Topic: TAR 27 Ep 4 LIVE SHOW Updates & Commentary!

[gamerfan09]

This cast is quite amazing and they are absolutely delivering. Probably the best cast since TAR17 (with the exception of 25's amazingness) for me.

But the race itself is completely falling apart.

X

[cbacbacba1]

I love the idea of locating u-turn at the pit-stop
It is great in certain aspect :
1) We will see how last place teams react to prevent potential last-place
2) Phil's attitude on the u-turn
3) Brutal to see the team get u-turned just before getting checked-in 

The u-turn adds more point this leg because of a KOR setting instead of a NEL
So the effect of u-turn becomes more powerful to determine the result of the second half

Hope they will do this more in the future 

[gamerfan09]

It's really gross to have a U-Turn already before the Pit Stop, as the U-Turned team is screwed either way.

This took it to almost absurd levels. Really hope they don't do that again, especially since teams weren't 100% bunched at the Detour?

[Bookworm]

Wtf is with this season. The teams and locations are great, but the leg design and editing are just terrible.

[TheRabbi]

I'm not quite sure I get all the hate for this leg.  I understand that the editing constantly focusing on the two leading teams' "rivalry" is extremely annoying after a while, but it was still a good leg.  Fantastic vistas, and since it was  TBC, the mid-leg bunch basically takes the place of a bunch that would normally start the next leg.  I actually think it's kind of a clever way to mess with the teams a little bit.

Side note:  Justin won me over when he started singing the song that TAR uses every time they go to Africa.  Loved that moment so much!!

[Glamazon Racer]

They do legs like these and we wonder why they stop winning Emmys...

[Bookworm]

They do legs like these and we wonder why they stop winning Emmys...

X

[RachelLeVega]

And I thought being sober was actually a good thing tonight. This Leg is truly a V8 smack in the forehead. Not only was this a "keep on racing" episode, the entire framework and editing of this leg was like the sound a balloon makes as it quickly loses oxygen zipping through the air. Two good things that came from it were seeing the adorable children from Rose of Charity and Denise's "Y'all got to get off the couch!" As for Tanner & Josh - yeesh - they are pieces of work. I've now made them a more clear synonym for the verb "Aaron & Arianne-ing". I guess fruit juice isn't a good beverage to have during TAR.

LEG 4 (Argentina --> Zambia --> Zimbabwe) EPISODE REVIEW
Drink: Guava juice
So the beginning of the show felt like a start of Survivor with an alliance recap and a team playing both sides. Tanner & Josh really made me try not to reenact the Mukuni Village greeter. And there's that.

ROADBLOCK: (Who wants to take a Switchback to TAR12 via TAR1?)
I honestly really enjoyed the reactions of team members when they toured Victoria Falls from the sky. Something about the experience felt very real and open for me even when I was on the edge of my sofa. Though, not very creative, I liked the part where teams had to find the next clue box instead of just repeating what they viewed.
ROADBLOCK SCORE: 9/10
 
Passing into Zimbabwe, we were met with - I can't believe it - a mid-leg overnight rest. Now what was the point of that Roadblock??! I thought this was a race, not a vacation.

DETOUR: (African Giraffe or Victorian Golf)
As much as I liked the arts & crafts task, I have no further comment on it other than Logan & Chris needing to be cooperative. They chose "co-op" for a reason, duhh. The croquet task --- . That was just a random, boring task. Please tell me croquet was invented or even once popular in Zimbabwe or any locales of Southern Africa.
DETOUR SCORE: 6/10

And now the U-Turn would have provided some painstaking drama, but that didn't happen. Though I'd like to see how it can go in affect next episode or if it is even used at all.

OVERALL: 7/10
Also, does anybody know great Zimbabwean drinks?

[Keepcopz]

Seemed like lots of people are being letdown by this season so far. (I haven't watch Ep 2-4 yet, just read the commentary.)

But remember, 26 had a rocky start for the first 4-5 legs too. But it get SO MUCH BETTER once it touch Europe and keep its momentum to the end. With the cast still delivered, I hope this season can turned it over and get better once it touch Europe too!

[Platrium]

This episode was great... because of the drama! It's not the best definitely, because that title would go to Leg 3 for now.
Roadblock: The scenery just can't be expressed by words. Plus, the task was really simple, but some team just had to use the EP. At first I thought: Okay. They have a good lead, but not a safe lead. When I saw the HoO, I thought: Wow! Justin & Diana has a chance now.
HoO: Because the leg has a ZHPS, this was okay. However, the speculations on this could lead to the ZHPS that I expected, which loses the suspense factor, but since when did ZHPS become suspenseful? (Since it's easy to figure out by the amount of time left before the end of the show.) Leg structure-wise, this wasn't good; drama-wise:
Detour: The wood detour was cool. I got to see some culture there. The croquet one though, I don't see its culture. Maybe there is, but it's either I missed Phil's narration to it or it wasn't mentioned to be cultural. Furthermore, I can see the imbalance of the detour. Croquet looks easy, but the wood requires waiting for the paint to dry up, then polishing. The process seems longer for the wood detour.
U-turn: I actually envisioned having a U-turn like this. The host is watching from the pit stop, and he gets to see the action and reaction of the teams involved in the U-turn, or a least all the teams deciding on the U-turn. I'm glad I got to see something like this. Only a ZHPS can give this type of U-turn some good hope, but I actually envisioned this on an ordinary elimination leg. Anyhow, I like it! I'm not sure if they should do it again, but I'm okay with them doing it again. They just have to make sure they're gonna use it properly, like this episode's because of the ZHPS.
EP: With the EP's deadline shortened, and it's not won in pairs anymore, I thought the EP would just be an imagination for this season, but I'm really glad about the drama here. Remember TAR22 with the 2EP twist? It wasn't much back then, so I didn't like the idea of it. In TAR23, the drama it caused made me actually like the twist. This season, I thought I wouldn't like the EP to be used only up until Leg 5, but I'm glad the drama gave light to the EP again. It was in the shadows for 2-3 seasons, because the team who gets it only uses it on the 8th leg. This one though, the drama this thing created made me like the episode more! The additional twist of handing it to another team after its usage was actually the cause of the suspense left to the viewers. Without that twist, Tanner & Josh would just keep going. I'm really glad the EP has stepped away from the shadows again! (P.S. The EP is my favorite "thing" in TAR.)
Conclusion: Due to the announce-U-turn-in-1st-clue trend which started in TAR16 and the EP mechanics this season, the drama this episode was well done! Without those, I'm almost sure the episode will be dull with the HoO and the imbalanced detour. The scenery in Africa is still wonderful anyway!
What else...?

Jazmine & Danielle were unlucky with the cab at the roadblock. Good thing there was a HoO.
Kelsey & Joey finally got enough screentime!

Tanner & Josh making a big mistake by using the EP made this episode a lot better! Without the EP and the W-turn, this episode would most likely be dull.

So at the end of the episode, I like it, but not as much as how I like Leg 3. The drama this leg was really the one that made this episode really good!

[Platrium]

I just checked Wikipedia and realized that Justin & Diana weren't told of what they've won for checking in 1st. Did they win anything?

[gamerfan09]

That leg was like a giant puff of chocolate with all the sights and no substance.

[theschnauzers]

Several things to keep in mind about the leg design for this leg and possibly the next.
The producers had to work with the fact that they were in Zimbabwe for parts of both legs. I think that had a lot to do with the decision for a KOR leg.
Since the Race was using a charity for a pitstop, it made sense to have the U-Turn and then place it at the pitstop to discourage it being used. And while we rarely see evidence of production at the pitstop on screen, the location of that U-Turn sign right next to Phil and the check-in mat, likely also meant that the BTS producttion normally close to the pit stop, weren't. This will likely tip off the later arriving teams that since the top teams didn't use the U-Turn, its probably not an rest period, and that no one is being elimination.

The croquet is a remnant of colonial era ZImbabwe (which had been a British colony, hence the costuming from late 19th century and the use of a specific hotel that fits into that motif.

I would not be surprised if the leg 5 pit stop is on the other side of the river (in Zambia) even though the teams may have flown out of Zimbabwe. On the other hand, since they arrived at Livingstone, they may well have departed from there. That is a change from TAR 1 when teams flew to Johannesburg and then a charter into the Victoria Falls area.

As such I had few problems with the leg design, as it is apparent production planned these pieces carefully because of the use of Zimbabwe.

Edit: Bill Bartek of Team Guido just tweeted out the following:

Good to see #MukuniVillage has a #paved road! @AmazingRace_CBS #RHAP #amazingrace #VictoriaFalls #knifesedgebridge #batokageorge #TAR1

[Glamazon Racer]

If the U-Turn was placed where it was to "discourage it from being used", why have a U-Turn at all?

[theschnauzers]

If the U-Turn was placed where it was to "discourage it from being used", why have a U-Turn at all?

The same reason why TAR sometimes has a literally impossible Detour option on some detours; to force the teams to do otherwise. That really isn't hard to figure out. It's why the old "strip 'em of their cash" penalty for coming in last on a NEL was used, and then subsequently avoided in poor countries before being dropped completely as it was unseemly for teams to be begging for money in such places, which fits with the use of the orphanage for the U-Turn Board and the check-in mat in this leg.

[Prama]

The episode was good, casts and drama were great, tasks and locations were awesome.... But then, the midleg HoO and U-Turn board right at the pit stop ruined it all. kthx.

[couchracer]

I was shocked when Texas used the EP at what was a really cool RB. Imagine giving up that sightseeing flight, and then find out you pretty much wasted the EP. At least they used it. Why act surprised when you have to name who gets the other EP? I think one of the girl teams probably. Reporters are a little low key, but might get more airtime now. I'm loving the drama.

[RachelLeVega]

The croquet is a remnant of colonial era ZImbabwe (which had been a British colony, hence the costuming from late 19th century and the use of a specific hotel that fits into that motif.

Edit: Bill Bartek of Team Guido just tweeted out the following:

Good to see #MukuniVillage has a #paved road! @AmazingRace_CBS #RHAP #amazingrace #VictoriaFalls #knifesedgebridge #batokageorge #TAR1

Thanks for the fun fact about croquet in Zimbabwe, schnauzer. Now the task seems a bit more concentrated than I had initially thought.

Team Guido's tweet

[Maanca]

Kelsey & Joey are totally going to get the second Express Pass. The edit has shown all the non-#TeamTexas talk about the alliance coming from them.

[paradoxinee]

How long does it take to travel from RB to Shoes String? They arrived Zambia around 12:30 PM and travel a lot. Like if it's already close to sunset (even we still saw dayly light), that might be the reason there was HOH.

[fossil-racer]

I think TAR needs to work on the leg designs more. We don't have many chances left and if this is what TAR becomes, the show is a goner.

[gamerfan09]

I think TAR needs to work on the leg designs more. We don't have many chances left and if this is what TAR becomes, the show is a goner.

They definitely have to step it up, but ratings and the Emmys will be the defining factors.

[Glamazon Racer]

If the U-Turn was placed where it was to "discourage it from being used", why have a U-Turn at all?

The same reason why TAR sometimes has a literally impossible Detour option on some detours; to force the teams to do otherwise. That really isn't hard to figure out. It's why the old "strip 'em of their cash" penalty for coming in last on a NEL was used, and then subsequently avoided in poor countries before being dropped completely as it was unseemly for teams to be begging for money in such places, which fits with the use of the orphanage for the U-Turn Board and the check-in mat in this leg.

I don't really think that's the same idea, personally. I understand having one Detour be harder to force teams to do the other option which is more exciting/looks better on TV/other such reasons. But while the race might gain something from a Detour option being unvisited, the race doesn't actually gain anything from a U-Turn being unused. We could get a lot more drama from a better-positioned U-Turn on a different leg in my opinion.

[bottle]

i really loved first three legs but this leg was god too i guess i'm loving this season

[Platrium]

I love the idea of locating u-turn at the pit-stop
It is great in certain aspect :
1) We will see how last place teams react to prevent potential last-place
2) Phil's attitude on the u-turn
3) Brutal to see the team get u-turned just before getting checked-in 

The u-turn adds more point this leg because of a KOR setting instead of a NEL
So the effect of u-turn becomes more powerful to determine the result of the second half

Hope they will do this more in the future 

I agree to this!
With today's leg design, perhaps a 2-hour episode airing Legs 4 and 5 will lessen other's hate tension. Anyway, I still enjoyed it.