TAR16 EP05: "Morse Code is for smart people... "

[Mooyou]

UGH.

TAR CHEAPNESS AT IT'S ALL TIME HIGH.

[autowil]

Joe and Heidi lose to a U turn.. Hate the detectives even more.. Bye Asia Couple..

[Caelestor]

This was a brutal U-turn. This only confirms my dislike for it, since every time it has been used properly, it has guaranteed elimination (Lorena/Jason, Kris/Amanda, Kisha/Jen).

Otherwise, though, the tasks for this leg were incredibly well thought-out, even the speedbump. A bit short since there was no roadblock, but that made the editing much more fluid and the leg more manageable to watch.

In other news, we (mainly I) got owned on the Leg 5 Predictions. Never again am I including a blind U-turn

[eragon]

Sad to see Joe & Heidi go.

[Hooky]

A re-post of my many thoughts brought up by this episode from RFF. The context (in case you don't read at RFF) was me responding to (and agreeing with) Joab's frustrated post. Here it is:

I agree with what you say, and I have to say that that's about how I'm feeling right now. Disgusted about the whole way Joe & Heidi's race was portrayed, and upset that all the first four teams eliminated have been my favorites. I think the only favorites left for me are Steve & Allie and Jet & Cord, and we all know that in a couple episodes yet another one of these will also be gone.

Jeff & Jordan and maybe also Brent & Caite need to go. Brent & Caite are growing on me a little bit, but they don't have enough potential (it seems) to be worth rooting for. And Jeff & Jordan are just wasting everyone's time in the back of the pack. If they had to survive this long, they should at least have been in the middle or front for the duration, so their eventual elimination could be that much more epic. They did not prove in any way that they deserved to remain in the Race with their performance today.

Also, why no Roadblock? It would have given Joe & Heidi a valuable chance to catch up. By planning the U-turn at that task with no Roadblock afterward, the producers seemed to be intending to have a U-turn based elimination. And that's exactly what it turned out to be.

Louie & Michael just wanted to "humble" Joe "a little bit." Well it did just a little more than that, guys. I really hope the karma (on Michael's confessional T-shirt, BTW) comes back to get them. I'm confident it eventually will.

Now I'm pretty sure only 2 or maybe 3 of the other teams could have successfully done the morse code puzzle in those conditions. But all the same, at least it's a mentally challenging task, which is important to have in an increasingly dumbed-down race these days. Too bad we don't have any difficult physical challenges. And sadly, we still have teams complaining about the easy physical tasks such as crawling in the dirt. It's a race. You applied to do it (or at least I sincerely hope you did). Don't complain about something reasonably easy that any average person in decent physical condition could do.

I thought the war setup was intriguing, but not Race-worthy material. The race needs to feature REAL tasks, without the elaborately staged settings. You could just do that in a studio if it's so important to feature it (which to honest Race viewers it's really not).

Joab, you're not the only one on this sinking boat. This is similar to what happened to me in TAR 14. All the teams I wanted to root for fell out in the first five eliminations. It was lousy. And in TAR 15, beyond Zev & Justin and Gary & Matt, there weren't many teams for me to root for anyway. I was "forced" to root for Meghan & Cheyne. They were too bland, but at least they were likable. I think from this point on when I watch TAR I will just have to do it without rooting for any teams at all, in other words, from an objective standpoint. It's the only way to not be disappointed.

Not really appreciating or "getting" the enthusiasm for all the changes going on in these recent seasons. I'd really prefer things to be more the way they once were (before Season 11. That's right. Radical step "backward", but a necessary one.). And I sincerely hope this is not going to be the Emmy episode for this year. Go the first Prague leg of last season, instead. Much more traditional, quality TAR, although the teams left were somewhat boring.

Joab: Your reaction is essentially my reaction to this as well. But I've decided to make my posts quieter and more objective from here onward, in the interest of not provoking heated debate. Essentially, I'm trying to turn over a new leaf.

[autowil]

Nice ranting Hooky.. Honestly i also think this season is having way too much budget cut.. Why they need to send the teams in the bus to France in the first place?? Why No RB?? And the U TURN is really a killer.. Who ever U turn will be dead.. The Moorse code is really deadly as the atmosphere is so noisy with bombs and such, will can be able to hear the Moorse code??

For the remaining teams, I only like the cowboys, lesbians and the brothers.. All the other teams are soo boring except the Father & Daugther.. The cast are too extreme boring and in no way same par with TAR 14 or 15. Right now only Penang and Singapore leg keep me watching... But from the state of the last leg, i dun have high hope on it..