Topic: Joys & Disappointments of TAR 25

[RaceUntilWeDie]

I remember this in the TARAus threads. I thought those were a good read - so why not do it for what I thought was a phenomenal season?

[RaceUntilWeDie]

Joys:
+NYC Nighttime Starting line! Even with an audience. Very exciting.
+Hard Roadblock in Leg 1
+So many good teams
+Legs with more than just a few simple "Make your way to..." Route Infos/Roadblock/Detour... they actually made an effort to include additional Active Route Marker tasks this season
+Denmark Morocco Malta Singapore Philippines
+Return of the Fast Forward, even with a battle (that ended in tragedy )
+Very interesting final memory task

Disappointments:
-The Save: I know it was never used or anything, but the fact that they got to keep it in Leg 4 was kind of annoying. Also, it caused teams to not think about U-Turning Misti & Jim
-Where were the Roadblocks in Legs 2, 3, and 10??
-England/Second Morocco leg: wasn't quite on par with the rest (Italy was also below average)
-Anyone else disappointed that we never got to see a Cyclists vs. Dentists footrace? Or really any tight finishes at all? This season was lacking in those.

Can't really think of anymore joys/disappointments for now. What were yours?

[Bookworm]

For me, one of the biggest joys was the amazing cast!

[NoluckBoston]

For me, one of the biggest joys was the amazing cast!

I agree, I really liked them all.

[fossil-racer]

Joys
The cast
The legs
Blind detour
Shelley nici bathroom fiasco
Sheep herding
Misti jim breakdown
Go cart racing
Fast foward battle
Etc
Dissapoint
Wasted uturns
The save

[Belle Book]

Joys

1.  Amy & Maya winning!   
2.  The cast.
3.  Beginning the Race where the first one ended!
4.  Go-karting.  I love doing go-karts!
5.  Jim getting humbled in the fourth leg.
6.  Brooke & Robbie finally being eliminated!
7.  The Fast-Forward -- just not the result.
8.  Quite a few great legs and locations!
9.  The final memory task.

Disappointments

1.  Kym & Alli being eliminated in the Final 5 position.
2.  The second U-Turn being wasted.
3.  The Save being wasted.
4.  Dennis & Isabelle being eliminated early, since they were superfans.

As you can tell, the joys outweighed the disappointments.

[TARUSAFan]

Joys

1.  Amy & Maya winning. About time an all female team won again! Proves that Amazing Race is not just about purely muscle. A great comeback for underdogs.

2.  This season's cast was among the best.

3.  Silver Anniversary of The Amazing Race.

4.  A visit to the Philippines, my country.

5.  Brooke & Robbie eliminated.

6. Some tasks and locations.

7. Final Memory Task

8. Final 4 Twist

9. Phil's appearances while teams are about to do tasks or while doing tasks.

10. A nighttime starting line.


Disappointments

1. Kym & Alli being eliminated in 5th place. A really strong team worthy of the Final 3.

2. Dennis & Isabelle eliminated very early. One of the few Dating Couples who are likable, in my opinion + they're superfans. It's nice to see fellow Asians on the race.

3. Brooke & Robbie going far through the season.

4. The Save wasted.  IMO the prize is really strong, The team who won it was immune to eliminations and potential U-Turns.

5. Wasted U-Turns

6. Lisa & Michelle eliminated early, I wanted to see their "Business Skills" applied in the Race since they have a great track record in the Real Estate Industry. They seem to have that Brooke & Claire vibe going on.

7. Misti & Jim winning too much. At least they did not beat Rachel & Dave's record of most number of wins.

8. Not much drama this season.

[Pi]

Welcome to RFF, TARUSAfan!

[TARUSAFan]

Welcome to RFF, TARUSAfan!

Thank You for the warm welcome. I've been following this forum for years. I just made an account now, about time I made one.

[Zachary]

Joys:
-THE CAST! I believe they delivered the most! Which had a huge impact on the show all and out.
-The race course. It was great-designed. Better than last season that's for sure
-Finally a Phillipines visit!
-The final memory task! I think I consider that the best memory task the show has ever had.
-The THIS or THAT Detour! They should call it a blind detour or something like the blind u-turn. Although that kinda detour would be better if both courses were on the same location. It was no surprise the teams would consider to get to the closer one since both courses were on different location.
-The Season overall!!!

Disappointments:
-The Editing! Uuuugh! They should just stick with what they had established  on the past seasons.
-The lack of Roadblocks. Which I kinda believe made the race a little unfair since I consider Roadblocks more fair than Detours. And I think the productions do too. I mean why there has never been any Detours in the final leg.
-The Save twist! Maybe it would be better if it could be played for any other teams. It would add the suspense
-The final 4 twist. Don't get me wrong it was a little unfair but I think I am just too hung up on how the final leg should only be for the final 3. Besides, you don't see me complaining about Amy and Maya winning.
-A couple of potentially great teams being eliminated too early.

[Dånooky]

-The lack of Roadblocks. Which I kinda believe made the race a little unfair since I consider Roadblocks more fair than Detours. And I think the productions do too. I mean why there has never been any Detours in the final leg.

There was always a Detour in the final leg from seasons 1 to 14 (in some cases all teams chose one side, e.g. 5 and 14, so it was aired as an ARI). I think producers decided to stop with the Detours, since most teams would always choose one task and the other would be a waste of resources.

[batman06]

Joys:

The NYC starting line!  Time square looks beautiful at night
Amy and Maya winning I am still in shock to this today but thrilled they won
Watching Bethany race all the way to the finish line she is such an inspiration
The cast.   There was a nice different variety this season
The route especially Saint Thomas Morocco Sicily Malta and The Phillippeans
The challenges, they were much more difficult and interesting
I liked the fact that the racers got to see Phil midway through the pitstop
Having 4 teams race in the finale

Disappointments
The save-  I thought it was unecessary and didnt serve a purpose
Amy and Maya u turning the surfers
Brooke complaining non stop all season
Misti and Jim winning too many legs

[supah]

The joys definitely outwiegh the disappointments this season. For me it was the best season since TAR17. It just managed to beat TAR18 in my books!

Joys;

- Entertaining cast with big personalities, loved most of the teams! A cast can make or break a season. If you had a boring route and lacklustre challenges, a cast can save the season (an example being TAR21)
- Starting line at night with a CROWD! Very different but very exciting
- Pretty decent route! Loved the long-awaited returns to Morocco and Philippines, and St Thomas & Malta were good choice of new destinations! I'd also consider the Shetland Islands new, and they were beautiful!
- A consistent run of DIFFICULT challenges. I get that running the race is extremely difficult in itself, but some actual barriers along the way make for great competition (and great TV). In recent seasons, there tend to only be a few of those, or all bunched up within 1 or 2 legs. This season we had the treasure chest, punting, all the challenges in Denmark, the outback Detour in Morocco, GOSTRA (probably my favourite challenge ever) and the Manila market Roadblock. Just to name a few!
- ACTIVE ROUTE INFOS! Producers really stepped it up this season, I was amazed that they managed to include a Roadblock, Detour AND Active Route Info all in one leg. The sheep, food cart and drink delivery were my favourites!
- The BLIND Detours! If we had one every leg, this would be a disappointment, but the two times it happened I absolutely loved it!
- Awesome final memory challenge. It's up in the ranks with TAR12 and TAR21 memory challenges! It was very well thought out and well structured, testing long term and short term memory
- Self driving in the finale, I would love to see this in every season!

Disappointments;
- Wasn't a fan of The Save, would rather have just the Express Pass
- Didn't like having 4 teams race in the final, would rather just have the classic F3
- Considering the amount of Europe we got last season, they didn't need to spend as much time there this season. I would've culled the Sicily leg.
- The soundtrack improved as the season progressed but it's still not on par with pre-TAR18 editions.

[Platrium]

Joys:
~ TAR made it to its 25th season.
~ New twists have been added, such as the Save, blind detours, hidden EP, etc.
~ Night time and public starting line.
~ The cast! I'd be glad to see anyone back for all-stars. A lot of racers are amusing to watch.
~ A TAR22 throwback of the sandy battle for last.
~ New locations, such as US Virgin Islands and Malta.
~ Revisiting my country, the Philippines, after a long time.
~ Hashtags? I think I should request them to be more creative next time. This has potential for improvement.
~ Loads of ARIs.
~ Plot twists, such as Misti & Jim falling from 2nd to last in leg 4 after the detour and roadblock fiascos, the fast forward being challenged, the final 4 twist itself, etc.
~ An underdog team winning.
~ More difficult tasks.
~ Phil on the race course.
~ The return of the zero-hour pit stop.
~ Brooke & Robbie getting a worst to first record as well.
~ Underdogs winning the race.
~ Memory task was very difficult.
~ Self-driving (at least in some part) in the finale.
~ I have no team to hate.
~ Difficult enough speedbumps.
~ I finally got to see the China Cups detour. Too bad no one did it in TAR24, but it's here now, so who cares?
~ The new rule about plane tickets. It changes the game by not allowing teams who took later flight tickets to change fights.
~ There were 3 strong teams instead of the usual 1 or 2.
~ USA --> USA in Leg 1. I got my wish (and I realized it just now ).
~ The 2-roadblocks twist's effect on the finale.

Disappointments:
~ The 4-hour penalty didn't have much effect. Production has no choice since the legs are pre-determined.
~ Too many legs lack a roadblock. We had seasons missing a roadblock or two, but 3 legs without a roadblock is a bit too much.
~ Some potentially good teams getting early boots. (no choice, someone has to go)
~ The Save wasn't used and its effects on future legs (especially on NELs) remain a mystery to fans.
~ Only 1 fast forward.
~ Kym & Alli... (I hope they return.)
~ U-turns not affecting the race much.
~ The Save is over-powerful. I would limit it to Leg 4, 5, or 6 instead of Leg 9.
~ The EP becomes invisible in a way. There weren't any hard tasks for Adam & Bethany.
~ Brooke & Robbie not receiving a prize. It's really not fair, especially since they didn't win a leg before that.
~ A weak 9th place curse. Sorry, I can't get over it. The best I can say is that the firefighters were 2nd some time that leg.
~ I missed my chance to see TAR at the Divisoria area.

Wishes:
~ I wish Leg 1 was a NEL.
~ I wish we'll have a top 10 NEL soon.
~ I wish we get a better 9th place curse.
~ I wish the Save was at least used.
~ I wish there were a few more roadblocks.
~ I wish the U-turns and EP weren't looking that invisible and forgettable.
~ I wish the kart racing roadblock in Italy was real Mario Kart. Please ignore me with this since this is not 100% possible. I'm just a big fan of Mario Kart.
~ I wish Kym & Alli survived Leg 9.
~ I wish Kym & Alli and Misti & Jim will be back for more rivalry. They have unfinished business, especially the former.
~ I wish Kym & Alli will be back for all-stars. At least that and I will be very happy.

[fossil-racer]

[dissapointments- ratings

[Declive]

[dissapointments- ratings

[Genius]

Disappointments:

-Anyone else disappointed that we never got to see a Cyclists vs. Dentists footrace? Or really any tight finishes at all? This season was lacking in those.

Leg 10 had two great footraces to the pit stop.

[Hysha]

[dissapointments- ratings

[Platrium]

Disappointments:
-Anyone else disappointed that we never got to see a Cyclists vs. Dentists footrace? Or really any tight finishes at all? This season was lacking in those.

We need them back for that in the next all-stars.