibly been in trouble.

[Bookworm]

Ugh, peach, I am sad, too. I was really hoping to see the pony dress up task! 
I'm hoping (this is unrealistic) that the Copenhagen/Malmo leg will have a Detour and two RBs- one in each country...

[Hysha]

I HATE it!
RB are essential to change the positions every leg. We want our RB! Bring them back! 

[NMC]

I NEVER thought I'd ever admit it to myself, but TAR has just got so Blaaah with everything, not just the lack of RB's!

- Editing
- Short Legs (Lack of Tasks in General)
- Music

What's happening to a once AMAZING show??! 

 

[couchracer]

Seems unlikely, maybe the pony sweaters at the start of the next leg. Puzzled, it would have been easy to make the punt a roadblock, the roadblock person punts while the other waves or visa versa. Similar to the season with Dave & Rachel, where the roadblock was to navigate to the person who sky-dived.

[TheRabbi]

I think having a detour, RB, and ARI task in the same leg (besides a finale) is too much.  The ENTIRE episode would have to be devoted to showing the tasks, and as it is, FAR more time than in the early seasons is devoted to showing all teams completing the tasks.  You have to watch the online cbs.com videos these days to hear some of the fun banter that takes place in the cabs/cars.  I've always enjoyed that more than the tasks.

If they edited out a pony-dressing task last night (which I doubt), then so be it.  In its place, they let us get more actual team interaction, like Kym and Alli going to the pub, a few tidbits on the train, and gorgeous scenery, which would not have been possible if they had to edit in another whole task in addition to what was shown.

A better alternative would be to have 90 minute episodes.  Hey, one can dream, right?!

[georgiapeach]

I agree that TAR24 was a mess...but I think we off to a really good start for 25!! Loved the start, loved the difficulty of the digging challenge in leg one. And the MUSIC this leg was awesome! Having been to the Shetlands, AND the Up Helly Aa Viking Festival, I think it perfectly scored the action.

Do you all know that Lee Sanders (TAR composer) himself is talking with us HERE every Monday about how he scored the preceding episode? Pease do feel free to come ask him any questions!

[Reilly Queens]

If the no roadblocks is the only thing you can complain about then this is a good season.

[georgiapeach]

If the no roadblocks is the only thing you can complain about then this is a good season.

 

[georgiapeach]

As far as the RB's go...here is what I think.
I agree that the punting was probably originally a RB, with only one person allowed to do the actual punting. There were perhaps some technical issues (currents etc) that required some production intervention so perhaps a RB would not have been fair??
And I do think we lost the pony RB....prob for time reasons and the fact that perhaps standings did not change or something prevented it from being used. Something I would have LOVED to see!
Looking ahead, we do know for 24 that the RB rules were changed, Phil tweeted some stuff around the Finale IIRC. Could anyone summarize what we think the rules ending up being last time?

[Pi]

IIRC now racers can only do 5 roadblocks up to leg 10. After that, anything goes.

[ovalorange]

Right from Phil himself:

Phil Keoghan ‏@PhilKeoghan May 18
#Roadblocks #TAR25 rules same 4 all no team could do more than 6 RBs B4 end of L10 - 3 RBs in L11+12 those can be divided 2-1

[georgiapeach]

Right from Phil himself:

Phil Keoghan ‏@PhilKeoghan May 18
#Roadblocks #TAR25 rules same 4 all no team could do more than 6 RBs B4 end of L10 - 3 RBs in L11+12 those can be divided 2-1

That means up to leg 10 the split could be 6:4 then.... So one  team could end up 8:5. Not so sure I like that,,,,

[Dånooky]

Right from Phil himself:

Phil Keoghan ‏@PhilKeoghan May 18
#Roadblocks #TAR25 rules same 4 all no team could do more than 6 RBs B4 end of L10 - 3 RBs in L11+12 those can be divided 2-1

That means up to leg 10 the split could be 6:4 then.... So one  team could end up 8:5. Not so sure I like that,,,,

Still waaaay better than 10:1. As for the Punting task, I think they were giving teams the option to switch punters if the current because too strong and one person might have been unable to do it?

[TheRabbi]

Yeah 24 had claimed after the fact that no more than 6 through leg 10, then 2-1 for the final 3 RB's, which is kinda dumb.

I think 25 has 5 per member.  One of the insider videos of the first leg had the mother of mom/daughter saying something like "I wanna do the first RB, so I'll only have to do 4 more."

[Neobie]

No editing shenanigans that I could see that could have snipped out a pony-dressing task!

Real-time spoilers mean we know teams had to find the "puffin" once they got to Lerwick.
At the Lerwick carpark we have Ketih/Whitney asking for directions to Scalloway.
At Scalloway Castle we see Keith/Whitney saying that it was a Detour.
At the end of the Viking half of the Detour, Tim/Te Jay say on-screen to head to Berry Farm.
At the end of Berry Farm we see Misti/Jim receive the treasure that leads them to the Pit Stop.

[albiegato]

Yeah 24 had claimed after the fact that no more than 6 through leg 10, then 2-1 for the final 3 RB's, which is kinda dumb.

I think 25 has 5 per member.  One of the insider videos of the first leg had the mother of mom/daughter saying something like "I wanna do the first RB, so I'll only have to do 4 more."

That's a nice detail I've forgotten to remember. Thanks TheRabbi!

[Platrium]

Right from Phil himself:

Phil Keoghan ‏@PhilKeoghan May 18
#Roadblocks #TAR25 rules same 4 all no team could do more than 6 RBs B4 end of L10 - 3 RBs in L11+12 those can be divided 2-1

That means up to leg 10 the split could be 6:4 then.... So one  team could end up 8:5. Not so sure I like that,,,,

Oh! I get it now. I don't like it.

~ ~ ~

Anyway, I think I have a different opinion. Like I said in the Episode 3 thread. 1 rb after 3 legs is still fine with me, but if they don't have a rb by Leg 4, I'm gonna join the hate community.

About the punting and sheep. I think they could've been roadblocks. Punting: The one punting (The one sitting out waves the flag.); Sheep: It looks possible with 1 person doing everything IMO (it's just gonna be hard). If those 2 tasks were rbs, I think Bethany could do both. What makes me think is the L1 rb. I doubt Bethany can dig, but if she really can then it's awesome.

[RaceUntilWeDie]

I'm surprised no one mentioned this (I'm pretty sure ) but the punting was just like that Roadblock in Botswana TAR 22 when one team controlled the little boat while the other teammate sat and held the sheep.

[maf]

No editing shenanigans that I could see that could have snipped out a pony-dressing task!

Real-time spoilers mean we know teams had to find the "puffin" once they got to Lerwick.
At the Lerwick carpark we have Ketih/Whitney asking for directions to Scalloway.

Couldn't the pony-dressing task have taken place in the vicinity of Scalloway? If so Keith & Withney were asking for directions to that task rather than to the castle.

We have very incomplete data but the little we have suggest quite a lot of shuffling of the order of the teams between picking up the clue from the puffin and arriving at the castle. This could indicate that there was a task in-between. On the other hand it could just be navigational issues.

[docol]

i HATE it...! a leg isn't a FULL Leg without a roadblock..i mean.... a great route, an amazing cast and poor leg design? plus bad editing??? i miss the times where we get to see the places where teams checked in and when they were leaving

Bring back the 2-roadblocks-legs.! 

[NoluckBoston]

Hate it. I still miss the Intersection. I loved those.

[TheRabbi]

The intersection was a decent concept but horribly executed.When it was used in both 10 and 11, there were 6 teams left, and both legs also offered a fast forward, so then you have 2 groups of 2 teams fighting to avoid elimination, and both times the stupid marked for elimination cost David and Mary and the Guidos.  If they bring it back,they should do it without about 8 teams left, no FF, and since the stupid MFE penalty is gone, maybe it would work better.  That leg the Guidos were eliminated in was one of the all time worst since they really didn't deserve it.

[TAR789]

Right from Phil himself:

Phil Keoghan ‏@PhilKeoghan May 18
#Roadblocks #TAR25 rules same 4 all no team could do more than 6 RBs B4 end of L10 - 3 RBs in L11+12 those can be divided 2-1

That means up to leg 10 the split could be 6:4 then.... So one  team could end up 8:5. Not so sure I like that,,,,

Well if TAR25 has 11 roadblocks in total, eight in the first ten legs (considering that legs 2 & 3 are the only ones to not have a rb) and three in the last two, we could actually have a 8:3 (!!!) split at the end. What's the point of that roadblock rule now?

[Bookworm]

The intersection was a decent concept but horribly executed.When it was used in both 10 and 11, there were 6 teams left, and both legs also offered a fast forward, so then you have 2 groups of 2 teams fighting to avoid elimination, and both times the stupid marked for elimination cost David and Mary and the Guidos. If they bring it back,they should do it without about 8 teams left, no FF, and since the stupid MFE penalty is gone, maybe it would work better.  That leg the Guidos were eliminated in was one of the all time worst since they really didn't deserve it.

TAR16 Leg 4
I liked the Marked For Elimination Penalty, but I agree it shouldn't be featured on a Leg with an Intersection.

[Bookworm]

Right from Phil himself:

Phil Keoghan ‏@PhilKeoghan May 18
#Roadblocks #TAR25 rules same 4 all no team could do more than 6 RBs B4 end of L10 - 3 RBs in L11+12 those can be divided 2-1

That means up to leg 10 the split could be 6:4 then.... So one  team could end up 8:5. Not so sure I like that,,,,

Well if TAR25 has 11 roadblocks in total, eight in the first ten legs (considering that legs 2 & 3 are the only ones to not have a rb) and three in the last two, we could actually have a 8:3 (!!!) split at the end. What's the point of that roadblock rule now?

I would think that if there were only 8 RBs in the first 10 legs, with the 3 RBs in legs 11 & 12, the rule would be "no more than four/five in Leg 10", leading to a 6/5 or 7/4 split. I don't think WRP would allow there to be a potential 8/3 split.

[georgiapeach]

Well, guess there was NO pony RB, darn it all. Always possible something else got edited out though....although Neobie's post makes that less likely??

ANd...I HATED the Intersection.

[dryedmangoez]

Sad there have been no Road Blocks these last two Legs. 

But if it avoids the RB mess that TAR24 had, then that's fine by me.  I am still happy that so many people raised a fuss about the sketchy TAR24 RB rule that Phil had to tweet over and over and over again trying to defend make excuses explain it.