Topic: General News and Discussion

[georgiapeach]

Starts Monday March 29 10pm on the National Geographic Channel.

[TheRabbi]

Was the first episode longer than an hour? I recorded it when it was on and watched it last night. It recorded one hour and the first "leg" ended, and then it appeared the second leg was beginning and then the DVR cut off. If it was an extended episode you'd think they would get their act straight in the listings. Maybe I'll see if they're re-airing it at all this week and tape extra time if so.

The first hour was ok. If the whole thing is only 7 episodes then I will certainly stick with it, but I wasn't really grabbed by anything. I found the editing pretty scattered except for the straightforward stuff like the rock-climb.

[Xoruz]

Was the first episode longer than an hour?

It was 90 minutes, but even when the episode was airing my TV guide said that Genius would be airing instead of the premiere's last half-hour.

[BourkieBoy]

Episode One Thoughts

I enjoyed this premiere! My thoughts are that it's very similar to the BBC's series Race Across The World. Some of the places in Canada, Russia, Vietnam & South America were awe-inspiring to see and this competition is fierce! I do think the editing is all over the place and I'm not sure 90 minute episodes are the go with this show? Anyway, the series is only short at seven episodes and it will give me the time to watch the series while the weather is getting cooler over here and in between my casual work

[TheRabbi]

I thought the second episode was much more enjoyable. Great locations, tough challenges, and are getting to know the teams more. It's a good show.

[zacz]

I'll continue watching but I was hoping it would be more like 'Race across the World'. The editing is not helping in my opinion as too much is skipped or done so quickly that you don't get a sense of how far teams have travelled or what they have been doing.  I thought they were travelling the full distance of their courses to start with but I have since realised that there are quite a few flights between each 'leg'. The flight ban is why 'race across the world' works so well in my opinion.

Hope it gets more interesting in future episodes.

[georgiapeach]

The cinematography is outstanding. Checck out the crew film on my FB page of what they went thru just to GET to a location. I really love the concept but IMO they are missing out on some opportunities.

For me the worst is lack of cast/teamdevolpment. Part of the issue is that other than some local news articles we were never given a CAST REVEAL by the show. We needed that. Who are they? How did they get together? Why do they want to do this? Much could have whet our interest before the show.

Then....We were barely introduced at the start. They were off and racing and we still didnt "know" them. I need to know more about them.  When there are conflicts explain WHY. Make us LIKE them.

I do like the maps/where they are. This could also be amplified in a weekly print summary done by Nat Geo but that hasn't happened.

I love the concept. Love the amazing effort running teams in diff parts of the world at the same time must have taken. Love the cinematography. The scenary is outstanding.

I just want more cast development most I think. In TAR we always (thanks to intros/interviews/press releases) pretty well know the teams even before the start. INSIDER videos fill in many of the gaps. Nat Geo could applify this show a thousand times by providing insider clips and videos online. Show us maps and routes on line. Share insider difficulties they faced. This has to be perhaps the MOST difficult show ever filmed. MAKE US SEE THAT. Outakes could be so engaging.

[BourkieBoy]

Episode Two Thoughts

My thoughts for this episode are basically the same as Peach's and The Rabbi's above. I thought the cinematography and scenery is just breathtaking and also, the maps tracking where the teams are first-class and the just the whole concept of racing from different parts of the world to reach one final location, is such a unique idea for the show. However, I do think some more team introduction would be nice and more cast development is needed over the next five episodes, to understand these teams more on a personal level.

However, this series is really good so far, looking forward to the next episode and the rest of the series!

[gamerfan09]

This show is really really boring. It looks pretty but that's it.

Not gonna watch further after two episodes.

[Maanca]

It's...interesting. Team North America is pretty much running an Amazing Race Canada minus the challenges, lol (though said show has actually never been to Kenora, Ontario)

[TheRabbi]

Watched episode 3 last night. Decent episode. I do feel like Team Russia hasn't had to do as much as the other teams yet, which has put them ahead. Feels like most of their days have just been driving/train rides so far, with the exception of 1 canoe trip I think. Hopefully it balances out.

Some really beautiful locations on this show which make it worth it. The show itself is alright but definitely lacking something. I still find the editing to be all over the place, and am not a big fan of the narrator either.

[Xoruz]

Part of me wonders if the show would be better with 90 minute episodes like the premiere. We got more from Team Russia in the last episode compared to the first two though that was at the expense of Team South America. Though anything is better with reindeer. 

[BourkieBoy]

Episode 3 Thoughts

Finally got around to watching this episode! It was a decent episode, but I agree with TheRabbi's thoughts about Team Russia not having it as hard as Team North America, Team South America or Team South East Asia. I'm still falling in love with all of the beautiful scenery & cinematography of the show (travel porn!), but the editing is choppy and all over the place and the narrator is a bit... weird? 

[TheRabbi]

I watched the last couple episodes and caught up before tonight's finale.  Pretty crazy what happened to Team South America. You never want to see the teams/production in any danger, but seeing that play out kind of gives you a new appreciation for the level of production preparedness that these shows go through. Every location TAR goes to has evacuations plans and endless security monitoring similar to what was seen. It's incredible the show has gone 32 seasons with minimal interruption.

As for this show, the visuals of the show have been absolutely incredible. The race aspect has been just so-so. I still feel like Team Russia has had it far easier than their opponents, and they've won the advantage heading into the finale. The cast on the whole has been rather dry, and the editing has been mixed. I can't really say I'm rooting for or against anyone in the finale, I'm just watching it to see how it ends.

[TheRabbi]

Watched the finale last night. That second/final day was extremely anticlimactic. The 2 days' courses should have been swapped. The first day was exciting and interesting in spots, and the second day was a snoozer (probably why the first day got like 75% of the episode's runtime. And I've watched TAR enough to never really believe that the teams were all that close, no matter how many times the narrator tried to tell us they were in a "virtual dead heat."

I echo Peach's sentiments above. The show is an amazing achievement technically and production-wise. The locations and camera shots are incredible. And I like that they are not afraid to let the viewer peek into the production once in a while (occasionally showing producers onscreen and even airing the questions contestants get asked in post-leg interviews). But the race aspect was lacking, partly because of the really lousy way the show introduced the cast.

I also checked out the show's ratings, and they are not pretty at all. The finale managed a 0.03 rating in the coveted 18-49 demo with just 202,000 total viewers. I know that linear ratings aren't everything anymore, and the show is coming to Disney+ soon, since Disney owns the network, so the show's future will likely depend on how it does on Disney+.

[cerealking]

I’ve just finished it on Disney Plus. I liked it and thought it was a real achievement for a first season. That being said, it’s definitely a first season and there are some kinks to be worked out. The point system and task balance need some tweaking IMO. Hopefully it does well on DP so it can get a second season because it has a lot of potential.

[Genius]

I watched it last year on Nat Geo but I missed 1 or 2 episodes. My fave team was the teachers (who raced through Southeast Asia.) It's sad that this may have been the only season to have been produced, due to COVID.

1. Concept-wise, I do approve it, but they should have the 4 teams race part of each course, like TAR. It feels weird to have 4 teams doing 4 sets of tasks. Perhaps it should have been 3 teams on each racecourse, with one team getting eliminated mid-way and one team eliminated in the final leg of Stage 1. The winners of each racecourse face off against the other winners. (But of course, the budget would have been a concern.)

2. I find that some of the legs were merely going from A to B. For a show that emphasizes on the difficulty of tasks, it feels extremely weird to solely focus on the transport aspect.

[TheRabbi]

The show has been officially canceled by NatGeo.

https://deadline.com/2022/01/race-to-the-center-of-the-earth-canceled-nat-geo-1234916694/

[Maanca]

Aw, shame. It wasn't The Amazing Race but still a good show!

[georgiapeach]

The logistics of this had to be insane.

[NumfarPTB]

Sad it was cancelled. As others mentioned it had potential.