Topic: TAR Unpopular Opinions

[Platrium]

I might be the only person who likes head-to-heads. Yeah, the one in the US version right before a pit stop. Personally, I think it's fun and exciting to see from a viewer's perspective.

Only downside is that it robbed April & Sarah when I was rooting for them.

[Traveldude1]

- I love TAR 4 and think it's a decent season. I know it's not a well liked season, but I think it has a great route and the tasks are fun. The cast is still kind of lousy but I'd watch this season over most of what's being put out today.

- The most consistent era was TAR 14 to TAR 24 and it's not close. Besides TAR 20, there wasn't a truly bad season during this stretch and that's saying something about how good the show was during this period. There were some seasons I enjoyed more than others (TAR 14 and TAR 21) while there were others that I didn't quite enjoy as much (TAR 19 and TAR 15), but every season had something great to offer during this run.

[ianthebalance]

I agree on TAR 4. I think it gets way too much hate and I genuinely enjoy the season

[LandonM170]

Yeah on my rewatch of season 4 earlier this year I actually really enjoyed it and then the fact that a gay "married" (not official because of law but they were) couple won really just made it even better, maybe that is biased for me because I am a bi guy but I loved it!

[Genius]

Perhaps the most sacrilegious opinion to be posted over here, but I honestly feel I am more suited to be on BBC's Race Across The World than TAR.

On TAR, one may be forced to skydive or bungee jump or chow down disgusting things and everything needs to be done asap. In RATW, racers can travel leisurely at whatever pace they like and visit whatever attractions they like. I am also able to budget my finances very well, and am comfortable with long bus and train rides (assuming pre-COVID conditions). Of course, from a ratings perspective, I would not have been an interesting racer to watch, because I won't run into trouble with my money, nor would I really complain about travelling long distances on public transport.

[Genius]

Despite being a TAR fan, I've not rewatched a single season in entirety. In terms of individual episodes, I've only rewatched one of the Indian legs from TAR24 (not fun to watch) and the Croatian leg from TAR31. AS such, my memories/opinions are stuck in whatever year the season premiered.

TAR2 - Tara and Wil were my fave racers.
TAR4 - The first half was pretty boring, especially the Italian and French legs.
TAR6 - I liked the couple teams in general and I like that Ethiopia was featured. Kris and Jon really should have been invited back.


Again, if I were to watch them today, perhaps my opinion of those seasons would have been completely different.

_____

While Rachel and Brendon were my season picks in TAR20 and TAR24, I didn't quite enjoy seeing her with her sister. Perhaps in a future returnee season, there can be a hybrid in-law team featuring her husband and sister.  (Speaking of which, there has only been 1 team of in-laws in 33 seasons in the US.)
___________

Regarding TAR Canada 3, I felt like it was the most interesting season, out of the 4 that I have watched (basically the first 4 seasons).

[Genius]

I feel that TAR32 is extremely maligned because of how the Mine 5 alliance bulldozed through the race, like some seasons of Survivor. Honestly, besides DeAngelo, the other members are likeable, and frankly, it was the producers' fault for not being stringent with the sharing of answers. Also, it was nice to see an alliance honoring their word and working together for the most part. (After all, no one was against the Six Pack in TAR10 helping one another.) I thought the beard brothers would be boring, but they were not at all and were genuinely nice.

Other good points regarding TAR32

Nice route
- 1st visit to the Caribbean in a long time, and in a new country
- 1st visit to the Brazilian Amazon
- 2nd visit to Kazakhstan, with a great movie set task
- Very different portrayal of India this time. Hyderabad is at the forefront of all things IT, and India no longer looks as crappy as the earlier seasons. Honestly impressed.


- Return of the Yield, with changes
- Interesting final task with the globe
- Interesting choice to have the final leg memory task moved to the penultimate leg (wasn't expecting that), and the three likeable teams working together to get rid of the 4th in their alliance. Probably the most satisfying penultimate leg since Andy and Tommy being eliminated in TAR19 because of the unexpected taxi alliance. (But I must say, I feel bad for Gary.)

[Genius]

Also, 4th post in a row, but I am probably the only one here who does not actively root for all-female teams. I keep seeing posts here decrying that they are disappointed to see the FF teams being eliminated early, but most of the time, those female teams aren't quite interesting.


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I normally end up rooting for a co-ed team (usually a couple) because every TAR US season features a final 3 with one co-ed team. (Imagine the shock I got when I watched the first 3 seasons of TAR Canada.)

[Leafsfan]

Despite being a TAR fan, I've not rewatched a single season in entirety. In terms of individual episodes, I've only rewatched one of the Indian legs from TAR24 (not fun to watch) and the Croatian leg from TAR31. AS such, my memories/opinions are stuck in whatever year the season premiered.

TAR2 - Tara and Wil were my fave racers.
TAR4 - The first half was pretty boring, especially the Italian and French legs.
TAR6 - I liked the couple teams in general and I like that Ethiopia was featured. Kris and Jon really should have been invited back.


Again, if I were to watch them today, perhaps my opinion of those seasons would have been completely different.

_____

While Rachel and Brendon were my season picks in TAR20 and TAR24, I didn't quite enjoy seeing her with her sister. Perhaps in a future returnee season, there can be a hybrid in-law team featuring her husband and sister.  (Speaking of which, there has only been 1 team of in-laws in 33 seasons in the US.)
___________

Regarding TAR Canada 3, I felt like it was the most interesting season, out of the 4 that I have watched (basically the first 4 seasons).

TAR24 did not have Indian legs

[Genius]

Despite being a TAR fan, I've not rewatched a single season in entirety. In terms of individual episodes, I've only rewatched one of the Indian legs from TAR24 (not fun to watch) and the Croatian leg from TAR31. AS such, my memories/opinions are stuck in whatever year the season premiered.

TAR2 - Tara and Wil were my fave racers.
TAR4 - The first half was pretty boring, especially the Italian and French legs.
TAR6 - I liked the couple teams in general and I like that Ethiopia was featured. Kris and Jon really should have been invited back.


Again, if I were to watch them today, perhaps my opinion of those seasons would have been completely different.

_____

While Rachel and Brendon were my season picks in TAR20 and TAR24, I didn't quite enjoy seeing her with her sister. Perhaps in a future returnee season, there can be a hybrid in-law team featuring her husband and sister.  (Speaking of which, there has only been 1 team of in-laws in 33 seasons in the US.)
___________

Regarding TAR Canada 3, I felt like it was the most interesting season, out of the 4 that I have watched (basically the first 4 seasons).

TAR24 did not have Indian legs

My bad, it was Sri Lanka.

[Parasparopagraho]

Blind Date Edition is mediocre rather than awful, crappy premiere destination aside - replace it with Vancouver and the route becomes significantly better.

[LandonM170]

Blind Date Edition is mediocre rather than awful, crappy premiere destination aside - replace it with Vancouver and the route becomes significantly better.

I agree! It was the first season I watched live, and I enjoyed almost all of the legs especially the Namibia and Peru legs.

[Parasparopagraho]

^

Much appreciated, those two nations are literally the best used ones of their respective continents, comparable to Denmark for Europe and Taiwan for Asia.

[Traveldude1]

.

[redskevin88]

S23 is one of the worst seasons ever. You have a cast full of boring teams who don't really "pop", a bad boot order, a route that spends a ton of time in South America and Western Europe, and tasks that are pretty dull. It's a somewhat recent season and I just remember nothing from it. There's no real iconic moment from the season and the Final Three is composed of 3 mediocre M/F teams that are just meh. In fact, 'Meh" is what I'd use to describe this season. Just not a good season.

S23 would have been more interesting had Chester & Ephraim not missed their flight and Tim & Marie finished last or had to flush out their Express Passes.

[rtvguy5750]

Yield >>>>>>>>>> U-Turn

[Traveldude1]

S13 is a top tier season. Tasks are great, the cast is good, and you have a route that is one of the more unique in the entire series. Sure, the winner may be kind of boring, but the rest of the cast makes up for it. This season also makes good use of background music, making footraces and taxi cab races much more intense and fun. It's a unique and fun season that has no other comparison.