Topic: Why the Amazing Race has lost its magic

[Glamazon Racer]

I've read a lot of this, and I must say for me personally, one of the biggest disappointments is the recycling of countries that have already been visited more times than the fingers on my hand, *cough* India *cough* China *cough*. Those countries might be great and produce some great legs, but there are 300+ countries in the world and I don't enjoy seeing the same ones over and over. It really is like watching a horror movie over and over and over...

I also personally don't like many recent winners, but that might just be me. 

What I want to see above all else is something like TAR3 (a route with NO countries previously visited, more self-driving and a great cast with great challenges).

I also think TAR15 brought back the drama that was lacking somewhat in previous seasons. Mika & Canaan and Maria & Tiffany quitting and Zev & Justin losing passports were incredible drama. I really hate it when one team is so far behind that it is so obvious who is going to be eliminated in each leg (aka 6/8 TAR14 eliminations, with the exceptions of the first and last elims).

However, the one thing I love above the more recent races are the memory challenges, which are SO great! Too bad TAR15 didn't have one.

Anyway, I'm done ranting what do you guys think?

[RichInSydney]

1. Cut the teams down to 10 maximum so we get to know the teams a bit better during the race.

2. No more non-elimination legs when it gets down to 5 teams left. Final 5 teams must be told that in the remaining legs, one team WILL be eliminated.

3. No fast forwards.

4. Visit more remote Islands in the middle of the ocean and less mainland countries.

5. No Taxis allowed in the final leg. No following Taxis when they have to drive themselves.

5. During the editing of each episode, don't give away the result by clues in the post leg interview! (eg. its nightime in the background!)

[Kiwi Jay]

1. Cut the teams down to 10 maximum so we get to know the teams a bit better during the race.

2. No more non-elimination legs when it gets down to 5 teams left. Final 5 teams must be told that in the remaining legs, one team WILL be eliminated.

3. No fast forwards.

4. Visit more remote Islands in the middle of the ocean and less mainland countries.

5. No Taxis allowed in the final leg. No following Taxis when they have to drive themselves.

5. During the editing of each episode, don't give away the result by clues in the post leg interview! (eg. its nightime in the background!)

I don't agree with 1,2 and 3 but do like 4 and agree with 5

[RichInSydney]

I don't agree with 1,2 and 3 but do like 4 and agree with 5

Don't you find though that the first couple of  episodes are too rushed and you have no idea which team is which due to the 11 or 12 teams competing? I personally would like to see only 8 teams in it from the start but I know thats not going to happen due to the number of legs in each season.

The Fast Forwards are only good if its a hard task or at least 2 teams are going for it.

Non eliminations are too predictable. If teams know they will be eliminated in the final few legs, it would make it more of a race.

[Dånooky]

I don't agree with 1,2 and 3 but do like 4 and agree with 5

Don't you find though that the first couple of  episodes are too rushed and you have no idea which team is which due to the 11 or 12 teams competing? I personally would like to see only 8 teams in it from the start but I know thats not going to happen due to the number of legs in each season.

The Fast Forwards are only good if its a hard task or at least 2 teams are going for it.

Non eliminations are too predictable. If teams know they will be eliminated in the final few legs, it would make it more of a race.

I agree with your first point of reducing the number of teams. If we lost enough airtime in Japan due to the Elimination Challenge, maybe reducing the teams would give enough time both to introduce the teams and have a decent first leg.
I would disagree with your NELs point. They are only predictable when we get the confessionals. Besides teams never know when it's going to be a NEL and IMO teams are always racing like there's an elimination ahead, I think there has never been a case in which a team decided to relax knowing that they'd be NEL'd.

[RichInSydney]

I would disagree with your NELs point. They are only predictable when we get the confessionals. Besides teams never know when it's going to be a NEL and IMO teams are always racing like there's an elimination ahead, I think there has never been a case in which a team decided to relax knowing that they'd be NEL'd.

Yeh good point. What I should have said is that its more predictable for the viewer. 4 teams left, 3 episodes to go, you do the maths.

[Caelestor]

^This feels like we're reiterating points we've already made. Just to throw in my two cents:

1. I don't care how many teams start the race, as long as each get an appropriate amount of screentime (in other words, no early eliminations). I do agree that often the first legs feel rushed since we don't know anybody. Conversely, the later legs feel empty because there are only a few teams left.

To fix that, make the first leg a straight-up 2 hour premier. Have the first half set in one region, then have teams sign up on charter buses to another reasonably near location for the second half. Only one team goes home at the end of the second hour.

2. There needs to be some episodes where no one is eliminated; otherwise, we'd have a really short season. I personally believe that NELs just incite debate because no one can agree on what the appropriate penalty should be. Speedbumps are getting lamer each season. I advocate TBCs for legs in the same country or city. As an example, this is how TAR 15 could have gone:

Leg 1 (scrap the entire useless 1st episode and have teams go directly to Cai Be): 12th team eliminated.
Leg 2: 11th team eliminated.
Leg 3: 10th team eliminated.
Leg 4: Dubai TBC, 9th team eliminated.
Leg 5 (Somewhere in Africa): 8th team eliminated.
Leg 6 (Back to Netherlands): 7th eliminated.
Leg 7: 6th team eliminatd.
Leg 8: 5th team eliminated.
Leg 9: Prague TBC, 4th team eliminated
Leg 10: Finale.

3. Agree with it. Either one per leg (up to a certain point), or none at all.

4. Can't argue with that. Of course, make the islands big enough so that there are enough places to visit. It should also not be too hard to get there.

5. The only way to fix this is to give teams their own car (which the producers should; it reduces spoilers). Unfortunately, teams can't run on foot or take public transport, as the producers are trying to limit the amount of spoilers that escape out.

6. True on that. Have the confessions indoors!

And my other major point: teams must depart 12 hours after they arrive. Viewers do notice these details.

[Dånooky]

Speedbumps are getting lamer each season. I advocate TBCs for legs in the same country or city.

I have to disagree with that. I don't understand why people would want the Speedbump to be something über complex. Come on, the team is most probably already last. IMO having them waste 20 minutes in an easy, yet difficult-to-find task is enough of a penalty. The point is not to make the teams complete another challenge, but to put more pressure on them by forcing them to waste race time. In essence it's the same thing as the begging, usually teams were over it pretty fast.

[apskip]

RichInSydney,

I think your proposal on no taxis in the final leg is a bit lacking in appreciation for the difficulty of self-navigating when coming off a transoceanic flight (usually either the Pacific or Atlantic and usually at least 13 hours) to reach the Final City. It is a safety hazard for teams to drive themselves in those conditions. Why would World Race Productions want to put the teams at risk unnecessarily? The fact that taxi rides more often than not decide the final results is unfortunate but probably not avoidable unless WRP uses hired drivers in marked cars.

[Zack.]

RichInSydney,

I think your proposal on no taxis in the final leg is a big lacking in appreciation for the difficulty of self-navigating when coming off a transoceanic flight (usually either the Pacific or Atlantic and usually at least 13 hours) to reaach the Final City. It is a safety hazard for teams to drive themselves in those conditions. Why would World Race Productions want to put the teams at risk unnecessarily. The fact that taxi rides more often than not decide the final results is unfortunate but probably not avoidable unless WRP uses hired drivers in marked cars.

Not to mention if you let teams drive themselves when they're close to the money, they might do (illegal) things that taxis wouldn't have the nerve to do.

[Glamazon Racer]

I have to say that reducing the number of teams is not the way to go, in my opinion. Rather - a 2-hour premiere for the first leg alone is much better. That made the premieres of TAR6-9 some of the best.

I also have to add that Fast Forwards should NOT be removed, because of the strategy that is involved in deciding to use them or not. I personally enjoy seeing that.

And I think the positioning of NELs should be shuffled around a bit more every season, rather than having similar positioning, but they should have one towards the end.The only team I ever recall racing slowly because they knew it was a non-elimination was Flo & Zach in Vietnam. One of the best legs ever, in my opinion.

Above all, what TAR needs to do is go to new places that haven't been done before!

[2old4tech]

Not to mention if you let teams drive themselves when they're close to the money, they might do (illegal) things that taxis wouldn't have the nerve to do.

Unless they hire "Earl".   Earl had nerve.

Gee, I hope I remembered his name right. TAR5 finale.

[apskip]

Not to mention if you let teams drive themselves when they're close to the money, they might do (illegal) things that taxis wouldn't have the nerve to do.

Unless they hire "Earl".   Earl had nerve.

Gee, I hope I remembered his name right. TAR5 finale.

Yes, Earl provided an extra element of excitement in the AR5 finale driving Colin and Christie from BFW to the Fort Worth Stockyards. However, driving on the shoulder resulted in a flat which cost them 10 minutes, more than the final margin of victory for Chip/Kim. We'll never know if Earl's driving actually cost Colin/Christie the win.

[Caelestor]

Speedbumps are getting lamer each season. I advocate TBCs for legs in the same country or city.

I have to disagree with that. I don't understand why people would want the Speedbump to be something über complex. Come on, the team is most probably already last. IMO having them waste 20 minutes in an easy, yet difficult-to-find task is enough of a penalty. The point is not to make the teams complete another challenge, but to put more pressure on them by forcing them to waste race time. In essence it's the same thing as the begging, usually teams were over it pretty fast.

To be honest, I was voicing my opinion and not really looking at it objectively.
In a cost standpoint, it might be more effective to just have a 15-minute yield.

[ImANewUser]

Speedbumps are getting lamer each season. I advocate TBCs for legs in the same country or city.

I have to disagree with that. I don't understand why people would want the Speedbump to be something über complex. Come on, the team is most probably already last. IMO having them waste 20 minutes in an easy, yet difficult-to-find task is enough of a penalty. The point is not to make the teams complete another challenge, but to put more pressure on them by forcing them to waste race time. In essence it's the same thing as the begging, usually teams were over it pretty fast.

To be honest, I was voicing my opinion and not really looking at it objectively.
In a cost standpoint, it might be more effective to just have a 15-minute yield.

Or turn all these Speed Bumps into Fast Forwards, remove the NEL penalty & then turn it back to the way it used to be.

[Caelestor]

One FF per leg as in earlier seasons. I didn't like how some teams managed to escape elimination without penalty, though. *cough Flo*

[apskip]

Caelestor,

Which earlier season are you referring to? Certainly not Amazing Race 3, which had 6 FAST FORWARDs! Here are the number of FAST FORWARDs per season (source - "Circumnavigating the Globe", the new book on the Amazing Races after AR9):

1 - 5
2 - 6
3 - 6
4 - 7
5 - 2
6 - 2
7 - 2
8 - 1 (the earliest season you could be referring to)
9 - 2
10 - 3 (including unaired at Grand Baie, Mauritius)
11 - 2
12 - 1
13 - 2
14 - 1 (unaired at Phuket Zoo)
15 - 1

The trend is obvious after Amazing Race 4, but there was only one Fast Forward for AR8 and for AR12 through 15.

[Caelestor]

I meant in the earlier seasons, where in most of the legs (Except usually one of the middle legs and the later ones, of course), you could find an FF, aka S1-4. This provided an element of strategy: when to use the FF to avoid elimination.

Now with one FF per race, the FF is pretty much just a reward challenge. Whoever gets there first can win the prize for that leg.

[Mister RC]

Apskip, there were 2 Fast Forwards in TAR13.  Those include the Sky Tower one that Ken/Tina won in Auckland, and then the Korduk-eating FF that Nick/Starr earned later on during the final run as part of them winning 6 out of the final 7 legs for the win.

[Glamazon Racer]

A Fast Forward per leg would be awesome, but I think it would be too costly setting up all those extra challenges, and they are on a 'budget'...

[Caelestor]

apskip's list also does not include unaired FFs.

Nowadays, the first-place teams see the FF and go for it, since they won't get another chance. Teams behind them will think they can't go for it because someone earlier would have gone for it. Hardly good strategy.

The race can function fine without the FF. As we saw in TAR 15, however, it gave M+C not only a win in the first of the Dubai legs, but a big enough lead to arrive in first place again the next leg, despite M+T's better performance.

[apskip]

Apskip, there were 2 Fast Forwards in TAR13.  Those include the Sky Tower one that Ken/Tina won in Auckland, and then the Korduk-eating FF that Nick/Starr earned later on during the final run as part of them winning 6 out of the final 7 legs for the win.

revengefullycreative,
The book lists both of those for AR13; you are right. I just can't do 1 + 1 = 2 and get the right answer every time. Thanks, as I have corrected my earlier post for the AR13 line.

[theschnauzers]

In TAR 1 to TAR 4, a Fast Forward was available for every leg, except the final leg, with the proviso that if all remaining teams had used a fast forward at the beginning of a leg before the second to final leg, then the FF was no longer available as of that point for the remainder of the Race.

On average, the FF was used about one-half of the time in thpse early seasons. The even odder thing is that since that time, the FF has continued to be used about one-half of the time. (I have the numbers filed away somewhere but I'm not in the rush to get precise at the moment.)

The primary reason why the FF is only offered once or twice a Race now is financial. The cost for some unused FF was significant, and that's one reason why their frequency was reduced. The problem is that it also changed the strategic value of th FF, and for several seasons after the change, the lead teams would always take the FF. At this point, it's rare for any team other than a lead team to take a FF, and it has ended up offering little strategic value. If it were to completely disappear, I don't think its absence would have an impact any more.

The penalties for the NELs and the U-Turns are more problematic for me. I'd rather be rid of the NEL penalties altogether, and I don't like the element of the U-Turn that smacks of the Yield, and I totally hated the Yield and was happy to see its demise.

[Caelestor]

I don't like NEL penalties, but I can't stand the bunching after an NEL that can save some last-place teams which deserved to be eliminated earlier. The TBC, if used properly, can fix that.

The U-turn, if it was available more often, would provide an extra element of strategy.

[Dånooky]

I don't like NEL penalties, but I can't stand the bunching after an NEL that can save some last-place teams which deserved to be eliminated earlier. The TBC, if used properly, can fix that.

The U-turn, if it was available more often, would provide an extra element of strategy.

I'd think that to make the U-Turn more user-friendly, they should include the number tags the Yield had. At least then, the teams would have more things to base their decision on.