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TAR: Where are we Going? Suggestions for the Future!

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Kiwi Jay:
No worries Miss Peach!

So if y'all want to post your suggestions and comments on our beloved race, I'd like to provide a platform for CBS/WRP to read our thoughts on current issues.

And go tell your forum friends, I'd love to have as much of our online community giving their opinions on this.

PLEASE talk about anything that has frustrated you recently! Gimmicks, editing, casting, locations, time-slot change. This could prove vital guys! Talk about what you don't like now, as well as why you first fell in love with the format of the show!

Go forth RFF'ers.

Pi:
If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it. Instead of new twists and gimmick seasons, revert back to what has worked over the years.

Editing:
- Focus on the amazing places that the race is visiting and transportation/flight drama rather than dumb things like Blodie which don't contribute to a good show.

- Sometimes, the race feels like it's moving along at a million miles an hour. Slow down the pace of the editing.

- Announce all Pit Stop placements.

Route & Tasks:
- Routes are typically good if they visit at least one new country or visit 2+ once-visited countries not visited for 10+ seasons.

- Africa is cheap and tasks as simple as milking a camel are easy, culturally relevant, and memorable.

- Have at least 1 Fast Forward each season. They don't need to be expensive, extravagant tasks, but should be harder than other tasks that leg.

All of these things have been achieved before in previous seasons, so I don't see why they can't happen today.

gamerfan09:
Per Wikipedia:


--- Quote ---Organic unity is the idea that a thing is made up of interdependent parts. For example, a body is made up of its constituent organs, and a society is made up of its constituent social roles. Organic unity was propounded by the philosopher Plato as a theory of literature. In Poetics (c. 335 BCE), Aristotle describes organic unity by explaining how writing relies internally on narration and drama to be cohesive; but without balance between the two sides, the work suffers.
--- End quote ---

Organic Unity is definitely something editing needs these days.

Take a look at TAR5, for instance.

On the Dubai to India leg, we had foreshadowing of Chip & Kim and Colin & Christie rivalry that went something like this:


--- Quote ---Colin: (in a confessional) We trust Chip & Kim!
Christie: We think we can work together well.

Kim: (in a confessional) I want Colin & Christie to EXPLODE :')
--- End quote ---

That's a really funny/witty juxtaposition, AND it actually led somewhere, as we saw Chip & Kim Yield Colin & Christie in the Philippines. Yes, it was thrown in for the sake of drama, but it did NOT dominate the episode and was just randomly placed in the episode as funny/witty.

Now look at TAR27, where we had three ENTIRE episodes focused on Justin vs. Texas. And it wasn't even anything like TAR5! We had the rivalry foreshadowed on Leg 2, but editors went WAY overboard by focusing the THIRD and FOURTH leg onto their rivalry... and as a result, forgot about EVERYONE ELSE. This made it feel unnatural, peculiar, and helped plunge 27 into a season that was such a cesspool of entertainment it was very easy to forget despite having a decent cast and route.

By handling Justin and Texas on TAR27, you can see how editors failed to create organic unity. Instead of narration and drama being cohesive, they force it. They go overboard. By delving too much on the other end of the spectrum of focusing on the drama, they helped ruin what could have been three decent episodes. The fact that the rivalry is also never heard of again is also nothing short of maddening.

Seriously... this new era is terrible, editing-wise. Although there are STILL some really high highs (TAR25's chain of Shetland - Morocco 1 is nothing short of top tier and so was TAR26's Thailand - Germany and TAR28's chain of Armenia - Dubai), there are also some excruciatingly bad lows (TAR25 Italy was an awful leg and so was Morocco 2, 26's Japan string is self-explained, 27's near ENTIRETY, and 28's winter legs being just as awful, if not worse, than TAR24's).

If production really wants to change (and they have to, for the sake of the show, my goodness, it speaks massive volumes that TAR5's Dubai leg is a top tier episode and not because of the tasks or the location but the TEAMS, and despite having 20 ENTIRE minutes without any tasks it's still an amazing episode), they must rewatch TAR3/5. Those are the series at its peak and they need that kind of magic back.

Gimmicks are fun, but if you force it (TAR26's PS interactions are so cringe + TAR28's entire first 10 minutes), it just ends up looking pathetic or poorly thought out.

Follow Aristotle and Plato's example. Fix the editing and try to create a season rich with organic unity and fun.

As Rachel Reilly herself said, "The Amazing Race is supposed to be fun and good!". And yes, Rachel, yes it really has to be fun and good. But at this rate, unfortunately it might not be good... nor fun either.

TARUSAFan:
•   Twists

>      CBS has been experimenting on twists to try and salvage the Amazing Race but going in this direction is doing the show no good. Apparently, the Season 28’s “Social Media Cast” really did not live to their expectations despite all of them having huge fan bases. Their viewership is still low.

>      Season 26’s “Dating” themed season was atrocious on all levels. It is as bad as Season 24. None of the Blind-Dating teams even sparked a relationship. Also, there were too many double legs on the same country: Japan, Thailand, Namibia, Peru which some of the tasks were underwhelming. The only redeemable part was Hayley & Blair, a visit to Monaco and return visits to Peru and Namibia.

>      They dubbed Season 24 an “All-Star” season, when clearly it was not. It was even no near the Unfinished Business season The tasks were beyond simple, a teenager could do that. Clear examples would include Season 24’s Spain leg. They went there to shave a balloon. Really? This is Spain, another country teeming with loads of activities and culture. I remember, in Season 18’s Unfinished Business, Phil said “This race is going to harder than your previous races.” The cast of Season 24 was terrible, bland and absolutely boring. Why would you put Jessica & John there, they both were dumb enough not to use the Express Pass in Season 22’s Bali leg and the fact that he said “ I don’t need a million dollars” does not deserve him to go back. They are not All Star material. Also, 3-peaters Margie & Luke, Jet & Cord, Flight Time & Big Easy. They had their chance, wasted spots to others. They could axed the All Star Season and made it a normal season instead.

> Cut it with the twists. I am an Amazing Race purist. I just want a regular cast with people from all walks of life.

•   Editing
   
>     Recent Seasons have had terrible sub-par editing. Season 27 was a clear example. They focused much on Justin & Diana that even to a point that even the previews for next week included them. Also, the rivalry with Tanner & Josh looks milked. First few episodes revolved around their rivalry leading to the underdeveloped 8th -10th place teams. There were scenes there that are clear that were cut. I remember one of the contestants noted that what they said were cut or shortened. Also, there were no more suspense found on recent seasons. Where are the suspense-style edits?

>   Please announce each team placements when they arrive at the mat. We do not see these nowadays, even the reactions of the teams. Also, the pitstart where the team who won the last leg reads the clue for the next destination. We need to see that again Moreover, Phil narrates it now. We do not get to see teams interact and they capitalize on 2 teams just like Season 28’s Blair + Blodie = Blodie. Atrocious, they could have used that time to explore the city more + team interactions. Don’t give the viewers something forced.

>   In Season’s 27-28, the pit stop greeters are lessened and they are an important element in the Race. I miss seeing interactions with the greeters. We now only get it through secret scenes where only a few get to see it.

>   The editing is very fast-paced in recent seasons. It is just too much to take into.

•   Routes/Countries Visited

>   I love that the Race has been visiting new countries lately from Season 25-28. Malta, Monaco, Zimbabwe, Colombia, Armenia and Georgia. Good job to the production for doing that. Also, visiting undervisited countries are also good such which they did in recent seasons. I would suggest mixing overvisited countries with undervisited countries and couple that with a new country or two. Season 25 did that. The only let down for that route was the U.S. Virgin Islands, they could replaced that with a Bahamas leg or any Central American or Caribbean leg. Also too much Europe overload, the Italy leg should have been a different leg.

>  In visiting Asia, please visit other nations as well. We’ve been getting China, India, Indonesia, Japan… What about Israel, South Korea, The Philippines, Maldives, Cambodia? Stop visiting overused countries back to back or consecutively in Asia.


>  Europe. There are so many countries in Europe that are not visited so much, we have Greece, Finland, Norway, Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic, Ireland, Iceland, Belgium, Lithuania. There are also countries that have never been visited before such as Latvia, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Slovakia, Montenegro and Bulgaria to name a few.

> Oceania, I am waiting for this one to pop up. Where's Australia, New Zealand, French Polynesia, Fiji and Vanuatu. I still cannot fathom, why this continent, Oceania is not visited considering it is one of the safest continents and there are loads to be done there.

> Africa, The last time I saw South Africa was in Season 7 and this country never even had a double leg. It really deserves a visit. Also Mauritius, last visited in Season 10 and it was underwhelming. Mauritius is one of the crown jewels in Africa. Such a diverse island with so much activities to do. Africa is one of the hardest continents and it would be nice to see them interact more with the culture with culturally relevant tasks and harder ones.

> South America, I'm glad Colombia gets a visit despite the travel advisory there. Cartagena, Colombia was awesome. Why visit Argentina many times, give others a chance. Bolivia, Uruguay, even Brazil needs a chance to be explored more.

> Central America / Caribbean, I still don't get why this has not been visited that much. Costa Rica, The Bahamas, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Panama. Hopefully, we will see Cuba soon.

> North America, It is about time that Canada needs to get a decent visit. We've only seen it visited last Season 8. It would be also good for Jon Montgomery ( TAR Canada's host) to be a pit stop greeter.

•   Cast

>   Season 22, Season 23, Season 25 had a really great cast very diverse in my opinion. Season 27 also has a great cast but they did not develop them all properly. The only let down for Season 25’s cast for me was Keith & Whitney. Absolutely bland and boring. They both had their share in Survivor, so don’t steal another teams spot on the Amazing Race. Stop casting Big Brother, Survivor reality crossovers to join the Race. They have had their share of fame. They are obviously stealing a valuable spot to those who have applied.. Kudos for casting Bethany Hamilton in Season 25, a real inspiration for those with disabilities.

>   Please do cast older married teams. They were normally part of at least every season before. We’ve had 1 in Season 26, Jeff & Lyda, they were 1st eliminated. We need grandparent teams like Bill & Cathi from Season 19. The Race finds it easy to cast 40-50’s aged M/M teams: Rowan & Shane, Michael & Scott, Art & JJ, Ron & Bill, Bopper & Mark but finds it hard to cast 40’s-50’s aged F/F teams. The last one was Carol & Brandy from Season 16. Mona & Beth of Season 22 were close but they were in their late 30’s.

>   Also, cast stronger F/F teams. Kym & Alli were gold. I have no problem casting Models/Beauty Queens, as long as they are like Dustin & Kandice, why can’t the Race find another similar pair like them. Also, Brooke & Claire when TAR can find another similar team like them. We need F/F’s that have Beauty, Brains and Brawn with a sense of humor. They always find alpha-male teams but limit it to at least 1 or 2. Tanner & Josh were my favorite alpha-male team.

>   Please cast Americans across America. Most people who get casted are in the California area. There are many great personalities found in all states.

>     We need diversity in every cast

> If the production team were to cast a semi-famous or famous teams. Limit it to at least 2 teams. I know some of them are huge fans of the Race but don't cram them all in one season.

•   Tasks

>   Tasks nowadays look easy. Let me just say of all the things you could do as a Roadblock in Armenia, it would be changing an oil in a hill somewhere near the pitstop. It is not culturally relevant. Season 27’s Buenos Aires leg where the Detour was to deliver a statue. What on earth is this monstrosity? Most tasks in Season 27 involve waiting in line to get a turn. What is this grade school? It makes it predictable who gets booted. The only thing that saved it was the mishaps and mistakes of each team. The most recent one, Season 28’s Indonesia 2 leg Detour: Deliver 50 coconuts and 4 chickens, there are so much more to do than just that in Indonesia. In a nutshell, most of the tasks are just plain simple, no thrill, no challenge. I do not need to mention Season 24. A teenager or even a child could finish some of the tasks there. We need tasks that are both physically and mentally challenging and culturally relevant at the same time

•   Recurring & New Elements on the Race:

>   Fast Forwards - Please include Fast Forwards per Season, a harder one compared to the other tasks on the same leg.

>   U-Turns – Please put U-Turns strategically on the Race. Do not put it after a Non-Elimination leg as it puts the team with a Speed Bump at a disadvantage. Also it would be nice to add a new U-Turn such as Triple U-Turn in early legs of the Race such where 8-10 teams remain.

>   Speed Bump – Could the Speed Bump at least be a culturally relevant one where locals really do it. I find some of the recent Speedbumps quite irrelevant.

>   Intersection – Could we see the return of this one. It has been ages since we last saw it.

>   Yield – Apart from the U-Turn, The Yield is also a great element to add a bit of suspense where you get to slow a team down. I would suggest it would be a Double Yield


Additional Comments/Suggestions:

>   For the premiere episode, it would be good if it was at least 2 hours or an hour and a half to give us the opportunity to at least get to know the teams more and make it not too rushed on the editing because you are fitting 11 teams in one episode and that is hard. Everyone must be memorable even for a 1st boot. It would also be good to have at least 2 Roadblocks and 2 Detours on the 1st leg.

>   Revert back to Sunday viewing timeslot as Amazing Race is a family-oriented show and most families would bond on Sundays and stay at home.

>   Have us fans get to help develop the Race for the benefit of the show as well

>   Remove the geoblock at TAR’s Youtube page and give access for people to see it.

>   Where exactly are the harder finales? we need this back Recent finales have been bland and boring.

>    I am missing the competitiveness of the teams against each other along with competitive and suspenseful style edits.



Bottomline: Look back at the previous seasons where you have had success and capitalize on that. As Pi said above, do not fix something that is not broken.

redskevin88:

--- Quote from: TARUSAFan on June 05, 2016, 11:29:55 PM ---•   Twists

>      They dubbed Season 24 an “All-Star” season but the tasks were beyond simple, a teenager could do that. Clear examples would include Season 24’s Spain leg. They went there to shave a balloon. Really? This is Spain, another country teeming with loads of activities and culture. I remember, in Season 18’s Unfinished Business, Phil said “This race is going to harder than your previous races.” The cast of Season 24 was terrible, bland and absolutely boring. Why would you put Jessica & John there, they both were dumb enough not to use the Express Pass in Season 22’s Bali leg and the fact that he said “ I don’t need a million dollars” does not deserve him to go back. They are not All Star material. Also, 3-peaters Margie & Luke, Jet & Cord, Flight Time & Big Easy. They had their chance, wasted spots to others. They could axed the All Star Season and made it a normal season instead.

--- End quote ---

I made the comment before was that they cast Jessica & John because they threaten to sue CBS because of their elimination (it was a lame joke). I've yet to hear any other explanation that makes a shred of sense.

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