The Amazing Race > The Amazing Race Discussion

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

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Kiwi Jay:
Hello RFF'ers :waves:

I was talking with Peach today about where The Amazing Race is going and wanted to post this. Would love to hear from others about what they think.

I feel as though the race has really been losing itself the past 4-5 years. It has lost its soul almost. I feel it could be good to do a mass letter to CBS and Bert, Elise, Phil etcetera. Not sure if it would do anything, but those of us that have watched and followed for 15 years should speak up. I do feel CBS has a big hand in the huge changes in this wonderful show.

I truly wish casting and editing would be more 'real' like older seasons. Diversity and all ages, ethnicities, body types and with strong characters. What happened to the editing, those old moments where it was light and shade. Now it all seems go, go, go. Look at the older seasons where hours of operation and race down times were also documented and aired. And what of the gimmick seasons. How is that going to help? People want to see real teams and real situations.

I think the formula is being warped. I don't mind little tweaks of course, but it feels totally polar to earlier seasons and it's sad. Gimmick wise, it has only been in the past five seasons really, although editing and casting one could argue has gone back a little longer. I miss the subtle moments, the slower pace editing at times to contrast, the REAL teams of all ages, sizes, relationships, and no added gimmicks! Sorry to spurt all this at you guys, but I just wish it could wind back a bit and look at it's roots. What has Survivor done right that TAR hasn't? And can we help to bring it back from this?

Love to hear what y'all think, and definitely feel a mass fan-letter should be propelled into the hands of CBS and the executive TAR team. I just love this show too much to see it going the way it is.

What do you all think needs to change? Please feel free to write something that we could compile in a letter or petition of sorts.

Addendum - Please see my post further down the page for more details!

TARUSAFan:

--- Quote from: Kiwi Jay on June 05, 2016, 04:41:04 AM ---Hello RFF'ers :waves:

I was talking with Peach today about where The Amazing Race is going and wanted to post this. Would love to hear from others about what they think.

I feel as though the race has really been losing itself the past 4-5 years. It has lost its soul almost. I feel it could be good to do a mass letter to CBS and Bert, Elise, Phil etcetera. Not sure if it would do anything, but those of us that have watched and followed for 15 years should speak up. I do feel CBS has a big hand in the huge changes in this wonderful show.

I don't like the gimmicks and wish casting and editing would be more 'real' like older seasons...as said above, what happened to the editing, those old moments where it was light and shade. Now it all seems go, go, go. Look at those older seasons where HOO's and race down times were also documented and aired. And what of the gimmick seasons. How is that going to help? People want to see real teams and real situations.

I think the formula is being warped. I don't mind little tweaks of course, but it feels totally polar to earlier seasons and it's sad. Gimmick wise, it has only been in the past five seasons really, although editing and casting one could argue has gone back a little longer. I miss the subtle moments, the slower pace editing at times to contrast, the REAL teams of all ages, sizes, relationships, and no gimmicks. Sorry to spurt all this at you guys, but I just wish it could wind back a bit and look at it's roots. What has Survivor done right that TAR hasn't? And can we help to bring it back from this?

Love to hear what y'all think, and definitely feel a mass fan-letter should be propelled into the hands of CBS and the executive TAR team. I just love this show too much to see it going the way it is.

What do you all think needs to change and feel free to write something that we could compile in a letter, of sorts.

--- End quote ---


Thank You Kiwi Jay for posting this. I think mine's gonna be long. I just have so much to say.

fossil-racer:
During TAR 24, I started to give up on the show honestly because show turned bland. Cast was too basic, the route was horrendous, the finale leg was bland. Editing was actually ok. More on this later too...
The show lacks consistency now and I hope this long post to be will hopefully put help out there.
TAR 25 came and the show I loved was back. Everything was awesome this season. The cast was everything and one of my favorites all-time. Editing was ok. The twist of the open start line and find the express pass was great. The twist with the save was not. Route was great more countries and fun tasks.
Casting- Diversity
Best thing of the TAR 25 cast was diversity in a way. People from all walks of life/ethnicity. Plus 4 FF teams. I would say don't cast too many types of one team. 4 be the max and for the FF teams in 25 it really came together.
Here's the thing; You want twists; that is great. Not big twists but small but subtle twists work best. The smallest thing can add layers and still provide something inventive and fresh and audience relatable (finding that express pass) and (open start line). Also, if you want twists, think it through. To make the save better, you can have a team turn it in before a team gets their placement revealed. This adds more layers/drama/whatever.
Side note; Route was pretty good. Throw in at least 1 new destination and return to destinations not visited from long ago.
TAR 26 was not that great imo.
Cast lacked diversity and 9 mf is too much and overwhelming. Also, no ff teams. Lesbians are also part of the America and the fact that one of this team type was not cast was puzzling. If you could put together a stellar cast in TAR 25 that was so diverse, then why did in Tar 26 it took a dip down. Consistency lacked.
The route was ok but the problem was too many double legs, just like 24. Even if it’s a different place in the same country, I wish there was more travel to different countries because that is what makes the show fun.  TAR 25 embodies that.
TAR 24 and TAR 26 were basically the same in terms of basic cast and bland route.
You didn’t need such a big twist (look at 25) and I don’t think most of the twist really resonated with viewers who were new to the show imo.
TAR 27
Editing was the problem. Focus on more than one team to develop the season. Do not give all the screentime to one team. Also, footrace in Leg 2. The editing was sloppy. The part when Jasmine/Danielle were saying come on, its a million dollars. I buy you new feet. Come on. It could have been edited better and it was weird because that part was not fully said I think. Parts of it were saide. When you exclude the come on part, you take out that old school nostalgia were everything was intense and fun.
TAR 28
Better but you don't need a big twist, unless you were aiming to attract new viewers. The live stream was that subtle but small twist that was cool. Route was stellar and tasks were ok.

I hope in the future you use 25 as an example for a good season. A 18+25 season would bring the show back. Also, consistency is huge. Always have good/diverse casts season to season and small but subtle twists moving forward. You don't need huge twists to succeed TAr 25.

georgiapeach:
:tu kiwi!!

Let's use this for a thoughtful, constructive discussion. What would you want to tell CBS/WRP if you could?  :tup:

Maanca:
A lot of it is CBS pressuring them to implement these gimmicks to "keep it fresh". This has caused Phil to lose of the personality he used to have since he's forced to act enthusiastic about these gimmicks (the Pit Stop interactions in the Dating season were just...facepalm...)

Two things I definitely don't miss from the classic seasons are the original Non-Elimination penalty of Phil essentially mugging the last place team, and the first 15-20 minutes of each episode eaten up by teams standing in an airport.

What I do miss is the less fit/over 50 people they don't cast anymore. They were always fun to root for, now the preference is on young, athletic types.

Tasks have become too easy, and legs too short, at times a leg is basically Roadblock, Detour, Pit Stop. The balloon shaving in season 24 is the example I keep going back to of cheap task design.

I also feel like they phone it in when routes get to Asia. There are lesser-seen/never-seen safe countries they could go there, but we get places like China, India, Indonesia etc over and over and over. The first 2 have spilled over onto a second line on the Wikipedia list of countries visited, that tells you something.

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